HeatherI felt the magic on the third night of our cruise - sitting on the Bow of the ship drinking the sundown. But these weren’t just any drinks - these were the fancy ‘drink of the day’ drinks, made with skill and passion by our great bartender Leigh.
I was surrounded by people we had only met three days before, yet I felt like these were life-long friends.
We had returned from a day of hiking in the rainforest, kayaking, snorkelling and stand up paddleboarding in Panama. The seats on the bow had a great view of the staff setting the anchor below.
We told ourselves we were “helping” when in reality we were more like the two old guys in the muppets heckling the staff who were doing all the hard work. They genuinely smiled, waved, and took a bow when we applauded and affirmed they had done a smashing job.
Helping the crew set the anchor from the bow.
Two of the guides came out to join us and before long we were all singing along to Billy Joel’s Piano Man - one of the guide’s favourite songs.
Everyone sitting outside on the Bow was grinning from ear to ear.
It was hard work “helping” and singing, so I went to the lounge to refill my glass of beer. When I opened the door I could feel that the magic was happening inside too.
One of the guests, Austin, was skillfully strumming the ship’s guitar and belting out the most amazing songs.
Everyone in the air conditioned lounge was grinning from ear to ear.
Granita Del Oro - our destination for the next day. Adventures included kayaking, SUP, and snorkeling around the entire island.
The island (Granita Del Oro) where we were to spend the next day sat shimmering in the perfect light of the sunset off the port of the ship. We all agreed we were in paradise.
Three days earlier, this group of 40 or so passengers had gathered in a hospitality suite in San Jose, Costa Rica. We were awaiting our transfer to the boat by bus. It was a bit like the first day of school. You could feel the nervous excitement in the air.
-Will my people be here?
-Did I bring too many or not enough clothes?
-Will I like the food, and the adventures?
It only takes a few kilometers of hiking in the mud, sitting at a table of six people you have never met before, and sharing tips and tricks to avoid seasickness to feel a connection to people.
The apprehension we felt in San Jose, was all for naught;
-We found our people.
-No one cared that we were all wearing the same clothes each day.
-The food was excellent and the adventures even better!
Our big and little ships. One to live on and one to adventure with.
This is the Uncruise Adventures Experience. Small ship cruising in beautiful, hard to reach places with a focus on adventure.
Upon reflection, we believe that Uncruise also works hard to intentionally build community among the guests.
In this day and age of divisiveness and the rise of electronic communication, it feels like it is getting harder and harder to get to know “strangers.” Perhaps this is why these moments on the boat were so special.
It is also likely why Uncruise doesn’t leave community building to chance. After all, it is pretty important to get to know the other guests onboard a small cruise - especially when there are only 40 of you!
So many aspects of our experience were designed to help us get to know each other:
-There was a physical “Facebook” binder that had everyone’s picture in it. It was easy to secretly reference the book to remember the name of the person I almost took out when I slipped in the mud.
-Each day, we would choose the level of adventure that worked for us (e.g. long hike, easy hike, or epic all-day hike) which meant we were instantly surrounded by our people.
-An open-seating dining room - at each meal, we would choose with whom and where we wanted to sit. It was rare that people sat at the same table twice - everyone on board seemed excited to meet new and different people.
-All members of the staff called us by name - again helping us all remember and no need for pesky name tags.
-An off the grid experience - Our cruise was in Costa Rica and Panama in remote places without cell service or wifi. No one was able to retreat into the comfort and safety of a screen.
A group of new friends returning to the ship - photo taken by Sophie from @expatsquare and used with permission
It is always hard when a vacation ends, and this experience was harder than most. This was because of the connections we made.
*if we are being truly honest with ourselves, it was also hard to leave the creature comforts from our Uncruise ship: like daily room cleaning, food prepared for us, non-stop adventure and Leigh the bartender*
10 days after we set sail, we were no longer strangers. Every time one of the crew used the word “disembarkation” they had to pause while our newly built community responded with resounding boos.
None of us wanted our time in paradise, and with each other, to end.
“We’re here for a good time,
not a long time,
so have a good time,
the sun can’t shine every day.”
We all made sure our 10 days together was, in fact, better than a good time. It was a magical time.
We were guests of Uncruise Adventures. As always, our opinions are own.
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