Group therapy in a blog.
“A Dating Departure”–First Person Singular (JW)
This week’s column, “A Dating Departure,” shares some of my reflections from January’s JSinglesCruise to the Caribbean:
[…] It had begun the night before departure, like the night before my first day
of camp or college. Part of it was the packing process. The more I put into my
suitcase, the more it seemed to take out of me. I wondered if clothes would
hinder me socially or matter at all. Still, beyond the grip of my own anxiety, I
understood that future always lies just beyond the vanishing point of your own
vision. On the horizon, there was something  of an unknown quality and
duration, but still, something  to be found.
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‘Tis a strange tribe indeed, taking a lovely cruise in hopes of meeting someone nice, but afraid to meet anyone for fear that it might not be ‘real’. So how’s this different than any bar in NYC? The exception here is that the food is better, the company is generally more to our liking or at least familiar, and the entertainment is yes, more reliably top notch. This is the whole idea of the enterprise, so why not enjoy the scene, even if it’s a well constructed fantasy? Geez, without such willingness to suspend our disbelief, our tourist economy in many states would all but collapse! Just a thought here. And how and why can all those 60 & 70 year olds get away with it all? I mean some (perhaps most?) of them seem to have lots of fun on most cruises. (I know, they’re easily entertained mostly. It’s truly the secret to life!) Cheers & Good Luck! ‘VJ’
if the point of the cruise is to meet potential partners, isn’t having roommates a bit awkward if you hit it off with someone and want some alone time?
First of all, it was a religious cruise, so theoretically there was a reduced number of people wanting alone time.
Secondly, cruises are so expensive (even when they’re not kosher singles cruises) that having your own room is prohibitive for most people.
Personally, I liked having a roommate, because it added to my ability to meet people–I met the people I met naturally, and through my roommate saying, “Hey, Esther, this is David,” or whoever.
And believe me, there were definitey corners where couples could hide and be alone, without being trapped in a tiny, windowless, claustrophobic room.