On the last few days of our fabulous cruise our Disney-like refusal to deal with real world problems was challenged by the volcanic ash heading south from Iceland.
Of course the entertainers were going crazy. They couldn't get to their next gigs.
On our first formal night on the ship we were seated, along with others, with a very old tuxedo wearing Canadian with a very young, blond woman on his arm. It turned out to be his 18 year old granddaughter. He told us he was treating her to the cruise but she had "caregiver" written all over her. We saw them often. She was always bubbly. The only time she wasn't with him was when she played basketball.
Then the cruise was over and we checked into a hotel in Rome. That evening we were in Barberini Circle and saw the grandfather and the girl - along with some other cruise passengers.
They looked stressed. The cruise line had made their flight reservations so were therefore responsible for getting them home. But there was no getting home at that time. They were stuck in Rome and waiting for the shuttle to take them someplace to spend the night. They had no idea where.
After a fantastic two days in Rome we went to the airport to catch our flight home. (No problem for us, we were in southern Europe coming to South Florida - but the airport was a chaotic zoo.)
After finally boarding our flight, who do we see coming down the aisle but the granddaughter - alone. Her mom back in Canada had made new complicated and expensive reservations for her so that she could get back to start college.
Poor grandpa got left behind.
Hope he's home by now. But there are hundreds of sad travel stories connected with the Iceland Volcano.
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