Photo credit: Matt Deegan
As we were watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games from London the other day, watching athletes mingle in the human melting pot in the center of the stadium, once again it was obvious what's good about the Olympics.
Medals aside, the Games bring the world together. People from different countries, and different cultures, get to know each other. Maybe they become tweet pals. At the very least, they find out for all their differences there are so many similarities…everywhere. The Olympics help to bridge the differences.
So do cruise ships.
Really?
Last week, the Queen Elizabeth — Cunard's newest cruise ship — made a port stop in Kiel, Germany. Now, granted it was a long time ago, but it was the Germans who in one world war bombed the London where right now their athletes compete…and who were the instigators of another world war. Regardless of who was on which side, there were reasons for deep-rooted hatred.
So when this big new ship sailed into the Kiel Fjord, guess what the German people did? They lined the shores and gave it a standing ovation. They fired water fountains and not bullets, and their firefighters were escorts and not first responders. And all that was before the people on board disembarked to mingle with the people of Kiel.
While much less dramatic, this is what happens whenever a cruise ships visit a foreign port. The passengers mingle with the locals. They get to know each other, to learn from each other, to dissipate any real or imagined differences. Maybe it doesn't happen all the time, but it happens lots of times.
Just like in the Olympics.
Carnival Valor
6 nights
September 9, 2012
Miami (return): Key West, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay
Inside: $349
Cost per day: $58
www.carnival.com