How I Tricked My Grandmother Onto a Family Cruise Vacation
By: Samantha Siu
Edited By: Cher Wang
Let me start off with saying that my grandmother is a 94 year old, Chinese immigrant farmer that worked in factories her whole career. She is also my best friend and I’m her guardian. That being said, she is my favorite brand ambassador.
Day 1
Our multi-generational trip begins with mild deception. My mom lures grandma to leave the house by telling her she needs to take passport pictures. She reluctantly goes and gets coerced into having a 26-hour road trip to Florida.
Day 2
I didn’t sleep last night. I was up all night packing, making sure my family was arriving on time, and moving with angst to an early wake up call. I meet my dad at the airport and we breeze through security. Thank god, I napped a little on the plane.
Once we land, the hot air hits me like a whiff of smoke. Florida is no joke. We finally reconnect with my mom, brother, and grandma. Grandma seems to be in great spirits. We board the cruise ship and start exploring the moment we arrive. This time it was easier to explain our “cruel” plan to my grandmother since it’s her second “kidnap.” I can tell she’s excited for what’s to come.
Day 3
First stop on the Celebrity Cruise is Key West! We first visit Harry Truman’s Little White House and look at the humble nature of the property. Then my mom, grandma, and I do a little shopping on Main Street. Watching my grandma take in another environment is such a beautiful thing. I haven’t shopped with my grandma since I was a teenager. The island city is quaint, tropical, and clean.
On the way back to the strip, we were able to stop by the birthplace of Pan Am’s first office. Then we get back on the boat and prepare for dinner. My mom has this infatuation with dancing, so after dinner she finds a party and immediately starts to make her way toward the dance floor. Though only for a few minutes (I believe she was starting to get herself acquainted with the ship), she navigates towards the next activity on the ship. We eventually make our way up to the top deck, where there’s table tennis. We start playing with my grandma. Mind you, I don’t think my grandma has ever played table tennis before but for a 94 year old, I’d say she did well.
Day 4
I got grandma to do a mini shoot for SSNY. She was reluctant at first, but I quickly got to work once she felt comfortable. Today, we are stopping at Bimini island in the Bahamas. Not known for any industry, Bimini island is a quaint strip of land with a population of about 5,000. We rented a golf cart and rode across the island. We stopped at Big John’s Grill: a local restaurant on a pier. Food was subpar but the view was beautiful: a bunch of seagulls gathering around the dock and clear green water filled with both fish and sharks. It was a nice moment to appreciate the Bahamian water. There wasn’t much on the island besides a casino, beach resort, and a small shopping area. But the experience of adventuring with my immediate family was precious. At night after dinner, my mom looks for ANOTHER party. This time she has found a middle-aged rave. She and grandma dance until 12am and truly “lived it up”.
Day 5
Today is sea day! Which means the ship is just traveling on the water. I used this moment to have down time, and just sit by the balcony and watch the waves wash by. Grandma is also taking it slow today. I didn’t get around to much of the ship’s activities but I also started to pack as tomorrow we are disembarking. We get dressed up for dinner tonight as a family because we need to take our obligatory cruise ship family pictures. After dinner (you guessed it) my mom finds a party and starts dancing with my dad. I sheepishly dance with my mom for a little bit cause she has begged to dance with me every night. This time it’s Latin themed and I had to teach her how to do Two Step. We leave the party a little earlier for the night to pack.
Day 6
We disembark around 9 am and put our luggage into storage. I coerce my family to go visit my favorite place in Florida: the Vizcaya Gardens. Though my mom complained throughout the commute, the moment we arrive she thought it was worth it to visit. The gardens were my mom and grandma’s favorite place to go. Grandma, a former farmer, and my mom an avid nature lover really appreciated the artistic talent of the landscape. We soak in the views and hop back onto an Uber to make our flight back to New York. Grandma hasn’t ridden on a plane for about 20 years so when the plane landed, she giggled out loud. All in all, the family trip was a success.
