In August 2005, one month after the
Alaska trip ended, CA Riser and Kathy Bryant got married.
In October, three months after the trip, Linda Malin and
Bill Holden got married. In December, five months
after the trip, Sally David and Jeff Gray got married.
On New Year's Eve, five months after the trip, Sherilyn
Berthet and John Edwards got married. Kevin Lee and
Michelle Spiris got married a year later. Five
marriages in one trip.
Four couples who had met at SSQQ were also on board.
They were in the exploratory stages of their own
relationships. This cruise helped nudge them closer to
the Big Moment. Plus there were birds and bees aboard.
Two new couples "connected" on this trip.
ELEVEN SSQQ Slow Dance and Romance couples on one trip.
Amazing. When you throw in Rick and Marla, that makes
a Cupid's Dozen.
Nor was this a fluke. Over the
years I would see this pattern repeated time and again.
What started on land at SSQQ was taken out to sea.
What developed at sea was brought back to shore. Nor
was the magic limited strictly to romance. It did not
take long for people to realize cruise trips were greatly
enhanced by traveling in groups. Countless friendships
were developed on cruise trips that carried over to land and
then back to sea.
Marla added a dimension to SSQQ I
could never have imagined. Nor could I ever have
imagined how good Marla would be at this. The SSQQ
Love Boat Era did not begin with the Wedding Cruise. A
better description would be that the Love Boat Era 'came
of age' during the Wedding Cruise. This was the
trip that opened a lot of eyes. People realized how
much fun it was to travel within a group. To me the
most interesting development was the blurred lines between
couples and singles. Let's say there was a dance event
such as the Captain's Reception. A single man would
ask a married woman to dance. Or a married man would
ask a single woman to dance. Or two couples would
trade partners. One might think this created a hotbed
for affairs, but such was not the case. These people
danced with each other because they were friends. We
trusted each other and it worked.
Gary had done me a wonderful
favor with his photography. Once upon a time,
I had relied on embellishment to make my stories
interesting. That was no longer necessary.
The Usual Suspects had seen to that. The story of the Wedding Cruise created such a
sensation, people could hardly wait for the 2005
trip to Alaska.
Everyone agreed... Same time
next year!
During the Wedding Cruise, the Usual
Suspects
developed a sense of ownership of the program.
Well aware how much fun they had creating mischief together,
the same people who became friends at sea wanted to remain fast friends on shore.
Realizing that Dance was their common bond, they designated
Tuesday evenings as their night to go Country-Western
together. Every Tuesday people like Gary and Phyllis would be
there to greet friends and newcomers at a popular
western dance club known as "Longhorn".
This tight-knit group
of friends became the
foundation of the emerging SSQQ Dance Community.
I give high marks to the Usual
Suspects for helping this Community to come about. It
was easy for me to tease these goofballs for all their
antics, but I secretly appreciated how much fun and laughter
they created. In particular, I noticed how welcoming
they were. No cliques allowed. You want to join
us on the dance floor? Please do. You want to
join us in the hot tub? Climb in. If it's too crowded,
climb on top. You want to sit with us in the
Windjammer Cafe? Pull up a chair or let's merge two
tables. Yes, married people are welcome to join our
group of singles. There were no barriers. Thanks
to the warmth people felt for one another, we became one
huge family.
