I discovered he's a creature of habit, ordering black coffee (with exactly one ice cube to cool it down) and a banana every morning. He'd take in the views from the balcony just outside our door while I got ready, and then we'd head to breakfast. My dad would return to the cabin each morning after having snuck out early to read the newspaper or check e-mail in the lounge. ASHLEY KOSCIOLEK/THE POINTS GUYĪ regular part of any routine on a cruise is, of course, food. Inevitably, one of us would sleepily exclaim, "What was that?" before we'd look at each other, realize what was happening, shake our heads and go back to sleep. We're both light sleepers, so there were several times when we were both startled awake by the creaking and humming mechanical sounds of the stacks going up or down. The funniest part of it, though, is that our cabin was right next to the boat's smokestacks, which had to be raised and lowered whenever the vessel sailed under a bridge. I take forever to get ready, and I like to spread out when I'm working. We learned to share space in a way we never had to before, deftly acclimating to each other's quirks. He'd wake up early and head to the lounge to grab coffee and read the newspaper while I slept in. We quickly fell into a rhythm: he'd shower before dinner, and I'd shower before bed. A call to the front desk soon had it converted into two twins.Īfter unpacking and figuring out where we'd each store our clothes and toiletries, things became much more relaxed. When we arrived, we were greeted by a single queen bed. Our cabin, an open-veranda suite, was absolutely lovely but on the tiny side. Nothing tests the bounds of a relationship like sharing close quarters does. "Keep it under 75," said a robotic voice from the speakers, and we both laughed. "I want to see how it works." I waited for my phone to buzz and clicked a button on the dash. "Dad, send me a text," I said while driving. My mom took us to our local airport where we picked up the rental car - a surprisingly cheap $150 one-way Budget rental - for an impromptu road trip and split the drive, stopping along the way for snacks and testing the car's text dictation. The boat was departing from Pittsburgh the next day, and the drive was only 4.5 hours. Worried that we couldn't arrive in time if the new flight was also affected, I called the airline, canceled both my flight and my dad's, and booked us a rental car instead.
I groaned, grabbing my phone to look at my United app, which informed me that we had been rescheduled for the following morning. But my dad doesn't have those things, and he's a nervous traveler - the stereotypical father who insists everyone needs to be at the airport no fewer than five hours before any flight.Īs I rushed around, tossing last-minute items into my backpack, my dad announced from the living room that our flight had been canceled. I was behind schedule, as usual, to leave for the airport.īeing a bit late isn't generally a problem when I'm traveling alone because I have Clear and TSA PreCheck, which allow me to breeze through most security lines quickly. I ran downstairs in my standard flight attire - leggings, a nice T-shirt and my Birkenstocks - hair soaking wet, sweating from rushing around. Here's how our sailing brought us closer. To my delight, the trip proved to be a great way to bond with my dad in less of a parent-child way and more of a "hey, I'm an adult now let's be friends" way. It's an iconic paddlewheeler powered by a pair of 90-year-old steam engines that were rescued from another boat several years ago. I can't speak for him, but I had a fantastic time, leisurely exploring both tiny towns and big cities on our Ohio River route from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Louisville, Kentucky, on American Queen Voyages' American Queen. Admittedly, I didn't know much about them, as I had never been on one myself, but that changed this summer when we were finally able to embark together.įor more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter. In 2020, we had a voyage scheduled, but COVID-19 had other plans.įor years, my dad had been asking me about river cruises through the United States after seeing commercials for them on TV.
My parents don't travel often, but after taking my mom on a European river cruise through the Rhine Gorge several years ago, I was determined to sail with my dad, too. My dad was sold on packing cubes after fitting all this into his carry-on.
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