Want to know what I did in
January? Imagine a Caribbean cruise
sailing from Miami to Jamaica. Now add twenty to thirty rock bands,
countless hours of live music, and a boat full of people having the
time of their lives. This cruise actually exists. It is called The
Rock Boat (TRB), and is billed as “The World’s
Greatest Floating Music Festival.”
I learned of TRB five years ago and it sounded like my dream vacation.
At the time, however, traveling was impossible for me due to breathing
difficulties associated with muscular dystrophy. That changed three
years ago when I had a tracheotomy and began using a ventilator full
time. For the first time in over a decade, traveling was possible.
So, last year I decided to try and make my dream vacation a reality.
There were some initial hesitations. Would it be logistically possible
to travel with all my medical equipment? Would we be able to find accessible
transportation in Miami? Would I get seasick? Most importantly, could
my body handle the lack of sleep on this nonstop party cruise?
First I had to find an accessible cabin. I was shocked at how few
accessible rooms cruise ships have. Our ship had only twenty-four modified
cabins out of roughly 1060 rooms. By the time I asked, there was only
one left. Luckily, I got it.
After securing a cabin,
I went into full research mode. The key for anyone planning a trip,
especially those with a disability, is to be as organized as possible.
I became a list-making machine: things to do, people to contact,
things that needed to confirmed (and reconfirmed). This process
proved to be necessary when dealing with Northwest Airlines (NWA).
Flying with a ventilator requires additional planning. Oftentimes,
medical equipment needs “approval” from
the airline in order to be used in-flight. Three days before we were
set to leave, we contacted NWA to make sure the vent was on my passenger
record. It was not. This led to a tedious hour-and-a-half phone call,
during which the vent was finally approved.
As things started to
fall into place, most of my fears were eased. We were going to
ship some of my heavier supplies to the hotel beforehand. Getting
around Miami was going to be fairly simple, since many cab companies
offered accessible taxis. My list of things to do was dwindling.
With the logistics worked out, I was now focusing on The Rock Boat
itself. My biggest goal was to stay healthy, so I was preparing
myself to miss a lot of great shows so that I could get at least
a little sleep. With bands playing from the afternoon until the
wee hours of the morning, this was going to be my biggest challenge.
I took the concert schedule, noted what I definitely didn’t
want to miss, and decided to play the rest by ear.
Finally, after eleven
months of preparation, this January I left on my dream vacation.
The worst part of any vacation is getting there. I’ll spare
you the details, and only say that I did, in fact, make it to the
Miami dock on time.
Although I was a little nervous, getting on the boat turned out to
be quite easy. The TRB staff brought us through the VIP area, avoiding
the maze of lines. Once onboard the ship, our stateroom was small but
I could maneuver around pretty easily; the bathroom was tiny but workable.
There were a few areas of the ship that were inaccessible, but all
in all, it was easy to get around.
With the hardest part
of the trip over, I was ready to experience The Rock Boat. Happily,
the artists onboard do not hide away in their cabins; they roam
the ship like regular passengers. It is not uncommon to run into
your favorite singer while getting ice cream (as I did), or to
play blackjack in the casino with the band you saw onstage the
night before. This level of artist/fan interaction is what really
makes TRB unique and is what lead to my most memorable moment of
the trip – my
favorite musician (singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson) coming to our
cabin to sing a song just for me. Matt’s presence on the boat
was a big reason why I finally took the leap to go on this crazy
adventure in the first place. I could not have imagined a more perfect
moment.
People warned me ahead of time that cruises, especially The Rock Boat,
were addictive; after experiencing my first one, I know what they meant.
I am hoping that my first Rock Boat will not be my last. ![end of story]()
