A Short(s) Story

Good things come to those who wait? Is that true, or do good things come to those that work as hard as possible to make sure they come true?

I am on a business cruise this week and that is where my story begins…

Prior to leaving for Ft. Lauderdale, I was rushing and left myself one hour to pack for a week at sea. Long story short, I packed like a four-year-old. One pair of jeans, three pairs of nice pants (found out on night one that a pair didn’t fit due to…well…two years of me sitting around), a bathing suit and made decent (albeit, not great) underwear/sock choices. But there are two big mistakes I made – I packed 25 shirts AND zero shorts. Mind you, this is a 7-night cruise (not 25-nights) and to the Caribbean (Hot!). Upon realizing, I went to the ship store, and they had shorts…for $98 DOLLARS! I couldn’t do it and walked away.

My mission at our first port was clear -- find shorts. I got off the ship in my jeans at 1:30 p.m., leaving myself only two hours to find shorts before the ship left Nassau. I went to five stores. They all had shirts, but no shorts. Apparently, Nassau doesn’t sell shorts. By now, TIME was short as I remembered that I also wanted to buy rum at the John Watling’s distillery for my wife and my wedding anniversary, which I promptly did. Then I ran to another four stores with a bottle of rum in hand. Oh, and I also forgot sunscreen and begrudgingly bought a $20 tube.

I was wild-eyed, pouring sweat, and nearly sprinting into every single clothing shop near the port. That is when I found a shop called “Banana Bay, Paradise Beautiful,” that seemed like every other trinket and t-shirt shop, but I was desperate and ran in. “Do you have shorts?” I said, “No, not a bathing suit. Just shorts?” The lady pulled out one single pair of shorts buried amongst a bunch of women’s apparel with a size that seemed much larger than what I would wear. The lady saw the concern on my face and said, “Go to the fitting room,” which I promptly did. I put on the shorts, and they fit perfectly, and fear set in. What was the price?

I exited the fitting room trying to look calm and cool and ask how much they cost. The shopkeeper found the tag and said “$15 dollars”. Before I could process the words, she said, “But I will give them to you for $10…”

Good things come to those that wait?

I work in the cruise industry and we have waited a long time for this recent news from the CDC, which removed cruise ship Travel Health Notices, but that is the only thing World Travel Holdings, and the industry has waited for. We have controlled our destiny by taking the bull by the horns every step of the way since March 2020. Every day/week/month/year since has tested us, and yet here we stand open 24/7/365 days a year, ready, more agile, stronger, and smarter.

The cruise lines answered the challenges of the pandemic by developing the most rigorous health and safety protocols of any industry. World Travel Holdings has supported that same industry by speaking in front of Congress, leading the charge on developing training programs and hosting events that prepare travel advisors to support customers. Here we are two years later, and the CDC has finally given us our “good thing” and I would?argue its more due to all the hard work than much else.

My work here, is done. Now, excuse me while I go write the business plan for my shop in Nassau, “Shorts: For All Your Knees”.