An open letter to VACAYA. From Peaches & Reba

This is pretty cool…Best experience yet. Out of all our 13 years of cruising, to date, this cruise experience topped them all. No stone was left unturned. No, “I” was left, searching for its dot. No, “T” wandered aimlessly, waiting to be crossed. It… Was… Perfect.

• The nonstop insane amount of seafood.
• The nonstop VACAYA attention towards us
• The nonstop attention to nostalgic music
• The nonstop mass of new themed parties
• The incredible fresh lineup of performers
• The blessing to see veteran performers
• The loving reminders of performers missed
• The newness & wonder of our cruise ship
• The warmth emanating from the ship-staff
• Their “can-do” attitude toward passengers
• VACAYA’s loving opened arms to diversity
• That melting pot of LOVE wafting throughout
• The mass of daily VACAYA Giveaway swag
• The newness and awesome ports-of-call
• The love & safety felt & seen in every eye
• The “first-time” on so many cool levels

For two black women who have longed to be on a ship filled to capacity with diversity, our wishes came true. Every idea from passengers, ever uttered on other cruises, magically appeared. It was as if VACAYA scooped up every tossed away dream, retrieved from the trash every discarded idea ever uttered, and grabbed the strings of every wish before they completely flew away. They did hear us. It wasn’t a crazy idea. We weren’t being ignored. Our opinions do matter. And, our suggestions are a possibility.

This was more than a cruise. VACAYA is more than a cruise charter. VACAYA is diversity realized and succeeded VACAYA is attention; not with mere words. VACAYA is safety, warmth, and love shown. For Peaches and Reba, & thousand others, VACAYA is home.

Thank you, VACAYA staff, crew, our butler Carlos. It was breathtaking, a breath of fresh air, and a chance to finally breathe. We knew a lot of the staff. But it was beautiful to see the ones we’ve never met, approach us, hug us, and treat us like they knew us forever. We loved how unfamiliar staff would say to us, “Peaches and Reba, we heard about you two in our meeting, are you okay, is everything alright?” We felt so very loved and wanted. You literally took a few years of hatred and discrimination off our backs in seven days, allowing our load to feel a bit lighter. We were equal on this cruise, and it showed, it was felt, it was seen, it was heard, and it was appreciated .It was beautiful how staff members, new and familiar, constantly asked if ‘we were okay,’ ‘did we need anything,’ ‘how could they do better,’ ‘please let them know if they could improve on anything. Thank you all for hearing us, all these years and proving it by your actions.

We love you all so very, very much.

Peaches & Reba, aka “The Gurlz”

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