If a cruise can be one thing,it is educational.

On March 2011, my sister and I, on The Independence of the Seas to Canaries, had a seating in the dining room opposite a couple with a teenage son.Independence had only offered set seating time then,this means you dine at the same time and at the same table every evening for the duration of the cruise. Some companies now offer freedom dining, when you eat at the time preferred.Set times and tables have some advantages, you know you will always have a table without having to wait for one, so if you come at 6,you can leisurely dine til 8,and can indulge every morsel, every sip. And the couple certainly did sip.A new bottle of red and white was opened every evening,the woman didn't even wait for the waiter to pour,she served herself,often polishing off a bottle long before she had finished the main course.The boy, about 15, was adorable,handsome,shy,well-mannered. When one evening he didn't come I joked- I hope  he hasn't jumped the ship. He has made some friends,I am a little worried,he lives a sheltered life,replied the mother. Let him be with boys his own age,you have a lovely son,well brought up,so polite and charming,he will never give you a cause for concern,just let off the rains,I said. They were a nice couple,they looked and talked like country bumpkins.Very likely farmers.It can be a hard life making a living from farming,a lonely life.I don't think they were even aware others may consider them to be drinking to excess. At lunch the other day a young couple with two boys under five were seated opposite me.Drinks were ordered,cokes for all,white wine for the mother.From a distance they were such a nice family,good-looking parents,adorable children.Then slowly cracks began to appear.The older boy seated next to the father,kept turning to him and saying dad,dad,his voice, his eyes begging for attention. Not once had the "dad" replied, not once had he turned towards the child.