Additional Coverage:
- My dad died of cancer at 58. My family used some of his insurance money to go on a cruise, and it helped us grieve and connect. (businessinsider.com)
After the loss of their father, a South African family found an unexpected path to healing through a Mediterranean cruise-a type of vacation they had never previously considered.
In 2013, when the author was 25, her father passed away from prostate cancer at age 56. Faced with the sudden void, her mother chose to use part of his life insurance payout to take the author and her sister on a week-long cruise through several Mediterranean cities. This decision marked a departure from their usual family vacations, which typically involved self-catered stays in wildlife conservation areas where their father had worked.
Growing up, their family vacations were modest and adventurous, often involving basic accommodations in South Africa’s wild conservation parks-a privilege granted by their father’s government employment. Cruises, by contrast, had always seemed commercial and crowded, a far cry from their customary style of travel.
However, the cruise proved to be a practical and surprisingly peaceful choice during their grieving process. With meals, lodging, and transportation bundled together, it was more affordable than a comparable land-based trip and relieved them from the stress of planning. The family could focus on reconnecting rather than logistics.
The cruise allowed the three women to simply be together, sharing activities like evening shows and morning deck aerobics, and enjoying moments of lightheartedness-such as the author’s mother discovering a fondness for virgin strawberry daiquiris. These shared experiences provided comfort and space to grieve collectively.
Though they did not become regular cruisers afterward, the trip gave them a new appreciation for different ways of traveling and helped them cherish their traditional family vacations even more. Now, when her sister visits from Dubai, they return to their familiar self-catering stays, often with homemade strawberry daiquiris in hand, carrying the memory of their father and the healing their journey brought.