By Joe Garrison, April 7, 2011 — When I lived in North Philly, our postman knew a lot of people whom he delivered mail to in the neighborhood. One summer, he was selling tickets to an evening cruise on The Spirit of Philadelphia and I decided I wanted to go.
I had never been on a dance cruise so it was quite an adventure. It was on a Saturday night, early in the summer, and the weather was perfect. I was accompanied by one of the girls in the neighborhood. I was in my late 20s, not married. I was excited. It was my first cruise anywhere. I kept anticipating, imagining how large the ship was going to be. I believe I had a blue leisure suit on. When I saw the cruise liner, I was amazed by the size. When it was in motion, you couldn’t tell you were moving. Dancing was just like dancing on a stationary dance floor. I remember the music more than anything. I was impressed by the music. I made friends with some of the people on the cruise. It was mostly slow dancing, but I tried my
hand at some of the faster dances, too. The “hustle” was a popular disco dance in the the ’70s. We danced all night. The cruise ended at around 2am. It started at 9am. There was an intermission in between. When you got worn out from the dancing, you could rest up for a little while.
I was exhausted at the end, in a good, happy way. It was so enjoyable. The experience of being on a ship, enjoying the music. What a memorable night.