Gadling

If we travel by air, we hope our flight will be on time, our luggage makes it with us without damage and that no one sits next to us in that vacant seat. Once at our destination, we hope for good weather, friendly people along the way and the opportunity to make great memories that will last a lifetime. That’s pretty much universal regardless of what we’re doing. Still, the unexpected does happen and there are two ways to look at it when plans go awry. We can be disappointed and allow deviations from our plans to ruin our travels or we can accept those deviations, regroup and move along, often ending up with a richer, more fulfilling experience than we ever dreamed of, let alone planned on.

Be it Backpacking, Hiking, Camping, Climbing, Scuba Divng, Skiing, Surfing or Biking, we hope for the best. Smart travelers prepare for the worst too and usually end up with an experience somewhere between good and great if we did our homework. We know things can go wrong and do what we can to avoid situations where that might happen. All-inclusive vacation packages or cruise vacations promise to take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation but sometimes the unexpected happens with those as well.

Earlier this week, Carnival Pride was docked at Port Canaveral earlier when an 85-knot guest of wind blew the ship out of position and caused some minor damage. The result was a late departure from Port Canaveral and a modified itinerary that skipped good-port Nassau, leaving not-so-good-port Freeport, Bahamas as an overnight visit.

This was not the cruise that passengers paid for, true. But travelers, and cruise passengers in particular, often forget that the very nature of travel brings upon us the unexpected from time to time. That is part of the deal as well. It’s not spelled out in any contract or brochure but the unexpected happens. Sometimes, even with the best of preparation, the unexpected happens and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. We can, however, roll with those unexpected changes and make the best of it. Often, it is the unexpected that elicit some of the best travel experiences that we will be talking about long after the end of that vacation.

Andy Hayes (@Andrewghayes) is the managing editor of SharingTravelExperiences.com and recommends:

That’s good advice that can be applied to just about any travel situation. Often, the difference between “I had a lousy time” and “That was awesome!” have to do with how we look at the unexpected. We can choose to be mad about changes that come our way or we can choose to take those changes in stride, determined to get the most out of every situation we are in, regardless of what that might be.

While cruise lines publish itineraries far in advance of sailing, like a hiking trip, variables along the way can change what actually happens. A gust of wind made a real impact on the cruise experience of passengers on that Carnival ship earlier this week.

A similar gust of wind might have altered the plans of someone on a camping trip, blowing their tent down. If you have ever camped much, you know that happens. You take precautions by pitching that tent in the right direction, using long enough stakes set deep and at an angle to keep them in the ground. But every once in a while you might come back from a hike and find that tent blown down. It happens. You get over it. You move along. It is certainly nothing that will ruin your day or the entire trip.

Cruise passengers need to have that same attitude about itineraries, on-board programs, off-the-ship activities and the like. The unexpected is part of traveling, a part not to be feared but just dealt with when it happens. If possible, turn it in to a good thing, a shared experience with others. It’s often just how we look at it.

Flickr photo by Sparkles Tuey