CRUISE PRAYERS FOR PASSENGERS

CRUISE PRAYERS FOR PASSENGERS

adapted by your cruise rabbi, Eliot J Baskin, DMin

Heavenly Traveler, look down on us as your humble, obedient tourists, servants who are destined to travel these chai seas on cruise ships, in each port taking photographs for posterity and selfies for Facebook and Instagram, buying chochkies and walking around in quick-dry wicking clothes.

We beseech you, God, to see that our plane is not delayed, our luggage is not lost and our overweight baggage goes unnoticed.

Give us this day, divine guidance in the selection of our ship and post cruise accommodations that we may find our reservations honored, our cabins made up, and our rooms available when we arrive early.

We pray that our clothes are not wrinkled, our cell phone works, we find free WiFi, and that there are no text messages awaiting us from our loved ones, which would force us to cancel the rest of the trip.

We pray for small waves, light winds and good officers and crew.

Dear Source of accounting, prevent us from overeating at the buffet and not notice the scale or deal with laundry until when we return.

Lead us dear God, when we are ashore, to local restaurants where the food is superb, the drinking water is safe, the waiter friendly and the wine included in the price of the meal.

Give us the wisdom to tip correctly, forgive us for under tipping out of ignorance and over tipping out of fear.

Grant us the strength to be prepared for all of our ports of call, booking excursions online beforehand to maximize our journey.  Help us visit museums, cathedrals, and of course, synagogues, listed as "musts" on our shore excursions.  And if by chance we miss or skip any of the historical monuments to take a nap after lunch, then have mercy on us for we are weak at times.

Dear God, keep our loved ones from shopping sprees and protect them from items they don't need. Lead them not into temptation, for they know not what they do.

Almighty Sovereign, keep our partners from looking at foreign sunbathers and comparing them to us. Save them from making fools of themselves in public.  And above all, do not forgive their trespasses for they know exactly what they're doing.   

All: And when our cruise is over and we return home to our loved ones and friends, grant us the favor of finding someone who will look at photos and videos taken during our cruise, listening to our stories, so our lives as travelers will not have been in vain.  

AMEN!

STARTING ON/ RETURNING FROM A CRUISE meditation

"Happy are all who revere God, who follow God’s ways." (Psalm 128)

May God be with me/us and protect me/us on this journey. May I/we return safely to my/our house, to my/our loved ones, and to my/our friends.

Like my/our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel, who traveled to far off places, may I/we, too, remain under God's care and protection. May I/we go forth in good health and return in good health. May all of my/our encounters be for a blessing. May I/we grow in wisdom and understanding. May my/our spirit be deepened and may those I/we meet on the way help me/us to realize that we are all children of God, created in God's image, born of the same primeval ancestors.

May I/we sense God's presence within me/us, saying:

"Blessed may you be as you go forth.

Blessed may you be upon your return."