My Cure for Panic … the Piazza
Mark and Eileen boarding Golden Princess
October 2, 2012
by Eileen Langdon
For the better part of a year, I kept a picture of the Crown Princess Piazza in my handbag until the paper became worn from constant handling. I kept another copy on my nightstand in case of overnight emergency.
You see, the Piazza of a Princess cruise ship is my happy place in life, and I needed those pictures to keep me calm when I had to have heart surgery.
I’ve always loved grand hotel lobbies, but I felt they were truly perfected when I saw the Piazza during a cruise on Crown Princess in 2008. It had all the elements of the finest hotel, from soaring, decorative ceilings to elegant seating areas. I decided it was my favorite thing.
And we all have our things. Unfortunately, another thing of mine is white-coat syndrome. Since childhood, doctors have terrified me. As for hospitals, I couldn’t even step into one to visit friends and family because they freaked me out so much.
When I was diagnosed with a mitral heart prolapse eight years ago, I found myself in the uncomfortable position of dealing with doctors all the time. Just parking in front of my cardiologist’s office would cause my blood pressure to spike, leading the doctor to worry. “But that’s just what you do to me!” I’d jest (even though he was seriously concerned).
With every check-up, I would hope, beyond hope, that I didn’t need surgery but would pray that God give me the strength if I did. However, the day came when I was told it was time to repair my faulty heart valve.
Seeing the sheer panic on my face, the doctor suggested my husband, Mark, and I plan a cruise to take my mind off the worry. We booked passage on Golden Princess to Hawaii at the end of the year. That helped, but the day-to-day of pre-op appointments and scheduling still got to me. Panic was winning.
One morning, I was watching television in my room when a segment aired on self-help for anxiety. One of the tips was to look at a picture of something that made you smile, the theory being it would take your mind off your worries and onto the bright and happy.
That sounded worthwhile to me, and I knew exactly what that image would be. I got out of bed and logged onto the Princess website where I’d seen a picture of the Piazza on the home page. I printed two copies, one for my handbag and one for my bedside. When I’d wake up at night, fretting about the surgery, I’d pray for courage and then I’d reach over to the nightstand for my Piazza picture. During the day, I conquered fearful thoughts by pulling my Piazza picture out of my purse.
I was able to control my panic and made it through surgery! And it’s good the Piazza pictures worked, for a few days after the surgery, I needed them again. I was back in the hospital, fighting a hospital infection near my heart, a tenacious one that was resistant to most drugs.
My faith in God, along with help from my daughter, Georgette, and Mark kept me going, while my Piazza photos kept me sane. I looked at them all the time, telling myself, “you will make it.”
It took a few months during which I lost most of my hair and plenty of weight but I finally beat the infection. A few months later, Mark and I gratefully boarded the newly renovated Golden Princess. I could not wait to head toward the Piazza and soak up the atmosphere, every beautiful detail that I had fixated upon in the photograph.
In real life, it looked dazzling to me…marble staircases, ornate artwork, soaring ceiling, a bustling atmosphere, live music and entertainers, the delicious wafting aromas of coffee brewing, and the always-inviting glass case of treats at the International Café. Something to touch all of my senses. While I cried, for it had been a long journey getting there, mostly I felt overwhelmed by joy.
Beaming, I reached for Mark and we found two comfortable chairs, from which we watched the parade of life go by.
Eileen and Mark live in Southern California, and have enjoyed 14 cruises with Princess.
68 Comments Post a Comment
Continuing the Discussion
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says... December 19, 2012 | 2:40am
[...] To Go to My “Happy Place” [...]
Eileen, although we had no idea the Piazza could mean so much, we’re so glad you found your “happy place” there and that it helped you through such a tough time. Thanks for sharing your story!
Princess, how about replacing Eileen’s worn Piazza pics? I am sure it would make her waiting time until her next cruise a little less anxiety provoking!
Eileen,
I can totally understand where you are coming from…thanks so much for sharing your story, now I don’t feel so “alone” with my anxieties and the “white coat syndrome”. I, too, have relied heavily on our cruise experiences to “just get me through one more doctor’s appointment”…thinking about past cruises…looking forward to the next one we’ve got booked…I just wish a picture could pull me through like it has done for you…it would be a bit easier on the pocket book!
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our cruise this past month at the last minute because of medical emergencies with my elder in-laws. Now that the dust has settled on that situation and they are doing fine…I find that I don’t have a cruise to look forward to…guess I’m going to have to get one booked…and soon!
Best of luck to you and all your future piazzas!
I’m glad you have recovered. I had scheduled a Princess cruise for this past August but had to cancel when I was hospitalized and had surgery.I am looking forward to rescheduling for 2013. I look forward to experiencing the Piazza.
Ask Princess for a photograph, or two, of the Piazza of the Crown Princess. Tell them the reason and refer to this website. I’m sure they will oblige!
It sure is every bit as beautiful as Eileen is saying. I hope you will be abble to enjoy it soon.
Eileen,
What a wonderful story, We have been on the Golden Princess for our 50th wedding anniversary in April of last year and enjoyed the Piazza, missed it on the Sapphire Princess last December but will enjoy it this month on the refurbished Sapphire when we sail Hawaii, Samoa and Tahiti! May it be a magical place for all!
Diane, we will alo be on the Sapphire 10/20/12. So excited! This is our 36th cruise but our first Princess. Sounds wonderful!
Don Page
We will be aboard the Sapphire on the 20th also,sounds like a good bunch of shipmates. This will be our 15th or so cruise,our second on the Sapphire I like this ship!
We will be celebrating our 60th anniversary late in the cruise.(10/16)
We also will be on the Sapphire on 10/20 – may we ALL find our happy place. She is one of our favorite Princesses!
Hello to Diane, June Stevens and Don Page, Sandee & Rod
My husband and I will also be on the Sapphire on Oct. 20. We were on her sister ship, Diamond, in Alaska in June where we celebrate our 56th anniversary.
Eileen, I’m glad you found your cure for panic.
All the best to you,
Donna Daniels
OMG, what took you so long to get on the best cruise line in the WORLD?
Pam,
I know, I can’t wait to experience the very best.
I totally agree! Princess is the best! My favorite crew is on the Crown Princess. I love that ship! I have also enjoyed myself on the Sapphire, Diamond and Golden. I have heard some people say that they have avoided Princess because they have heard that it is filled with Seniors. They think seniors aren’t any fun. I LOVE cruising with seniors! They are generally polite AND fun, AND most of them like to go to bed early and leave the whole jacuuzi to ME. In reality there are people of all ages on every cruise.
That’s Holland I believe that has so many seniors with their motorized scooters etc as my supervisor can testify. Her 89 year old mum loves to go on them and she is always elected to take her on these trips – Princess she loves as do I and the people average around 50′s I believe. But was on the Golden couple weekends ago with my daughter and my supervisor and her daughter for a mum/daughter one night getaway from Seattle too Vancouver – wonderful!!
I thought the same thing – all those cruises before you tried the best? We just returned from a trip on HAL, and while it was nice (yes, an older group), I knew as I looked wistfully at the Princess ship next to us at sail-away, that I really wanted to be back on Princess for our 7th time.
you will really like Princess, it is our favourite cruise line, have taken 6 cruises so far and am ready for another one in 2013 as soon as all my cancer treatments are done..enjoy your trip..
Great story! Glad to hear that you are doing fine. May God bless you.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You will love the refurbished Sapphire. We were on her in April. They have added Alfredos which is charming and the Pizza is delicious and they have separated the dessert area in Horizon court which is a very nice addition. Happy cruising!
Inspiration to be sure! I’ve sailed with Princess just the once…but found staff to be top-notch. We sailed February 14th on a Romance Summit cruise to the Western Caribbean. We left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. You cannot go wrong with Florida. We loved the small-town feel with big city choices that Lauderdale offers. We did a two-day post cruise and stayed at the Westin Beach Resort. We cound the Westin to be ideal as it’s on the beach. Just around the corner is the wonderful and so much fun Water Taxi tour (takes you to so many locations for dining, shopping, entertainment and the popular Millionaire’s Tour of waterfront estates). I’m a widow and sailed with my adult daughter. We rented bikes at mcruzrentals.com and had a blast. I would love to see more low salt cuisine choices. The food was very good! Here’a my blog about the chapel we visited. http://wp.me/pDQWN-1ja
What a wonderful story. It is amazing what a thought can do to ease our stress/anxiety. When I have insomnia, I often picture myself out on our cabin balcony watching the sea move by. It really does help to relax me. Another happy place for me is visualizing sitting on the sand watching the ocean waves roll in. I’m so glad your surgery went well, and that you were able to take your cruise. I hope there are many more for you and your husband.
Dear Eileen: I too am an avid cruiser. My husband & I have been on several Princess cruises; have already booked 2 on the Royal Princess in September and October of next year. Except for the joy of our grandkids, especially our 4-year old, Raffi, I can think of not much else than being on a cruise – be it at sea or on a river, and you are right, the piazza is such a delightful place to hang around. Maybe that’s what keeps us young. I’m in my late 70s and my husband is already in his 80s. Glad that you are doing so well.
We too enjoyed the piazza on the Emerald Princess and are set to go again in a couple of weeks. We stopped there every day after our shore excursions as a way to rest up and have delicious food. I too had heart surgery and had to cancel a cruise to Alaska. There was a lot of determination on my part to get strong again and be able to take that cruise!
Eileen, I too use the cruise ship as my happy place. I am undergoing my 12th month of chemo for stage IV Breast Cancer and am counting down the days (sometimes minutes!) until we cruise the Ruby Princess the week before Christmas 2012. When I am feeling at the end of my rope, physically and emotionally, I picture myself on the cabin balcony, staring out at deep blue waters, and it calms me.
Stay in that happy place!!!! My thoughts and prayers are with you!
How wonderful that something that may seem like a small thing to some made such an impression and gave you the strength you needed at the most important times. Of course faith in God and pray does a bigger part.
My first encounter with the Piazza and the international cafe was also on the Crown in 2011 and I think the first always makes the biggest impression. Doing a cruise on the Island in Aug it was nice but just not the same as the Crown. Hope to see what other Princess Piazza are like in the future.
Enjoy your cruising.
Hi Eileen & Mark,
How surprised I was to see your photo and read your poignant story. Dan & I enjoyed sailing with you last year on the Ruby Princess and our memorable excursion to San Gimignano. We hope that all is well with the two of you. The Piazza is also a favorite place for us. It will mean more to me now knowing your story.
Dan and Sandie
We have a daughter, Sandie and her husband is Dan!
Hi Dan & Sandie,
Sorry it’s taken awhile to respond to the posts completely, glad to hear from you..Take care and happy cruising!
I certainly enjoined the comments and experiences told about the Princess trips. It made me think back about 11 years ago when my late wife and I went on the Princess to Alaska. Because of the beautiful ship and the great stops, I doubt that I ever had a better vacation. A group of us associates of Legal Shield are looking forward to do it in July 2015. I can hardly wait!
Lloyd, I took my “vacation of a lifetime” to Alaska on board the Coral Princess, along with a land tour portion (Denali, wow!) It was something I wanted to do all my life (I am 63, was to spend my birthday which is June 21 (longest day of the year) to see the midnight sun in Alaska. I finally made it along with two good friends and my daughter and her new husband. What a thrill it was and was even better than I expected. Princess was wonderful and I was not sure if I even would like a cruise, but I am busy trying to decide on where my next one will be!!
So happy for you.
My wife Helen & I are going to celebrate our 6oth anniversary on the new Royal Princess
maiden voyage in June 2013 .This will be our 26th cruise with princess and each one is better than the last one
Eileen,
Thank you so much for sharing your story and “happy place” with all of us. We try to remember we never know what others around us are going through unless it is visible.
My husband and I have worked for our local school district a total of 33 years and unless we know other’s life adventures we must all remember to “love one another unconditionally”. God bless you and your family with many years of beautiful life together.
Congratulations on finding your way to cope with severe anxiety plus frightening surgery and complications. You have shown a lot of resolve, you are appreciative of your family who supported you and you found strength in God! You and hubby are a lovely couple btw.
Thank you for sharing your story Eilleen. We have a son with a heart conditioning and my mom just went through heart surgery so we know your anxieties. You look beautiful in your picture with your hubby. We just went on the Golden this Sept. to Alaska for our 25th anniversary…so reading your blog i could just picture all that you are writing…International cafe … the art gallery..the Vines Wine Bar..beautiful stair case..the happy waiters. Suddenly I’m transported back LOL. May you have many more life’s pleasures with Mark.
My happy place is at the stern of the ship, seeing the wake frothing behind me with the wind and sunshine enveloping me for complete joy at being at sea.
My happy place was in our stateroom on the third day of our Alaskan Cruise after years of trying to persuade my wife to go on one, she said, “This is so beautiful, I want to do it again”.
We were in Alaska for a 4-day land, 7 day Princess Sapphire Cruise in June. I chose to be a part of the choir that was to sing in the Piazza the final night. Every time my hubby and I walked through the Piazza-all the time since our stateroom was on Deck 5- I’d imagine singing in that magnificent space. It was even more exciting than I’d expected, and almost half in our tour group of 40 came to watch and “cheer me on!” No one filmed a video of our performance, but YouTube has other choirs singing in Princess Piazzas. I visit those occasionally to recapture the moment. We’re doing the eastern Caribbean on Princess in December, and I’m hoping for an “encore experience!”
We are going on the Emerald Princess on Oct 23 It is for my 75 birthday and our 9th anniversary=We Love crusing this will be our 6th cruise been to Alaska ., three Caribbean- 15 day cruise to Hawaii= and 15 day thru the Panama Canal west to east= We do have fun at our age
Great story! In November we will be taking our 21st cruise and our 14th with Princess and we have so many happy places on all of the 8 different Princess ships that we have been fortunate enough to sail on. Princess is by far our favorite cruise line.
Eileen, what a touching story. Treats, such as a cruise, are certainly something to look forward to to help get through tough times. I wish you the best.
this was the most heartfelt blog I read..kudos to Eileen to seeing the lite end of the tunnel through Princess eyes- Vacations DUE the body good..
Dear Ellen,I’m so happy for you..The Piazza is so special, and growing up in hotels, I too love the warmth and music of our Princess”es lobbys. You put it so elequently! I’ll be on the New Royal Princess on June 16th.. I’ll meet you in the Piazza ! *hugs* and cappachino awating your arrival!
Oooh….cappachino in the Piazza….sounds too wonderful! We will be on the Royal Transatlantic in the Fall of 2013..take good care of her for us.
Wonderful story. My husband and I have cruised 4 times on Princess and we love it. Our most recent cruise was in May of 2010 on Royal Princess to celebrate our 20 year anniversary. We sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark to Sweden, Finland, Russia (St. Petersburg was wonderful), to Estonia, to Poland, to Norway and then back to Denmark. It was a trip of a lifetime. We hope to cruise again next year.
My husband and I are going to Hawaii on the Golden Princess Nov.21st for our 25th wedding anniversary. We have so many wonderful memories of our past trips on Princess cruises. We too love the Piazza to watch the parade of Happy people. We have talked to people we would never have met other wise. It is easy for us to take cruises now since we live in Redondo Beach,Ca. and just go to the ship with one of our children driving us there. Life is good.
My husband and I are leaving Oct 8th to Venice. We will be meetiing the Ruby Princess
Oct 9th ,for a transatlantic crossing,of 19 days.This will be our 48th Anniversary,also our 3rd
crossing with Princess. We are meeting our friends in Venice, and looking forward to the best
time ever. We will be booking 2013, on board. Princess is our favorite. Great way to spend
our last 3 anniversaries.
The best story yet. I know Princess realizes that cruises are more than just a vacation and this proves it. A cruise line like Princess provides an emotional impact that is long lasting. I have introduced cruising to my children and dream of the day I can show my grandchildren the same magic.
Eileen,
I am glad you are doing so well with “Faith in God”, he is looking out for you.
I myself diagnosism having the same “ill fate” like you.
my heart and my soul totally felt for Princess Cruise., I dreams of Princess cruise day and night.
my husband and I talks about it many times in a week, I love the Piazza, the lavish stair way,
the lounge with soft music playing and the deck #7 we get out there and walked for 10 rounds, and the 15th floor, and the under star movie thearter, with warm blanket laying down looking up I feel so close to the Stars above me., we are going back soon in 2013.
Eileen, wishing you a very healthy life.
Hello all! I’m very touched by your comments. Mark and I are on the Golden as I write this. The Piazza is still my favorite place and if you ever get to cruise to Hawaii with Eula entertaining you with their Hawaiin songs you will be in for a treat. I mentioned in my story that I had lost most of my hair from the heavy antiobiotics they had to give me to fight all the infections I got. My picture is of me in a wig. Thought I would mention this since it gives hope to others that things can return to normal again after a battle like this, as I no longer have to wear a wig, my hair has returned.
Hello all! I’m very touched by your comments. Mark and I are on the Golden as I write this. The Piazza is still my favorite place and if you ever get to cruise to Hawaii with Eula entertaining you with their Hawaiin songs you will be in for a treat. I mentioned in my story that I had lost most of my hair from the heavy antiobiotics they had to give me to fight all the infections I got. My picture is of me in a wig. Thought I would mention this since it gives hope to others that things can return to normal again after a battle like this, as I no longer have to wear a wig, my hair has returned.
Good Luck, Eileen!! Isn’t it amazing how we take our health for granted until something goes wrong?I believe there is power in prayer, & my faith in God has gotten me through a lot of anxious moments. Whenever illness has gotten me down, I sing a little song that I made up, & it soothes me.But the ultimate thing is to have a CRUISE to look forward to when you are able to go on one . . . .IWe have been on a few, & I’m looking forward to many more. ONE of them was with Princess, & we’d like to sail with them again.TAKE CARE, & GOD BLESS & keep on cruisin’. !!!
Eileen, I am so glad that you have recovered. I also have anxiety problems. Four years ago, I became ill and was in the hospital for 2 weeks. Diagnosed with periacarditis along with other things. When they put the no visitor sign on the door-I thought I was dying.We take so much for granted.When I was able to go outside in a wheelchair, just feeling the sunshine on my body, hearing the birds sing..puts a lot of things in perspective. I have been diagnosed with some type of auto-immune disease, but to this day do not test positive for anything.Immediately after being released from the hopital, we had leave our home & flee from Hurricane Ike.We lost mostly everything. To come home & see our beautul home destroyed was more than I could bear. We lived in a hotel for 6 mths, During that time my emotional state was at its lowest. We finally moved back in and after another year went by,life became good again.As of today, I deal with some stomach & blood pressure issues periodically. Presently, I am having high bp issues.We are cruising in November & I am already panicking about being out in the ocean and my bp going up. I have attivan, but I really hate to take anything. Hopefully, I can find my happy place before we go and have a stress free vacation!
Again, I am so happy that you are feeling good!!!!! Happy future sailings to you and your husband.
I want to go on a cruise… I don’t want go alone. I’ve wanted to see italy forever! May be one day I’ll get to go on that cruise…
Hi wish I could go with you Italy is beautiful I hope to return one day Just go and enjoy yourself you will make friends on board. Happy Sailing Dorothy
Just returned from a cruise on Carribean Princess and last year on Diamond Princess. The piazza was our favorite place on the ship; spent many hours just loitering there. You descirbe it so beautifully. Thanks for your reflections!
Hi Eileen,
I can relate to most all of your experience, especially the heart surgery. I learned of my need to have my Mitral-Valve repaired also in July, 2007 and, although all went very smoothly with no complications, cruises have been my escape-outlet as well. As a fellow Southern California resident, I would highly recommend, if you haven’t already, look into joining the Mended Hearts Support Group in your area (Caregivers are welcome too). Looking forward to my next (12th cruise) on Princess Cruise in late December on Diamond to New Zealand/Australia. Join me and we can share Hearts stories in the Atrium (Piazza).
Happy Sailing
My husband and I cruised for the very first time to Alaska on the original “Love Boat” of the TV series, shortly after our marriage. We had a wonderful time, although I was “pursued” by one of the waiters (after all, this was THE Love Boat!), but my husband was not amused.
We have tried other cruiselines but none can compare to Princess, in our opiniion. We are now at “Elite” status and are booked again to take the Hawaii cruise out of San Francisco in November, when we will celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary on board.
Eileen, thank you for that story! I am a veteran of many cruises but right now,
I am looking at cardiac surgery in a few months. It is a great idea to have a picture
To calm you down. I plan to do just that! Until my next cruise,
Irene
I wish you the best and that you have a speedy recovery from your surgery. So glad my story helped. Keep cruising!
Going thru all you did was a rough road but with God’s help and your wonderful family you made it, and so happy you did. In the first part of Nov. my husband and I are planning on going on a cruise, and I also hope that we will go. You see on May 1st. I was walking along, and a SUV came from behind me on the wrong side of the road (in a parking lot) her mirror hit the back of my head filpping me around and knocking me down and again landing on the back of my head also they say she ran over my leg I know I have tire marks on my jeans but my head was so bad. my leg was the least of things. I have a server concussion, but again with God watching over me and I do have a wonderful Physical Therapist I do feel that things are getting better, I have one month before we leave. My husband is very leary of me going at this point but I feel that will do better once I get on the ship, I tell him I don’t even have to do all the wonderful things they offer, just sitting and resting would be good for me. Having goals are wonderful. Keep making them, I am glad you were able to go. I really feel very strong that I will also be able to go. My leg is getting better, and I get around on it fine. It is still a problem with my head, vission, dizzy, and thinking things out sometimes and get very tired doing little things. so I take naps. then I’m ok again. My P T. said he feels I will be okay if I take it easy. That’s all I needed to hear. But my husband is a little leary. Thanks for your story, I feel if you could do it so can I. I’m sure you feel it was worth every minute of it. God Bless you and may you get stronger every day. Bonnie
Hi Eileen and Mark. What a wonderful story you’ve told from the heart.
Thank you, I’m so glad it helped others, that’s what I was hoping for.
My heart goes out to you. What an awful accident. I’m so glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. The cruise will be like a tonic to you. Just make sure you pace yourself. If you need a nap, or just to rest awhile, it’s the perfect kind of trip to do that. There will still be lots more to see and do when you feel up to it. If you have to stay in one day, don’t worry about it. Just relax and enjoy the change of scenery. I still can’t do all that I used to do, and would love to be doing, so I just make the best of what I can do. I’m very fortunate that Mark is so patient and understanding. If you are concerned about getting around the ship being too much for you, I highly recommend renting a wheel chair or mobility scooter from carevacations.com. It’s the best money you will spend if you need it to enjoy the cruise. Thank you for your kind words. I hope you will get stronger and stronger and go and have a wonderful time on your cruise.
Eileen,
I am so happy that you told me that this article and your experience was posted the during the weeks we were enjoying the Golden Princess. Otherwise I may have just deleted it as there were so many emails to catch up on.
I am so happy to see that you are doing well and am very inspired by your images of the Piazza. I am going to keep this in mind if I ever decide to have the surgery necessary to relieve my back pain. Your courage experience is something that I will never forget. It was such a pleasure meeting you and hopefully we will cruise again together sometime.
Eileen, best wishes & happy cruising with Princess. My family & I were on the Golden Princess last year in September & my husband & I will be sailing on the Coral Princess out of Whittier, AK on 9/4/12 to 9/11/12. We will be doing a cruise tour from Denali, Mt. McKinley & sail from Whittier. This will be my third Alaskan cruise on Princess & my sixth Alaskan cruise on other ships.
loved your story Elieen love Princess and all the wonderful memories and stories they provide.
god bless
Vera