Pink Cameron Tam

I’m coming home with a very special souvenir this trip! Here’s how it came about:

The more cruises you take with a specific line, the higher your status becomes. With each trip, you climb the ladder and earn different rewards. It’s a way to create brand loyalty, and every cruise line has their own spin on it.

On the first leg of our cruise, we met a couple named Susan and Mike who have Elite status on Princess. This is the highest rank on the customer ladder and means they get all sorts of spiffy perks, such as free laundry service, a complimentary mini bar, and so on.

One Sea Day afternoon, Susan and Mike invited us to their balcony suite for another Elite benefit, a complimentary High Tea. While chatting over tea and scones, we learned that Susan is of Scottish ancestry on her mother’s side. Not only that, but her family belonged to the same clan as my ancestors, the Camerons. Who knows? Maybe Susan and I are distant cousins!

To top it off, literally and figuratively, Susan’s mom loved hats as much as I do. At her memorial, Susan displayed dozens of them in the church. After the service, she invited each attendee to choose a hat as a keepsake. Even though several years have passed, Susan still sees people wearing her mom’s hats around town.

Isn’t that a great idea?

Later in the cruise, Susan gave me one of her mom’s precious hats, a cute little pink tam upon which she added a Canadian flag pin. In addition to making a wonderful new friend, I feel honored to add her mother’s Cameron tam to my personal hat collection.

p.s. I’ll add a pic of me wearing the tam later!Read more