The cruise not taken

My husband and I like to go on cruises. I have probably been on 20 differnt cruises. We like to go on small ships, our two favorites are Silversea Cruises http://www.silversea.com/ .com and Seadream Yacht Club http://www.seadreamyachtclub.com/ . These ships carry between 100-400 passengers. We decided we would go to Europe this summer while our teenage son was on a teen tour and he would have supervision. I don't really trust him, he is a teenager. First I had to call SilverSea they had a trip from Rome to Monte Carlo that sounded fantastic. When I called to book the trip it was booked and they placed me on a wait list. Next I called the Seadream, they had a cruise that went from Venice to Athens that also sounded to fantastic. I was able to book that trip but ask them to hold the stateroom for a few days while I tried to get airfare. Next I called American Express Platinum services where I spoke to an agent named Fernando . There were several choices all which included a change of planes in various European cities such as as Zurich, Frankfurt, and Paris. After speaking to Fernando for over 1 hour I inquired if Delta http://www.delta.com/ had any flights. Wouldn't you know it they had a Non-stop flight from JFK to Venice and on the return a Non stop flight from Athens back to New York.
I am not sure why he didn't tell me that first. He informed me that I had 3 days to pay for the flights. 3 days later I called back American Express and the price of the flights had doubled. I got aggravated and hung up the phone. I then called Delta Airlines directly. They did not have a direct flight to Venice, I would have to change in Paris, but we seem to be alright with that. I asked if they could hold the flights for a day, they agreed but said the price was not guaranteed.
Again I need to remind you that I am from NY and do not like to flights that aren't non stop. Well time was ticking and I needed to come to a conclusion. The next day I called back to Delta and lo and behold the direct flight reappeared at a better price than the flight where I would have to change in Paris. Things were looking up. Delta said they could book the tickets for me risk free, I would have till midnight the next day to cancel my flights at no charge. I booked the tickets. Now i had about 24 hours to make my final decision. I had already mentally packed my bags and was on my way.

My husband started thinking do we really need to go. We coud spend more time in the hamptons, the summer is so short as it is. Air travel is a nightmare.
We had been on a similar trip three years ago and the trip cost was a third of what it cost today. Things have gotten very expensive with the value of the dollar decreasing and the price of fuel rising. The cost of my cruise ticket was probably enough to fill the ship with diesel. I don't have to tell you that he changed his mind and we are not going.

Now I had to call Delta to make sure they cancelled the flights and we were not charged. I called Delta and they said it was taken care of. Most people would be satisfied with that. Not my husband. I then called American Express to check if there was a charge, of course there was. As he was screaming at me ,the agent who was helping me was very sympathetic. She said she wished her husband was still alive so she could have one more fight with him. I told her she didn't know how lucky she was.

In the end I am not going on this trip. I know there will be other trips in the future.