The Cruise Was Supposed to Be Relaxing

A Mack Hollister Comedy Novel

Frank and Carol Delaney are finally going on vacation.

A real vacation.

No failing bar. No homeowners association. No food truck. No accidental political campaign. No projects, committees, meetings, or people asking Frank to fix things.

Ten peaceful nights aboard a Caribbean cruise ship.

What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Before the ship has even cleared the harbor, Frank is being summoned to Guest Services. Soon he's caught in deck-chair disputes, trivia wars, missing luggage, excursion mishaps, wedding emergencies, weather changes, an overly enthusiastic internet personality, and a ship full of passengers who somehow decide Frank is the man to see whenever something needs fixing.

Frank repeatedly explains that he is on vacation.

Nobody seems particularly interested in that information.

Meanwhile, Carol has one goal: get her husband to stop solving everyone else's problems long enough to actually enjoy himself.

Between tropical ports, karaoke disasters, the self-appointed O'Malley's Board of Directors, a shipboard election Frank never agreed to enter, an unexpected wedding, and one ceramic rooster that definitely should not have been purchased, Frank begins discovering something surprising.

Maybe being useful and being needed aren't the same thing.

And maybe retirement is supposed to include a little time for doing absolutely nothing.

If he can ever figure out how.

The Cruise Was Supposed to Be Relaxing is a warm, laugh-out-loud comedy about retirement, marriage, friendship, vacations gone sideways, second chances, and one man's heroic struggle to mind his own business.

Perfect for readers who enjoy small-town humor, funny older protagonists, marriage comedy, quirky characters, vacation disasters, and feel-good fiction with plenty of heart behind the laughs.

Written by Mack Hollister, author of The Worst Retirement Plan Ever, The HOA Has Lost Its Mind, Definitely Not a Bed & Breakfast, We Accidentally Bought a Food Truck, and Please Don't Elect Me Mayor.

Published by North Watch House Publishing.