Linsay Scott had certain expectations when she boarded the cruise ship in Puerto Rico in January of 2007. She, her sister and her dad were anticipating great weather, beautiful sights and loads of fun. But soon enough, Linsay got more than she bargained for or rather more than she ever dreamed of.
Gabriel Alvarado and a few of his friends, all natives of Puerto Rico, were also on the cruise for a little playcation. On day two at sea, Linsay recalls, "I me a handsome Puerto Rican guy (Gabriel) . . . We spent all 12 days of the cruise together and were so sad when it came to an end."
There was just one difficulty with this shipboard romance. He spoke no English. She had no ability with Spanish. So his brother served as translator. "It was pretty much 12 days of Pictionary and charades," she says.
There was just one difficulty with this shipboard romance. He spoke no English. She had no ability with Spanish.
At cruise end, each went home with a determination to stay in touch. They emailed, translated and emailed some more until eventually they were able to actually talk on the telephone — without a translator. Gabriel was a college freshman and had decided to study English. He visited Houston. She visited him in Puerto Rico. And back and forth for seven months. Finally, in July Gabriel moved to Houston.
Fast forward to February of 2009. They returned to Puerto Rico to visit Gabriel's family. "We were walking around Old San Juan (along Paseo del la Princesa) with his family and his cousin, a photographer, who asked to take our picture in front of the famous Raices Fountain. In all of my previous visits to Puerto Rico, we would come to this fountain because it was close to where all the cruise ships docked.
"After the first picture, Gabriel dropped down to one knee, actually, he was on both knees" to propose. She said "yes" and they were wed in April of 2010.
Today, Linsay, 29, works as a fit specialist at Francesca's Collections and studies Spanish. Gabriel works in security.
