Bill Pollak continues to cruise to keep a promise to his late wife.

People travel for many different reasons, from seeing family to fulfilling lifelong dreams. Bill Pollak does it to keep a promise to his late wife Karin.

Years ago, Pollak and the woman he calls the love of his life made a vow to each other that whoever passed away first would keep doing what they enjoyed most in life: traveling.

After an over-decade-long battle with pancreatic cancer, Karin died in 2022. Ever since, Pollak, 85, has kept his promise to her, even though it's been far from easy. He credits a special group of people who have particularly helped him get through it: the crew of Oceania Cruises.

The cruise line holds a special place in his heart, given that the couple were big travelers – and cruisers. They've easily spent hundreds of days at sea, and the Oceania Allura's maiden voyage this past July marked Pollak's 133rd cruise.

One trip after Karin's death that always makes him tear up is the christening of the Oceania Vista in May 2023 - the first time he stepped on a ship without his favorite travel companion, best friend, and late wife.

"It was horrible, absolutely horrible," Pollak told USA TODAY during a sit-down interview at the Viennese-inspired coffee shop Baristas on the Oceania Allura, where crew members and other guests stop to greet him.

He had been dreading sitting alone at dinner and shows, but during the first show of the cruise, a hostess surprised him by asking to sit next to him. "At the end of the performance, we got up to leave and at the end of the aisle were seven of Oceania's employees to be there with me," Pollak said. "We hugged and cried. It was beautiful."

The same night, another long-time Oceania employee talked him into going to the Horizons lounge for dancing, a favorite pastime of the Pollaks, instead of letting him retire to his room. "It was the first time in six months I felt human," he said. "It's a family, I don't care what anybody says, I know it's a trite and overused term, but it is."

It's been a journey navigating Pollak's grief, or even to travel again. Most of his trips are difficult; others feel bittersweet. Travel may never be the same, but his family and friends – the Oceania crew included – have been a lifeline in finding the little moments of joy in travel again.

A love for travel – and each other

Aptly, Pollak and Karin met through travel – she was his travel agent, coordinating his business trips when he worked in the aviation industry. At the time, both were in unhappy marriages to other people, but there was an undeniable connection. "We were basically talking every afternoon at 4:30 p.m., I would just call and talk about the industry, and we would always talk a little bit more about personal life," he said.

Pollak recalls Karin making the first move – her brazenness being one of his favorite qualities. A few years after meeting, the two divorced their first spouses and married each other in 1991.

"Love is unexplainable, but I was so lucky to have found her, and she was lucky to have found me," he said. "I mean, we fit well together."

During their 32 years of marriage, the couple traveled extensively, from traversing the interior of India to repeat trips to Bali. "I used to earn lots of airplane miles, and she would use lots of airplane miles, so it all worked," he joked. "Everything matched."

After retirement, the couple traveled for up to six months out of the year, often on cruises.

'This is home'

Some of their most cherished memories involve Oceania, such as renewing their vows on the Insignia ship during a world cruise and being unexpectedly stranded in Barcelona for 10 days post-cruise due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland that grounded flights.

Another memorable sailing was in 2008 on the 32-day cruise from Rome to Singapore on the Nautica. Off the coast between Somalia and Yemen, the ship was attacked by pirates, and passengers were told to wait on Deck 5 as the captain sped up the ship. During the entire stressful moment, Karin was in the spa, Pollak said with a laugh.

From the service to the routes, the couple enjoyed Oceania so much that they swore to never sail on another line. "When we used to come on board, we spent the first two days hugging," he said. "It wasn't only the guests, but the crew too." By now, he's known some crew members for nearly 20 years.

Still, he thinks of Karin often, and many places remind him of her. Some, like Paris, he said he can't return to, while others, like the Oceania ships, offer solace.

Following the adage that home is where the heart is, Bill Pollak jokes that he has around nine. One is his house in Phoenix, which he designed with Karin years ago, and is "full of old, wonderful memorabilia" from their travels together. As for the other eight, those are Oceania Cruises' ships. As he puts it, "This is home, it just is."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: On his 133rd cruise, he’s still keeping a promise of love

Reporting by Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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