Jamey Kennedy

Opinion contributor

When my husband, Allan Reiss, our friends Richard and Laura Wolfe, and I planned a year ago to take a cruise around Norway, we imagined an idyllic escape from the world to explore the beautiful fjords and landscapes of a place we had never been.

While most trip was that dream come true, it was fun until it wasn’t.

When the weather changed and the ship began pitching, the night of Friday, March 22, into Saturday morning, we had no idea the engines would stall, that Allan and I would be airlifted from the ship, or that Richard and Laura would have to endure the hardship of remaining on board until the ship, Viking Sky, was towed into port late in the day on Sunday, March 24.

We are blessed and lucky to be safe and alive after a situation that could have been far worse than it was. All of us were blessed, also, to have been so well taken care of by the crew on board the ship and by the people of Molde, Norway, the town to which we were airlifted and the ship towed to port.

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Because he had difficulty breathing, Allan and I were airlifted to shore within an hour of the Viking Sky’s mayday signal. When we landed, we were ushered into a nearby gymnasium where Red Cross volunteers were already hard at work preparing for our arrival. They gave us blankets to get us warm, and triaged Allen to a medical observation station less than a mile from the hotel I was taken to.

Norwegian hospitality gave comfort, provisions

This spirit of “dugnad” — the Norwegian custom of coming together as a community to provide help and support when it is needed — was on full display.

I had a touching moment early Sunday morning with a Red Cross volunteer named Bente Flem.

Overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, I realized I had no idea how to find my husband. I was crying when Bente approached me, offered to help and gave me directions to the clinic where Allan was being held for observation. Through the course of our conversation I learned she once lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, where I have family. She and her husband, Peter Beringer, lost six friends in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Their family eventually returned home to Norway, and Peter died in 2011. And Bente, touched by the work of first responders that September day, became a Red Cross volunteer. I later learned that she was walking along the shore of Molde with her boyfriend when they saw the Viking Sky in trouble, contacted the police and began quickly organizing the relief effort.

Read Jamey Kennedy's interview: 'This can't be real': Clinton couple rescued from Viking Sky cruise ship in dramatic airlift

The community was ready for us, as hundreds of people were there to offer assistance and people who we had never met rallied around us and the other passengers. I even met a 16-year-old boy who told me he has been volunteering for the Red Cross since he was 12.

The shops in Molde are normally closed on Sundays, but the business owners opened their doors for three hours to allow those of us who needed to buy clothes, shoes, toiletries and other items could get them.

Customer service continued on land

I can’t say enough about the kindness of the Viking Sky crew. They worked extraordinarily hard to ensure all passengers were safe, even to the extent of cleaning up glass and debris in all of the staterooms before allowing passengers in to retrieve their belongings.

When the ship docked and I was able to go aboard to pack our belongings, I realized I would not be able to carry everything we had packed by myself and intended to leave anything behind that I couldn’t carry. I went back to the ship later to retrieve something I had forgotten to pack, and a member of the housekeeping crew assigned to our stateroom was packing what I had left and assured me everything would be sent to our home.

Those are just a few examples of the great care we received from the people of Norway during what was a horrific experience.

I know I speak for Allen, Richard and Laura when I say we are all grateful for exceptional care we received, and I will be a life-long supporter of the Red Cross. We look forward to a future trip to Norway — perhaps even on a cruise ship.

Jamey Kennedy lives in Clinton, Tennessee. She is a strategic planning adviser at Oak Ridge Associated Universities.