Any Cruisers out there?

beefheart said:

I never had any want to be on a giant petri dish full of trash touristas going from port to port and pretending they are actual world travelers.

Nope, that is tourism, not travel, not for me, before or after the pandemic.

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Me too. I like to fly somewhere and become lost, immersed in an unfamiliar culture. To each his own but I’m not a cruise guy.

Mongidig said:

Right now most cruises are cancelled until mid May. I don't see any chance they start cruising that soon. I think it is possible that we don't see any cruises the rest of this year. If we do I think it will be very limited. There is talk of no destination cruises since it's gonna be difficult to find any ports open for ships at least early on. The cruise industry seems to be one of the greediest and very shady at times. They probably will figure out a way but I don't know when I would trust doing a cruise.

What do you all think about the future of cruising? Will Carnival make it out alive after this disaster? What kind of regulations will be put in place going forward? I can see immunity passports being a thing.

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When I saw "cruising" I immediately thought taking your car and cruising up and down main street with everyone else trying to pick up girls. We didn't have that in NY but when I was out west we TOTALLY had that in Colorado Springs. Al had a 1972 Charger that we'd takke out and blast Santana heading up and down Colorado Boulevard. Made for some extraordinary nights!

Lutherf said:

When I saw "cruising" I immediately thought taking your car and cruising up and down main street with everyone else trying to pick up girls. We didn't have that in NY but when I was out west we TOTALLY had that in Colorado Springs. Al had a 1972 Charger that we'd takke out and blast Santana heading up and down Colorado Boulevard. Made for some extraordinary nights!

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Wasn't the place to cruise in the Springs Nevada avenue? We used to get a giant hamburger from a place up there and then go cruising. I'm from Pueblo. We used to cruise down main street.

PIPEWRENCH said:

Well if a test becomes available maybe they could test everyone before letting them on the ship. Of course they would not be able to stop anywhere .

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Ya it's not looking good this year.

Last year my mom did a cruise from Auckland down south to Dunedin and then over to Tasmania and the Sydney... she thought it was cool, she was 74. Just this last January, I took her on a driving trip of the South Island after we took a train from Blenheim to Christchurch.... driving over Arthur's Pass, down the West Coast to Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers... to Lake Wanaka and Queenstown... and then back up past Mt Cook and the central South Island. She loved that so much better... not being stuck on a cruise or an off ship excursion being herded about like goats... Cruises suck unless you are really old, really boring or have no adventure in you.

Another member posted this. I suspect the future of cruise ships is the future of zepplin travel after the Heindenburg burned to the ground.

I've never been on a cruise, but I always wanted to.

Not now, though. It'll probably be a long time until I'll think that's a good idea.

Bodhisattva said:

Last year my mom did a cruise from Auckland down south to Dunedin and then over to Tasmania and the Sydney... she thought it was cool, she was 74. Just this last January, I took her on a driving trip of the South Island after we took a train from Blenheim to Christchurch.... driving over Arthur's Pass, down the West Coast to Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers... to Lake Wanaka and Queenstown... and then back up past Mt Cook and the central South Island. She loved that so much better... not being stuck on a cruise or an off ship excursion being herded about like goats... Cruises suck unless you are really old, really boring or have no adventure in you.

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I nearly booked a cruise around New Zealand around the time of the White island volcano eruption. That would have been a cool excursion assuming I wasn't there when it blew up.

joko104 said:

Another member posted this. I suspect the future of cruise ships is the future of zepplin travel after the Heindenburg burned to the ground.

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No! There is way too much money involved in that industry. I do believe they are screwed for this year though.

Mongidig said:

I nearly booked a cruise around New Zealand around the time of the White island volcano eruption. That would have been a cool excursion assuming I wasn't there when it blew up.

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Unless you were on the island you would have been fine... you mean the 2019 one, right? I think about 20 people died and another 20 had to seek medical attention back on the mainland... it wasn't even that big a story here, to be honest. Not sure why...

joko104 said:

Another member posted this. I suspect the future of cruise ships is the future of zepplin travel after the Heindenburg burned to the ground.

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The Hindenburg was much cooler too...a cruise ship is volunteering to be a donkey... to be lead from trough to trough (buffets, etc.) and then around off ship excursions on buses in herds... I understand that most people are not able to create an adventure on their own but a cruise is just boring, uneventful and crowded.

Surprised by the OP...

March 2

Mongidig said:

It's a bad strain of flu.

If most people wash their hands, keep their work stations wiped down and stay away from rub n tugs they will be fine.

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March 3

Mongidig said:

Based on the symptoms I'd say it can be compared to the common flu.

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March 9

Mongidig said:

So basically the mortality rate is similar to the common flu? I believes I mentioned this would be the case several weeks ago. I would have said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself if that quote wasn't already taken. The Democrats and liberal media have weaponized this fear mongering and the public is buying it.

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March 31

Mongidig said:

You get the feeling that MSM is gonna start televising all new nasty strains of flu virus. They see the ratings. They'll just give it a fancy name and have Sanja Gupta and Dr. OZ headline the shows.

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April 7

Mongidig said:

I don't see any chance they start cruising that soon. ... I don't know when I would trust doing a cruise.

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Just because of a hyped up flu?

Bodhisattva said:

The Hindenburg was much cooler too...a cruise ship is volunteering to be a donkey... to be lead from trough to trough (buffets, etc.) and then around off ship excursions on buses in herds... I understand that most people are not able to create an adventure on their own but a cruise is just boring, uneventful and crowded.

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I went a short cruise on a discount smaller size Carnival cruise ship to the Bahamas. The Bahamas closes at 5 pm. The food was really low grade, there was nothing to do but the slots and they were set to a very low pay out. We were wise enough not to buy the $15 drinks or $10 jello shooter. But we did get a room with a balcony. Never want to cruise again.

Mongidig said:

No! There is way too much money involved in that industry. I do believe they are screwed for this year though.

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Hard to guess.

Bodhisattva said:

The Hindenburg was much cooler too...a cruise ship is volunteering to be a donkey... to be lead from trough to trough (buffets, etc.) and then around off ship excursions on buses in herds... I understand that most people are not able to create an adventure on their own but a cruise is just boring, uneventful and crowded.

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It is commonly believed the reason the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen because the USA would not allow Germany to have helium after zepplins were used in WW1. But that is false. The lifting ability of helium would not be sufficient.

joko104 said:

I went a short cruise on a discount smaller size Carnival cruise ship to the Bahamas. The Bahamas closes at 5 pm. The food was really low grade, there was nothing to do but the slots and they were set to a very low pay out. We were wise enough not to buy the $15 drinks or $10 jello shooter. But we did get a room with a balcony. Never want to cruise again.

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That is suckage...

joko104 said:

It is commonly believed the reason the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen because the USA would not allow Germany to have helium after zepplins were used in WW1. But that is false. The lifting ability of helium would not be sufficient.

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Thanks for that but I just enjoy the explosion and fireball...

The wife keeps suggesting cruises when she retires.

I told her to find a boy friend to go with her.

Slavister said:

Surprised by the OP...

March 2



March 3



March 9



March 31





April 7



Just because of a hyped up flu?

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This is one of the creepiest stalky posts I've seen. It's like you have been waiting for just the right time to pounce!

Well, you got me. In the "Any cruisers out their thread?"

Bodhisattva said:

Unless you were on the island you would have been fine... you mean the 2019 one, right? I think about 20 people died and another 20 had to seek medical attention back on the mainland... it wasn't even that big a story here, to be honest. Not sure why...

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It wasn't a big story here either. I came across it looking at cruises that way. It was December of 2019.

Mongidig said:

A big problem was that prior to this current shutdown the cancellation policies sucked balls! We will see if they become more flexible. Right now they are in their advertisements.

I love huge ships. I love being on the ocean. I love when the ship first disembarks. I love when it arrives at it's destination. Maybe I'm boring, but I love getting a big drink and going to the observation deck with my binoculars and look for stuff. I totally get people who have never cruised being suspicious. I just think there is something special about it and that's even before getting into ports. Exploring the ship is fun. Eating all the time is fun.

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I’ve never been on one but that description sounds quite cool. My parents have been on a few. 2 years ago they went on a river cruise on the Rhine and Danube. How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking? It seems something people do as they get older, is that accurate?

I did my first and last cruise Aug last year. Never again !!

Hamish Howl said:

The cruise thing seems kinda dismal, really. It's like paying top dollar to be a sardine.

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That was my experience, the food was mediocre, the entertainment was dismal, and the prices they charge for drinks is what I pay in decent gay nightclub except they charging you that price 24/7. Hell no I wont go again!!

Mongidig said:

There were ships disembarking as late as March 15th.

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I went on my first cruise on Feb 23-28. It was the second to the last cruise that left port before they shut down. At the time, Corona virus was still in Asia. It had begun to spread into South Korea, and passengers on a cruise ship bound for Japan were showing symptoms.

We weren’t worried about it as there had been no cases in the US, and nearly all the passengers were from middle eastern US states.

Cruising is travel for people who don’t travel. It’s a completely contained and artificial environment. Just like Disney World or a Las Vegas casino. One that substitutes manufactured fantasy for real experience. Our cruise took us to a beautiful beach on a deserted island. I doubt that most of the people on the ship were aware that the people who waited on them on that island were crew.


Then we went to Nassau, where the main attraction seemed to be the golden ghetto of tourist hotels they built on the edge of town (the ones you see in the TV commercials).

Then to Freeport, which has few attractions of any sort.

The service was wonderful. The food was adequate to good (excellent if you went to the real restaurant on the roof). And we were comfortable.

I have no complaints about the cruise. I probably won’t do it again, unless I like the ports of call. Being in Disney World/Las Vegas in a can is OK for a day or two (or in between ports).

I would consider going to Norway to see the fjords (you don’t get the whole experience from shore), or the Mediterranean (which I have never been to).

There would have to be ports of call, and no more than one “fun day at sea” in between.

Now if cruise lines ran an on and off services, where you could book a cruise and get on and off, as if on a bus, so you could spend a couple of days seeing the places you visit, that may be another matter.

The industry will recover. There’s a big market out there for people who want packaged, managed experiences. People who want the illusion of travel, but really want to be in a familiar cocoon, surrounded by people like them.

Carnival is selling for less that $10 right now, and peaked at $60 last summer. I may stock up on a few shares. But it’s not likely that I’ll be shopping the cruise ads any time soon.

One thing that was really nice about the cruise was the way the people left their politics behind. And, owing to the poor and expensive internet connections and an on ship television that gave you only headlines (and the total lack of ANYTHING to read on board), I did not see the face of Donald J Trump for a week, and didn’t have to hear his pathetic snarling trash talk.

One more thing. This cruise was a gift. We had a very good year last year, and the boss took the entire team on the cruise. It was a wonderful gift.

And a final counterpoint on an era that disappeared within two weeks of our return.

PoS said:

Ive been thinking of going on one just for the experience, but I never liked being stuck on a boat with a bunch of other tourists for days on end- I prefer to be mobile. And after hearing the stories about ships being stranded at sea due to viruses, fires, pirates, and what-not kept me from trying it. Now Im glad I never did.

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That was my one experience, mediocre food, over priced drinks, and I felt trapped the first night. For a gay traveler like myself Gran Canary and Puerta Vallarta our much better value. It was my first and last cruise.

Mongidig said:

Right now most cruises are cancelled until mid May. I don't see any chance they start cruising that soon. I think it is possible that we don't see any cruises the rest of this year. If we do I think it will be very limited. There is talk of no destination cruises since it's gonna be difficult to find any ports open for ships at least early on. The cruise industry seems to be one of the greediest and very shady at times. They probably will figure out a way but I don't know when I would trust doing a cruise.

What do you all think about the future of cruising? Will Carnival make it out alive after this disaster? What kind of regulations will be put in place going forward? I can see immunity passports being a thing.

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Frankly I couldn't imagine anything worse than being stuck on a ship with a bunch of geriatric assholes whose only ambition is to get an invite to the captain's table.