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Any Cruisers out there?

TomFitz said:
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.
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Perfect summary.

yankintx said:
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.
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Thanks for the insight. I consider myself an explorer when I travel. I use the hotel as a place to sleep, and then from there I go to where the locals are and eat their food- I love trying out new cuisine. That is traveling for me (Im teaching my son to do the same thing), I dont think you can do that on a cruise.

Then again, when all this is over and the cruise lines offer something super cheap (like say $10 a day for a full cruise or something) as a way to jump start their industry, then I might just go for it- provided there's adequate safety checks in place lol. ;)
 
PoS said:
Perfect summary.



Thanks for the insight. I consider myself an explorer when I travel. I use the hotel as a place to sleep, and then from there I go to where the locals are and eat their food- I love trying out new cuisine. That is traveling for me (Im teaching my son to do the same thing), I dont think you can do that on a cruise.

Then again, when all this is over and the cruise lines offer something super cheap (like say $10 a day for a full cruise or something) as a way to jump start their industry, then I might just go for it- provided there's adequate safety checks in place lol. ;)
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Oh yes

My one cruise was with Carnival, so i am now on there mailing list. I am receiving some great incentives to return, no thanks. Now air travel is different, there are some great bargains out there if you want to risk flying in June. I am very tempted, and am eager to visit Manila but am holding off.
 
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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I wouldn't have taken a cruise anyway. It's not my thing.
 
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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I've cruised a handful of times and I've enjoyed them. The last one was Fall of '18 and I did notice Purell dispensers and hand washing machines were abundant. That's when the worst possible outcome imaginable was norovirus!
I think people will think twice about cruising on the mega ships and the more expensive, boutique lines will be OK.

In the thick of things, it seems that cruising will die, but I don't think so. If a safe and effective vaccine is developed, people will return.

Not sure I will, but I'm not ruling it out.
 
Mongidig said:
I agree! They'll figure it out. It's just gonna be more of a pain in the ass to get on board.

I will never get an inside room again that's for sure. What a difference in quality of quarantine between those who had balcony's and those who did not.
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I never got in inside room. If I can't afford a balcony suite, I don't go. No thank you.
 
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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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Helix said:
Well, if it's his idea of a good vacation, who am I to judge?
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I had plans to fly to Winnipeg and catch a train up to Churchill in N.Manitoba to watch Polar bears migrating and wandering through the town. Didn't come to pass, sadly, but it would have been a great trip. Maybe one day.
 
TomFitz said:
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.
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It's always more enjoyable when free!! Lol
 
PoS said:
Perfect summary.



Thanks for the insight. I consider myself an explorer when I travel. I use the hotel as a place to sleep, and then from there I go to where the locals are and eat their food- I love trying out new cuisine. That is traveling for me (Im teaching my son to do the same thing), I dont think you can do that on a cruise.

Then again, when all this is over and the cruise lines offer something super cheap (like say $10 a day for a full cruise or something) as a way to jump start their industry, then I might just go for it- provided there's adequate safety checks in place lol. ;)
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You won’t like cruising.

The kind of travel you’re talking about is not the cruising reality. We’re were able to tour Nassau for a brief few hours. We stayed away from the Paradise Island golden ghetto. We met and talked to real people, and we got an all too brief bit of authenticity.

Your fellow passengers on a cruise are not interested in authenticity. A fake Eiffel Tower on the Strip is just as good as the real thing, which most of them aren’t interested in actually seeing.
 
snakestretcher said:
I had plans to fly to Winnipeg and catch a train up to Churchill in N.Manitoba to watch Polar bears migrating and wandering through the town. Didn't come to pass, sadly, but it would have been a great trip. Maybe one day.
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That does sound like an interesting experience. I doubt that that ship has climbing wall, water slides, or corny stage shows. But it probably does have a casino.
 
Mongidig said:
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.
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You're absolutely right, it was Nevada Ave.
 
Slavister said:
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?
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Mongidig said:
Well, you got me. In the "Any cruisers out their thread?"
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I am glad you enjoyed it as much as me. It's always fun to point out cultists' flip flopping 180 just like their Dear Leader.
 
Slavister said:
I am glad you enjoyed it as much as me. It's always fun to point out cultists' flip flopping 180 just like their Dear Leader.
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Dr Oz DID “headline” the Sham Hammity Show, during which he promoted chlorquinine.
 
Decypher said:
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?
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As they get older, in general. Yes. My parents do and they say it is an easy and comfortable way to get around and see things... they did the Castles of Europe Cruise (or whatever it was called) going up the Rhine to Switzerland and then up to some peaks.
 
snakestretcher said:
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.
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It depends on what cruise line you take and what era you are talking about. I think a lot of what you are describing was once the stereotypical cruise from 20 years ago. Things have changed. There are still a lot of older people but there are a lot of younger people as well. If you go on Holland America you will see all old people. If you go on Norwegian it's a lot younger crowd. Many cruise ships are getting away from formal dining to anyware dining.

I think you have been watching too much of the "Love Boat".
 
PoS said:
Perfect summary.



Thanks for the insight. I consider myself an explorer when I travel. I use the hotel as a place to sleep, and then from there I go to where the locals are and eat their food- I love trying out new cuisine. That is traveling for me (Im teaching my son to do the same thing), I dont think you can do that on a cruise.

Then again, when all this is over and the cruise lines offer something super cheap (like say $10 a day for a full cruise or something) as a way to jump start their industry, then I might just go for it- provided there's adequate safety checks in place lol. ;)
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All ships offer a wide range of food. Oceana is known for it's food. People who have complained about the food or the experience probably don't realize that there are different levels of quality when it comes to cruising. I here a lot of Carnival cruisers. I'm not saying that line is bad, but it is the motel 6 of cruising. I also here people talk about Nassau and some places in the Caribbean. These are the least safe and most touristy destinations. You have to pick the right ship and the right itineraries.

You can absolutely go to where the locals eat and have a unique experience wherever you stop. You can research it before you go. A good tip is if the restaurant is busy it's probably all tourists.

I think the trend will be cheaper cruises but they will try to make up for it on the back end. I think drink packages, daily gratuities, excursions arranged through the ship etc. will be more expensive. Who knows.

I'd expect this to be a paradigm shift regarding safety precautions. That being said, the cruise industry seems to bounce back from disaster and not learn from their mistakes. The first thing I do is wipe everything down in the room. I think this is a good idea even if you are staying at a hotel.
 
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