So I saw THIS Atlantic article linked on Bluesky and I found myself conflicted, nodding in agreement with almost everything the author wrote, yet simultaneously thinking he sounded exhausting and pretentious himself.
It made me think though, that while this absolutely jibes with everything I’ve thought after hearing from my acquaintances who have gone on them – and from extrapolating based on my own understanding of their personalities – I’ve never really asked “peers” what they think. Have you been? How was it? Why would you agree to be trapped inside a compacted hotel where you will literally die if you leave at the wrong time?
…also I didn’t think I could post the link in !news@lemmy.world
EDIT:
After 44 comments, here’s where we stand:
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28 (including me) responding to the questions
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21 have been, 7 (including me) have not.
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Of the 21, 15 liked it, and 6 didn’t (some answers were a bit ambivalent, so I made a judgment call)
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Of the 7, 5 didn’t think they’d like it and 2 implied they might in very specific circumstances. I guess technically I could make 3, but I don’t really want to “camp” on a personal family history reenactment.
So, of those who have been, the vast majority saw value in it. The people who haven’t been either know themselves or have some serious sour grapes; I choose to believe it’s the former, for completely scientifically objective reasons.
I’ve been on one cruise. 5 days in the Caribbean. Probably the best week I’ve ever had.
It was within a month or two after cruises were allowed post Covid, so it wasn’t very crowded, and that might have made a huge difference, but my wife and I would LOVE to do it again.
EDIT: I read that article, well, some of it. I started skimming part way through and then just gave up. This isn’t about cruises. It’s about a lonely socially awkward person who expected to be more interesting because he was on a boat.
The article reads like the author has the mission statement of being the most miserable motherfucker in the room.
Yeah, like I said, I’m not quite sure what the writer was expecting. I like to imagine his editors sent him on the trip as a punishment; there’s at least one part where he implies that’s a possibility.
Now, I don’t doubt that he met a lot of thoughtless, unpleasant people on that ship, but the inability to acknowledge that people unlike him could be anything other than worse than him was… offputting. The story was written for an audience of about 5 aging hipsters from Brooklyn.
I read the whole article, and I’m just confused. I didn’t really see much actual criticism of the cruise itself, just a rant from some guy who went on a cruise that he clearly never wanted to be on in the first place. It reminds me of being a teenager and having to go on vacation with my family, and just wishing I could be doing literally anything else.
I’ve been on a cruise once. To Alaska. It was a smaller cruise ship, though I still would have thought it was huge, had I not seen other ships 4 times it’s size docked next to it.
It was a fun experience. I got to enjoy seeing a lot of cool places in Alaska, got to eat at a free buffet anytime I wanted, and even had my first fine dining experience. There were shows and fun activities to take part in. I also got a nice deal on it. I’m far from rich, but it was a really fun and reasonably priced vacation for me. I’ll probably go on another cruise some day.
I did my first cruise this year, and honestly had an absolute blast. However, the extremely important factor here is that it was a gay cruise (from the company Atlantis), and so it was absolutely nothing like the standard experience. For one week in the Caribbean, it was basically just a giant non-stop party. No kids, no entitled retirees, just you and 5000 other gay men trying to enjoy as much debauchery as can be fit into a week.
There were some port stops as well which were nice, but the main draw was very much the parties that would go on all night and through the morning. The music and production was incredible, and most of the other entertainment options were also swapped out for more gay-oriented options, so instead of bingo or whatever it is the boomers do, it was drag queens doing Britney Spears singalongs and things like that. And because everyone is gay, there’s already a shared common experience and identity so people tend to be very friendly and welcoming.
Also, if you’re single or otherwise available, the amount of sex you could have is genuinely ridiculous, though I was there with my boyfriend so we mostly just enjoyed the parties and made some great new friends. I had such a fun time, contrary to my expectations, that we’ve actually signed up to do another one in Europe later this summer, and that winter Caribbean cruise will probably become an annual thing for us.
Did you encounter any non gay couples that either booked by mistake or just wanted to hang out on a busy full of gay people for a week?
I’ve been on a few. My family loves them, but I am not particularly fond of them. They’re a super convenient way to see a lot of tourist attractions in a short period of time if you find the right one, but your time is limited at each port. I do feel guilty about the ecological impact of the cruise industry, not to mention some of the working conditions of the staff can’t be ideal. I am an introvert who dislikes crowds, I have a fear of open water, and I get motion sick easily. So they’re generally a pretty miserable experience for me, personally. It’s even worse if there’s high pressure sales or lousy patrons aboard. For example I was aboard one that really pushed jewelry and vacation package sales. The at sea days were just long super sale events. I kind of felt a side eye by some of the sales people, like they thought I was going to steal something. Truth was I didn’t want any of the crap they were selling. Dining can be hit or miss. The more affordable the cruise, the less tolerable the food is over time. I’ve had very few run-ins with grumpy people, but it happens. People overall can be rude following rules, such has hogging the sun chairs all day long, every day, or bringing noisy kids into adult only areas. If I can help it, I would prefer to not go on one ever again, but my family may drag me kicking and screaming again. I do think the right cruise could be fun if you were going with friends instead of family. A adults only party cruise could be fun in my mind. Keeping track of kids or boomer family makes the experience less enjoyable. If I were to do that, I would pack loads of Dramamine. Drink packages are a rip-off unless you’re an alcoholic. I had one once and it took a lot of drinking just to break even.
I’ve been on 2 cruises and enjoyed them, which still kinda shocks me because I’m generally an introvert who doesn’t like going to crowded places. However there are a few reasons I liked the cruises I took and would consider going on one again:
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The first cruise only had 1 “at sea” day (out of 7). The rest of the days we were in a port. The 2nd cruise did have 2 at sea days but they were at the beginning and end of the cruise. I’d probably stick with just 1 at sea day if looking at a cruise in the future.
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To me the ship is just the hotel. It’s where I sleep, and the food is decent with the added bonus that I don’t have to cook or wash the dishes. With the cruises I went on, we got deals where it was cheaper per night than sleeping in many hotels. And we never had a problem finding some quiet corner to hang out if we didn’t want to be in our room when we were on the boat.
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I didn’t take any tours offered through the cruise. Instead we would get off the boat and use public transportation or a cab to take us to where we wanted to explore for the day. This let us avoid the cruise crowds.
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I didn’t feel much sales pressure. Yes they mentioned a couple times about getting a deal if you book your next cruise before the one I was on finished, but I knew I wasn’t interested. I just ignored it and no one bothered me about it. I also didn’t have any presentations I had to sit through either.
It’s definitely not the only way I’d vacation, but I’d take a cruise again under certain circumstances.
