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I worked on a cruise ship below decks, once, for 3 hours, and I swore I would never take a cruise. Take the dirtiest hotel you have ever been in, and then ensu

I worked on a cruise ship below decks, once, for 3 hours, and I swore I would never take a cruise. Take the dirtiest hotel you have ever been in, and then ensure you cant leave it for days at a time. It interests me that demand is increasing but I suspect thats just good advertising.

lbriner 2y ago
"Prices from $1,000" but shows the picture of the presedential suite to lure people in. "Oh yeah, $1,000 is a room next to the engine room with no window and a single bed" at which point people feel a bit embarrassed and accept that it is another $10K just to get a window. On the other hand, lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-)
- ge96 2y ago
  Tape an ipad to a wall, loop an ocean scene... Window
  - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
    Parallax, sunlight intensity, directionality, heat. It's a pity we don't have affordable (or even any?) artificial windows that even emulate the sun. Just think how much more economically buildings could be made if they had effective fake windows.
    - shreddit 2y ago
      You can do-it-yourself https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO
      - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
        Thanks. I'll watch that. It doesn't seem to have images but maybe you could have the scenery window separately and just look at one thing at a time :P I've considered setting up mirrors in my garden to redirect sunlight into a shaded room but never quite got it off the ground.
      - avidiax 2y ago
        There's also a commercial version: https://www.coelux.com/ https://www.coelux.com/
      - kolinko 2y ago
        You can also buy this from Alibaba - just the real thing, not the LCD flat panels. (the real ones are 10-20cm deep). I got a few two winters ago, and they are amazing for dark and gloomy Polish winters. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Circle-Artificial-Sun-Led-Circular-Skylight_1601124539128.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Circle-Artificial-Sun...
        EnigmaFlare 2y ago
        That's awesome, but the most powerful one is 9000 lumens from a 1200x600 mm panel, which is 10000 lumen/m^2. I don't think that's good enough for a proper sun effect since sunlight is 100000 lumens/m^2 and even outdoors in the shade is brighter than these devices. But it's certainly a step in the right direction and no doubt much better than natural light for you.
    - janfoeh 2y ago
      There is an Italian company called Coelux which builds something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ4TJ4-kkDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ4TJ4-kkDw
      - ayewo 2y ago
        That’s pretty neat, thanks for linking to Coelux’s video. Apparently the video was recorded in 2014 so they’ve been around for at least 10years now.
    - sva_ 2y ago
      One step away from a real human factory farm
    - lowkey 2y ago
      You know, I co-founded a smart LED lighting company well over a decade ago and we considered this market. It seems like the potential applications might make this viable now. Cruise ships are a tiny market when compared to all the dead commercial office space in downtown cores that people wish to convert to residential but can’t because of lack of sunlight and similar reasons.
      - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
        That's cool. How did/would the technology have worked?
        lowkey 2y ago
        There are some other implemenations listed on this page. The trick is to make sure the light rays are parallel as if coming from an infinite distance like the sun. To create the blue sky effect the easiest way is to pass the light through soapy water like in this video posted above https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO
  - zabzonk 2y ago
    actually, some interior cabins really do this - big lcd screen showing camera views from outside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKgX8mKjmxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKgX8mKjmxU
    - ge96 2y ago
      I want to do this one day inside an apartment using one of those thin flat TV's, put two in a corner and make a city skyline view
      - dylan604 2y ago
        The TV would give you the ability to change the view. Have a couple of different 24 hour video loops so that it shows sunrise/sunset, clouds, storms (only if you had a good subwoofer to rumble with thunder) and then sync it to your clock. However, I would be really impressed with a lenticular screen so that you get the 6-DoF type of view that would change the paralax view as you moved around the room a bit.
- djtango 2y ago
  I don't much like cruises but I do really enjoy being out at sea and would be more than happy to "raw dog" (in gen z parlance) some trips out at sea.
  - jajko 2y ago
    There are many ways to enjoy seas, cruise ships are by far the worst. As per people who worked on those, they are mostly for people who simply don't know how to enjoy life well but have money, are quiet alcoholics, and/or suffer massive loneliness. You can do amazing traveling experiences for less, you are in control of your own life and what happens next and you will feel like spending much more time when discovering world, culture, history and people compared to same white box with same things at same places. But its the same mentality of going to some properly amazing exotic place and then spending 2 weeks in luxury bubble of some 5 star resort. I don't complain - those folks leave interesting places and experiences for rest of us, but respecting that I cannot.
    - scarab92 2y ago
      There’s times I want to explore, and there’s times I just want to do nothing. Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while.
      - nixass 2y ago
        > Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while. Weird way to spend not-insignificant money on but to each their own
        scarab92 2y ago
        I find I get somewhat anxious being at home and not doing anything, whereas it’s just psychologically easier in the middle of the ocean. I’m happy to pay the cost to be in an environment that I can actually relax in.
        2y ago
- heresie-dabord 2y ago
  > lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-) It's a sort of floating Las Vegas, with casinos and other passivities such as (from TFA): "buffet food, all-inclusive child supervision, shuffleboard, plentiful liquor and winking entertainers" Of course the scale of the operation could produce significant unhappiness if the cattle are forced to fight for food and live in their own filth, as in the case of the notorious Poop Cruise: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/stranded-cruise-ship-on-which-sewage-ran-down-the-walls-and-savages-fought-over-food-finally-docks-amid-jubilant-scenes-8496330.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/stranded-c...
- joshstrange 2y ago
  Ehh your life “ebbs away” no matter what you are doing. I’m neutral on cruises. I went on one with my family and had a good time but I don’t seek them out. There is something to be said for the “almost everything is included” nature of cruises. Not having to think about food and just relaxing or doing one of the many activities available is attractive. The various excursions or stops can be fun as well. It’s not for everyone but I see the appeal. Also, it doesn’t cost $10K to get a window. EDIT: I just price checked a cruise of the Caribbean on the Princess line (didn’t spend time checking the specific ship) but for a 7-day cruise for 2 people, a mini-suite (balcony and more room), and the premier package (unlimited drinks and other stuff) it came out to $3,800 total. If you drop the drinks it comes down about $1K. Now you have to get to the port and back home so factor in flights but that’s not absurd pricing IMHO. And you can get a balcony-only for cheaper as well.
  - criddell 2y ago
    The “ebbs away” comment made me think of the perma-cruisers. Elderly people who cruise non-stop for years at a time. It can be less expensive and more interesting than a nice retirement home.
  - bluGill 2y ago
    You could get under a 1000 if you go the inside cabin, you are only in your room to sleep anyway.
    - cactusplant7374 2y ago
      More than sleep for me. I need to decompress.
      - bluGill 2y ago
        Ocean view cabins on the bottom floor are often cheap. experienced crusiers know those are the best locations and the rich wish their sueit was there as the window near the water is a better view and worth more than a balcony - but there are so few that cruise lines can't afford to make suiets there vs the larger number who think higher is better.
- chengiz 2y ago
  A lot of responses from people who have never taken a cruise, how typical. There is a lot of nickel and diming but floor plans and room views tend to be shown when you're buying. Even the interior windowless rooms are extremely well designed for space. The lack of windows does not really matter (for budget conscious travellers) since you're going to be only in there for sleeping and using the bathroom. Of course, no room is close to an engine.
  - doe_eyes 2y ago
    Yeah, I went on a cruise once, and the whole idea is that you don't spend time in your cabin. It's not a train. You have cinema screens, live performances, restaurants and bars, libraries, quiet lounge areas, pools, and so on. Plus, there are sightseeing opportunities on land, and the neat thing about cruise ships is that they dock where the action is. Airports are always on the outskirts; ports tend to be situated pretty centrally in most cities. Honestly, it's probably the nicest way to travel to faraway places, short of a private jet. It's not for everyone, but it's not a dystopian experience. The ships carry insane numbers of passengers, but they are also pretty darn spacious.
    - mnahkies 2y ago
      I've only been on one cruise, but I'd semi agree. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, but the time on shore was too short for my liking, I prefer to stay the same place for several days and get immersed - I think of it as a better all inclusive resort (and sometimes that's what you need)
      - ghaff 2y ago
        Generally speaking, I wouldn't do a cruise except somewhere like the Galapagos where it's pretty much the option. But I did do an Atlantic crossing after semi-retiring. I paid for a minor cabin upgrade and it wasn't really worth it. I'm not sitting on a balcony crossing the Atlantic anyway and I'm not spending time in my cabin.
        2y ago
- DiggyJohnson 2y ago
  > On the other hand, lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-) This is incredibly mean spirited. Besides perhaps the cruise ship emissions issue, how do you distinguish leisure time on a cruise from leisure time setting in front of the TV at home, or road tripping, or a ski trip, etc.? I'm aghast at the tone of this comment.
dotancohen 2y ago
It seems that those three hours gave you insight into one particular operators' practices, but obviously not the industry as a whole.
- protocolture 2y ago
  Well I spent ~3 years working portside it was just the one time I got to go into the ship that repulsed me. Well that and seeing the dead woman rolled out + (much) later learning that she had died of a drug overdose during an orgy.
icegreentea2 2y ago
Cruises hit a spot of: * All the fun and "not thinking" of an all-inclusive resort (though obviously only if you pay for the drink packages) on land * Generally cheaper than all inclusive resorts on mainland USA (I'm not as familiar with Europe) * Competitive on pricing with all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean/Mexico * Get to skip out on flight to the Caribbean/Mexico * Get to skip out out of the overt semi-colonial feel of like... a Caribbean/Mexican all inclusive resort. If nothing else, while the crew (ie the people running the ship) are almost certainly going to be mostly south/south-east asian, the staff (ie the people actually supposed to interact with the passengers) are going to be sufficiently multi-culturally mixed to help make all those thoughts fade away... And let's be real about most Caribbean/Mexican all-inclusive resorts... they aren't always the cleanest, and most people don't leave them except on tightly planned excursions anyways.
- chasil 2y ago
  The big draw for me was that my phone wouldn't work. Peers had a habit of calling me for non-critical, non-production problems. The worst was Mardi Gras, where I'm on Bourbon Street for Fat Tuesday, and my operations head calls me with an analyst on the line and burns fifteen minutes with a problem that turned out to be development coding. My phone did occasionally explode with voicemails and texts when I got back to port. Some of my peers have been forced to take a corporate credit card to pay for internet access on their ship.
  - School-Cotton 2y ago
    Why not just not answer your phone while on vacation?
    - msrenee 2y ago
      Presumably because of pressure from superiors. If they know you're in cell range and ignoring them, they'll be pissy. If you're simply unable to receive communications, that's just the way it is. It shouldn't be like that, but it is.
JKCalhoun 2y ago
I don't understand it either. Ted (friend of mine) called them "floating malls" and that has stuck with me.
- HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
  Sounds about right, but I guess some people like malls.
michaelt 2y ago
> It interests me that demand is increasing but I suspect thats just good advertising. And presumably numbers bouncing back after the pandemic - and as memories of the pandemic fade. There was a long period where they couldn't run cruises at all due to social distancing. And a load of ships where the infection spread like wildfire and there was barely any medical care available. And a load of people getting trapped on board ships that weren't allowed into ports, so they couldn't get repatriation flights, and so on. Measure against those catastrophic years, and I've no doubt demand is increasing!
deleted 2y ago
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sircastor 2y ago
My wife had expressed interest in taking a cruise until COVID and the cruise ship debacle when passengers were forced to stay on the ship, in their cabins for 2 weeks. Though the likelihood of something like that happening again feels pretty low, it has forever put her off the idea.
xxr 2y ago
>It interests me that demand is increasing I admire your embrace of the “curiosity, not disparagement” principle.
- protocolture 2y ago
  Well I could go that route too. I remember a bunch of cruise ships got sold off during covid. And we have had some market consolidation in Aus, I think P&O might have pulled a merger and then kept the incoming brand. I think one ship is leaving. But my anecdotal evidence is weak and region specific.
missedthecue 2y ago
"It interests me that demand is increasing but I suspect thats just good advertising." How do explain that so many cruise passengers are repeat customers?
AlbertCory 2y ago
This is anecdata: I know three people who've come back sick from cruises. The most interesting one was just last week: someone who had Mal de Débarquement Syndrome for six months. She was dizzy all the time. There is no cure. This might be a good one to try on your boss if you want to avoid business travel: say you suffer from Mal de Débarquement Syndrome! https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24796-mal-de-debarquement-syndrome-mdds https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24796-mal-de-...
- nilamo 2y ago
  Isn't that just vertigo?
  - AlbertCory 2y ago
    But it's got its own name, and in French! Much better.
- m3047 2y ago
  Land sickness. I owned / lived on a 41 foot sailboat for a decade. One of my semi-secret amusements was taking people to a tavern and buying a pitcher of beer after we'd been out all day. Idly drinking beers and having a pleasant conversation, and then watching them try to stand up to go use the restroom.
- sumeno 2y ago
  I know dozens who have come back completely healthy
  - AlbertCory 2y ago
    that's what "anecdata" means
    - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
      And you can reasonably apply the same grace to the person you're replying to...
SoftTalker 2y ago
Yeah I cannot imagine the attraction. It's almost literally one of the last things I'd ever want to spend vacation time on. I talked to a guy who took a week-long cruise that he described as being locked in a prison breathing diesel exhaust. He said there was no place on the ship were you could not smell the exhaust.
- sumeno 2y ago
  He was greatly exaggerating or has an incredibly sensitive nose
  - protocolture 2y ago
    When they shut down Wharf 8 in sydney, where I was working, they moved the ships to a temporary location without an onshore power connection for the ships. Diesel exhaust fume complaints came from suburbs around the wharf.
- protocolture 2y ago
  My issue wasnt the exhaust it was rotten food / human waste smell. Also the ship I was on used seacreatures instead of level numbers. Felt like walking around an app designed with security by obscurity.
  - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
    That is terrible and as someone that likes cruises (but only rarely goes on a cruise) you can safely assume that folks who like cruising and go often do not put up with rotten food or the smell of shit. Decent food and reasonably clean spaces are part of the appeal, in fact.
TechDebtDevin 2y ago
Ever worked in the back of a packed and popular restaurant? It's always hype/advertising hiding the reality of it all.
DidYaWipe 2y ago
For my girlfriend's family's sake, I've taken cruises the last two years. One Royal Caribbean, and one Norwegian. Decades ago I took a couple of Carnival cruises. Things are not better now. What a shitshow. Royal Caribbean sucked, but Norwegian was a new low. The only word that describes both the en-route experience and the destinations is DISMAL. At least Royal Caribbean had a pleasant food-court type of dining area, with stations of verious kinds in a dispersed layout that was navigable. Norwegian had only a narrow "racetrack" going around a central core, with serving stations in the wall. It was only a few feet wide, which meant you couldn't move because it was blocked by scooters (a totally predictable situation given the demographics of cruise ships). Then there was the smoke. WTF. We had an upper cabin with a balcony. Doing 20 knots on the open ocean, we couldn't hang out out there because it was continually inundated with cigarette smoke... and not even from the immediate neighbor. It was mind-boggling. There was also a smoking area right next to a sushi restaurant. And you had to walk through the smoke-ridden casino area on every deck to get anywhere on the boat. At least Royal Caribbean kept that whole giant ashtray confined to a central area on the lower level. Totally fine. Cruises are absolute shit. You're way better off just going to an all-inclusive resort somewhere, even somewhere cheap.
- jesterson 2y ago
  Not sure where you have gotten your experience from. If there is a smoke just complain and it will be taken care of. Been cruising for many years and loving it.
  - DidYaWipe 2y ago
    On Norwegian, the casino straddles the entire width of the ship on multiple decks. Which line do you prefer?
- DiggyJohnson 2y ago
  > Then there was the smoke. WTF. We had an upper cabin with a balcony. Doing 20 knots on the open ocean, we couldn't hang out out there because it was continually inundated with cigarette smoke... and not even from the immediate neighbor. Did you notify staff? This would almost certainly get remediated or result in reimbursement.
jesterson 2y ago
You been for 3 hours somewhere and making subjective generalizations on all industry? that's interesting
- protocolture 2y ago
  I literally went inside a place and found it disgusting. But yeah also, as above, I worked portside for years too. Its just the memories of going aboard that still haunt me.
cdchn 2y ago
I used to live near a cruise ship port in San Diego and I can't believe people roll the dice on cruises either. Ships would have mass disease breakouts ALL the time. Not to mention how many people just go missing. Our collective memories must be really short and everybody forgot what happened on cruise ships when COVID broke out.

lbriner 2y ago

"Prices from $1,000" but shows the picture of the presedential suite to lure people in. "Oh yeah, $1,000 is a room next to the engine room with no window and a single bed" at which point people feel a bit embarrassed and accept that it is another $10K just to get a window. On the other hand, lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-)

ge96 2y ago
Tape an ipad to a wall, loop an ocean scene... Window
- EnigmaFlare 2y ago
  Parallax, sunlight intensity, directionality, heat. It's a pity we don't have affordable (or even any?) artificial windows that even emulate the sun. Just think how much more economically buildings could be made if they had effective fake windows.
  - shreddit 2y ago
    You can do-it-yourself https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO
    - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
      Thanks. I'll watch that. It doesn't seem to have images but maybe you could have the scenery window separately and just look at one thing at a time :P I've considered setting up mirrors in my garden to redirect sunlight into a shaded room but never quite got it off the ground.
    - avidiax 2y ago
      There's also a commercial version: https://www.coelux.com/ https://www.coelux.com/
    - kolinko 2y ago
      You can also buy this from Alibaba - just the real thing, not the LCD flat panels. (the real ones are 10-20cm deep). I got a few two winters ago, and they are amazing for dark and gloomy Polish winters. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Circle-Artificial-Sun-Led-Circular-Skylight_1601124539128.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Circle-Artificial-Sun...
      - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
        That's awesome, but the most powerful one is 9000 lumens from a 1200x600 mm panel, which is 10000 lumen/m^2. I don't think that's good enough for a proper sun effect since sunlight is 100000 lumens/m^2 and even outdoors in the shade is brighter than these devices. But it's certainly a step in the right direction and no doubt much better than natural light for you.
  - janfoeh 2y ago
    There is an Italian company called Coelux which builds something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ4TJ4-kkDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ4TJ4-kkDw
    - ayewo 2y ago
      That’s pretty neat, thanks for linking to Coelux’s video. Apparently the video was recorded in 2014 so they’ve been around for at least 10years now.
  - sva_ 2y ago
    One step away from a real human factory farm
  - lowkey 2y ago
    You know, I co-founded a smart LED lighting company well over a decade ago and we considered this market. It seems like the potential applications might make this viable now. Cruise ships are a tiny market when compared to all the dead commercial office space in downtown cores that people wish to convert to residential but can’t because of lack of sunlight and similar reasons.
    - EnigmaFlare 2y ago
      That's cool. How did/would the technology have worked?
      - lowkey 2y ago
        There are some other implemenations listed on this page. The trick is to make sure the light rays are parallel as if coming from an infinite distance like the sun. To create the blue sky effect the easiest way is to pass the light through soapy water like in this video posted above https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO https://youtu.be/6bqBsHSwPgw?si=fWO5-pYa6kPYKLZO
- zabzonk 2y ago
  actually, some interior cabins really do this - big lcd screen showing camera views from outside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKgX8mKjmxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKgX8mKjmxU
  - ge96 2y ago
    I want to do this one day inside an apartment using one of those thin flat TV's, put two in a corner and make a city skyline view
    - dylan604 2y ago
      The TV would give you the ability to change the view. Have a couple of different 24 hour video loops so that it shows sunrise/sunset, clouds, storms (only if you had a good subwoofer to rumble with thunder) and then sync it to your clock. However, I would be really impressed with a lenticular screen so that you get the 6-DoF type of view that would change the paralax view as you moved around the room a bit.
djtango 2y ago
I don't much like cruises but I do really enjoy being out at sea and would be more than happy to "raw dog" (in gen z parlance) some trips out at sea.
- jajko 2y ago
  There are many ways to enjoy seas, cruise ships are by far the worst. As per people who worked on those, they are mostly for people who simply don't know how to enjoy life well but have money, are quiet alcoholics, and/or suffer massive loneliness. You can do amazing traveling experiences for less, you are in control of your own life and what happens next and you will feel like spending much more time when discovering world, culture, history and people compared to same white box with same things at same places. But its the same mentality of going to some properly amazing exotic place and then spending 2 weeks in luxury bubble of some 5 star resort. I don't complain - those folks leave interesting places and experiences for rest of us, but respecting that I cannot.
  - scarab92 2y ago
    There’s times I want to explore, and there’s times I just want to do nothing. Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while.
    - nixass 2y ago
      > Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while. Weird way to spend not-insignificant money on but to each their own
      - scarab92 2y ago
        I find I get somewhat anxious being at home and not doing anything, whereas it’s just psychologically easier in the middle of the ocean. I’m happy to pay the cost to be in an environment that I can actually relax in.
        2y ago
heresie-dabord 2y ago
> lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-) It's a sort of floating Las Vegas, with casinos and other passivities such as (from TFA): "buffet food, all-inclusive child supervision, shuffleboard, plentiful liquor and winking entertainers" Of course the scale of the operation could produce significant unhappiness if the cattle are forced to fight for food and live in their own filth, as in the case of the notorious Poop Cruise: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/stranded-cruise-ship-on-which-sewage-ran-down-the-walls-and-savages-fought-over-food-finally-docks-amid-jubilant-scenes-8496330.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/stranded-c...
joshstrange 2y ago
Ehh your life “ebbs away” no matter what you are doing. I’m neutral on cruises. I went on one with my family and had a good time but I don’t seek them out. There is something to be said for the “almost everything is included” nature of cruises. Not having to think about food and just relaxing or doing one of the many activities available is attractive. The various excursions or stops can be fun as well. It’s not for everyone but I see the appeal. Also, it doesn’t cost $10K to get a window. EDIT: I just price checked a cruise of the Caribbean on the Princess line (didn’t spend time checking the specific ship) but for a 7-day cruise for 2 people, a mini-suite (balcony and more room), and the premier package (unlimited drinks and other stuff) it came out to $3,800 total. If you drop the drinks it comes down about $1K. Now you have to get to the port and back home so factor in flights but that’s not absurd pricing IMHO. And you can get a balcony-only for cheaper as well.
- criddell 2y ago
  The “ebbs away” comment made me think of the perma-cruisers. Elderly people who cruise non-stop for years at a time. It can be less expensive and more interesting than a nice retirement home.
- bluGill 2y ago
  You could get under a 1000 if you go the inside cabin, you are only in your room to sleep anyway.
  - cactusplant7374 2y ago
    More than sleep for me. I need to decompress.
    - bluGill 2y ago
      Ocean view cabins on the bottom floor are often cheap. experienced crusiers know those are the best locations and the rich wish their sueit was there as the window near the water is a better view and worth more than a balcony - but there are so few that cruise lines can't afford to make suiets there vs the larger number who think higher is better.
chengiz 2y ago
A lot of responses from people who have never taken a cruise, how typical. There is a lot of nickel and diming but floor plans and room views tend to be shown when you're buying. Even the interior windowless rooms are extremely well designed for space. The lack of windows does not really matter (for budget conscious travellers) since you're going to be only in there for sleeping and using the bathroom. Of course, no room is close to an engine.
- doe_eyes 2y ago
  Yeah, I went on a cruise once, and the whole idea is that you don't spend time in your cabin. It's not a train. You have cinema screens, live performances, restaurants and bars, libraries, quiet lounge areas, pools, and so on. Plus, there are sightseeing opportunities on land, and the neat thing about cruise ships is that they dock where the action is. Airports are always on the outskirts; ports tend to be situated pretty centrally in most cities. Honestly, it's probably the nicest way to travel to faraway places, short of a private jet. It's not for everyone, but it's not a dystopian experience. The ships carry insane numbers of passengers, but they are also pretty darn spacious.
  - mnahkies 2y ago
    I've only been on one cruise, but I'd semi agree. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, but the time on shore was too short for my liking, I prefer to stay the same place for several days and get immersed - I think of it as a better all inclusive resort (and sometimes that's what you need)
    - ghaff 2y ago
      Generally speaking, I wouldn't do a cruise except somewhere like the Galapagos where it's pretty much the option. But I did do an Atlantic crossing after semi-retiring. I paid for a minor cabin upgrade and it wasn't really worth it. I'm not sitting on a balcony crossing the Atlantic anyway and I'm not spending time in my cabin.
      - 2y ago
DiggyJohnson 2y ago
> On the other hand, lots of people are returning customers so maybe there is something to be said for moving slowly across the ocean as your life ebbs away ;-) This is incredibly mean spirited. Besides perhaps the cruise ship emissions issue, how do you distinguish leisure time on a cruise from leisure time setting in front of the TV at home, or road tripping, or a ski trip, etc.? I'm aghast at the tone of this comment.

dotancohen 2y ago

It seems that those three hours gave you insight into one particular operators' practices, but obviously not the industry as a whole.

protocolture 2y ago
Well I spent ~3 years working portside it was just the one time I got to go into the ship that repulsed me. Well that and seeing the dead woman rolled out + (much) later learning that she had died of a drug overdose during an orgy.

icegreentea2 2y ago

Cruises hit a spot of: * All the fun and "not thinking" of an all-inclusive resort (though obviously only if you pay for the drink packages) on land * Generally cheaper than all inclusive resorts on mainland USA (I'm not as familiar with Europe) * Competitive on pricing with all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean/Mexico * Get to skip out on flight to the Caribbean/Mexico * Get to skip out out of the overt semi-colonial feel of like... a Caribbean/Mexican all inclusive resort. If nothing else, while the crew (ie the people running the ship) are almost certainly going to be mostly south/south-east asian, the staff (ie the people actually supposed to interact with the passengers) are going to be sufficiently multi-culturally mixed to help make all those thoughts fade away... And let's be real about most Caribbean/Mexican all-inclusive resorts... they aren't always the cleanest, and most people don't leave them except on tightly planned excursions anyways.

chasil 2y ago
The big draw for me was that my phone wouldn't work. Peers had a habit of calling me for non-critical, non-production problems. The worst was Mardi Gras, where I'm on Bourbon Street for Fat Tuesday, and my operations head calls me with an analyst on the line and burns fifteen minutes with a problem that turned out to be development coding. My phone did occasionally explode with voicemails and texts when I got back to port. Some of my peers have been forced to take a corporate credit card to pay for internet access on their ship.
- School-Cotton 2y ago
  Why not just not answer your phone while on vacation?
  - msrenee 2y ago
    Presumably because of pressure from superiors. If they know you're in cell range and ignoring them, they'll be pissy. If you're simply unable to receive communications, that's just the way it is. It shouldn't be like that, but it is.

JKCalhoun 2y ago

I don't understand it either. Ted (friend of mine) called them "floating malls" and that has stuck with me.

HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
Sounds about right, but I guess some people like malls.

michaelt 2y ago

> It interests me that demand is increasing but I suspect thats just good advertising. And presumably numbers bouncing back after the pandemic - and as memories of the pandemic fade. There was a long period where they couldn't run cruises at all due to social distancing. And a load of ships where the infection spread like wildfire and there was barely any medical care available. And a load of people getting trapped on board ships that weren't allowed into ports, so they couldn't get repatriation flights, and so on. Measure against those catastrophic years, and I've no doubt demand is increasing!

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sircastor 2y ago

My wife had expressed interest in taking a cruise until COVID and the cruise ship debacle when passengers were forced to stay on the ship, in their cabins for 2 weeks. Though the likelihood of something like that happening again feels pretty low, it has forever put her off the idea.

xxr 2y ago

>It interests me that demand is increasing I admire your embrace of the “curiosity, not disparagement” principle.

protocolture 2y ago
Well I could go that route too. I remember a bunch of cruise ships got sold off during covid. And we have had some market consolidation in Aus, I think P&O might have pulled a merger and then kept the incoming brand. I think one ship is leaving. But my anecdotal evidence is weak and region specific.

missedthecue 2y ago

"It interests me that demand is increasing but I suspect thats just good advertising." How do explain that so many cruise passengers are repeat customers?

AlbertCory 2y ago

This is anecdata: I know three people who've come back sick from cruises. The most interesting one was just last week: someone who had Mal de Débarquement Syndrome for six months. She was dizzy all the time. There is no cure. This might be a good one to try on your boss if you want to avoid business travel: say you suffer from Mal de Débarquement Syndrome! https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24796-mal-de-debarquement-syndrome-mdds https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24796-mal-de-...

nilamo 2y ago
Isn't that just vertigo?
- AlbertCory 2y ago
  But it's got its own name, and in French! Much better.
m3047 2y ago
Land sickness. I owned / lived on a 41 foot sailboat for a decade. One of my semi-secret amusements was taking people to a tavern and buying a pitcher of beer after we'd been out all day. Idly drinking beers and having a pleasant conversation, and then watching them try to stand up to go use the restroom.
sumeno 2y ago
I know dozens who have come back completely healthy
- AlbertCory 2y ago
  that's what "anecdata" means
  - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
    And you can reasonably apply the same grace to the person you're replying to...

SoftTalker 2y ago

Yeah I cannot imagine the attraction. It's almost literally one of the last things I'd ever want to spend vacation time on. I talked to a guy who took a week-long cruise that he described as being locked in a prison breathing diesel exhaust. He said there was no place on the ship were you could not smell the exhaust.

sumeno 2y ago
He was greatly exaggerating or has an incredibly sensitive nose
- protocolture 2y ago
  When they shut down Wharf 8 in sydney, where I was working, they moved the ships to a temporary location without an onshore power connection for the ships. Diesel exhaust fume complaints came from suburbs around the wharf.
protocolture 2y ago
My issue wasnt the exhaust it was rotten food / human waste smell. Also the ship I was on used seacreatures instead of level numbers. Felt like walking around an app designed with security by obscurity.
- DiggyJohnson 2y ago
  That is terrible and as someone that likes cruises (but only rarely goes on a cruise) you can safely assume that folks who like cruising and go often do not put up with rotten food or the smell of shit. Decent food and reasonably clean spaces are part of the appeal, in fact.

TechDebtDevin 2y ago

Ever worked in the back of a packed and popular restaurant? It's always hype/advertising hiding the reality of it all.

DidYaWipe 2y ago

For my girlfriend's family's sake, I've taken cruises the last two years. One Royal Caribbean, and one Norwegian. Decades ago I took a couple of Carnival cruises. Things are not better now. What a shitshow. Royal Caribbean sucked, but Norwegian was a new low. The only word that describes both the en-route experience and the destinations is DISMAL. At least Royal Caribbean had a pleasant food-court type of dining area, with stations of verious kinds in a dispersed layout that was navigable. Norwegian had only a narrow "racetrack" going around a central core, with serving stations in the wall. It was only a few feet wide, which meant you couldn't move because it was blocked by scooters (a totally predictable situation given the demographics of cruise ships). Then there was the smoke. WTF. We had an upper cabin with a balcony. Doing 20 knots on the open ocean, we couldn't hang out out there because it was continually inundated with cigarette smoke... and not even from the immediate neighbor. It was mind-boggling. There was also a smoking area right next to a sushi restaurant. And you had to walk through the smoke-ridden casino area on every deck to get anywhere on the boat. At least Royal Caribbean kept that whole giant ashtray confined to a central area on the lower level. Totally fine. Cruises are absolute shit. You're way better off just going to an all-inclusive resort somewhere, even somewhere cheap.

jesterson 2y ago
Not sure where you have gotten your experience from. If there is a smoke just complain and it will be taken care of. Been cruising for many years and loving it.
- DidYaWipe 2y ago
  On Norwegian, the casino straddles the entire width of the ship on multiple decks. Which line do you prefer?
DiggyJohnson 2y ago
> Then there was the smoke. WTF. We had an upper cabin with a balcony. Doing 20 knots on the open ocean, we couldn't hang out out there because it was continually inundated with cigarette smoke... and not even from the immediate neighbor. Did you notify staff? This would almost certainly get remediated or result in reimbursement.

jesterson 2y ago

You been for 3 hours somewhere and making subjective generalizations on all industry? that's interesting

protocolture 2y ago
I literally went inside a place and found it disgusting. But yeah also, as above, I worked portside for years too. Its just the memories of going aboard that still haunt me.

cdchn 2y ago

I used to live near a cruise ship port in San Diego and I can't believe people roll the dice on cruises either. Ships would have mass disease breakouts ALL the time. Not to mention how many people just go missing. Our collective memories must be really short and everybody forgot what happened on cruise ships when COVID broke out.