6 ms·

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.
      - bosie 2y ago
        Hear me out but maybe spend the cruise money for getting coaching from a psychologist/therapist to help you with feeling anxious at home? That doesn’t sound like a great overall attitude, having stress responses at home and work related
        zenoprax 2y ago
        In a less serious way there is the possibility (and therefore a potential expectation) of being 'productive' when at home. Chores, errands, unfinished projects and all the other daily life that surrounds you. For me, any time off spent away from home has a different timbre of rejuvenation and I say that as someone who loves being at home.
        ghaff 2y ago
        I think that's totally fair. I tend to like fairly active vacations for the most part. But it's also the case that, when I'm at home, I also feel the pull for all sorts of tasks that are pretty much endless.
        DiggyJohnson 2y ago
        I think this is overstating the power of psychological treatment and therapy. Getting away from the normal routine for a bit is probably an ancient therapy for restless humans. I'd rather pay the cruise line than the doctors office.
  - JKCalhoun 2y ago
    Train rides across the country? Actually though, road trips scratch that itch for me as well. I don't plan them out except to say — let's wander off to the Great Lakes or lets follow the Mississippi River south — see all the river towns along the way. I've used AI to throw out ideas of things to see while on the road, or the wife and I fall back to looking for antique stores as an excuse to wander through the small downtowns of towns no one has heard of.
    - criddell 2y ago
      That’s still doing something though. On a cruise ship you can wake up, walk out of your room and stop for breakfast on your way to the deck where you sit in a chair and watch the ocean for hours. It can be way more chill.
    - __float 2y ago
      Driving is very unpleasant for some. Trains in the US are not exactly luxurious by any stretch: compare the food on a nice cruise to the food available on a train.
      - paulryanrogers 2y ago
        This was the biggest shock when seeing Europe, their trains are so much better. Considering how sprawling the continental US is, it's a shame we don't have more and better quality trains.
        robotresearcher 2y ago
        It’s because the US is so sprawling that trains lost out to planes there. Almost all of Europe is accessible in a day on a train. Only planes can do that in the US. So the US trains don’t have their costs amortized over a large fraction of business travel as well as vacationers.
        paulryanrogers 2y ago
        High speed trains could still help connect a lot more hubs in the US. And more low speed trains and trolleys could reduce local traffic. IMO car culture took root, and we dove in head first with little thought to the long term consequences.
  - t0mas88 2y ago
    > Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while. I've never been on a cruise, but for me renting a beach house does the same. Sleep, eat, watch the ocean from the beach and do totally nothing. Camping with friends also does it. Let all the kids play together, just sit and watch, doing nothing. When I was a bit younger I would have considered "doing nothing" hell on earth, but with a busy life it's good to just do nothing once in a while.
    - Ekaros 2y ago
      Catering included is big part. No need to cook or to clean up.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      I did a trans-Atlantic crossing earlier this year. There were a lot of interesting entertainment options and good food--and I had plenty of time. Not something I would routinely do as a travel option but given flexibility and the need to get across the ocean in some manner as part of another activity definitely something I'd consider again.
    - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
      Renting a beach house is very similar to cruising. It's literally a beach house with builtin amenities, restaurants, and no weird trips to the local Walmart.
  - npsimons 2y ago
    Sounds like a very expensive way to do nothing. I can do nothing at home virtually for free.
- verhaust 2y ago
  I don't get this kind of vitriol toward cruise goers. I like to plan trips as an adventure like you and 6 years ago had zero desire to ever go on a cruise. I ended up going on one because my in-laws wanted to do a European cruise with extended family for their retirement celebration. They don't drink, they enjoy their life and got to celebrate with family so no loneliness. They are just older and don't have the physicality or mental desire to plan and go on adventures anymore. They wanted a more catered experience for their celebration. I actually enjoyed the cruise way more than I thought I would. The cruise allowed people to do what they want. My in-laws and others with less physical ability could go on bus tours or taxi around. People like me that preferred adventure can spend 8 hours walking through different nooks and crannies of the city. Being on deck in an open sea was nice and peaceful. I had been to Europe a few times before, but the cruise allowed me to go and walk around port cities that I wouldn't have been able to go to otherwise, without substantially more cost. Each with some interesting bits to walk through and good food to eat. It was a good, quick, demo for whether I wanted to plan a future trip to that city. If I were planning a trip now for my immediate fanily, I wouldn't do a cruise. I do not spew vitriol and insults at those that do though. Most of them aren't as pathetic as you have been led to think.
  - davidashe 2y ago
    Look into what life is like for the staff. A previous commenter mentioned that cruises (paraphrase) “lack the colonial feel of mexican resorts” which is a testament to the power of consumerist illusion.
    - criddell 2y ago
      That’s why you tip generously and often.
    - verhaust 2y ago
      Yea, I know the staff can be treated terribly. I can see how the OP I replied to can get the impression that all cruise goers are bitter/terrible people if their anecdotes are mostly staff complaints. I never talked or dealt with staff other than ordering food/drinks. I saw plenty of people talking rudely to staff with petty complaints. I saw one of the entertainers yelling because one woman grabbed his crotch as they passed by. The staff have to deal with the worst/rudest/entitled cruise goers and get paid way too little for it.
- canjobear 2y ago
  For some reason cruises bring out a lot of judgment in people. But at the end of the day, some people like cruises, others don't. Some people like exploring cultures, other people enjoy entertainment at sea. Some people like roughing it in an exotic foreign place, others prefer luxury hotels. The same person's preferences might change over time. Why do you think your preferences are better than someone else's? This kind of judgmental attitude is the thing that's not worthy of respect, imo.
- hypercube33 2y ago
  Perhaps but also it has the best metal festivals every year. I even get my own toilet and clean bed.
GJim 2y ago
> "raw dog" (in gen z parlance) I had to google that...... I'm afraid 'raw dogging' means something very different in Blighty!
- HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
  Means the same "very different" something here in the US too... Maybe doing it in a cruise ship adds to the excitement ?
  - rswail 2y ago
    The term has been "repurposed" by gen z/alpha to mean having an experience in real life without filters.
    - GJim 2y ago
      Well...... shagging in a car whist a bunch of blokes stand around watching and wanking certainly is an experience in real life without filters! https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dogging https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dogging
      - immibis 2y ago
        "raw dog" and "dogging" are two different sexual slang terms. "raw dogging" here is to be understood as to raw dog in present tense, not dogging in a manner that is raw.
        tonyedgecombe 2y ago
        This is what I love about HN, you can find an expert on anything.
        rad_gruchalski 2y ago
        yolo

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.
    - bosie 2y ago
      Hear me out but maybe spend the cruise money for getting coaching from a psychologist/therapist to help you with feeling anxious at home? That doesn’t sound like a great overall attitude, having stress responses at home and work related
      - zenoprax 2y ago
        In a less serious way there is the possibility (and therefore a potential expectation) of being 'productive' when at home. Chores, errands, unfinished projects and all the other daily life that surrounds you. For me, any time off spent away from home has a different timbre of rejuvenation and I say that as someone who loves being at home.
        ghaff 2y ago
        I think that's totally fair. I tend to like fairly active vacations for the most part. But it's also the case that, when I'm at home, I also feel the pull for all sorts of tasks that are pretty much endless.
      - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
        I think this is overstating the power of psychological treatment and therapy. Getting away from the normal routine for a bit is probably an ancient therapy for restless humans. I'd rather pay the cruise line than the doctors office.
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  Train rides across the country? Actually though, road trips scratch that itch for me as well. I don't plan them out except to say — let's wander off to the Great Lakes or lets follow the Mississippi River south — see all the river towns along the way. I've used AI to throw out ideas of things to see while on the road, or the wife and I fall back to looking for antique stores as an excuse to wander through the small downtowns of towns no one has heard of.
  - criddell 2y ago
    That’s still doing something though. On a cruise ship you can wake up, walk out of your room and stop for breakfast on your way to the deck where you sit in a chair and watch the ocean for hours. It can be way more chill.
  - __float 2y ago
    Driving is very unpleasant for some. Trains in the US are not exactly luxurious by any stretch: compare the food on a nice cruise to the food available on a train.
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      This was the biggest shock when seeing Europe, their trains are so much better. Considering how sprawling the continental US is, it's a shame we don't have more and better quality trains.
      - robotresearcher 2y ago
        It’s because the US is so sprawling that trains lost out to planes there. Almost all of Europe is accessible in a day on a train. Only planes can do that in the US. So the US trains don’t have their costs amortized over a large fraction of business travel as well as vacationers.
        paulryanrogers 2y ago
        High speed trains could still help connect a lot more hubs in the US. And more low speed trains and trolleys could reduce local traffic. IMO car culture took root, and we dove in head first with little thought to the long term consequences.
- t0mas88 2y ago
  > Cruises are good for when I want to do nothing for a while. I've never been on a cruise, but for me renting a beach house does the same. Sleep, eat, watch the ocean from the beach and do totally nothing. Camping with friends also does it. Let all the kids play together, just sit and watch, doing nothing. When I was a bit younger I would have considered "doing nothing" hell on earth, but with a busy life it's good to just do nothing once in a while.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    Catering included is big part. No need to cook or to clean up.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    I did a trans-Atlantic crossing earlier this year. There were a lot of interesting entertainment options and good food--and I had plenty of time. Not something I would routinely do as a travel option but given flexibility and the need to get across the ocean in some manner as part of another activity definitely something I'd consider again.
  - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
    Renting a beach house is very similar to cruising. It's literally a beach house with builtin amenities, restaurants, and no weird trips to the local Walmart.
- npsimons 2y ago
  Sounds like a very expensive way to do nothing. I can do nothing at home virtually for free.
verhaust 2y ago
I don't get this kind of vitriol toward cruise goers. I like to plan trips as an adventure like you and 6 years ago had zero desire to ever go on a cruise. I ended up going on one because my in-laws wanted to do a European cruise with extended family for their retirement celebration. They don't drink, they enjoy their life and got to celebrate with family so no loneliness. They are just older and don't have the physicality or mental desire to plan and go on adventures anymore. They wanted a more catered experience for their celebration. I actually enjoyed the cruise way more than I thought I would. The cruise allowed people to do what they want. My in-laws and others with less physical ability could go on bus tours or taxi around. People like me that preferred adventure can spend 8 hours walking through different nooks and crannies of the city. Being on deck in an open sea was nice and peaceful. I had been to Europe a few times before, but the cruise allowed me to go and walk around port cities that I wouldn't have been able to go to otherwise, without substantially more cost. Each with some interesting bits to walk through and good food to eat. It was a good, quick, demo for whether I wanted to plan a future trip to that city. If I were planning a trip now for my immediate fanily, I wouldn't do a cruise. I do not spew vitriol and insults at those that do though. Most of them aren't as pathetic as you have been led to think.
- davidashe 2y ago
  Look into what life is like for the staff. A previous commenter mentioned that cruises (paraphrase) “lack the colonial feel of mexican resorts” which is a testament to the power of consumerist illusion.
  - criddell 2y ago
    That’s why you tip generously and often.
  - verhaust 2y ago
    Yea, I know the staff can be treated terribly. I can see how the OP I replied to can get the impression that all cruise goers are bitter/terrible people if their anecdotes are mostly staff complaints. I never talked or dealt with staff other than ordering food/drinks. I saw plenty of people talking rudely to staff with petty complaints. I saw one of the entertainers yelling because one woman grabbed his crotch as they passed by. The staff have to deal with the worst/rudest/entitled cruise goers and get paid way too little for it.
canjobear 2y ago
For some reason cruises bring out a lot of judgment in people. But at the end of the day, some people like cruises, others don't. Some people like exploring cultures, other people enjoy entertainment at sea. Some people like roughing it in an exotic foreign place, others prefer luxury hotels. The same person's preferences might change over time. Why do you think your preferences are better than someone else's? This kind of judgmental attitude is the thing that's not worthy of respect, imo.
hypercube33 2y ago
Perhaps but also it has the best metal festivals every year. I even get my own toilet and clean bed.

GJim 2y ago

> "raw dog" (in gen z parlance) I had to google that...... I'm afraid 'raw dogging' means something very different in Blighty!

HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
Means the same "very different" something here in the US too... Maybe doing it in a cruise ship adds to the excitement ?
- rswail 2y ago
  The term has been "repurposed" by gen z/alpha to mean having an experience in real life without filters.
  - GJim 2y ago
    Well...... shagging in a car whist a bunch of blokes stand around watching and wanking certainly is an experience in real life without filters! https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dogging https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dogging
    - immibis 2y ago
      "raw dog" and "dogging" are two different sexual slang terms. "raw dogging" here is to be understood as to raw dog in present tense, not dogging in a manner that is raw.
      - tonyedgecombe 2y ago
        This is what I love about HN, you can find an expert on anything.
        rad_gruchalski 2y ago
        yolo