Are cruise ships ever going to stop

[corco]

If you believe in global warming and that the ice caps will melt and the sea level will rise, flooding the planet, we may all need to live on boats and become a seafaring civilization. Disney and Carnival are just looking out for the best interests of civilization by developing this technology in advance.

Or we can just move to Colorado, and skip the seasickness.

Yeah, we mountain westers have more guns than you coastal folk. You can pry our land out of our cold, dead hands.

[Duke87]

I'm confused.  What's wrong with building bigger boats again? 

What's wrong is that when these huge-ass cruise ships make ports of call in relatively small towns and unleash their swarm of patrons upon them, mayhem ensues. I recall a family trip to Acadia National Park where we stayed in Bar Harbor and it was quite pleasant... except for the one afternoon that a cruise ship pulled up and turned everything into a crowded mess. That was awful. We intentionally went somewhere where it wouldn't be too crowded and it got spoiled for us.

If people wish to cram themselves by the thousands onto a boat to go putter around the ocean, I may question their sanity but ultimately it is their vacation and so what should I care. But when I'm trying to enjoy somewhere landside and a cruise ship shows up and fucks it up with their crowds of goddamned tourists, then I object.

There need to be rules saying that if you've got a big boat, except in an emergency you can only stop and let people off in a big city.

[roadman65]

What I do not like, which is in full agreement with an earlier comment, about these big ships are a disaster waiting to happen.  They do not learn as the Titanic should be remembered by all!

For me personally it was the Poseidion Adventure Movie that made be not ever to want to go on a cruise.  Although a fictional story and most of the action artwork of Irwin Allen to create the compromising situation that makes the movie the adventure it was, it still has merit as a rogue wave could easily turn a large vessel like an aircraft carrier topside if it hit it broadside.  My sister and mom want me to cruise, saying I would have a good time, but I argue with them on the fact that to me I have a better time on land and using my own money wisely in the process.

Plus cruise ships also are not like the Love Boat on TV was.  Crew members work from the moment they get up to the moment they sleep.  It is not like Gopher, Isaac, and the Doc all mingling with the passengers and enjoying the amenities of the ship.  You work in real life the whole entire day!  And yes you do not get a day off!  You work the whole entire cruise for whatever it lasts and you get a brief break at port, but you have to turn over the ship for next cruise.  They do give you one week off a month to compensate, but remember that is cause US labor laws do not apply here!  Most cruise ships (even US owned lines) are registered in a foreign country, so they can get away with slave labor practices and the unions of America that would stop them from doing it.   In essence they treat their crew like crap!

[oscar]

What's wrong is that when these huge-ass cruise ships make ports of call in relatively small towns and unleash their swarm of patrons upon them, mayhem ensues. I recall a family trip to Acadia National Park where we stayed in Bar Harbor and it was quite pleasant... except for the one afternoon that a cruise ship pulled up and turned everything into a crowded mess. That was awful. We intentionally went somewhere where it wouldn't be too crowded and it got spoiled for us.

One small Alaska town famously revolted against a cruise ship visit. When the cruise ship came by Tenakee Springs, in southeastern Alaska, the town put out the unwelcome mat for the tourists, and pretty much shut down until the pissed-off tourists got back on board and the ship left, never to return.

Tenakee Springs is served by one of the smaller vessels on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system, but is the only AMHS port where vehicles may not be taken on or off the ferry (with exceptions such as for emergency or other official vehicles, the only ones allowed in Tenakee Springs).

[english si]

They do not learn as the Titanic should be remembered by all!

Other than, you know, providing enough lifeboats for everyone on board and having sectioned hulls, of course!

The Titanic was tiny in comparison to these 'x of the Seas' liners, BTW.

I can't imagine anyone tempting fate by saying "unsinkable". And in this aviation age, breaking the record for a trans-Atlantic crossing is rather meaningless so the pressure wouldn't be as high.

Take a look at this here new ship that is out and about?  Not only is it a bit extravagant, but it is ugly to say the least.

Horses for courses, I guess.

Whenever there's the cruise ship equivalent of a planetary alignment in Southampton, half the city goes out and takes photos of the floating behemoths.

Also pretty irrelevant in the most part. The people on the boat don't care what the boat looks like on the outside as they only see it at a port*, the people in the port cities don't care as cruise liners come bringing money or hoards and that is what matters to them (also at Southampton, it's hard to get too close to them unless a passenger, plus they look nicer than the container ships that are the dock's other business!).

The Titanic cared about looks, and didn't put the second row of lifeboats on the ship.

*with rare exceptions of double teaming. But only Cunard seems to do that, and very rarely (if not only once when the QE2 and Queen Victoria crossed the Atlantic for the first/nearly-last time). Cunard's liners make some effort on looks, rather than going for sheer size.

[Pete from Boston]

If you believe in global warming and that the ice caps will melt and the sea level will rise, flooding the planet, we may all need to live on boats and become a seafaring civilization. Disney and Carnival are just looking out for the best interests of civilization by developing this technology in advance.

Or we can just move to Colorado, and skip the seasickness.

Yeah, we mountain westers have more guns than you coastal folk. You can pry our land out of our cold, dead hands.

By then your water funding will long since have run out, and you'll have used up your bullets on one another over what drops remain.  Water, water everywhere, but a big arid wasteland in the interior. 

[jeffandnicole]

I'm confused.  What's wrong with building bigger boats again? 

What's wrong is that when these huge-ass cruise ships make ports of call in relatively small towns and unleash their swarm of patrons upon them, mayhem ensues. I recall a family trip to Acadia National Park where we stayed in Bar Harbor and it was quite pleasant... except for the one afternoon that a cruise ship pulled up and turned everything into a crowded mess. That was awful. We intentionally went somewhere where it wouldn't be too crowded and it got spoiled for us...But when I'm trying to enjoy somewhere landside and a cruise ship shows up and fucks it up with their crowds of goddamned tourists, then I object.

Cruise ships just don't randomly pull up to shore and unleash their captive audience.  These towns have purposely built ports and facilities for these cruise ships, and the schedules are known upwards of 18 months in advance.  The visitors then come off the ship and spend...spend...spend! 

What's more interesting is that one tourist thinks what they are doing is OK, but are pissed that other tourists are ruining their trip.  For the most part, the locals are either happy all tourists are there, because they're making money, or aren't happy that you're there, getting in their way, jamming their roads, sitting at traffic lights trying to figure out which way to go.

What if there was a big convention in town?  Would that ruin your trip too?  It's all part of planning...when I go on vacation, I do take a look to see if there's any major activities in town at the same time.  If I can avoid it, I would.  It's no different than me avoiding, say, State College PA, on days when Penn State will play a football game at home.  If I'm going to be in a city that is also a cruise port of call, I will find something to do that day that avoids them.

If people wish to cram themselves by the thousands onto a boat to go putter around the ocean, I may question their sanity but ultimately it is their vacation and so what should I care.

There need to be rules saying that if you've got a big boat, except in an emergency you can only stop and let people off in a big city.

Um, again, the town and the state has actually built the facilities to welcome them.

One small Alaska town famously revolted against a cruise ship visit. When the cruise ship came by Tenakee Springs, in southeastern Alaska, the town put out the unwelcome mat for the tourists, and pretty much shut down until the pissed-off tourists got back on board and the ship left, never to return.

The cruise ship that stopped there was one of the small, quaint ships: 120 passengers.  A large ship that Pete doesn't like would never be able to make this stop.  Maybe the argument should be they should all be built bigger, since smaller ships have the ability to make stops in towns that aren't expecting them.

For me personally it was the Poseidion Adventure Movie that made be not ever to want to go on a cruise.  Although a fictional story and most of the action artwork of Irwin Allen to create the compromising situation that makes the movie the adventure it was, it still has merit as a rogue wave could easily turn a large vessel like an aircraft carrier topside if it hit it broadside.

Aren't movies made that bring disaster to roads, bridges, buildings, entire towns, volcanos, planes, tidal waves, earthquakes, aliens, etc, etc, etc?  I know people have fears of all sorts of various things, but it shows that someone will be scarred for life about a specific subject, but recreate that movie and vary the issue (say, a rogue wave knocking over a suspension bridge), and you wouldn't give a second thought about travelling over a bridge in the future.

Plus cruise ships also are not like the Love Boat on TV was.  Crew members work from the moment they get up to the moment they sleep.  It is not like Gopher, Isaac, and the Doc all mingling with the passengers and enjoying the amenities of the ship.  You work in real life the whole entire day!  And yes you do not get a day off!  You work the whole entire cruise for whatever it lasts and you get a brief break at port, but you have to turn over the ship for next cruise.  They do give you one week off a month to compensate, but remember that is cause US labor laws do not apply here!  Most cruise ships (even US owned lines) are registered in a foreign country, so they can get away with slave labor practices and the unions of America that would stop them from doing it.   In essence they treat their crew like crap!

Most of this is true.  But for many of these people, it represents a living, and a good one at that compared to many of their neighbors.  It's like any other job - they do choose to do it, and some of them have been working on cruise lines for years.  I imagine it's easier to deal with if they don't have a spouse and kids, and if they enjoy meeting new people.  But it's like any customer service job:  The majority of people you see are enjoyable people.  The 5% of visitors that think it's all about them will make their life hell.

[Pete from Boston]

One small Alaska town famously revolted against a cruise ship visit. When the cruise ship came by Tenakee Springs, in southeastern Alaska, the town put out the unwelcome mat for the tourists, and pretty much shut down until the pissed-off tourists got back on board and the ship left, never to return.

The cruise ship that stopped there was one of the small, quaint ships: 120 passengers.  A large ship that Pete doesn't like would never be able to make this stop.  Maybe the argument should be they should all be built bigger, since smaller ships have the ability to make stops in towns that aren't expecting them.

I sure hope that "Pete" isn't me.  I have no horse (or boat) in this race and never made any comment about cruise ships.  People like them, whatever.  They're not in my way and I'm not in theirs.

[jeffandnicole]

One small Alaska town famously revolted against a cruise ship visit. When the cruise ship came by Tenakee Springs, in southeastern Alaska, the town put out the unwelcome mat for the tourists, and pretty much shut down until the pissed-off tourists got back on board and the ship left, never to return.

The cruise ship that stopped there was one of the small, quaint ships: 120 passengers.  A large ship that Pete doesn't like would never be able to make this stop.  Maybe the argument should be they should all be built bigger, since smaller ships have the ability to make stops in towns that aren't expecting them.

I sure hope that "Pete" isn't me.  I have no horse (or boat) in this race and never made any comment about cruise ships.  People like them, whatever.  They're not in my way and I'm not in theirs.

Wow...did I err on that one!  Sorry about that Pete!  Obviously I was referring to Roadman's dislike of big cruise ships!

[on_wisconsin]

They do not learn as the Titanic should be remembered by all!

Other than, you know, providing enough lifeboats for everyone on board and having sectioned hulls, of course

And the International Ice Patrol, rapid advancement of maritime communications, "speed limits" in ice fields, mandatory lifeboat drills and inspections, required 24/7 365 on-duty radio operators, etc.



A personal concern about modern cruise ships for me would be the large amount superstructure compared to the very shallow hull. Very little of these boats today are useful for keeping them up right. Although, that is probably part of the reason they are kept in calm areas such as island hopping and sea wandering.

[PHLBOS]

IMHO, if one doesn't like cruise ships or going on a cruise; then there's one simple solution, don't sign up for nor go on one! 
Some people like to go on them (for reasons previously mentioned), some people don't.  It's called freedom of choice.

It's not like Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Carribean, Disney, etc. are pointing guns towards people's heads demanding that they partake in one of their cruises.

For those that mention the Titanic; that wasn't a cruise ship in the modern-day sense but rather a means of Trans-Atlantic travel/commuting (airlines & airports, as we know them, didn't exist back then).   

[ET21]

Maybe

[cpzilliacus]

I think I should have asked how many of us really travel on cruise ships.  I would imagine that many of us love roads here that many of us all travel by road.

There are instances like this and this where the cruise ship is the road (these make up parts of highways E18 and E20).

[J Route Z]

Cruise ships are so much fun. Go Carnival, not Royal Caribbean. The Norwegian Jewel is good too.

[Duke87]

What's more interesting is that one tourist thinks what they are doing is OK, but are pissed that other tourists are ruining their trip.  For the most part, the locals are either happy all tourists are there, because they're making money, or aren't happy that you're there, getting in their way, jamming their roads, sitting at traffic lights trying to figure out which way to go.

Yes but if I am in a town it is because I made a deliberate decision to go there. If people off a cruise ship are in a town it is because the cruise operator led them there and they just followed like a bunch of sheep. Blech.

Honestly if there is a convention or sporting event in town I will respect the crowds a lot more since in those cases each individual person in the crowd made an individual decision to go there and is there for some more significant purpose than grazing on tourist kitsch.

[english si]

There are instances like this and this where the cruise ship is the road (these make up parts of highways E18 and E20).

They are just big ferries that take quite a bit of time to cross and have luxury rooms - no different to this ferry company that offers long cross-channel routes from England/Ireland to France, and England to Spain routes that take 2 nights.

And I'm not sure that the routes you suggest are the right ones for those E roads, but those companies do offer the E18 route.

[jeffandnicole]

What's more interesting is that one tourist thinks what they are doing is OK, but are pissed that other tourists are ruining their trip.  For the most part, the locals are either happy all tourists are there, because they're making money, or aren't happy that you're there, getting in their way, jamming their roads, sitting at traffic lights trying to figure out which way to go.

Yes but if I am in a town it is because I made a deliberate decision to go there. If people off a cruise ship are in a town it is because the cruise operator led them there and they just followed like a bunch of sheep. Blech.

Huh?

When people elect to go on a cruise, there is an entire printed itinerary detailing where the ports of call are.  On most cruise sites I've looked it, this is posted on the pages before you even get to the pricing pages.  Those people specifically booked that cruise based on the ports the ship would be stopping at.  It's not like they get 2,000 people to jump on a boat and the captain shouts "Surprise!  We're going to Maine today!".

[SteveG1988]

The reason why cruise ships can be as big as they are is that they rarely go far. You won't ever see a cruise ship take a trans-atlantic trip. It wouldn't make it half way there due to how inefficent it is at burning fuel, how top heavy it is, etc.

The idea is to get an "exotic" vacation without leaving the comforts of home. No worries about voltages, eating local food that will make you sick, etc.

[Pete from Boston]

Every time I see the title of this thread, I think, "Eventually.  The people will run out of food otherwise."

[PHLBOS]

What's more interesting is that one tourist thinks what they are doing is OK, but are pissed that other tourists are ruining their trip.  For the most part, the locals are either happy all tourists are there, because they're making money, or aren't happy that you're there, getting in their way, jamming their roads, sitting at traffic lights trying to figure out which way to go.

Yes but if I am in a town it is because I made a deliberate decision to go there. If people off a cruise ship are in a town it is because the cruise operator led them there and they just followed like a bunch of sheep. Blech.

Huh?

When people elect to go on a cruise, there is an entire printed itinerary detailing where the ports of call are.  On most cruise sites I've looked it, this is posted on the pages before you even get to the pricing pages.  Those people specifically booked that cruise based on the ports the ship would be stopping at.  It's not like they get 2,000 people to jump on a boat and the captain shouts "Surprise!  We're going to Maine today!".

Having been on a couple of cruises myself; I do recall that on one cruise, a port of call (to a private resort island) was cancelled due to bad weather (the island dock was too small for the ship; transport to/from the island was done with smaller launches/shuttles aka tending); such was substituted for a Day at Sea.  Thankfully, the next port of call (to Nassau in the Bahamas) wasn't.

Nonetheless, if passenger(s) don't want to get off the ship at a particular port of call (for whatever reason); they just simply stay on the ship.

[jeffandnicole]

The reason why cruise ships can be as big as they are is that they rarely go far. You won't ever see a cruise ship take a trans-atlantic trip. It wouldn't make it half way there due to how inefficent it is at burning fuel, how top heavy it is, etc.

You may want to let Royal Caribbean know that.  The largest cruise ship in the world, the Allure of the Seas, makes that 'impossible' Trans-Atlantic trip twice a year.  For 2015, Royal Caribbean has 12 scheduled sailings. And that's just one cruise line - I'm sure most of the others do the same.

[1995hoo]

The reason why cruise ships can be as big as they are is that they rarely go far. You won't ever see a cruise ship take a trans-atlantic trip. It wouldn't make it half way there due to how inefficent it is at burning fuel, how top heavy it is, etc.

The idea is to get an "exotic" vacation without leaving the comforts of home. No worries about voltages, eating local food that will make you sick, etc.

Well, other than the cruise ships that do round-the-world itineraries and the like! We have a friend in Florida who took a round-the-world cruise. She really enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'd want to go away for that length of time, and the issue of dealing with the mail, packages, bills, etc., is certainly a major hassle. She said it took her over a month to ensure all the proper arrangements were made for that sort of thing.

There are a number that do transatlantic cruises as well, though sometimes those are offered as "repositioning" cruises where the cruise line is relocating the ship for the coming season and they figure they may as well make some money rather than moving an empty ship around.



We've been on two cruises, one from Seward to Vancouver and the other roundtrip out of Copenhagen through the Baltic Sea, both on the same ship (Holland America's Veendam). The ship accommodates around 1300 passengers, so it's smaller than the big floating cities roadman65 describes. A travel agent friend of ours recommended the mid-size ship. We enjoyed both cruises quite a bit, and as jeffandnicole notes, the stated itinerary for each was a part of why we chose to do them (indeed the itinerary was specifically what attracted me to the Baltic Sea cruise).

It's obviously fair to recognize that you don't get to visit an area in-depth. You barely scratch the surface of most ports you visit (our cruise spent two days in St. Petersburg, but you could spend a week there and not see everything....yet one day in Sitka was more than enough). On the other hand, it's a much more practical way to see a variety of places in some circumstances. The Alaska Panhandle is a hassle due to the lack of roads–your options are, basically, to fly (expensive) or to take the Alaska Marine Highway (potentially slow and doesn't go everywhere....our cruise went into Glacier Bay National Park, for example). The Baltic cruise went: Copehagen--->day at sea--->Tallinn--->St. Petersburg (two days)--->Helsinki--->Stockholm--->Visby (partial day)--->Warnemunde (most of us took a train to Berlin for the day)--->Arhus (half day)--->Copenhagen. That's not an easy itinerary to do unless you take a cruise, and the complicated Russian visa requirements would just make it that much worse. There are other places where I wouldn't consider a cruise, such as Atlantic Canada. I can drive there and give myself a lot more flexibility.

I'm not suggesting cruises are ideal for everyone. People who are into doing their own thing and not adhering to a schedule would probably be better off doing something else, although you don't have to go on the ship's organized shore excursions at each port. (In Russia those excursions were ideal, though, because it meant we didn't have to obtain visas nor deal with the utterly incomprehensible Cyrillic-lettered signs!)

[roadman65]

To Jeff and Nicole, no not going on a cruise is not only because of the classic disaster film.  I just really have no interest in them.

As far as other disaster films go about other places, there is a minor difference.  If a ship capsizes, you do not die instantly unless you are on deck.  If you are inside trapped in an air pocket, you may suffer some.

I still fly on planes even though they crash some.  I would still go in a tall building even after 9/11.  I have no interest in cruises and to me there is too much on firm soil that I want to see and have already built some places I love to go.

[jeffandnicole]

...It's obviously fair to recognize that you don't get to visit an area in-depth. You barely scratch the surface of most ports you visit...

This is one of the reasons why I like cruises - it gives you a sample of the various destinations.  One of our cruises was to Bermuda.  It did nothing for me.  Another cruise included stops in the Grand Cayman Islands, and I'd love to go back to the Grand Cayman Islands someday.

I have no interest in cruises and to me there is too much on firm soil that I want to see and have already built some places I love to go.

For the most part, my travelling is domestic in nature.  I always say there's a LOT to see in this country alone, before I go venturing off to other parts of the world.  But also seeing how a lot of people travel all over the world, especially those in high school and college, makes me kinda wish I did the same during that time.

[Rushmeister]

I think we need to keep moving forward with ship-building technology. 

Size is definitely of interest here, since someday we'll need to be able to build ships big enough to support thousands or even millions of people for many years as they cruise through interstellar space en route to new homes on other planets.

Sure, we have a long way to go, but you gotta start somewhere. (Where we're going, we don't need roads.)