Cruises

Decades ago, I thought a transatlantic crossing on a ship would be just the best thing ever. From New York to England. Then travels would take me across Europe ending in Italy from where I would cruise home to New York. Glamorous. Exclusive. Fantastic food. And so much more.

Of course, those thoughts were fed by movies of the day like A Time to Remember, and important snippets in other films. Today, that image is tarnished by super ships that apparently attempt at being Disney World at sea. Every amusement seems to be engineered into the ship’s offerings of goodies for everyone, especially the kids.

My image from long ago had nothing to do with kids. It was an adult experience of sophistication and quiet, serious thinking, and relating.

Funny how those thoughts do not align with today’s cruise world. The entertainment vessels of the seas are crammed with 3000 or more passengers, allotted to ever smaller cabins, as well as every bacteria and virus known to man. And some unknown viruses, too!

I recall my kids and family traveling on a Disney Cruise with a thousand kids or more. They came back with a nasty virus that haunted them on the cruise and again when home. Not the trip of dreams.

As I continue to age, I find travel an interesting topic but not one meant for me to actually do again. Those hopes no longer apply. The faraway places still attract but not in person anymore. The getting there and back is too much toil and threat to be appreciated. So much better to read about it or see it via a documentary film.

During the COVID Pandemic the cruise industry suffered terribly. The infection rates aboard ships were a true market depressant. Still cruise lines continue to build ever fancier and larger vessels. I wonder if their market will ever return large enough to make the investment worthwhile. I know I’m not in that market.

Anyone else feel the same way?

October 27, 2022

 

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