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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Great Big Cruise Liners
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
I've never been on a cruise though this honestly (not the ethical aspects, just the personal reports people have been giving) makes me less interested in going on one.
Part of me would love to go on a Disney cruise, but alas, the best stuff seems to be reserved for the kids but excluding adults. ![[Frown]](frown.gif) (Unlike Walt Disney World, where everyone can pretty much go do everything.)
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
When they're at sea, they may be under the laws of the country their registered in, but quite often that's a small country that makes money by registering ships with very little regulation.
As this article on ship registry shows, Bermuda has replaced Panama as the most popular country for a flag of convenience.
[ 27. February 2015, 05:39: Message edited by: Palimpsest ]
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
Carnival, which owns many other 'badges' of cruise lines, is the least environmentally friendly cruise line and its ships use the most out-dated sewage treatment processes. Overall, Carnival and two of its subsidiaries (Costa and P&O) get the worst scores.
Disney gets the best: its cruise ships have the most up-to-date sewage treatment plants AND its ships are equipped so they can link up to shore-based power supply, meaning they don't have to keep their engines running in-port.
They still look like apartment blocks on their sides...
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
I've never been on a cruise on a big ship, but we did a river one from Moscow to St Petersburg a few years ago. Interesting to see places, but really it was just a mixture of boring and gruelling. We did meet two wonderful Aussie couples, who were great fun to be with, though.
We did the standard cruise up the Nile, just to see the sites, but it was probably the least enjoyable bit of a great holiday, with private guides taking us around places (the great thing about hiring your own guide is that you can avoid going to the bazaar and can spend time in the museum looking at what you want to, not just mummies).
But the cruise I really loved was the one around the Galapagos in a small yacht, with just 9 passengers. Now, I would do that again in a heartbeat.
M.
PS editing to add, what's a 'positioning' cruise?
[ 27. February 2015, 07:30: Message edited by: M. ]
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
I wondered that too. Google tells me it's one that takes you from A to B, not A to B to A.
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gramps49:
Ships do a lot to control disease outbreaks on board. You will find cruise personnel constantly cleaning. You will also find sanitizing stations throughout the ship.
Except I've heard many news stories, over many years, about "mysterious" outbreaks of disease, on board, and they never seem to be handled very well.
And I have such a weak immune system that I get sick every time I go out.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
I knew someone who worked on one for a couple of years. Her background was in childcare and she worked in the nursery.
AFAICT for most of the employees it’s hard work for not particularly good money, but I think she saw it as an excellent opportunity to see the world that she wouldn’t otherwise have had. She didn’t get that much time off, but it was usually enough to go ashore for a couple of hours and see somewhere interesting.
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Evensong
Shipmate
# 14696
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Posted
I love these fabulous monstrosities of engineering. ( How DO they stay afloat?). I gape up in awe whenever they dock in our port. I think we had the Queen Mary II recently.
As for carbon footprints, would they be worse than planes?
As for employment, something is better than nothing in third world countries.
There is a rumour going around Australia ( my husband is a Geriatrician) that it is cheaper to live on cruise ships than in a nursing home.
[ 27. February 2015, 10:27: Message edited by: Evensong ]
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a theological scrapbook
Posts: 9481 | From: Australia | Registered: Apr 2009
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Ricardus
Shipmate
# 8757
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
As for carbon footprints, would they be worse than planes?
That was my initial reaction as well, but according to Ferijen's link earlier on the thread they are indeed worse than planes.
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Then the dog ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail. -- Tobit 11:9 (Douai-Rheims)
Posts: 7247 | From: Liverpool, UK | Registered: Nov 2004
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
As for carbon footprints, would they be worse than planes?
That was my initial reaction as well, but according to Ferijen's link earlier on the thread they are indeed worse than planes.
There is often the flight to the start of the cruise and back at the end of it too.
[ 27. February 2015, 11:34: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ferijen:
They're not an eco conscious travel option - (an old, probably biased, but informative article)
It's a ridiculous article. The purpose of a plane flight is travel from A to B. The purpose of a cruise is to do a whole bunch of things while travelling from A to B.
The person that flies from A to B then spends the next week in a hotel at B, performing various activities that are then left out of the equation because they did all the travelling bit first.
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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mdijon
Shipmate
# 8520
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
it is cheaper to live on cruise ships than in a nursing home.
My god what desperation. The embers of hell seem infinitely more appealing.
And what of the vomiting-bug outbreaks that occasionally sweep through the cruise ships, leaving them knee-deep in norovirus and gastric contents as they limp into port with the crew cursing the engine for its lack of power.
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mdijon nojidm uoɿıqɯ ɯqıɿou
ɯqıɿou uoɿıqɯ nojidm mdijon
Posts: 12277 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2004
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Ferijen
Shipmate
# 4719
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mdijon:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
it is cheaper to live on cruise ships than in a nursing home.
My god what desperation. The embers of hell seem infinitely more appealing.
I've got friends who have spent a lot of time - from a fairly young age - on SAGA ships (SAGA being specifically for the over 50s). They've done two and a half round the world cruises, for example, and report on the 'people living in the ships as its cheaper than a nursing home' issue...
There's medical care on board. People coming into your cabin on at least a daily basis. Good food. A willing staff happy to help you and push your wheelchair around. Different views out of the window, different people to talk to. More chance of sunshine. A built in - if transitory - community.
If you've got the money, no one to visit you, and aren't in need of specialised medical care (there are ship's doctors on board for day to day type activity), its a more attractive option than some. Norovirus and flu do, after all, do the rounds of nursing homes too.
Posts: 3259 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2003
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mdijon:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
it is cheaper to live on cruise ships than in a nursing home.
My god what desperation. The embers of hell seem infinitely more appealing.
And what of the vomiting-bug outbreaks that occasionally sweep through the cruise ships, leaving them knee-deep in norovirus and gastric contents as they limp into port with the crew cursing the engine for its lack of power.
Delicious food instead of boring industrial food, choice of live entertainment every evening instead of watching TV reruns, cheerful dinner companions, new sites every port instead of the same old garden every day. A pool, attentive staff. At half the price of an assisted living place.
If it's time to give up the house get rid of the stuff and move to a small room in a human warehouse, a ship can sure beat a ground-based cage.
There are ship problems occasionally, not often or people wouldn't return again and again. A virus outbreak is "news" because it's rare. Nursing homes get virus outbreaks, power losses, too.
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
re: ship as assisted living facility:
My mom contracted and ultimately died from antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection (surely the face of evil) in a hospital, so yeah, cruise ships are probably no worse than any other facility caring for the elderly. otoh, I can't imagine a cruise ship providing the kind of care that my mom required-- especially re: something as highly communicable as MRSA. I imagine the staff would be great about pushing your wheelchair out on the lido deck for a breath of fresh air-- but changing your adult diapers, treating bedsores, dealing with potentially deadly infections-- I doubt they would be up for that. My guess is your life expectancy would be greatly reduced.
otoh, maybe that's OK. Having seen what extending your lifespan a year or two in a nursing home looks like, I wonder if it's worth the effort (even w/o the extraordinary expense). Maybe it's worth it to spend your last few years traveling with all the advantages noted earlier, even if it does mean you succumb to pneumonia or bronchitis or MRSA or whatever a year or so earlier than you would otherwise.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
imagine the staff would be great about pushing your wheelchair out on the lido deck for a breath of fresh air-- but changing your adult diapers, treating bedsores, dealing with potentially deadly infections-- I doubt they would be up for that.
She would travel with a private nurse, of course.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I intend to ask about the disposal of waste from cabin WPB's on boarding - there is stuff I might have to take responsibility for if I don't like what they are going to do.
In the Aegean, there were problems with the coolant water input for the air conditioning beign blocked by other people's plastic bags, which apparently drift along below the surface.
I am reaching the ship by train. The second cruise I'm taking will be reachable either using my bus pass, or by taxi.
When I was a child, family holidays were a mix of beaches and interesting visits to archaeological sites or other educational features - as a result I don't feel any attraction to holidays which are based entirely on time filling activities without any information content!
Small cruises with guided stops at interesting places I like - especially by comparison with a trip I took round Orkney and Shetland with every night in a different hotel. No need to keep packing and unpacking. I do tend to think of things like ships and, at the other end of things, horses, as means of getting from A to B rather than ends in themselves.
[ 27. February 2015, 17:43: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Coa Coa
Apprentice
# 15535
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Posted
I cruise! Well my husband dog and I sail to faraway ports and tour vineyards on bicycles eat in waterside restaurants. By faraway I mean across or the length of either Lake Ontario or Erie… The only person I puke on is my dog and if I don't like the hubbub of conversation I go sit on the bowsprit! ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
Posts: 13 | From: Canada | Registered: Mar 2010
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Coa Coa: Well my husband dog and I sail to faraway ports and tour vineyards on bicycles eat in waterside restaurants. By faraway I mean across or the length of either Lake Ontario or Erie…
I'm a bit surprised that you can take a dog with you on a cruise. I can imagine that it would be more difficult on international cruises, because of quarantaine laws etc.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
Mr Bib and I went on a cruise a couple of years ago as he had always had a yen to do so - never again for either of us! We struck very bad weather so that the top deck was closed and the pool couldn't be used. I spent most of the time feeling violently ill and all the sea sickness cures were useless. There was a lack of anything interesting to do on the ship, there were childish games offerred and many people were stuck by the bar, permanently drunk. Many of the patrons travelled in large family and friends groups and were not interested in talking to anyone else. It hadn't occurred to us to take along all our relations- why would you take them with you on holiday? We spent a lot of money on the most miserable holiday we've ever had. Don't do it people. The Ship of Fools is the only ship for me.
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007
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Soror Magna
Shipmate
# 9881
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Posted
I had the fun of going on a cruise as a kid with my grandmother, and it was a terrific holiday - I discovered Baked Alaska. ![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif) ![[Axe murder]](graemlins/lovedrops.gif) It was also before flags of convenience were universal, so the service staff were Italian and the mariners were British. It would look like the SS Minnow next to today's ships.
There's a documentary called Why Ships Sink which looks at the Titanic and Costa Concordia disasters, and cruise safety in general. The modern ships with a very high centre of gravity roll more slowly, and so are more comfortable for the passengers. However, they are less stable when turning and they can be blown sideways by wind since they have such a vast surface area, like a sail. I think the most important bit I gleaned from the show was that in an emergency, you can't necessarily count on the crew, since the overwhelming majority of them are service personnel.
Finally, a colleague told me that sexual assault is common on cruises, among both passengers and crew. It's easy to say that these things should be reported to the local authorities. But what next? It's not like the ship will stay in port while the police investigate. Can the accuser and accused be forced to disembark, and how long will they be stuck wherever they happen to be for legal formalities, depositions, etc? And if they leave, how does a foreign country get them back for the trial? And who pays for all this?
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"You come with me to room 1013 over at the hospital, I'll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean." -- Tony Kushner, "Angels in America"
Posts: 5430 | From: Caprica City | Registered: Jul 2005
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by bib:
The Ship of Fools is the only ship for me.
![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Belle Ringer:
quote:
Originally posted by mdijon:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
it is cheaper to live on cruise ships than in a nursing home.
My god what desperation. The embers of hell seem infinitely more appealing.
And what of the vomiting-bug outbreaks that occasionally sweep through the cruise ships, leaving them knee-deep in norovirus and gastric contents as they limp into port with the crew cursing the engine for its lack of power.
Delicious food instead of boring industrial food, choice of live entertainment every evening instead of watching TV reruns, cheerful dinner companions, new sites every port instead of the same old garden every day. A pool, attentive staff. At half the price of an assisted living place.
If it's time to give up the house get rid of the stuff and move to a small room in a human warehouse, a ship can sure beat a ground-based cage.
There are ship problems occasionally, not often or people wouldn't return again and again. A virus outbreak is "news" because it's rare. Nursing homes get virus outbreaks, power losses, too.
A family member worked on the entertainments crew for four years, on P&O, and said that retired folks selling up, in order to spend their final few years on board a ship like theirs was a regular, if not, frequent occurrence. Probably for the reasons stated by Belle Ringer. Consequently they have very good protocols about what happens when the permanent holiday-maker finally shuffles off the mortal coil. IOW, people live and die there, quite deliberately.
The novovirus thing is certainly a real 'thing'. But perhaps a bit more overplayed than otherwise. One of the cruises I went on directly followed a hyped-up novovirus scare, when the 'plague ship' sailed into Belfast and had to undergo a deep clean. You could see the smirks on the faces of the people who happily anticipated that we would spend our holiday time chucking up and confined to our cabins, when we told them which ship we were on.
As it was, we were delayed embarkation by a few hours, while the stricter cleansing regime - in addition to what was a fairly closely-observed cleanliness system anyway - was implemented. And I think for maybe two days we had our sugar, salt and pepper given to us in paper packets rather then left in open bowls/pots on the tables. Also, the number of cleansing stations increased, with the very smiley-faced crew members squirting our hands religiously with cleanser. The hand-cleaning was reduced a little, but only a little, to what is I believe, considered normal in such a close environment shared by so many people.
But after the gleeful hype of the 'plague ship' news, we were surprised to realise just a few days after sailing we'd already forgotten we were supposed to be on the cruise from hell, chucking our guts up. Some would-be holiday-makers in fact cancelled their places and refused to join the ship, losing their money and a very enjoyable holiday, as it turned out.
Undoubtedly it does happen. But our line, at any rate, were well able to control and respond.
I wish we had such quality cleansing control in our hospitals, where MRSA, C Difficile etc, are all a matter of commonplace now, sadly. Nothing against the domestics who are mainly very good at their jobs - just the general application of a regime that has too many holes in it.
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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!
Posts: 10002 | From: Scotland the Brave | Registered: Jul 2002
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Soror Magna:
I think the most important bit I gleaned from the show was that in an emergency, you can't necessarily count on the crew, since the overwhelming majority of them are service personnel.
Exactly. They're people who make food, serve food, clean cabins, play instruments, etc. They all have an assignment in emergencies, but they're not like flight attendants on planes who have a lot more training in dealing with emergencies.
The other thing about emergencies that would scare the crap out of me is that on the really huge ships, there are several thousand passengers who could not be counted on to be sensible and do what the crew members were telling them to do, assuming that the crew members had their wits about them. The biggest cruise ship in the world holds over 6000 passengers.
quote:
Finally, a colleague told me that sexual assault is common on cruises, among both passengers and crew. It's easy to say that these things should be reported to the local authorities. But what next? It's not like the ship will stay in port while the police investigate. Can the accuser and accused be forced to disembark, and how long will they be stuck wherever they happen to be for legal formalities, depositions, etc? And if they leave, how does a foreign country get them back for the trial? And who pays for all this?
I have a friend who worked on cruise ships for more than 10 years (including on the big one in the link above), and he said that on Royal Caribbean ships, crew members attempting to fraternize with passengers are summarily fired, and that there are strict rules about being in passenger areas -- you have to dress appropriately, have your employee badge, etc. They seem to work pretty hard to protect passengers from having problems with employees because of the legal liability.
He also told me about a case in which a female employee woke up feeling groggy and found a male employee in her room -- she was probably roofied. She reported the incident, and higher-ups interrogated everyone in the vicinity, including my friend, and tested everyone's blood alcohol content. Employees are allowed to drink, but they're not supposed to get drunk. Since she was drunk and within her 90-day probationary period, she was fired. The guy in her room was moved to the crappiest shift at his job. My friend kept his job only because by the time they got around to testing him, he had sobered up.
His thoughts about most of the crew align with what was said upthread -- they take what we see as pretty shitty jobs for less than great pay because by their standards these are decent jobs that pay them well enough to send money home. It seems to me that cruise ships aren't any different from large swathes of our economies on land in that regard, except that it might be a bit more noticeable on ships.
Another thing I thought was interesting -- he said the crew don't get the great food served to passengers, at least not on Royal Caribbean. Food served to crew members is pure overhead, so the company tries to feed crew members as cheaply as possible. He said on the larger ships the food for the crew tended to be a bit better, but on the smaller ships, it was awful -- poor quality, badly cooked.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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Coa Coa
Apprentice
# 15535
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Posted
@ LeRoc- our dog is my husbands ptsd service dog so is able to go anywhere with us but dogs with proof of shots are allowed off of boats and onto US or Canadian soil with no problem.
Posts: 13 | From: Canada | Registered: Mar 2010
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
He said on the larger ships the food for the crew tended to be a bit better, but on the smaller ships, it was awful -- poor quality, badly cooked.
I should be very sorry if this is true. During the 'meet the officers' evening, we were introduced not only to the chefs for the passengers, but also the crew chefs whose job it was to cook meals according to the various cultural norms and religious beliefs represented by the crew. But I don't think anyone was under any impression that they ate as well as passengers in terms of variety or quality of menu, or opportunities for feeding. Indeed, many of the passengers wouldn't've eaten as well back home than they did on board! But it should be a matter of pure justice that the crew should be fed properly.
I guess the biggest ship I've been on catered for 800 passengers and maybe 400 crew. I don't know how this rates amongst today's giants.
Ref the drinking thing amongst workers on the ships. Again, my young relative did receive a reprimand for getting drunk one evening - the next time he would've been fired. And as a matter of course, he and his colleagues underwent random drug-testing, when they came back from on-shore trips. He recalled a fellow-worker - after shore-leave in Morroco - who had to pack their bags and head off back to Blighty after indulging in the local weed.
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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!
Posts: 10002 | From: Scotland the Brave | Registered: Jul 2002
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
We really enjoyed the Norwegian cruise we were on. There was quite a mixture of people of all ages from various ethnic backgrounds. They had activities for kids and teens, but they certainly seemed more geared for the adults.
Unlike a number of other cruise liners where you are assigned certain eating times Norwegian has open dining. There were two buffets that were more or less open all hours. There were also two general dining areas where you did not need reservations. But there were also three specialty dining areas which took reservations and charged for their dinners. The buffets and general dining areas did not charge extra.
We did not go to the show on the first night or the last night, but did enjoy the shows on the second and third night. Same entertainers both nights, but they were good.
I had been worried that we were sailing during the month which has the highest number of hurricanes (probably why the tickets were so cheap). It is a risk you take when you book out six months in advance. However, we had calm sailing.
I also got a chance to speak briefly with the captain. We got in line to have our pictures taken with him. He greeted me and asked how we were doing. I said we were doing great, he laughed and then said, no how was the ship doing. I said so far the boat had not rocked much. He laughed again. Right after we had the pictures taken I asked him if the ship had previously been named Pride of Aloha. His eyes lighted up and he spoke with me about five more minutes about the ship's history; all the while about 100 people were waiting in line for their pictures. Of course, I thanked him for his time.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Soror Magna
Shipmate
# 9881
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Posted
Out of curiosity, I looked up the Island Princess, sister ship of The Love Boat, now called Discovery. Sails with 698 passengers and 350 crew members. It looks teeny, but at least it still looks like a ship, not an floating apartment building. And an interesting factoid, the ship's flag and "home port" over her lifetime:
1971–1974: Oslo, Norway
1974–1999: London, UK (at the time of my childhood cruise)
1999–2002: Panama, Panama
2002–2014: Hamilton, Bermuda
2014–2014: Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
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"You come with me to room 1013 over at the hospital, I'll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean." -- Tony Kushner, "Angels in America"
Posts: 5430 | From: Caprica City | Registered: Jul 2005
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
About the carbon issue - there is a global carbon issue, but how does it apply to the OP question? Is travel wrong unless "necessary" in which case how is "necessary" defined? Only travel for mercenary reasons? (Only travel for non-mercenary reasons?)
I'm burning carbon right now to have an environment at about 68 degrees instead of 32, 150 years ago people heated only room of the house. Is central heating deplorable or a enough life-improving to be a worthy tradeoff? (Or both simultaneously?)
I suspect I usually hear carbon comments when the activity is something commenter is not personally interested in, but I could be wrong.
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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marzipan
Shipmate
# 9442
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Posted
I've never been on a big cruise ship, but a few years ago I went as voyage crew with the Jubilee Sailing Trust on Lord Nelson and it was great fun! A couple of months later I helped with maintenance on their other ship the Tenacious while she was in Southampton and she was berthed next to a cruise ship so he looked really tiny.
I found that sea sickness was not so bad when we were sailing compared to under power since we were going with the wind and waves not against (though obviously a sailing ship rolls a fair bit)
If I was to go on a cruise again, I'd try to go on another tall ship as its great fun (you're crew so you have to work fairly hard but it is also a holiday plus they feed you really well)
ETA: I have an American friend who works on one of the Disney ships, I think she's an entertainer. She's done four contracts so far of a few months each and she loves it
[ 01. March 2015, 17:06: Message edited by: marzipan ]
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formerly cheesymarzipan.
Now containing 50% less cheese
Posts: 917 | From: nowhere in particular | Registered: May 2005
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by marzipan:
I've never been on a big cruise ship, but a few years ago I went as voyage crew with the Jubilee Sailing Trust on Lord Nelson and it was great fun! A couple of months later I helped with maintenance on their other ship the Tenacious while she was in Southampton and she was berthed next to a cruise ship so he looked really tiny.
I found that sea sickness was not so bad when we were sailing compared to under power since we were going with the wind and waves not against (though obviously a sailing ship rolls a fair bit)
If I was to go on a cruise again, I'd try to go on another tall ship as its great fun (you're crew so you have to work fairly hard but it is also a holiday plus they feed you really well)
ETA: I have an American friend who works on one of the Disney ships, I think she's an entertainer. She's done four contracts so far of a few months each and she loves it
When in the Adriatic, I saw the five masted Royal Clipper, which is a cruise ship without the need to crew, as the sails are all operated by computer. So I was told. A five master.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Sober Preacher's Kid
Presbymethegationalist
# 12699
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gramps49:
We really enjoyed the Norwegian cruise we were on. There was quite a mixture of people of all ages from various ethnic backgrounds. They had activities for kids and teens, but they certainly seemed more geared for the adults.
Unlike a number of other cruise liners where you are assigned certain eating times Norwegian has open dining. There were two buffets that were more or less open all hours. There were also two general dining areas where you did not need reservations. But there were also three specialty dining areas which took reservations and charged for their dinners. The buffets and general dining areas did not charge extra.
We did not go to the show on the first night or the last night, but did enjoy the shows on the second and third night. Same entertainers both nights, but they were good.
I had been worried that we were sailing during the month which has the highest number of hurricanes (probably why the tickets were so cheap). It is a risk you take when you book out six months in advance. However, we had calm sailing.
I also got a chance to speak briefly with the captain. We got in line to have our pictures taken with him. He greeted me and asked how we were doing. I said we were doing great, he laughed and then said, no how was the ship doing. I said so far the boat had not rocked much. He laughed again. Right after we had the pictures taken I asked him if the ship had previously been named Pride of Aloha. His eyes lighted up and he spoke with me about five more minutes about the ship's history; all the while about 100 people were waiting in line for their pictures. Of course, I thanked him for his time.
Pride of Aloha or Pride of America. NCL operates both, but Pride of America is the only US-flagged cruise ship in existence. Pride of Aloha used to be US-flagged, but was transferred.
Pride of America is the only cruise ship I would trust for labour standards (Cunard is now flagged in Bermuda) as it is under US labour law, and completely unionized with proper unions.
Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
Pride of Aloha was to follow Pride of America, but a construction accident on Pride of America caused Pride of Aloha to be rushed into service first.
Originally she was under the American flag, but if a ship is under an American flag it is to have an American crew and she was understaffed which resulted in poor service. NCL had to set up a special training program in the United States to crew the ship. In 2008 she was withdrawn from service in Hawaii, renamed Norwegian Sky and was placed under the Bahamian flag.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
Halifax, NS, has been touting for these ships for years now. Quite often, you will see, from my daughter's apartment on Victoria Road, well up the hill, and then 4 storeys up, that your horizon has been blocked by a large mass down by Pier 21. The prisoners - no, sorry, passengers - are given time off for good behaviour, to wander the streets, all with little badges on, and travelling in groups, while looking puzzled to see an actual city working around them. They don't look like they are enjoying it, probably because there is no minder to tell them to enjoy it.
Saint John, NB, is also trying for this trade, but it seems so ...I dunno...artificial that one wonders why they bother.
We also compete for cruise ships to come to port here in St. John's, NL, and many do. I think this characterization of them is a bit unfair based on what I've seen; many of them look to me like interested, often older travellers, who have seen quite a bit of the world and are interested to see more of it. However, their stop in town is so short that it's questionable how much they see. The biggest complaint about them around here is that we are told they are great for the local economy, but in fact they wander around downtown for a few hours and go back to the ship to eat, usually, so not much money gets spent in local restaurants. There's no advantage to the hotel trade, as they're sleeping on the ship, and apart from a few small souvenirs they're not likely to buy much in local shops. So the general feeling is that their value to the local economy is vastly overrated.
That said, I know of at least two local writers (one in Newfoundland and one in Cape Breton) who make a point of going to the harbour when cruise ships come in and setting up a little table or whatnot to sell their books. So, some local entrepreneurs are attempting to capitalize on the business!
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Anyuta
Shipmate
# 14692
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Posted
My hsuband and I did our first cruise last year. it was a present from me to him for his 50th b-day. Cruising was never on my "must do" agenda, and definitely not myh prefered style of vacation, but I knew that he'd like it, and I was willing to try. overall I can say a few things. a) it's cheap. compared to a similar length vacation at an all inclusive hotel (which is what a cruise ship really is) it's very cheap. b) if you have kids with you, most cruise lines have excelent programs for kids and teens where you basically have free babysitting all day while you do whatever it is you do. c) you get to (potentially) see many different places, even if the little slice of those places you get to see is quite small. We spent a fair amount of time talking to some of the crew, specifically some of the musicians, who were from Russia (we are Russian, and my husband is a musician). They work darned hard, long hours, and when they aren't performing they also do other tasks on board, such as help with boarding passengers after a day in port. they get little time off, but they get paid quite well, which is why they do it. they work a season, and that pretty much pays for them to live comfortably the rest of the year. regarding dumping of poop, international law requires that they do it out at sea, not near port. they collect such things as hazardous waste and do leave that in port to be managed, but that is no different from the quantity generated by a similarly sized hotel.
It's never going to be my favorite way to travel. I prefer to get a lot closer to the places I visit, without 3 thousand other people there for the same few hours. but on the whole, it wasn't as bad as I feared. there was plenty to do on board, and ways to get away from the crowds if that's what you wanted. the ship design was clever that way, breaking up the public areas in such a way that people didn't have to move through the same spaces to get from one place to another.. so it didn't FEEL like that many people most of the time. I can definitely see why some people enjoy it. my husband LOVED it. me.. meh. not my thing but I'll do it again. as far as environmental impact, I believe that there are data which show cruising compared with various other types of recreation, and depending on what type of comparison you are making, it comes out roughly even. air travel is much worse overall, so if you are flying anywhere you are probably having a much more negative impact. of course, many people fly to get to whichever port they are cruising from, so there's that. and the amount of food consumed! oh my gosh, you could feed half of large third world country on just the stuff people take on their plate and then decide they don't like and throw away. the down side of "all you can eat".
Posts: 764 | From: USA | Registered: Mar 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
The trouble with dumping sewage at sea is that it isn't going to be only sewage. People seem very reluctant to learn not to put synthetic wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary and medical waste and so on down landbased loos, and it's bad enough there.
When I was at college at Clacton, beach walks could show a lot of stuff that probably arrived like that. We get amber from the Baltic washed up on our shores, so dumping in international waters in the North Sea isn't going to protect beaches from belladonna dressings, and all the other identifiable filth. The thought of it drifting around in the mess of plastic in the oceanic gyres isn't any better.
I am taking doggy bags (not the food sort) for the disposal of anything that shouldn't be put down the loo.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Erroneous Monk
Shipmate
# 10858
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Posted
A surprisingly large number of people seem to go missing - disappear without a trace - from cruise ships. While some would say that the risk of disappearing from a cruise ship is lower than that of disappearing from anywhere, I'd be interested to know whether the risk of disappearing from a cruise ship is greater than that of disappearing from another holiday.
Certainly, cruise lines don't do themselves any PR favours when they appear to be less than helpful to those trying to investigate disappearances.
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And I shot a man in Tesco, just to watch him die.
Posts: 2950 | From: I cannot tell you, for you are not a friar | Registered: Jan 2006
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Bob Two-Owls
Shipmate
# 9680
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anyuta:
and the amount of food consumed! oh my gosh, you could feed half of large third world country on just the stuff people take on their plate and then decide they don't like and throw away. the down side of "all you can eat".
Not wanting to start a pond war over such things but I noticed that a lot on the two US cruise ships I have been on. The British and German ships don't tend to tolerate that kind of thing, there is usually a disapproving granny to tut and tell you not to be so greedy. I wonder if it is because all-you-can-eat dining is still relatively rare over here compared to the USA?
The last cruise I went on recycled the previous day's meat into curry. We knew if it was lamb today it would be lamb curry tomorrow. A couple of Russian passengers were absolutely horrified by this in very vocal terms but I thought it was an eminently sensible policy.
Posts: 1262 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bob Two-Owls:
The last cruise I went on recycled the previous day's meat into curry.
Not by scraping diners' plates, I should hope. ![[Ultra confused]](graemlins/confused2.gif)
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
In his book "Sunset on the Clyde", Duncan Graham writes of the sandwich fillings he made for afternoon tea at the Inversnaid Hotel, Loch Lomond, c.1955:
"I processed through a hand-mincer all the congealed fried eggs and bacon left over from the kitchen, including those from the guests’ plate. The result was surprisingly attractive to look at, and simpering matrons in cloche hats from Kelvinside used to single them out for particular praise".
He does add that he doesn't think they do that these days - although he's still suspicious of "minced" fillings in sandwiches!
His "cruise liner" was the "Maid of the Loch" on which I managed a trip in 1976. (Do I see a "Paddle Steamers" tangent looming?)
[ 05. March 2015, 15:20: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Bob Two-Owls
Shipmate
# 9680
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
Not by scraping diners' plates, I should hope.
No but I think that such suspicions were the source of the Russian's objections.
Posts: 1262 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Triple Tiara
Ship's Papabile
# 9556
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Posted
I have done several stints on cruise ships as a chaplain. Most of the world's seafarers are Catholics (Philippinos, Goans predominating). I have seen the passenger side of life, as well as that of the officers and crew. Indeed, I have dined with passengers, officers and crew in their various dining locations.
The crew are fed well - they don't eat what passengers eat as the crew mess usually offers culture specific meals.
The reason the new ships are so hideously ugly is passenger demand. On the old liners the accommodation was usually below deck, with dining and other common areas above deck. Soon after the QE2 was built she was refitted in order to have above deck suites for passengers - the most expensive cabins on the ship. But every passenger wants a sea view, and then every sea-view passenger wants a private balcony. So new ships have been designed in order to place most of the accommodation high up, with balconies, and the restaurants etc below the promenade deck. But that does make for seriously ugly ships.
As a chaplain I was in the cruise director's department, in the section known as G-ENTS (guest entertainers!) On most voyages we had to have an environmental induction session, which bored me no end. I really did not need to know how to handle all the different types of waste! Nevertheless, I learnt all about blackwater and greywater and the sorting of waste in the waste disposal department. It's all done by hand by crew members - that's their job on the ship. What can be recycled is recycled. There is a water treatment plant on board etc etc. On board ship was the first time I encountered the concept of safe disposal of batteries - yes, I am talking about many years ago now.
Life on board is what you make of it. Indeed, there are those who make the ship their destination and don't go ashore. Others are inclined to load onto coaches and do the day-tripping thing. But you are quite at liberty to do your own thing. For me, it depends on the port. When in Civitavecchia I jumped on a train for Rome, had lunch at a trattoria in the Borgo Pio then got the train back to the ship. In Barcelona I walked all the way to Sagrada Famiglia, not realising just how far it was from the harbour. In Lisbon I took a gang of crew members to the birthplace of St Anthony and celebrated Mass for them there. By contrast, in St Petersburg I was quite happy to join an excursion to the Hermitage and Winter Palace as that made more sense.
I have never felt trapped by the other passengers. There are often interesting people on board (I met the plastic surgeon who sewed John Wayne Bobbit's bits back together while I was on the QE2 - he came to Mass every day) There are so many diversions and venues on a ship that I was well able to find a quiet spot or a group activity as the mood took me. I was on the QE2 several times, Southampton-NY-Southampton. I loved the fact it was a crossing, entirely at sea, rather than port visits. The lectures were always very very good, as was the standard of entertainment. I trust the many passengers who came to Mass on board found the level of liturgy of a high standard too ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
On the other hand I was once on a ship which was rather like Butlins at Sea, and I did find most of the passengers noisy and irksome - but that's me being a snob.
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I'm a Roman. You may call me Caligula.
Posts: 5905 | From: London, England | Registered: May 2005
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Triple Tiara: I have done several stints on cruise ships as a chaplain.
That's interesting, thank you for sharing.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
A surprising number of people disappear on a cruise? I think the average is around 15 to 20 people go overboard in a year. Not sure how many would be considered attempted suicide. About 20 million people cruise each year.
Just because one may go overboard does not mean it is will result in death. Half are usually rescued.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
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Posted
Huge cruise ships, like huge multi-storied retirement homes, give me the creeps. A cousin who several times went with her husband on cruises after he retired, showed us photos of themselves with the friends they made, sitting in the lounge in nice clothes looking prosperous, and I wondered whether one would find ‘kindred spirits’ in such an environment.
Fortunately I had the experience of travelling to the UK in 1958 on the NZ Shipping Company’s Ruahine, and back late the following year on the same ship. She was a one class passenger + cargo ship with 267 passengers, so all sorts mixed and had fun together; the only social distinction might have been between First Breakfast at 8 am (I found it hard enough to wait that long, though the fresh fruit in the cabin was a blessing) and Second Breakfast at 9 am. We made our own fun; great concerts were organised by a couple of seasoned travellers with some background, I think, in producing revue-type performances; our gifted honky-tonk pianist was the wife of an Auckland business mogul. I’d found a couple of friends from Uni on board and we explored together at Panama and Curacao.
There was a bishop on board so he naturally took on the church services, and as a Presbyterian who was roped in to play the piano I had the interesting task of learning to play Anglican chants.
Much of our time was taken up with competitive deck games, but I spent the return journey playing crib with a tough old journalist. In the end the score was something like 47-43 in my favour.
One arrived in Southampton with the sinking feeling that the moment one was off the ship one would have to pay for everything one did, and find a (teaching) job to live on – fortunately easy in those days.
GG
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The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
One arrived in Southampton with the sinking feeling that the moment one was off the ship one would have to pay for everything one did, and find a (teaching) job to live on – fortunately easy in those days.
Better than having a sinking feeling a few hours (or days) earlier ... ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
But of course you were travelling from A to B rather than holidaying on board and ultimately going from A to A. I think that's a fundamental difference.
[ 06. March 2015, 08:57: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Triple Tiara:
On the other hand I was once on a ship which was rather like Butlins at Sea, and I did find most of the passengers noisy and irksome - but that's me being a snob.
And you (and I) would have felt exactly the same if we had mistakenly booked in at a hotel catering for the same market.
Yes, I sound snobbish too - can't be helped.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917
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Posted
Baptist Trainfan - I've stayed at the Inversnaid Hotel! It was really nice - though I don't think they had afternoon tea while we were there. My gran did bimble off to the loo one evening, took a wrong turn and ended up in the kitchens, though.
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003
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Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
quote:
Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
One arrived in Southampton with the sinking feeling that the moment one was off the ship one would have to pay for everything one did, and find a (teaching) job to live on – fortunately easy in those days.
Better than having a sinking feeling a few hours (or days) earlier ...
But of course you were travelling from A to B rather than holidaying on board and ultimately going from A to A. I think that's a fundamental difference.
I think my point was that it felt like a holiday, being a time out from everyday life, with many of the elements of a holiday. You don't get that from a 26-hour jet trip.
GG
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The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
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The5thMary
Shipmate
# 12953
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Posted
A million years ago, when I lived in Seattle (actually from 1990-2001), I did some temporary office work for a cruise ship company, "CruiseWest". They're still around, just under a different name. Anyway, they had small boats and did cool cruises to Alaska and parts of California. The boats were nice but hardly what one would consider a full-on cruise ship. I remember stuffing envelopes with CruiseWest's wine country itinerary brochures and looking at the prices of the Alaska cruises too. When my wife and I move back to the Seattle area this year (hopefully soon!), I thought I'd see what this company is doing these days. Maybe we could afford a cruise to Alaska. I'm not at all for huge ships with casinos and twenty five stages for dance troupes and concerts. Give me a small comfy room where I can lay my head after seeing whales and glaciers!
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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.
Posts: 3451 | From: Tacoma, WA USA | Registered: Aug 2007
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