Cruise Ship Crashing Fad

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset In Venice a MSC cruise ship plowed into a smaller cruise ship and the dock, pretty dramatic video.

Wow... incredible. What's even more amazing (actually, dumbfounding) than the actual crash is how many people on shore were so casually milling around near the point of impact as that gigantic hulking ship is lumbering ever closer to them. Some of them were even walking towards it!

[Teacher Terry]

I saw the Venice crash on the news last night. Terrible.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz More ships is small spaces = more contact. Sorta like auto racing?

This x1000. So many of the smaller, interesting places I have enjoyed traveling to over the years have been overtaken by cruise ships with their hoards of people and it annoys me no end. Would you guess that I am *not* a fan of cruise ships?

[audreyh1]

Wow, sounds like the Venetians are really tired of these cruise ships and want them out of the canals.

Crazy - big ship has an engine failure near Venice. What are they going to plow into next? Apparently a cruise ship from the same company plowed through water and electricity lines to one of the nearby islands several years ago. People without for weeks.

[joeea]

I assume you meant to write "sad" rather than "fad".

[Koogie]

I assume you meant to write "bad" rather than "fad".

[Koolau]

The older I get, the less I desire to travel outside the US (the DR appears to have some possible issues right now, for instance.) With all our problems, at least you have some (theoretical) recourse when things go wrong. I've heard lots of stories about cruise lines offering "free" passage on another cruise to make up for things like norovirus outbreaks or major malfunctions which ruin the trip. I can't back this up personally.

Sort of reminds you of the old joke" Second prize is TWO trips on the SS Noro. YMMV

[JoeWras]

Looks like the US Navy and Russian Navy almost made the news with this new fad the other day. Close call.

[ransil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Looks like the US Navy and Russian Navy almost made the news with this new fad the other day. Close call.

That has been going on for years, just lately started back up as the Russians are getting back out to sea.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau The older I get, the less I desire to travel outside the US (the DR appears to have some possible issues right now, for instance.) With all our problems, at least you have some (theoretical) recourse when things go wrong. I've heard lots of stories about cruise lines offering "free" passage on another cruise to make up for things like norovirus outbreaks or major malfunctions which ruin the trip. I can't back this up personally. Sort of reminds you of the old joke" Second prize is TWO trips on the SS Noro. YMMV

I still enjoy travel inside or outside the country. But, cruising, at this time is not for me. An acquantance recently returned from a Mediterranean Cruise. As I listened to his stories of seeing this and that famous site I realized that he often spent as little as 5 minutes at some of these places. The Colosseum in Rome was literally a drive by "there it is" moment in time. Hit-and-run sight seeing is not for me.

The older I get the longer I want to spend in an area absorbing what photographer Bob Krist called "The Spirit of Place". And, if I don't care for the spirit, then it's time to move on.

I certainly know a number of people who enjoy cruising. They don't build those mega ships for the fun of it. To each his or her own. The time may come when I really NEED the elevators on a cruise ship, so..... never say never.

[target2019]

It is definitely true you spend so little time at each site, when on a cruise. We spent a week in Vancouver, which was a great way to segue into the cruise, and its hurryoff/hurryback stops.

We may do another in Europe next year. I think 1 or 2 days in the departing city would be nicer. Cruise ships crashing is not raising my comfort level.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea I assume you meant to write "sad" rather than "fad".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie I assume you meant to write "bad" rather than "fad".

Nope, I meant fad, as there was a sudden surge in cruise ships crashing being reported. It seems to be a fad right now.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Nope, I meant fad, as there was a sudden surge in cruise ships crashing being reported. It seems to be a fad right now.

Wow, man...that's rad.

[Amethyst]

I'm a little puzzled by the implication that cruise ship captains and crews have developed an enthusiasm, a mania, a love, even a fetish, for crashing the ship. I picture the officers clustered on the bridge, intensely watching the instruments, instructing the deck crew: "No, bring her in closer! Closer! I don't care if there are people on the pier, we want her as close as she'll get! Even closer than she'll get!"

fad
/fad/
noun
an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze.
"prairie restoration is the latest gardening fad in the Midwest"
synonyms: craze, vogue, trend, fashion, mode, enthusiasm, passion, infatuation, love, obsession, mania, rage, compulsion, fixation, fetish, weakness, fancy, taste, novelty, whim, fascination, preoccupation; More

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Nope, I meant fad, as there was a sudden surge in cruise ships crashing being reported. It seems to be a fad right now.

[Sunset]

We do like certain aspects of cruising in Europe, mostly that we get to see various places easily without packing up, transport to new hotel, unpack, go see site and repeat.

At the same time for large cities, staying in the city for days is best. Example we stayed in Barcelona for 10 days (70 Euro/night hotel) so we got to see lots of the sites, and shop/eat at local restaurants.
In fact we went for breakfast very often at 1 place where my language inability was a real roadblock. By about the 9th day, the owner worked through the language issue to ask us if we had moved into the area

So now I try to combine these ideas, and spend X days in a city. Then cruise from that city, if there is interesting places to go that we might not want to fly to separately.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst I'm a little puzzled by the implication that cruise ship captains and crews have developed an enthusiasm, a mania, a love, even a fetish, for crashing the ship. I picture the officers clustered on the bridge, intensely watching the instruments, instructing the deck crew: "No, bring her in closer! Closer! I don't care if there are people on the pier, we want her as close as she'll get! Even closer than she'll get!" fad /fad/ noun an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze. "prairie restoration is the latest gardening fad in the Midwest" synonyms: craze, vogue, trend, fashion, mode, enthusiasm, passion, infatuation, love, obsession, mania, rage, compulsion, fixation, fetish, weakness, fancy, taste, novelty, whim, fascination, preoccupation; More

I know I've driven only tiny small pleasure boats, but it is really thrilling and fun to come in fast to a dock and cut the power suddenly to end up drifting into the dock in a nice landing. For me it was a youthful thrill.
Perhaps some of the cruise ship captains are young ?

[JoeWras]

"trend" is probably the word. But I like "fad" OK too!

[Teacher Terry]

I like cruising the Caribbean but for Europe I prefer a land trip because we like to spend a lot of time in one place.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset So now I try to combine these ideas, and spend X days in a city. Then cruise from that city, if there is interesting places to go that we might not want to fly to separately.

Although we're currently on an enforced hiatus, our modus operandi was/is to either take an eastbound cruise and then travel around a couple countries, or do the countries first and then grab a westbound ship home.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I still enjoy travel inside or outside the country. But, cruising, at this time is not for me. An acquantance recently returned from a Mediterranean Cruise. As I listened to his stories of seeing this and that famous site I realized that he often spent as little as 5 minutes at some of these places. The Colosseum in Rome was literally a drive by "there it is" moment in time. Hit-and-run sight seeing is not for me. The older I get the longer I want to spend in an area absorbing what photographer Bob Krist called "The Spirit of Place". And, if I don't care for the spirit, then it's time to move on. I certainly know a number of people who enjoy cruising. They don't build those mega ships for the fun of it. To each his or her own. The time may come when I really NEED the elevators on a cruise ship, so..... never say never.

Pretty much why we nixed river cruising Europe, although they definitely stay a few hours at each location. But I wanted to spend at least twice that. So we used a few cities as bases found local day trips, and still got to spend some time on the river here and there.