The World's Largest Cruise Ship: Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas
January 9, 2025 5:52 AM Subscribe
Building the World's Largest Cruise Ship. What's it like on the world's largest cruise ship? Walkthrough
The longer the Icon of the Seas is on Earth, the stronger he will become.
posted by mittens at 6:09 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
posted by mittens at 6:09 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
I saw a documentary about this ship last week, although it was less of a documentary and more of an hour long ad for the ship and the cruise line. The engineering is cool, but the cost to the environment and social impact is also massive.
posted by fight or flight at 6:28 AM on January 9 [15 favorites]
Royal Caribbean has made much of the fact that Icon of the Seas runs on liquified natural gas (LNG), describing it as the “cleanest-burning marine fuel”. However, Bryan Comer, director of the International Council on Clean Transportation’s marine programme, says using such fuel shows an industry “investing in false climate solutions”.And that's before you even get into the impact of noise pollution and physically accommodating the ship.
“They are doubling down by calling LNG a green fuel when the engine is emitting 70 to 80% more greenhouse gas emissions per trip than if it used regular marine fuel,” he said. “Icon has the largest LNG tanks ever installed in a ship. It is greenwashing.”
Using LNG rather than other marine fuels cuts carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter. But a cruise ship using LNG emits more greenhouse gas emissions overall, because of something called “methane slip”, Comer said. This is where some gas is not burned, leading to emissions of methane, a climate gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. Methane traps about 80 times more heat than CO2 during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.
posted by fight or flight at 6:28 AM on January 9 [15 favorites]
Ms. Hobnail and I have always said that if we ever really need to gain 20 pounds in a hurry, we're going on a cruise. Regrettably, this need has yet to arise.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 6:38 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 6:38 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
I hate this for reasons I can't adequately express. It's everything that's wrong with humanity writ large.
posted by tommasz at 6:39 AM on January 9 [28 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 6:39 AM on January 9 [28 favorites]
Like most consumptive megaprojects: Technically Neat, Morally Foul.
posted by lalochezia at 6:42 AM on January 9 [16 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 6:42 AM on January 9 [16 favorites]
Apologies if this is covered in the videos (which I am not yet in a position to watch), but this article compares the Icon of the Seas to the Titanic.
TL;DR: IotS has twice as many decks as the Titanic, has nearly as much crew as the Titanic held passengers, weighs more than five times as much, is twice as wide, and is 417 feet longer.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:43 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
TL;DR: IotS has twice as many decks as the Titanic, has nearly as much crew as the Titanic held passengers, weighs more than five times as much, is twice as wide, and is 417 feet longer.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:43 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
It's everything that's wrong with humanity writ large
When I read that it has an ice show, I thought that homo sapiens may have been an evolutionary mistake.
posted by Lemkin at 6:43 AM on January 9 [12 favorites]
When I read that it has an ice show, I thought that homo sapiens may have been an evolutionary mistake.
posted by Lemkin at 6:43 AM on January 9 [12 favorites]
I'm going on a Viking cruise of the Great Lakes with my mom this year. The boat doesn't have a hair salon or nightclub or Ferris wheel (or "umbrella drinks"), but it is an icebreaker that can fit through locks and has a science lab, a whole host of Zodiacs and other watercraft and two full-bore submarines.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:51 AM on January 9 [16 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:51 AM on January 9 [16 favorites]
I love the allure of a cruise and being on one.
One of the most interesting facts is that crewmembers change out signs in the elevators everyday that tell people what day it actually is. So they put Friday in when it's Friday, then change it out at some point Saturday morning.
It seems silly, but having everything catered to you can make you forget what day it is and that's a great feeling. Yes, there's problematic elements of supporting that, no question. But like many things of modern life, it's not an all bad or all good thing. Everything is on a spectrum.
Constructing the ships is hella fascinating. Watching the sections being put together is a genius move and not what I would have expected, so it is a delight to see.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:55 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
One of the most interesting facts is that crewmembers change out signs in the elevators everyday that tell people what day it actually is. So they put Friday in when it's Friday, then change it out at some point Saturday morning.
It seems silly, but having everything catered to you can make you forget what day it is and that's a great feeling. Yes, there's problematic elements of supporting that, no question. But like many things of modern life, it's not an all bad or all good thing. Everything is on a spectrum.
Constructing the ships is hella fascinating. Watching the sections being put together is a genius move and not what I would have expected, so it is a delight to see.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:55 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
Constructing the ships is hella fascinating. Watching the sections being put together is a genius move and not what I would have expected, so it is a delight to see.
Block construction was one of Henry Kaiser's major innovations in speeding up ship construction in WWII, and was so effective that it basically rewrote how ship construction is done.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
Block construction was one of Henry Kaiser's major innovations in speeding up ship construction in WWII, and was so effective that it basically rewrote how ship construction is done.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
homo sapiens may have been an evolutionary mistake
I'm letting my misanthropy show, but how many of us reach an age where the argument against the above statement rings hollow? Give it a shot: if not a mistake, what?
posted by ginger.beef at 7:30 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
I'm letting my misanthropy show, but how many of us reach an age where the argument against the above statement rings hollow? Give it a shot: if not a mistake, what?
posted by ginger.beef at 7:30 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
I've done transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 a few times, and I love love love it. I love being on a classic liner with all that history, I love the stateliness of it all, its space, its luxury, the ability to decompress and be isolated from the rest of the world, of getting to have nothing to do.
This is the opposite of that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:56 AM on January 9 [9 favorites]
This is the opposite of that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:56 AM on January 9 [9 favorites]
Hey now, let's not yuck other people's yum. If you don't like cruise ships for their misgivings, then just do what I do: spend $7 on a Cruise Ship Simulator so you can repeatedly crash them into icebergs.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:58 AM on January 9 [13 favorites]
posted by AlSweigart at 7:58 AM on January 9 [13 favorites]
C'mon, world's largest orcas! You know what to do.
posted by xedrik at 7:59 AM on January 9 [5 favorites]
posted by xedrik at 7:59 AM on January 9 [5 favorites]
I've done transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 a few times, and I love love love it. I love being on a classic liner with all that history, I love the stateliness of it all, its space, its luxury, the ability to decompress and be isolated from the rest of the world, of getting to have nothing to do. This is the opposite of that.
Yeah, a QM2 crossing is on my bucket list, but hinges on my winning the Powerball first.
posted by Lemkin at 8:10 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
Yeah, a QM2 crossing is on my bucket list, but hinges on my winning the Powerball first.
posted by Lemkin at 8:10 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
I've done transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 a few times, and I love love love it.
Jealous! I've met a couple of people who took the QM2 to relocate between the US and Europe (I work in a field where this is common), because they have an on-board kennel and it's less stressful than dealing with the nightmare logistics of flying with a dog.
Otherwise I'm definitely not a cruise person - my experience is limited to a couple of one-night ferry crossings between Sweden and Finland, fun for one day but that was enough for me.
posted by photo guy at 8:26 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Jealous! I've met a couple of people who took the QM2 to relocate between the US and Europe (I work in a field where this is common), because they have an on-board kennel and it's less stressful than dealing with the nightmare logistics of flying with a dog.
Otherwise I'm definitely not a cruise person - my experience is limited to a couple of one-night ferry crossings between Sweden and Finland, fun for one day but that was enough for me.
posted by photo guy at 8:26 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I've never been on a cruise and aggressively don't want to -- especially the ones that are like massive, floating shopping malls -- but damn, I am obsessed with them. About once a year, I will read a longform article or book about them. At this point, "cruise stuff" is one of my longest running interests. The particularly decadent ones (with roller coasters and such) feel like they would be used to signify the fall of man in a post-human opera.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:53 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:53 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
Our city, and now some neighboring counties, have been under a water boil advisory since Monday (we didn't even have water coming through the taps until late yesterday afternoon) so we've been melting snow for toilet flushing, not showering, not washing dishes, not doing laundry, etc. Cruises appeal to me for the adventure, and the all-you-can-eat/drink, being catered to, etc. But the chance of plumbing breaking down and being stuck in the middle of the ocean with 7,000 other people unable to flush their toilets is horrifying.
posted by emelenjr at 8:54 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 8:54 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
But the chance of plumbing breaking down and being stuck in the middle of the ocean with 7,000 other people unable to flush their toilets is horrifying.
my alter-ego, Will Favourite Every Poop Joke, is hovering
posted by ginger.beef at 9:12 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
my alter-ego, Will Favourite Every Poop Joke, is hovering
posted by ginger.beef at 9:12 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
The particularly decadent ones (with roller coasters and such) feel like they would be used to signify the fall of man in a post-human opera.
I wish J. G. Ballard had set a novel on this thing.
posted by Lemkin at 9:28 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
I wish J. G. Ballard had set a novel on this thing.
posted by Lemkin at 9:28 AM on January 9 [4 favorites]
My parents took a river cruise up the Danube and that seems much more my speed. Walking up in a different historical central European city each morning for excursions, then back on the board for dinner and bed. Doing a loop around the Baltic would also be on my to-do list
But after getting back they made it clear that was one person on the entire cruise who wasn't retirement aged, and they were there with their parents. Give me another 25 years then I'll consider it.
posted by thecjm at 9:35 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
But after getting back they made it clear that was one person on the entire cruise who wasn't retirement aged, and they were there with their parents. Give me another 25 years then I'll consider it.
posted by thecjm at 9:35 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (via Reddit)
posted by neuron at 9:36 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
posted by neuron at 9:36 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
But after getting back they made it clear that was one person on the entire cruise who wasn't retirement aged, and they were there with their parents.
Got you taken care of.
posted by Lemkin at 9:40 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Got you taken care of.
posted by Lemkin at 9:40 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I've never been on a cruise and aggressively don't want to -- especially the ones that are like massive, floating shopping malls -- but damn, I am obsessed with them.
I get into a rabbit hole sometimes seeing what the cruise lines are offering these days and Emma LeTeace makes a nice series of videos reviewing all kinds of boats.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:55 AM on January 9
I get into a rabbit hole sometimes seeing what the cruise lines are offering these days and Emma LeTeace makes a nice series of videos reviewing all kinds of boats.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:55 AM on January 9
Seems like the entire experience is designed around making it feel like you are not on a ship. It's so weird. I don't understand the appeal. Friend of mine went on one of these as it was arranged as a huge family reunion. He stopped going on the excursions after a short while because just getting off and on the ship took a ludicrous amount of time. So he mostly sat by the pool and read. He had fun with his family, but he hated the experience of being trapped in a mall with buffets.
I could MAYBE see doing this if you were a young couple with small kids (like one toddler and one 6 year old). You could at least hang out in kiddie areas, not worry about food/meals and even make use of the daycare a few times. But I still don't understand why you wouldn't just go to an all-inclusive resort. What is the point of being on a ship that is trying to make you forget that you are on a ship?
I'm curious: I no longer drink, but I know they sell booze as extra on these cruises. How much does, say a Budweiser go for? How much approx for a glass of white wine? Just trying to get a sense of what it must really cost to be locked up in one of these things for a week. My guess is most adults are paying for booze on these things.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:12 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
I could MAYBE see doing this if you were a young couple with small kids (like one toddler and one 6 year old). You could at least hang out in kiddie areas, not worry about food/meals and even make use of the daycare a few times. But I still don't understand why you wouldn't just go to an all-inclusive resort. What is the point of being on a ship that is trying to make you forget that you are on a ship?
I'm curious: I no longer drink, but I know they sell booze as extra on these cruises. How much does, say a Budweiser go for? How much approx for a glass of white wine? Just trying to get a sense of what it must really cost to be locked up in one of these things for a week. My guess is most adults are paying for booze on these things.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:12 AM on January 9 [6 favorites]
grandiloquiet I thought I was about the only person who both does not like cruises and is still kinda mildly obsessed with them.
In this spirit I offer up Ben and David's channel. They do review Icon of the Seas. And their MSC cruises videos are something else.
posted by warriorqueen at 10:14 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
In this spirit I offer up Ben and David's channel. They do review Icon of the Seas. And their MSC cruises videos are something else.
posted by warriorqueen at 10:14 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
The second link says you pay extra for coffee. No way in hell they’re giving out free booze.
I assume you’d be paying at least airport-level prices, given the even greater scarcity of competition.
posted by Lemkin at 10:29 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I assume you’d be paying at least airport-level prices, given the even greater scarcity of competition.
posted by Lemkin at 10:29 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I'm curious: I no longer drink, but I know they sell booze as extra on these cruises.
And gambling.
There's a lot of appeal to letting th kids run wild, while you relax. And the for is good. But yeah, the adult amenities that go over the top are enough to make you wonder what the point is. And when you go ashore you have to make it on board before the ship leaves.
At least on the river cruises if you miss your boat you can phone them and they can find a dock further along the river where you or your Uber driver can catch up.
posted by ocschwar at 10:32 AM on January 9
Mrs Mars and I went on 2 cruises. The first was with her mother and sisters and it was great. Her mom, who had mobility issues, was able to enjoy the time. The sisters and I did the shore trips. All in all, it was fun.
So we went on a second trip just the two of us. Our cabin ended up being directly above the main stage. There was constant thumping bass from 8am when rehearsals started until 2am when the last shows/dance party ended.
IT WAS HELL
We begged to be moved to another cabin, any cabin, but were told the ship was completely full. So we spent all our time anywhere else on the ship. The weather was bad and we don't drink, so we mostly hung out in the ship's library and one of the dining rooms.
The problem there was that the same soundtrack was piped over speakers in every public room on the ship, including the library. The playlist had 4 songs total and then repeated. Forever. I don't remember the other 3 songs, but I have a searing hatred for "Un-break my Heart"
posted by Eddie Mars at 10:35 AM on January 9 [11 favorites]
So we went on a second trip just the two of us. Our cabin ended up being directly above the main stage. There was constant thumping bass from 8am when rehearsals started until 2am when the last shows/dance party ended.
IT WAS HELL
We begged to be moved to another cabin, any cabin, but were told the ship was completely full. So we spent all our time anywhere else on the ship. The weather was bad and we don't drink, so we mostly hung out in the ship's library and one of the dining rooms.
The problem there was that the same soundtrack was piped over speakers in every public room on the ship, including the library. The playlist had 4 songs total and then repeated. Forever. I don't remember the other 3 songs, but I have a searing hatred for "Un-break my Heart"
posted by Eddie Mars at 10:35 AM on January 9 [11 favorites]
what Eddie Mars describes is not a pleasure trip, it's a predicament
or punishment.. what did you DO?? to deserve that
posted by ginger.beef at 10:38 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
or punishment.. what did you DO?? to deserve that
posted by ginger.beef at 10:38 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
The second link says you pay extra for coffee. No way in hell they’re giving out free booze.
They sell booze/drink packages that approximately work out to the prices of 5-6 (? I think it's been a while) drinks per day, after that you are spending the company's money, in an exaggerated sort of way, like Disney yearly passes or whatever.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:39 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
They sell booze/drink packages that approximately work out to the prices of 5-6 (? I think it's been a while) drinks per day, after that you are spending the company's money, in an exaggerated sort of way, like Disney yearly passes or whatever.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:39 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
It seems like most of these activities & shows (mini golf, infinity pool, ice skating) would only be workable if the ship was docked or in glass-flat seas. Do these things just basically not rock at all when they're moving?
posted by gottabefunky at 10:40 AM on January 9
posted by gottabefunky at 10:40 AM on January 9
IotS has twice as many decks as the Titanic, has nearly as much crew as the Titanic held passengers, weighs more than five times as much, is twice as wide, and is 417 feet longer.
posted by DirtyOldTown
And yet it has just 5 % of the glamour and luxury of a cruise ship from the 1910s. Compare this (Icon of the seas) to this (Titanic). Back in those days, people knew luxury. Some of the most impressive pictures I've seen are the interiors of cruise ships from before WWII.
posted by Termite at 10:49 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown
And yet it has just 5 % of the glamour and luxury of a cruise ship from the 1910s. Compare this (Icon of the seas) to this (Titanic). Back in those days, people knew luxury. Some of the most impressive pictures I've seen are the interiors of cruise ships from before WWII.
posted by Termite at 10:49 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Mrs Mars and I went on 2 cruises
Did you lose your wife? From what I hear, she’s not the kind of wife a guy likes to lose.
(it’s a movie quote I have to assume the poster is going to recognize)
posted by Lemkin at 11:04 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Did you lose your wife? From what I hear, she’s not the kind of wife a guy likes to lose.
(it’s a movie quote I have to assume the poster is going to recognize)
posted by Lemkin at 11:04 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
How much does, say a Budweiser go for? How much approx for a glass of white wine?
About $8 for a domestic beer, $12 for a glass of wine, $15 or more for a cocktail. They also sell "drink packages" which get you unlimited booze (up to a certain price per drink) that go for about $75 per person/per day.
posted by Daily Alice at 11:04 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
About $8 for a domestic beer, $12 for a glass of wine, $15 or more for a cocktail. They also sell "drink packages" which get you unlimited booze (up to a certain price per drink) that go for about $75 per person/per day.
posted by Daily Alice at 11:04 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
The most glamorous accommodations on the Titanic cost waaaaay more than the comparisons in that article above, like $25K-50K more.
And the Titanic didn't have any laser tag.
(All kidding aside, it seems like a misplaced comparison. Modern cruise ships are, as noted above, amusement parks/resorts on the ocean. Pre-WWII ocean liners were, for the majority of those passengers in steerage, a means of conveyance.)
posted by AndrewInDC at 11:10 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
And the Titanic didn't have any laser tag.
(All kidding aside, it seems like a misplaced comparison. Modern cruise ships are, as noted above, amusement parks/resorts on the ocean. Pre-WWII ocean liners were, for the majority of those passengers in steerage, a means of conveyance.)
posted by AndrewInDC at 11:10 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
Seconding the above for drinks prices (for the QM2, at least). Drinks are about what you would pay in Manhattan, so not altogether unreasonable. That goes for most of the services or gifts on board, like laundry services or flowers. And you're allowed to bring one bottle on board, which they don't seem to police too carefully unless it's obvious there's going to be a problem. The drinks packages for booze or coffee are pretty much not worth it. A nice feature is that if you order a bottle of wine with dinner, and don't finish the bottle, they'll store it for you for another night.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:18 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:18 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
It seems like most of these activities & shows (mini golf, infinity pool, ice skating) would only be workable if the ship was docked or in glass-flat seas. Do these things just basically not rock at all when they're moving?
I don't know at what point they get defeated by the waves -- but for calmer waters, they all have pretty crazy stabilization systems. (See also this tiktok video on Reddit.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:41 AM on January 9
I don't know at what point they get defeated by the waves -- but for calmer waters, they all have pretty crazy stabilization systems. (See also this tiktok video on Reddit.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:41 AM on January 9
Oh - another odd aspect my friend pointed out: for his family reunion on the cruise (it wasn't the largest in the world, but it was some mega-ship) he said it was a huge PITA coordinating lunches and dinners with the family. Or even which pool and where the group wanted to hang out during the afternoon.
Cell phones don't work out there. So they had to essentially plan out each day, which restaurant they would all meet, at what time. I don't think the entire big family ate every meal together, but his point was finding ANYONE in his family on the ship during the day was nearly impossible unless they had arranged it ahead of time. I think they all had to wear watches.
This was likely 20 years ago. Do they have some kind of group coordinating systems on ships now? Or do they have some cell phone connection these days? Not being able to text where you are on an enormous floating shopping mall was a huge inconvenience.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:53 AM on January 9
Cell phones don't work out there. So they had to essentially plan out each day, which restaurant they would all meet, at what time. I don't think the entire big family ate every meal together, but his point was finding ANYONE in his family on the ship during the day was nearly impossible unless they had arranged it ahead of time. I think they all had to wear watches.
This was likely 20 years ago. Do they have some kind of group coordinating systems on ships now? Or do they have some cell phone connection these days? Not being able to text where you are on an enormous floating shopping mall was a huge inconvenience.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:53 AM on January 9
This sounds like a perfect combination of a chintzy mall, a soon-to-be-abandoned amusment park and one of those resorts that are full of Americans drinking bad mai-tais out of plastic cups and complaining about the food and also you can't leave.
posted by signal at 11:56 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
posted by signal at 11:56 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
Honestly, if a cruise lived up to billing I think it could be fun! However, even if it lived up to billing, the environmental costs and labor issues make me think it's kind of bad and something that people should not do. (Also the risk of norovirus, etc - the risk of everyone getting some horrible illness would keep me off a cruise even if nothing else did.)
Like, you get a cute little cabin where you can lounge in peace, you can swim in probably several different types of pool, you can easily eat whatever you want at whatever time of day you want and you never have to clean anything up. You get sea views and sea air. I know that David Foster Wallace was not a great guy, but "A Supposedly Fun Thing..." made a short cruise sound like a really great reset. I can't imagine that I'd want to go to concerts or drink a lot and so on, but I think I could have a nice time just relaxing, staring out to sea, eating treats and swimming.
It is the kind of thing that would be really good in an Iain Banksian post-scarcity/post-environmental-damage future situation. You work in your pro-social or creative role and then you occasionally just take this absolute break absolutely elsewhere, and of course because this is all happening in a semi-utopia, everyone has equal access to the service, the work is arranged so that it is as pleasant and fulfilling as any other way to work (probably with Iain Banksian machines and clever arrangements for all the icky bits) and it's all perfectly environmentally sound.
posted by Frowner at 11:56 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
Like, you get a cute little cabin where you can lounge in peace, you can swim in probably several different types of pool, you can easily eat whatever you want at whatever time of day you want and you never have to clean anything up. You get sea views and sea air. I know that David Foster Wallace was not a great guy, but "A Supposedly Fun Thing..." made a short cruise sound like a really great reset. I can't imagine that I'd want to go to concerts or drink a lot and so on, but I think I could have a nice time just relaxing, staring out to sea, eating treats and swimming.
It is the kind of thing that would be really good in an Iain Banksian post-scarcity/post-environmental-damage future situation. You work in your pro-social or creative role and then you occasionally just take this absolute break absolutely elsewhere, and of course because this is all happening in a semi-utopia, everyone has equal access to the service, the work is arranged so that it is as pleasant and fulfilling as any other way to work (probably with Iain Banksian machines and clever arrangements for all the icky bits) and it's all perfectly environmentally sound.
posted by Frowner at 11:56 AM on January 9 [3 favorites]
Also as a snobby former punk rocker and someone from a family where we would never have gone on a cruise even if we could have afforded it, all that slightly cheesy stuff has an allure for me, like getting a grocery store birthday cake because my mother always made me delicious homemade ones as a child. It has a lot of novelty value. The sheer release from any kind of aesthetic or intellectual demand would get boring after a while, but for a few days it is restful.
posted by Frowner at 12:00 PM on January 9 [3 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 12:00 PM on January 9 [3 favorites]
This thing looks like someone's kid had access to an AI program and this is what that kid came up with. I just find these things so horrible.
Snobbery? Perhaps, but even if I had the resources I would never go on a cruise, no what era. It just feels so tightly wound up in the class system that there would be no escaping it while on the boat.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:11 PM on January 9
Snobbery? Perhaps, but even if I had the resources I would never go on a cruise, no what era. It just feels so tightly wound up in the class system that there would be no escaping it while on the boat.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:11 PM on January 9
"Do they have some kind of group coordinating systems on ships now? Or do they have some cell phone connection these days?"
Speaking for the one boat I know, WiFi access has improved dramatically considering the place is a giant Faraday cage. The improvements have come partly from the demands of passengers, and partly because the line wants to shunt many guest services onto an app.
On a basic per-device plan, it should be totally possible to coordinate family plans on board by messaging. Or even through the old fashioned way of phoning each other's cabins and leaving voicemails.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:12 PM on January 9
Speaking for the one boat I know, WiFi access has improved dramatically considering the place is a giant Faraday cage. The improvements have come partly from the demands of passengers, and partly because the line wants to shunt many guest services onto an app.
On a basic per-device plan, it should be totally possible to coordinate family plans on board by messaging. Or even through the old fashioned way of phoning each other's cabins and leaving voicemails.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:12 PM on January 9
Sorry, not understanding... personal cell phones work onboard? But you have to use a specific app?
That would make sense, but not sure if that's what you are saying.
posted by SoberHighland at 12:19 PM on January 9
That would make sense, but not sure if that's what you are saying.
posted by SoberHighland at 12:19 PM on January 9
We cruise. We are in our late 50’s. Sometimes my adult children come. We have done mega ships, not often but we have, we normally do more adult focused lines.
Cruise ships are giant floating hotels/resorts.
We cruise out of Florida as it is within a reasonable driving distance. My partner has a disability. He can walk but fatigues easily. He has bad days where he cannot do much. He loves the Caribbean. It brings him joy to lay in the warm sun, see the beautiful sea and islands and the people. He does not drink but loves fancy mocktails and coffee. He loves to talk to new people and see the lovely ship designs, he loves to try new food. He loves to watch me dance, though he cannot anymore. If he feels well, we go exploring on these islands. Normally a private excursion so that when we can, per his health , go back to rest if needed.
We know these trips barely touch the surface of those beautiful islands and people there but is best he can do now.
We temper the risk by good travel insurance and planning.
He spends so much time doing his best to stay alive and be as healthy as he can, it is his reward for months of treatments. It is my reward for being his carer.
We cannot do long flights or drives, we cannot do Disney or universal, we have done the local beaches many times, even they are hard now. And there is not much else close, so we cruise and if the powers that be allow me to cruise with the love of my life a few more times, I will be grateful
posted by ReiFlinx at 12:28 PM on January 9 [13 favorites]
Cruise ships are giant floating hotels/resorts.
We cruise out of Florida as it is within a reasonable driving distance. My partner has a disability. He can walk but fatigues easily. He has bad days where he cannot do much. He loves the Caribbean. It brings him joy to lay in the warm sun, see the beautiful sea and islands and the people. He does not drink but loves fancy mocktails and coffee. He loves to talk to new people and see the lovely ship designs, he loves to try new food. He loves to watch me dance, though he cannot anymore. If he feels well, we go exploring on these islands. Normally a private excursion so that when we can, per his health , go back to rest if needed.
We know these trips barely touch the surface of those beautiful islands and people there but is best he can do now.
We temper the risk by good travel insurance and planning.
He spends so much time doing his best to stay alive and be as healthy as he can, it is his reward for months of treatments. It is my reward for being his carer.
We cannot do long flights or drives, we cannot do Disney or universal, we have done the local beaches many times, even they are hard now. And there is not much else close, so we cruise and if the powers that be allow me to cruise with the love of my life a few more times, I will be grateful
posted by ReiFlinx at 12:28 PM on January 9 [13 favorites]
You pay for a plan to connect to the ship's Wifi, which allows texting (or WhatsApp calling). The basic plan was $12 a day, I think? Fine for ordinary surfing and texting. The streaming plan is much higher.
I accidentally went off airplane mode mid-Atlantic, and the satellite data connection dinged me at $4 a minute. I noticed it immediately, but -- oops.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:30 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I accidentally went off airplane mode mid-Atlantic, and the satellite data connection dinged me at $4 a minute. I noticed it immediately, but -- oops.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:30 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Clearly this is one of those things like fast casual restaurants - even if many people dislike them, they are an absolute godsend to, eg, parents traveling with little kids or people with serious food allergies who absolutely need predictable, controlled ingredient meals.
My parents heroically took us to Disney World (and various Florida attractions) when I was nine or ten, and we had an outstanding time. They did it for us, fully knowing that it was not going to be their thing at all but that all our peers had gone many times (lower middle class family, upper middle class town). That was a wonderful trip. I bet a little kid would go absolutely bananas for a short cruise - I know I would have. We got to go to the waterpark maybe once a summer because it was expensive, so if you'd taken me on a vacation where I could go to the waterpark every day for a week, I would have thought I'd stumbled into heaven.
I contend that it sounds like it could be kind of fun. You don't have to, like, spend every night propping up the bar or giving people the sozzled glad eye in the "adults only" area or listening to noisy music, and think about the design like this: many of us are probably quite interested in the popular design of the thirties through sixties, and yet that stuff was the despair of aesthetes.
posted by Frowner at 12:37 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
My parents heroically took us to Disney World (and various Florida attractions) when I was nine or ten, and we had an outstanding time. They did it for us, fully knowing that it was not going to be their thing at all but that all our peers had gone many times (lower middle class family, upper middle class town). That was a wonderful trip. I bet a little kid would go absolutely bananas for a short cruise - I know I would have. We got to go to the waterpark maybe once a summer because it was expensive, so if you'd taken me on a vacation where I could go to the waterpark every day for a week, I would have thought I'd stumbled into heaven.
I contend that it sounds like it could be kind of fun. You don't have to, like, spend every night propping up the bar or giving people the sozzled glad eye in the "adults only" area or listening to noisy music, and think about the design like this: many of us are probably quite interested in the popular design of the thirties through sixties, and yet that stuff was the despair of aesthetes.
posted by Frowner at 12:37 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
So it's basically the spaceship from WALL-E.
I'm going on a cruise with my extended family this coming summer, my first. When we were looking, I looked into an actual sailboat cruise, but unfortunately they are all way too expensive for me. But they look like so much fun.
posted by zardoz at 1:10 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
I'm going on a cruise with my extended family this coming summer, my first. When we were looking, I looked into an actual sailboat cruise, but unfortunately they are all way too expensive for me. But they look like so much fun.
posted by zardoz at 1:10 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
This thing will be an awesome place for exploration when it's abandoned and decayed.
posted by mazola at 1:17 PM on January 9 [3 favorites]
posted by mazola at 1:17 PM on January 9 [3 favorites]
they made it clear that was one person on the entire cruise who wasn't retirement aged, and they were there with their parents
That's going to be me on the Viking cruise. I'm OK with that, though, because the point of it is to help my mom go on adventures and make new memories with her. This has been on her bucket list for a long time and my stepdad's failing health precluded her from going on these sorts of excursions.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:37 PM on January 9 [5 favorites]
That's going to be me on the Viking cruise. I'm OK with that, though, because the point of it is to help my mom go on adventures and make new memories with her. This has been on her bucket list for a long time and my stepdad's failing health precluded her from going on these sorts of excursions.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:37 PM on January 9 [5 favorites]
If the Sea Cloud is too ritzy for you, zardoz , an "adventure cruise" on the Stad Amsterdam where you join a watch to help sail the clipper might be more reasonable. If that's too fancy, you could sign on to the engine-less Tres Hombres for a rustic experience sailing cargo and enjoy the sleep deprivation of the Swedish watch system on a small brigantine.
posted by autopilot at 2:31 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
posted by autopilot at 2:31 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
> I'm OK with that, though, because the point of it is to help my mom go on adventures and make new memories with her
I just did a similar trip with my mom - not on a cruise ship, just a coach, but close - where I was the only person with a full-time job. She and my dad used to travel a lot and after he died she really wanted someone to travel with. I actually enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I hope you and your mom have a great time.
posted by gingerbeer at 3:00 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I just did a similar trip with my mom - not on a cruise ship, just a coach, but close - where I was the only person with a full-time job. She and my dad used to travel a lot and after he died she really wanted someone to travel with. I actually enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I hope you and your mom have a great time.
posted by gingerbeer at 3:00 PM on January 9 [1 favorite]
autopilot--those ships look awesome! Unfortunately the Mrs. gets seasick easily, so no amount of sweet talking would get her to sign up. Basically I think my entire family except me would prefer the Mall of America-type of cruise. Because it's easy.
posted by zardoz at 3:11 PM on January 9
posted by zardoz at 3:11 PM on January 9
Alan Cumming talks about doing a crossing with his mum. And then talks some more.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:22 PM on January 9
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:22 PM on January 9
Went on a short vacation recently to a port town in Canada that, it turns out, is a major docking point for several cruise lines. Our hotel had a wonderful view overlooking the bay, and what that actually meant was that we could see 4-5 cruise ships at any given time. We were close enough to the upper deck of one of them that we could spot people climbing a rock wall and lining up for drinks at the bar nearby.
Otherwise, it was just kind of awe-inspiring to see how truly gigantic a floating vessel can be. Like looking at a comically large piece of farm equipment, but brightly painted and lit up like a chandelier and blasting Kool and the Gang across a frigid industrial port. They also had to do like seven-point turns to get out of the bay, and that seemed to take forever. Wild to think about piloting something that big.
posted by knotty knots at 3:33 PM on January 9
Otherwise, it was just kind of awe-inspiring to see how truly gigantic a floating vessel can be. Like looking at a comically large piece of farm equipment, but brightly painted and lit up like a chandelier and blasting Kool and the Gang across a frigid industrial port. They also had to do like seven-point turns to get out of the bay, and that seemed to take forever. Wild to think about piloting something that big.
posted by knotty knots at 3:33 PM on January 9
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They don't. Even the link from the sentence qualifies it as largest cruise ship.
posted by biffa at 6:04 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]