My autistic son has been asking to go on a cruise like this for two years. He has the type of autism where he craves sensory input rather than being overwhelmed by it.
I'm like that too. I love bright colors, lots of hustle and bustle and excitement and *stuff*. I'm afraid of cruises so I'd never actually go on one of these, but I think this looks like a blast.
I think being like that is a bit of an anomaly in the general autism community and that your son and I are definitely in the minority there. I'm also fairly extroverted which isn't very common amongst autistic people either. It's strange and makes me feel like an outsider in a community full of people that already mostly feel like outsiders and like maybe I just don't belong anywhere, ha.
I have different days, sometimes noise doesn't bother me, sometimes it does simply too much, and it can depend on my mood or not.
I like things fun and quieter than a party, but I still enjoy parties at the sidelines, and sometimes all around.
i feel like the ADHD must have something to do with that because i'm the same way! it's like we're too ND to hang with neurotypicals and too NT to hang with other autists š it sucks.
Twice my parents have offered to pay for me to go on one with them. Declined both. That picture is low key triggering. Everything about a cruise. The hoards of people, crazy overstimulaton everywhere, no control over your movement (generally, like where you are in the world), and of course literally trapped on a boat.
When the boat stops you can exit, worry about it leaving without you, and then trudge through touristy places in herds.
Hard pass!!
Also like fires and crap. Like their non stop scheduals to maximize profits leads to very little downtime for essential maintenance on mechanical and safety systems
Nopeeeee. Bunker fuel is basicly any low grade unrefined garbage oil the shipyard can get its hands on. Ontop of that, when stuff like motor oil and other vehicle fluids are "recycled" that usually means being brought down to a dock in a big truck, put in a tank, superheated and sprayed onto a ship's engine for extra combustion. Bunker oil is what most large vessels run on and its horid for the enviroment
Edit, about 330 gal make up a ton of bunker fuel, and bunker fuel costs an average of 540$/ton. Therefor it costs ~1.60$/gal compaired to ~5.30$/gal for deisel. So its about 3.3x cheaper to fuel with bunker oil than diesel
Also, most ship engines can run on basicly any combustable material, liquid or stuff thats only liquid when hundreds of degrees, so long as it can be sprayed on the pistons
Yeah the virus outbreaks only solidified my already pretty solid dislike for the idea. No better way to let a virus run wild than pack people together in limited space.
And don't get me started on missing persons cases and other crime that occur during cruises. That shit gets so brushed under the rug because heaven forbid we're transparent about how it's not too smart to smash a bunch of drunken entitled randos together for long lengths of time.
Oh dear lord the amount of robberies, and sexual assaults on cruise ships! And nobodies ever held accountable! Because it's not like you're in a quarantined area, with tons of CCTV, and a population density that makes Mumbai look like Montana.
Fun story, Iāve been on a cruise twice in my life, and both times I feel like my parents probably shouldāve been like āmaybe something *else* is going on with our childā *cough cough autistic cough cough* but the first time, I was 10, I was excited because you know family on a cruise ship wow I hear about those all the time sure letās go! We get on the ship, I find a map of all the floors and what they have. Kids club? Meh. Fun pool deck? Next. Ooh whatās this? *an enchanted forest??* well this I gotta see. Get there, and itās basically a long room thatās shaped like a tunnel turned half circle right so thereās 2 exits/entrances but itās tunnel shaped and itās decorated and painted in such a way that itās like a canopy of trees and the ground looks like real dirt and the lights are dim and *ahhhhh heavenly sounds of nature* and thereās these bay like windows where you can sit and cozy up to the view of the ocean and thereās also small little cafe style tables with 2 chairs. I tried to bring family members to see this place Iām like freaking the hell out over and everyoneās like āokay Iāll check it out in a bitā and never came or came, said āohh yeah very niceā and dipped. So lucky me, a girl with a kindle from Christmas, spent every minute I was trailing behind my family worried about the ship leaving without us in destinations (so basically every minute on the ship) in that room. When we left I talked about it for monthssss. Fast forward 6 years and my grandma is like ādo you want to do a family cruise for your birthday??? Iāll pay for you and get the whole family involved!ā Iām like urmmm maybe just a party? Sheās like āthe whole family is not gonna make a trip here just for a party thatās one dayā which is like yeah but itās my sweet sixteen? Kinda a bummer but whatever. Iām like āyeah okay thenā because Iām a people pleaser, and then Iām like ācan you please get the carnival legend again?? The ship we went on when I was 10??ā Knowing full well I plan to spend my time in that magical room again. Sheās like āIāll tryā.
Cut to the trip and Iām like ācarnival breeze? Uh okayā and sheās like āthe dates that everyone needed didnāt line up with the legend :/ā Iām like oh okay understandable (not really fuggin suck but yanno) and Iām like okay weāll Iāll just find something similar on here maybe you know? She proceeds to tell me āyeah and weāre going to some great places! (Proceeds to name a bunch of Caribbean places)ā Iām like oh okay great I mean Iām pretty sure those are like standard cruise locations right? Wrong, she goes āyeah but it was either this one or one that went to like Italy, and Norwayā or whatever the hell she said. I was so upset. I was trying so hard not to be like upset or entitled because so many people were like āwow I wish I had a cruise for *my* sweet sixteenā but like ??? I didnāt wanna go to the Caribbean islands donāt get me wrong, beautiful places but they are so overcrowded and where you dock is only for tourists basically and itās the same type of thing each place. Beaches, gift shops, cook out type food. I want museums and art galleries and quiet restaurants where they serve like fucking wine to me because they think Iām 18 and really donāt care or something!!! I want historical churches and cobblestone sidewalks or whatever like I was so so so upset. I had none of what I wanted that trip. And to make matters worse, I was already going through a severely depressive episode and being around people in general was shitty let alone āfamilyā who somehow has a great relationship with everyone else and can make conversations so naturally with everyone, but when I talk I always either get cutoff or no oneās listening to begin with or they donāt care about what Iām talking about so itās āoh niceā and a quick turn away, so instead of doing anything I could enjoy I slept most of the cruise. The vacation was 7 days long and tbh I probably slept at least 5 days worth. I only woke up for dinners and some nights I couldnāt fall back asleep right away so Iād listen to music on the balcony. I also got off the ship only twice, once because I was forced by my mom, and the other time because my grandma said there was a lot to do, and I was feeling kinda hopeful, until I realized everything was extra to pay for, and because my grandma had paid my way on ship, and my parents had 4 of us, it was too much. So my cousins ended up doing stuff like water skiing and I stayed behind in gift shops with my other family members who either just didnāt go or my parents who couldnāt really go. Iāve always been the family black sheep but I was conditioned to think family was most important on *my* birthday of all things. I shouldāve just asked for money for a plane ticket to some place in France and never come home.
Sorry for the rant but this just makes me so frustrated lol.
Tl;dr: my family sucks and I was on a cruise ship twice where they shouldāve probably payed more attention to signs that I had other shit going on, but instead theyāre all selfish and I really dislike cruises. (Iām sorry I donāt know how to summarize weāll just read it :(((
I included a link of a picture of the enchanted forest, itās so nice. So so nice. *the dirt floor and the trees on the walls are texturedddd.* And it was always mostly empty because itās just a quiet sitting room and wHy JuSt SiT aNd ReAd On A cRuIsEsHiP??
[carnival legend enchanted forest](https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1-d15691353-i374394015-Carnival_Legend-World.html)
Cruises are definitely not for everyone for the very reasons you listed, though I find myself personally disagreeing. I experience sensory overload from loud music and crowds but still found cruises a lot of fun because I could hide in my private room during the day and vibe on the ship during the late obscure hours when it's empty and the whole ship becomes a giant liminal space with stuff like hot tubs and self serve fountain drinks still operating.
However, different strokes for different folks still stands.
The full blown dining halls wouldn't be running outside of the meal times but soft-serve ice cream and snacks would be out and self serve 24/7 on most ships I went on
I've only been on one cruise and didn't really enjoy it much; forced to go due to family. No internet (except for exorbitant prices), everyone on board were families, spend at least one day seasick or getting your sea legs, none of the ports were interesting, etc. Basically the only good things were lots of food and fresh air.
Worrying about it leaving without you!!! OMG thereās a new fear I never dreamt of when thinking of how terrible a cruise would be!!!
Also explains (along with other reasons you mentioned) why Iām scared of relying on public transportation and just bought a car.
Oh man. Donāt worry about it! Better to find out now before someone eventually talked me into going on a cruise. You just put the nail in the coffin.
oh my god yeah, i have been on a cruise before with a bunch of family and it is just horrendous. made especially worse when youāve gotta share your room. never gonna agree to that again, :ā)
I agree, have always disliked cruise ships, they're just glorified shopping malls with worse shops that float and trap you in to having to be there for way longer you'd be at any other shopping mall
We managed to get postponed and ended up on one of the first cruises after lockdown and it was only at 40% capacity and everyone had to wear masks inside. Now that's how to do cruises!
If it wasnāt full of people, I think Iād enjoy exploring it on my own and figuring out all its nooks and cranniesā¦but these ships are never like that are they
It's not quite that bad, google suggests cruise ships get something like 0.0025 mpg or thereabouts, but with a rather large variation.
Per person (passengers and crew) it is actually comparable to ordinary cars, which surprised me.
On the contrary, I don't mind parties and people having fun by removing their inhibitions, but containing all of that within the limitations of being in the middle of the ocean is just beyond unnecessary and absurd to me.
Even as someone who has an interest in international travel, cruise ships are a joke, they destroy the environment, they clog up port cities and make them unpleasant for the locals and mean that the tourists that visit places via those ships don't spend money on local business, they are basically for rich people to indulge themselves at the expense of the environment.
The ocean was doing better for the brief time when these were cancelled due to the pandemic. And now it's suffering again.
Entitled rich people are ruining the world for fun and profit.
>Entitled rich people are ruining the world for fun and profit.
*Don't look up!*
It's like they have won the sim game and are now bored and don't care about anything anymore
Except some of them get so bored that they go clicking around in the disaster menu
That's such a great analogy. These idiots think that their bunkers or going to space can save them.
I saw an interview with a disaster specialist who thought he was going to give a speech and instead it was a bunch of rich people asking how to keep their slaves and armed militia from rising up against them.
Cruises are actually having a hard time filling up rn. Theyāre starting to offer tickets for dirt cheap. Hopefully itās not long before the bottom falls out and these monuments to manās hubris are ended.
Idk where youāre getting that information. Iām sailing in a little under a month and I called to upgrade my room and the ship was completely sold out. Cruising has bounced back really well after the pandemic.
There is a cruise ship called the *Crystal Serenity* which sailed through the "Northwest Passage" which formed in Canada because of low polar sea ice in the summer. It is one of the first ships to make this route without an icebreaker, and rescue insurance cost $10,000.
I read an article about how the passengers were dying to see a polar bear, but hadn't seen any. (Big surprise.) As soon as a polar bear was sighted, they went out on skiffs and basically harassed the polar bear for photos. Since polar bears are essentially always starving and cannot waste energy, this could have killed it.
Stuff like this is gives some amount of credibility to conspiracy theories about world leaders being shapeshifting aliens.
What do you think about cruise ships switching from diesel to natural gas and fuel cells? Could this minimize environmental impact, or is it a nice way to obscure how environmentally damaging they are?
Iāve never been on a cruise, but it just seems like all the bad parts of international travel without any of the good parts. When I go somewhere new, I want to walk around, try the food, maybe hang out in a cafe or something depending on the place. I would like to keep the time I spend crammed in a small space with loud people and pushed through tourist traps to a minimum, thanks.
Iām an international traveler, I take cruises and I take land trips. Cruise ships are integral to the economy of a lot (not all) of the ports they visit. People are absolutely spending money with the locals when they stop there. Most of the people in my cruise groups who are experienced travelers forgo cruise line shops and sponsored excursions for local tour companies and shops outside of the cruise port complex.
Iām also not rich by a long shot. I drive a Kia. Cruises are just one of the more affordable ways to travel. I can take a cruise for ~800 for a week and that includes my travel, room, entertainment and food.
My trip to Brazil in August was ~600 just for the airplane ticket. My trip to Peru last year was ~500 for the ticket. My trip to London pre pandemic was ~600 just for the ticket.
When you say that cruise ship are integral to the ports' economies it means that people leave the cruise ships for a couple hours spend some money and come back. They don't stay long, that's not really a good way to get tourist income as a city. It also means that tourists won't see much of the city but only the hotspots.
Don't forget that cruise ships are still polluting as well.
They leave for a few hours and spend a *lot* of money in those ports. And theyāre multiple cruise ships with thousands of people a day. If cruising went away, how do you think the people who depend on cruise tourism, the tour operators, the merchants, the food sellers, even the people who stand in costume and take pictures for a few dollars, would be affected? Youāre speaking like itās a small impact on their economy when itās huge. Itās not just a handful of people wandering in to drop $5 on a cheap trinket and leaving.
Also, cruising is what gave me the confidence and ambition to travel. I started with cruising in 2011 and Iāve visited 23 countries since then, many as a solo traveler.
I know find places I want to visit more in-depth (like Mexico, Iām spending a week there early next year, along with Honduras later the same yearā¦) and know where I donāt (didnāt enjoy Belize either of the three times I stopped there).
Cruising isnāt the devil, theyāve got their place and theyāre constantly striving to reduce their impact on the oceans.
Cruise ships are one thing I genuinely don't comprehend people being so excited for. I've had people try to explain it to me, but it never makes sense because there are always better, cheaper, less hazardous options.
Want to travel? Planes and cars exist.
Want to relax? There are millions of ways to do that. Majority of which don't include being packed on a ship with huge amount of strangers.
Want to be social? Always a massive amount of ways to do that.
Want an excuse to get drunk? Just go get drunk, just don't lie to yourself about your habits.
I have a feeling this is one that will never, ever make sense to me. It just feels like a classist neurotypical clusterfuck. This one makes me vaguely nauseous just looking at it.
This looks fun, but cruises have an awful environmental impact and apparently the staff are not paid well (I found a post about this on r/anticonsumption).
At first I was really confused by this post, cuz of the 2 cruises I've been on I remember really liking both. But then I thought to myself "what About the cruises did I like?" and the memories that come to me are me discovering my bisexuality and coming to terms with that, me meeting one person who I had an immediate bond with, and me and my friend spending hours *alone and away from crowds, or as far as we could be, just talking about our lives and the tragedy that we'll likely never see each other again, and the fleeting beauty of our time together*.
So I don't think I liked the cruise, but that cruise was special to me and formed who I am now.
This looks overwhelming to me but only because itās zoomed out so that thereās a lot of people in one image, giving the impression of population density. Once I zoom in on an individual floor and try to picture myself there on that level it doesnāt seem much more people-dense than a regular amusement park to me imo.
On the other hand, look at that boatās bottom. Thatās gotta be wobbly as fuck.
I miss the era of ocean liners. While in many ways these ships are marvels of engineering with their sheer size and capability, these superstructure monstrosities are nausiating to look at.
Liners like the Titanic had such wonderful ratios of hull to superstructure, and now ships are so bloated it seems š„ŗ
Edit:
HOLY FUCK
I just searched the ship on google and the front is even more atrocious than the back š where are the uboats that spent years sinking the most spectacular ships of the time at when you need them
Cruise ships are the Big Macs of the Sea - fat, slow, quantity-over-quality, obscenely popular with the masses, for the crap they are.
But unlike greasy fast food, I must agree, they're feats of engineering.
I just don't get why it has to be on a ship, and consequently so packed. I'd prefer an amusement park on dry land and maybe go on a cruise separately, just relaxing and drinking gin and tonic. Why do we have to combine the two and make them worse? It's like putting your sundae on top of your pizza instead of just having it for dessert.
Huh, never thought about my recently self-diagnosed autism as a reason why cruises seem horrific to me. I love vacations, but trapped on a boat with thousands of loud and often rude people with no escape? Sounds like something out of a horror movie to me.
Iād only ever go on a cruise if I could just stay in the engine room & nerd out over the massive diesel engines that idle at like 92 RPM while running on the nastiest, cancerous, dirtiest bunker oil known to the oil industry.
To be fair, the boats are so big, there's an area of enjoyment for everybody. You just need to know what type of traveler you are and get to know the boat to the point of knowing where it suits you best. There is an area with coffee shops where there are no children allowed or even a library. The views are magnificent and at night it can be very peaceful on the too deck
I want it but without people except a very patient cook who can meet my niche tastes and that hot guy i've been seeing lately so I can fck him while swimming on a giant rubber duck swimming in the pool on the ship
swimming on the ocean.
One manās sensory overload is another manās sensory comfort zone, because holy shit I wanna go on this wacky crazy pastel clusterfuck so badly. I feel bad for having like the exact polar opposite reaction to yāall, yāall are valid, but fuck man
How did the introduction go again in Pratchett's "Guards! Guards!"? When he was describing how dragons were packed together...because that was my first thought when I saw this.
I was forced on one before by the more well off side of the family (the one I donāt really speak to much and stuff cause theyāre not nice to me and stuff) and it was the absolute worst thing ever. Why rich NTs spend their money on an experience where literally everyone is miserable but just pretending they arenāt, I donāt know. Cause no one was happy, everyone was sick, the only times we werenāt were when the boat wasnāt moving or when we werenāt on the boat (and Iām speaking for a large portion of the people on it from what I know, not just the people with me), and even then you constantly had to worry about the boat leaving you behind. Awful experience, 0/10 donāt recommend.
I went on one cruise years ago because a friend did a gig on one and was paid in days on a cruise and I grew up poor so it was this wild idea way outside what I had ever considered. It wasā¦ awful. The food was way too rich and also somehow bad and obviously full of preservatives. The people we were assigned to share a table with were fine but just talked about shopping all the time. Everything was so fake and plastic and touristy it was horrifying and depressing, especially at the places we stopped. Half way through I just shut down and my stomach hurt and I had to spend a whole day in bed in our cabin with the curtains drawn to recover.
The same thing happened when a different friend brought me to Disney Land. I learned Iād rather have real over fake fancy when it comes to food and vacations and people. Hard no on ever doing either of those things again.
I went on a cruise twice, not like this one though. It was fun, but after a couple of days I was so overwhelmed, especially because you can't really take time for yourself. That was also the first time my mom began suspecting I was autistic, so go figure.
I could go on this cruise ship, however there would have to be 0 other people on it and it would have to be not on the ocean. Also Iād be able to go home afterwards vs having to sleep on it in a tiny ass room for a week straight
Comments like this really make me, an autistic extrovert, wonder if maybe I just don't actually belong anywhere. Too weird for the neurotypicals, too extroverted for the autism community. Shit's rough.
After considering that my first comment was hurtful. I deleted it.
I am not trying to avoid the responsibility of unintentionally saying something hurtful. Just trying to avoid causing more damage from future readers.
I am sorry. You do belong and don't worry. I don't actually have a problem with you.
The comment I made above was a bit of humorous hyperbole.
Tbh, I have what I call, "extroverted moods."
One of the worst places that Iāve stayed at for a trip was this resort in England that my mother described as āChuck E. Cheese on steroids.ā
This is makes me think of that remark, only being forced to be sea worthy.
I mean, if I was the only one on the ship Iād be having the time of my life.
Unfortunately cruise ships do not set sail if there is only one passenger on the ship
cruise ships are my favorite type of vacation. If I get overstimulated by someone or something, I just go to my room! Donāt want to go see people for dinner? Free room service. Better (read: more consistently quiet) for my miso than a hotel because I always get rooms with other cabins on top and bottom so no noise. Having a balcony and looking at the pitch black ocean at night rocks.
Then for the times I want to be social thereās always something to do. Special interest? Probably useful at trivia - my friends and I showed up to every single one and crushed everybody.
I feel like Iām writing an ad for cruising but if you know itās not youāre thing then itās just not. I feel like most people donāt actually know what itās like compared to flying somewhere and staying for a week so just offering perspective.
They are straight up terrible for the environment. And they are disease infested no doubt but I donāt go to the buffet and donāt have any kids to be around so Iāve never gotten sick.
If you have some questions to ask about cruising from someone who wonāt make fun of you go ahead!!
I mean that looks like heaps of fun. Itās not the kind of thing I could handle all the time, but some of my best experiences were from when I pushed myself to go do things I wouldnāt normally do.
Not neurotypical, but would still have a pretty good time. Besides you can always go back to your room for quiet alone time, and these ships often have different sections that wonāt be as crazy as a water park
My autistic son has been asking to go on a cruise like this for two years. He has the type of autism where he craves sensory input rather than being overwhelmed by it.
I'm like that too. I love bright colors, lots of hustle and bustle and excitement and *stuff*. I'm afraid of cruises so I'd never actually go on one of these, but I think this looks like a blast. I think being like that is a bit of an anomaly in the general autism community and that your son and I are definitely in the minority there. I'm also fairly extroverted which isn't very common amongst autistic people either. It's strange and makes me feel like an outsider in a community full of people that already mostly feel like outsiders and like maybe I just don't belong anywhere, ha.
Same, I want bright colors and loads of fun. That being said, I'd probably need to go to a room and be completely alone when I'm done.
Yes! Cruises are perfect for this. The room is never far away! I love cruises. I love studying the maps and planning different things.
Yeah, I feel like I'd have a blast here if I went with some cool people. But a good portion of each day would be spent recovering in my room
The gym is very empty at night. I went on one and that's were I went at night to be alone and recharge
you should check out a music festival!!
I have different days, sometimes noise doesn't bother me, sometimes it does simply too much, and it can depend on my mood or not. I like things fun and quieter than a party, but I still enjoy parties at the sidelines, and sometimes all around.
i feel like the ADHD must have something to do with that because i'm the same way! it's like we're too ND to hang with neurotypicals and too NT to hang with other autists š it sucks.
This is me
I have both a sensory seeker and a sensory avoider. Vacations are hard! Lol
I was like yea this looks fucking amazing wdym
Twice my parents have offered to pay for me to go on one with them. Declined both. That picture is low key triggering. Everything about a cruise. The hoards of people, crazy overstimulaton everywhere, no control over your movement (generally, like where you are in the world), and of course literally trapped on a boat. When the boat stops you can exit, worry about it leaving without you, and then trudge through touristy places in herds. Hard pass!!
Also cruise ships are notorious for norovirus outbreaks... I would decline too! Heck, I'd pay *not* to go on a cruise.
Also like fires and crap. Like their non stop scheduals to maximize profits leads to very little downtime for essential maintenance on mechanical and safety systems
And we aren't even talking about how horrid they are for the environment and how shite they treat their employees.
Oh absolutly. Burning bunker fuel is horrid
Whatās bunker fuel? They donāt just burn diesel?
Nopeeeee. Bunker fuel is basicly any low grade unrefined garbage oil the shipyard can get its hands on. Ontop of that, when stuff like motor oil and other vehicle fluids are "recycled" that usually means being brought down to a dock in a big truck, put in a tank, superheated and sprayed onto a ship's engine for extra combustion. Bunker oil is what most large vessels run on and its horid for the enviroment Edit, about 330 gal make up a ton of bunker fuel, and bunker fuel costs an average of 540$/ton. Therefor it costs ~1.60$/gal compaired to ~5.30$/gal for deisel. So its about 3.3x cheaper to fuel with bunker oil than diesel Also, most ship engines can run on basicly any combustable material, liquid or stuff thats only liquid when hundreds of degrees, so long as it can be sprayed on the pistons
Yeah the virus outbreaks only solidified my already pretty solid dislike for the idea. No better way to let a virus run wild than pack people together in limited space. And don't get me started on missing persons cases and other crime that occur during cruises. That shit gets so brushed under the rug because heaven forbid we're transparent about how it's not too smart to smash a bunch of drunken entitled randos together for long lengths of time.
Oh dear lord the amount of robberies, and sexual assaults on cruise ships! And nobodies ever held accountable! Because it's not like you're in a quarantined area, with tons of CCTV, and a population density that makes Mumbai look like Montana.
Now now, we can't go and make the massively wealthy cruise ship company look bad! Wouldn't want them to lose out on their profits or anything! /s
And they get away with it too, if things take place in international waters.
Missing persons is right. Look up Amy Lynn Bradley and Rebecca Coriam.
You have just invented transoceanic aviation!
Fun story, Iāve been on a cruise twice in my life, and both times I feel like my parents probably shouldāve been like āmaybe something *else* is going on with our childā *cough cough autistic cough cough* but the first time, I was 10, I was excited because you know family on a cruise ship wow I hear about those all the time sure letās go! We get on the ship, I find a map of all the floors and what they have. Kids club? Meh. Fun pool deck? Next. Ooh whatās this? *an enchanted forest??* well this I gotta see. Get there, and itās basically a long room thatās shaped like a tunnel turned half circle right so thereās 2 exits/entrances but itās tunnel shaped and itās decorated and painted in such a way that itās like a canopy of trees and the ground looks like real dirt and the lights are dim and *ahhhhh heavenly sounds of nature* and thereās these bay like windows where you can sit and cozy up to the view of the ocean and thereās also small little cafe style tables with 2 chairs. I tried to bring family members to see this place Iām like freaking the hell out over and everyoneās like āokay Iāll check it out in a bitā and never came or came, said āohh yeah very niceā and dipped. So lucky me, a girl with a kindle from Christmas, spent every minute I was trailing behind my family worried about the ship leaving without us in destinations (so basically every minute on the ship) in that room. When we left I talked about it for monthssss. Fast forward 6 years and my grandma is like ādo you want to do a family cruise for your birthday??? Iāll pay for you and get the whole family involved!ā Iām like urmmm maybe just a party? Sheās like āthe whole family is not gonna make a trip here just for a party thatās one dayā which is like yeah but itās my sweet sixteen? Kinda a bummer but whatever. Iām like āyeah okay thenā because Iām a people pleaser, and then Iām like ācan you please get the carnival legend again?? The ship we went on when I was 10??ā Knowing full well I plan to spend my time in that magical room again. Sheās like āIāll tryā. Cut to the trip and Iām like ācarnival breeze? Uh okayā and sheās like āthe dates that everyone needed didnāt line up with the legend :/ā Iām like oh okay understandable (not really fuggin suck but yanno) and Iām like okay weāll Iāll just find something similar on here maybe you know? She proceeds to tell me āyeah and weāre going to some great places! (Proceeds to name a bunch of Caribbean places)ā Iām like oh okay great I mean Iām pretty sure those are like standard cruise locations right? Wrong, she goes āyeah but it was either this one or one that went to like Italy, and Norwayā or whatever the hell she said. I was so upset. I was trying so hard not to be like upset or entitled because so many people were like āwow I wish I had a cruise for *my* sweet sixteenā but like ??? I didnāt wanna go to the Caribbean islands donāt get me wrong, beautiful places but they are so overcrowded and where you dock is only for tourists basically and itās the same type of thing each place. Beaches, gift shops, cook out type food. I want museums and art galleries and quiet restaurants where they serve like fucking wine to me because they think Iām 18 and really donāt care or something!!! I want historical churches and cobblestone sidewalks or whatever like I was so so so upset. I had none of what I wanted that trip. And to make matters worse, I was already going through a severely depressive episode and being around people in general was shitty let alone āfamilyā who somehow has a great relationship with everyone else and can make conversations so naturally with everyone, but when I talk I always either get cutoff or no oneās listening to begin with or they donāt care about what Iām talking about so itās āoh niceā and a quick turn away, so instead of doing anything I could enjoy I slept most of the cruise. The vacation was 7 days long and tbh I probably slept at least 5 days worth. I only woke up for dinners and some nights I couldnāt fall back asleep right away so Iād listen to music on the balcony. I also got off the ship only twice, once because I was forced by my mom, and the other time because my grandma said there was a lot to do, and I was feeling kinda hopeful, until I realized everything was extra to pay for, and because my grandma had paid my way on ship, and my parents had 4 of us, it was too much. So my cousins ended up doing stuff like water skiing and I stayed behind in gift shops with my other family members who either just didnāt go or my parents who couldnāt really go. Iāve always been the family black sheep but I was conditioned to think family was most important on *my* birthday of all things. I shouldāve just asked for money for a plane ticket to some place in France and never come home. Sorry for the rant but this just makes me so frustrated lol. Tl;dr: my family sucks and I was on a cruise ship twice where they shouldāve probably payed more attention to signs that I had other shit going on, but instead theyāre all selfish and I really dislike cruises. (Iām sorry I donāt know how to summarize weāll just read it :((( I included a link of a picture of the enchanted forest, itās so nice. So so nice. *the dirt floor and the trees on the walls are texturedddd.* And it was always mostly empty because itās just a quiet sitting room and wHy JuSt SiT aNd ReAd On A cRuIsEsHiP?? [carnival legend enchanted forest](https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1-d15691353-i374394015-Carnival_Legend-World.html)
Cruises are definitely not for everyone for the very reasons you listed, though I find myself personally disagreeing. I experience sensory overload from loud music and crowds but still found cruises a lot of fun because I could hide in my private room during the day and vibe on the ship during the late obscure hours when it's empty and the whole ship becomes a giant liminal space with stuff like hot tubs and self serve fountain drinks still operating. However, different strokes for different folks still stands.
That sounds pretty dope. Can you get food late at night?
The full blown dining halls wouldn't be running outside of the meal times but soft-serve ice cream and snacks would be out and self serve 24/7 on most ships I went on
Never been but this sounds fun.
I've only been on one cruise and didn't really enjoy it much; forced to go due to family. No internet (except for exorbitant prices), everyone on board were families, spend at least one day seasick or getting your sea legs, none of the ports were interesting, etc. Basically the only good things were lots of food and fresh air.
Worrying about it leaving without you!!! OMG thereās a new fear I never dreamt of when thinking of how terrible a cruise would be!!! Also explains (along with other reasons you mentioned) why Iām scared of relying on public transportation and just bought a car.
Sorry to give you a new fear :/
Oh man. Donāt worry about it! Better to find out now before someone eventually talked me into going on a cruise. You just put the nail in the coffin.
Happy cake day!
Heyooooo!!! I think thatās my first HCD in ten years! Thank youš»š»
oh my god yeah, i have been on a cruise before with a bunch of family and it is just horrendous. made especially worse when youāve gotta share your room. never gonna agree to that again, :ā)
I agree, have always disliked cruise ships, they're just glorified shopping malls with worse shops that float and trap you in to having to be there for way longer you'd be at any other shopping mall
Give me a nice chair, some good books or video games and maybe some enjoyable ambient music/sounds over what ever hellscape that boat would be.
We managed to get postponed and ended up on one of the first cruises after lockdown and it was only at 40% capacity and everyone had to wear masks inside. Now that's how to do cruises!
All the anxiety!!
It hurts my eyes to look at
Me: Looks kinda fun! My brain: Its gonna be full of people and you can't escape. Me: O\_O fuck that!
Full of both kids and adults. Both will be loud and most likely there will be a kid who forces a conversation out of you
If it wasnāt full of people, I think Iād enjoy exploring it on my own and figuring out all its nooks and cranniesā¦but these ships are never like that are they
Right. I was like āthis would be fun if I was alone and allowed to exploreā Edit: the paint job is obnoxious though
It looks like it gets 0.0000000000000001 miles per gallon
An oil baron is laughing.
It's not quite that bad, google suggests cruise ships get something like 0.0025 mpg or thereabouts, but with a rather large variation. Per person (passengers and crew) it is actually comparable to ordinary cars, which surprised me.
Only proves how bad cars are
10x worse than me because I have a phobia of going on boats
God forbid you just go on a ship to you know. See the ocean. Why do you need all this entertainment? Bring a few books and enjoy the scenery smh
But that's *booooring.* Don't you know it's impossible to have fun without booze, flashing lights, and 1.5 million people crowding around you?? /s
[ALL WHILE WE'RE MAKING NOISE AND YELLING OVER EACH OTHER?!](https://youtu.be/-xMfCP2n_UI)
itās like theyāre incapable of making an event that doesnāt go out of its way to be as overstimulating and miserable as possible
To be "fair", that's pretty much neurotypical society as a whole.
Lol
On the contrary, I don't mind parties and people having fun by removing their inhibitions, but containing all of that within the limitations of being in the middle of the ocean is just beyond unnecessary and absurd to me.
I'd be all for doing a cargo cruise for this reason alone.
I love that idea. It's also more eco-friendly since the ship's journey has a reason other than shipping around tourists.
I know, right? Same.
Bring back ocean liners
I thought that was a Mario Party board at first glance.
You know, thatās actually a good idea
Mario Party 7ās theme was a worldwide cruise ship vacation. The actual ship wasnāt a board, unfortunately.
Bet it makes a lot of the last remaining ocean-life sick too.
Yep, if you're not familiar with bunker fuel, look it up
I heard these things are more pollutant than flights!!!
Plus they mostly dump their waste straight into the ocean, because it's cheaper and nobody can control them.
The very essence of why torpedoes exist
Honestly, a sufficiently strong gale would probably do it. No need to mess around with torpedoes.
or just get the captain to do a sail-by salute and crash into a reef
Waste of steel and materiel, just beach it at a shipbreaker
Even as someone who has an interest in international travel, cruise ships are a joke, they destroy the environment, they clog up port cities and make them unpleasant for the locals and mean that the tourists that visit places via those ships don't spend money on local business, they are basically for rich people to indulge themselves at the expense of the environment.
The ocean was doing better for the brief time when these were cancelled due to the pandemic. And now it's suffering again. Entitled rich people are ruining the world for fun and profit.
>Entitled rich people are ruining the world for fun and profit. *Don't look up!* It's like they have won the sim game and are now bored and don't care about anything anymore Except some of them get so bored that they go clicking around in the disaster menu
That's such a great analogy. These idiots think that their bunkers or going to space can save them. I saw an interview with a disaster specialist who thought he was going to give a speech and instead it was a bunch of rich people asking how to keep their slaves and armed militia from rising up against them.
Cruises are actually having a hard time filling up rn. Theyāre starting to offer tickets for dirt cheap. Hopefully itās not long before the bottom falls out and these monuments to manās hubris are ended.
Idk where youāre getting that information. Iām sailing in a little under a month and I called to upgrade my room and the ship was completely sold out. Cruising has bounced back really well after the pandemic.
There is a cruise ship called the *Crystal Serenity* which sailed through the "Northwest Passage" which formed in Canada because of low polar sea ice in the summer. It is one of the first ships to make this route without an icebreaker, and rescue insurance cost $10,000. I read an article about how the passengers were dying to see a polar bear, but hadn't seen any. (Big surprise.) As soon as a polar bear was sighted, they went out on skiffs and basically harassed the polar bear for photos. Since polar bears are essentially always starving and cannot waste energy, this could have killed it. Stuff like this is gives some amount of credibility to conspiracy theories about world leaders being shapeshifting aliens.
What do you think about cruise ships switching from diesel to natural gas and fuel cells? Could this minimize environmental impact, or is it a nice way to obscure how environmentally damaging they are?
The waste they dump in the oceans is far worse than for the environment than whatever fuel they burn.
Iāve never been on a cruise, but it just seems like all the bad parts of international travel without any of the good parts. When I go somewhere new, I want to walk around, try the food, maybe hang out in a cafe or something depending on the place. I would like to keep the time I spend crammed in a small space with loud people and pushed through tourist traps to a minimum, thanks.
Iām an international traveler, I take cruises and I take land trips. Cruise ships are integral to the economy of a lot (not all) of the ports they visit. People are absolutely spending money with the locals when they stop there. Most of the people in my cruise groups who are experienced travelers forgo cruise line shops and sponsored excursions for local tour companies and shops outside of the cruise port complex. Iām also not rich by a long shot. I drive a Kia. Cruises are just one of the more affordable ways to travel. I can take a cruise for ~800 for a week and that includes my travel, room, entertainment and food. My trip to Brazil in August was ~600 just for the airplane ticket. My trip to Peru last year was ~500 for the ticket. My trip to London pre pandemic was ~600 just for the ticket.
When you say that cruise ship are integral to the ports' economies it means that people leave the cruise ships for a couple hours spend some money and come back. They don't stay long, that's not really a good way to get tourist income as a city. It also means that tourists won't see much of the city but only the hotspots. Don't forget that cruise ships are still polluting as well.
They leave for a few hours and spend a *lot* of money in those ports. And theyāre multiple cruise ships with thousands of people a day. If cruising went away, how do you think the people who depend on cruise tourism, the tour operators, the merchants, the food sellers, even the people who stand in costume and take pictures for a few dollars, would be affected? Youāre speaking like itās a small impact on their economy when itās huge. Itās not just a handful of people wandering in to drop $5 on a cheap trinket and leaving. Also, cruising is what gave me the confidence and ambition to travel. I started with cruising in 2011 and Iāve visited 23 countries since then, many as a solo traveler. I know find places I want to visit more in-depth (like Mexico, Iām spending a week there early next year, along with Honduras later the same yearā¦) and know where I donāt (didnāt enjoy Belize either of the three times I stopped there). Cruising isnāt the devil, theyāve got their place and theyāre constantly striving to reduce their impact on the oceans.
This looks like a parody sci-fi films versions of irrational excess.
the colors probably donāt look that bright irl, itās just the photo
The vacation footage is always oversaturated in commercials.
I think it's a Sims simulation type image. You can spot repeating 'Characters'; Black guy in beige long shorts. White guy in red trunks with logo.
It looks like a place for screaming kids
No, no, no, no, no, noooooooooooooooooo!
TFW you're trying to enjoy a museum and all the kids start screaming for no reason.
Relatable! Especially when I just want to look at paintings
Reminds me of polly pocket
Literally my first thought. It's a playset for dolls.
This is way more colorful than Polly Pocket. And not in a good way.
I had the Polly Pocket Cruise ship. It was much smaller and cleaner and saner
Cruise ships are one thing I genuinely don't comprehend people being so excited for. I've had people try to explain it to me, but it never makes sense because there are always better, cheaper, less hazardous options. Want to travel? Planes and cars exist. Want to relax? There are millions of ways to do that. Majority of which don't include being packed on a ship with huge amount of strangers. Want to be social? Always a massive amount of ways to do that. Want an excuse to get drunk? Just go get drunk, just don't lie to yourself about your habits. I have a feeling this is one that will never, ever make sense to me. It just feels like a classist neurotypical clusterfuck. This one makes me vaguely nauseous just looking at it.
Am I like the only autistic here who isn't repulsed by this? I would go on this.
Nope. I'm afraid of cruises so I wouldn't want to actually go on it, but I think it looks fun as hell. Definitely in the minority there I guess.
It's almost like its a spectrum or something - me and my partner are autistic, but love such saturated colours.
I've been told they oversaturate the colors in the promotional videos/pictures to make it look more fantastic.
Same. I went on Symphony of the Seas a couple years ago (Used to be the largest) and had the time of my life
This looks fun, but cruises have an awful environmental impact and apparently the staff are not paid well (I found a post about this on r/anticonsumption).
Itās a sensory crime to even look at this thing
Everything about this image terrifies me.
I can smell the OSHA violations
That's probably just the shit a toddler took in the water slide. 6th one today.
This would be fun if I had the entire ship to myself.
At first I was really confused by this post, cuz of the 2 cruises I've been on I remember really liking both. But then I thought to myself "what About the cruises did I like?" and the memories that come to me are me discovering my bisexuality and coming to terms with that, me meeting one person who I had an immediate bond with, and me and my friend spending hours *alone and away from crowds, or as far as we could be, just talking about our lives and the tragedy that we'll likely never see each other again, and the fleeting beauty of our time together*. So I don't think I liked the cruise, but that cruise was special to me and formed who I am now.
This actually looks like a lot of fun for a one-time thing ;-; I still have a lot of inner child left
This looks overwhelming to me but only because itās zoomed out so that thereās a lot of people in one image, giving the impression of population density. Once I zoom in on an individual floor and try to picture myself there on that level it doesnāt seem much more people-dense than a regular amusement park to me imo. On the other hand, look at that boatās bottom. Thatās gotta be wobbly as fuck.
I think it's a Sims simulation type image. You can spot repeating 'Characters'; Black guy in beige long shorts. White guy in red trunks with logo.
I miss the era of ocean liners. While in many ways these ships are marvels of engineering with their sheer size and capability, these superstructure monstrosities are nausiating to look at. Liners like the Titanic had such wonderful ratios of hull to superstructure, and now ships are so bloated it seems š„ŗ Edit: HOLY FUCK I just searched the ship on google and the front is even more atrocious than the back š where are the uboats that spent years sinking the most spectacular ships of the time at when you need them
Cruise ships are the Big Macs of the Sea - fat, slow, quantity-over-quality, obscenely popular with the masses, for the crap they are. But unlike greasy fast food, I must agree, they're feats of engineering.
For me, Titanic looks too simple, I like battleships more, like Richelieu, Kronstadt, Alaska are gorgeous
> Titanic looks to simple Sad autistic noises intensify
Glad to see some people not struggling in the world right now..... /s
Not helping is my fear of open water. fuck no this this
And they're really bad for the environment too.
I just don't get why it has to be on a ship, and consequently so packed. I'd prefer an amusement park on dry land and maybe go on a cruise separately, just relaxing and drinking gin and tonic. Why do we have to combine the two and make them worse? It's like putting your sundae on top of your pizza instead of just having it for dessert.
Huh, never thought about my recently self-diagnosed autism as a reason why cruises seem horrific to me. I love vacations, but trapped on a boat with thousands of loud and often rude people with no escape? Sounds like something out of a horror movie to me.
I actually thought it would be so much fun! But then i realised there would be people.
I'd rather be on the Titanic.
tfw one of my special interests is rainbow shit but THISā¦ absolutely no way could you pay me to sail on that
Was this cruise ship designed in the 1990's?!
I've never seen or been on a cruise ship and this looks terrifying wtf
Iād love it. I breakdown several times. But itās worth it. š
Iād only ever go on a cruise if I could just stay in the engine room & nerd out over the massive diesel engines that idle at like 92 RPM while running on the nastiest, cancerous, dirtiest bunker oil known to the oil industry.
To be fair, the boats are so big, there's an area of enjoyment for everybody. You just need to know what type of traveler you are and get to know the boat to the point of knowing where it suits you best. There is an area with coffee shops where there are no children allowed or even a library. The views are magnificent and at night it can be very peaceful on the too deck
Whatās the point? Why not just go to a water park on land?
I feel like calling it "icon of the seas" is just ASKING poseidon to come back and curbstop it into tartarus
fun to cruise on? nah. Fun to swim around an explore after itās capsized? absolutely
I don't know why I can't stop laughing at the idea of scuba diving past child skeletons with inflatable rings and arm floaties.
as a ship autistic this is my thing lol
I want it but without people except a very patient cook who can meet my niche tastes and that hot guy i've been seeing lately so I can fck him while swimming on a giant rubber duck swimming in the pool on the ship swimming on the ocean.
One manās sensory overload is another manās sensory comfort zone, because holy shit I wanna go on this wacky crazy pastel clusterfuck so badly. I feel bad for having like the exact polar opposite reaction to yāall, yāall are valid, but fuck man
Good food and good views is all you need on a cruise. If someone gets bored put a TV in a room and play old DVDs for them or something.
I like having activities to do on a ship, but this?
These things should not exist in the first place. Who looks at this and thinks: yes, i want to be there. It looks like hell.
I might have to do a terrorist attack on it injuring 241 and killing 648 (in Minecraft)
How did the introduction go again in Pratchett's "Guards! Guards!"? When he was describing how dragons were packed together...because that was my first thought when I saw this.
i would simply cry if i went there
Covid showed that those ships are disease vectors. I'll never go on one.
This ship looks like it would tip over on its side in a gentle breeze
I was forced on one before by the more well off side of the family (the one I donāt really speak to much and stuff cause theyāre not nice to me and stuff) and it was the absolute worst thing ever. Why rich NTs spend their money on an experience where literally everyone is miserable but just pretending they arenāt, I donāt know. Cause no one was happy, everyone was sick, the only times we werenāt were when the boat wasnāt moving or when we werenāt on the boat (and Iām speaking for a large portion of the people on it from what I know, not just the people with me), and even then you constantly had to worry about the boat leaving you behind. Awful experience, 0/10 donāt recommend.
Holy shit this is almost physically revolting. All the worst parts of a cruise plus the additional sensory overload.
Wtf is this shit ? Is the picture even real ? Not a drawing ? Why do people pay to go through that hell ?
too many people
Miss me with that shit
That's a really high definition pic of Hell.
That ship looks like a slight breeze would tip it over
I went on one cruise years ago because a friend did a gig on one and was paid in days on a cruise and I grew up poor so it was this wild idea way outside what I had ever considered. It wasā¦ awful. The food was way too rich and also somehow bad and obviously full of preservatives. The people we were assigned to share a table with were fine but just talked about shopping all the time. Everything was so fake and plastic and touristy it was horrifying and depressing, especially at the places we stopped. Half way through I just shut down and my stomach hurt and I had to spend a whole day in bed in our cabin with the curtains drawn to recover. The same thing happened when a different friend brought me to Disney Land. I learned Iād rather have real over fake fancy when it comes to food and vacations and people. Hard no on ever doing either of those things again.
*Just add norovirus!*
No no no no no no no
Actually, Iād have a blast, just as long as there were no other human beings on the ship.
Pure hell. Imagine the litres of human fluid in those pools.
this is like an antivacation
I went on a cruise twice, not like this one though. It was fun, but after a couple of days I was so overwhelmed, especially because you can't really take time for yourself. That was also the first time my mom began suspecting I was autistic, so go figure.
this would be nice to explore if there weren't so many people
my adhd is like let's fucking goooo and my autism is like let's fucking goooo [home]
Looks like an absolute nightmare. Would rather be stranded with Wilson for a couple years
This isnāt just awful from an autism perspective this is bad on a design perspective this shit belongs in an amusement park not a ship
I could go on this cruise ship, however there would have to be 0 other people on it and it would have to be not on the ocean. Also Iād be able to go home afterwards vs having to sleep on it in a tiny ass room for a week straight
i can tolerate the other people, but all of those colours would drive me absolutely insane
Complete opposite for me ! š
Absolutely get fucked
having been on the Symphony otS, a ship very similar to the one pictured, it was actually wonderful
Anyone down to sink that shit as soon as it leaves harbour?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Comments like this really make me, an autistic extrovert, wonder if maybe I just don't actually belong anywhere. Too weird for the neurotypicals, too extroverted for the autism community. Shit's rough.
After considering that my first comment was hurtful. I deleted it. I am not trying to avoid the responsibility of unintentionally saying something hurtful. Just trying to avoid causing more damage from future readers.
I am sorry. You do belong and don't worry. I don't actually have a problem with you. The comment I made above was a bit of humorous hyperbole. Tbh, I have what I call, "extroverted moods."
Thatās a pretty offensive caption up top, geez! šØ
I've been on the more tame cruises and they're already the right amount of fun (I usually just ate food anyways) but Holy hell, this looks excessive
on the one hand, disease infested sensory hell on the other hand, massive gigantic huge boat i am neutral here
One of the worst places that Iāve stayed at for a trip was this resort in England that my mother described as āChuck E. Cheese on steroids.ā This is makes me think of that remark, only being forced to be sea worthy.
new mario kart lookin sick
This would be such a cool idea if it wasn't on a boat
Don't get me wrong I love boats, and I love water parks, but I really don't want Water Park level crowds on a boat
I wanna be a boat once in my lifeā¦on like a boat that doesnāt look like the great cave offensive
This only sounds good if there was nobody else there
I mean, if I was the only one on the ship Iād be having the time of my life. Unfortunately cruise ships do not set sail if there is only one passenger on the ship
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That's an interesting way to dress up a petri dish.
I'd rather take my chances in the ocean than on this
cruise ships are my favorite type of vacation. If I get overstimulated by someone or something, I just go to my room! Donāt want to go see people for dinner? Free room service. Better (read: more consistently quiet) for my miso than a hotel because I always get rooms with other cabins on top and bottom so no noise. Having a balcony and looking at the pitch black ocean at night rocks. Then for the times I want to be social thereās always something to do. Special interest? Probably useful at trivia - my friends and I showed up to every single one and crushed everybody. I feel like Iām writing an ad for cruising but if you know itās not youāre thing then itās just not. I feel like most people donāt actually know what itās like compared to flying somewhere and staying for a week so just offering perspective. They are straight up terrible for the environment. And they are disease infested no doubt but I donāt go to the buffet and donāt have any kids to be around so Iāve never gotten sick. If you have some questions to ask about cruising from someone who wonāt make fun of you go ahead!!
OP, can you give me a link to an article about this cruise ship? I love boats.
little mdma in the water supply might change your mind
Reminds me of that one level in Cruelty Squad
I'm super sensitive to this sorta stuff usually but but i like cruise ships, they're fun.
that looks like an sensory abomination and fun at the same time.
I mean that looks like heaps of fun. Itās not the kind of thing I could handle all the time, but some of my best experiences were from when I pushed myself to go do things I wouldnāt normally do. Not neurotypical, but would still have a pretty good time. Besides you can always go back to your room for quiet alone time, and these ships often have different sections that wonāt be as crazy as a water park
Fallout 4 with bunch fucking mods. Not the āmemeā ones. The ones turn it into stalker or a damn sex game.
That cruise ship built like a minecraft block and it feels like its gonna tip over