I did a transatlantic crossing in 1977, back in the day when ocean travel was something elegant and sumptuous. When I compare that experience to the floating toilets of today ferrying Bill and Mary Six-Pack around the Caribbean and Mexico, I'm not surprise that the term "ocean cruise" has become as déclassé a concept as it now is. Sailboat for me, please.
Cunard are hit or these days .............. We travelled Newcastle to Bergen return a lot in the sixties ; they were good times , but I haven't been on a large ship in thirty years . Wouldn't venture on one anymore .
Bill and Mary Six-Pack? Wow! They are the folks who fix your cars, take care of you on nursing duty, teach your kids and repair your furnace. It must be hard for you to ask Bill and Mary to do those things knowing that they are soon leaving for a cruise in a floating toilet (which Bill and Mary probably regard as paradise). People like you remind me of someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger, that is, somebody without a soul.
10:26's comment personifies everything Fussell said about middle class status anxiety. BTW, Bill and Mary Six-Pack will likely be perfectly comfortable in the next blizzard/power failure/EMP burst; 10:26 and their ilk, not so much.
What happened, Ferd? Were you visited by three spirits last night who showed you what would happen if you continued to live your life as a stroppy, pretentious middle-aged parvenu? You hardly sound like yourself.
Actually, yes. The first spirit is stage four prostate cancer. The second is loss of job (see first above). The third is incontinence. (see first above). That said, you have made my day with your adjectival phrasing. Stroppy. This may be the single nicest thing anyone has ever called me. Being Irish, it is not difficult to be stroppy. We are all of us born with an abundance of inherited sadness, fertilized by dreams of eating grass in the 1840's, don't you know. So, yes, I am reborn, albeit for what in all events appears to be a short second life. Please don't mourn, Anon 4:06. Were I not suffering, I would still find the words to skewer you to to the fabric of your miserable little life. Anon.
Pleased to see that you're as pithy as ever, Ferd; always DID think the sappy articles about those experiencing adversity suddenly becoming all loving treacle for their Fellow Man were horse-droppings. May you please go on being as "stroppy" as you like, because I've seen that gravel in the guts prove Experts wrong many times--I've got a horse in my field right now who would've been pushing up crabgrass for a decade already, had I listened to the vet. Carry on! ;-)
The very notion of going gently into anything make me vomit. Life is one teeth-bared battle after another. Mind you, they are all after your comfort, wealth or sanity. All of them. Except perhaps my dachshund, although he is beginning to annoy me too.
My wife and I are saving our pennies to do this once the girls graduate from high school. Looks dignified and does anybody have past experiences with this: http://www.cunard.com/cruise-search/book-a-cruise/results/?pe=NYC My friend worked for carnival and said sometimes it was like the trailer park sent their life savings on the cruise and it showed. Also he said there was not much difference between a doctors conference or college spring break attendees.
I've sailed the QE2 and it was quite nice with an excellent crew. However, I will defer to my experience growing up with our family's 24' sloop. It was the most we ever worked as a team, and there is nothing like the quiet speed at full sail in fair weather.
Definitely a sailboat, if I had to choose. We've got a 26' Chaparral Cruiser that we love exploring with. I would rather sail around the world on just a door with a six pack of Rolling Rock than spend 30 seconds aboard any cruise ship. --Holly in PA
Wowza! Always hitting a nerve! Seeing how I’ve done both I guess I could venture an opinion. Sailing is wonderful for all the reasons given above. I’ve been on and off boats fir decades. It’s exhilerating. And guess what? So is a ride on the Queen Mary. If you haven’t traveled this way it’s probably different than what you’d expect. Most of the folks I’ve run into are world travelers that love the sea. Cruise travel is as varied as any ither kind of travel. The gang that is willing to spend a week looking st the (lots of times turbulent) Atlantic is not the love boat crowd.
My son did a "heavy metal" cruise on some gargantuan cruise ship. Reportedly, the heavy metal fans from all of the world (all wearing black t-shirts) were very good passengers.
For something different, though, try a stern-wheeler on the Mississippi.
Sailing, but I don't begrudge those who choose to spend their hard earned money on a cruise ship. Simply not for me. Remember, not everyone (most do not) has had access to a sailboat or the skills to do so.
I’ve been fortunate to experience two very nice cruises in my life; the first was the S. S. United States in the mid-sixties (sigh, those were the days), and the second was on the Holland America line, which specializes in smaller cruise ships and fewer passengers. I am mesmerized by the hugeness of the Carnival and other cruise ships, but each to his or her own.
Definitely sailboat. Cruise ships have become so enormous that they often are a disgrace in otherwise beautiful surroundings : I am thinking Venice, Italy or Santorini, Greece. I cannot imagine Kate Hepburn mention "my, she was yar" when referring to a cruise ship...
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I did a transatlantic crossing in 1977, back in the day when ocean travel was something elegant and sumptuous. When I compare that experience to the floating toilets of today ferrying Bill and Mary Six-Pack around the Caribbean and Mexico, I'm not surprise that the term "ocean cruise" has become as déclassé a concept as it now is. Sailboat for me, please.
ReplyDeleteSailboat! Always!
DeleteCunard are hit or these days ..............
DeleteWe travelled Newcastle to Bergen return a lot in the sixties ; they were good times , but I haven't been on a large ship in thirty years . Wouldn't venture on one anymore .
Bill and Mary Six-Pack? Wow! They are the folks who fix your cars, take care of you on nursing duty, teach your kids and repair your furnace. It must be hard for you to ask Bill and Mary to do those things knowing that they are soon leaving for a cruise in a floating toilet (which Bill and Mary probably regard as paradise). People like you remind me of someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger, that is, somebody without a soul.
Delete10:26's comment personifies everything Fussell said about middle class status anxiety. BTW, Bill and Mary Six-Pack will likely be perfectly comfortable in the next blizzard/power failure/EMP burst; 10:26 and their ilk, not so much.
DeleteWhat happened, Ferd? Were you visited by three spirits last night who showed you what would happen if you continued to live your life as a stroppy, pretentious middle-aged parvenu? You hardly sound like yourself.
DeleteActually, yes. The first spirit is stage four prostate cancer. The second is loss of job (see first above). The third is incontinence. (see first above). That said, you have made my day with your adjectival phrasing. Stroppy. This may be the single nicest thing anyone has ever called me. Being Irish, it is not difficult to be stroppy. We are all of us born with an abundance of inherited sadness, fertilized by dreams of eating grass in the 1840's, don't you know. So, yes, I am reborn, albeit for what in all events appears to be a short second life. Please don't mourn, Anon 4:06. Were I not suffering, I would still find the words to skewer you to to the fabric of your miserable little life. Anon.
DeletePleased to see that you're as pithy as ever, Ferd; always DID think the sappy articles about those experiencing adversity suddenly becoming all loving treacle for their Fellow Man were horse-droppings. May you please go on being as "stroppy" as you like, because I've seen that gravel in the guts prove Experts wrong many times--I've got a horse in my field right now who would've been pushing up crabgrass for a decade already, had I listened to the vet. Carry on! ;-)
DeleteThe very notion of going gently into anything make me vomit. Life is one teeth-bared battle after another. Mind you, they are all after your comfort, wealth or sanity. All of them. Except perhaps my dachshund, although he is beginning to annoy me too.
DeleteSailboat any day!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to beat the feeling of flying over the water in a sailboat.
ReplyDeleteYep, sailboat. Hands down.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Love being on a sailboat
ReplyDeleteAs to a cruise ship, I would rather be stuck in traffic.
MaryAnne
the odd loneliness and faded glamour of cruise ships
ReplyDeletehttps://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/william-minke-end-of-crisis-030616
My wife and I are saving our pennies to do this once the girls graduate from high school. Looks dignified and does anybody have past experiences with this: http://www.cunard.com/cruise-search/book-a-cruise/results/?pe=NYC
ReplyDeleteMy friend worked for carnival and said sometimes it was like the trailer park sent their life savings on the cruise and it showed. Also he said there was not much difference between a doctors conference or college spring break attendees.
I've sailed the QE2 and it was quite nice with an excellent crew. However, I will defer to my experience growing up with our family's 24' sloop. It was the most we ever worked as a team, and there is nothing like the quiet speed at full sail in fair weather.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a sailboat, if I had to choose. We've got a 26' Chaparral Cruiser that we love exploring with. I would rather sail around the world on just a door with a six pack of Rolling Rock than spend 30 seconds aboard any cruise ship. --Holly in PA
ReplyDeleteNo wind, on a hot day, stuck on a race course? Sign me up for drinks on the Lido Deck with Issac!
ReplyDeleteWowza! Always hitting a nerve! Seeing how I’ve done both I guess I could venture an opinion. Sailing is wonderful for all the reasons given above. I’ve been on and off boats fir decades. It’s exhilerating. And guess what? So is a ride on the Queen Mary. If you haven’t traveled this way it’s probably different than what you’d expect. Most of the folks I’ve run into are world travelers that love the sea. Cruise travel is as varied as any ither kind of travel. The gang that is willing to spend a week looking st the (lots of times turbulent) Atlantic is not the love boat crowd.
ReplyDeleteMy son did a "heavy metal" cruise on some gargantuan cruise ship. Reportedly, the heavy metal fans from all of the world (all wearing black t-shirts) were very good passengers.
ReplyDeleteFor something different, though, try a stern-wheeler on the Mississippi.
Sailing, but I don't begrudge those who choose to spend their hard earned money on a cruise ship. Simply not for me. Remember, not everyone (most do not) has had access to a sailboat or the skills to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe best was to see Charleston, SC, is on board the sailing yacht, Fete, preferably at sunset. Even better if it's a yacht racing cruise.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been fortunate to experience two very nice cruises in my life; the first was the S. S. United States in the mid-sixties (sigh, those were the days), and the second was on the Holland America line, which specializes in smaller cruise ships and fewer passengers. I am mesmerized by the hugeness of the Carnival and other cruise ships, but each to his or her own.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sailboat. Cruise ships have become so enormous that they often are a disgrace in otherwise beautiful surroundings : I am thinking Venice, Italy or Santorini, Greece. I cannot imagine Kate Hepburn mention "my, she was yar" when referring to a cruise ship...
ReplyDeleteWould love insights about sailing transatlantic on Cunard. When did you go? How scary were storms? really any detail.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, the smaller the boat the better, and I prefer to sail than race these days! Though I have many friends who adore a cruise.
ReplyDelete