Saturday, April 21, 2012

cruise -- day 8

Today marks the half-way point (at least, in days) between New Orleans and Barcelona.

Still at sea.  Still plenty of water.

I am considering posts on entertainment, food,and the internet.  All topics dear to my heart and/or girth.  Interested?

Anything else that will ping your interest?

19 comments:

John Calypso said...

Living vicariously through your musings - so YES interested - sail on amigo! ;-)

Steve Cotton said...

 I suspect this internet system is about to be the next target of my attention.

Kim G said...

Just when you grew accustomed to Mexican Spanish, you will now shortly have to deal with the "real" thing.  Personally, I don't like Spanish accents, much preferring Mexican and Colombian accents.

The Spanish are too hard to understand.

And yes, your onboard musings are amusing. Please carry on.

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where on the last day of our 4-day (and only) cruise several years back, we did not want to see food, nor hear it mentioned ever again.

MarcOlson said...

Write on, Steve. It's all interesting because I've never cruised. I have always suspected that my favorite cruise would be the old-fashioned kind, where I could read books, stroll the quiet wooden decks to observe the weather, talk with fellow passengers, be invited to the Captain's table, and maybe learn shuffleboard.

Modern cruising has always sounded to me too much like being imprisoned inside of a huge shopping mall (my idea of hell) to be let out from time to time only for quick visits to other shopping malls.I have a bad attitude, in part because my hometown is a cruise destination and I have seen how it has been changed to meet the expectations and needs of cruise ship companies. It's gotten to the point where much of what the passengers see is no longer authentic and  much of the downtown is now engineered to siphon money from cruise passengers into the the pockets of large corporate businesses, and not so much the local economy. You've touched on some interesting topics. Please continue... What is there for people who are not interested in overeating and shopping, but rather in seeing something real at destinations rather than canned attractions and tours?

Andean said...

What social calendar events you have been to, interesting people, how to spend so much time at sea, is there a spa on board, do they have pedicures and massage, a hotbtub, exercise classes... thank you for asking. Interested-- of course.
We are quite aware of the water around and know it's not going away anytime soon.

tancho said...

You can start by telling us how much they charge you for internet time. I know how much Intelsat charges them, which is about .45 to .70 cents a minute depending on overall annual quantity and if they are a member of Intelsat. I have heard that it is not uncommon to get over $9.00 dollars, yes dollar for "their" minute.
I would love to get on one of the 100 guest passenger cruises that traverses the Mediterranean but cringe on the bottom line..  As all things, It "use to " be a better expereince  in the old days......enjoy your remaining time Amigo aboard matey....

jennifer rose said...

We would like to read about tawdry secrets, unsubstantiated rumor, trashy gossip, and the underbelly of cruise life. 

John Calypso said...

 'Have to go with jennifer rose on this: all the salacious cruise ship gossip PLEASE ;-)

Kim G said...

 This is hysterical. I think I feel much the same way. Give me an ancient city to tramp around any day.

Saludos,

Kim G

Steve Cotton said...

 These large cruise ships house may different lives.  The old era of crossings is still here.  Especially on trans-Atlantic cruises.  But you are also correct that most Americans have little ability to enjoy the calm of leisure.  The place can be a beehive of activity.  With lots of interesting vignettes to sit back, watch, and enjoy.

Steve Cotton said...

 And we will have some of those soon.  Unfortunately, the herd will be tramping along with me.

Steve Cotton said...

 Probably not surprising, the women things (spas, massages, beauty parlors and the like) do not even show up on my radar.  Maybe I will have to do some spying.

The photograph in this post is the swimming pool -- sloshing its water in some rather rocky seas.  Over half of it splashed out onto the deck.

Steve Cotton said...

 Internet tale on its way.  Maybe tomorrow.  Blogger is keeping me from adding anything new right now.

Steve Cotton said...

 I imagine I will have some character studies before too long.  It turns out I have some readers on board.  I have run into at least three.

tancho said...

 Oh, yes, please the trashy gossip!

Tafreeburn said...

my husband feels the same about malls! however, we both love cruising. i have to admit though, that on our first cruise which was to alaska, i was shocked at all the jewelry stores and other shops. i don't cruise to shop, i enjoy going to the the different destinations. you can always hire a cab or go on a shuttle to the different areas, so you can find at least  a bit of solitude. in st. john we had a beautiful white sand beach practically to ourselves. we took a city bus instead of an organized group tour.so we went out of the usual tourist areas.

i'd highly recommend giving cruising a try. 

teresa in nagoya

Steve Cotton said...

 Did you read about The Tuna Lady -- part 2?

MarcOlson said...

Interesting you mention your Alaska cruise, Teresa, because the hometown I mention is Juneau, Alaska, now famous for Diamonds International and Colombian Emeralds, along with dozens of shops selling T-shirts and fake-Alaska souvenirs, most of which were made somewhere in Asia. Even a lot of the "historic" buildings are faked-up to look like what the tourists want to see rather than what Juneau was really like. So if I ever go to other cruise destinations I can't help wondering if what I see is real or just more tourist-trap fakery.

Tafreeburn said...

yup, we were in juneau. it was our first port of call and it was so cold and rainy that it seemed about half of the people on board ended up with alsaka jacket that were on sale, including my husband and me. all we took were windbreakers. my idea of a cruise is something tropical, the other 3 we took were in the caribbean. loved every one of those.

teresa