Current Events > What's the point of going on a cruise?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I feel like all this spiritual "experience other cultures" stuff is way outside my wheelhouse. I still don't fully understand how traveling a few thousand miles and standing in another location is going to enlighten or change me, when I can learn all this stuff by reading about places and meeting people online. Physically being in a location isn't of the same importance as it used to be.

It's just expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. I can go to the Eiffel Tower on Google Maps right now if I wanted to. I can eat at a French restaurant. I won't, because I don't care about French food, but I can if I want to.

I am not going to argue, but I am baffled that you actually think this. I know it comes from ignorance as you haven't actually done it. Just admit that. I am ignorant about tons of things, but I keep my mouth shut about those things.

Probably the safest way to suicide if you want your family to get the insurance.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I feel like all this spiritual "experience other cultures" stuff is way outside my wheelhouse. I still don't fully understand how traveling a few thousand miles and standing in another location is going to enlighten or change me, when I can learn all this stuff by reading about places and meeting people online. Physically being in a location isn't of the same importance as it used to be.

It's just expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. I can go to the Eiffel Tower on Google Maps right now if I wanted to. I can eat at a French restaurant. I won't, because I don't care about French food, but I can if I want to.

Depends what it is, Eiffel Tower is pretty great to stand there and take everything in. You can truly get that from a picture. The Mona Lisa on the other hand, I can't say seeing it in person was very different than seeing images of it. It's all pretty unimportant, I don't think those experiences have elevated me in any kind of way, even if I value them.

Raikuro posted...

I definitely get the appeal of this, but it is not obtained from cruise ships or resort hotels that "travel" people so often go for.

For the most part, I agree with this. There are exceptions though.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I feel like all this spiritual "experience other cultures" stuff is way outside my wheelhouse. I still don't fully understand how traveling a few thousand miles and standing in another location is going to enlighten or change me, when I can learn all this stuff by reading about places and meeting people online. Physically being in a location isn't of the same importance as it used to be.

It's just expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. I can go to the Eiffel Tower on Google Maps right now if I wanted to. I can eat at a French restaurant. I won't, because I don't care about French food, but I can if I want to.

But theres a world of difference between going to a French restaurant and going to a restaurant in France. This doesnt only apply to France either.

Im from the UK originally. Like most countries, you can go out for any cuisine you like there. However, none of the Vietnamese places compare to eating in Vietnam. The food isnt ever quite right, but theres more to it than that. The atmosphere of sitting in the street surrounded by Vietnamese people is completely different to being in a Vietnamese restaurant in England.

Glob posted...

But theres a world of difference between going to a French restaurant and going to a restaurant in France. This doesnt only apply to France either.

I suppose that could be true.

The real question I have is...why should I care enough to want to experience that? You guys are mightily failing to convince me that travel is actually worth spending all that time and money to do it.

I've looked out from a tall building before. I've eaten different kinds of chicken and pork before. I'm asking y'all for your very best examples of what a traveler needs to experience, but I'm not getting anything convincing lol

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I suppose that could be true.

The real question I have is...why should I care enough to want to experience that? You guys are mightily failing to convince me that travel is actually worth spending all that time and money to do it.

I've looked out from a tall building before. I've eaten different kinds of chicken and pork before. I'm asking y'all for your very best examples of what a traveler needs to experience, but I'm not getting anything convincing lol

I wish I could describe it. But I simply love being truly immersed in a different culture. Was gonna write more, but going to bed now. My fiance is annoyed at me for not sleeping lol

Eh I get where he's coming from, a lot of people treat travelling as a checklist for places to exist in for a few days, as if that alone makes them an interesting person. If you're not legitimately interested in experiencing other parts of the world (or not strongly enough to devote time and money to it) you shouldn't feel pressured to do so.

I would have fun seeing places like Italy, France, Japan, places I have a basic interest in visiting myself, but there's way more places I have zero interest in physically going to just for the sake of travelling there affordably. Like IDGAF about the grand canyon or the great wall or whatever.

bsp77 posted...

I wish I could describe it. But I simply love being truly immersed in a different culture.

Different strokes, different folks, I suppose. I wish you all the best in experiencing everything you want to experience from travel. It just ain't me, that's all. No hard feelings or anything, obviously.

Raikuro posted...

Eh I get where he's coming from, a lot of people treat travelling as a checklist for places to exist in for a few days, as if that alone makes them an interesting person.

Do they, or do weird nerds on the internet have a chip on their shoulder about people who like to travel

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Different strokes, different folks, I suppose. I wish you all the best in experiencing everything you want to experience from travel. It just ain't me, that's all. No hard feelings or anything, obviously.

https://youtu.be/YyZfw2R3LMY?si=55I8ZOr1xfngGloB

TheGoldenEel posted...

Do they, or do weird nerds on the internet have a chip on their shoulder about people who like to travel

The chip apparently goes both ways, lol

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I suppose that could be true.

The real question I have is...why should I care enough to want to experience that? You guys are mightily failing to convince me that travel is actually worth spending all that time and money to do it.

I've looked out from a tall building before. I've eaten different kinds of chicken and pork before. I'm asking y'all for your very best examples of what a traveler needs to experience, but I'm not getting anything convincing lol

You dont have to care. Im not trying to convince you to. Im just trying to help you to understand why some people are value in it.

Of course, how much value will vary significantly.

Raikuro posted...

Eh I get where he's coming from, a lot of people treat travelling as a checklist for places to exist in for a few days, as if that alone makes them an interesting person. If you're not legitimately interested in experiencing other parts of the world (or not strongly enough to devote time and money to it) you shouldn't feel pressured to do so.

That's fair, traveling isn't for everyone. That said, a lot of posts in this topic are commenting more on the ignorance of acting like it's all the same thing. Posts like this for example:

Gobstoppers12 posted...

No, but all places on Earth are just other places on Earth. Yeah, they look different and smell different and have different people and food, but like...how different can one place be from any other place?

It's way different than one would expect. Experiencing other cultures can make you more aware of aspects of your own culture you take for granted.

The whole thing really comes across like someone saying they don't need to visit the pool because they can look up a picture online. There's a world of difference between that and actually swimming in it.

Gamefreak1000 posted...

That's fair, traveling isn't for everyone. That said, a lot of posts in this topic are commenting more on the ignorance of acting like it's all the same thing. Posts like this for example:

That's Gob. He's not a serious person.

Glob posted...

Im just trying to help you to understand why some people are value in it.

I know that some people do. I just don't have that instinct in me. It's a completely separate motivation from anything I've ever experienced.

Gamefreak1000 posted...

That said, a lot of posts in this topic are commenting more on the ignorance of acting like it's all the same thing

To me, there isn't that much difference. I know not everybody feels that way. At the end of the day, it's just a different arrangement of all the same variables.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

To me, there isn't that much difference. I know not everybody feels that way. At the end of the day, it's just a different arrangement of all the same variables.

But I think the point some of us are making is that you don't know that there isn't much difference. If you had traveled to other cultures and knew from experience that it wasn't for you, that would be different. You can't possibly know.

Like I had always assumed I would hate karaoke, but after starting to do it back in 2017, I realized that all my assumptions about how I would feel were wrong.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

No hard feelings or anything, obviously.

And ditto

I went to the Caribbean on a cruise for my honeymoon. It was alright. I got to see a bunch of stuff and didn't need to make a lot of choices.

My issue was doing all this stuff was fucking exhausting and I couldn't get on any kind of real sleep schedule. The different culture thing didn't really come into play because you're in all of these tourist places and they're all pretty much the same and not very representative of the place. It's a weird dreamlike experience where you constantly wake up in a new place with a new thing to do every day. I didn't feel it was relaxing at all.

I did get to see a lot of cool natural sites and do a bunch of activities that aren't available near me though. That was pretty awesome and I'm glad I island hopped to see them all.

I honestly had more fun on the days at sea though. I got drunk and relaxed all day. There were more mellow ship activities to choose from too. I think I'm more of an all inclusive resort type of guy. I want to relax on vacation. Doing a million different things was fun but exhausting. Thankfully, I came back to another week off of work for me to get situated again.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

To me, there isn't that much difference. I know not everybody feels that way. At the end of the day, it's just a different arrangement of all the same variables.

You're the reason Ax Throwing and "Escape Rooms" became popular.

Or as I like to call them "Vacations for the uncultured masses".

bigblu89 posted...

You're the reason Ax Throwing and "Escape Rooms" became popular.

Or as I like to call them "Vacations for the uncultured masses".

Those sound a lot more fun than a cruise

Doing Americanized shit across the globe via cruises and resorts isn't getting "immersed in culture" either.

Raikuro posted...

Doing Americanized shit across the globe via cruises and resorts isn't getting "immersed in culture" either.

Assuming that's what you do when you go cruising or on vacation.

A cruise can be as basic as you eating hamburgers and drinking at a pool that isn't yours, or it can be you experiencing foreign cultures and traditions than you couldn't experience anywhere but the ship's destination.

Most cruise goers fall somewhere in between, but as with anything in life, the cruise/vacation experience is what you make of it.

Never wanted to go on a cruise.

bigblu89 posted...

Assuming that's what you do when you go cruising or on vacation.

A cruise can be as basic as you eating hamburgers and drinking at a pool that isn't yours, or it can be you experiencing foreign cultures and traditions than you couldn't experience anywhere but the ship's destination.

Most cruise goers fall somewhere in between, but as with anything in life, the cruise/vacation experience is what you make of it.

This is very true, not just of cruises but of holidays in general. When Brits go to Spain and have a fry up for breakfast and eat burgers and get tanked up on Stella, they arent embracing the culture, but thats not the only way to visit a country.

I hate traveling and you have to drag me out to go on a plane. I also detest being around a bunch of people. So, why should I be dragged out on something that combines the two things I hate?

bigblu89 posted...

You're the reason Ax Throwing and "Escape Rooms" became popular.

Or as I like to call them "Vacations for the uncultured masses".

Could you be more pretentious?

GeraldDarko posted...

Could you be more pretentious?

To be fair, axe throwing and escape rooms can be fun. The issue I have is when people aren't willing to try new things and be completely receptive to them. That is such a major part of life, and when people say "not for me" and act perplexed about why others like something they haven't even tried with an open mind, well, that is just sad.

GeraldDarko posted...

Could you be more pretentious?

I could, easily. I said it more as a joke though.

Any activity, for a $14k cruise to a free night of board games with friends, is what you make of it.

I've had unforgettable nights with friends watching a ballgame, spending nothing more than $20 for a few pizzas and a 12 pack. And I've had unforgettable nights spending thousands on a vacation.

I've also spend thousands on vacations I absolutely hated. So, like I said a few posts above this one, every experience, not matter how cheap or expensive, is what you make of it.

bsp77 posted...

To be fair, axe throwing and escape rooms can be fun. The issue I have is when people aren't willing to try new things and be completely receptive to them. That is such a major part of life, and when people say "not for me" and act perplexed about why others like something they haven't even tried with an open mind, well, that is just sad.

I can't stand escape rooms. Because you have to deliberately restrict yourself from doing the very things that people would *ACTUALLY DO* to escape from a room.

Like:

1. open the door
2. bash open the door if locked
3. if the walls are thin, cheap plywood; bash the walls down
4. call 911 for rescue
5. pull a fire alarm
6. break open a window with a chair
7. etc, etc, etc.

Tom_Joad posted...

I can't stand escape rooms. Because you have to deliberately restrict yourself from doing the very things that people would *ACTUALLY DO* to escape from a room.

Like:

1. open the door
2. bash open the door if locked
3. if the walls are thin, cheap plywood; bash the walls down
4. call 911 for rescue
5. pull a fire alarm
6. break open a window with a chair
7. etc, etc, etc.

It's a game. That's like saying a solving a crossword is stupid because the answers will be published next week.

I'm going on a cruise over Christmas. Ask me anything

Euripides posted...

I'm going on a cruise over Christmas. Ask me anything

You gonna get blasted?

GeraldDarko posted...

You gonna get blasted?

Nope

GeraldDarko posted...

It's a game. That's like saying a solving a crossword is stupid because the answers will be published next week.

Then call it Dungeons and Dragons: the Escape Room Experience.

But noooo, they advertise it as if it's a real thing.

Tom_Joad posted...

Then call it Dungeons and Dragons: the Escape Room Experience.

But noooo, they advertise it as if it's a real thing.

That's supposed to be fun and sell it. No reasonable person thinks it's real. That's why Red Bull can say it gives you wings.

Tom_Joad posted...

Then call it Dungeons and Dragons: the Escape Room Experience.

But noooo, they advertise it as if it's a real thing.

I have never seen it advertised as a real thing and Ive done quite a few of them.

And your problems would be solved if they just called them Puzzle rooms then? Don't let semantics stop you from having fun my guy.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I feel like all this spiritual "experience other cultures" stuff is way outside my wheelhouse. I still don't fully understand how traveling a few thousand miles and standing in another location is going to enlighten or change me, when I can learn all this stuff by reading about places and meeting people online. Physically being in a location isn't of the same importance as it used to be.

It's just expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. I can go to the Eiffel Tower on Google Maps right now if I wanted to. I can eat at a French restaurant. I won't, because I don't care about French food, but I can if I want to.

Would you say it's mostly about the cost?

It's pretty difficult to commit suicide on a modern cruise ship. Most of them have done away with their promenade decks and they've installed tall plexiglass barriers that are difficult to climb over.