Wes

I surmise that a huge amount of those who "tour" by cruise ship are of the conformist generation of the 40s and 50s. Many who comprise that generation are cultural illiterates and that is why they "tour" by cruise ship. Will the cruise ship industry take a dive once they die off?

xxx

There will always be those travelers who don't want to plan, study and work out the details of a vacation.<BR><BR>Crusie ships will always survive because they cater to the masses.<BR><BR>You can see a different place for 4 or 5 hours a day, go back to the boat, eat food that has nothing to do with the culture of the place you saw today and do it again tomorrow!! Then when you get home you can tell people all the places you have been, you just can't really tell them anything about it. SAD

Just

XXX has some valid points, but let's not assume that ALL cruisers are the same. I'm a 43 year old single male. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford and have the time necessary to travel about 8 weeks every year. 3/4 of the time I travel independently to different corners of the world. I usually commit between 2-3 weeks for a new place. I like to have the ability to discover the culture, the people, and history of the places I visit. But, for about a week or 2 I do like to just relax. A cruise ship for me IS the destination, and any side trips are only a quick glimpse into possible return in the future. I doubt very much that most cruisers treat these little excursions as a "notch on the belt" for places visited and discovered. For me a cruise is a total relaxation, where I like to be pampered and fed, etc...etc.. I don't have the need to visit museums, castles, palaces, every time I travel somewhere. The other 10 months I work hard, and I don't feel ashamed to just be able to kick back and be lazy for a week or 2.

Surlok

This is merely a stereotype of cruisers. I'm quite a traveler, and have been to many places and ports I wouldn't unless for doing a cruise. I seldom take ships' tours, but rather explore on my own. I have lunch, and sometimes dinner ashore, I talk to the local people, I use public transport, or sometimes taxies, to get to the sites, so, unless for coming back to the ship in the evening, and sleep, while the ship is sailing, taking me to another place overnight, instead of being in a train, or hotel, or driving, what makes my cruise different from a land trip, except for packing, unpacking, checking in and out hotels, airports, or loading and unloading luggage of cars or trains? I've done both, land trips and cruises, and I make my choices of what kind ot trip I want to do based mostly on the itinerary. I read a lot before I go, to know beforehand what I want to see, and to get an idea of the culture of a given place, exactly the same thing I do when making a land trip. So, what makes me less of a traveler, or even illiterate because I like cruising, too, besides doing land trips?

GrammarMaven

Forget "culturally illiterate," how about just PLAIN illiterate?<BR><BR>"a huge amount of those who tour..."?<BR><BR>Take a cruise back to the books, Wes.

Roget

GrammerMaven<BR>perhaps Wes is the husband of that bimbo that likes to say "me and my husband"....what do you think?

xxx

Save the bickering for the cruise forum, we have enough here!<BR><BR>This is basically an independent travel forum.<BR><BR>I am an English teacher and actually received by Docorate in "dialect studies", The sentence "a huge amount of those who tour" is not improper English only the use of a dialect. Do not critcize. You are actually then wrong party.

Poole

How about me and my shadow?<BR><BR>I think cruise ships will be obsolete soon because of security on the seas. Who knows who comprises the crew? The passengers are searched, but the crew? And the dock workers? <BR><BR>I wouldn't want to be stuck on a ship at sea during any wars or any other of that kind of activity.<BR><BR>

Linda

A few months ago, there was an article in the USAToday about the terrorists targeting cruise ships. Apparently, plans to do this were found with the other info. in their caves or whatever.

What Gives

And this thread is in the Europe forum because ... <BR><BR>All cruisers can be divided into those that enjoy a cruise for cruising sake or those that actually think that you can tour by cruise. It has nothing to do with age. If anything cruising will become more popular.<BR>