Cruise Ships: Hell On Earth?

I have never taken a cruise, and I never will. The stories I’ve heard over the decades have made it quite clear that stepping onto one of those boats is a recipe for pure pain, if not outright bodily injury or worse. I hate to trash an entire industry, but really now, could you book a trip on a cruise ship at this point?

I thought the recent disaster in Italy would have maintained its #1 rank in the”Latest Cruise Horror” headlines for awhile, but then today I see this:

A third U.S.-based cruise ship with an outbreak of stomach illness has sailed again after being decontaminated in South Florida. The vessel Ruby Princess sailed Sunday from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades. It was one of three cruise ships that docked in Florida and Louisiana over the weekend with outbreaks of norovirus. Norovirus causes upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea. <source>

Norovirus has plagued the industry for decades, and by itself is a reason for me to avoid taking a cruise. But this picture doesn’t help much either:

And let’s not forget the rogue wave that slammed into a cruise ship a few years ago:

When a “Boom!” on a cruise ship awoke him, the first thing that crossed passenger Robert Clark’s mind was “the Titanic.” In a panic, he and his wife and 7-year-old daughter ran to a reception area and found passengers from flooded cabins, bunched together and wearing life preservers — some of them crying hysterically. They soon discovered that the thunderous disruption was a freak 70-foot wave that smashed windows, sent furniture flying and ripped out whirlpools on the Norwegian Dawn. <source>

So let’s take an inventory of the Wheel of Fortune that a person spins when taking a cruise: Vomiting, diarrhea, sinking in shallow water, or getting smashed by a rogue wave. Did I leave anything out?

By the way, I’m told that WordPress sells ads on blogs like this one and that such ads are triggered by specific content (I get $0 from this, be assured). Please let me know if ads for cruise ships pop up on this essay — I might laugh hysterically for a few minutes.