I don’t get cruise ships. I mean, why bother sailing if the thing is so big you never want to get off? Why not just stay docked? You’re not really going to see any of the places it sails to anyway.

6200 passengers, $11 billion construction cost. Looks like a prime target for a number of anti-social groups.

I went on my first cruise in 07, and it was more fun than I thought it would be. I expected claustrophobia and lots of fat mouth breathers. The one I took hit 3 ports and we were there long enough to take tours, go snorkeling and get some shopping done. It also didn’t hurt that I ran into an old friend from H.S. that I hadn’t seen in years.

I’ve been on two, both were nightmares. Queue to get on, queue to get off, queue for immigration, queue for temders (the little boats that take you to shore as the ships are too big to port), $5 for a bottle of beer (plus tip), queue to get through the canal, queue for food, queue for liquor they won’t let you have till the cruise is over (when you will really, really need it).  Excruciating. Hell may be other people, but other people on a freaking boat is even worse. And no, you can’t cut it short and fly home.

$5 sounds about average for a beer.

This was about ten years ago, when $3 would be considered pricey. Consider it to be around paying $10 for a bottle of Heiniken today (and then being expected to tip on top of that).