I took Hugh on an Alaskan cruise in 2020. We loved it and made a daily habit of sitting with Europeans only ! Their much more cosmopolitan and informed than I expected and it was soothing to hear their interpretation of our god awful news . We didn’t do any of the other things that were offered, but spent lots of time on deck and swimming when it wasn’t too cold.
Jane and Betsy have an amazing ley fun time!The landscape is so special and doing this together are lasting special moments.Rejoice you can enjoy this together!❤️❤️❤️
As members of the LGBTQ community, we had always wanted to go on a queer cruise, but had the same feelings about any other kind of cruise that you mentioned. Figures our first actual cruise ended up being for a straight friend’s 50th on what was then the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. That skyscraper turned on its side holds 6000 people! We dreaded it. Thoughts of throngs lining up for crappy buffets, narrow-minded boorish pre-MAGA types, and screaming uncontrolled children filled our nightmares in advance of our trip. We were very pleasantly surprised. We absolutely loved the ship, the people were for the most part very elegant and children very polite and well behaved. We instantly found an adorable cantina to the aft of the ship which became our hangout spot. While I totally feel and agree with your concerns about sustainability and such extravagance pulling into more underprivileged areas of the world, the rest of the experience was great and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. I hope you both have an amazing trip!
Can’t wait to hear all about it! My family might do something similar with my mom next summer (should there still be a planet and the freedom to travel at that time).
Fellow Bostonian about to travel to Scotland for eight days with my mom. My current fear is going to war with Iran while I’m traveling. I’d prefer to sit out a war in Boston.
Incidentally, I’ve followed your work for a while but this is the first time I’ve been compelled to comment. Also, I went through a Vicki Stubing wannabe phase myself…
I'm a veteran of four Holland America cruises since 2017, including one to Alaska last year. I saw fewer than three Trump or MAGA shirts, total, for the four cruises. When we ate at shared tables, everyone was polite enough to not bring up political topics. I don't recommend a fixed dining time and the same companions each night for several reasons, including the potential of boredom or of someone at the table making an assumption about your views and "going there." Awkward. Not conducive to a nice meal. We liked getting up in time for a dining room breakfast, during which we welcomed a shared table and getting to know some folks; it's a shorter meal than dinner. Of the four cruises, passengers on the Alaska trip were the most casually dressed, albeit not slovenly, including on nights designated as "Dressy" in the dining room; After my father died, my mother invited me to join her on a bus tour of Spain and Portugal organized by her senior center. I agreed only because she asked, and I was the youngest person in the group, but it became one of my best memories because she and I did it together. Have fun.
Enjoy the cruise. I enjoyed your piece. And yes, I read that David Foster Wallace essay years ago, which only confirmed my feelings that ocean cruises were to be avoided (notwithstanding my sister's attempts to change my mind). Of late, however, the idea of a European river cruise has grown on me. Now here's your literary test: "... and margaritas at the midnight buffet."
Enjoy your cruise and as for running into people you won’t like, just have blinders on to those people dont ever let them steal your joy of this trip with your mom, that you will remember as special for the rest of your life.
I doubt most Trump voters this time voted FOR fascism - or even ARE "Trumpers". Some voted AGAINST liberals, because they've always voted against liberals, who take their money and give it away to people in big cities. (That's the view in solid-red upstate New York, where I grew up.)
I think they also voted AGAINST cataclysmic change, which we're having a lot of these days - climatic, cultural, technological. "They" are as scared as "we" are.
When I'm in company with "them" it helps me to remember that neither "we" nor "they" actually know how we're going to get through this upheaval. We all have fierce opinions, but opinions are probably wrong about as often as they're right. Even when we're right, there are always unintended consequences.
In the meantime, we do have love and kindness and sometimes spectacular scenery. I hope you have a wonderful time with your mother and take many fine pictures!
I hear what you’re saying and I definitely understand all those reasons and others that people voted for Trump, and sympathize with some of them - and with the overall fear of change. And course you’re right that nobody walked into the voting booth thinking “I’m going to vote for fascism!”
At the same time, anyone who has been paying attention to Trump’s words and deeds over the past 10 years — the racism, the demonization of the press, the dehumanization of immigrants, the attempt to overthrow the election and on and on—and chose to pull the lever anyway has made a choice that speaks to a worldview and set of values that I do believe to be morally and ethically wrong. You’re right that I / we are not right about everything, but on these points, for me, it’s clear cut.
I don’t know. Maybe if I were in truly desperate straits I would be able to rationalize all of Trump’s faults away in hopes that the price of eggs would go down, or manufacturing would come back to my town. On the other hand, plenty of very poor people voted for Harris or stayed home because they could not bring themselves to vote for someone like Trump.
Honestly, though, what I think what I have the most trouble with is not so much someone voting for Trump, but someone who looks at what is happening as a result of their vote and says: yes, this is what I wanted. I’m not willing or able to be relativistic about that, or frame it as a mere difference of opinion.
Nevertheless: yes to love and understanding and scenery, and hope that we can all get through the upheaval without the worst of humanity getting the upper hand.
So I get the apprehension and feel similarly about large cruise ships, and yes the small ones are quite expensive which is why we haven't been on any of those either. And I'm a climate activist and educator so all the impacts of a trip like this would weigh on me the same way you describe.
But -- on a point that was admittedly somewhat minor in your piece overall, but is important in the larger scheme of things -- I think you are mistaken about people over 50. Perhaps even just straight white people over 50. I am a straight white man well over 50 and I live in the same bubble you do, but what's going on outside that bubble I think is different than your perception, even with some literary license taken into account :). Yes, a majority of people over 50 voted for the orange menace, but those numbers have shifted and older people are a very substantial piece of the resistance and protest movements, as well as the climate movement. We boomers have time and energy, some have some money accumulated, we have a LOT of political experience, and we are not going away. At protest after protest seniors, both in organized groups and individually, are very visible, and sometimes the majority. Here's a Substack piece that's one of many documenting some of what's going on: https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/senior-voters-trump-resistance-grantifa
Oh yes, believe me I am well aware of and grateful for the role of white boomers in the resistance! But as you say, the majority of that demographic voted for Trump, so it stands to reason that if that demographic is overrepresented on the cruise, (because that’s who tends to take cruises) then a significant number of Trumpers will be on board. That’s all I meant by that. In any case, here’s hoping that they are far outnumbered by folks like you!
I took Hugh on an Alaskan cruise in 2020. We loved it and made a daily habit of sitting with Europeans only ! Their much more cosmopolitan and informed than I expected and it was soothing to hear their interpretation of our god awful news . We didn’t do any of the other things that were offered, but spent lots of time on deck and swimming when it wasn’t too cold.
I second hanging with the Canadians and the Europeans.
Jane and Betsy have an amazing ley fun time!The landscape is so special and doing this together are lasting special moments.Rejoice you can enjoy this together!❤️❤️❤️
As members of the LGBTQ community, we had always wanted to go on a queer cruise, but had the same feelings about any other kind of cruise that you mentioned. Figures our first actual cruise ended up being for a straight friend’s 50th on what was then the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. That skyscraper turned on its side holds 6000 people! We dreaded it. Thoughts of throngs lining up for crappy buffets, narrow-minded boorish pre-MAGA types, and screaming uncontrolled children filled our nightmares in advance of our trip. We were very pleasantly surprised. We absolutely loved the ship, the people were for the most part very elegant and children very polite and well behaved. We instantly found an adorable cantina to the aft of the ship which became our hangout spot. While I totally feel and agree with your concerns about sustainability and such extravagance pulling into more underprivileged areas of the world, the rest of the experience was great and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. I hope you both have an amazing trip!
Can’t wait to hear all about it! My family might do something similar with my mom next summer (should there still be a planet and the freedom to travel at that time).
Bon voyage, enjoy the time with your Mom.
Fellow Bostonian about to travel to Scotland for eight days with my mom. My current fear is going to war with Iran while I’m traveling. I’d prefer to sit out a war in Boston.
Oof. I hear you. Hope it's a good trip, and that we do not get embroiled....what a mess. Sure would be nice to have someone competent at the wheel.
Incidentally, I’ve followed your work for a while but this is the first time I’ve been compelled to comment. Also, I went through a Vicki Stubing wannabe phase myself…
I took Owen to Hershey Park in PA a couple of weeks ago and was reminded of the bubble that we live in. Not to sound nihilistic, but we’re all doomed.
Oy. Yeah. Theme parks are akin to cruises in that way.
I'm a veteran of four Holland America cruises since 2017, including one to Alaska last year. I saw fewer than three Trump or MAGA shirts, total, for the four cruises. When we ate at shared tables, everyone was polite enough to not bring up political topics. I don't recommend a fixed dining time and the same companions each night for several reasons, including the potential of boredom or of someone at the table making an assumption about your views and "going there." Awkward. Not conducive to a nice meal. We liked getting up in time for a dining room breakfast, during which we welcomed a shared table and getting to know some folks; it's a shorter meal than dinner. Of the four cruises, passengers on the Alaska trip were the most casually dressed, albeit not slovenly, including on nights designated as "Dressy" in the dining room; After my father died, my mother invited me to join her on a bus tour of Spain and Portugal organized by her senior center. I agreed only because she asked, and I was the youngest person in the group, but it became one of my best memories because she and I did it together. Have fun.
Thank you! Good to know about the dining thing. We got some deal that includes open seating times for dinner, so we'll have freedom.
ha! i love it. hasta la pasta, JR. but why no mention of gopher?
I'm hoping I'll meet his real-life counterpart on board and can write about him in my next post! Isaac and Julie and whats-his-name the doctor, too.
Enjoy the cruise. I enjoyed your piece. And yes, I read that David Foster Wallace essay years ago, which only confirmed my feelings that ocean cruises were to be avoided (notwithstanding my sister's attempts to change my mind). Of late, however, the idea of a European river cruise has grown on me. Now here's your literary test: "... and margaritas at the midnight buffet."
Thank you! I had to google margaritas at the midnight buffet, and I'm so glad I did! Thank you!! Big Muppets fan here...
Enjoy your cruise and as for running into people you won’t like, just have blinders on to those people dont ever let them steal your joy of this trip with your mom, that you will remember as special for the rest of your life.
I doubt most Trump voters this time voted FOR fascism - or even ARE "Trumpers". Some voted AGAINST liberals, because they've always voted against liberals, who take their money and give it away to people in big cities. (That's the view in solid-red upstate New York, where I grew up.)
I think they also voted AGAINST cataclysmic change, which we're having a lot of these days - climatic, cultural, technological. "They" are as scared as "we" are.
When I'm in company with "them" it helps me to remember that neither "we" nor "they" actually know how we're going to get through this upheaval. We all have fierce opinions, but opinions are probably wrong about as often as they're right. Even when we're right, there are always unintended consequences.
In the meantime, we do have love and kindness and sometimes spectacular scenery. I hope you have a wonderful time with your mother and take many fine pictures!
I hear what you’re saying and I definitely understand all those reasons and others that people voted for Trump, and sympathize with some of them - and with the overall fear of change. And course you’re right that nobody walked into the voting booth thinking “I’m going to vote for fascism!”
At the same time, anyone who has been paying attention to Trump’s words and deeds over the past 10 years — the racism, the demonization of the press, the dehumanization of immigrants, the attempt to overthrow the election and on and on—and chose to pull the lever anyway has made a choice that speaks to a worldview and set of values that I do believe to be morally and ethically wrong. You’re right that I / we are not right about everything, but on these points, for me, it’s clear cut.
I don’t know. Maybe if I were in truly desperate straits I would be able to rationalize all of Trump’s faults away in hopes that the price of eggs would go down, or manufacturing would come back to my town. On the other hand, plenty of very poor people voted for Harris or stayed home because they could not bring themselves to vote for someone like Trump.
Honestly, though, what I think what I have the most trouble with is not so much someone voting for Trump, but someone who looks at what is happening as a result of their vote and says: yes, this is what I wanted. I’m not willing or able to be relativistic about that, or frame it as a mere difference of opinion.
Nevertheless: yes to love and understanding and scenery, and hope that we can all get through the upheaval without the worst of humanity getting the upper hand.
So I get the apprehension and feel similarly about large cruise ships, and yes the small ones are quite expensive which is why we haven't been on any of those either. And I'm a climate activist and educator so all the impacts of a trip like this would weigh on me the same way you describe.
But -- on a point that was admittedly somewhat minor in your piece overall, but is important in the larger scheme of things -- I think you are mistaken about people over 50. Perhaps even just straight white people over 50. I am a straight white man well over 50 and I live in the same bubble you do, but what's going on outside that bubble I think is different than your perception, even with some literary license taken into account :). Yes, a majority of people over 50 voted for the orange menace, but those numbers have shifted and older people are a very substantial piece of the resistance and protest movements, as well as the climate movement. We boomers have time and energy, some have some money accumulated, we have a LOT of political experience, and we are not going away. At protest after protest seniors, both in organized groups and individually, are very visible, and sometimes the majority. Here's a Substack piece that's one of many documenting some of what's going on: https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/senior-voters-trump-resistance-grantifa
Oh yes, believe me I am well aware of and grateful for the role of white boomers in the resistance! But as you say, the majority of that demographic voted for Trump, so it stands to reason that if that demographic is overrepresented on the cruise, (because that’s who tends to take cruises) then a significant number of Trumpers will be on board. That’s all I meant by that. In any case, here’s hoping that they are far outnumbered by folks like you!