A Tale of Two Ships

I will start this post with the ship not mentioned, the USS Intrepid. This American warship was my home for a number of years. The ships are ships upon which I took pleasure cruises. My cruises on the Intrepid were not for pleasure.

My first cruise aboard a cruise ship was from Ketchikan, Alaska to Vancouver, Canada. It was one of the ships advertised as a “fun ship”. Our cruise was on tje Carnival Spirit.  I think that term was used because of the shipboard entertainment. And, of course, because of the nightclubs and casinos . Neither of the latter appeal to me. But the ports of call were interesting. Especially the one where the salmon cook-out was raided by a bear and her cub. The ship’s cook, a true hero, chased the hungry bears away. Unfortunately he overcooked the fish!  I used most of my shipboard time filling my sketchbook and journal. There was the opportunity to witness a glacier calving. I’m not sure where that term comes from. The awesome power of nature is overwhelming. The purpose of this cruise was to transport passengers to ports of interest. Seeing a marvel of nature was purely incidental. 

The largest of these cruise ships carry over four thousand passengers. Passenger is probably the wrong term since these ships usually begin and end their cruise in the same port. Indeed these passengers are vacationers, not persons enroute to a foreign port. But in our particular case we were enroute from AK to Canada. The Carnival line calls their ships the “fun ships”. And it is one of  the least expensive of the cruise lines. Once you’re on board you receive your personal ship's identification card. Not only does the card identify you as a passenger but you can use it to charge purchases of goods and services. In many ports it is even used as your passport. These less expensive cruise lines promote their casinos quite a bit.  Another thing they promote a lot is photographers. It seems they are always on hand to snap your photo for a price. But the inconvenience does not come with a price unless you buy the photographs. There are various activities abound while at sea as prescribed by the cruise director; from  hairy chest contests beside the pool to talent contests in the theater. The big theater in the bow of the ship held about four hundred of us to view a musical show with singers and dancing girls. A bearded fellow in a John Deere baseball cap nudged me and said, “ Would you look at the buttocks on those girls!” There was sort of a leer on his face. I verified what he meant.

Cruise ships have a different organizational structure than a military ship. The hotel manager takes care of everything concerning the passengers. The Captain’s crew takes care of the operation of the ship 

One of my greatest joys have been the places seen from the deck of a ship. Nothing quite compares to the view of a Caribbean sunset with the wind in your hair and the taste of salt on your lips.    And, as I noted earlier, glacier calving. The Fantasy Line ships simply have too many people aboard for my liking. But they give a lot of bang for the buck.

Our most recent cruise was on the Viking ship ”Sea” sailing out of Stockholm. It was a relatively small cruise ship of about 900 passengers. It was a seven nation cruise. The ship had no casinos and I don’t believe food and drink were available around the clock. Fewer people made movement around the ship more conducive to relaxing. Everything was an improvement over the “fun ship”. Of course that is a matter of preference. I have no problems with dancing girls but prefer a bit of variety in entertainment. There were daily lectures about the ports of call and other interesting subjects.  One lecture I remember was by a former member of the British diplomatic corps stationed in Moscow.  He regaled us with his stories of dealing with constant surveillance by the KGB.  Afternoon tea was usually accompanied by a string trio or jazz quartet.  On another night the shipboard performers entertained with a musical salute to the Swedish rock band, ABBA.  Staterooms were a bit bigger and since it was a smaller ship the amenities were more convenient.  My favorite place aboard the ship was the bar at the bow. Large comfortable chairs and sofas with reindeer rugs near the library fit my fancy well.  We had a lot of interesting tours ashore as well. St. Petersburg, Russia, and Gdansk, Poland, were most interesting. There seems to be a more relaxed atmosphere aboard the smaller ships as well as a different type  of passenger, perhaps  of a higher intellectual or income group. 

I must say the smaller ship better suited me. But, if your lifestyle moves at a faster clip than mine, and you like spending your time on board in a bar, gambling or lounging by the pool, then maybe a  “fun ship” is for you.