Visitors And 6 Reasons For RV’ing VS A Ship Cruise

Even though it was a scorcher of a day, I still found myself out on the golf course here at the Sands right at high noon on Sunday.  I was kind of glad to finish up about 1pm and head back to our site.  As I turned the corner onto our street, I saw a motorcycle parked right in front of our rig.  I knew immediately it had to belong to Rene and Jeanette (RV Voyageur) as they had just arrived yesterday at the Caliente Springs RV Resort just a mile from us down Dillon Rd.

It was so hot outside that Paulette, Rene and Jeanette were sitting inside in the cool comfort of our rig with the A/C turned on full blast.  It was great to see our good friends again and we spent the next few hours doing what all RV’ers do when we meet up – we talked about our current snowbird adventures, caught up on news about our families and we even talked some about blogging and bloggers!  We made plans to hopefully get together for dinner this week.

These big luxury cruise ships sure do look enticing

Now, onto 6 reasons why we RV’ers should forsake the open seas and cruise ships for the comfort of our own 5’ers, MH’s and dry land be it desert, forest or prairie.  These aren’t my own 6 reasons, even though I happen to agree with all of them.  I ran across this list on the Internet written by Margaret Bristol for Bookish – a web based book review site.  Here they are:

1.  Titanic struggles – your ship might sink

The most famous of all cruise ship tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic, is about to mark its 100th anniversary. James Cameron went a long way to be historically accurate in "Titanic" but most of his characters were pure fiction. Who better to give an account of what happened that fateful April night (that cost more than 1500 people their lives) than the people who were there? In Nick Barratt's "Lost Voices from the Titanic: The Definitive Oral History," the survivors have a voice, and their tales, though conflicting at times, are still compelling.

2. Seabourn Spirits surprise: You might be attacked by pirates.

Imagine sunning yourself on the lido deck when two boats full of Somali pirates creep up on your ship and start firing guns. That's what happened in 2005 to 302 passengers aboard the Seabourn Spirits when they sailed past some pirates off the coast of Somalia. The conflict ended when the ship found a way to fake fire back at the attackers. But even large ships aren't immune to attack, suggests Cdr. Mark Gaouette in his book "Cruising for Trouble: Cruise Ships as Soft Targets for Pirates, Terrorists, and Common Criminals."

3. Norwegian Dawn disaster: Waves get really big in the ocean.

This cruise ship traveling between New York and the Bahamas in April 2005 was hit by a giant wave, causing passenger injuries and flooded cabins. You know it's a spoiled vacation when the best you can say is "At least it wasn't as bad as 'The Poseidon Adventure.'"

4. Carnival Splendor: Even with all that water fire is still a threat

In 2010, a Carnival cruise ship's engine room caught fire, leaving the ship without power for three days. In her bestselling 2011 memoir, "Bossypants," "30 Rock" star Tina Fey recalls a similar episode from her honeymoon cruise from New York to Bermuda: The romantic getaway was ruined when the ship caught fire. Though the fire was contained without incident, what newlywed couple wants to be confronted with a "women and children first" situation right after their wedding?

5. Celebrity Mercury virus: Contagion spreads quickly

In early 2010 a nasty bug struck more than 400 passengers on this Celebrity cruise ship--and there were several other such outbreaks that year. When you travel in such close quarters, it's no surprise that germs can spread easily. But maladies at sea can come in many different forms. Just ask Ben MacFarlane, M.D., who documented his experience as a ship's doctor--mending everything from climbing-wall injuries to lonelyhearts malaise--in "Cruise Ship SOS: The Life-Saving Adventures of a Doctor at Sea."

6. Onboard assaults: Crimes committed on cruise ships

When a crime occurs in international waters and on a boat without a real police force, it can be difficult to prove wrongdoing. There have been reports of rape on different vessels and cruise lines and there is an entire online community dedicated to supporting victims who have been raped on cruise vacations. Kristoffer A. Garin delves into the complexities of international law, taxes and crimes--and why it's so difficult to prosecute cruise-ship crimes--in his book "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes, and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires."

I guess now with the Concordia disaster in Italy where the Captain ran his ship aground we can add a seventh category!  For the record, neither Paulette or I have ever been on one of these big luxury Cruise liners even though we’ve thought about it from time to time.  I know a lot of RV’ers have taken cruises, so what are your thoughts about all this?

Have a great Monday, and thanks again for visiting!