Commentary
Passengers complaining about ill-fated cruise need a little perspective
By Phil Trieb
Phil Trieb is a carpenter and former newspaper editor living in Gary, S.D.
My fingers freezing as I cleared snow, my mind drifted to the Caribbean and those crybabies complaining about "unsanitary conditions" on a disabled cruise ship.
So sewage was flowing in the passageways, so they had to sleep on deck, so they had to eat sandwiches. Boo hoo. The ship didn't sink; nobody died. Have they forgotten that only last year the Costa Concordia ran aground in the Mediterranean, and 32 died?
So I have no sympathy for these whiners. Oh, not because I was out working in a minus-30-degree wind chill. I was thinking of all the other locations in the world with "unsanitary conditions," all the places where people are dying, or starving, or just having difficult, miserable lives.
There are Syrians being slaughtered by Bashar al-Assad. There are North Koreans starving, while "Dear Leader Jr." Kim Jong-un basks in affluence. There are innocents in Africa and the Middle East being butchered by al-Qaida, the Taliban and other Islamic militants. Mexicans continue to die in drug violence.
And there are untold millions in the poor world working long hours, in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, to produce the cheap goods the wealthy world demands.
Even in our rich country, Americans with dangerous jobs produce the food to keep those buffets full on those cruise ships: farmers slogging through manure to feed and care for livestock; fisherman chilled to the bone, daily facing serious oceangoing peril, hauling in seafood; and the butchers and bakers and candlestick makers who process it all.
Did anybody die when the toilets backed up on that Carnival Cruise ship? Did any of those babies bawling on this bothersome cruise consider that nearly 5,000 souls have perished at sea in shipwrecks since 2000?
Why were they on this ship anyway? Many vacation cruises seem to be cruises in name only. These luxurious leviathans are destinations of decadence that just happen to float. But the experience is hardly maritime for the passengers. They don't swim in the sea, they soak in pools and hot tubs on board.
These floating cities have amusement rides, casinos, theaters, bowling alleys and food, food, food, with an incredibly low passenger-to-staff ratio. Ship's workers cater to their every whim. The vessels might as well be moored at piers; the experience would be little different.
And if there were an engine fire or other mechanical failure, the passengers could easily disembark, collect their refunds, and not be subjected to the indignities of "unsanitary conditions."
Oh, but the liners do stop occasionally, where tourists can get a taste of "local color" in exclusive ports of call that will insulate them from any real contact with the natives.
My wife actually wants to go on a Caribbean vacation. But we won't take a cruise, as we'd like to experience island reality. And if we see an opulent ocean liner pull dangerously close, we won't have to run for lifeboats. Just to the other side of the island.
Comments (5)
Well, Phil, how nice of you to have such contempt for people who had to live in feces and urine for a few days, and to denigrate them so thoroughly on account of they were still alive to tell the tale.
And, how lucky for you that your life has been so easy that death is the only noteworthy hardship.
Now, for myself, I did not have it as easy as you. I have froze an ear on five separate occasions, the left 3 times and the right twice. Froze the left toes twice and the right ones once.
I have fallen through bad ice on a prairie pond in late December at 20 degrees below zero (real temp, not wind chill) carrying 70 pounds of beaver traps & stakes. I could go on, but suffice it say I have known some hard living.
But I will not be joining you in ugly denigration of others.
I have relatives in Gary, South Dakota, and know the town well. And I have it on good information that occasionally someone from Gary goes on a Carribean Cruise. Usually an old couple who spent their life on the farm, slogging through manure, and now want a little time in the sun to punch a hole in winter. Nothing more, nothing less.
How about this, Phil? You go knock on every old person's door in Gary and tell them what lazy good for nothing big baby whiners they are because they seek a little recreation in their last years. You may learn something of value.
I don't drink or gamble, so the floating bar/casinos hold no appeal for me. But the old folks do. Even when they don't die.
There was no ugly denigraton of others.
There were no media reports of old folks on the ship in deplorable conditions. There is no indication that this trip was anyone's "last hurrah".
This was not a trip anyone HAD to make (other than employees); this trip was not about making a living. It was a VACATION. Crap happens; delays will happen. They will be made whole.
While deploring Phil's post as denigrating others, you of course, denigrate Phil and distort what he wrote.
"And I have it on good information that occasionally someone from Gary goes on a Carribean Cruise. "
I challenge your claim: which old folks from Gary are going on a Carribean cruise? You just made that up, right?
How precious...
I've been on a trouble free cruise (not my favorite vacation, but it was a way to have family together when 2 are disabled.) And I spent 3 weeks in the 10th poorest country in the world. I can tell you that being in the poor country, having to squat over a hole in the floor, eating from mass cooked corn meal, etc was pleasant. Imagining a cruise with the sanitary troubles makes me want to vomit. Add in the completely uncertain ability to get the ship to shore, and Forgetaboutit. I'm sure war is worse, because many can't escape that either, and sanitary mechanisms would stop working. Keep in mind, as well, that the ship's crew is often working this type of job to send money back to 2nd and 3rd world countries, to family members who have it pretty bad. Sounds like the crew was amazing. Did you read about the cruise where several crew members died during the safety demo?
Jenn. No, haven't heard of that fatal safety demonstration, and couldn't find it. Could you post a link to the info?
An excellent article, Phil. Yes, it's too bad this happened. Is it worth all the bawling and even lawsuits? Certainly not. As one that has "known hardship" and lost immediate family members to tragedy, I can say: "too bad, so sad." I'll guarantee you, it's not the "retired farmer" who was on that ship that's squealing like a pig stuck under a gate. Today folks are so ready to sue for any little dumb thing. Hot coffee at McDonald's maybe?? Suppose they'd sue if it was cold too. Pretty sad how we've degenerated to such a nation of helpless wimps. Thank you Phil for putting into words far better than I could what I thought exactly.
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