Response to comment from Felipe, as follows:
Felipe,
The "Country Club Types" on the cruise were mostly on the 2nd segment, from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Lauderdale. Our first cruise segment from Barbados to Ft. Lauderdale had in general a more interesting group of guests. The high end cruise lines (Silversea, Seven Seas, Sea Dream, Seaborne, Crystal: why do they all start with the "S" sound, and for that matter why do mattress companies do as well?) have higher per diems than do the mass market ships. Often well off people are more conservative in their views. Unfortunately, for some reason (perhaps due to some commentators on some cable networks who whip them up to a frenzy) these folks seem to feel more motivated to express their political views to strangers. It used to be that guests on these cruise lines didn't discuss politics or religion or show pictures of their grand children or pets to people on first meeting. I've noticed that on the cruise itineraries that appeal to a more international mix of guests, I found I've bonded with other guests much more quickly. The FLL to FLL segment was unique for me in that the majority of the guests were Florida residents who had chosen an itinerary that combined no need to fly to or from the cruise, was almost certainly to be in good weather with their perception that the seas would be very calm, wouldn't tax them in terms of exotic qualities of the ports visited, and was likely to get more people just like themselves. What surprised me was that they seemed so joyless but remarkably demanding of the crew. They got vocal only when (other than expressing political views) they found their space being violated. (Note my comment in the blog about the table on deck.) They seemed to reserve deck chairs with bookmark-less library books although there was sufficient space for all, and most of all they never smiled and very infrequently even acknowledged an "hello" in the halls or on deck. Perhaps the "very, very, rich" can not experience happiness after acquiring their material wealth, but that's a bit too philosophical even for me. At any rate, there were some great dinner and cocktail companions on even this segment, although I must say they seemed to be those who ventured away from the gift shops to take walks in town or take excursions. Mostly, on all these cruises, it is those of us on Deck 4 (without the more costly verandas) who bond the quickest. And very few of us own green pants.
Feel free to let me know your e-mail address if you'd like to discuss this further off the public forum.
Best,
Mike
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Felipe <noreply-comment@blogger.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Subject: [Mindless Caribbean Cruise] New comment on The Mindless Part, Part 1.
Felipe has left a new comment on your post "The Mindless Part, Part 1":
These Country Club types were also very much in evidence on my recent Regent Seven Seas cruise around South America, fortunately although they didn't represent 3/4 of the guests. Unfortunately, however, they are very free in expressing their profoundly conservative views, likes and dislikes. This wasn't the case on the previous cruise in the Indian Ocean.
Posted by Felipe to Mindless Caribbean Cruise at March 24, 2011 4:16 PM
Felipe,
The "Country Club Types" on the cruise were mostly on the 2nd segment, from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Lauderdale. Our first cruise segment from Barbados to Ft. Lauderdale had in general a more interesting group of guests. The high end cruise lines (Silversea, Seven Seas, Sea Dream, Seaborne, Crystal: why do they all start with the "S" sound, and for that matter why do mattress companies do as well?) have higher per diems than do the mass market ships. Often well off people are more conservative in their views. Unfortunately, for some reason (perhaps due to some commentators on some cable networks who whip them up to a frenzy) these folks seem to feel more motivated to express their political views to strangers. It used to be that guests on these cruise lines didn't discuss politics or religion or show pictures of their grand children or pets to people on first meeting. I've noticed that on the cruise itineraries that appeal to a more international mix of guests, I found I've bonded with other guests much more quickly. The FLL to FLL segment was unique for me in that the majority of the guests were Florida residents who had chosen an itinerary that combined no need to fly to or from the cruise, was almost certainly to be in good weather with their perception that the seas would be very calm, wouldn't tax them in terms of exotic qualities of the ports visited, and was likely to get more people just like themselves. What surprised me was that they seemed so joyless but remarkably demanding of the crew. They got vocal only when (other than expressing political views) they found their space being violated. (Note my comment in the blog about the table on deck.) They seemed to reserve deck chairs with bookmark-less library books although there was sufficient space for all, and most of all they never smiled and very infrequently even acknowledged an "hello" in the halls or on deck. Perhaps the "very, very, rich" can not experience happiness after acquiring their material wealth, but that's a bit too philosophical even for me. At any rate, there were some great dinner and cocktail companions on even this segment, although I must say they seemed to be those who ventured away from the gift shops to take walks in town or take excursions. Mostly, on all these cruises, it is those of us on Deck 4 (without the more costly verandas) who bond the quickest. And very few of us own green pants.
Feel free to let me know your e-mail address if you'd like to discuss this further off the public forum.
Best,
Mike
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Felipe <noreply-comment@blogger.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Subject: [Mindless Caribbean Cruise] New comment on The Mindless Part, Part 1.
Felipe has left a new comment on your post "The Mindless Part, Part 1":
These Country Club types were also very much in evidence on my recent Regent Seven Seas cruise around South America, fortunately although they didn't represent 3/4 of the guests. Unfortunately, however, they are very free in expressing their profoundly conservative views, likes and dislikes. This wasn't the case on the previous cruise in the Indian Ocean.
Posted by Felipe to Mindless Caribbean Cruise at March 24, 2011 4:16 PM
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