Rant #2,510: Beyond the Sea

Can you believe that there is another fatality being reported on a cruise ship?

I just read this morning that a 46 year old man evidently jumped overboard off a Royal Caribbean ship while it was docked in Puerto Rico.

This follows on the heals of last week's news that a passenger evidently lost track of his grandchild, who fell to death through an open window on the pool deck of another cruise ship.

This has followed probably about a dozen other incidents during the past few years, when passengers have either dived, fallen or were pushed off cruise ship decks, and most of them have led to fatalities.

My family and I have been on numerous cruises over the years, and I simply do not get this.

Safety comes first on these ships, and there are plenty of precautions taken so passengers can feel safe on these ships.

But I guess if you want to kill yourself, nothing is going to stop you, whether you are on a cruise ship or walking in the street or vegetating away your life at home.

Cruises are supposed to be fun. They are really the ultimate vacation--they really get you away from life's drudgeries--and they have become highly affordable, depending on what line you take and where you are going.

My family and I have mainly taken Carnival Cruises, and even though this line is known as the "party" line of all the different cruise ship companies, we have never, ever had much of a problem on these ships.

I remember one time we were sitting on the pool deck on one of these ships and someone was sleeping near where we were talking, and he got all hot and bothered when he woke up, accusing us of "waking him" with our talking.

My son took a while to adjust to the ships, but now that he is older, we haven't had any problem with him.

So when you add it all up, we haven't had any problems at all on these ships, other than a few weather problems that have diverted us from a few of our destinations.

Other people have had lots of problems, as we have heard about over the years. Some cruises have hit very rough weather, some cruises have not taken care of their passengers well--remember, they do not go under U.S. laws, they go under whatever country's laws they are registered in--so yes, at times, it can be a crap shoot whether you get a good cruise or not, or even a horrible cruise, for that matter.

But at least my family and I haven't had much to complain about.

I remember one time while cruising, we were told almost from the get go that the seas that we would be traveling were extremely rough, rougher than normal, and that we should be prepared for such roughness. Yes, there were times we had to hold on even when walking in the halls of the ship, and yes, I do remember while watching a show that an elderly woman fell down a good amount of stairs while in high heels and not holding on to the bannisters.

And on that very cruise, shipmates put up barf bags at every stairway, because you cannot predict how severe rocking of the ship is going to affect people's insides.

But again, other than those things, we have not had a bad cruise.

Why people use a cruise ship as a launching pad for their own misery is beyond me. I guess they go on the cruise hoping that the experience will life up their spirits, but when they find out that it doesn't, they go crazy and lose their minds.

It is getting to the point that potential passengers are going to have to take a psychological test before boarding a cruise ship.

Admittedly, there is a lot of down time when you go on a cruise, or at least there can be a lot of down time, in particular, on a longer cruise. You can only walk around so much, you can only visit the shops so much, so sometimes, you have to make your own fun.

I will bet you that during those down times, when some people are so depressed while everyone else is having fun, that these despondent people decide to do themselves in.

If you have never taken a cruise, I would suggest it highly. It can be very relaxing, and all of your whims are taken care of as much as possible.

The food is great--you can eat to excess if you like, but I have to say that I never have--and you can keep up your regimen if you are into exercise, as each ship has a gym to stretch yourself out.

And the bonus is that you visit countries and other places that you would never go to on your own, and it is fun to visit another culture.

But I guess for people suffering such depression, they look at a cruise ship like others look at a tall building--a perfect place to do themselves in.

Me, I would rather lay out on the deck, play some miniature golf, shoot a couple of hoops, see a few shows, and visit some places I would never visit on my own ...

And relax.