[WalterBright]

I went on a cruise ship once. Was very bored. I was so bored I tried to wangle a tour of the engine room (after all, I'm an engineer) but no way said the captain. The food was nice. The captain avoided a big storm. I figured if I ever went on a cruise again it would be an a much smaller boat. After all, who doesn't want an oar thrust in their hands and have someone yell "ramming speed!" at them? "We keep you alive to serve this ship! Row well, and live!" and all. Much more fun than the gift shops and roulette wheels.

When I was a kid we crossed the Atlantic in the SS United States. For a kid, that was a blast, especially when we steamed through a huge storm. Wowsa! I'm sad to see the rusty hulk it has become.

[lb1lf]

The Hurtigruten is a coastal freighter cum cruise line traversing the Norwegian coast between Bergen in the south and Kirkenes near Murmansk up north, making loads of stops underway to on- and offload cargo and passengers.

The Norwegian coast can be quite rough in the wintertime - a friend of mine is the steward on one of the ships, and she assures me every winter there are numerous passengers who insist on being dressed up in full survival kit and quite literally being tied to the mast - to experience the full wrath of a winter storm from a safe position.

To each his own. It probably isn't boring, at least. :)

[WalterBright]

Do they make the passengers walk the oars, too? https://youtu.be/8SW6a1z_hUk?t=112

[retSava]

Must say your comment sounds quite poetic to me.

Sorry for OT/meta.