Why Would Anyone Go on a Cruise Ship?

I just don't get it. Why would anyone pay to be confined on a ship in the middle of the ocean and risk getting a stomach virus, or worse, falling overboard? 

Last year was the worst year in a decade for gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships, primarily caused by norovirus. Concerns about hygiene and sanitation are well placed. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that inspections highlighted the cleanliness problems on cruise liners.

A few days ago, seventy-nine passengers and nine crew members were sickened with norovirus on a cruise ship that left from Florida, according to CDC's Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program. This is the second example of norovirus sweeping through a cruise ship in the last month.

Somethings never change. People are pigs and when you have a group of about 3,000 pigs (a typical number) eating from the same trough you can expect a disease to spread rapidly. 

The joys of going on a cruise are quickly watered down when it comes to other incidents that occur on board. Carnival Cruise Line has had the most incidents, including overboard accidents, crimes, and accidents, compared to other cruise lines last year.

The fact is things aren't improving when it comes to bacterial and virus outbreaks on cruise ships despite what billionaire CEOs claim. Throw in "horrendous smells" and plumbing issues that plagued cruise ships in 2024 and you begin to get a picture of anything but a good time for thousands of adventurers who risked a ride on the open seas crammed in like sardines. 

I just read a 2025 report by Forbes that said cruise outbreaks are at a 12-year high which proves my point that things aren't getting better.

Cruise ship activities - such as water and air pollution, overcrowding and increased stress on local communities and ecosystems - have led to questions about cruise industry practices at destinations. 

When a ship does make port passengers have a limited time to visit the local sites and sometime destinations are abruptly cancelled because of weather or politics. This is one of the joys of going on a cruise - standing in long lines and paying a fortune for food and souvenirs in some exotic port where the locals probably hate you.

On a typical two-week voyage, a large cruise ship (with 3,000 passengers and crew) is estimated to generate 210,000 US gallons of sewage; 1 million gallons of graywater (from sinks, showers, and laundries); more than 130 US gallons of hazardous wastes; and 8 tons of solid waste.

Over the past 100 years, there have been 24 full-sized cruise ships that have sunk. A good record I suppose, except if you were on one of them. 

The most recent example is the Costa Concordia a ship that set out on a Mediterranean cruise on January 13, 2012, with about 3,299 people onboard that veered off-course and hit large rocks that caused severe damage to its hull. Everyone on board had to be evacuated, and 32 people died.

Not everyone is suited to go on a cruise. You have to be prepared to stand in endless lines at ports or when you belly up to the food line during the day. 

You have to be able to ignore the drunken idiots stumbling from one deck to the next - or just plain idiots who hang around the pool areas making a display of themselves like a pod of whales in skimpy bathing suits. Caution: avoid pool areas because they can leave unwanted memories burned into your brain forever. No. Cruises are not for everyone. Period. End of story. 

As it Stands, I'll keep my cruising to cars!

Do Rats Deserve Their Bad Reputation?

Rats and mankind have warred over the centuries, locked in an eternal combat for survival.

Rats are disease carriers and are often associated with garbage, sewers, filth, etc. But is that all there is to know about rats? No. It's more complicated than that.

I discovered that views on rats' worthiness vary from the Western world to the Asian world. Westerners generally hate rats. Asians on the other hand have a more positive view of rats. For example, many Hindus regard them as semi-sacred, because the mount of the god Ganesh is a rat. Asian cultures see rats as playful, affectionate, intelligent and personally very clean, and consider them a popular pet.

Then there's the cuteness factor. If you look at a squirrel - which is in the same rodent family as a rat - it's bushy tail and the fact that they're not associated with filth automatically gives them points in the grading system people go by when judging cuteness. Squirrels are seen outdoors in trees in the sunlight while the lowly rats are huddled up somewhere in a dank hiding place. But admit it, squirrels are just like tree rats. They just hang out in different neighborhoods!

It's clear from the English language that rats have a bad reputation in Western culture...

"You dirty rat!"

"I smell like a rat."

"Like a rat deserting a sinking ship..."

Maybe it's time to re-examine how we look at rats.

There's been a recent discovery about rats that will probably shock you. A study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science says the rats WERE NOT to blame for the spread of the plague during the Black Death.

Frankly, I was surprised because rats are disease carriers, but researchers have cleared them by concluding that the Black Death, "can be largely ascribed to human fleas and body lice." I highly recommend checking this study out. It may not change your opinion of rats, but it'll clear up the myth that their actions resulted in the loss of over 25 million lives.

Rats have been getting a more positive reputation in recent decades. 

As a matter of fact, there's parts of Africa today where rats are helping save lives and fight disease.

The charity Apopo, working with the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, trains rats (photo right) to react to the scent of explosives, enabling them to detect landmines in countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Cambodia.

The detection of landmines is usually an expensive business, and countries often lack the resources to carry-out the time consuming and complicated work. Rats are cheaper than dogs and they are also light enough that they don't set off the landmine. There's no telling how many lives they've saved thus far.

But there's more.

Rats can also smell out the odor specific to tuberculosis. Every year, three million people infected by TB go undiagnosed and therefore do not receive the care they need.

Rats to the rescue! Apopo say that their trained rats can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes - a task that would take a lab technician four days.

Finally, owners say rats make good pets and point out that rats are clean animals and spend more time grooming themselves than cats.

As far as farmers go rats will always be a nuisance. And they can be pests of the worst kind. I get that. But perhaps it's time to separate the good, bad, and the ugly ones in all fairness.

As it Stands, I hate rats for personal reasons, but they deserve to have their whole story told.

They Say Anger Can Be Good

Because I have PTSD anger is one of the challenges I have had to cope with even after years of counseling. 

Anger management classes armed me with methods to control my anger. 

Nevertheless, anger hasn't entirely disappeared from my emotional responses and - as a matter of fact - I still embrace moderate anger to this day.

Let me explain. Anger is not just aggressive action. It often provides us with information that allows us to better engage with the world around us (as well as ourselves). 

If we see anger as something that makes us more informed, we can adapt our response accordingly to better our position according to researchers. 

To this end, here is a list of benefits anger can provide when the appropriate level of the emotion is attained.

(List published by GoodTherapy.org)

1. Anger is designed to promote survival. Our fight response, which evolved so we could defend ourselves from an enemy or danger, stems from anger.

2. Anger's discharge is calming. Anger helps you cope with stress by first discharging the tension in your body, and by doing so it calms your "nerves."

3. Anger provides a sense of self control.

4. Anger energizes us,

5. Anger motivates us to solve problems.

6. Anger makes us aware of injustice.

7. Anger drives us toward our goals.

8. Anger injects optimism.

9. Anger protects our values and beliefs.

10. Anger is a bargaining tool.

11. Anger increases cooperation by making you stand up for yourself.

12. Anger improves negotiating positions.

13.Anger covers painful feelings.

14. Anger pushes us to reach a deeper self.

15. Anger can lead to self-improvement.

16. Feeling anger enhances emotional intelligence.

Despite an unfavorable reputation, the concept of constructive anger (who knew?) is gaining more empirical support from researchers and can have a beneficial role in our lives. 

As it Stands, Needless to say, it's nice to know that I can still get angry sometimes without feeling guilty.