Cruising, Spam and Pop Tarts-My Ship is Dry Docked

I have had a very busy two weeks and it's times like this with the weather turning cold that I fantasize about nice warm beaches and Hawaii. One of the big topics on the news this week has been the dead in the water Carnival Cruise ship that was on its way to Mexico. Not far off the coast a sudden engine fire basically created a catastrophe for 4,500 pleasure cruisers. There pleasure quickly became a multi-day nightmare when with no power, which means no cooking, no swimming or any other cruise type activity that you usually get to experience this was not going to be the cruise they had dreamed of.

When I lived in California I was asked multiple times whether I was interested in these cruises. I love to go travel but the thought of being on a ship, headed to Mexico never peaked my fancy. We had several friends who frequently went but I was always the "party pooper".

I can't believe some of the stories on the news these people had to endure. No bathroom facilities, no heat or air, hot dog salads, playing cards sounded more like a bad camping trip. When the said that spam and pop tarts were airlifted in by a naval carrier was is this the best they had? Although I have never tried a pop tart/spam sandwich (I guess a sweet/savory thing was going on here) but uncooked spam wouldn't do it for me. Many who had been on previous cruises said this was the first time that they had probably lost weight on a cruise because of the food.

It was a nice gesture to give a free cruise and give hotel vouchers but this event and others I have heard like it basically has cemented my thought that a cruise won't be on my to do list.