“You didn’t write that!”
No, I didn’t write that. All of it was created by Ai, the picture and the text. You won’t know anymore. Welcome to the world where you talk to machines and they talk to you.
“I don’t think I like this.”
Goodbye Empathy.
“So we humans will waste time interacting with machines?”
It may not be wasted time. There could be some cases where it is best to talk to the Ai.
“I’ll need to be convinced of that.”
Our ship, the MSC Magnifica is a little older, the crowd a little younger, and the crew is Italian. After a day on the ship I can tell a lot of the guests are also Italian. I can see now it isn’t just the destination that matters. There’s a clientele that goes with it.
A Disney cruise is probably packed with screaming , spoiled children and the crew are probably pimpled teenagers from Florida or California.
“Demographic you say?”
Paint a rat on a ship, double the price, double it again, then call it a family vacation. Idk if Walt would approve. Maybe. It sure makes money and most people are into making money.
Our ship is not as old as this Carnival ship looking like it came out of a wormhole from 1975.
“Maybe old ships come to the calm, warm waters of the Caribbean to retire? If it sinks in 20 feet of water, it’s probably really easy to float it again and drag it to some nautical junkyard. I don’t think they have nautical museums, just sunken shipwrecks. At least it had a water slide on top of it and I’m sure the buffet is just ok. Probably priced like a KOA campground.”
The MSC Magnifica, being a relatively older ship, has a price less than staying at a Motel 6 off a highway you just want to stop driving on for a night. That’s pretty amazing plus they take you somewhere very cool and feed you all you can eat and I don’t mean a box of cornflakes and coffee they are calling a continental breakfast. What continent are they referring to anyway?
“Is it the continent that serves ‘Moutarde’ from a pump?”
Did you know the Italians invented pasta? There are many varieties in every menu here. I’m not sure if they invented pizza for breakfast but if you said they did I’d believe you. The one in the back is Nutella and strawberries. I’ve seen others that I would have to ask what is on it. They don’t stick to just the pizza you’ve heard of. They get creative!
“There’s something called Bolognese I haven’t tried because the name sounds like boloney. Boloney doesn’t sound so great compared to the other options I recognize. Even if you put it in a blender, put it on a cracker, and called it pate~ I’m not falling for that!”
When I came aboard, I was taken back to “Old Vegas”. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. Ok, well maybe not that far back but definitely the days of the Stratosphere, Circus Circus, and Caesars Palace. I can almost smell the flame spewing Volcano at the Mirage.
Turns out I’m smelling cigarette and cigar smoke. That’s old Vegas too. Remember when people smoked in public? There are a couple designated places here but I can smell it so there are too many. I prefer the smell of new Vegas!
“That’s old Vegas. Don’t you remember The Plaza?”
Remember the what? Was that the hotel at the end of Freemont street? What were you saying?
Ohhh Right! This is NEW Vegas. Home of the Bellagio, Aria, The Venetian, … The smell is different now.
That glitz has a feel to it. It’s warm and cool at the same time.
The blue thing is a waterwall and it empties into a pool the piano is on top of.
Once again I am reminded it is the holiday season. It’s easier to get Christmas right than get Thanksgiving right. Everyone knows what Christmas looks like.
The ship is very nice, if dated (built 2010). I have zero complaints for $100 a day. That’s less than it costs me to stay in my house, do nothing, and eat hot dogs. It’s also like old Vegas in another way. It’s very inexpensive to get into. It’s like the old Vegas days where you could get a hotel for $29 because they knew you’d drop money gambling. They would give you free drinks and comp your meals to keep you in their hotel casino spending money.
Looks like old Vegas to me.
We have an indoor pool.
We have an outdoor pool.
“The newer MSC ship is dwarfing us. I bet it is nicer too.”
Are you sure?
No.
Just before sunrise the sky is deep purple and pink. I’ve never seen the sea so flat. I couldn’t imagine it could be like this.
We just have one day in Nassau. I’m taking a shore excursion to what is promised to be an underwater garden of statues and relics. We also get a ride around what they call “Paradise Island”. That’s the richy rich part of Nassau. Nothing but mansions and exclusivity.
“That’s not Nassau!”
I dove a plane wreck at this little cay. It’s at the far end of ‘Paridise Island’. The guide claimed the plane was Pablo Escobar’s. He used it to run cocaine to Florida. There was no coke in it, only a school of fish and the beginnings of coral life. That’s cool though. They also had statues underwater to swim around. They made their little lagoon a touristy spot. Water was 84 degrees. Could not have been better for snorkeling. I don’t have an underwater camera or a GoPro so you’ll have to use your imagination.