Take A Vacation On A Cruise Ship? Not For Me, Thanks

Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I'd just rather keep my feet on the ground instead of boarding a boat and heading out to sea.  I'd chalk it up to one too many views of the movie Titanic, but there may be some defense for a self-admitted "cruise chicken."

That defense can be found in just how many different incidents that have happened recently for the cruise industry.  Things like the most recent problems with the Carnival Triumph, last year's "incident" on the Costa Concordia where 32 people were killed, and two separate outbreaks of the norovirus on the Carnival Freedom and the Crown Princess are just some of the things that keep me thinking twice about it.  I really don't want to get sick or stranded on my trip that I worked so hard and paid so much money for.

Things like the problems above and others that were experienced in just 2012 give me a lot of pause, thinking about health and safety.  Gone are the days of the Love Boat and the romanticizing of cruising around the world and here are the days that you seriously have to wonder about viral safety and will there or won't there be a fire?  Okay, that may be a little over-dramatic but the point is that I see things like this and I want to book a trip to someplace where there is actual land underneath my feet.

Now, I get the attraction to a cruise.  Everything is right there at your fingertips and you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want and go to places you would really like to see. There are shows to see on board and you can swim in a pool, watch movies, play golf and anything else you can imagine and 15 things you never imagined.  I will admit that I have thought about heading to Alaska sometime on a ship, but it hasn't happened for a variety of reasons, not least of which these problems.

Still, with a list as long as it is with incidents on cruise ships ranging from small fires to viral outbreaks to running aground because the captain wanted to wave to his family, you have to stop short and ask, is taking a cruise the thing that you should do anymore?  Is the safety there that needs to be?  I won't tell you what you should do yourself, but for me, until I see something convincing, count me as a skeptic.

What do you think?  Am I wrong or am I on to something?