In the years since my month on a train in Europe, my tastes in travel have gone decidedly upscale.  Nowadays, I tend to stay in comfortable hotels and book all inclusive cruises.  It’s not that I wouldn’t consider staying in a less expensive hotel, especially if the hotel is in Europe.  It’s just that the older I get, the less charming “roughing it” is to me.  If I can be more comfortable, I’m willing to pay for the privilege… as long as I can afford it, that is.

That being said, I have never had any desire to cruise on a Carnival ship, even before the disasters with its two big ships, Splendor and Triumph.  Both ships were adrift after engine fires and the masses of people stranded aboard were left fucked up, fucked over, and hungry, as my good friend Weird Wilbur sings it…

I like my creature comforts.  That’s why I sail on small ships like SeaDream I and Hebridean Princess… as least as long as we can afford to.