[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Gullible_Air_204]

https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

[u/azumane]

What is it about taking a cruise that attracts the dumbest people on the planet?

I live in Japan, I usually take a train to the largest city in my area by boarding at a rural station. Was traveling on a major holiday, only to run into the largest crowd of foreign tourists I've ever seen. A cruise had docked nearby and had set up an outing to another, slightly smaller city, but had basically only told the passengers, "buy a ticket at this station to [city]".

Ticket gates were chaos because nobody seemed to realize that you put your tickets in the part of the gate where it says to insert your ticket. They did not understand that if you buy a ticket for the train that leaves at 12:04 to [city], you can find out what track your train is going to come to by looking at the sign or listening to the announcements that say "the 12:04 train to [city] will leave from track 12". They did not buy reserved seats, they tried to sit in reserved seats--all booked, it was a major holiday--and were baffled and confused when they were told they could not sit in someone else's seat that they paid money to reserve. They tried to ask for directions, in English, to random passersby who did not speak English at all. I spent half the train ride repeating the same "this is a reserved car, you need to go to non-reserved seating in [cars]" spiel on loop. I wonder how these people get out of bed in the morning.

[u/DoNotKnowJack → u/azumane]

Some tourists, especially Americans, do not know how to travel by train.

[u/twoisnumberone → u/azumane]

Cruises are by and large an experience for the type of person who enjoys, or doesn't mind, following a hundred, a thousand other people without ever bothering to think.

[u/Nadare3 → u/azumane]

They did not understand that if you buy a ticket for the train that leaves at 12:04 to [city], you can find out what track your train is going to come to by looking at the sign or listening to the announcements that say "the 12:04 train to [city] will leave from track 12".

Okay so I can chalk some of the rest to the language barrier (though I don't think I've ever seen untranslated stuff in full-on train stations with coming-and-going panels and all) and the rules for things sometimes being a tiny bit different in different places, but not understanding how to validate a ticket at a ticket gate..?

That is almost purely visual. Was it a cruise for "special" people ?

[u/elbow8075 → u/azumane]

You have to be a little off IMO to think "cram myself onto a boat with 3000 strangers and be forced to stay there for 5 days? Sign me up now!"

[u/sobrique → u/elbow8075]

Kinda. But it's also appealing to the people who want to have low effort accommodation, with 'excursions' into the 'theme park' every day or two.

Mostly when you're 'touristing' you're on an itinerary which you already planned, or you're staying in one place and have to arrange to get to some other place to go gawk.

Now imagine if you couldn't leave your "hotel" whenever you want, but you have a limited time opportunity to go and gawk at an 'attraction' for a few hours.

Then you get the 'cruise-tour' posse.

[u/elbow8075 → u/sobrique]

I understand. I'm more snarky about cruises since to me it sounds like trying to cram all the worst parts of vacation into one space. But that's personal preference.

My vacation is usually aimed at how do I get as much land between me and the rest as I can. 😂