• 133arc585@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    $1k USD is over a year’s wages for someone at the global poverty line.

    Just because it’s cheaper than other more expensive alternatives doesn’t mean it’s not expensive and extravagant. It’s also a lot more polluting than some of your more expensive vacations you could compare it to; so in reality, it’s not actually cheaper, it just externalizes some of the costs on to the environment (or, the rest of humanity).

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Sure, but if we’re comparing against the global population, anything more than a picnic at a place within walking distance could be considered extravagant. I’m close with a lot of people for whom an air-conditioned bus ride to the nearest major city once/year is out of reach (something like $20/person). I understand that poverty exists, and I have lived among those experiencing it.

      The context he is that these are likely average people, not wealthy people, relative to the country they come from. You’re not likely to find millionaires and certainly not billionaires on a cruise. Wealthier people tend to prefer to escape large groups of people (i.e. they’ll have a cabin or something somewhere), not get stuck on a massive ship with hundreds or thousands of other people.

      The passengers on the cruise ship aren’t your enemies, the owners of the cruise lines and the international community that gives them massive exceptions to the rules are the ones to blame. Cruises can absolutely be much more efficient, but they’re not because the people in charge let them pollute and any fines for abuse of what few laws exist tend to be merely a slap on the wrist.