I read that a huge ship would set sail this Wednesday (1st) from the port of Santos. The MSC Seaside would be the biggest and most modern this season: 323 meters long, 41 meters wide, 72 meters high and 153,516 gross tons. Which doesn’t tell me much, given my inexperience in the field.
In the photos it looks really big, like a dense condominium. Bigger than the only ship I’ve ever sailed on.
It was a short experience: driving to Santos, having dinner on board in a private room, sleeping and waking up the next morning in Rio de Janeiro.
I could barely explore the complex, or get an idea of ​​what it would be like to be cooped up there for a week or more. Even the idea of ​​the cage was perhaps prejudiced: ships stop along the way and passengers visit various places; on board breaks, fun in the pool, gym, cinema, nightclub, casino and restaurants.
I don’t know if it’s worth spending a few hours in each city (is it possible to meet them hitting the peak?). And if, between stops, the same attractions on board are not always boring. But… isn’t that what people do at a seaside resort?
Still just speculating, I try to turn to books, movies. The references are idyllic, or at the very least positive, save, of course, for the more catastrophic scripts like Hitchcock’s “Titanic”, “Poseidon” or “A Boat and Nine Destinations”; or from books like “Relato de um Náufrago”, by GarcÃa Márquez.
The most common thing is to see glamorous environments on the high seas, such as the first class that takes you to Europe, seduces you with luxury and brings back the protagonist of the book “The Talented Ripley”, by Patricia Highsmith — in cinema, it became the eponymous film by Anthony Minghella (2000) and “The Sun by Witness” (1960), by René Clément, with Alain Delon.
But such scenarios are from the time when planes did not exist or were rare. Ship was a means of transport. The richest could use it more comfortably, in first class, relegating the poorest to cellars. Today cruises are primarily a leisure option. I even wonder if there is still such a difference in accommodation between first and last class (knowing that some gap remains).
Again, it’s just guesswork. If it was a report, with some research and interviews it would have everything clearer. But it wouldn’t solve the doubt that led to the beginning of these reflections: even with luxury and comfort, with stops in incredible places, how would my spirit, and my spirit, be on a trip like this? Relaxed, looking at the horizon between a good book (perhaps by Highsmith) and good wine? Or feeling caged in a tedious immobility?
One day I will find out. Not on a college country cruise, that’s for sure; not staying a whole month at sea. But curiosity hit — will I overcome prejudices, I like it, and maybe I’ll even find a Cate Blanchett on board like the one that crossed Matt Damon’s path in the second version of “Ripley”?
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