Cruising to History

Margaret, Duchess of Argyle, who lived the luxurious life of an international socialite (and was the guilty party in a scandalous divorce in 1963) eventually fell victim to Alzheimer’s disease and was confined to a nursing home in Pimlico. ‘How depressing for her’, said someone to a recent visitor. ‘Not at all’, was the reply. ‘She thinks she is on a world cruise.’

There is something mind-numbing about the largest cruise ships, now carrying over 3,500 passengers. Diversions on one include ‘an ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall, mini nine-hole golf, a seven-storey shopping mall’, plus a casino, restaurants, cafés and bars. A giant like this is Las Vegas on a keel. Some confine themselves to the Caribbean, and advertise their private islands as ‘exclusive’ – though you’ll share a small sandy cay with several thousand others.