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Being working on cruise boats for several years as a photographer gave me the chance to meet many different people. Something that not many people seem to understand is that living in a boat is very different to living in a flat or a house and it has a big impact on people’s social behaviour. New friendships can be developed, new love stories can take place, couples can divorce, babies may be conceived or even born and some may even pass away!
A luxury boat that is moving into the seven seas is like a small floating city. One factor many people overlook at is the fact that on board there aren’t just passengers and holiday-makers but also members of staff that have to stay on the boat for long periods of time. Although this is against the regulations, there is a lot of social interaction between the members of stuff and the clients.
A common person to find in a luxury boat is about 60 years of age, wealthy and usually retired. Although they all belong to different professions and educational backgrounds, the bottom line is that the vast majority of them are very successful in their fields. Doctors, lawyers, publishers, editors, journalists, and civil engineers coexist with wealthy shop owners, entrepreneurs and tradesmen. So, education isn’t a key factor although wealth seems to be.
Of course there is a small part of passengers who although they don’t make enough to be afford a luxury, they are happy saving hard in order to make their dream come true cruise. Those are people who have read about those luxury cruises and are really curious to find out how the experience is like. Although I had that experience on Silversea Cruises boats where I worked, other colleagues that used to work on Oceania Cruises and Cunard Cruises have had similar experiences.
When it comes to sports, golf is definitely the number one while cricket and polo are also popular. Taking up a luxury cruise for many people could be a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience but it is definitely worth it..
Tags: Cruises, Holidays, society, Travel
Posted in Cruises · July 17th, 2010 · Comments (0)
During the past 50 years the way kids have been brought up and played has seen so many changes. Most games until the 80s used to take place outdoors as kids’ activities were more physical and where consisting mainly of sports.
It is not easy to judge and say that kids of previous generations were luckier or healthier because of the games that were available to them as each era has its own unique conditions and necessities. Adults and people who didn’t have the chance to be part of the digital games revolution oppose strongly in that great influence computer games have in their kids lives and their main argument is that computer games are too static and they do not motivate children to move and excercise!
Nevertheless, when it comes to how much today’s kids know compared to older generations it seems that they know more as they are exposed to a greater deal of information through the internet, the TV and even the computer games.
It can be said that creativity and emotions into kids’ play has been remained pretty much the same although the way kids sense them has totally changes. A very good example taken from the time I was a kid is a great game boys used to play which we were calling ‘exploration’. The game was about locating an dilapidated residential building or a warehouse, break into it and try to get in every single room in order to collect as many strange and unusual objects as possible.
I will never forget the day we entered that warehouse that used to belong to an electrical components entrepreneur who’s business had gone into liquidation. Our imagination was running with 100 miles per hour each time a very odd object was on our way varying from cable ties to circuit breakers , it was all stimulating our minds big time.
Some of today’s adventure games still give me the same sensation as I can freely make my character enter a building, use some objects and move from place to place within seconds. In both cases, adrenaline is floating massively and the emotions are equal. Having the chance to experience both traditional games and the digital ones I can say that the emotional and mental excitement I was getting out of the two was equally important and by no means one was better than the other. Therefore, I cannot agree with all those who claim that computer games are dangerous are worthless just because they are not physical enough.
Tags: creative play, Kids, society, teenagers
Posted in Kids · July 1st, 2010 · Comments (0)