Daily Junction Play
659watching now
Wendover Productions 10 Feb 2026 30 here now

The Cruise Industry's Arms Race

To learn for free on Brilliant for a full 30 days, go to http://Brilliant.org/Wendover
Brilliant’s also given our viewers 20% off an annual Premium subscription, which gives you unlimited daily access

For You

Because of what you watch

Comments (20)

Daily Junction discussion mixed with clearly attributed comments from the original video provider.

Join in — free. Comments on Daily Junction are for members, so real names stay rare and bots stay out.

One field. We email you a 6-digit code — no password needed. Your comment is kept while you do it.

Under 13? You’ll need a parent’s OK first — it takes them one click.

@
MSC is the most innovative and controversial member of the major mainstream cruise lines. Their "cheapest price to get on the boat and pay for everything once onboard" model is taking the industry by storm.

Disney has also found a way to make obscenely expensive cruises not merely in demand, but practically sold out with generous profit margins to match.
@
@Exkudor95 From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 10
Cruises being so cheap is probably one of those things future generations will look back on with a big "wtf". Just because they're offshore they dodge so, so many environmental regulations etc. - if they had to abide by normal standards for things like fueling etc. cruises would probably be double or triple the price.
@
The last cruise I went on in 2018 was it for me. I’ve watched the industry go downhill, service and amenity wise. My first cruise was in 1994. You get nickel and dimed, everything is designed to extract the most cash out of you while providing the least. Ports are also another money grab. Staff is treated like crap. I guess I just realized vacationing on a floating mall isn’t for me.
@
@editorbuck From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 51
So my takeaway is that Jake from bright sun films is going to have a lot of new cruise videos over the next couple years. Sounds good to me!
@
@Jermu757 From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 374
"That's not a boat, that's a ship!"
@
End game.
To save on fuel costs, docking fees etc, our latest cruise 'ships' are now land based and to be more time efficient for our patrons ,a 10 day cruise now takes 1 day.All for only a 25% price increase.
@
@TomPVideo From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 309
All I can think about is that if the boat is the destination, then it's basically an expensive way to have an all-inclusive resort with tiny rooms.
@
Wendover in 2028: How the cruise industry self destructed by trying to do everything all at once
@
Hopefully next week is the logistics of cruise ships
How do they keep so much food? How do they handle medical issues? How do they handle internationally varying regulations? How do they have enough potable water? How do they hide the giant machinery and the noise to run such a large ship
@
Just want to point out that at 6:01 you list 'Quebec, QS' as a destination. The correct provincial abbreviation would be either QC (English) or PQ (French).
@
"'Destinationification' of the boats." Love that word.
@
@profraxle From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 555
wow they really cannot lie about how much they like big boats
@
@svenr101 From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 323
I live in Juneau, a town in Southeast Alaska that is huge destination for cruises every summer. I think it’s worth mentioning that a lot of cruise heavy towns are getting worn out by the enormous amount of people that these ever-larger ships bring. Legislation almost passed here to stop cruise ships from coming to port on Saturdays, allowing locals to get out and enjoy downtown and our hiking trails without floods of tourists. I personally just avoid downtown in the summer, but it’s a real point of contention in our town and others in Southeast AK.
@
I can hear the entire maritime community shouting "ITS A SHIP!"
@
Most of this B-roll looks like clips from Wall-E.
@
@dx-ek4vr From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 1300
3:57 "They were for the newlywed, and nearly dead" What a line.
Addendum: Also, the fact that cruises adjust their routes to appeal to younger generations cause they're "PTO-crunched" is pretty wild. How the hell did we get to a situation where we got "PTO-crunched?"
@
@doujinflip From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 293
A lot of aviation concepts originate from sea vessels and seamanship. Wendover is just going back to the roots ⚓️
@
@GTXMedia From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 668
3:57 "They were for the newlywed and nearly dead" caught me off guard. That is a wild yet accurate line.
@
@ZanHecht From YouTube ↗ 21 Feb 2026 764
Interestingly, the Disney ship you show at 13:23 is entirely going to be sailing "cruises to nowhere" without any port stops, proving your point about making the ship the experience.
@
Oh no. Sam has realized there are planes of the sea to study the economics of