marinaracloud's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
lily_benavides's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.75
gillianm06's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
anneb42's review against another edition
2.0
I’m torn between the tragedy of the pandemic (especially in the early days) and maybe a little eye rolling at one too many light comparisons to the titanic. Also horror at the thought of being a service employee on this ship. In the pool of “people I’d want to be stuck with during world changing, catastrophic events” a cruise ship full of wealthy older adults is pretty close to the bottom of my list.
(Full disclosure: I’ve cruised on the Zaandam twice.)
(Full disclosure: I’ve cruised on the Zaandam twice.)
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
This is not something I would normally pick up, but one of my favorite outreach patrons said it was riveting and I love talking to her about books. It was an interesting story about a lot of people who found themselves in a very bad and (2020's starring word!) UNPRECEDENTED situation locked down on a cruise ship filled with covid. I felt the worst for the crew, who had to work longer and longer shifts doing more and more work as their coworkers dropped like flies. And it was interesting to hear about the complicated finagling required to get more supplies and help to the ship, or anyone off the ship after all. What a clusterf*ck. It was an easy read, written at perhaps a middle school level, that sometimes veered into syrupy territory, but moved quickly and kept my interest.
justalittlejen's review against another edition
4.0
Read like a thriller. Made me remember the horror and uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic. Opened my eyes to the plight of the employees on the cruise ships and what they experienced.
madzking's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
catbooking's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
I don't know if it is compassion fatigue or just general exhaustion with people who don't think COVID is a big deal but I found it hard to empathize with the passengers. The workers' stories managed to touch on my emotions a bit, but only a bit. I also felt that the author was trying to minimize the responsibility that the cruise-line carried. Yes, lots of things were outside of their control, but lots of things weren't and brushing them off with 'well it was hard' felt scummy.
The other issue I had was more with the stuff in the book not with the book itself. I don't know if it is because I am naive, or something cardinal is broken in my worldview, but I was continuously shocked to hear that no passengers offered to help. I get that they couldn't have been washing sheets and unclogging toilets but something like stripping and making their own beds would go a long way to lighten the work load on the crew. Or they could have kept and washed their silverware and/or some of the dishes, to assist in how much needed to be cleaned and provided at each meal. I was just shocked how there was no team effort, it was still clients and worker bees.
I don't know if it is compassion fatigue or just general exhaustion with people who don't think COVID is a big deal but I found it hard to empathize with the passengers. The workers' stories managed to touch on my emotions a bit, but only a bit. I also felt that the author was trying to minimize the responsibility that the cruise-line carried. Yes, lots of things were outside of their control, but lots of things weren't and brushing them off with 'well it was hard' felt scummy.
The other issue I had was more with the stuff in the book not with the book itself. I don't know if it is because I am naive, or something cardinal is broken in my worldview, but I was continuously shocked to hear that no passengers offered to help. I get that they couldn't have been washing sheets and unclogging toilets but something like stripping and making their own beds would go a long way to lighten the work load on the crew. Or they could have kept and washed their silverware and/or some of the dishes, to assist in how much needed to be cleaned and provided at each meal. I was just shocked how there was no team effort, it was still clients and worker bees.