Here is an old excerpt from something i wrote back in late June on board the ms Oosterdam departing from Seatle on an Alaskan cruise:

     The world is a complex place. Travling on a cruise that claims to be a “cashless society” I have encountered an entirely different world than that in which I normally live. Here there are thousands of people, and yet after just a few days I can look around and see a lot of familiar faces. I may not know that many people’s names, however I can put a face with where and what context I saw it before.

     I have to wonder what sort of arrangements the people who live here have made. There are master chefs and entertainers, people who make beds and organize rooms and people who organize activities, people who are awesome at certain instruments as well as people who bring you room service. These people must be getting paid for what they do, and they’re getting paid to be in the same place that all of us  travlers paid so much to be in. They have right here for them the same great food, the same great sites, and their own rooms--all of it is taken care of for them. Taken for them, rather than for other people in our society where everywhere you turn and everywhere you go there is a price to be paid for whatever you want. We’re all stuck on a boat, so there is no high security needed to make sure you’ve done your part to contribute to the overall success of the ship. You’ve either paid your dues or you’re working here.

            Imagine if everyone on the ship were working though. With 1/3 enough to provide great food for everyone, and entertainment, there is left enough room for 2000 people to do whatever other work might be able to produce enough money to pay for the raw supplies of fuel and food. If there were some way to earn money from the outside world while traveling on this cruise line then we would have a nicely contained society capable of supporting itself, with participants as willing as the already existing crew, without the stress of capitalism, without having to worry about having to exchange money...