I'm not down with cruise ship companies, nor the idea of a cruise. It doesn't appeal to me, but I understand why it does appeal to some people. What I really don't like is that this takes away from local tourism, from countries where a robust tourism industry could be of great benefit to people. I used to live in a city where cruise ships would sometimes dock and I'll admit that sometimes I'd smile a little when I saw local thieves gearing up for the inevitable crowd. This kind of tourism seems similar to Wal-Mart or McD's and I think it contributes to the negative connotation of the word "tourist". I'm not one of those who smugly smiles and calls myself a "traveler" but for my money, a much better way to spend my time is to hang out in a place for a while to get the local flavor. I once rented an apartment in Prague with some friends and it was great. We took our time to hang out with each other and be present in Prague and it really made me want to do that again somewhere else. Fortunately, that kind of thing is becoming more available in many countries. I hope that it doesn't become as overblown as other modes of tourism, because that would be a real shame for people looking for what makes faraway places tick.