I went on a Disney Cruise when I was like 4. I went on another one just this past October, as both a family vacation and to celebrate my brother's girlfriend's birthday (she loves Disney, but she's not a Disney adult).

There were six of us, and then a couple of her friends and their kids came so it ended up being a group of about 12. We split three staterooms, and went on a couple "excursions" when we made port. It was actually a pretty fun time. The food was amazing, there was a late-night soft serve machine, and the people were all incredibly nice.

In the back of my mind though, I couldn't help but think about how awful this whole thing was in general. How much fuel was the ship burning, how many fish were we disturbing, look at these fat white people piling off the ship in the Bahamas. It was just always in the back of my mind, even when I tried to just enjoy things.

I worked on one once. I wouldn't be a passenger, since the only entertainment is gambling, drinking and incredibly bad stage shows twice a day. At least guests only stayed a few days and not five months. I also got paid less than the US minimum wage because it technically wasn't an American business, despite being Norwegian Cruise Line of America and based in Hawaii.

Anecdotally, it's mostly boomers, but there's a handful of 20's-30's too. I went on my first and only cruise, a Carnival, with five friends circa 2016. We split two rooms and a drink package. The casinos were packed with the eldest, and the younger folks just double-fisted mixed drinks all day (our plan). Saw at least a few get carted off the pool deck in wheelchairs. The food was legitimately great, never seen such excess before or since. Everything else was meh, including the stops in the Bahamas (though that was mostly due to the weather being terrible).

4/10 experience at best and the value we managed to get probably hasn't existed for years now.

The staff were innumerable and worked so hard to facilitate a good experience for all the passengers. Not surprising to hear they're underpaid. :/ One more reason I've not sought out another cruise experience.

Anecdotally, I have a sizeable group of colleagues who cruise together. They're old Gen Z thru to young Gen X. Some are partnered up, some bring partners from outside work. They call them "family trips". Lots of queer couples, but not all. The queer inclusivity seems like a big element drawing then in.

I am baffled by it. I get how awesome it is to build a chosen family, but not why they'd find their people and then decide a cruise is where they want to spend time together. I don't even try to decline politely anymore, I just straight up tell them a cruise is everything I don't want to spend my precious vacation time on.