Liminality at-sea: cruises to nowhere and their metaworlds

Abstract

The concept of liminality informs the experience of tourism, yet little is known about how liminality is performed in the context of ‘cruises to nowhere’ that sacrifice terrestrial destinations for endless ‘seascapes’ of liminality. Fuelled by alcohol, round-the-clock parties and endless buffets, cruises to nowhere are an increasingly popular addition to the Southern African cruising season. Understood through a sample of South African based multi-day ocean-going cruises without a destination, results take literally the notion that tourist liminality involves boundary crossing into the unknown on the limitless horizon of the high seas. Using netnographic methods, boundary crossings are traced through the intended and practiced activities on-board cruise-to-nowhere experiences. Involving a mix of sun, sea, sex and especially alcohol, cruises to nowhere engineer the destination-free seascape as a liminoid playground. Reflecting on South African-based cruises to nowhere offered during the southern hemisphere summer cruising season, the findings of this research call for a more deliberate focus on the liminal aspects of ship-based tourism. At the same time, conclusions chart a course for what may be termed debauchery tourism. Building from work in cruise tourism geographies, alcotourism and party tourism, findings do not intend to moralise debaucherous shipboard tourism, but rather to explore the liminal setting of the cruise ship and the sea where cruises to nowhere offer round-the-clock drinking and partying as a liminal destination in and of itself.

摘要

阈限的概念是旅游体验的重要议题, 但人们对阈限如何在”无目的地巡航”的背景下表现却知之甚少, 无目的地巡航为大陆目的地贡献了阀限的无尽的海景。在不分昼夜的饮酒、派对与自助餐的刺激下, 无目的地巡航越来越成为南部非洲巡航季的新宠。通过一个以南非为基地的、没有目的地的多天海上巡航的样本, 研究结果从字面上理解了这样一个概念:游客的阈限涉及到穿越边界进入公海无限地平线上的未知领域。使用网络图的方法, 我们可以通过在无目的地巡游体验中船上预期和常规的活动来跟踪边界越界行为。无目的地航行将阳光、大海、性, 尤其是酒精混合在一起, 把这片没有确定航行目的的海洋景观设计成一个有限的游乐场。考虑到南半球夏季巡航季节提供的以南非为基地的无目的地巡航, 这项研究的结果呼吁更慎重地关注游轮旅游的限制因素。与此同时, 结论为所谓的纵情旅游制定了一个进程。基于邮轮旅游地理、美酒旅以及派对旅游的研究工作,本研究结果不打算为纵情邮轮旅游进行道德说教, 而是探索邮轮旅游以及这种无目的地海上巡游的限制因素。

Keywords:

• Liminality
• cruise tourism
• alcotourism
• party tourism
• debauchery tourism
• South Africa

关键词:

• 阈限
• 邮轮旅游
• 美酒旅游
• 派对旅游
• 纵情旅游
• 南非

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two places in the same country by a transport operator from another country.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bradley Rink

Bradley Rink is a human geographer and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography, Environmental Studies and Tourism at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). His research and teaching focuses on mobilities, tourism and urban place-making. Twitter @bradley_rink.