The Last Cruise

I am a crew member who got stuck on a cruise ship during the big pause. I can write a book how hard was it for everyone. Me personally had friends on Diamond,crew, who were texting in a group chat that they had very very less to eat, and they were allowed to eat only 3 times per day in a certain time. So forgot about snacks, coffee etc. And they were given one bottle of water for three days per person!!!!!! They were guarding the guests in 3 shifts bc plenty of them tried to escape from the cabines claiming Corona does not exist. They were stressed because they were in cabin with roomates and every crew member was in touch with a guest at a certain point and back then no one really knew anything specific about Covid. Most of the time they were without Internet so could not talk to their families. They were crying every day and I cried watching this because it says only terrible things about the crew. And when they were sent home their country did not want them saying they bring the virus. So none of this is mentioned in the documentary. Thats why I gave it a 5.

They put more sympathetic light on the passengers who basically ate well and had a longer vacation instead of the crews.

Like, I'm sure there was still cabin fever and it sucks to be stuck in a room for months (lucky for those that book a bigger room), but the crews definitely had it worse.

Another reviewer already spelt out the hardship of what the crew had to do. The captain must be stressing thinking of what he should do to elevate the mood. How bout the food sourcing and whether management of the cruise did their best to help them?

In the end the documentary came off as entitled and not that informative or interesting.

The passengers they interviewed were really annoying to listen to. I mean they need video and the only people that had footage were daily vloggers so that might be the reason. Good documentary but I now understand what Bill Burr was talking about.

"The Last Cruise" (2021 release; 40 min.) is a documentary about the infamous cruise ship the Diamond Princess, which left the port of Yokohama, Japan on January 20, 2020 (the very day that the WHO officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic), and it wasn't long before a first passenger tested positive, and then another and then another...

Couple of comments: this is the second documentary written-produced-directed by up-and-coming Hannah Olson, who debuted with last year's excellent "Baby God" documentary. Here she retells what one could term "the voyage of the doomed", as the gigantic cruise ship (housing 3000+ guests and staff) becomes an international pariah and immediate symbol for the devastation brought by an unknown and highly contagious new virus. Olson introduces us to two US couples as well as 2 staff (a dishwasher from Indonesia, a pastry chef from I believe India), and we follow their ups (a few) and down (a lot). It makes for fascinating viewing, to be honest. Predictably the footage is mostly derived from the smart phones of the guests and staff. While there are no winners here of course, I felt particularly bad for the staff, who literally go begging in international TV news outlets, begging for their rescue. The footage of the staff cramped together in close quarters, knowing full well that the virus is spreading, is just sickening. Another can't miss moment is that the US guests are watching US TV coverage and you can hear how Trump and his band of jokers keep claiming that "we've got it completely under control". Wow, just wow. What an utter and complete incompetent fool. If I have any complaint about this documentary, it is that at just 40 min. The documentary flashes by in no time, and it seems to me there was plenty of room for additional footage and coverage.

"The Last Cruise" premiered last month at SXSW to immediate buzz, and just recently started showing on HBO. It is now available on HBO On Demand (where I caught it), Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. If you have any interest in how the world was dealing with COVID-19 in its earliest days, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

When I started this I was definitely very interested in the topic and the situation. It just seemed like a doc of halfway developed arcs and never told a full story. I feel like there were so many missed opportunities to learn more about the backstory of the guests that were featured, the crewmembers, the families at home, comparing what was going on on the ship to what was going on in other places, etc. And also - my goodness - what happened to these people? What was it like when they got home? Who are the people that died? Who got sick after the flight? There was so much either left on the table or on the cutting floor. I think this documentary could've been so great and just wasn't developed enough.