User reviews

As someone who worked in retirement home for the elderly with dementia (that was hit hard) at the time these events happened and indeed the rest of this pandemic that yes, is still happening, I really wanted to see this one. I wanted to see what it was like for them on that ship and compare it to my own experience. So maybe I have some bias but I will admit, the documentary wasn't as ominous and clean cut as the trailer, it was an "ok" documentary. But considering what little footage they had to work with, I suppose it was a serviceable enough job.

There is a lot of politics surrounding this virus so hopefully people will keep that out of their reviews, I know I will.

Unfortunately a lot of it is filmed on phones so that may bug some people as I see it bug people in reviews for other documentaries. But like I said considering what little footage they probably had to work with, I'd say it was well enough put together. It was odd for me to watch personally, I myself witnessed the senior community I worked at turn into a ghost town/prison, I remember having to continue working and wondering everyday if I was going to get it, whether I was safe or if I was going to give it to someone else. So the way they portray the ghost ship was chilling, to me at least, from my opinion it was shown accurately.

Classism definitely reared its heads in this documentary. I do though wish they focused less on the passengers and more on the crew, I feel they showed more of the passengers and I found it sad they didn't put more focus on the injustice and anxiety of the crew, which they did touch on, but certainly not enough. At least I got to go home at the end of 16 hour shift, these poor people had to work in cramped conditions with little to no protection or understanding of what was happening. Again, they did touch on it, but more emphasis could have been put on those poor people, who got to watch rich Americans leave while they worked their fingers to the bone to keep those passengers alive.

I understand the passengers were bored and frustrated, but I found some of them incredible pretentious, ungrateful, and downright rude, and I did not have the sympathy for them in the way I think the documentary wanted me to. Dementia patients I worked for in the senior home complained less than these people. Its almost as if these people thought the same level of pre-Covid service they were promised would continue in a situation like this, I only really felt emotional for one of the passengers and his wife. But the rest of the portions of the passenger segments left me uninterested and kind of insulted as someone who worked during these hard time in one of the most dangerous places.

All in all it was a slightly above middle of the road documentary, not amazing but told the story the best they could with what little they had.

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.

I'm sorry but if you don't know what the virus does or if it can even kill, and these idiots quarantine the passengers and not the crew.

These people have no humanity, they were treated like disposable just to cather to the passenger.

Sickening.

I think reviews that complain about narcissistic and ignorant people in this short documentary/film are missing the point. We are watching to see what happened. Not what we wish we could see. I think this is a great little film showcasing actual footage (no simulated or acted out scenes) of what happened on that cruise ship. It's surreal, haunting and honest.

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.

I felt sick the entire time watching this. I can't imagine the fear these people had and the will to keep going every day. It could have been longer and finished the stories of the people who were taken off the ship to the hospital, and the ones who were stuck on the ship longer.

I debated on whether or not I even wanted to watch this. People who take cruise ships are usually either elderly and out of touch or upper middle class to wealthy and entitled, while all of the above utterly ignore the grave impact cruise ships have on carbon emissions and the state of our world's precious oceans. I totally expected the self-absorption that some other reviewers are complaining about. BUT I remember being obsessed with the horror of this particular cruise ship in 2020 so I thought well if I hate it I can just turn it off.

The experience of the poor crew is the core reason you should watch this documentary. To contrast the experience of the travelers to the workers is eye-opening. I can only imagine the sadness and barely controlled rage of these individuals who were put at risk, and I was glad to hear their stories and appalled to see just how many were non-English speaking and non-Western and brown skinned....of course a corporation was treating these human beings as second class citizens, it's always an important reminder to see it full color though.

I think there should have been more coverage on the people who died on this ship, there were 14 victims. Perhaps the director felt it was exploitative but really that should have been shown more attention.

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.

And more will be made.a time stamp of the human coronation era,im glad i wasnt there(i was at canry islands among thousands of italians,squaldring and discussing by the crowded sunbeds in the italian manner,me biting nails of contaigous angst)

thanks to all leasing their situation to us. A little recommend from tgom.

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.

Without a doubt, COVID dominated the news in 2020. As it turns out, an early outbreak of the virus - before it got declared a pandemic - took place aboard a cruise ship. "The Last Cruise" focuses on said cruise, interviewing passengers and crew members. Harrowing stuff.

Admittedly, at only forty minutes the documentary has a limit on how much it can address. What we should take away from it is that it was a terrible idea to have the cruise amid reports of the virus popping up around the globe. One thing that I can tell you is that you're never getting me on a cruise. In addition to the risk of a disease spreading aboard the ship, I simply don't like the idea of being in a confined space for a long time when there are other ways to see the world.

Not a masterpiece, but worth seeing.

I think it is pretty sad that people did not even know they are watching a docuseries HBO is releasing week by week. So saying it leaves more to be desired, well YEAH because there IS more. I really enjoyed it as such.

I liked seeing the behind the scenes things going on with the crew. There were a few people who they interview and utilize their footage of the happenings during the lockdown on the ship. I felt the fear and what a bind everyone on the crew was. I work in a kitchen myself, so I could see myself being in their shoes.

I peripherally know people who were on the MS Zaandam shortly thereafter and the situtation, response, issues with sick crew, etc. Was almost exactly the same. So to say the documentary crew failed to do the situation justice makes no sense because they're telling it like it is. Sure, maybe they shouldn't have created a very "ominous" trailer but I think in and of itself it IS ominous. When I think back to where I was in feb/march of 2020, this situation and this documentary feels surreal to watch.

I am looking forward to THE REST OF THE EPISODES which I would have watched prior to my writing any review because writing a review based on ONE episode is less then ideal, but I wanted to make this point so others won't snub this documentary because people are uninformed. Sigh.

I'm sure this is the first project of many to come documenting this awful time frame. I immediately regretted my decision to view this film when I realized just how full of themselves these people are on a day to day basis. They were filming themselves every single moment of every day long before they even heard the word "COVID". I understand it's a microcosm of today's society and it just makes me want to scream.

I don't care what your salad looks like. I don't care about YOLo or #'s or any of it. I don't want to watch you walk around and try to be cool. It's all disgusting.

Rant aside, this movie is a collection of personal cellphone footage from self centered people. They are so distraught by what's going on that taking out their cell phones and recording themselves is the only "cure" they need. So pathetic.

#Ihatewhattheworldhasbecome.

Wow. What a superb documentary. Apart from the passengers I was so interested but sad to hear from the staff. I only discovered cruising 4 years ago. I must say I felt a little torn on the cruises due to my perceived knowledge regarding the crew. I felt I was very lucky to be on a cruise. Despite the professionalism and happiness of all the crew when you dig further you understand the huge sacrifices some crew members are making in regard to getting a job on a ship in an effort to support their families.

This documentary has proven my understanding of the situation when crew go to sea. Surely, if passengers could pay more for their tickets the crew could be paid more. That is if the huge cruise companies would agree and pay their workers what they are really worth. Hmmmm, instead of maybe tunnelling the extra revenue into their own coffers.

Many of the crew members come from developing nations. To many of them the salary they receive on the ship is better than was is paid at home. That is another subject altogether.

Will I cruise again? I will be checking all the cruises I may wish to sail on but will be asking questions regarding the wages and conditions of the crew. I shall choose the company who looks after its workers the best.

How brave were these workers on the Diamond Princess?

Thank you Ms Hannah for this enlightening and realistic portrayal of what happened during that cruise.

It was like a bad found footage movie. These passengers are the reason I don't cruise anymore. Self absorbed and selfish. No thoughts about the safety of the crew. This doc could have been so much more about how crew members are treated to keep these boats afloat.

This documentary totally missed the mark. It had a real opportunity to show the early days of COVID from the perspective of people truly affected by illness and fear... and while some of the disparity of the haves vs have-nots was on display, it was done in such a way that I think the filmmakers wanted us to feel sorry for the passengers. Granted, I may have done, had they not showcased mostly ignorant, rude, self-absorbed westerners who we know proved during 2020 that they don't care about anyone but themselves. "Who cares if my stylist dies from a virus, I want a haircut!" (You know, THOSE people.)

Also, as an aside - if you suffer from motion sickness, the first first cell phone footage in this documentary may trigger you.