In Search of America on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever
Twenty decks, seven swimming pools, and one novelist in a meatball T-shirt.
April 25, 2024
24 min
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Episode 69 · April 25, 2024
In Search of America on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever
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The Atlantic Episodes Around April 25, 2024
Episode 237 of 364 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
24:04This episodeIn Search of America on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever
Summary
Writer Gary Shteyngart set sail on the inaugural voyage of the biggest cruise ship ever built—the Icon of the Seas—in search of the "real" America. (And maybe to throw a great suite party along the way.) What he found instead, like many a great novelist before him, was a far more isolating experience. Shteyngart recounts his "seven agonizing nights" aboard a giant floating mall full of memorable characters, bad entertainment, even worse food—and the ever-present desire to keep up.
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