And Vegas! The underlying reason all of those things suck.

Relevant: David Foster Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." You should read it — it's a hilarious takedown of these sorts of experiences (specifically a 7 day Caribbean cruise).

Is it the same as the essay "Shipping Out", that David Foster Wallace published in Harper's Magazine in the mid-90s?

https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/HarpersMagazi...

Yep! That'd be it.

My parents have money and love cruises.

I don't get it at all. I suppose it's because it's cheap if you know how to hunt down a deal.