There is no interplanetary fly-by cruise

If you have seen Aniara or Avenue 5, the conceit of the genre is the interplanetary space-transport - for humans, some sailing first-class. Much is owed to Titanic lore (we do not speak of that awful gay-pr0n feverdream 1899). Lately Erik Wernquist has offered what looks like an advertisement.

Wernquist implies a one-way trip. His ship goes to Neptune - at least. The brooding musical score and the elderly protag hint at Aniara - a ship headed to outer space, at high velocity, to die. Maybe we're looking at the prequel to Pandorum. Maybe our protag is the architect who is observing his life's work, so we're watching the leadin to Passengers. (I do wish they'd shielded the ship better. Protag don't care but Jennifer Lawrence will care.)

For my part I concede the desire among some for a return journey, probably to Earth. These visitors will, still, be staying at Deimos or in Venus-orbit until the next launch-window opens - which will be some weeks. Returnees will be taking a different shuttle. Staying on a cycler after its first run is like sitting on the ski-lift on its way down - but worse. (Maintenance-crew? ... monks?)

The question is whether one can plot out cycler-like trajectories as go to Venus, and then Mars, and back. This blog hasn't done that yet - but it has done the next best thing, which is a Hohmann transfer from Venus to Earth and then to Mars. The Earth/Mars Hohmann is, I vaguely recall, the VISIT cycle, so - it'll end up near-enough Earth again after a few Earth/Mars synods.

In of itself, I admit: that's not the cruise-line. It doesn't get back Home (here, Venus) in particularly short order. But. I believe it a fair proxy for potential cruise-lines.

What is going on is that our planets are not perfect nor even longterm Laplacians; they are in no resonance. The Hohmann non-cruise between Venus to Earth and to Mars opens up seven decades from now - but will not last. The same logic must hold for any future multiplanet cycler.

This means that the interplanetary liner is, itself, impermanent. The first-class passengers have to get off somewhere, or else spin in space for years on end. As to the ship - assuming the company doesn't want to lose it, it has to be drydocked. At Deimos maybe.

This further implies that cruises as swing by Jupiter or Saturn, also, must dock at some station over those massive planets. There is no, "swing by Jupiter, gawk, go home", option. Enjoy your months at Callisto.