Isn't that what most passengers will be doing during the trip?

Even the parenting stuff. Is that really what female-targeted shows have a lot of? I thought they were usually more romances and dramas?

Quite worth it. Good campaigns (and this is a great one) and good roleplayers (and these are basically professionals) make for compelling stories. Just ignore the bard, he gets less out of place as the story progresses; when the vampire shows up is when the real story starts.