Ridiculous MSNBC article

[frazzledrazzle16]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39676839/ns/travel-travel_tips/

 

This was on the main page of MSNBC today & WOW-- this guy makes cruising sound like an expensive week long trip to hell!!! What really gets me is that he suggested staying in your cabin and ordering room service for the duration of the trip and you will "probably" make it out alive (that is, of course, if the ship doesnt sink first)! :rolleyes:

 

I'm all for using common sense/good judgement when on a cruise, as you would for any vacation to an unfamiliar place, but IMO this just takes it too far.

[Traveler353]

There is a reason that MSNBC is in the sewer in ratings.;)

[ViolaSwamp]

I don't think the article is overly negative.

[bankerbabe]

That's pretty typical stuff for that writer. He does some very good consumer advocacy stuff, but anytime he talks about the cruise industry he's over-the-top negative.

 

I've been reading his columns for years on Tripso (and whatever their new name is) and a long time ago, in one of the first articles of his that I read, he flat-out admitted that he doesn't like cruises, doesn't like the cruise industry, and won't take a cruise.

 

Since then, I generally ignore anything that he says about cruising.

[jus915]

What really gets me is that he suggested staying in your cabin and ordering room service for the duration of the trip and you will "probably" make it out alive (that is, of course, if the ship doesnt sink first)! :rolleyes:

 

I think the author was using sarcasm. I'm pretty sure he wasn't seriously telling people to stay in their rooms the entire time.

[LemurCat]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39676839/ns/travel-travel_tips/

 

This was on the main page of MSNBC today & WOW-- this guy makes cruising sound like an expensive week long trip to hell!!! What really gets me is that he suggested staying in your cabin and ordering room service for the duration of the trip and you will "probably" make it out alive (that is, of course, if the ship doesnt sink first)! :rolleyes:

 

I'm all for using common sense/good judgement when on a cruise, as you would for any vacation to an unfamiliar place, but IMO this just takes it too far.

 

He's not saying anything worse than the Hysterical Helens on this board who blow everything so far out of proportion, you sometimes wonder how many Ativan it took just to get them up the gangway.

[Cigar Dude]

Cruising IS horrible! I would suggest that anyone thinking of taking a cruise should book it, pay for it, and then transfer it to me. Instead of YOU going on such a boring, dangerous trip let me do it for you! That way you're safe and I'm happy! :D

[GaNavy]

This guy makes his living writing about travel and cruising - works frequently for Frommer's.

 

I think the worst you can say is that he exaggerates......just like most journalists in 2010.

[frazzledrazzle16]

I think the author was using sarcasm. I'm pretty sure he wasn't seriously telling people to stay in their rooms the entire time.

 

LOL I realize that it was a hyperbole, I just expected more from a reputable news source than a shock writer with poor sources.

[zqvol]

Good article and factually it appears correct.

[maj288]

Quote from the article:

 

“Cruise ship medical care is limited. Ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools".

 

Typical American attitude! If you're not educated in USA you're just not up to standard. I know a few doctors that attended a "foreign" medical school and are much better than any American doctor i've experienced.:mad:

[CanadaJulie]

cut and paste from the article

 

Sexual assaults

Cruise industry representatives claim sexual assaults are practically unheard of at sea — according to the industry, you have a less than 0.1 percent chance of becoming a victim onboard. However, as cruise expert Ross A. Klein testified before a Senate hearing in 2008, the rate of sexual assault on cruise ships is almost twice the U.S. rate of forcible rape — about 56.9 per 100,000. “It is common knowledge in our field that cruise ships are flat-out dangerous for women,” said Amelia Stinson-Wesley, the former executive director of a battered women’s shelter and rape crisis center.

 

If I have less than a 0.1 percent chance of something happening to me, I will probably not need to lock myslef up in my cabin and fear the worst. :p Flat-out dangerous ?? Please... Having said that, I agree that common sense goes a long way to keep you out of harm's way.

[flyawayca]

Quote from the article:

 

“Cruise ship medical care is limited. Ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools".

 

Typical American attitude! If you're not educated in USA you're just not up to standard. I know a few doctors that attended a "foreign" medical school and are much better than any American doctor i've experienced.:mad:

 

My general practice doctor I see graduated from a foreign school.

 

She is the best doctor EVER!! She couldn't get rid of me as a patient if she wanted to! I wouldn't let her, she is simply that awesome.

[krehberg]

LOL I realize that it was a hyperbole, I just expected more from a reputable news source than a shock writer with poor sources.

 

Who said MSNBC was a reputable news source? :D

[lillian marie]

What the writer in the article is stating is true. Passengers just need to take their personal safety into consideration when cruising. The cruiser just needs to realize that a ship is like any city and that crime can happen.

[fourwaystreet]

Quote from the article:

 

“Cruise ship medical care is limited. Ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools".

 

Typical American attitude! If you're not educated in USA you're just not up to standard. I know a few doctors that attended a "foreign" medical school and are much better than any American doctor i've experienced.:mad:

 

The author of the article quoted someone else. The statement in itself is true. I did not see where it was written that foreign doctors aren't any good, just that ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools.

[2SeaWithMe]

Quote from the article:

 

“Cruise ship medical care is limited. Ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools".

 

Typical American attitude! If you're not educated in USA you're just not up to standard. I know a few doctors that attended a "foreign" medical school and are much better than any American doctor i've experienced.:mad:

 

Sadly, you are right. I see that all the time in our hospitals. Some of our doctors even get sensitive because they are so used to silly people questioning them just because they have an accent. I'm trying to think...I only have one american doctor left...I think I prefer foreign doctors. Better bedside manner and they don't keep you in the dark.

[golfadj]

He has a point of view and expressed it. Hates the cruising industry.

[pe4all]

I didn't think the article was that bad. He kinda wrote it in a "tongue in cheek" sarcastic manner. Anyway, if that scares some people away it leaves better cabin choices for me!:p

[LHP]

This guy makes his living writing about travel and cruising - works frequently for Frommer's.

 

I think the worst you can say is that he exaggerates......just like most journalists in 2010.

 

That was my opinion. He had the opportunity to truly education and elected to sensationalize instead....

[halos]

I don't think the article is overly negative.

I agree

 

 

 

 

I think the worst you can say is that he exaggerates......just like most journalists in 2010.

 

 

 

Ain't that the truth!

[jpg1747]

I generally like his articles and he can be a good advocate for a traveler who has a problem. But he obviously doesn't like cruising. He's entitled to write whatever he wants, but it would have been nice to see a disclaimer stating his negativity towards the industry.

[ozman]

All he did was report on the stuff we hate to hear about cruising. Its all part of it, but never gets reported at the scene. It in no way scares me from cruising , but I have never lived in that plastic bubble.

[NMG318]

"Stay in your cabin and order room service for the duration of your cruise, and short of your ship sinking, you’ll probably be just fine.

But stay up all night drinking, do your “I’m-the-king-of-the-world” impression from the bow of the ship, and take the unauthorized shore excursion to the slums — well, maybe not."

 

Breaking news from MSNBC.

[megmno]

He also doesn't provide a context for the incidents he's referring to.

 

Carnival has 21 ships. With around 3,000 passengers each, on any given day Carnival alone is carrying 63,000 passengers, so I figure there's maybe 200K (guesstimate) people cruising around the world every day.

 

Of that number, how many deaths or crimes occur? I'd say it's a teeny tiny percentage.