Hate to be rude...

[halos]

I enjoy a 'story teller' as opposed to a literary genious...which is why I'm a fan of authors like Stephen King. It's just about style. :)

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Oh FTLOG..although I'm no GENIUS..that was a typo because I do suck at typing. ;)

[rain_bowbrite]

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Oh FTLOG..although I'm no GENIUS..that was a typo because I do suck at typing. ;)

 

lol...

 

I too look back at my posts and shake my head at some of the spelling typos I have made especially considering the fact that I am a teacher...rotfl:D!

 

Good thing we are not graded on our cc posts!!

 

Jodie

[sa_girl]

As a non american the responses on this forum to this review give me such a better understanding of the people who travel with Carnival than if I had read all the posts on this forum for a few years!

[anifaniks]

ROFLMAO!!!!! This review is a HOOT. I am a writer/editor and have sent the review to my friends and we are ALL enjoying it!!! Immensely!!!

 

The author is playing with us.

 

What is so amusing is how many people don't realize it.

 

Check out this link - and you will get the point the writer was making - he is having a little (a lot!!!) of fun with all of us who take these reviews so seriously!!!

 

http://www.bulwer-lytton.com

 

Oh - and to everyone who worries about posting w/ perfect grammar and stylistics - don't sweat the errors. Everyone makes them - and if they didn't - I would be out of a job!!!! Communication is just that - as long as you communicate the meaning - who cares if the words are misspelled or your verb agreement is off or that you switched tenses three times? And anyone who does care (other than a publisher!!!) - how silly is that. We all get in a hurry and make errors.

 

I assure you - after years of editing articles and books - even the best writers make all sorts of errors. Really.

 

Check out bulwer-lytton. . .

 

Ani

[sakapfet]

Was there ever any doubt?

 

Perhaps the 'gentleman' in question needs to experience life in the Middle East or China... In fact, both of those would be GREAT places for him to move to!

 

Your opinion shows that you are a small minded individual as he is, if not more. We all have our reasons to love and hate some things about the USA. That is what makes us so great even though our constitutional rights have been compromised little by little these days

[halos]

Your opinion shows that you are a small minded individual as he is, if not more. We all have our reasons to love and hate some things about the USA. That is what makes us so great even though our constitutional rights have been compromised little by little these days

 

I don't understand the people that took his post as a political statement :confused: :confused:

 

nevertheless, I agree with your statement 100%.

How can anyone think the USA is perfect?? That's just arrogant.

We are a very young country with a hell of a lot to learn and we seem to be hell bent on learning the hard way

But I digress....

 

this really has nothing to do with cruising now does it???

[suzy1212]

LMAO..thanks for the laugh....too funny....amazing that all he had to say about Cozumel was that it was hot.:rolleyes:

 

He needs me to take him to Paridise Beach or Carlos & Charlies and get him to let his "hair down"...LOL :p

 

From the much discussed review:

 

-- Cozumel -- Cozumel is freaking hot.

A tourist's paradise -- all kinds of shopping and lots of bargain-able goods. Capitalism at its finest with the Americans generally bullying their way to the top.

We took the Sunshine Segway tour -- rode Segways from an HQ building to a resortish beach and back to the HQ. My favorite excursion -- in part because I'm a technophile, in part because I'd always wanted to ride a Segway. Darwin and Alan (our guides and teachers) were fantastic, and the Segways were a lot of fun (and scary instinctual). King Dumpling continues to amaze.

 

 

A little more information than the heat. Between the posters who refuse to read the review but want to trash it and the posters who read it but didn't pay attention, this is quite an informed discussion. :p

[Payd]

That was a tough review to read.

 

Funny that someone so pretentious would call it a "boat".

 

Payd

[jdlowndes]

Good Grief!!! MY head now hurts after reading that!!!! Thanks DyanaT!

 

Also DyanaT, I sent you a message on Myspace.. (Bro.Justin)

[BillnBobbi]

Hate to be rude... but thank GOD I don't have to travel with the man who wrote this review... it's like a crazy university professor.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=31810

 

Here's my favorite part (I'm being sarcastic):

Granted the need for illusion in the face of despair, but what I saw on the Conquest was not so much the need for illusion as it was the need to let out one's "inner-ugly American" like one's burgeoning gut -- that person who eats their body fat percentage in bacon, gets their jollies from what they can get away with and, principally, never thinks once about their fundamental reality unless someone around them impinges on it.

 

 

Before I give my comment on terencemcnulty's "review", I want to state was that my own personal "favorite" was his comment on a sulfurous smell pervading the ship. What McNulty most likely failed to understand was that the sulfurous smell was coming from the methane gas pouring out of end of his gastrointestinal tract ( Hey, now isn't that a nice way of putting it? :-) Note to self: Always disguise insults in medicalese).

 

OMG, what a fatuous, self important pompass jerk. One thing I've always resented (and I'm sure I have at least three more advanced degrees than he does) is when someone goes out of their way to say something in a complicated fashion, when it can be said simply and more directly.

 

The fact that he gave an initial caveat to his personality only indicates that he WANTS to be seen by others in that regard. Why ANYONE would want that only indicates a deep seated insecurity about their own intellect, and a fervent hope that you or I will indeed find them "superior", when in fact they only come off as the inconsequential fools that they are, and know they are, in their heart of hearts.

 

I didn't make it all the way through the review in detail, because we've been on the Conquest, thoroughly loved it, and frankly, his opening lines told me that I could care less about his thoughts on the matter.

 

I didn't get the "anti-american" attitude that someone else saw however. Maybe I didn't read closely enough. I think he's simply anti-people.

 

Just give him something to read for a few weeks - Perhaps Proust - sit him in some dust covered armchair, and periodically check to see if he dehydrated or not.

 

I pity his wife.

 

BnB

[LABecca]

I'm no idiot, but I did have a little trouble with the first paragraph of his review. I found myself having to reread the sentences a few times, maybe because they seemed to run on.

 

He had some good things to say, but the review seems to be a little suspicious. Like the references to King Dumpling, what is that? He also mentioned his guides Alan and Darwin. Is there a Sunshine Segway tour in Coz? Maybe I'm over reading, but I don't "get" it. Maybe I need to go back to school.

[PJTN66]

Never seen so many negative comments/reviews of someones 'review'. Thats it - blast away at anything u don't understand..typical behaviour understood by those of us that study such actions..

 

For those who did, if not actually understanding it (although for those college and even high school educated it wasn't difficut) manage to make sense of it and read it carefully it was rather amusing and tongue-in-cheek. Actually interesting for a change compared to some of the mundane silly stuff that is supposed to pass for reviews..

 

In my humble opinion it was interesting and certainly above the tongue lashing a lot of u have been administering & plse spare us the nasty comments also. Your ignorance is showing!! I mean just read 'PJTN66's posting - I rest my case!!

 

Plse don't waste your time admonishing me - I am immune... I simply find it silly but of course, expected from some of u...

 

I, for one, wld be delighted to travel with this educated and articulate gentleman - be nice for a change...

 

Happy cruisin' all!

LOL Perhaps mine was a little "tongue in cheek" too...enjoy your cruise..:)

[bakechef]

I agree there was a lot of useful information in this review. And rereading it, I believe that there was some leg pulling happening here.

 

MAC

[BillnBobbi]

I was prepared to hate the review based on the clip the OP provided. But after reading it I think it is one of the better reviews written. Sure the guy is pretentious...he admits that, but he really gives some great info. Overall the review was very postive towards Carnival and a bit less kind towards himself and other passengers. But even then it was mostly tongue in cheek. I don't think he dislike Americans at all.....he just saw, and commented on, the social differences between those of us that have plenty (and yet still complain) and those that have very little. If anything I would want to take that cruise based on the review he wrote. Plus it was entertaining to read....much better than "the food sucked" and "never again will I travel on Carnival" without any explaination or rationale. Well, there's my 2 cents.

 

Oh, ok, he made a comment about the poverty in Jamaica. Well, frankly, we weren't comfortable when we were in Jamaica either, and the poverty there (and the hate in some of the faces) is startling to someone who has never experienced that face to face. Sure, we'd seen pictures in Nat. Geographic, and on TV, but to be there was an epiphany of sorts. Our younger son and dil also were there with us, but on a different tour (they took the horseys through the surf), and commented about exactly the same thing when they came back to the ship.

 

They remarked how "insensitive" it seemed for tourists from N. America to be boozing it up at that cheeseburger in paradise place while being surrounded by folks who looked like they hadn't eaten that day.

 

Moreover, on a tour DW and I once took on Roatan Island, we were highly upset by some of the remarks made by some of the other passengers about how the islanders there were "stupid, lazy, etc." We found them to be kind and gentle and fun to talk to, and one of our most memorable afternoons was spent "going native" rather than on a directed tour. All some overfed ship passenger with a rear end that should have its own zipcode kept commenting on was how bumpy the roads were and "WHY CAN'T THEY FIX THEM???!!!"

She was the personification of the ugly american as described in the late fifties early sixties novel.

 

I don't see how criticizing the poor behavior of fellow passengers makes one anti-american.

 

BnB

[novie]

I thought the review was a hoot!! :D I laughed most of the way through it. Now this is a guy that I would love to sit across the table from at meal times. Please don't hate me...just my point of view. I am just a Canadian who loves to cruise!!

[BillnBobbi]

The reviewer said that he wrote with "tongue somewhat in cheek". Gee, guess I missed it in the subtlety, but I was thinking of two different body parts entirely.

 

Ironic and satiric as he tried to be, his basic premise is just foolish - looking for any socially-redemptive situations on a Carnival cruise - which is marketed and packaged as a mindless escape - is like looking for a roadmap to life on a baseball card. It ain't gonna be there! The closest thing to self-reflection you're going to encounter on Carnival is "Who's room is this, and where is my underwear" or "How many of those did I drink last night?" And that's just the way we all like it. I can bring some good books and do some self-reflecting if I choose, or I can order up a few more umbrella drinks and let the world get a bit squirrely for awhile. And I'll spare my daughter any self-awareness breakthroughs, or crises of existance. She's just growing up and there'll be more than enough time for those later.

 

Let us have fun, damnit. We'll all evolve some other time.

 

 

I actually had a crisis of existence on our last cruise. On the next to last day I looked up towards the heavens from the hot tub and wondered "WHY DO I HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORK??" ...and a still small voice answered, "SO YOU CAN MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO TAKE ANOTHER CRUISE YOU DUMMY!!!!"

 

 

aHHHH....

SOOOOOOOOO.........

 

where IS my underwear?????

 

 

BnB

[bakechef]

Oh, ok, he made a comment about the poverty in Jamaica. Well, frankly, we weren't comfortable when we were in Jamaica either, and the poverty there (and the hate in some of the faces) is startling to someone who has never experienced that face to face. Sure, we'd seen pictures in Nat. Geographic, and on TV, but to be there was an epiphany of sorts. Our younger son and dil also were there with us, but on a different tour (they took the horseys through the surf), and commented about exactly the same thing when they came back to the ship.

 

They remarked how "insensitive" it seemed for tourists from N. America to be boozing it up at that cheeseburger in paradise place while being surrounded by folks who looked like they hadn't eaten that day.

 

Moreover, on a tour DW and I once took on Roatan Island, we were highly upset by some of the remarks made by some of the other passengers about how the islanders there were "stupid, lazy, etc." We found them to be kind and gentle and fun to talk to, and one of our most memorable afternoons was spent "going native" rather than on a directed tour. All some overfed ship passenger with a rear end that should have its own zipcode kept commenting on was how bumpy the roads were and "WHY CAN'T THEY FIX THEM???!!!"

She was the personification of the ugly american as described in the late fifties early sixties novel.

 

I don't see how criticizing the poor behavior of fellow passengers makes one anti-american.

 

BnB

 

I completely agree with you here. I love to cruise, but often feel a bit awkward among those with so little. We have been so lucky for so long here in America, it has really created such a sense of entitlement with some, it is embarrassing. We just need to remember, we are a guest in their country, and even though they may seem to have very little, they may be proud of what they have.

 

MAC

[billsrobb]

Before I give my comment on terencemcnulty's "review", I want to state was that my own personal "favorite" was his comment on a sulfurous smell pervading the ship. What McNulty most likely failed to understand was that the sulfurous smell was coming from the methane gas pouring out of end of his gastrointestinal tract ( Hey, now isn't that a nice way of putting it? :-) Note to self: Always disguise insults in medicalese).

 

OMG, what a fatuous, self important pompass jerk. One thing I've always resented (and I'm sure I have at least three more advanced degrees than he does) is when someone goes out of their way to say something in a complicated fashion, when it can be said simply and more directly.

 

The fact that he gave an initial caveat to his personality only indicates that he WANTS to be seen by others in that regard. Why ANYONE would want that only indicates a deep seated insecurity about their own intellect, and a fervent hope that you or I will indeed find them "superior", when in fact they only come off as the inconsequential fools that they are, and know they are, in their heart of hearts.

 

I didn't make it all the way through the review in detail, because we've been on the Conquest, thoroughly loved it, and frankly, his opening lines told me that I could care less about his thoughts on the matter.

 

I didn't get the "anti-american" attitude that someone else saw however. Maybe I didn't read closely enough. I think he's simply anti-people.

 

Just give him something to read for a few weeks - Perhaps Proust - sit him in some dust covered armchair, and periodically check to see if he dehydrated or not.

 

I pity his wife.

 

BnB

I had a great time on the Conquest and I am doing it again in Feb 08.

Robb

[kelz66]

Moreover, on a tour DW and I once took on Roatan Island, we were highly upset by some of the remarks made by some of the other passengers about how the islanders there were "stupid, lazy, etc." We found them to be kind and gentle and fun to talk to, and one of our most memorable afternoons was spent "going native" rather than on a directed tour. All some overfed ship passenger with a rear end that should have its own zipcode kept commenting on was how bumpy the roads were and "WHY CAN'T THEY FIX THEM???!!!"

She was the personification of the ugly american as described in the late fifties early sixties novel.

 

I don't see how criticizing the poor behavior of fellow passengers makes one anti-american.

 

BnB

 

Wow! What an ignoramous.....we loved Roataan because of the fact it was NOTHING like Grand Caymen...much the same reason we likes Costa Maya...we loved the west end and the little local eateries and shops...a beautiful island.

[rain_bowbrite]

I agree there was a lot of useful information in this review. And rereading it, I believe that there was some leg pulling happening here.

 

MAC

 

I completely agree and think the review comes across as being very funny, witty, and satirical and I appreciate that the reviewer also takes a satiric view of himself from the get go. Those of you who didn't read it all the way through I urge you to go back and do so, this review is so much fun to read and has me LOL.

 

My only complaint of the review is the negative references to obesity and use of the term "fat". However the reviewer also makes reference to himself as eating his way from port to port so I would not be surprised at all if the reviewer is overweight himself. I get the impression that he has no problem poking fun at himself.

 

However, I can see how people would take offense though to the "fat" reference and the fact that the chocolate melting cake is not mentioned once in the entire review:( .

 

I did think it was rather cute that he included the fact that his wife liked the dancing waiters in the dining room. Come on people...you gotta be a fun person to enjoy the dancing waiters!!:p

 

Nowhere in the review do I get the impression that the reviewer is anti-american, pretentious, snooty, an a$$, or some of the other terms that others have used to describe him. It also sounds to me like the reviewer really enjoyed the ports visited, the food, the tours, the people there, just not the arrogance and self rightousness of some of his fellow tourists. Oh well, I guess you either get the humor in the review or you don't.

 

Please read it again! I think you will find it is really funny and insightful;) . jmho:D

 

Jodie

[lovesublime]

I found it entertaining and believe the author intended it to be so.

[tomboyy]

I believe my College English Professor would have made a great big "F" on the front of that paper. I didn't read all of it, but I don't think every bit of it even made sense..... big words that didn't belong together:cool:

[Davey Interweb]

I believe my College English Professor would have made a great big "F" on the front of that paper. I didn't read all of it, but I don't think every bit of it even made sense..... big words that didn't belong together:cool:

 

He probably would have corrected your use of "College English Professor" in your post, too :D

[Cruise Cat]

I read the review, and though wordy, I did not find anything wrong with it. I think it was rather balanced; a lot more balanced than most. As soon as I saw he had room 8331, I was waiting for the comment about the deck chairs. That's because we had 8331 last year and those deck chairs drove us nuts! (we were up with the Mardi Gras people making noise though).

 

He really didn't say anything in his review that others have not said; he just had a different way of saying it.

[Cruise Cat]

I'm no idiot, but I did have a little trouble with the first paragraph of his review. I found myself having to reread the sentences a few times, maybe because they seemed to run on.

 

He had some good things to say, but the review seems to be a little suspicious. Like the references to King Dumpling, what is that? He also mentioned his guides Alan and Darwin. Is there a Sunshine Segway tour in Coz? Maybe I'm over reading, but I don't "get" it. Maybe I need to go back to school.

 

Here is some info to the tour he is talking about:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=458861