Someone who thinks he knows about cruising

[bobbyleduck]

Have any of you read this drivel?

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18846727

 

I appreciate the comments of X cruisers to what this idiot wrote.

 

Bob

[bobbyleduck]

Here is a story from the same Web site (MSNBC), but a different writer, and it tells a different story.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18926867/

 

Bob

[Karynanne]

Well, it just goes to show you how many different opinions there are in the world...

[bobbyleduck]

The interesting thing about that guy is he gets paid to write about travel related topics, by a significant news organization (MSNBC), and he wrote about something he knows nothing about. He's never been on a cruise ship, didn't interview anybody who'd ever cruised, and just put in some random anecdotal stories to try and give his story credibility.

 

Bob

[greeneg]

The interesting thing about that guy is he gets paid to write about travel related topics, by a significant news organization (MSNBC), and he wrote about something he knows nothing about. He's never been on a cruise ship, didn't interview anybody who'd ever cruised, and just put in some random anecdotal stories to try and give his story credibility.

 

Bob

 

Exactly. The MSNBC Correspondant is someone who is badly in need of a purgative.....:)

[Petert]

When I look at the source for stories of this kind I find it usually indicates a lack of concern for truth by the publication, and it's editorial staff. NBC is no stranger to rigging events to support their preformed opinions, and MSNBC is hardly any more accurate in thier reporting.

 

There are a number of facts in the subject article, but there is no attempt at putting the facts in context, or to compare the shipboard statistics to air and surface travel experiences that the author appears to prefer. He fails to mention that over 500 persons were killed in just one aircraft accident in the Canary Islands. We could probably cruise for the next century, and not be exposed to the death toll of a single airline accident. The author mentions the "green" aspects ofpollution and waste generation, without mentioning that a commuter in working in New York city probably generates a greater amount of waste 365 days a year than shipboard (including the crew members making a living) populations. And cruise ship waste dumped at sea is far cleaner than what NY puts in the East River.

 

We have become accustomed to getting the same quality of reporting on subjects such as the global warming, where the ignorant and/or lazy writer takes a few facts and extrapolates to catastrophic results. This makes for great headlines, more stories and books, but doesn't illuminate the situation.

As with the cruise ship story there is a warming of the atmosphere, but due to mans activities? Hardly! Twenty years ago we were concerned about global cooling, does our planet have temperature cycles between the ice ages, surely and some day we will have the tools to separate the solar energy input and the thermal effects of all the carbon based plants and animals on Earth.

 

In the mean time I would suggest we try to hold writers, such as Widzer, to a reasonable standard or just ignore thier sad inadequacies.

 

Petert

[nu2sea]

According to his profile, Joel Widzner specializes in "loyalty and frequent flier programs." As always, when reading others' opinions, one must consider the source.

 

Susan

[dkjretired]

Bob:

 

Thanks for the article what a bunch of drivel, this guy would probably be afraid on the merry go round at Disney World.

 

In addition to what others have said, if you look at the CDC web site you will see that about 4500 people got sick on cruise ships last year as opposed to about 45 million in the American population...

 

Also, if you look at the below web site you will notice that most of the overboard or missing passengers are suicides or drunks doing stupid things...

 

http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/other/man_overboard.asp

[Kathie44]

Yikes, I read his views and the positive ones and got started on that message board. I already have an MSN password from when that was our dial-up service before RoadRunner. dkjretired, I even used your wonderfully descriptive word, "drivel" while answering the Clueless One.

How can he expect to be credible when he has no experience with his subject? :eek: (Too bad this icon wasn't in the list of choices)

We are eagerly looking forward to our 8th cruise in 6 years come Jan.

[Jim_Iain]

I am always considerate of others opinions but after reading his article I have to conclude that he is not only ignorant but he is an IDIOT.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

It is truly sad for someone who calls himself a travel "expert" to write such an empty piece of journalism. It says nothing. I have to ask... Why write about a topic you know nothing of ? It makes no sense to me. After seeing an article like THAT, it encourages me to think about getting published :)

 

Frankly, with his attitude towards Cruising.... we are ALL much better off, if he stays away from Cruise ships.

[ClipperMiami]

Just in case anyone wonders why newspaper/newmagazine circulation is falling like a rock and TV news viewership is in freefall this is just another example. The media have taken "fake but accurate" to heart; if they can't get it right on something as simple as cruising why anyone would beleive what they say about really complex issues like global warming or Iraq is beyond me.

[bobbyleduck]

Andy:

 

You're probably correct. This is the type of individual who would probably skew his own experience, even if he had a perfect cruise. Some people have a particular bent, and they will go to great lengths to make their own point.

 

Bob

[bobbyleduck]

Here is another story from MSNBC, but unlike the previous article, it paints a reasonable picture of the future of cruising and allows the reader to make up his/her own mind.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18941615/

 

Take a look, because I think Suzanne Rowan Kelleher has done a much better job. That makes two good stories in the past few days, against the one bad story.

 

Bob

[bobbyleduck]

Yikes, I read his views and the positive ones and got started on that message board. I already have an MSN password from when that was our dial-up service before RoadRunner. dkjretired, I even used your wonderfully descriptive word, "drivel" while answering the Clueless One.

How can he expect to be credible when he has no experience with his subject? :eek: (Too bad this icon wasn't in the list of choices)

We are eagerly looking forward to our 8th cruise in 6 years come Jan.

 

Dear Kathy:

 

Thank you, to you and dkjretired, for continuing the use of the word drivel. When I started this thread, no other word seemed to be more apt.

 

Bob

[Slough God]

Come on everyone! Lets knife him!

 

Only joking. Bit too extreme. Who should be writing these articles. Cruise Virgins or experienced cruisers?

[amazing]

Isn't funny......this site is called cruiseCRITIC, but as soon as somebody has any critics that do not fit or are not to somebody's liking......:p

[scouse mouse]

I never trust anything I read in newspapers or see on TV these days. They write drivel to sell papers etc. They are not interested in the truth. Journalists tend to write from an office without experiencing the subject they are writing about. Do not get yourself upset by this drivel. There are more important things in life.

[lysolqn]

It's called "sensationalism" as opposed to "journalism" and it's what sells newspapers, as well as television and radio time.

[Squirrel's Mom]

Why MSNBC would allow someone who had never set foot on a cruise ship to write something like this. Even though some of his facts are accurate, the up front "I've never been there and I will never be there", results in a report that is completely lacking in credibility and balance. Switching channels now....

[dkjretired]

Why MSNBC would allow someone who had never set foot on a cruise ship to write something like this. Even though some of his facts are accurate' date=' the up front "I've never been there and I will never be there", results in a report that is completely lacking in credibility and balance. Switching channels now....[/quote']

 

Perhaps that is why according to the latest ratings, there are more people in the US watching paint dry than watching MSNBC...

 

Kathy and Bob:

 

To Kathy I can't take credit for using the word drivel, that has to go to Bob in the OP however I thought it was very appropriate.....

[bobbyleduck]

Don:

 

I appreciate your posts. "Watching paint dry." Keep up the intelligent discourse, and maybe, just maybe, we can block out all of the drivel.

 

Bob

[cechase]

It is entirely drivel, and I agree with Jim that for someone to write about something that he has not experienced and has not interviewed people who have cruising experience is certainly an Idiot.

 

But, I have found that this is not unusual with MSNBC and NBC. Remember the Dan Rather forged documents which were televised just four weeks before the 2004 elections? This is why we watch Fox News and not MSNBC. Oh, and why does Celebrity only carry CNN and not Fox. When we were on Silver Seas Silver Shadow in December, they carried both Fox and CNN.

[Slough God]

Well in reply to you 'Amazing' I know this site is called cruisecritic. If someone has a bad cruise fine. But, when someone is criticising cruising when they haven't even experienced it. That is what were not happy about. 'Amazing' read the article before contributing smart comments

[bobbyleduck]

This thread wasn't meant to kick a particular news medium, but rather, not Dan Rather, to point out the lack of knowledge and specific bias of the particular reporter. Please note the two stories by other reporters that appeared on the same site, but showed a better grasp of cruising. By the way, Dan Rather worked for CBS and had nothing to do with NBC or MSNBC.

 

Bob