NYTimes Travel Writer on DCL

[Dug720]

He's an Editor of the Travel section. Cruise travel is still travel.

Re ETA: They filled the medical papers. The cruise line knew. They let them in.

They checked no on the papers. The kid HAD had a fever and cough in the past 24 hours per his reporting. The morning of the cruise she might have only had the cough, but the form says “within the last 24 hours” so he DID lie when checking no. That is why they were let on.

If he had been truthful and checked yes, they would have been seen by a medical team member and could have explained it and it would have been up to the medical team to decide. Since it was a cold, they may well have been let on board - but since they lied on the paperwork we will never know.

 

[starvenger]

I get that cruise travel is still travel, but that doesn't mean that he has to review it. I'd expect an editor to assign reviews to the most appropriate people to do them. I thought he was just a reviewer, not an editor. I actually think less of his article now since I thought it was more an issue of the editor letting it run than the fact that it was written in the first place.

You're right - he doesn't have to review it. And given that it's tagged "personal journeys", it's clear to me that this wasn't an assigned article. If anything, it's an article done to make his biweekly deadline. Still, I found it to be honest and refreshing (ymmv in that regard). Too often you see articles in the Travel section that have the qualifier "Trip paid for by X". Not so here.

So the cruise line didn't know she'd had a fever. He decided that since she didn't have a fever at that very moment, it was okay to get her on the ship where she got her mom sick and who knows how many other passengers. And he knew what he was doing was wrong or at least questionable otherwise he wouldn't have "nervously signed the paper."

And then we have this. Very clearly a bad thing. Nothing came of it, it seems, but here's the larger question - how many others (who are not travel editors) do the same thing? Probably more than we realize. This isn't Curling, so no one is going to self-penalize themselves and miss a cruise because someone is/was sick.

 

[MelSpees]

So the cruise line didn't know she'd had a fever. He decided that since she didn't have a fever at that very moment, it was okay to get her on the ship where she got her mom sick and who knows how many other passengers. And he knew what he was doing was wrong or at least questionable otherwise he wouldn't have "nervously signed the paper."

To be fair here, she probably gave her cold, or whatever, to her mom well before they got on the ship. This doesn't make it right, but let's not get carried away. They should have been honest and let a medical professional decide, but she could have been fine to travel. Coughs do hang on after people are no longer contagious. (Let the flaming begin.)

 

[Dug720]

To be fair here, she probably gave her cold, or whatever, to her mom well before they got on the ship. This doesn't make it right, but let's not get carried away. They should have been honest and let a medical professional decide, but she could have been fine to travel. Coughs do hang on after people are no longer contagious. (Let the flaming begin.)

Which is exactly what I said above. The bottom line is a lack of honesty puts everyone in danger of getting sick. In this case it might have been "just" a cold, but for some people even "just" a cold can be dangerous. (Now, whether someone whose immune system is that compromised should be putting themselves in an environment like a cruise ship is something else up for debate, but that is not apropos to this discussion.) Even crew members are quarantined in their quarters if they are ill - and if they are sick shortly before their scheduled embarkation from a vacation (or beginning period) they must notify DCL as well, and it will be determined if they are ok to embark or need to wait for the next sailing or embark but be quarantined.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The whole article seemed to look down his nose at Disney fans. I totally get that Disney is not for everyone, but just because you like Disney doesn't mean you don't like authenticity or "high brow" things too. Last time I checked, no person is just one thing. And given how much Disney makes off of adult Disney fans, we're not some weird aberration. There are worse things than being an adult who allows themselves to believe in magic...like being someone who likes to look down on people for the harmless things they like.

This isn't just something that happens about Disney. I've just been introduced to the Carnival/Royal Caribbean rivalry. Apparently if you are a Carnival fan you think RCCL people are snobby, and if you are an RCCL fan you think Carnival is tacky, and nobody can stand being on the other people's ships and snipe at each other online all the time.

Whatever. I haven't been on Carnival yet but I don't remember anybody on my one RCCL cruise even saying how much they hate Carnival.

I had to keep in mind reading that this dude had never even been on a cruise before. and there are a lot of people who have never cruised who express distaste for the idea of cruising. It was good to see that having not considered cruising or Disney before that he at least was keeping an open mind about it toward the end of his writing.

 

[starvenger]

I haven't been on Carnival yet but I don't remember anybody on my one RCCL cruise even saying how much they hate Carnival.

Nor I, except for maybe the CDs, but I can't tell if that's snark or friendly jabs like the Marvel/DC rivalry.

 

[mevelandry]

This isn't just something that happens about Disney. I've just been introduced to the Carnival/Royal Caribbean rivalry. Apparently if you are a Carnival fan you think RCCL people are snobby, and if you are an RCCL fan you think Carnival is tacky, and nobody can stand being on the other people's ships and snipe at each other online all the time.

Whatever. I haven't been on Carnival yet but I don't remember anybody on my one RCCL cruise even saying how much they hate Carnival.

I had to keep in mind reading that this dude had never even been on a cruise before. and there are a lot of people who have never cruised who express distaste for the idea of cruising. It was good to see that having not considered cruising or Disney before that he at least was keeping an open mind about it toward the end of his writing.

I agree with your comment 100%...

There's a lot of people who say cruising is not for them when they have never tried it and a lot of people who trash other cruise lines they've never tried.

I think it's great to have an open mind and jump "into the unknown" once in a while.

 

[ironz]

I'm cracking up-- I started reading it thinking, "hmm, we were on the Magic out of Miami this winter..." And sure enough, it was the same exact cruise, as my husband is in one of the photos in the article! LOL

Mind you, we had a much better time than he apparently did, and we were even at Palo the same night.
Sounds like he spent a lot of time and $ on alcohol. I'm not against drinking (had my own beverages) but that sure seemed to be a focus for him. And the BBB on CC day was certainly very poor planning.
P.S. Glad I didn't catch their colds!

 

[Dug720]

I agree with your comment 100%...

There's a lot of people who say cruising is not for them when they have never tried it and a lot of people who trash other cruise lines they've never tried.

I think it's great to have an open mind and jump "into the unknown" once in a while.

It did not sound like he went into it with an open mind though. More like "Well, the kid loves Disney, so we might as well get this over with".

 

[TestingH2O]

And sure enough, it was the same exact cruise, as my husband is in one of the photos in the article! LOL

That must have been a surprise to see!

Glad to hear you had time.

I'm still reeling at his bill for a short cruise.

Tips for 3 - $144
BBB with dress - $200
Palo - $60
Massages - $250

I mean, that's like $100 a day on drinks?!?! I also like to enjoy vacation but wow.

 

[ironz]

That must have been a surprise to see!

Glad to hear you had time.

I'm still reeling at his bill for a short cruise.

Tips for 3 - $144
BBB with dress - $200
Palo - $60
Massages - $250

I mean, that's like $100 a day on drinks?!?! I also like to enjoy vacation but wow.

I just added it up, too. Excursions at Nassau and CC were maybe $125/day (for the 3 of them).
And the Pirate outfit.
And fee for the whisky tasting is what, about $20?

But yeah-- that leaves several hundred dollars on-- drinks or shopping?

 

[YawningDodo]

Hey, while I think there's room to be critical of someone not planning their onboard expenses well and then complaining that those expenses were, well, expensive...I'm not sure I'm on board with A.) assuming this dude drank the entire cruise away and/or B.) judging someone else's alcohol consumption when we we're not remotely close to knowing the entire story. Besides the actual question of whether that's any of our business, I'll point out that depending on what drinks you order, it can get expensive very quickly without necessarily involving very large amounts of alcohol.

Edit: Also, we know for a fact that he spent $90 on a pirate outfit for his kid; I don't think we can assume that no other shopping contributed to that final bill.

 

[TestingH2O]

Hey, while I think there's room to be critical of someone not planning their onboard expenses well and then complaining that those expenses were, well, expensive...I'm not sure I'm on board with A.) assuming this dude drank the entire cruise away and/or B.) judging someone else's alcohol consumption when we we're not remotely close to knowing the entire story. Besides the actual question of whether that's any of our business, I'll point out that depending on what drinks you order, it can get expensive very quickly without necessarily involving very large amounts of alcohol.

Edit: Also, we know for a fact that he spent $90 on a pirate outfit for his kid; I don't think we can assume that no other shopping contributed to that final bill.

I get what you're saying. But I just kept thinking about the bill. $1000 in four days! It made me try to rough calculate. It still is hard for me to fathom regardless of how the money was spent.

 

[Pens Fan]

That must have been a surprise to see!

Glad to hear you had time.

I'm still reeling at his bill for a short cruise.

Tips for 3 - $144
BBB with dress - $200
Palo - $60
Massages - $250

I mean, that's like $100 a day on drinks?!?! I also like to enjoy vacation but wow.

My husband and I normally split a bottle of wine at dinner most nights when we are on vacation. We are pretty particular when it comes to wine and when we sail on DCL usually order off of the Palo wine menu even in the MDR's. That bottle plus a generous tip could easily equate to $100 per day. We enjoy nice wine. We can afford nice wine. That doesn't make us lushes or spendthrifts. Just sayin'. There are so many things he could have spent that money on. It doesn't necessarily mean that he spent the four days getting drunk by the pool.

 

[cadien]

It did not sound like he went into it with an open mind though. More like "Well, the kid loves Disney, so we might as well get this over with".

That’s how many parents go, though. And he ended up enjoying it after all.

 

[cruiser21]

To be fair here, she probably gave her cold, or whatever, to her mom well before they got on the ship. This doesn't make it right, but let's not get carried away. They should have been honest and let a medical professional decide, but she could have been fine to travel. Coughs do hang on after people are no longer contagious. (Let the flaming begin.)

People go to work with colds, school with colds, shopping, gym...and certainly a cruise with a cold. If they denied people boarding that had a cold they'd probably sail with 20% of the rooms empty.

 

[cadien]

$100 per day for drinks is super easy to do without even getting drunk. Unfortunately.

 

[deide71]

You know, considering the comments made by NYT readers, the writer had a much more open mind. He certainly was not looking forward to the cruise, or researched anythin, but given his initial state of mind he begrudgingly admitted he enjoyed himself. The comments however, yikes! Things like ninth circle of hell and Disney commercialism and consumption spoiling the Caribbean. Talk about snobs.

 

[starvenger]

$100 per day for drinks is super easy to do without even getting drunk. Unfortunately.

Agreed. I didn’t hit $100/day for drinks on my first cruise, but definitely spent more than I thought. I’m more careful now. I think. Maybe. Probably.

 

[Sunshine2U]

Glad I read the article before the comments here so I could have an open mind. I read a lot of it as tongue in cheek, especially the part about booking the princess makeover. And by the end, some pixie dust was beginning to get in his eyes. I think they'll be back!