The Cruise Bruise Cruise Ship Bruising Report
Letters To The Editor
Visitors Talk Back
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
March 15, 2008
"Your website is very one sided and I for one have decided to stop reading it and I will pass this information onto anyone who asks.
In the case of Jack Clevenger, he and his son were left at port because he had blood in his mouth and stool. He was bleeding internally. What exactly was the cruise line supposed to do? The Dr admitted he was not equipped to handle this and he did the best thing he could do. Had they stayed onboard the ship, the man may have died. And I guarantee if that had happened, you would be jumping all over the cruise line for his death.
What you don't tell your readers is that Mr. Clevenger and his son were offered help by the cruise line, but they turned it down. All they were worried about was staying on the ship. They wanted to finish out the cruise. What you also don't let your readers know is that Mr. Clevenger did not have any travel insurance. No one in their right mind travels to a foreign country, on land or on a cruise, without travel insurance.
When you decide to start telling BOTH sides, you will have a great site."
Pam Alexander
Dear Smug,
The site name is CRUISE BRUISE not CRUISE NEWS. We report BRUISES with the
information we have. Unfortunately, the crystal ball we used in the past, has long ago been broken, so we are unable to read minds that could have told us he had or didn't have insurance, though I have no problem reading yours, as narrow as it is.
You apparently were unable to understand the article, and the two sides we gave, both for the bleeding passenger who died on the ship, and the one who was evacuated. I thought it was clear we pretty much defended the decision to put him off the ship, even though the passenger would not agree with that decision.
As far as nobody in their right mind traveling without travel insurance, that might include those who can afford the better accommodations aboard. For those who buy cheap lower deck, inside cabins, only after having pinched every penny they have, insurance is a luxury they can not afford.
Perhaps you were unaware that devastation after Hurricane Katrina was as bad as it was, because oddly enough, very poor home owners can not afford home owner's insurance.
I guess in the one class society your mind lives in, the whole world has insurance for everything.
If you cruise, you are lucky the poor fill those low budget, lower deck, inside cabins, and they don't go empty. It would raise the price of cruising for all those pompous, arrogant, people who think the world is black and white and never gray.
They are the same people who dare to tell a website owner how to run their website.
Editor
February 16, 2008
Good day,
"I just read your piece about Cruise Bruise gaining recognition in some pretty high places (-really, being mentioned in The Times Online is nothing to sneeze at!) and wanted to add my congratulations.
I had no idea your site was just a couple of years old; truly, you've done an incredible amount of work in that time and built a formidable database of cruise industry "bruises" that would otherwise never have been seen by the average person.
Keep up the great work! Your site is one of my weekly "must reads"."
Best regards,
Dave
Thanks Dave. It is good to hear we are doing some good.
Editor
January 28, 2008
"I'm starting to think that there is something more going on than people falling overboard.
Yes,I'm sure that people do fall overboard but after doing some research on people disappearing,I'm wondering if maybe some of the crew might be involved.
I have never been on any of the ships but I have recommended to all of my family & friends to please do not book a cruise. Most of it seems to happen late at night when the person is alone on the last night they are to leave.
I read where one guy ended up in the water with his boxers on having no idea how he got there,someone needs to look into these people's drinks or food being drugged for what ever reason.
You didn't hear of this back in the 70's and early 80's,now it's happening all the time.If who ever is behind this is allowed to get away with this over and over than why stop.Their getting something out of this,money,drugs who knows.
The only thing that's the same each time is the ships and crews and being alone at night. I'm surprised that people are still taking cruises after what's been going on.One day a really big case is going to happen,the wrong person is going to disappear,that is when the light is going to really shine on what's been happening."
Nancy
Let's hope it doesn't take something really big to happen before we get change.
Editor
January 24, 2008
"Comments Dear Sirs,
Following all the recent press coverage regarding the closure of Travelscope and the loss of customers holiday's, we are now pleased to make the following announcement:
PRESS ANNOUCEMENT
Monday, 21st January 2008
On behalf of Club Cruise, we are pleased to announce that their new UK Tour Operating Division is now fully operational and open for business. Based in Cheltenham, the company, Van Gogh Cruise Line Limited will be trading as Van Gogh Cruises. The company's primary role will be to continue to sell and operate the m/v Van Gogh in the UK market.
Managing Director, Mark Horwood said of the new business today, "The m/v Van Gogh is a popular cruise ship within the UK cruise market, which has become well established over the last 6 years. We were grateful that Club Cruise, in conjunction with ABTA, were able to step in at the last minute and save the Round the World Cruise, which departed from Falmouth on the 4th January 2008, following the collapse of the ship's previous UK Tour Operator - no small task given the timescale involved. Club Cruise were keen to remain in the UK market, having established a loyal and committed following over the years - hence the decision to establish a subsidiary company in the U.K for that purpose."
"We have a small dedicated team, all with previous knowledge of the m/v Van Gogh, working hard to get this exciting new venture off the ground. Bookings for the 2008 programme are already off to an excellent start, many passengers had made bookings through the ships previous operator and travel agents and we are delighted that we will enable these passengers to continue with their holidays plans. We will continue to sell the m/v Van Gogh via third party channels including national and regional newspapers, consumer publications, closed user groups and travels agents. We have decided to continue with the itineraries as previously advertised, to ensure no passengers are let down by the collapse of the previous Operator."
"Being a wholly owned subsidiary of Club Cruise, Van Gogh Cruises is in a unique position to continue operating and promoting the m/v Van Gogh in the U.K."
"Club Cruise, which is a Dutch public company, is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Their commitment to the cruising market is second to none - which together with their financial strength is so important in this market sector. We at Van Gogh Cruises are totally committed in helping them achieve that goal within the UK market."
For further information please contact a member of the Van Gogh's Sales team"
Sarah Brooks - 01242 633803
Tim Fleming - 01242 633802
Thank you for submitting this update to us.
Editor
January 2, 2008
"Hello Cruise Bruise,
First off, let me say I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years!
And of course I have to add my opinion on the Noro outbreak on QV. As soon as I saw this reported, I expected people to start saying she's a cursed ship. And what did people do? Well, you know.
In your article you commented on the people, I think you called the Royal Watchers, who dislike that this ship was called a Queen. I am somewhat a member of that crowd. My main reason is not that she isn't a true liner, it's that she's just another Vista ship with Princess interiors. There's nothing Cunard about her. I really was hoping Cunard would follow through with their original naming scheme from the time the original QM was built. Liners were queens and hybrids and cruise ships had the Cunard names ending in -ia. I was really hoping the QV would have been named Aquitania. Its cruise ship-ish and it still remains unique...and I just really love the name. You seem like a big ship buff yourself, so I don't want to sound stupid and break into my explanation on the differences of a liner and a cruise ship.(I tend to do that alot) Though I'd rather be on a liner! I hear its amazing how smooth and fast QM2 sails.
Also I don't believe that the bottle not breaking is bad luck. I guess you could say Titanic and Britannic were doomed from the beginning because they were never christened, but none of White Star's ships were. And Olympic had a long and extremely successful career, she had her accidents, though. Also, if I'm correct, the bottle never broke when the Edmund Fitzgerald was christened, and then she slid out of control into the water and smashed the adjacent pier. But people only look for that BECAUSE something happened to the ships. I wonder how many ships with successful and uneventful careers had bad christenings."
Best Regards,
Jon
Thanks for the input Jon. It is always good to hear from you.
Editor
