Chit - Chat for CruisersOpen Forum for non-cruise posts. Please refrain from inflammatory rhetoric that could be considered offensive. We reserve the right to edit or delete for any reason.
No, lets NOT blow anything out of proportion like some of the posters have done with the cruise-addicts board. let us think that there is two sides to this, RIGHT?
I am amazed that so many of your new posters were so easily seduced with a few strawberries and some cheap champagne. lol
Why so surprised? Champagne has been a proven seductor for centuries <g>
No, seriously. The champagne and strawberries were a token of appreciation to Pam and the cruisers at the party who we know also visit our site. We at CM understand that the people who visit a web site are real people, not just names on a message board, so we strive to make a personal connection with our readers and staff whenever we can.
For the people who don't know me, I am the president of CruiseMates and a partner to Anne Campbell. Most of you are probably already familiar with Anne.
My background is this:
I spent most of my life working in the music business and theater as a sound/light tech. In 1982 I was offered the most intriguing job of my life, a position as a stage manager for Royal Viking Line, at the time the most prestigious cruise line in the world (comparable to Silversea today). I accepted, and my first cruise was round-trip Los Angeles - Tahiti - Hawaii. Can you imagine your first cruise beginning with 10 straight days at sea?
I spent a total of 2 years working on cruise ships as a stage manager. I also worked for NCL on the Norway and for Holland America in 1993. (Westerdam, Statendam).
When Anne and I met, I was living in Manhattan and writing for a popular financial site called Motley Fool (beganning in 1995) when it was just a small section of AOL. Anne was the Cruise Critic on AOL at the time. It was at Motley Fool that I learned how important it is to have a personal relationship with the people on the Internet. For those of you familiar with the Fool you probably know it is one of the friendliest websites anywhere - they practically invented a lot of the concept of web "community".
I worked for the Fool for 4 1/2 years, until I decided to devote all of my time to CruiseMates.
My point is that I have a lot of experience on the Internet, and I have seen how some people mistakenly act as if the other people they meet online can be treated rudely because they can hide behind the cimputer screen. They have little regard for the individuality and feelings for the people behind the messages they read.
I just want everyone to know that we don't operate that way at CM. We value everyone who visits us and we strive to make the connection that transcends faceless posts in a message board. The rule here is that the written word is just the medium, but what counts is the person you're talking to.
Not JD ???? you are still full of surprises CA
Cheers
April
Too bad it's so early in the morning and I need to go to work today --all the talk of strawberries, chocolate and champange are making me hungry and thirsty
I don't think it had anything to do with strawberries. It was the treatment of a supposed valued contributor because she was gracious enough to accept a token of appreciation from this distardly site. <G> It would seem that people who are after the same goals of informing the public about the wonders of cruising shouldn't be so jealous of each other. We here at Cruisemates, while we truely believe we have the best site, certainly don't bad-mouth other websites. Just isn't right. Information, honesty, and a general feeling of goodwill makes Cruisemates the wonderful place it is and we, IMHO, welcome everyone and anyone that respects others and wants to learn or help others.
Jim
Community Staff Leader
I think what is amazing is the fact that at the drop of a hat, so many @ddicts were ready to leave that board. Is this the excuse we were all looking for? I think so.
There were too many problems lately with sensorship, sponsorship and rudeness. All it took was one brave sole to announce that they were leaving the site (and for that message to actually STAY on the board for more than 20 seconds) and a mass exodus occurred.
People over there are still hoping that there will be a reconcilliation between John and Pam. (Eternal optimists.)
Yum, that sounds good. I've been lucky enough to find dark chocolate bars stuffed with raspberry cream - SUGAR FREE! So no sugar rushes for me, but I'd make an exception for chocolate, strawberries and champage (more insulin than usual).
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