20/20 gives cruising a black eye!

[Aerogirl]

I’m watching 20/20 and boy are they beating up on cruising especially Carnival. YIKES!

[Manuel]

I don't usually watch 20/20 and I'm especilly glad that I'm not watching tonight.



TM

[Aerogirl]

It made me kind of mad. D/H & D/S will no doubt never crusie after watching this, so I guess I'll have to stick with my girls only cruise!

[ship2shore]

"Drunk guy falls off ship"

How come its never
"drunk guy falls off Las Vegas hotel balcony"
or
"drunk guy dives into empty pool on spring break"

I guess its because the one who fell off the ship SURVIVED, and isn't in a wheelchair. I guess 20/20 just proved a fall from a ship is more survivable than those on land.

20/20 doesnt say: Dont get blind-stinkin drunk - it may be hazardous to your health regardless of where you are.

[Manuel]

ABC is owned by Disney, so it does not make much sense that they put down the cruising industry.



TM

[Donna]

I do recall them mentioning that ABC is owned by Disney....

[Dhill]

Who Really cares what they say and why would you? It doesnt matter one bit to me it wont change the way I feel about cruising or if I take a cruise or not.Do you really think it will affect your cruise in anyway?

[Parrot Mom]

Originally Posted by Aerogirl

I’m watching 20/20 and boy are they beating up on cruising especially Carnival. YIKES!

Watched 20/20 last night and they certainly focused on Carnival (cruised the Carnival Fascination once) and the party atmosphere. In all my years of cruising I've never, ever witnessed anything near or close to that party atmosphere. Did hear of a man years ago on our ship who dived into the pool and was taken off in a stretcher..Several years ago on Celebrity no less a woman who is well known on the boards I met up with and found her "drunk as a skunk" weaving her way down the corridor, she had been to the Captains party with all the free liquor..but that is it... What shook me to the core was the tale of a couple on Dr. Phil's show who have cruised 60 times, who told of what actually happened on the Concordia..it was absolutely spine chilling... a family giving this couple their bAby to save... As for me, I can grab my passport even today and rush onto a cruise ship as many of us will.

[skymaster]

I'd personally, would MUCH rather cruise, than watch 20/20.

"SKY"

[Henry43]

Originally Posted by Parrot Mom

Watched 20/20 last night and they certainly focused on Carnival (cruised the Carnival Fascination once) and the party atmosphere. In all my years of cruising I've never, ever witnessed anything near or close to that party atmosphere. Did hear of a man years ago on our ship who dived into the pool and was taken off in a stretcher..Several years ago on Celebrity no less a woman who is well known on the boards I met up with and found her "drunk as a skunk" weaving her way down the corridor, she had been to the Captains party with all the free liquor..but that is it... What shook me to the core was the tale of a couple on Dr. Phil's show who have cruised 60 times, who told of what actually happened on the Concordia..it was absolutely spine chilling... a family giving this couple their bAby to save... As for me, I can grab my passport even today and rush onto a cruise ship as many of us will.

In 1994 we were on a Carnival cruise .There was on deck dancing till at least 2 AM every night .

[Luanne Russo]

It always bothers me too when something bad is said about cruising. Anything can be picked apart, and made to seem bad.

But.... We all know the truth, and that's what we are here for, is to spread the word about the joys of cruising.

[Henry43]

IMHO ,there is nothing better than a cruise vacation .I wish I could have convinced Mrs.Henry43 earlier because we waited 21 years after our first cruise to cruise again .

[rollerdonna]

I never watch sensationalized shows like 20/20, but that being said, the only thing about cruising hazardous to your health is ignorant drunken passengers and crazy as a loon captains who "trip into a lifeboat" and abandon ship!

donna

[ready2gonow]

I watched 20/20, and they show the same tired videos that they've shown for years. They had to put something together, since cruising is the hot topic right now. Like Parrot Mom stated, I have NEVER seen anything like that on my cruises. I looked back, and we have taken 26 cruises in the last 10 years, on different lines.

Robin..... a girls cruise..... sounds like a good plan, to me!

[Aerogirl]

People who cruise know better, it’s the people who have never cruised that will have this picture of what goes on during a cruise vacation. Yes, ABC is owned by Disney and there was a guy at the end who stated that cruising is safer than crossing the street however this was after painting a very negative picture of the cruise industry.

[Cruznut2]

I was planning to watch it but fell asleep. Lucky Me!! I had a feeling it was going to be rough on Carnival. My first cruise in 1983 (Festivale) was bad, there were drunks everywhere. I remember the bar staff really pushing alcohol. There were various drinking contests by the pool all day. I specifically remember the "yard of ale" contest. Long tube with a bulb at the bottom. Held roughly a six pack. The contestants would race to be the first to finish. I remember seeing several people passed out in the pursers lobby one morning. It was pretty much the same in 1984 on the Mardi Gras. I almost swore off cruising. I did go on to other things for a while and returned to Carnival in the late 80's on the Celebration. Quite different even that early. In 2003 I sailed on the Spirit and the difference was amazing. I have sailed several more times with Carnival since then. No signs of too much partying at all. I am thinking the videos they took were from long "spring break" cruises. I just do not believe cruises are as bad as they portrayed and the videos were from much earlier times. I know better about cruising and will continue to cruise. Booked on the Dream for September.

Laura

[AR]

Since there's so much slamming of the show, I decided to watch it--the full episode is available online. First time I've watched 20/20 in many years. I think Hugh Downs was still on it when I last saw it. Anybody remember Hugh Downs? Anyone? Anyone?

I thought that what they said about the Costa ship was pretty much what everybody else said. Nothing special. As many have pointed out, much of the ensuing negative stuff seemed to concentrate on Carnival (the line per se, not its various brands). I'm at something of a disadvantage here since across 25 cruises we've never been on Carnival. Back when we first started cruising seriously, I remember clearly that they had a party-and-drinking image and we steered clear. In later years there was a lot of talk--including on this site--that Carnival had cleaned up the act, was no longer an exercise in debauchery, and was no problem.

By then we had lines that we knew we liked and saw no reason to partake of Carnival. No hard feelings, just never could find a reason to roll the dice.

So, like most of you, we've never seen anything on a ship (or anywhere else) like the fights and other bad behavior shown on the home videos played on the show. But they obviously did happen; to what degree they are prevalent we can't know. I'll venture a guess that the likelihood of it happening on your cruise is a function of more than just the line. I'd bet that it's more likely to happen on a seven-day or shorter Caribbean run than on a longer run almost anyplace else--especially a run that doesn't end where it starts.

But this can't be denied: there is a lot of drinking and a lot of drinking to excess on virtually every cruise. We're going to do a TA in the spring and just heard that the "all-you-can-drink" package is "on sale" for something like $1400 for the two of us. Well, by God, you can bet that people who spring for this kind of cash are certainly going to "get their money's worth." We're certainly not teatotalers, but if we did $1400 worth of drinking on a cruise, our next stop would be the Betty Ford Clinic.

I've seen drunks on every cruise I've been on, fortunately none of them causing problems beyond just being annoying.

In the broadcast, the crew segment was a little confusing: on the one hand they party till they drop, partake in nonstop orgies, and so on. On the other hand, they work 100 hours a week and are latter-day galley slaves. Seems to me it's difficult to be both. But then, this is a "People Magazine" sort of show (to be charitable). So what?

On the "overboard" issue, I'm of two minds. To the extent that they actually fall overboard because they are drunk or careless or just having sex on the balcony, I shrug and say that the herd must be thinned at some point. To the extent that crimes are actually committed, that's a different story. But of course there was nothing on the show that came close to proving a crime. Might it be that ships routinely cover up crimes? Yes, it is possible and I tend to think it is likely.

I'm always surprised at the extent to which people here seem to take personal offense at anything anybody says which reflects badly on cruising. But I've learned that some who post here truly do believe that cruising is the closest thing to travel perfection, and that almost any criticism is unjustified. Whatever floats your boat.

But that silly little show isn't going to do anything to dissuade you or me from taking our next cruise. And if it prevents some newbies from taking the plunge (so to speak), I don't see how that's our problem. It's theirs.

[Pootersdad]

Dang it, AR! I was just about to say the same thing(s)!

Seriously, though, your comments are spot on. Thanks for posting.