I won’t dissect every “wrong” article in the press about our journey, but one in particular is so bad I couldn’t help myself.
Let’s Start with the Headline
Oh yes, the headline (“EXCLUSIVE”!!). At least the first sentence is true: we’re off! We’re on our way.
But really, Dr. Clickbait: “Cursed”? “Marooned”?!? (And then a link to another “cursed” + “crisis” story. Hey, I can crosslink too: watch!)
Oh, back to you, Mailers: sob! we’re maroooooooooooooooned! And here I thought stranded was ridiculously melodramatic. They had to outdo other clickubaiters, I guess. (Clickubation: it’s not self abuse, it’s reader abuse.)
A Slow Descent into Madness^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Stupidity
The ship “has been dogged by a series of issues, from broken rudders and a faulty gearbox to steel works and engine problems.”
Nope on “broken rudders”, and nope for “faulty gearbox”.
The rudders were not broken. Ever. The rudder stocks were never broken. Rudder stocks are steel shafts that connect the steering gear to the rudders. They were not broken, but rather out of spec — by mere millimeters. And clearly had been for many, many years, including when the ship was operating under Fred. Olsen.
And since the Fred. Olsen Braemar had a PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) from DNV (ship classification society Det Norske Veritas), you have to wonder why it was suddenly urgent that they be fixed, when the stocks normally aren’t an off-the-shelf item and must be ordered to fit. Hm?
Sounds ridiculous — and it is. So “broken rudders” gets a label: “Bollocks.”
Gearbox: not faulty. An “issue” with the gearbox becomes “work” on the gearbox becomes “faulty” or other words. The truth? The manufacturers certified it for two more years before maintenance would be required. Two years! Yet DNV demanded a “crack test” (whatever that is, but it sure sounds ominous) on the gearbox. The manufacturer’s response? “Do NOT DO THAT!” DNV’s response: “DO IT.” The company’s apparent response: “No: we will follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Put it in writing.” DNV apparently backed down.
Yet suddenly it’s “faulty.” That statement gets a label too: “Bullshit.”
OK, next paragraph.
It left globetrotters, who are paying £27,000-a-month for their new onboard cabins….
Stop … right … there! Do you even THINK for just a half second before repeating this Irish Bull? Do you actually believe we’re all paying US$1,200 per day for our cabins?! The label for this has to be “Daft.”
This one is apparently originally from the BBC, and we’ve also seen statements along the lines of we’ve paid “in the high six-figures” for the cabins.
OK, listen up, birdbrains: we either pay to own our cabins, which originally started at $99,999, plus a monthly maintenance fee (which starts, for that inside cabin, at $3,499/month for a couple) -or- you “rent” the cabin “by the segment,” which of course costs more per month. Not both, you dimwits! You don’t buy a condo and rent it! Do you live in a tent, or do you simply have no ability to think?
The largest few cabins probably could be priced up to $1,200/day, or even a bit more, if rented, but to hold up the top end as emblematic of “all” is batty.
Footage sent from passengers onboard the boat showed many enjoying a glass of wine and a chat with their new neighbours as they waved goodbye to Belfast.
Hey: they can watch a video and actually describe it accurately! How novel.
Boarding
Cheers and applause broke out in the ferry terminal as the liner finally pulled up outside and blasted a huge horn, while security guards said ‘welcome to your new home’.
Yes, passenger ships have pretty big horns. That’s so other ships can hear them.
Though not everyone standing atop a ramp is a “security guard.” I saw my room steward (we already knew each other from our previous time on the ship) who came forward with his greeting, and relieved Kit (my wife) of the bags she was carrying. Several waiters offered us drinks, while others had trays of hors d’oeuvres, because dinner was held until after we checked in, and got the obligatory lifeboat drill out of the way.
There might indeed have been a “security guard” or two, though: had to make sure no press tried to sneak aboard, because if the security folks are smart (and they probably are), they couldn’t put it past the Daily Mail to try!
The joyful crowd, of mostly American passengers, piled on each other for a huge group hug while others started dancing, shouting ‘she’s here, she’s here, she’s finally here’.
“Piled on each other?” Hyperbole much? Some folks certainly hugged. Someone might have even “shouted” that phrase, but in that case wouldn’t it be worth an exclamation point? And…
Others shouted ‘home sweet home’ as they carried their luggage, furniture and shopping bags up the ramp of the ship before being welcomed with champagne.
You saw someone dragging furniture up the ramp?! I sure didn’t. I had sent a few pieces ahead months ago, though. You know, like a normal person.
And what I actually said was, Home Ship Home, but maybe you didn’t hear it because I wasn’t “shouting.”
Standing at the port in Belfast eagerly awaiting to board the ship, Shirene Thomas, in her 50s … said: ‘I am all in now. I’ve sold my home, car, all my possessions, left my job. We’ve waited months for this so it will be exciting if tonight’s the night.’
See, that is truth right there: many (not all) of us have sold everything to be here: houses, cars, belongings. Many have left jobs (not me: I’m working on the ship, and writing this in my office). And here’s Shirene’s key bit, that’s hugely telling: “it will be exciting if tonight’s the night.”
Did you see it? “IF.” We haven’t been stuck. We haven’t been stranded. And we sure as HELL haven’t been “marooned”! We’ve always been ready to go when (not if) the ship is ready. Is this clear enough for you?
Melody Hennessee, travelling with their husband John … had been travelling in an RV across the US, clocking up 27,000 miles.
Hm, 27,000 again. Miles really, or km? Or just made up? But hey, maybe it’s even accurate, but see what lying again and again and again does? It makes readers doubt everything you say. At least, the smart ones. The thinking ones.
[Melody] said: ‘The bottom line is most of us don’t care where we are going. I want to live on a ship. I don’t care where it goes.’
See, this is the bottom line. That it’s not way up near the top means you don’t quite grasp that most of us feel that way. That is the story: the journey is the thing. Waiting in Belfast was part of the journey, one of the obstacles people on journeys face.
So quit with the negative, lying bullshit. It makes you sound like total wankers. Grow up and do your jobs with integrity, not hype.
We have a journey to be on, guided by perfectly working rudders and powered via a gearbox that will get routine maintenance at our next dry dock. There’s no story in that. You missed the real story, again and again and again. Not everyone in the press, obviously: they’re coming around, if they can all just get things right, without the overblown and “£27,000-a-month” obliviocy.
And hey if any of you ever want to know the truth about what’s going on, use the Contact form on this site and ask. My trademark, after all, is This is True®.
OK, with all that, if my readers really want to read the original article, here’s the link — but WARNING! Clickubation causes blindness: Daily Mail by Eirian Jane Prosser in Belfast.
Last Updated October 2, 2024
Originally Published October 2, 2024
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Randy is the co-founder of Residential Cruising, and is best known as the founder of the oldest entertainment feature on the Internet, This is True. He and his wife, Kit, live full-time on the Residential Cruising ship Villa Vie Odyssey, where they are “Digital Nomads” — continuing their work while aboard the ship.
So glad you have broken the “curse” and have been rescued from being “marooned”. In hindsight, maybe all of the ship people should have been wearing dark red shirts while in Belfast to indicate your “marooned” status! Happy sails to you and Kit!
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I read in the Daily Mail that marooned is what happens when a ship carrying red paint crashes into a ship carrying brown paint, so I’m sure that’s right. -rc
No one with an IQ above room temperature trusts anything published in the Daily Mail.
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I know you’re from the U.K. and should know. Doesn’t say much for their avid readers…. -rc
Is that room temperature expressed in F or C?
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They definitely use C in the U.K.! -rc
That’s absolutely the case — the phrase “Daily Mail reader” is used as a shorthand by left-wing comedians to refer to right-wing obliviot Brits. (I’m sure there’s something similar for the other side, I just don’t happen to know what it is.)
Well, it IS October…so “cursed” is seasonally appropriate (which doesn’t exactly mean it should be thrown about like confetti in professional news articles…).
Professional is not often a term used with The Daily Mail.
I’m glad you got all that steam blown off, it must have been a bit stressful putting up with all that BS.
Now, could you clue us in on the apparent “paperwork issue” (according to The Guardian) that is keeping the ship from going anywhere?
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That’s still a bit unclear. Something to do with the inspectors needing some piece of paper, or late in filing one, or both. -rc
Well done! The UK press is notorious for lies and misinformation.
Have a great journey and continue to bring This is True to our in boxes!
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Well, thank goodness the North American press is all true! That could have been a disaster…. -rc
Glad to hear that you and your fellow travelers did not have to resort to cannibalism to survive!
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It was close, though, when the waiters in the pubs were busy. -rc
Ah, we once had newspapers and their yellow journalism, then there was the TV news where sensationalism, now we have internet links with clickbait.
Because the important thing is they get people to read it. Getting the facts straight… what’s the percentage in that? They’d rather have people believe they don’t have porters, so the passengers are lugging bedroom sets and grandfather clocks up the gangplank.
I know the Daily Mail is a tabloid that may not be fit for a proper serving of fish and chips to be wrapped in, but every news story I’ve seen where I was close to the facts show that journalists (if they are that anymore, as compared to narrative builders) are less interested in them than their agenda.
Lately I’ve seen stories implying that the ship is stuck offshore of Belfast, with the implication being they’re waiting to pull back in to kick everybody off again. I can’t take the stories seriously anymore.
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See the previous post for my statement on the stall. -rc
Press loves to hate…and I suspect they’re a bit jealous.
Like Michael Palin did — get yourself a blow-up World Globe and plot your voyages and stops.
Hope you have a large space in the ships hold as there are many many people and friends travelling with you, even in spirit.
🙂
I’m just sitting here shaking my head at the obliviocy. If it was FB, I’d use the SMH and rolling my eyes emoticons.
LOVE the term “clickubation” — nice one!
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I got on a roll. 🙂 -rc
Thank you 🙏 Finally a journalist who reports the truth. Perhaps others should take note of your honesty. I sure hope to meet you when my husband and I are able to join you.
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I don’t see why not! -rc
I love seeing the True facts from you guys as I see the headlines! I’m so happy you’re on your way!
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I’m so old I remember when the phrase “True facts” was redundant. -rc
Well berated Randy! ^.^
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It was fun. And I confirmed on Google that this is the first use of Clickubation. -rc
Love this is!
The article for me…
The reality for all of you.
Happy travels, thank you for sharing your truths.
“total wankers” — you learned that in Belfast I bet? 🙂 🙂
So glad for you all that your new life is moving — looking forward to reading much more.
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Nah: I’m pretty well read, especially regarding English language cursing. (I can swear in American Sign Language, too. Took a year of it in college. ASL, I mean; not swearing.) -rc
The “reporting” doesn’t surprise me. I taught my students/athletes that we are all biased by our life experiences and that news reporters usually have an agenda. Their preconceptions influence what they report. I have greatly enjoyed reading about your (Kit and you) ways of dealing with the unexpected. Thank you for sharing!
I see that you’re now at anchor off Bangor. I hope you enjoy the passing vessels heading to and from Belfast.
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We should be underway by dawn. -rc
I love that your international travels have made you so comfortable with the term “wankers”. You just don’t hear that one enough back here in the states….
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Heh! See two comments up, which wasn’t published yet when you commented. -rc
Hey, page 3 of The Sun used have titties every day, so the bar on British “journalism” on the “dailies” is fairly low. 😉
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Wait… they don’t have titties anymore? Man, things really have gone downhill! [P.S.: Yeah, I do know the Page 3 Girls were dropped, even by the Sun.] -rc
Tell us what you REALLY think!!! LOL
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AND ANOTHER THING! 🙂 -rc
They don’t call it the Daily Wail for nothing. That paper is no better than the National Inquirer here in the states. I am so glad to see you are on your way to new adventures and I look forward to reading about them here.
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Stay dry, Fred! (He’s in hurricane ravaged South Carolina.) -rc
You must have gotten the rest you were needing as you seem to be on fire. However, you really need to stop holding back and tell us what you really think.
Enjoy your new home! I know we are all looking forward to reading about your experiences.
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I did sleep in this morning. It’s always good to be home. -rc
The Daily Wail is notorious for printing nonsense, although its readers seem unaware of the fact.
You said it Randy… the clickubators pick the most outlandish adjectives to give their fictions an undeserved viral reach. I thoroughly enjoyed my non-stranding non-maroonship in and around Northern Ireland, Ireland, Isle of Man and Scotland while waiting for our ship to be certified and flagged.
Our epic odyssey has begun without needing a ship and will continue delightfully and in a more maritimely manner when Odyssey sails from Belfast waters.
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See you soon! -rc
My vicarious journey begins now!! I have always loved True, been hooked since the first article I ever read.
Now THIS?! This is like the Extra Special Bonus Package. We still get our thought-provoking articles, and humor and gossip and obliviots in Florida…Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!…And here we now get first hand, honest accounts of ship living. The fact you’re such a talented writer (storyteller, more often than not), makes it even more fascinating.
So, thank you!
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You’re most welcome, and I appreciate your support for True, too, with your paid subscription [end of plug]. -rc
There is a reason that most Brits refer to it as The Daily Fail — research and professionalism aren’t in their lexicon.
As for Melody and John clocking up 27,000 miles travelling across the U.S… they must’ve taken a lot of detours, since the entire Interstate Highway system in the nation only totals slightly less than 49,000 miles.
Randy’s piece is probably the most accurate articles i have read as one of the current onboard residents.
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Hey, quit peeking over from your office! -rc
Do you have to have a Visa for every country that your going to visit. and is your passport stamped on entry and departure.
Can you post photos of your cabin and other interesting views.
Many of us that are reading this are stuck at home and dreaming. I am in a resthome at aged 72 so your my travel guide.
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You’re pretty young to be in a rest home! Most countries don’t require visas. Most that do will issue them online. It’s not something we’ll worry about until we’re much farther along in our itinerary. I’m indifferent about passport stamps; most of the tracking now is done by computer, not stamps. I’ve already been posting photos, but likely won’t post cabin photos any more than I posted pics of the inside of my house in Colorado. -rc
Obviously they’re simply press moron obliviots. All most “journalists” are these days is click bait generators…but what can you do.
On another note…tried your rumtini today…and while I do like sweet things I was pretty sure it was going to be too sweet. 2 ounces of the Diplomatico run you recommended, about 3/4 ounces of di’Sorono and a half teaspoon or so of the cherry juice although I have different dark red cherries than the ones you have. Shaken and poured into the glass with a single cherry…and I added some of the ice as well because cocktails need to stay cold…although TBH I have some of those stainless balls in the freezer I will try next time so no watering down the drink. It was still too sweet though…I’m going to try a 3 to 1 ratio next time and probably will end up at 4 to 1 as I like my Old Fashioned (this is essentially an Italian Old Fashioned and Carraba’s sells a very similar drink) a little sweet…but not that sweet.
Cheerio on your voyage…you’re embarked on one of the two kinds of ships…as an old bubblehead we know there are submarines…and targets. We lived in the RV for 8 years and as you probably recall we had a meetup at Colorado Boys pizza in 2019..and while I might be interested in living on a ship again probably not since I did that for a career in Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club. I am looking forward to vicariously sharing your adventures…but since I’m a wildlife and landscape photographer the photo opportunities on a ship at sea will get pretty monotonous I’m thinking.
It is a journey as you say…we experienced that in our years in the RV and found many cool dive bars, met locals, ate at hole in the wall places, and went to see the things locals thought were cool. Did most of the ‘tourist’ things as well…but the road less traveled by places were overall much better.
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Indeed sea pics will generally be boring. But we’ll generally be at sea only 1/3 of the time (typically at night), and in ports 2/3 of the time, so I don’t think I’ll run out of interesting places for a photo. As for the drink: absolutely it’s legit to play with ratios to “Sweeten to taste.” -rc
Fact-checking the Daily Mail is as pointless as fact-checking any other publication owned by Rupert Murdoch (or his heirs/successors). The only “news” outlet he owns that has a shred of journalistic integrity is the WSJ.
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If you thought the ACTUAL point of this was fact-checking, you need to have a drink and read it again, savoring every word. -rc
OMG, just *tried* to read the Daily Mail article — such terrible writing! You picked the right one to critique, but even you couldn’t comment on all of it, so I’ll point out a few issues from a purely outside perspective, leaving the actual news facts to you.
Multiple spellings of several peoples’ names (including the CEO!), saying you were “left in a drizzly British quayside” in the “Northern Irish capital” (I’m sure the locals appreciate that), non-sensical sentences like “they got engaged and getting matching tattoos trinity knot tattoos”, entirely missing quotations (“The widow and grandmother-of-one said:” … nothing, apparently). And I can only imagine the expression on Randy’s face (and Dr. Austin’s, of course) at the term “anaesthologist”.
Not to mention *four* pictures of the same “sweet little old lady” (sorry, but that’s the stereotype they’re obviously pushing, and they don’t give her name) with her “tears of joy”. Either there were only a dozen people there, or none of the others were providing such useful “clickubation” material.
Do they even have editors on their staff, or do the writers (I won’t call them journalists) have free reign? I’d hark back to the old days of truth in journalism — but I’m not entirely certain there were any. 😉
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Yeah, I could have picked on SO many other things, but a focus on the sensationalism and the facts filled out the page more than enough. -rc
In a sidewise way this reminded me of an old incident. At a long ago science fiction convention (60’s or 70’s), one of the noteworthy authors was talking to a fan that came from Russia. Fan says “In Russia, newspapers are full of lies. In US newspapers are full of lies. How is it different?”
Author says “In Russia, all papers have same lie. In US, the lies are all different.”
More to the point of your post, tabloid “reporters” are well known for inventing lurid stories. Sadly, more and more of their “mainstream” brothers are guilty of the same sin.
I got quite excited yesterday when I suddenly started seeing a bunch of articles about your voyage popping up as “recommended for you” on the splash page of my work computer (I tend to browse it before clocking in, or while waiting for a program to load/compile/whatever). I also got quite a workout rolling my eyes at the wording in a lot of the articles. Then I started also seeing recommendations for articles about new cruise routes and tips for cruising on a budget and “best cruise lines”, and I marveled that the algorithm had picked up on “cruise” that quickly and started pushing it.
Then I saw a headline to the effect of “Cruise Sailings Affected By Striking?” and realized that there was probably a bit of bias programmed into the algorithm. After all, how am I going to be sympathetic to a bunch of greedy people who just don’t want to work anymore when they’re stopping me from going on the cruise of my dreams?! (Answer: Quite easily, actually. My Pop-Pop was a Union man, my brother is a card-carrying Wobbly, and my boss’s husband is actually one of the strikers, so no, my sympathies do not lie with the cruise companies.)
Anyway, glad to hear you’re finally on board and closer to underway — and I hope the Daily Mail finds that a programming error irreversibly changes every font in their system to Wingdings.
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😆 -rc
Outstanding! Curious, did you get any coverage from the Guardian? And if so, how well did they do?
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I’d be surprised if we didn’t, but I’m hoping no one was as bad as this article. -rc
Better than most IMHO
— https://www.theguardian.com/travel/article/2024/aug/29/round-the-world-cruise-delay-keeps-passengers-in-belfast-for-three-months
— https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/30/cruise-ship-belfast-villa-vie-odyssey-passengers
— https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/01/cruise-ship-stranded-belfast-return-northern-ireland
— https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/02/stranded-luxury-cruise-liner-villa-vie-odyssey-northern-ireland
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Great: now I can look to see if I need to keep any of those. 🙂 -rc
Yikes, that article sounds like it could be a hit piece paid for by a Villa Vie competitor; a shyster at that. No Daily Mail clicking here. Thanks for being True.
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I used a tracker so I could count the clicks. More than 1,600 reads of this page, and only 98 clicks on the link — and at least some of those are search engines following the link. -rc
Just saw that you are finally moving. Now this is news. Congratulations! 🎊🎉
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Yes, that’s included in an update on the Previous Post. Unfortunately, updates don’t trigger email notifications. -rc
Welcome home! Thanks for sharing your continuing saga. Glad they finally (seem to have) worked out the kinks and you’re on your way. Looking forward to seeing the updates as the journey continues. You look deservedly happy in the photo of your office!
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The mail feeling: contentment! -rc
As an ex-pat Brit (now Canadian) I am sure you will now be aware why that awful paper is known colloquially as the ‘Daily Fail’.
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Oh, that had already come to my attention! -rc
Or the Daily Heil, with their right wing scaremongering.
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OK, hadn’t heard that one. -rc
You look like a kid who has just received the best birthday present ever. Nice office.
As for the Daily Fail journalists…
My Grandad was a ‘cub reporter’ before WW1 came along and changed his life completely. When he realised his grandson ‘had a bit of a way with words’ he speculated that I might become a journalist, and then trotted out a line I was to hear over and over again through the years.
‘You cannot hope to bribe or twist, thank God, the British Journalist. But seeing what the man can do, unbribed, there’s no occasion to.”
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I would have liked your grandad. -rc
The Daily Fail is famous for its clickbait — and never for its accuracy.
Congratulations on living your dream!
[comment deleted]
Enough of your bullshit: NONE of it has appeared here, and I won’t publish your comments as long as you use a fake name and email address even if you DO tell the truth, which I doubt you will. Have some integrity and sign your real name and use your real address. -rc
Wankers and bollocks? You’ve been in Belfast too long clearly. 😉
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When in Rome, do as the Romans do. -rc
My first thought on reading the Mail article was that the author was a junior, out on her first big job, and had been told to write something that would catch the eye, as the ship was finally leaving, thank God.
My second thought after reading to the end was she’s had too much bubbly at the dockside party. It’s a ghastly piece of journalism, even for the Daily Wail. She must be the owner’s daughter!
Curious how many readers of the article understand, let alone have first-hand practical knowledge of, the significance of the “^H^H^H^H^H^H^H”. 😀
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It is a distant throwback, but I think most will get it intuitively even if they don’t have the specific knowledge. -rc