My Dearest Friends,
My constant rambling about this country and the situation is one it seems we all share. Who among us wouldn’t want to escape to lands better off and forget, if for a little while, all the troubles and burdens that come along with being Lebanese in Lebanon?
That is why, after my trip to the Gulf on business, I am embarking tonight on an 8-day cruise with the Lebanese Abou Merhi Group, on their newly acquired Orient Queen 2. I will be covering all the cities we will be visiting, as well as the cruise ship itself. The trip includes cities in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey and yes, I’ll be taking you along with me with the shots I’ll be uploading here, tweeting and of course Instragramming.
Before any of you jump to conclusions, I am not being paid to do this. The cruise was a gracious invitation from the Orient Queen 2 team which I humbly accepted with no preconditions. So, worry not, it’s gonna be the honest type of reviews you’ve all gotten used to reading here. Now that everything has been made clear from the start, I hope you’ll enjoy the posts over the next week.
Luckily, the date coincides perfectly with my summer schedule, making it the escape I need as well as an awesome opportunity to review a cruise ship owned by a Lebanese company that sails from our very own port. It’s also my first ever cruise, so I’m excited!
So, see you next week Beirut and in the meantime, wish me a safe trip.
so you’re invited on a cruise by a cruise company and want us to believe that you are gonna write an impartial review?
Yup!
Think of it this way, if I write something that’s not true, and someone who goes try the cruise later on discovers I lied, I’d lose the faith of said reader who’d probably make sure everyone knows I wasn’t honest. Considering I have nothing to gain, but loads to lose, you can safely assume it’s like any other review I’ve done.
Plus, why would I even mention they invited me if I was going to lie about the experience? I’d just say I was taking a vacation.
Dude why are you always on vacation?
I’m not! I just don’t blog about work and university =P
I hope you enjoy the trip and post some really good pictures (on Instagram and on the Blog). I’ve seen Rita Kamel’s pics and the cruise seems great, I’m jealous
But technically speaking, in the domain of Journalistic ethics, reviewing an item that you got for free is considered a partial review and can’t be seen as independent. The rationale is that the reviewer feels a sense of obligation to give something in return for what he or she got. To put it differently, if you paid for the trip from your own pocket, you’ll be much more at liberty to heavily criticize even the tiniest of details in the cruise, whereas now you will unconsciously be more polite.
This is why reputed review magazines and websites always make it a point on the first page that they never try anything for free and that they pay for everything they review. This is why journalists are supposed to pay for their food and not accept an invitation by the person they’re interviewing.
Otherwise, disclosure is a must. It is not an argument for impartiality like you just did in your comment above. It’s mandatory and pragmatic, because if readers found out from a different source that you got the trip for free, the backlash against your credibility would be much more severe.
I find it surprising you’ve already judged my review prior to even publishing it. If I accepted bribing and threats, id have made up with the people I’ve blacklisted, some of whom have tried to be very persuasive.
If I get invited to dinner, I decline, call back and use an alias instead of my name. So thanks for the ethics lesson, but I’m very well versed in this.
However, my budget is very humble and getting to places like an expensive cruise or even the Playboy Mansion is practically impossible without winning something or being invited. This does not mean I can’t review it and be honest. I’ve signed no contract and don’t really feel obligated.
Also, if it bothers everyone so much, don’t read the review
which will focus on the destinations, not the cruise. But, I’d appreciate it if everyone stopped badmouthing me for something I haven’t even written yet
Chill bro! Grow a pair and take criticism like a man!
A bit too jealous, I’d say. There’s absolutely no need for the over-analytical lesson. It’s a blog and opinions and biases – whether intentional or unintentional – are pretty much the point. Comments are usually welcome too, but they don’t have to be so..condescending and pretentious.
“My constant rambling about this country and the situation is one it seems we all share”
Actually no, this isn’t something that we all share. For all the people who can’t seem to talk enough smack about Lebanon, I suggest they hit the cruise with you and you all never come back!
Enjoyed the protests today? How about the electricity? It’s impressive you were able to access my blog too with your connection.
“the honest type of reviews you’ve all gotten used to reading here”
mmmm, i like u gino
gino i am waiting for your blog on the orient queen i am going monday and i want to know what to expect !
Gino…I am curious to see if you have had a chance to post pictures of the actual cruise ship (the ones you have of the destinations are very nice) and waiting for a report of your experiences!
tony add me on fb rodrigue zouein you will fond the pictures of the cruise