I love the world of Amazon and Kindle. I love the fact that you don’t have to haul your ass down to the book store or order books online and then wait days for them to arrive. I love the fact that with the lack of time and cost involved in producing an actual paper book and shipping it to book stores around the world, so many more authors now have a voice that would have been silenced even five or ten years ago.
Sometimes, maybe too many voices can be heard. Is Jay Herring one of those voices? Herring was an employee of Carnival Cruise Lines from 2002 to 2004 and has since joined the parade of tell-all authors writing about their ‘underworld’ experience working on the high seas.
The Truth About Cruise Ships
The subtitle reads, “A cruise ship officer survives the work, adventure, alcohol and sex of ship life.” In my opinion, the book is a little too heavy on the alcohol and sex and a little light on the work and especially the adventure.
However, with a Kindle price of just $2.99, this 290 book is a good read. When you think about it, that’s the price you’ll pay for a bottle of water at the airport or in the cruise terminal. Herring was an I/S Manager (I/T Manager) onboard Carnival’s cruise ships. He was onboard the Carnival Triumph when it ran up against Hurricane Isabel while at sea in 2003. That chapter and when he describes running aground on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans are some of the book’s best reading.
The opening chapter on the hiring process he went through is informative if not very adventurous. Herring does give a fair account of life onboard the ships and does give a bit of insight into the hatred ship staff can have for the passengers that ultimately pay their wages.
Cruise Confidential by Brian David Bruns is perhaps the best read by a former cruise ship employee and give the perspective of a member of the dining room staff. Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member by Joshua Kinser is another $2.99 Kindle download and a great book by a musician on a cruise ship. Herring’s book ranks somewhere behind those two.
The Amazon/Kindle profile page for this Jay Herring book certainly has some interesting and controversial reviews. It would seem that Jay has offended some other cruise ship employees and they’ve used this forum to attack. The issue? Herring parades through the book calling himself a senior officer. As an I/S Manager, he finds himself in a gray area where they dress him up like an officer and he is treated to some of the same perks but he is not a trained ship’s officer.
Book Reviews
Have a read – I pulled some excerpts from the Amazon customer reviews:
As a cruise ship crew member, I was excited to read something telling stories about our unique lifestyle and experience. This “book” was a ridiculous waste of text, a narcissist bigot trying to fluff his feathers acting as though he was a well educated Casanova. He is most definitely the person we would have been continually asking when he was getting off the ship. amazon review from ginger_88 shortly after the release of the book.
This book should have been called come read about my sex life. This was NOT a book about working on Cruise ships. This was a book about how the author managed to sleep with around 20 women while incidentally working on a cruise ship. Buy Cruise Confidential instead. You’ll be much happier. amazon review from s. mcewen
First of all let’s understand that Mr. Herring is, and always has, presented himself to be much more of an expert than he really is.
On passenger ship there are three categories. Officers, staff, and crew.An officer on a ship needs to have a license issued by a recognized national authority in order to hold their position onboard, namely deck officers, engineering and electrical officers, radio officers (a dying breed) and medical officers. Most have attended specialized training, colleges or universities in order to pass the examination requirements to receive their license.
Mr. Herring was an IT technician. A staff member. No marine training, no license. And even as the IT Manager, he wouldn’t have been considered a “Senior” anything onboard any ship I sailed on. amazon review by cruzercapt
