The love boats

Ms. Saunders is a really good con artist, as she writes in her first chapter. She conned her way into a high fashion modeling career, then into being a cruise ship hostess. Despite her admitted ability to spell or write, she conned her way into getting this book out. But that doesn't make the book less fun. She may have a ghostwriter or serious editor, but her stories are either real, or a con that gave her fame. Part travelogue, part sales pitch, part autobiographic, her book of the times told all about the life of cruise ships cruising, particularly the crew and passengers on the make. Given the period she writes about (the late 60s and early 70s, before herpes and aids), she's probably truthful about most of the stories about the era of the sexual revolution. They are fun, and her data about the ports of call and life as a cruise ship hostess and cruise directors are probably mostly true. Still, even if I don't believe all of her stories because of her self-admitted history as a con artist, they were good enough to get her book published, then turned into a TV show, and earned every penny she made by exploding the cruise ship vacation industry. I've been on over ten cruises, and loved every minute of them (except on my second cruise, where I declined to take seasickness antidotes, and suffered accordingly for a few hours). They aren't like the way Ms. Saunders described, but it was a different era. The sexual revolution was over, herpes and aids killed free sex. Still, even if half the stories she has are cons, and the travel information outdated, you'll wish it was all true. Plus, you will love travel at sea - it may not be the Love Boat, but it's one great vacation.