Our Monthly Meeting on Wednesday 26 August 2026 was given by Ian Cooper, and was titled “Rivers, Reviews and Ridiculous Moments”. Those that were seeking information about River Cruising were satisfied. Those that wanted to know about the process of writing reviews of cruising holidays were satisfied. And there were many ridiculous moments that were enjoyed by all and we all appreciated his lively and refreshing graphics.
Ian has had a career in academe and has had many books published concerning has teachings – mostly in the field of Personal Development, Business Development and Customer Service Management. A quirk of fate led to an opportunity to write a travel article for the Financial Times, and that opened up his second career as a travel-writer/cruise-reviewer.
The role and position of a writer reviewing a cruise is filled with difficult dilemmas. Should you tell other passengers? Should you tell the crew on board? What happens to the writer when something goes wrong on the cruise? Should the gory details be disclosed or should they be covered up?
The Cruise Company has an interest in a positive review, and the crew on board may be doing their best to look after the reviewer. Other passengers will immediately notice that someone is getting better service! And other passengers may include nobility and royalty, and as Ian found on one trip, it can result in an invitation to a palace!
Ian concluded his excellent talk with his Nine Golden Rules on choosing a river cruise and they all made perfect sense.
Our next Monthly Meeting will be on 23 September 2026 at 10:00am and will feature another virtual tour of London.