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Love Boats: Above and Below Decks with Jeraldine Saunders: The Real Life Story of the Creator of 'The Love Boat'
Get the inside information on the mammoth cruise ships as you laugh and cry through the autobiography of the woman who made it popular, Jeraldine Saunders, in Love Boats (revised and expanded version of The Love Boats).
This is the book that started the TV series, The Love Boat, one of the most popular shows in history. That series was full of episodes of humor and pathos, but this book outdoes them all--the amazing stories here are true.
Over the years, Ms. Saunders became an international sensation, from being a model for designers such as Mr. Blackwell to accompanying famous stars to public events. She learned palmistry, graphology, numerology and astrology. Then she went to sea.
Jeraldine Saunders became the first female cruise director and held this position for a decade. She wrote her experiences in the first edition of this book and came up with the idea for the TV series. The new edition of Love Boats expands on the original, making it even better.
Read about her experiences:
-Mistaking a seaport for the name of a cabin creates a funny but frightful misunderstanding with Mario
-The disaster of the heat: 750 passengers, hot weather, and no soap
-Wild fights among the musicians--watch out for that flying plate!
-Tips about cruising to Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean, including her personal adventures
While the cruise industry has always been popular, this book has been credited with increasing the cruise business by 3,000 percent. Filled with photos of Ms. Saunders and other famous personalities, Love Boats gives you the chance to find out why going on cruises has become so popular, places you might like to visit, and her entire, amazing story. Get this book for a fun, delightful reading experience.
This is the book that started the TV series, The Love Boat, one of the most popular shows in history. That series was full of episodes of humor and pathos, but this book outdoes them all--the amazing stories here are true.
Over the years, Ms. Saunders became an international sensation, from being a model for designers such as Mr. Blackwell to accompanying famous stars to public events. She learned palmistry, graphology, numerology and astrology. Then she went to sea.
Jeraldine Saunders became the first female cruise director and held this position for a decade. She wrote her experiences in the first edition of this book and came up with the idea for the TV series. The new edition of Love Boats expands on the original, making it even better.
Read about her experiences:
-Mistaking a seaport for the name of a cabin creates a funny but frightful misunderstanding with Mario
-The disaster of the heat: 750 passengers, hot weather, and no soap
-Wild fights among the musicians--watch out for that flying plate!
-Tips about cruising to Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean, including her personal adventures
While the cruise industry has always been popular, this book has been credited with increasing the cruise business by 3,000 percent. Filled with photos of Ms. Saunders and other famous personalities, Love Boats gives you the chance to find out why going on cruises has become so popular, places you might like to visit, and her entire, amazing story. Get this book for a fun, delightful reading experience.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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113 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 7, 2013
I rate this book high, but you must understand that this is NOT a guide to cruising. This book must be viewed as the History of the events that rescued a failing industry and turned it into the megacruises of today.
It is also an updated version of the book that the television series The Love Boat was based on. But the TV show focused on Romance while this book deals mostly with bed-hopping. It is much racier than the TV show.
The Love Boats is a reworking of Saunders' previous book, with new information added.
You have to wade thru the author's obsession with astrology and suchlike New Age goings on, but for me it was worth it to view this vignette in ocean liner history.
It is also an updated version of the book that the television series The Love Boat was based on. But the TV show focused on Romance while this book deals mostly with bed-hopping. It is much racier than the TV show.
The Love Boats is a reworking of Saunders' previous book, with new information added.
You have to wade thru the author's obsession with astrology and suchlike New Age goings on, but for me it was worth it to view this vignette in ocean liner history.
May 22, 2020
Jeraldine Saunders' Love Boats is partially a memoir, partially an extended treatise on astrology, and mostly a history book about how horrifying the 1970s were.
As this is the book the TV show The Love Boat was based on, I was expecting it to be mostly true-life stories about shenanigans going on at sea, probably revolving around romantic encounters. And I got some of what I expected.
I enjoyed the stories about cruises gone horribly awry, like the vessel that illegally went into drydock for a few days with all of the passengers still on board. Or guests stealing things they liked from the ship, including the fixtures. Or the one about how mussels got sucked into the ship's plumbing intakes and infested all the toilets on board.
I less enjoyed her deep dives into astrology, numerology, Ouija boards, and all other kinds of New Age woo-woo. Not that those things are necessarily bad, and they do paint her as an eccentric character. It's a tonnage issue. For a book ostensibly about cruising, too much of this book was spent exploring other astral planes. I found myself skipping ahead a lot. The last few chapters are basically advertisements for her other books on handwriting analysis and aura reading.
And my least favorite thing about the book was the sheer nauseating grossness of sex in the late '60s and early '70s. It's especially appalling how passively sexist the whole thing is, considering it's written by a woman. I'm not saying Jeraldine Saunders was sexist. I'm saying the societal norm at the time was so acutely sexist that to a modern reader she comes off as sexist just for recounting these stories with such blase joviality. So many stories of predatory crew members spending every cruise aggressively bedding single passengers. And married passengers. And the children of married passengers. Oh what fun! It's the '70s! Apparently there are no laws yet.
Worst is the hi-larious story about the crew razzing a comedian about a certain sexual escapade. You see, while they were docked in Canada, the comedian met this poor Australian girl who was desperate to get home but couldn't afford a plane ticket. He tells her it's her lucky day, because his ship is going to Australia, and he can smuggle her on board in a store room. But, the comedian says, "If I'm caught, I'll be fired, it's a big risk I'm taking. I'll only do it if you pleasure me with your favors."
Of course, the girl agrees, because she's desperate and apparently red flags haven't been invented yet.
By this point the whole crew is laughing and carrying on over this light and amusing #metoo story. We learn that once the voyage is underway, the comedian starts "exacting his tribute" so frequently that the girl comes out of hiding to plead to the captain to make him stop, sobbing, "Captain, I am worn out, completely. Tell me, how many more days before we get to Australia?" To which the captain replies, "Australia? This is the Vancouver ferry!"
And the whole crew bursts into peals of hilarious laughter! Because what's funnier than smuggling a desperate woman into a storeroom to repeatedly rape under the pretenses of a reward you have no intention or, in fact, ability to give her? Oh my sides!
Maybe the story is true, maybe it isn't. But the fact that it's presented as an amusing anecdote is frankly dehumanizing. A lot of the stories in this book boil down to, "When you're cruising you can bang whoever you want, whenever you want, on the ship or in port! Especially third-world native girls! They're so loving and gracious, like prostitutes you don't even have to pay!"
The fact that Saunders seems perfectly fine with all of this is especially troubling, considering early in the book there's a story about a furious Italian officer who came banging on her door one night to demand sex. Terrified, she called the night porter and begged him not to give the master key to the would-be rapist. The chapter ends with her in the dark waiting fearfully for the sound of a key in the door that never comes. "Finally I fell into a fitful sleep," she says. "What a scary world it seemed, to be on one's own, at sea, in the middle of nowhere."
I understand that you have to view these things through the eyes of history, but the alleged fact that this book single handedly saved the industry by invigorating interest in cruising paints the vacation-goers of the era in a grisly light.
As this is the book the TV show The Love Boat was based on, I was expecting it to be mostly true-life stories about shenanigans going on at sea, probably revolving around romantic encounters. And I got some of what I expected.
I enjoyed the stories about cruises gone horribly awry, like the vessel that illegally went into drydock for a few days with all of the passengers still on board. Or guests stealing things they liked from the ship, including the fixtures. Or the one about how mussels got sucked into the ship's plumbing intakes and infested all the toilets on board.
I less enjoyed her deep dives into astrology, numerology, Ouija boards, and all other kinds of New Age woo-woo. Not that those things are necessarily bad, and they do paint her as an eccentric character. It's a tonnage issue. For a book ostensibly about cruising, too much of this book was spent exploring other astral planes. I found myself skipping ahead a lot. The last few chapters are basically advertisements for her other books on handwriting analysis and aura reading.
And my least favorite thing about the book was the sheer nauseating grossness of sex in the late '60s and early '70s. It's especially appalling how passively sexist the whole thing is, considering it's written by a woman. I'm not saying Jeraldine Saunders was sexist. I'm saying the societal norm at the time was so acutely sexist that to a modern reader she comes off as sexist just for recounting these stories with such blase joviality. So many stories of predatory crew members spending every cruise aggressively bedding single passengers. And married passengers. And the children of married passengers. Oh what fun! It's the '70s! Apparently there are no laws yet.
Worst is the hi-larious story about the crew razzing a comedian about a certain sexual escapade. You see, while they were docked in Canada, the comedian met this poor Australian girl who was desperate to get home but couldn't afford a plane ticket. He tells her it's her lucky day, because his ship is going to Australia, and he can smuggle her on board in a store room. But, the comedian says, "If I'm caught, I'll be fired, it's a big risk I'm taking. I'll only do it if you pleasure me with your favors."
Of course, the girl agrees, because she's desperate and apparently red flags haven't been invented yet.
By this point the whole crew is laughing and carrying on over this light and amusing #metoo story. We learn that once the voyage is underway, the comedian starts "exacting his tribute" so frequently that the girl comes out of hiding to plead to the captain to make him stop, sobbing, "Captain, I am worn out, completely. Tell me, how many more days before we get to Australia?" To which the captain replies, "Australia? This is the Vancouver ferry!"
And the whole crew bursts into peals of hilarious laughter! Because what's funnier than smuggling a desperate woman into a storeroom to repeatedly rape under the pretenses of a reward you have no intention or, in fact, ability to give her? Oh my sides!
Maybe the story is true, maybe it isn't. But the fact that it's presented as an amusing anecdote is frankly dehumanizing. A lot of the stories in this book boil down to, "When you're cruising you can bang whoever you want, whenever you want, on the ship or in port! Especially third-world native girls! They're so loving and gracious, like prostitutes you don't even have to pay!"
The fact that Saunders seems perfectly fine with all of this is especially troubling, considering early in the book there's a story about a furious Italian officer who came banging on her door one night to demand sex. Terrified, she called the night porter and begged him not to give the master key to the would-be rapist. The chapter ends with her in the dark waiting fearfully for the sound of a key in the door that never comes. "Finally I fell into a fitful sleep," she says. "What a scary world it seemed, to be on one's own, at sea, in the middle of nowhere."
I understand that you have to view these things through the eyes of history, but the alleged fact that this book single handedly saved the industry by invigorating interest in cruising paints the vacation-goers of the era in a grisly light.
March 27, 2014
On very few occasions can I say that I liked the movie/television show better than the book. This is one of those rare occasions. It was painful to read but I was determined to see my way through to the end. That being said, I think a few of my IQ points may have committed suicide along the way.
Jeraldine Saunders claims that she single handedly saved the cruise industry. I am not sure where she got the notion. Frankly, her telling of life on a cruise ship scares the hell out of me. She repeatedly admits that she lied to get the job and then lied to cruise guests and staff to get out of sticky situations. She tells about tricking guests into believing that the subpar services and outings they paid for are something special and then she turns around and calls them names behind their backs on the occasion that they are unhappy. Throw in the extra special stories of ships running aground, suicide, bomb threats, fights, staff having sex with as many guests as they can on every cruise and drunken officers and you get a glowing review of the cruise industry. The entire book is unfocused and scattered and is band-aided together with her opinions on astrology. As a bonus, in the updated and expanded edition, one of the extra chapters is basically a sales pitch for her other books.
In my opinion, Jeraldine Saunders is nothing more than an uneducated (yet somehow skilled) liar and Love Boats is more of a disservice to the cruise industry than anything else. If this was the only word to go by, the entire industry would be dead. In the description on the back cover of the book, it says it is about her experiences as the first ever female cruise director. This is not entirely true. Less than one third of the book is about her experiences as a cruise director. Nearly all of her stories are of her experiences as a hostess.
In all honesty, her book was the inspiration for the television series. HOWEVER, if anything saved the industry, it was the show, not her book. The truth of the matter is, the book and the television show have very few similarities. The only common threads between the two are the boat and the female cruise director. Very few of her stories were classy enough or appropriate for television.
Save your time and IQ points and read a different book.
Jeraldine Saunders claims that she single handedly saved the cruise industry. I am not sure where she got the notion. Frankly, her telling of life on a cruise ship scares the hell out of me. She repeatedly admits that she lied to get the job and then lied to cruise guests and staff to get out of sticky situations. She tells about tricking guests into believing that the subpar services and outings they paid for are something special and then she turns around and calls them names behind their backs on the occasion that they are unhappy. Throw in the extra special stories of ships running aground, suicide, bomb threats, fights, staff having sex with as many guests as they can on every cruise and drunken officers and you get a glowing review of the cruise industry. The entire book is unfocused and scattered and is band-aided together with her opinions on astrology. As a bonus, in the updated and expanded edition, one of the extra chapters is basically a sales pitch for her other books.
In my opinion, Jeraldine Saunders is nothing more than an uneducated (yet somehow skilled) liar and Love Boats is more of a disservice to the cruise industry than anything else. If this was the only word to go by, the entire industry would be dead. In the description on the back cover of the book, it says it is about her experiences as the first ever female cruise director. This is not entirely true. Less than one third of the book is about her experiences as a cruise director. Nearly all of her stories are of her experiences as a hostess.
In all honesty, her book was the inspiration for the television series. HOWEVER, if anything saved the industry, it was the show, not her book. The truth of the matter is, the book and the television show have very few similarities. The only common threads between the two are the boat and the female cruise director. Very few of her stories were classy enough or appropriate for television.
Save your time and IQ points and read a different book.
October 16, 2007
The first thing I noticed is how dated this book is. I have taken several cruises and the information about ships and ports that Jeraldine discusses is no longer relevant. Her style and language are very 70's. I was disappointed because I expected that each chapter was going to be a little vignette, like on the tv show. Instead, it was Jeraldine's perspective of how the cruise industry operates. This book was an exercise in ego as far as I'm concerned. Jeraldine is very taken with her own status as a former model, a cruise ship hostess, and the first female cruise director. According to her she practically sailed the ships single-handedly. Seems she was in charge of nearly every aspect of the cruise. Who knows, maybe that's the way things were in the 70's. I never sailed until the 90's.
I did learn an interesting fact, though. Posh is an acronym for "Port Over, Starboard Home", referring to the ideal arrangements for a voyage from England to the Orient.
My recommendation on reading this? Don't bother. Use your time more wisely.
I did learn an interesting fact, though. Posh is an acronym for "Port Over, Starboard Home", referring to the ideal arrangements for a voyage from England to the Orient.
My recommendation on reading this? Don't bother. Use your time more wisely.
September 12, 2021
This was an entertaining look into the cruise director and hostess life of the mid to late 70's...wow...some very interesting stories told by the creator of the Love Boat series!
December 21, 2008
Saunders shares her experiences working aboard a cruise ship as cruise director. Having never taken a cruise of this type, I can only guess that the book is a bit dated, but the writing is pure fluff.
January 4, 2009
great book..The industry changed a lot since the author worked on a cruise ship...but her stories are fascinating, and in many ways, still capture the essence.
May 29, 2023
I need to become a writer. Or if not a writer than an editor. If this woman can get this garbage published then I am in the wrong line of work. When I think of the many people who must read and edit a book before it gets published I’m blown away that not a single one of them said in this case “um, it’s a no.”
I picked up this book because I wanted to know a bit about what cruising was like back in the day, and there were definitely some interesting anecdotes, but the writing is so poor and so scattered that it makes it hard to not want to kill yourself. Or somebody. Maybe Jeraldine. She even describes her experience getting her book published toward the end of the book, and it’s frankly shocking how she could string together a box full of notes and letters and hastily scribble out a “chapter” of the book in her non existent free time and then have several professionals agree to publish it. I don’t know, maybe there was a shortage of writers back then and they just didn’t have much to chose from.
Her ego is appalling as well (maybe that’s how she got published?), in her eyes she is an expert on all things and everyone wants a piece. Oh, and of course she credits herself with single handedly rescuing the cruising industry. Nbd. She may have invented the internet too, stay tuned. We’re looking into it. The center of the book features a section of color pictures of what else? Jeraldine. Here’s Jeraldine as a senior in high school, here she is several times as a model, and here she is as….. on and on. The end of the book falls apart (not surprisingly) into random rants about astrology and outdated cruising advice and self promoting pitches about her other books (how on earth did she get published multiple times?)
Her experiences are somewhat interesting, but they’re poorly relayed. If she’d hired a proper writer this would have been a great book. She even admits that her publisher said she needed dialogue to which she admitted to hastily throwing in a few “he saids” and “she saids” to accomplish the task. I’m blown away. Apparently this is how the world worked back when baby boomers were in need of a career.
I picked up this book because I wanted to know a bit about what cruising was like back in the day, and there were definitely some interesting anecdotes, but the writing is so poor and so scattered that it makes it hard to not want to kill yourself. Or somebody. Maybe Jeraldine. She even describes her experience getting her book published toward the end of the book, and it’s frankly shocking how she could string together a box full of notes and letters and hastily scribble out a “chapter” of the book in her non existent free time and then have several professionals agree to publish it. I don’t know, maybe there was a shortage of writers back then and they just didn’t have much to chose from.
Her ego is appalling as well (maybe that’s how she got published?), in her eyes she is an expert on all things and everyone wants a piece. Oh, and of course she credits herself with single handedly rescuing the cruising industry. Nbd. She may have invented the internet too, stay tuned. We’re looking into it. The center of the book features a section of color pictures of what else? Jeraldine. Here’s Jeraldine as a senior in high school, here she is several times as a model, and here she is as….. on and on. The end of the book falls apart (not surprisingly) into random rants about astrology and outdated cruising advice and self promoting pitches about her other books (how on earth did she get published multiple times?)
Her experiences are somewhat interesting, but they’re poorly relayed. If she’d hired a proper writer this would have been a great book. She even admits that her publisher said she needed dialogue to which she admitted to hastily throwing in a few “he saids” and “she saids” to accomplish the task. I’m blown away. Apparently this is how the world worked back when baby boomers were in need of a career.
March 18, 2020
I read this book for a story (though it’s unclear if that story will ever be published, given everything these days). This is the memoir of Jeraldine Saunders, the first woman ever to work as a cruise director for a cruise ship. It’s also the book that the TV show The Love Boat was (very loosely) based on. I’m giving it 3 stars because it’s a genuinely interesting look at cruise ships in the 1960s and 1970s, and all the problems that never made it into the famous TV show (attempted rapes by crew members, passenger suicides, gross mishandling of the ship, etc.). Of course, Saunders was also very serious about astrology, and a large part of the book is focused on that.
August 20, 2019
I had no idea that The Love Boat TV show was based on a book. It’s mildly interesting. The chapters that are stories of people and escapes are sometimes fun but the chapters that are basically travelogues or what to see in Mexico are definitely skippable. Worth reading just for the novelty of it.
January 14, 2022
3-1/2 stars. Definitely dated (1974) but interesting and fun.
November 4, 2024
There are some doozies in here!
Great glimpses into cruise ship vacations.
Great glimpses into cruise ship vacations.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews