An Explosive Exposé:
Going Behind The Scenes Of The Cruise Industry
August 29, 2007
My fascination with the cruise industry began in the early 1980s. By 1983, I had made the decision, I wanted to work in the travel industry. So, I signed up for a certification course to get my travel agent license, and decided to specialize in cruises.
The glitz and glamour of the cruise industry was alluring. I dug into the course with everything I had, studying all the cruise lines, the ships, their cabins, ammenities, ports of call, airports and airlines that would bring passengers to their cruise ships, the SABRE and APPOLO systems, the works. I was ready for an internship in a travel agency. Then, something happened.
After class one day near graduation, I was talking with the other students in the class and something came to light, that changed that course of destiny for me. I came to see that I didn't like the kind of people who were taking my course of study, at all. They were nothing at all like the other students I studied with in my college business courses.
These people, would be similar to the people I had to work with, all day, everyday, week after week, month after month, and I didn't like them. I made a decision that day, I would go back to my original major course of study at college, International Business. I walked away, leaving my accreditation behind and writing off the time I invested as a waste.
After all, we as workers spend more time each day at work with fellow employees and employers than we do with our families. It is more important to me to like my work, then to make a buck if I am going to sacrifice the precious time I spend with my family.
Still, I had a fascination with the cruise industry, and as luck would have it, I won a contest for a free cruise the next year, and embarked on my first cruise. I was so excited to take that cruise, it was like a dream come true.
To that extent, I can imagine how Annette Mizener, only six years younger than I was on my first cruise, felt as she unloaded her luggage at the cruise terminal. Her mother also had won the cruise the two women took.
For a first time cruiser, it was like a magical fairy tale, especially back then, when cruising was still an exclusive travel option reserved only for the wealthy and senior citizens who had saved for many years.
That cruise was my first glimpse into a world I had previously only loved from afar. It was a shock, to say the least. Beyond the slick, colorful cruise brochures, and glamorous commericals, there was an under belly of the cruise ship, the industry had kept hidden very well. But, that particular cruise is a topic for another article.
It would be more than 20 years later, when I would delve indepth into the industry to see that from that first cruise I embarked on, the industry ethics and morals had spiraled downward, at a shocking speed.
The depth of the industry deceit, cover-up, lies and profit protection at any cost, arrived in my email today, in the most undeniable form of proof I have seen of an industry wide disregard for any reasonable level of business ethics.
Partner Kendall Carver of the International Cruise Victims contacted me today with a file he was about to have posted to his website. The file was a 29 minute radio show produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Titled, The Price Of Fun, the show was an investigative report, like none to date, that went far beyond any prior news show investigation into the cruise industry.
The show interviews cruise ship crew members, ship officers, the industry association and victims. The result is a well-rounded look into what really goes on aboard a cruise ship, how the line and ship unwritten policy works, who makes decisions and how crimes are handled.
It is that Wild West style, anything goes lawlessness onboard that has been so well concealed until recently, and how those crimes are ultimately dealt with, the stories of victims, the interiews of officers who tried to do the right thing when crimes were committed, but were circumvented every step of the way, and the profits at any cost mentality that was not only shocking but repulsive.
This is what I saw as only a tidbit on that very first cruise, and I could see that those I studied with many years ago, were supportive of that mentality. I had been right to walk away the year before. If you wanted to work in the cruise travel industry, you would keep your mouth shut if you wanted to make any money in a long term career.
Most shocking in this radio show was a complete, sickening, morally bankrupt policy that governs hidden work conditions, rules and regulations onboard ships that third world employees work in, as told straight from the mouths of those who worked in the industry.
This is something I could not have guessed back in 1984, at least not to this magnitude. Had I worked in the industry for two decades, I doubt I would have had as good of a look into the industry, as this radio show now presents to the world.
I do disagree with one point in the show, however. The show presents a statement that no crimes are punished. This is not entirely true. We have cases on Cruise Bruise with convictions, including murders, but admittedly they are rare, nowhere near the approximate 50% success rate for solved murders in many U.S. cities.
The radio show is two parts; the second part will be available next week. The first part is now available to you, thanks to the International Cruise Victims, and their tireless effort to bring education and the truth to travelers around the world, and some of their members contributing to the show.
The show requires Real Player to listen. Most computers have that already installed. If you have Windows Vista, you will need to download it. You can download it here, if you use a Windows operating system, from the official Real Player website. Once you have downloaded Real Player you will be able to listen to the show. Real Player will begin playing at once, opening in a new browser. You will need to disable your pop-up blocker.
Wild Watery Frontier
Beyond The Glitzs And Glamour Of Cruises
Lawlessness Goes Unpunished Daily On The High Seas
