Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Ship Industry (26 page)

The goal of the ITF campaign against flags of convenience — to shift the registry of ships to the country in which there is beneficial ownership of both the ship and the cruise line — is consistent with provisions of the United Nations Law of the Sea. Workers would benefit in that they are likely to have greater protection and rights under the laws of the United States or countries such as Norway, Italy, or the United Kingdom where many cruise lines are based and owned. The argument against these

A FEW WORDS ON FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE

A flag of convenience provides a low-cost option for ship registry. It also allows a company to operate a ship with fewer regulations or controls than would be the case if it was registered in the United States. Worker salaries and hours are not regulated by American labor laws, and workers have limited if any recourse in American or other courts if there is a dispute over wages or a workplace injury. For example, one cruise ship company's contract states:

The Employee shall be initially employed on board the ship stated in the Employment Agreement and shall be subject to the rights and obligations as are set forth in the Maritime Laws of the Bahamas. Employer and Employee agree that any dispute or claims arising under this Agreement shall be governed and adjudicated pursuant to laws of the Bahamas, regardless of any other legal remedies that may be available.
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Foreign registries also leave the inspection and certification of safety equipment to the US Coast Guard (or similar authority in some European countries). Ships that don't stop at American ports may never be fully inspected.

The flag of convenience is an economic benefit to the cruise line and easy to purchase. Liberia offers its registry through International Registries in Reston, Virginia. Panama's fleet-safety and registration operation is based in Manhattan, not in Panama City.

Ship registry has become big business. In 1995 Panama earned $47.5 million in ship registration fees and annual taxes — 5 percent of its federal budget — and another $50 million in fees for maritime lawyers, agents, and inspectors. The Panamanian government operates 56 maritime consulates around the world from which a registration can be purchased. The consul receives a cash bonus based on the amount of business brought in, and for transfer of multiple ships to Panamanian registry, can offer discounts of up to 50 percent as well as, in some cases, a complete waiver of fees for a year.
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changes, generally advanced by the cruise lines, is that operating costs would increase and, ultimately, so would the price of a cruise.

The ITF and Female Workers

The ITF is also engaged in a campaign to protect the rights of female workers — efforts that go well beyond only female employees on cruise ships. In 1999 the ITF Women’s Committee extended its campaign to women’s basic rights, to make it more inclusive. In addition to issues such as equal access and freedom from discrimination, the committee has worked for women’s freedom from sexual harassment and violence. This includes not just providing a place to turn in cases where a female employee has been harassed or exploited, but also clear guidelines for collective agreements that will protect women from the fear of harassment and violence. As well, the ITF provides female workers with tips for survival — a sort of self-defense guide.

The ITF’s Seafarers’ Section — the division concerned with workers on ships — has also taken a role in protecting workers. It has developed policy guidelines on harassment and bullying. Rooted in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the guidelines are designed for both employers and employees. As in any other workplace, workers aboard ships may be hesitant — or on a practical level, unable — to exercise their rights under these guidelines. The cruise industry has a history of not cooperating with the ITF, nor with others interested in the welfare and well-being of people working on cruise ships.

A SWEATSHOP OR NOT?

A cruise ship may not fit neatly into the conventional definition of the term “sweatshop,” but regardless, the work conditions and rates of pay are certainly below standards common in the North America, Western Europe, and Australia. The vast majority of cruise ship passengers are drawn from these countries, lured by economical vacation packages, but it is the workers on whose backs their bargain rests. Despite bargain pricing, the cruise line earns a hefty profit.

A
fter
completing
a
pre-cruise
package
at a hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, my partner and i show up, along with five or six other couples, at the assigned time for transportation from the hotel to the ship. After ten minutes or so, someone inquires about the bus and is told, “It will be here soon.” Ten minutes later, my partner and I tire of waiting. We jump into a cab and head to the ship, leaving the others behind. Onboard the ship that evening we learn that although those waiting had made several phone calls, it had taken almost two hours for a bus to arrive. Eventually it came out that the reason for the delay was that originally no bus had been hired to pick us up.

After this cruise I wrote to the company about this and several other lapses — for example, that my cruise line-issued air tickets had me leaving from Boston but returning to Philadelphia, that our room on the ship had inadequate air conditioning, and that special arrangements for the dining room, confirmed in Miami, had been ignored. The response I received concluded by stating:

We value the opinions and observations of our passengers and wish to assure you that the situations cited were exceptions, rather than the norm at Norwegian cruise Line. For this reason, we invite your continued patronage, so we may demonstrate to you the high standards that have earned us the fine reputation we enjoy in the travel industry.

After having taken seven cruises, which included 73 days on Norwegian Cruise Line ships, my partner and I decided it was time to try a different company. Unfortunately, the nature of the written response from Norwegian Cruise Line is not unique. Similar letters can be found at carnivalsucks.com, ncl-sucks.com, and on websites named “An NCL Cruise Experience” and “NCL Ruined Our Honeymoon.” A UK website detailing a passenger’s experiences, with accompanying photos, on the millennium cruise aboard Cunard Line’s
QE 2
was short-lived. This was one of the few cases where a cruise line has “settled” with a disgruntled passenger to silence a public display.
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Most people go on a cruise expecting everything will go smoothly and there will be no problems, and often, this is the case. However, given the number of possible things that can go wrong, it is not uncommon that something does. Cruise lines vary widely in how they deal with problems. As one journalist states, “When cruises go awry, you’re at the mercy of line.”
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Often, the attitude exhibited toward passengers is less than consumer friendly.

CRUISE LINES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The cruise industry is, like most businesses, providing a service. The companies are able to please many of their customers, but a few have a less than acceptable experience.

Two factors affect whether a customer’s complaint will be adequately handled. One is the cruise line’s tolerance for customer dissatisfaction. The chief executive officer of one company admitted to me that he expects between 5 and 10 percent of passengers to leave a cruise dissatisfied — which means that a 3,000-passenger ship could have as many as 300 disgruntled passengers every week. In this case, passengers who complain will likely receive a “variation on a theme” form letter and maybe a certificate for 10, 15, or 20 percent off a future cruise.

The cruise line’s responsiveness is further influenced by a growing desensitization to consumer complaints. With a high volume of passengers and the range of expectations, cruise lines quickly hear it all and understandably become desensitized to complaints. While producing high expectations through advertising and brochures, they become overwhelmed with customer disappointments. I would not be surprised if as many would-be repeat passengers are turned away by the nature of “customer relations” as by their actual experience on a cruise.

DEALING WITH THE USUAL PROBLEMS

A range of problems can be considered normal occurrences on cruise ships. These things happen often enough that the company has worked out commensurate compensation. Most cruise lines have standard responses for late delivery of new ships, for mechanical problems or mechanical failures, for foodborne or other ship-wide illness, and for overbooking. Minor occurrences such as an

After Festival Cruises'
Mistral
went aground for 36 hours in the Caribbean in February 2001, the cruise line offered passengers a refund equal to two days' fare. Although provided with free drinks from the ship's bars during the ordeal, many passengers complained of being denied access to telephones. They were out of range for use of cell phones. Many passengers were dissatisfied with the cruise line's offer and planned a coordinated action against the company,
³
although there is no report indicating whether they were successful.

Four months later, the same company provided members of the White House press corps with a certificate for a free cruise, along with a letter from the CEO stating: "Please be assured that your enjoyment is of paramount importance to us all and it gives me great pleasure to offer you a cruise with Festival on any of our new generation ships at any time you choose over the next year as my personal guest."
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The offer was made to reporters who had been housed on the
Azur
in Genoa harbor during the Group of Eight summit of major industrial democracies, in response to complaints from several reporters about the size and uncleanness of the cabins.

Why such a contrast between the gesture on the
Azur
and the offer given to those on the
Mistral?
The treatment of
Azur
passengers exceeds by far any response I have received when my cabin has been grossly unclean. It suggests that response to problems is, in part, a reflection of the problem, and perhaps in larger part, a reflection of who it was that complained.

injury from a fall or a slight lapse in service are often smoothed over with a the offer of a complimentary bottle of wine or a discount on a future cruise. When I arrived at my penthouse suite on a cruise aboard the
Carnival Destiny.,
there was no bedspread on the bed — I was told they didn’t have one that fit when the bed was made as a king-size rather than two twins. I complained to the hotel manager, who sent me a certificate for 15 percent off a future cruise — but no bedspread.