"Why couldn’t Carnival have sent Zaandam to the closest Dutch colony where the passengers could be repatriated within hours of arrival rather than spending more time at sea heading toward a port that doesn’t want them?
Do you think it had anything to do with the fact that the ticket the passengers bought said the cruise would start and stop at Fort Lauderdale and by staying at sea longer to drop them in Lauderdale they will be able to claim they fulfilled the contract and owe the passengers nothing, certainly not a flight home. Not to mention that the next cruise is scheduled to depart from Lauderdale, wouldn’t do to have the ship anchored in Sint Maarten or enroute to Rotterdam would it?
Like I have mentioned before, the greatest contribution to the American treasury is the enormous fines for repeated environmental crimes. The cruise industry is a filthy business by any measure."
As I said before, Florida has made the most money from the pittance the cruise ships leave on our shores. It is not a small amount, like it or not. Stores,fuel. logistics , airlines, hotels ,etc. Florida, which I love and have worked out of, should bear some of the costs as they have bitten the apple for many years. Sorry it has been sour lately, you made your bed, now lay in it. No way am I suggesting a “Bailout”. But help these people who are sick, and perhaps could die if we don’t.
We will help them, we have to because HA chose not to. They chose instead to put profit over the concept and duty of passenger care. They passed up much earlier opportunities to send passengers to medical care and repatriate those who were not yet infected.
If the government old-boys network won’t shut them down, tell every cruise website the story of HA delaying repatriation and health care to make a buck more from ignorant passengers who probably had no clue just who and what they were buying a ticket from.
I believe that is what I wrote. That and pointing out the fact that those people who need help could have received it much earlier if the cruise industry gave a shit about anything but money.
That doesn’t mean we have to keep quiet about their crimes until some point far in the future. The time to tell the story of who and what the cruise industry really is is now.
We could do with a lot fewer apologists trying to silence criticism of a filthy industry.
Finally, we agree on something. Do you think I am “Silencing” the cruise industry’s bad practices? Couldn’t be further from whatever truth you are attempting to display. I said these people, regardless where they are from, no matter who they got their “Ticket” from need help. Get a friggin grip sir. I’m sure wherever or whomever you sailed with did not enjoy their breakfast, lunch,or dinner with you.
The reason that 'details are notably absent" is because Arison has taken the tax payers for a ride in the past - like in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during hurricanes. If all the passenger vessels operating from US ports would fly the American flag and have at least the officers, deck and engine crews be US citizens or green cards and pay taxes like any other US business does - then the vessels would be available during crisis times. The remaining crew can be green cards or what ever with US citizens getting preference.
Maybe you should study how the Cruise Industry actually operate before venturing any plans for reforming it- Ships are mobile and so are their crews and guests…“Fly-n-Cruise” is common and they are operating worldwide.
Should this plan apply ONLY to cruise ships owned and operated by companies owned and operated by US incorporated companies and only to ships that operate ONLY with US ports as their “turn-around ports”? Or even to ships that occasionally do “turn around” in US ports, but spend large part of the year in other parts of the world?
Some cruise ship are owned and operated by foreign companies, but spend part of their time “homeported” in US port, trading in the Caribbean,to Alaska or other near by destination .
A majority of their guests may be of US origin, but also other nationalities that flies in and out, They spend not inconsiderate amount of money while enjoying US hospitality on their stopovers in USA. (The Chinese are especially big spenders)
Why shouldn’t an American company hire American employees, pay American salaries, and American taxes just like the pizza shop on the corner or the local Honda car dealer?
Why should an American business owner be allowed to headquarter a fictitious American company that pays no American taxes and employs virtually no Americans and transfer all the taxfree profits to an offshore bank account while relying on American assets to protect his ships from any and all threats?
What about all of the American companies, that use the tax system to get huge rebates, and pay no taxes (Netflix, Amazon, GM, Halliburton, IBM, Jet Blue)
I know how the cruise industry works and have been in the marine industry for over fifty years. And I standby what I have said. If a passenger cruise vessel wants to operate out of a US Port, it should have a US crew - deck and engine at least. It should be US flagged. It should also pay US taxes. If cruise companies don’t want to do this, then they should go ahead and operate from foreign ports and be foreign flagged and fly the US citizens to the foreign port. Instead they hide behind flags of convenience.
It is interesting that you mention Alaska - are you aware of how their Alaska routes work - Vancouver, Alaska, Seattle as opposed to Seattle, Alaska, Seattle?
Well since you have 50 years of marine experience and know the cruise industry, you should know that there are international rules and treaties that govern how shipping is conducted. No one government can set their own rules and expect the rest of the shipping world to accept it.
The guiding principle is freedom of the seas and of trade between countries. The US used to be the instigator and leader in upholding this principle.
The shipping industry, incl. the Cruise industry, operates within these treaties, rules and IMO guidelines, as well as old maritime traditions, not to the wishes of some people in any one country.
The cruise ships that operate out of US ports calls at foreign ports and carries passengers from all over the world. Most also operates in other parts of the world for part of the year.
When they do they operate out of (turn around) in hub ports in that region. Should they then be required to change flag and take crew from the country from which they operate at any time?
IOW if a cruise ship flying US flag should operate out of a foreign port for part of the year, the flag must be changed and the US crew replaced?
Should this apply to any ship, not just Cruise ships?
With 50 years of marine experience, you can probably see how totally impossible it would be to operate international shipping and trade .
Yes I am- This has been discussed in this forum before and my opinion is well known.
Yes and it is all legal. Pay no taxes due to the tax laws which were written by lobbyists and given to the congress to pass, which they did. I used to say if the average voter knew the facts they would vote these crooks out. But I long ago lost faith in the average voter.
Seeing the 2019 USCG PSC report, with all the American Flag preference, most other registries have way better PSC records, especially within the US regime. Bahamas, had 2 detentions last year with over 540 inspections, not 1 cruise vessel was detained. The US is on the grey list in Paris MoU, and Bahamas is White Listed throughout the world. Again, what safety and rules are these companies breaking?
Are you referring to the US flag companies or the foreign flag cruise ship companies?
As a US mariner who frequents the Paris MOU, I can state, in my personal opinion, that US flag ships started getting hammered in port state inspections with the arrival of our current president. I do not recall the amount of nitpicking and stretching for nonconformities in the many years I have been calling European ports before that. Just my opinion but in general, the ships are pretty much the same. The inspectors agenda seems to have changed.
Do I detect a possible connection to the Dunning-Kruger effect on this side of the pond?
The Dunning -Kruger effect is a type of cognitive bias in which people believe that they are smarter and more capable than they really are. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their skills. It can precipitate the downfall of entire enterprises if those in leadership positions suffer from it.