The Boomerang Effect
Promoting Excessive Drinking On Board Cruise Ships
By Mike Groves
To all intents and purposes the cruise industry sets out to remain like no other, a colossal money churning monster that appears to set itself up for a fall on an almost weekly basis… and the latest ‘public slamming’ – promoting binge drinking on board their vessels! It’s as if they enjoy making a habit of committing ritual ‘seppuku’ [PR suicide].
Just this week Celebrity Cruise Line received universal criticism for ‘promoting a binge drinking culture’ after they launched an 'all you can drink' package on board a number of their cruise ships. In short these are designed to get passengers to eagerly consume as much alcohol as they wish or I imagine, until they fall down…or fall over?
Of the 130 people who have jumped off cruise ships in American waters over the past 15 years at least half had been drinking heavily.
One article reported that ‘the packages range from £20.75 per night for as much beer as you can swallow, through to £89 per night for the ‘Captain's Package’ which includes specially selected premium wines. A drinks package that offers such strong choices as bourbon and vodka, costs £31 per night.’
Naturally it is easy to see why Celebrity got a ‘little shaken and not stirred’ by the negative media cocktail thrown back at them, one that I doubt came with fresh fruit and a cute sparkly cocktail umbrella on top. So what is all the fuss all about, these booze packages that the cruise industry appears so eager to get passengers to swallow – excuse the pun. Is it to enhance the whole experience for holiday-maker's, or to better support them during the current economic downturn and ensure a party atmosphere continues day and night for their sole benefit? I seriously doubt it!
First and foremost passengers have already handed over their hard earned cash to secure their cruise and which includes their accommodation, food with complimentary wine and 24/7 room service and on board credit in some cases. So what if you should opt for the drinks packages that have been offered?
In my experience the average cruise passengers normally opts for a two week cruise so even at the lower end of the scale and using the current Celebrity offer as an example, this would mean an additional $465.00 [£290.50] per passenger and for the Captains package, an additional $1,994 [£1,246]! You would imagine that having paid all that additional money, many will be setting out to ensure they drink as much as they can to guarantee a fair return if not profit on their ‘boozy investment’. A little like getting over-stuffed over Christmas with Turkey!
However with this comes the ‘Boomerang effect’ - what about your own personal safety; can you guarantee that you will return to your bed on board safe and sound let alone ever return to your own bed at home? And what about all that lovely food you’ve paid for as part of your holiday package, are you going to eat it now or will you even be in a fit state to make the dining room after a day of ‘binge drinking’ at the bar? I would imagine that many would in all probability forgo breakfast to while still recovering from the night before?
Most of us find that the world is still moving when suffering from a severe hangover and on board a cruise ship – that world tends to move a little more! So will drunk or hung-over passengers really make breakfast, possibly lunch or even feel like looking at the room service menu? All those empty seats in the restaurant makes for quite a saving on food costs does it not?
Fact is that many passengers are unable to face food and the dinning rooms remain quiet, so if you really think you are getting something for nothing I would suggest many are not. This is something I have seen personally when with Seabourn which are themselves owned by ‘Carnivore’ Cruise Lines [Carnival], although I do not recall them doing drinks packages. But continuing to serve alcohol to guests who were already clearly very drunk – yes absolutely!
Research has been undertaken regarding excessive drinking on board cruise ship’s, something that we know has resulted in a number of deaths or persons lost at sea.
More than 30 passengers have mysteriously disappeared from cruise ships worldwide in the past four years.
However unless I have missed it one universal point appears not to have been openly discussed regarding alcohol – children and young persons.
What I wish to establish is quite simply this - who is looking out for the children/minors on board cruise ships should parents be so irresponsible as to drink excessively? We already know sexual offences against children are on the increase and predators are effectively being spoon-fed a golden opportunity should a child or minor be found unaccompanied as a direct consequence of alcohol related neglect or abandonment, both of which fall under child abuse -
Definition [in part] of child abuse
Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm.
In the United Kingdom the Licensing Act 1902 [Drunk in charge of a child] empowers police officers to arrest persons clearly in drunk of a child, in short it is a form of child neglect and the child is often taken into safe custody. This important act came about due to numerous cases where children were killed or otherwise died at the hands of drunkards.
Definition of child
"Child", for the purpose of this guidance, means a person under the age of 18 years in accordance with the definition contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and the Children Acts 1989 and 2004.
It is known that the continuous supply of alcohol on cruise ships does get out of hand on occasions. I myself have dealt with naked passengers walking through the ship, some trying to locate their bathroom and another that comes to mind involved a naked male who presented himself at the pursers desk in the early hours hoping to book a new tour!
The issue of vicarious liability is also something that concerns me greatly because it would appear to be wholly ignored by a number of cruise companies, albeit the industry states they take the serving of alcohol very seriously? But many bartenders are paid a poor basic salary and therefore are left with little choice but to push for tips from their guests, no matter many are often drunk already.
An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by his employee in the course of employment whether or not such act or omission was specifically authorized by the employer. To avoid vicarious liability, an employer must demonstrate either that the employee was not negligent in that the employee was reasonably careful or that the employee was acting in his own right rather than on the employer's business.
The Licensing Act 1964 [United Kingdom] states that a person commits an offence if they sell alcohol to persons under 18 or permits the sale of intoxicating liquor to a drunken person. I would be amazed if there was not similar legislation in the United States.
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The Boomerang Effect
Promoting Excessive Drinking On Board Cruise Ships
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
January 9, 2010
