Cruise Ship Epidemics
Insider Look Into Cruise Industry
Carnival Cruise Lines
Skylark Medical Center
G Podolsky MD
Former Chief Medical Officer for Carnival Cruise Lines
In this insider's account of his experiences while on a tour of duty with Carnival Cruise Lines, according to him, the doctor tells all. It is an indepth look into what goes on behind the scenes on Carnival Cruise Lines. Some of the major points are outlined below.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES, ABORTION, RAPE, AND COVER-UPS
The doctor says:
Many of the crew, especially officers are openly promiscuous with passengers. The crew appeared to have little knowledge of STD prevention. Many crew members had multiple partners and some had literally a 'girlfriend in every port'. The crew is not regularly tested for STD's.
Both male and female crew members will be fired if they are found in any passengers' cabin, unless they are working there. Occasionally there are charges of rape or other forms of assaults against crew or other passengers.
But, the policy of the cruise lines is, if they brought a passenger back to their own quarters any relation that occurred was implied to be consensual and was overlooked since the company would not be liable for rape.
Aboard the ship there was clear demarcation along class ranks. For simple laborers (galley workers, stewards) a zero tolerance attitude was taken. For other "middle class" worker (shop staff, cruise hospitality workers and junior officers) a more indulgent attitude was allowed. For senior staff (department chiefs) more rules did not apply.
Senior officers would have their wives and children aboard with them during a one-week stretch only to have a mistress come on the following week. Musicians freely admitted to having contests to see who would sleep with certain passengers first and would claim up to five different women in one week.
Clearly much of the time their relations are consensual and equally sought by both passengers and crew but many passengers have reported excessive harassment by senior officers.
Lydia One evening a 19-year-old woman mentioned to me how one of the senior engineers (50 years old) had attempted to drag her by her wrists towards his cabin. She had resisted and told me she had reported the episode to security. I spoke with the Security Chief and he denied that he had heard anything. I talked to her again and she admitted that she had decided to not pursue a complaint, as she did not want to get the poor man in trouble.
Later that cruise during the Captains weekly staff meeting a complaint letter from another passenger was being reviewed. One complaint stated as the Captain summarized that the "Italian Officers were getting too aggressive in the disco'. The Captain wanted to find out who had written it and when he found out it was from a 50 year old married women he chuckled and dismissed it out of hand.
You can read his full account of his tour of duty with Carnival Cruise Lines, here. It is a must read for all potential cruise passengers.
