Customer Reviews

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a vacationer who has been on numerous cruises, this book recommendation looked like a certain fit... Devils On The Deep Blue Sea by Kristoffer A. Garin. He does a very good job in revealing how the cruise industry works, and the forces that have shaped it along the way.

The story starts in the late 1950's, when the cruise industry was really nothing more than a way to transport passengers from one location to another. The rich often had a lavish experience, while the "steerage" passengers were cramped and confined to the lower decks with restrictions on where they could go and what they could do. But in both cases, it was still a case of traveling from point A to point B. The airline industry quickly made cruise ships obsolete for rapid travel, and the shipping lines were becoming a footnote in history. But a few people thought that cruising could become a destination in itself, a way to vacation, see other lands, and then return to where you started. But the appeal had to be broad, and the luxuries of first class had to extend to all the passengers. Thru visionaries, financial risks, and mergers, what we have today is a $13 billion dollar industry that is truly global in numerous aspects. But behind the glitter and glamour, there are some less appealing items of interest...

Garin talks about how the cruise industry is largely staffed by impoverished workers from third-world nations who sign on for low base wages and whatever tips come from passengers. To many of us, these base wages wouldn't even support poverty, but they are considerable in the countries where the workers come from. The hours and rules aboard ship are harsh, with 12 to 16 hour days with little time off the norm. The industry also pays little in the way of taxes due to their ship registration being out of country to take advantage of international treaties preventing retaliatory fees. The laws and rights of the United States are not always in play either, as the ship is actually foreign territory. And if that's not enough, many of the tourist destinations are unable to get additional fees from the industry to support their infrastructure, as the industry will threaten to pull out of the port and destroy their tourism. It can be capitalism at its worst...

Personally, this book was better than I expected. I thought it was going to be a muck-raking, "boycott cruises" diatribe, and one that I wouldn't necessarily agree with. But the balance between the story of the cruise lines and the less-savory parts of the industry was just about right. And even the "expose" part wasn't hypercritical. I came away understanding the abuses, but (in many cases) understanding both sides of the issues. And really, it's not much different than what most other industries would do in the same circumstances...

Yes, I'm still going to go on cruises, and I'll still enjoy them. But I'll be even more considerate of the staff that makes it all work, and more in awe of what it takes to pull off the experience, week after week after week...

As the owner of a travel agency, I found this book fascinating. It gives a great history of the 2 major cruise lines, Carnival & Royal Caribbean, and the history of their rivalry over the years. I am not sure that this book is for the everyday cruiser, but if you are involved with the cruise industry I would consider it a must read.

I cannot say enough about the strong points of this book. Garin would have earned much praise for simply recounting the history of Carnival's extraordinarily rapid conquest of the global cruise industry -- earning founder Ted Arison at his death the title of 'world's richest Jew' and leaving son Micky at the helm of a company that took just over 25 years from its 1971 birth to reach annual profits of $1 billion. Beyond Garin's entertaining story of how the Arisons created both an industry and a fortune, there is so much more to this book: it's a wonderful social history of American vacationing and travel rituals and preferences; a tale of entrerpreneurial takeovers and strategizing every bit as intriguing as 'Barbarians at the Gate'; an investigation of corporate corner-cutting in the labor, environmental, tax, and other regulatory fields as eye-opening as 'Silent Spring'; WildWest-style episodes of mutinous crews and commando-led cruise-ship rescue operations; marketing coups and blunders; the impact of TV's 'LoveBoat' series; along with Caribbean cultural and economic lore from Bob Marley to CARICOM (the island nations' version of the EU). This massive reporting effort is wonderfully well-organized and unfailingly pleasurable to read.

I have never been on a cruise nor had I seriously considered going on one. However, I found this book very well researched , fascinating,and at times truely exciting. It is extremely well written and flows like an engrossing novel.I not only learned about the cruise ship industry,specifically,but also about the world of big business,deal making,etc. This book really gave me a new,broader, understanding of what motivates successfull business leaders-and it left a lasting impression about cruising.
I may even take a cruise.I highly recommend this book.

great book if you want to find out a lot ofinformation on the rise of the world largest cruise ship company,very entertaining and pleasant to read

This book was a great surprise..I expected a fairly interesting read but it surpassed all expectations. From the beginnings of the US cruise industry to the state it is in today, you will cover a whole spectrum of events in chronological order.
The author is well-informed, to the point and fairly balanced in his assessment of the industry. A lot of authors who write about maritime events or stories are not very familiar with the correct terms and language used but this is not a problem for Kristoffer Garin who is well-versed in the subject matter.
A must read for anybody interested in this aspect of the travel industry or even the more experienced cruisers will take away a lot from this book.

I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. It takes you beyond the marketing collateral of the cruise lines to the full story behind the industry's birth and development. The book is a wonderful narrative of the industry's short and eventful life. The author is fairly even handed in his treatment but there are times when you can sense when he likes or dislikes his subjects.

The author's assessment of the cruise line labor policies, environmental record and negotiation with Caribbean Governments was slanted. His view comes off as wanting the cruise lines to be vehicles of social change rather than commercial enterprises. I think he fairly criticizes the cruise lines for not living up to their environmental rhetoric but if the labor conditions are so bad onboard the ships, why are the positions so prized? If the Caribbean Governments are being abused so badly in their deals with the cruise lines, why do they continue to build larger piers to accomodate more ships?

The best parts of this book deal with the business deals that created the cruise industry and the characters that were involved. I have cruised for years and reading this book gave me a better perspective on the strategies and coincidences that shaped the industry. A good read!

Highly detailed and chatty description of the origins of the modern cruise industry. Easy, flowing narrative chock full of interesting details. Informative and entertaining. Good value.

This is a great account of the history of the cruise industry in USA and how it is now a global industry - well done and a must read for anyone in the cruise/tourism industry

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because I am a cruise enthusiast with many cruises under my belt. If you want to have a good idea as to how present day cruise lines came to be what they are today, multi-billion dollar companies, this is the book for you.The book touches on the early competitive years between Carnival, Royal Carribean and Norwegian cruise lines and the men that shaped their development. Prominent of those is of course the Arison family that owned much of Carnival. This is an easy to read book with a lot of exciting chapters particularly dealing with the big showdowns between Carnival and Royal Caribbean in their quest to become the biggest in the industry.