Cruise Ship: A Global Microcosm?

Cruise Ship: A Global Microcosm?

Putu Titah Kawitri Resen

International Relations Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Science,  Udayana University 

Ade Devia Pradipta

Communication Science Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Science,  Udayana University 

The cruise ship industry has increasingly globalized. For those  who come from developing countries, this industry is quite popular and even to work on cruise ships become the dreams of many young generation. We can easily find various educational institutions for those who want to pursue their career on cruise ships. This is just one example of how attractive this transnational industry is. The attractiveness of working on cruise ship is generated by the big amount salary offered to the crews, the chance to travel to various countries and experience to engage with people or other crew workers from different countries. For people in developed countries , a cruise can be another option to enjoy vacation because there are various kinds of entertainment packages available while crossing the globe enjoying a trip over the ocean (Klein, 2002: 2). Everything is available on the ship and the tourists can enjoy their vacation as if they were enjoying their holiday on land based resorts. 

      The situation designed in a cruise ship  was termed by Robert E. Wood (2006) in his article titled Cruise Tourism: A Paradigmatic Case of Globalization? as a global microcosm. Global microcosm can be defined as a place or situation that becomes an imitation or a smaller form of a greater quality or feature. There are some reasons why cruise ship can be identified with a global microcosm. Brida and Zapata (2010) wrote that cruise ships have developed rapidly  both in terms of size that can accommodate thousands of passengers, to the services provided to passengers. Cruise ships currently provide a variety of facilities needed by passengers ranging from casinos, fitness centers, shopping centers, restaurants, pubs, spa services, and so on. Cruise ship services and facilities have resembled the variety of facilities found at onshore resorts. The cruise ship is also a place where people from various countries gather. The majority of guests or passengers on cruise ships are from North America and Europe while the majority of the workers or crew are from developing countries such as Peru, Uruguay, the Philippines, India and Indonesia.

         This global microcosm does not always provide a beautiful picture and atmosphere. Bolt and Lashley (2015) wrote that a cruise ship is a 24/7 business, meaning that cruise ship employees or workers will be needed at any time during the voyage. Moreover, according to Nevins (2008) in  Bolt and Lashley (2015) workers on board must work for 100 hours per week, without holidays and low wages. Several studies have revealed that luxury services and facilities on cruise ships leave various issues that are still rarely revealed in the public. Klein (2002) wrote the following in his book:

"Most people who go on a cruise put anything that interferes with their vacation out of their mind. They are unconcerned about the pollution left in the ship’s wake, or about employees working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 10 to 12 months straight, at incomes below minimum wage. Nor do they give a thought to the risk of illness from food or injury from an accident. This is the part of the cruise experience that left out of the brochures. It's not part of a cruise passenger passenger reality, but trust me, it exists ”.

The statement  by Klein (2002) above stated that as one form of the tourism industry, the global microcosm is actually loaded with various issues that can be studied from various perspectives such as environmental issues, labor issues, women's issues, security issues, violence issues, and particularly from international relations perspective. 

References: 

Klein. Ross A. 2002. Cruise Ship Blues The Underside of the Cruise Industry. Canada : New Society Publisher

Brida, Juan Gabriel and Sanda Zapata, 2010. Cruise Tourism : Economic, Socio - Cultural and Environmental Impacts. Int. J. Leisure and Tourism Marketing. Vol 1, No. 3, 2019. Page . 205-226

Wood, E. Robert. 2006. Cruise Tourism : Paradigmatic Case of Globalization, United

Kingdom : CAB International  

Bolt, Ester Ellen Trees  and  Conrad Lashley . All at sea: Insights into crew work experiences on a cruise liner . Research in Hospitality Management 2015, 5(2): 199–206