Paradise Lost at Sea

Rethinking Cruise Vacations

Ross Klein

Paradise Lost at Sea reveals the hidden realities of a cruise vacation and of an industry that prefers to keep its downsides hidden by taglines that are frequently used in advertising and media campaigns. Cruise authority Ross A. Klein rings the alarm about cruise ship safety and the risk to passengers of sexual assault, onboard crime and injury, and death from accidents at sea. He reveals the industry’s dubious environmental performance and its impact on the efforts of governments and the local port communities to protect their marine environments. Klein also exposes the truth about health risks and medical care onboard these floating cities and opens the door on the dark side of life below the passenger decks. He goes on to explore the myths that cruise vacations are all-inclusive and that cruise tourism contributes billions to local economies. The book concludes by summarizing issues and challenges that must be faced by cruise passengers, port communities and those who work on cruise ships.

Contents

• Cruising in the Twenty-First Century
• A Cruise Ship Is the Safest Form of Commercial Transportation
• We Visit the Most Pristine Areas of the World
• Passengers Bring It With Them
• We Contribute Millions of Dollars to the Local Economy
• Our International Crew Is Here to Serve You
• Rethinking Cruise Vacations
• References

About the Author

Ross A. Klein is an internationally recognized authority on the cruise ship industry.  The Memorial University of Newfoundland professor of social work has published four books on the industry, commissioned to write four reports for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, two reports for Bluewater Network/Friends of the Earth, and has more than a dozen articles and book chapters in academic and non-academic venues.  He maintains Cruise Junkie dot Com and the International Centre for Cruise Research; his work is equally academic and applied.  He has given invited lectures at international conferences, universities, and to community organizations in the UK, across Canada and the US, across the Caribbean, in Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.  In addition, Klein is often quoted in media around the world, is frequently interviewed on television and radio, and has been/is an expert witness in a range of lawsuits against the cruise industry.  He has given invited testimony to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Hawai’i County Council, US House of Representatives and US Senate.

Ross received his B.S. from Arizona State University, MSW from University of Maryland, and M.A. and PhD from Syracuse University. His books include: Death by Chocolate: What You Must Know Before Taking a Cruise – 2001, Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Industry – 2002, Cruise Ship Squeeze: The New Pirates of the Seven Seas – 2005, Paradise Lost at Sea: Rethinking Cruise Vacations  – 2008. His full CV is available online at www.cruisejunkie.com/vita.html.
 

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