FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
August 31, 2005
Where Are the Cruise Ships?
In watching all the horrific tragedy and devastation in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, I can't help but wonder: Where are the cruise ship companies? Maybe they've offered and I've missed it. Maybe it's geographically or physically impossible to make it happen. But an offer from a cruise ship company to take the folks in the Superdome out into the Gulf of Mexico for a few days sounds like both a way to get thousands of people out of the misery of that area and -- while I don't mean this opportunistically in any way -- a PR gold mine. Large corporations have both the means -- and at times, the motivation -- to do well by doing good. Again, it may be physically impossible at this point, but even making the offer would capture a nation's sympathy and engender an outpouring of loyalty in the future. What do you think?
Posted by Jena McGregor at August 31, 2005 9:39 AM | Category: |
24 Comments
ADVERTISEMENT
FC NOW MENU
NEWSLETTERS
FC NOW CATEGORIES
FC READS
I think that is an absolutely fantastic idea.
Logistically impossible...
As all of the cruise ships would be reserved/booked by paying customers...they wouldn't just have a "spare" laying around that wasn't occupied
It is a great idea that would require creativity on the part of the cruise lines. There are ships in Galveston. And, there are ways to make it happen if they really wanted to.
This is the kind of creative thinking that is needed right now. Now, if the cruise companies will just do it ... have you tried to contact them?
Due to their cargo (people). Cruise ships would have been required to leave the gulf due to the incoming storm. You won't find a cruise ship near New Orleans for up to a week.
A good out of the box suggestion but when thought through it is impossible due to logistics, timing and the fact that the ships would be in the gulf at the most perilous time with thousands of people aboard. The hurricane was a Cat5 before it hit land where it lost a little and was degraded to a Cat4. Therefore, the ships would be subject to a more powerful storm.
They culd help now, perhaps, but at the time it would have been impossible. They also take several hours to load and aweigh and with several ships coming into port, would have created a more choatic scene with a potential for more injuries.
This is a humanitarian disaster. The cruise lines can postpone a few retirees' vacations and no one will fault them for it. These are ships that have food water and shelter for thousands of people. They should be doing this NOW.
Of course the cruise lines do not have empty ships laying around (like airlines do in the Mojave desert). Cruise lines are profitable (also unlike the airlines) and can afford to do this. It's just a question of social conciousness and priorities. I'd love to see any of the cruise lines step up (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Princess). We are waiting.
Also, the issue is not whether they should have come before the storm, but that the cruise lines should help now. Remember, the situation is worse 48hrs after the hurricane than it was 12hrs after Katrina passed through.
"Should?"
Let's not get carried away. They have no more obligation to do this than you or I have to drive down and help carry as many people to safety as our personal vehicles will allow.
Is it a fantastic idea? Is it ingenious as a possible solution to a disasterous problem? Absolutely. Is it impossible, logistically or otherwise? No (impossible is a very strong word).
However, these are all (if I'm not mistaken) public companies. And if anyone would be itching for fantastic PR right now, it would be corporate Boards of Trustees.
How about a letter-writing campaign urging (not chiding or demanding or bullying...simply urging) the Boards of these companies to offer their assistance? Anbybody interested?
I, of course, meant Boards of Directors.
Just read that the Feds are talking with Carnival who is CONSIDERING sending ONE ship.
Perhaps "impossible" was a bit strong and I'm not saying it wouldn't be a good thing to do...but look at it from the business standpoint of the cruise lines.....
1) Let's say that Carnival did take these folks aboard the Pacific Princess or whatever...
NOLA possibly will be uninhabitable for months. A cruise line could not take a ship out of the fleet for that long. It would bankrupt them.
2) Let's say you're one of these retirees who will be taking a vacation. You've saved for years to celebrate your 50th anniversary or whatever. The cruise line calls and cancels your trip...or even gives a voucher for a future trip. While it might be nice to think that people would say OK because it's a good cause, we know that wouldn't be the case. Mr. Retiree sets up the blog carnivalsucks.com, brings together all the cancelled passengers and slowly but surely kills the brand...no matter how much positive PR is served by the relief effort.
3) And look at it this way...on a personal level...would you give up 3 months of your salary to help these unfortunate people? (Actually, in this instance, more than your salary...no income whatsoever...plus paying to feed and house them)
All of corporate America should help...not just the cruise lines. But the economy will take a downturn in the next few months beacuse of the oil/Katrina effect...staying in business and making sure your own employees have food and shelter should ALWAYS be the top priority of a company.
Iggy Pop's Lust for Life
"Here comes Johnny Yen again...
With the liquor and drugs...
And a flesh machine...
He's gonna do another strip tease."
Somewhere between the drugs and the strip tease, it hits you: Yeah, this is way more than an ordinary vacation.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2120229/
Very few ships are ever unallocated but that would be a great idea if one were available.
If I remember correctly, there is a cruise ship that makes its home in Mobile, Alabama, and a couple/few that are home'd (whatever the correct word is) in NOLA.
At this stage, i don't see passengers embarking on trips from those ports for the next few.
If they cannot take on passengers, then, your idea may have legs.
If the corp. owners want to do it.
IF THE OLD LIBERTY SHIPS ARE STILL DOCKED IN HUDSON, NORTH OF WEST POINT, UN HOOK EM AND HAUL THEM DOWN THE COAST AND THROUGH THE LOCKS, UP TO NEW ORLEANS.
STRING THEM ALL TOGETHER FOR SLEEPING QUARTERS FOR THE REFUGEES. IT WOULD BE LESS THAN THE HILTON, BUT IT WOULD BE HOME FOR A WHILE.
SPEAKING OF THE HILTON, AND THE RADISSON AND ALL THE OTHER HUMONGOUS HOTELS AROUND THERE, BUSINESS IN THOSE PLACES HASN'T BEEN ALL THAT GREAT LATELY - WHAT ABOUT THE GOVERNOR PUTTING THE "ARM" ON THOSE HOTELS FOR SOME FREE ROOMS FOR THE DURATION? I HEARD ON CNN TONIGHT IT LOOKS LIKE NEW ORLEANS IS GOING TO BE OUT-OF-POCKET FOR AT LEAST A MONTH.
Aaron Brown posed this question to the head of FEMA last night, who implied they were working on it and may have something to announce in the next few days.
As for moral obligations... I think the scope of this catastrophe is just being realized (for reasons that are beyond me). There are possibly hundreds of thousand who will be without shelter for months. Read that last sentence again. Profits will need to go way down the list.
While this is a great idea, it might not be the easiest to implement. The city and basic infrastructure of New Orleans is devastated - this would include the dock facilities. The question also arises about how safe and easy it is to navigate within that dock area. The cruise ships use the ship tenders (small boats used to ferry passengers to and from the ship) when the ship cannot access the docks, but since they can generally take only 20-30 people at a time, it would take quite a long time to get everybody on board. Another question arises about how full the ships currently are with booked passengers. Carnival has at least one ship that routinely leaves out of New Orleans, but I would think that existing reservations would be going out of another port that would be close by. I would really wonder about how long that people would be on this (or other) cruise ships in this situation. The Mayor and Governor are saying that this is something that can continue to be an issue maybe a year or more. Is a cruise line prepared to do this for that long? Would the victims of the disaster that are on these ships be bored silly after a while? What about the ports that these ships routinely visit? If the cruise ship simply sails around the gulf and doesn't dock anywhere, revenue to those former destinations drops - causing a really bad ripple effect. Don't get me wrong, I think that this disaster has taken a huge toll on both the people and the area, and they need every bit of assistance that we as a nation can give them. I'm not saying that this is an impossible task, just that this may or may not be the best available.
If you want to know who could pretty easily afford to get involved, and who also needs a great deal of positive PR right now, it would be Exxon/Mobil. They are sitting on an enormous stack of cash, have operations in the area, and are currently nursing a PR black eye. I know that it's easy to hit on big oil right now, but considering all of the oil and chemical business that is concentrated in that general area, wouldn't it be prudent to "give back" in some way?
Here in Dallas (as in Houston), people fleeing the storm's aftermath have been welcomed with open arms. They are staying in sports stadiums that have been converted to living quarters, hotels are working to find space for them, and people are attempting to connect them to relatives and friends that they believe are missing. I wish that there was a way to help those people (especially the kids) feel more comfortable in those surroundings.
Jena -
Thanks for your reponse to my post. The cruis ship idea, while noble, is impractical not only for the cruise industry, but for the NOLA folks as well because it can only be a short-term solution for a problem which needs nothing more than long-term solutions.
I find this link where ordinary folks are offering up homes more appropriate a solution -
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/hhh/
It's amazing how generous people can be with other people's money.
You should spend some time thinking about how YOU can help. Maybe there's an unused cruise ship in your backyard?
Thanks everyone for a lively debate. As I mentioned in my post, I wasn't sure it was a feasible suggestion, and as the tragedy grows wider, a short-term solution like this does indeed seem unlikely. Maybe it could just work as a form of transportation to a longer term solution--who knows? To Mike--good to hear FEMA is at least considering creative ideas. To Jim--I agree, we need creative thinking now more than ever. And to Bill--I made my Red Cross contribution yesterday.
Here's to a safe Labor Day holiday for everyone.
Let's also not forget that Carnival or any other cruise company would be paid for their services. The federal gov't would pay handsomely for a solution. They aren't asking for charity, they need options.
Also, of course this would be a short-term solution. Just as the Astrodome is not planning on housing people for a year. Still a good idea.
Some one listened to someone...
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.cruise.reut/index.html
CNN reporting that 3 Carnival Cruise ships will accomodate the displaced citizens of New Orleans.
"This inconvenience to our guests will provide desperately needed housing for thousands of individuals affected by this tragedy," said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and chief executive officer.
They did the right thing. (Although let us emphasize the Feds will be paying for the service)
Apparently it wasn't good PR for the cruise lines..see link
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9507503/
we had the best holiday ever!!!!!!!!!!
looking forward to go back in three years with the kids