[nabla9]

It's true. You could still use cheap foreign labor and provide decent working conditions under flag of convenience, but it's the fierce competition that really forbids it. These massive cruise ships have become part of mass tourism. People look at the price first. If the price is 5-10% above competition without better service, it does not work as a business.

It's the non-caring consumers that enable consistent bad treatment of workers in the large scale. People like OP who stop are the only force besides enforcing tighter labor laws in the blue waters that can fix this.

Then there are billionaires in their yachts treating cheap labour as animals just because. That's just cruelty for fun.

[gizmo686]

The problem is, people who stop are not an effective force for fixing this, as they effect good actors equally as much as bad ones. To fix this with consumer pressure, you need consumers who still buy cruises, but discriminate based on how well the workers are treated (and are willing to pay the premium for good treatment).

[ethbro]

It seems similar to the coffee market.

The industry should create a mark that represents and enforces a minimum of worker treatment, but doesn't appear to be as imaginative as Starbucks.

[hef19898]

And then cruise ships are by faaaaar not the worst offenders in abusing flag's of convienence. They are under the most scrutiny so, having passengers on the ship 24/7.

[jakelazaroff]

Is this problem not easily solvable by forbidding cruise ships under flags of convenience from docking? Would there be any real downsides to doing so?

[eru]

Where would you draw the line?