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Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires | 
 enlarge | Author: Kristoffer A. Garin
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $0.10
You Save: $24.85 (100%)
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Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 484889
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0670034185
Dewey Decimal Number: 387.5420973
EAN: 9780670034185
ASIN: 0670034185
Publication Date: June 23, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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Product Description
Left for dead after the advent of cheap, reliable air travel forty years ago, cruise shipping in the decades since has been reborn as a $12 billion industry on the cutting edge of twenty-first century global capitalism. Today, nearly ten million Americans take cruises each year, sailing to exotic destinations on floating cities that can cost upwards of $600 million each to construct. In this terrifically entertaining history, Kristoffer A. Garin chronicles the industry s rise from humble and comic beginnings in the early sixties through waterfront corruption and the incalculably huge impact of the hit television series The Love Boat in the seventies and eighties to the recent consolidation wars. Entrepreneurial genius and bareknuckle capitalism mate with cultural kitsch as the cruise lines dodge U.S. tax, labor, and environmental laws to make unimaginable profits while bringing the world a new form of leisure. Few businesses in America today are as colorful, lucrative, and innovative as cruise shipping, and Devils on the Deep Blue Sea is the first book to give readers a compelling behind-the-scenes look into these floating empires and the modern-day robber barons who shaped them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Must read for business students and anybody who cruises. June 14, 2008
James the Cruiser (Torrance, CA United States)
My wife and I have cruised a lot on many different cruise lines over the years. Our first cruise was on one of the first ships Carnival deployed, the Carnivale. To have seen this industry from the earlier years to what it has become is well chronicled by the author. If you want to learn how an almost pure capitalistic approach works in a global market place, this is a must read.
 If Read on a Cruise, You May Get Dirty Looks November 28, 2007
Gregg Eldred (Avon Lake, OH USA)
If you have ever been on a cruise, especially lately, on one of the big new ships, this is a must read. It provides you with the history of the cruise industry, primarily in the United States, with a little Europe thrown in. You might be thinking that a history of this industry would be boring, but Garin is an exceptional storyteller and reporter (the source notes are very impressive). He does an excellent job of introducing you to the men behind the ships, the Port of Miami, and the mergers and acquistions that led up to two companies owning 90% of the cruise market.
And yes, he talks about The Love Boat. :-)
The book isn't all about the good stuff; he reports on corruption (both on and off the ships), sexual assaults of passengers by crew members, environmental issues, and why most of the employees come from impoverished nations. Not only does he report on these issues, he illuminates how the industry allowed these to occur. As for the last point, labor is the most expensive cost of a cruise - Garin explains the process that the companies use recruit people to work on the ships (and to keep them there).
Even with the reporting of the above blemishes, it is still a facinating book. If you are interested in any aspect of the cruise industry (even as a simple vacationer), Garin explains how each company operated and marketed themselves. How they were able to work the travel agents, Congress, tax and maritime laws to their advantage. I came away with a much better understanding of the nature of Flags of Convenience and what that means to you, the traveller, as well as to the bottom lines of the cruise companies.
A great book on the rise and maturation of an industry. But I don't think that your cruise staff will appreciate you reading this while on-board.
As an aside, I bought the book from Amazon for $7 (Borders had it for $25). When it arrived, I found that I had an autographed copy! What a deal.
Interesting Perspective on the Cruise Business September 17, 2007
T. Martin (Portland, OR United States)
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!
Great fun! May 27, 2007
Kelly Monaghan (Branford, CT USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Travel agents and veteran cruisers alike will get a big kick out of this book.
It's a behind the scenes look that pulls no punches but manages to remain affectionate. Garin simply proves that you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. I certainly hope it doesn't discourage any non-cruisers from taking the plunge.
My favorite bit: Carnival's Meshulam Zonis' line, "A passenger is like a wet towel," which he illustrated by hand motions that wordlessly said, "First we squeeze them this way, then we squeeze them that way."
War ships/tankers to cruise ships....Oh My!!! April 25, 2007
M. Lorenzon
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the first chapter, Garin writes of the last day on a cruise ship which any cruiser knows is every man, woman and child for themselves....no longer are passengers royalty but more like refugees! He captures the irony of the debarking day that has always made my family chuckle as we tell stories of things we see on that last day! E.g. one poor passenger's luggage broke open outside an elevator...not one steward or other crew member offered assistance....they walked right over his strewn belongings. Anyway, Garin knows cruises and gives a wonderful history of the makings/history of the cruise industry from its humble beginnings to the big business it is today (and the two major cruise lines left). I was particularly fascinated with the evolution of the ships themselves! This was an easy read (and if a portion got dry....I skimmed!). I am cruising in 17 days...will do so with even more appreciation for the experience!
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