Cruise back to LA
On the way back to I started to learn a lot more about the cruise lines. It was one one of these nights that I met a good portion of the crew at the dance club. I would have to say that my dancing is rather enhanced by the slight rocking motion of the boat. It was a really good time.
Up until this night in particular, the crew was forbidden to interact with the passengers socially. Since this was the Cruise Director's last voyage, there was something of a farewell party. Later that evening, when hanging out with the Cruise Director, I got a number of financial figures about the boat out of him. There was a great deal of speculation amongst our party regarding how old the boat was and what time period the decorations were from.
The Carnival Pride is a $440M boat, 2001 model. Newer, nicer boats run as much 800+M.
As I suspected, the crowd is drawn with food and shows, and the staff is primarily international workers with a lower than average wage (too low for land, but includes free stay and food, and rates are more competitive internationally). It takes something like 18 years to pay off a boat, and older, cheaper junk boats are pure cash cows. At most they get 6 years of profitability out of them, often times due to service and pressure for upgrades, only a short while.
The ticket prices range from $750 - $2500 and on the whole, a small loss is taken on the tickets. The profit comes from the $2.5m in incidentals (primarily alcohol and gambling). I should have noted while all the food is free on the boat, the drinks are fairly pricey. I suppose a $6 margarita is not bad, but the prices can quickly add up. If one is in to soft drinks rather than water or juice, a refillable mug can be purchases for $45 and used for the duration of the trip. Alcohol may be acquired in port, or even purchased duty free on the ship, but it must be stowed for the duration of the trip in a special locker.
I have to say that bar none my favorite experience was sitting up on the bow of the boat late at night by myself. Sailing through the night air at full steam into a sea of blackness is great for thinking. As the warm breeze blew in my face, I would try to spot contours in the water and stretch my mind to invent distant thoughts and visions until the sunrise came. It was definitely a calming and meditative experience. I was very surprised to see few if any other guests come to that area of the ship, and enjoy the ride. They seemed to be more interested in drinking and dropping cash at the casino. There were certainly a lot of seedy characters along for the ride.
In all, when I left I felt rather relaxed and recovered from China. It was the perfect recovery from the whirl wind touring. I had great food, warm weather, and time to think and to sleep, and to process the experiences I had been through.
As I left the ship I was pleasantly surprise to find that I had been credited $35 to my on ship account automatically. Since all I had purchased was a single Jack and Coke, I returned triumphantly with a $31 check from Carnival in hand. Many of my friends had multi-hundred or even thousand dollar bills. At that point, I was definitely glad I hadn't felt like partying on ship.
Up until this night in particular, the crew was forbidden to interact with the passengers socially. Since this was the Cruise Director's last voyage, there was something of a farewell party. Later that evening, when hanging out with the Cruise Director, I got a number of financial figures about the boat out of him. There was a great deal of speculation amongst our party regarding how old the boat was and what time period the decorations were from.
The Carnival Pride is a $440M boat, 2001 model. Newer, nicer boats run as much 800+M.
As I suspected, the crowd is drawn with food and shows, and the staff is primarily international workers with a lower than average wage (too low for land, but includes free stay and food, and rates are more competitive internationally). It takes something like 18 years to pay off a boat, and older, cheaper junk boats are pure cash cows. At most they get 6 years of profitability out of them, often times due to service and pressure for upgrades, only a short while.
The ticket prices range from $750 - $2500 and on the whole, a small loss is taken on the tickets. The profit comes from the $2.5m in incidentals (primarily alcohol and gambling). I should have noted while all the food is free on the boat, the drinks are fairly pricey. I suppose a $6 margarita is not bad, but the prices can quickly add up. If one is in to soft drinks rather than water or juice, a refillable mug can be purchases for $45 and used for the duration of the trip. Alcohol may be acquired in port, or even purchased duty free on the ship, but it must be stowed for the duration of the trip in a special locker.
I have to say that bar none my favorite experience was sitting up on the bow of the boat late at night by myself. Sailing through the night air at full steam into a sea of blackness is great for thinking. As the warm breeze blew in my face, I would try to spot contours in the water and stretch my mind to invent distant thoughts and visions until the sunrise came. It was definitely a calming and meditative experience. I was very surprised to see few if any other guests come to that area of the ship, and enjoy the ride. They seemed to be more interested in drinking and dropping cash at the casino. There were certainly a lot of seedy characters along for the ride.
In all, when I left I felt rather relaxed and recovered from China. It was the perfect recovery from the whirl wind touring. I had great food, warm weather, and time to think and to sleep, and to process the experiences I had been through.
As I left the ship I was pleasantly surprise to find that I had been credited $35 to my on ship account automatically. Since all I had purchased was a single Jack and Coke, I returned triumphantly with a $31 check from Carnival in hand. Many of my friends had multi-hundred or even thousand dollar bills. At that point, I was definitely glad I hadn't felt like partying on ship.
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