Travel
Cruise ships
Carol Wright
Britons, those salty rulers of the waves, do not seem quite so eager to come to close quarters with that watery element when they go on cruises. Ships like the Queens and now QE2, soon to be partnered on the transatlantic trips (in addition to ' France ') by another colossus, P and O's 'Canberra,' built their appeal on size rather than intimacy with the deep. Floating towns they were called and cities of 3,000 souls they are with their streets of shops, ballrooms, cinemas, hospitals, laundries, health clubs and their own newspapers. The sea was a long way down from the prom deck. A salty tang in the breeze for those who manfully struggled round the marked miles, walking hopefully to reduce their girth and increase their appetites before another full blown meal. An escorted Sightseeing trip to the bridge reveals panels, a dilemma of dials, tapes ticking away recording satellite navigational bleeps or listening to the computerised engine room of QE2. I wonder where the water went? Big ship cruising has become the on-surface answer to the jet set name-dropping. Instead of collecting airport tags, the cruiser collects islands, or on Mediterranean cruises perhaps a dozen different countries. He takes along, snail-like, his floating home-fromhome hotel to which he can escape from the natives. It says something for the increased adventurousness of the travelling Briton — how popular is Royal Mail's tie up with the Russian ships 'Mikhail Lermontov ' and 'Alexander Pushkin' with low prices and a winter programme of fly cruises via Gibraltar.
The nastiness of sea travel has now been eradicated — sea sickness swept aside by injections to last the cruise from the ship's doctor or stabilisers; psychological in effect even if the captain disapproves. Air conditioning and dawn-to-dusk array of activities isolate passengers from a feeling of travelling. An hour by hour occupation sheet is slipped under the cabin door long before last night's duty-free hangover has gone and before the most tactful men in the world, the cabin stewards, have gently woken their charges with orange juice and tea and "It's a lovely day outside, madam."
"Outside ": few sea travellers see that side except when fighting for the last sheltered deckchair after lunch. (Friends of mine were seriously advised to take their own inflatable sun mattress with them on an expensive cruise to be sure of a place in the sun. Such is human nature, that, like those at the Club Mediterranee places who hide the canoe paddles under their beds, I'm convinced people take deck chairs to their cabins on cruises.) But perhaps the removal of people from the sea element is a captain's dream come true; the sealed ship where passengers stay below, with bingo and race nights. My sea captain father dreaded the progress of a career from frozen beef carcase carrying to sprightly rich 84-year-old ladies who loved to climb companionways in cyClones and see what the staff on the bridge were doing. While PR has insisted that the crew must be matey and crocodile visits are made to all parts of the ship, the sea has till now been made — Canute you should have been now living — to recede if not from sight from stomach and mind.
But one company has decided the essential elements should be there. Norwegian Caribbean Line's new cruise ship now, in building is a catamaran style in va ',ich passenger facilities will be more integrated with the sea. It is hoped its interior will have special viewing chambers under water and walk-ways from which fish can be studied; boats and helicopters will be used to give variety of sightseeing even while the ship is at sea. Already on NCL ships there are star-dome lounges that allow the horizonless sky to be viewed. The trend towards smaller ships like Cunard's new two and P and O's 'Spirit of London' sailing on her maiden voyage this November will no doubt bring the sea closer to passengers.
Many of Britain's cruise ships like ' Canberra ' and the Cunarders move to the Caribbean for the winter. NCL work the area year round, important because their ships become known in each port. It is important for the cruise passenger to feel his ship is being welcomed, that transport and taxis will be there, and the shops open at weekends. NCL are concerned at creating close and good relations with local communities underlining the extra prosperity they are bringing. Environment and pollution are two great words of the 'seventies and now the travel trade and its writers are being termed polluters. Moving people around seems to cause harm. But I maintain it still does more good than bad. The seas may be receiving extra sewage from hotels, but awareness of other people's living problems is awakened and in the underdeveloped islands of the Caribbean, cruising is bringing better standards of life.
I talked to Knut Klosters, the owner of NCL, recently; he is a Norwegian whose company operates from Miami with Norwegian officers and Caribbean crews. He cares deeply that the arrival of his ships will be a factor in improving life for the people on shore. He arranges visits of locals to the ships; passengers can visit local homes. The company has done much to open up Haitian tourism again, dispelling some of the Graham Greene images.
Another area that could do with cruising circuits, that would give the Briton an alternative from the Caribbean and Atlantic islands in winter, is the Far East islands sailing out of Singapore or Hong Kong. With cheap charters to join these cruises a fascinating section of new sightseeing world could be covered. Companies are looking at this and already there are ship routes to Australia and New Zealand sailing from Singapore to cut costs.
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