SAMMAMISH, WASHINGTON The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc. (ICV), a not for profit corporation formed by victims and families of victims of cruise crimes, has been the voice promoting safety on cruise ships.
A recent article in Budget Travel Magazine by Fran Golden entitled Cruise Lines Offer Prepaid Packages for Booze discusses a newly announced policy of the Royal Caribbean Corporation allowing passengers the option of unlimited drinks for one price. RCCL Chairman Richard Fain, tells Budget Travel the packaging has been "hugely successful." The article goes on to say, "It's very dramatic how much people like buying the drinks package, for example, and not have to worry about that," Fain says. The idea is to give the passenger "a more customized all-inclusive experience."
ICV strongly condemns Royal Caribbean for promoting the consumption of alcohol on their ships by offering unlimited drinks for one price. Compounding this issue and making the situation even more dangerous is the fact that there are no independent police on any of these ships.
The F.B.I. has indicated that excessive alcohol often plays a role in many crimes on cruise ships, including crimes of sexual assault and individuals disappearing from cruise ships.
Can you imagine a resort or bar here in the United States offering unlimited drinks? First of all, it is unlikely that would even be legal and it most certainly would not be considered responsible or proper. It is doubtful that you would want to take your family to any destination that offered unlimited drinks. When taking into consideration that children will be onboard a "booze" cruise like this, it doesn't take much imagination to see the sorts of disastrous possibilities that could arise.
ICV has communicated our concern directly to officers of this corporation and hope that they will reconsider such a dangerous policy.
While cruise lines say they have a Zero tolerance for drugs and crimes, how can they take such a step? What will the next step be? After all, how much of a difference is there between unlimited drugs and unlimited drinks? They both have the same effect on a person.
Clearly, there is only one answer to the question of why? Their concern does not lie with the customer but rather with their bottom line and another source of revenue to increase their already, tax free, income!
Kendall Carver, Chairman 602-852-5896
Jamie Barnett, President818-355-6462
-- Edited by News Editor on Friday 26th of August 2011 05:48:29 AM
