Below Deck on the “Love Boat”: Intimate Relationships Between
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! ! ! ! Below Deck on the “Love Boat”: Intimate relationships between cruise ship workers in a globalized environment by Susan Forsythe A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Anthropology University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB Copyright © 2012 by Susan Forsythe ! "! Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Susan Frohlick and my committee members Dr. Liz Millward and Dr. Anna Fournier who took time to review the thesis and offer constructive, thought provoking feedback and questions. I am grateful for their valuable contributions and respect their professional opinions. I would like to acknowledge The Government of Manitoba for their belief in my academic abilities in awarding me a Manitoba Graduate Scholarship. As well, I would like to acknowledge The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for presenting me with funding to continue my research. Through this whole, at times endless, process my parents who have supported me through the good and the bad. I would like to thank Jane Ledwell for her editing skills that helped me towards the finish product. I would also like to thank the people who have been there for me throughout the past years. They have many things to support me throughout the writing of this thesis. Especially: Dr. M. Jean Mitchell, who kept me from giving up and Julie R. Bull, who read the beginnings and gave me many tips and hints on how to write a thesis. ! ""! Abstract This study was conceptualized from my own experience working on-board cruise ships and from the lack of studies of relationships on-board cruise ships. This thesis examines the question: how does globalization in the form of accelerated capitalism and inter- connectedness through the sharing of food and drink across national identities that takes place in the space of cruise ships affect intimate relationships of cruise employees? Through the examinations of narratives of nine ex-crewmembers, developed through qualitative interviews, by using both the phenomenological and narrative methodology a couple of prominent themes appeared. The interviewees described working on a cruise ship as “intense” and the passage of time appears faster on-board ship. It appears throughout the narratives, the nature of accelerated capitalism in the cruise ship industry affects the way the majority conduct their relationships. ! """! Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Table of Contents................................................................................................................iii 1. Welcome Aboard……………………………………………………….........................1 History of Cruise Ships……………………………………………………………5 My Story…………………………………………………………………………..8 Cruise Ship Life…………………………………………………………………..12 Thesis Objectives…………………………………………………………………14 Thesis Format……………………………………………………………………17 Methodology Chapter……………………………………………………...17 Literature Review…………………………………………………………..17 Media Chapter……………………………………………………………...18 Participant Introductions…………………………………………………...18 Results……………………………………………………………………….18 2. Approaching the Dock: Methods Used………………………………………………..20 The Deck Plan…………………………………………………………………...20 The Crewmembers/Participants…………………………………………………21 The Crewmembers’ Pre-Ship background………………………………….24 The Ship’s Bridge: Instruments used in this Study……………………………..25 The Engine Room: Theoretical Framework...…………………………………..28 Crewmember/Researcher……………………………………………………….35 3. What Other People Say: Literature Review…………………………………………..39 Cruise Ships and Gendered Hierarchical Structure ..........................................................41 ! "#! Community……………………………………………………………………..47 Food and Drink………………………………………………………………...51 Drinking and Social Relationships…………………………………………….54 Passenger-Crewmember Contrast……………………………………………..56 Space…………………………………………………………………………...57 4. Media Representation of Cruising and the Cruise Industry...........................................59 Books…………………………………………………………………………...59 Documentaries………………………………………………………………….61 Web Media (blogs, company websites, etc.)………………………………….65 John Heald’s Blog………………………………………………………….65 Norwegian Cruise Line!…………………………………………………..66 Royal Caribbean International…………………………………………….67 Holland America Line……………………………………………………...68 Carnival Cruise Lines……………………………………………………...69 Princess Cruises……………………………………………………………70 The Yachts of Seabourn…………………………………………………….70 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..71 5. Meet the Crewmembers..………………………….....................................................74 Michelle………………………………………………………………………..74 Michael………………………………………………………………………...75 Nigel…………………………………………………………………………...77 Naomi………………………………………………………………………….78 Andrew…………………………………………………………………………81 ! #! Steve……………………………………………………………………………84 Victor…………………………………………………………………………...85 Doug……………………………………………………………………………87 John…………………………………………………………………………….89 6. Crewmembers talk Social Relationships on Cruise Ships.......................................93 Community……………………………………………………………………...94 Space and Friendship………………………………………………………......101 International Friendships………………………………………………106 Socializing through Alcohol and Food……………………………………......108 Intimate Relationships………………………………………………………...109 Types of relationships……………………………………………………113 Speed of Relationships: Time –Space Compression…………………………115 Disposable Values and Lifestyles…………………………………………117 Perceived Differences in Land and Sea Relationships …………………...120 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………122 7. Disembarkation the Ship: Conclusion…………………………………………125 Final Announcements………………………………………………………124 Limitations………………………………………………………………….127 Future Research/Inquiry……………………………………………………127 Appendix A: Consent Form.........................................................................................131 Appendix B: Interview Schedule.................................................................................134 Bibliography................................................................................................................135 ! Chapter 1: Welcome Aboard In 2002, when I left the cruise industry after almost ten years of work, I really did not think about or discuss life on-board that much with friends and colleagues on-land. While I was working on cruise ships and was asked what I did, the conversation usually ran something like this: Person: Oh, you worked on cruise ships? That must have been so much fun, with all the travel and such. Me: Visiting the ports and meeting so many people from so many different countries was great, but the work was not great. Person: Do you miss it? Me: The people and travel, yes, but the work not so much. The conversation would usually go on to describe long hours of work and the political nature of the job and would end with the inquiring person finishing the conversation a bit disillusioned about the nature of cruise ship work, which they had often thought of in very romantic terms. Then, in May 2006, I participated in a forum in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, about the cruise ship industry and its effects on tourism, economy and environment. Ross A. Klein, who has written extensively on the downside of the cruise ship industry, was a speaker, Participating in this forum challenged me to think not only about the perceptions of the people outside of the industry but about cruise ships and cruise ship life and also to think more deeply about my experience of this world. ! $! After the forum, I began thinking in particular about another side of cruise ship life, apart from tourism, economy and environment – the social side. Social interaction among cruise ship staff is not very well documented, except in a few memoirs written by ex- cruise ship workers. However, there is more to life on a cruise than the long hours and hard work; crewmembers establish wide-ranging emotional and sexual relationships while on-board, from the entirely platonic to the strictly sexual, with many forms of friendship and romance in between. During the nine and half years I spent working on-board ships for two cruise lines and in positions that included photographing the passengers (and sometimes the crew) and work as a photo lab technician, I observed and experienced how quickly crewmembers formed friendships, sexual relationships, and other relationships of an intimate nature, and I was always fascinated by the phenomenon.1 My interest in this area has led me to this study about social relationships on-board cruise ships and media representation of cruise ships. My experience has led me to see that the social life on-board cruise ships is different from what is experienced on-land. My study of intimate relationships and friendships of crewmembers adds a currently missing component to tourism studies and studies of social relationships. As a window into the social life of cruise ship workers, my research will help broaden currently limited knowledge about the social side of a crewmember’s life, considering also the implications of globalization for intimacy more generally, for the cruise ship, which brings together many nationalities, represents a type of globalization. The crew comes on-board, each member with their culturally bound !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 This includes the previous company/ship I worked for and Cruise Line A.