A lack of lifeguards tops long list of concerns for major cruise line

Patrick Devine
Updated

On Sunday, Netflix’s Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj exposed the “real cost” of America’s booming vacation cruise industry. “The real cost is shi**y air, poisoned water, piles of garbage, lost tax revenue, worker abuse, climate change, unreported crime, and preventable deaths,” explained Minhaj.

With more than 80 percent of the market share, Minhaj specifically targeted Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines for exploiting labor, safety and crime regulations.

Minhaj blasted the cruise lines for soliciting $100 million in illegal dumping fines, overworking and underpaying their employees, and operating their business internationally to avoid regulations and pay less in taxes. “Carnival made almost $9 billion in income but paid less than two percent in taxes. Remember, their executives are in Miami. They make all of their decisions out of Miami, but somehow legally, their company is ‘in Panama,’” pointed out Minhaj.

One of the most troubling revelations from the episode came when Minhaj explained how cruise companies use the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) to avoid lawsuits from family members of people that have accidentally died on cruise ships. Up until two years ago, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean did not employ lifeguards, despite several cases of children accidental drowning. And, more alarming, Carnival, the largest cruise line, still does not have lifeguards on their ships.

“How is that even possible? They have swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, thousands of child passengers. And everyone at Carnival is like, ‘Guys, are we missing something?’ ‘Roller coasters!’” said Minhaj sarcastically.

Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj airs Sundays on Netflix.

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