Cruising on the Ocean

So here is a way to waste time.  I have grown tired of the Olympics already.  They never seem to show what I want to watch (SHOW ME CURLING).  Anyway.  So I was surfing CNBC to find a live feed because curling was on, unfortunately they don't have a free online viewer, but I came across their video archive.

The following video is about the cruise industry (which is apparently a multi-billion dollar industry).  What is interesting is to watch the video and learn how much the company makes on different aspects of the cruise.  I have to say I honestly have no interest in taking a cruise.  Basically the cruise looks like a bore and the ship is trying to nickel and dime you the entire time (which is true, watch the video).

What struck me most was the port of call section of the video.  They interview a guy from the chamber of commerce from a small island.  He was basically talking about the money they make.  It is amazing how much money small towns can make on the cruise ships.  What is more troubling to me is that the town IS a port of call for THAT ship.  If the ship were to disappear the town would collapse overnight.  Additionally the amount of money brought in is so large that it completely throws off the local economy.  Now this happens all the time.  There are thousands of towns that are one shop towns where if a major company moved out of the area tons of jobs would be lost.  However it seems more perverse here.  The cruise ship 'partners' with the people on land and takes about 50% of the cost of the tours and stuff.  Thus if the locals were to demand more money the ship could just threaten to not come by anymore.  Seems like a situation all around.  The video ends with some shots of cruise ships being made (way awesome).  To me this video basically says two things: 1) don't invest in cruise ships currently and 2) don't come because they seem like something I would not like.  Additional piece of information for the video.  Calling at a port in Alaska is $50 a person.  Isn't that incredible.