River Cruise - strange question, maybe 😊

Marmaduke123

I've been on two river cruises with Riviera. As I understand it they don't own the ships, or employ the staff on the hotel or crewing side of things. They lease the ships together with the crews and hotel staff from other specialist companies. The only Riviera staff on board are the tour manager, and sometimes an assistant. 

hildasmuriel

That's useful to know - thanks Marmaduke123

bagand96

I think anybody taking a holiday on any vessel can assume that at best there's some "less than perfect" employment practices supporting the whole operation. 

NoodleDoodleMan

bagand96 said:

I think anybody taking a holiday on any vessel can assume that at best there's some "less than perfect" employment practices supporting the whole operation. 

If we knew the employment scenario of many clothing manufacturers from stores where we shop - we might have similar thoughts.

hildasmuriel

NoodleDoodleMan said:

bagand96 said:

I think anybody taking a holiday on any vessel can assume that at best there's some "less than perfect" employment practices supporting the whole operation. 

If we knew the employment scenario of many clothing manufacturers from stores where we shop - we might have similar thoughts.

I'm not trying to be a Goody-Two-Shoes and I probably do lots of things in my life without thinking of things like this 😌 .... it's just that having read an article about how badly cruise staff are paid/treated, I needed to know a bit more before I consider this holiday.

I know several cruise enthusiasts who are really blinkered to the issues around cruises (environmental issues, tax avoidance, impact on local economies, staff conditions and so on) and the more they go about them, the more reasons I find to avoid them.

bagand96

NoodleDoodleMan said:

bagand96 said:

I think anybody taking a holiday on any vessel can assume that at best there's some "less than perfect" employment practices supporting the whole operation. 

If we knew the employment scenario of many clothing manufacturers from stores where we shop - we might have similar thoughts.

Yes of course, as we might have similar thoughts about the "big river" shopping website who operate warehouses in this country with shady practices.

But on topic, the cruise industry is known well for pretty poor conditions in certain employment areas. I suspect the river cruises may not be as bad as the big ocean boys, but I have no proof of that either way. 

NoodleDoodleMan

I know several cruise enthusiasts who are really blinkered to the issues around cruises (environmental issues, tax avoidance, impact on local economies, staff conditions and so on) and the more they go about them, the more reasons I find to avoid them.

Do you mean the ports of call that cruise ships visit ?

The locals are more than welcoming in my experience, due to the income generated.

Hoenir

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The locals are more than welcoming in my experience, due to the income generated.

Which European cities are trying to cut back the number of cruise ship visits?

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/10/31/cruise-ships-erosion-air-pollution-and-overtourism-are-driving-cities-towards-bans

NoodleDoodleMan

I doubt you'll find the local merchants and businesses that benefit are in favour of blanket bans.

Venice is a special case of course, for obvious reasons. 

hildasmuriel

My understanding is that the cruise companies encourage passengers to go on their 'official' tours to make sure they are back on board on time. The official tours only visit certain shops/restaurants/gardens etc. Then many people go back on board for lunch as well. So Mr & Mrs Local Stall Owner may see little benefit.