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Another Stupid Travel Charge in the Making

April 15, 2008

As I have written several stories about charging travelers for everything from fuel surcharges to resort tip charges, here is another one coming up, this time for the cruise ship passengers. It is originating in California, which means in the U.S., that the rest of the nation will follow soon.

A CALIFORNIA BILL that aims to place law enforcement officers known as ocean rangers on cruise ships operating from California ports passed its first test on April 8, when the California Senate’s Public Safety Committee gave it unanimous approval and pushed it to the next step in the legislative process. State Sen. Joe Simitian (D) introduced the California Ocean Ranger program in a bill, saying that the cruise industry does not adequately protect its passengers from crime and has a poor record of self-policing its environmental law compliance. The bill says that the cruise lines would pay for the program by levying a $1 surcharge per passenger for each day that the ocean ranger was onboard.

THE CRUISE LINES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION said that it supported the bill’s apparent intent, to protect California citizens, but Terry Dale, CLIA’s president, said that the bill “attempts to man international ships with state-employed rangers to perform federally regulated law enforcement functions.” CLIA believes the bill extends beyond California’s jurisdiction, could jeopardize criminal investigations and is overly burdensome given the industry’s solid track record on environmental compliance and criminal reporting, Dale said.

Well, just a couple of initial remarks.

  1. One dollar per passenger per day??? These guys make a lot of money if we’re talking about a ship with 2,500 passengers aboard. Wonder where I can apply for a cozy job like that. Sail the oceans, enjoy great food and take home $17,500 for the week. Yep, I need that job. Or could it be that the California Government sees another revenue source??
  2. Secondly, Mr.Dale’s remark is correct. A state employee on an international ship with U.S. federal authority? Seems just one more step of attempting to force the world to accept American ruling. After Habeas Corpus has been abandoned in the USA, justice is becoming a game. Guess Bob Dylan was right when he wrote the song about Ruben Carter years ago. The line was: “I can’t help but feel ashamed to live in a land were justice is just a game”. And that was long before TSA and Homeland Security became household words.

If the saying “God Bless America” has any merit, I think it’s time to find another religion.

Written by admin · Filed Under Travel News 

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