Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean |
Recent news that the 2,600 passenger Grand Princess cruise
ship will be docked in San Francisco one year from now has unleashed a
titanic blast of excitement. Naturally, the thrill of thousands of
passengers and crew routinely disembarking at the pier is music to the
ears of struggling retailers and restaurateurs. In the meantime, avid
cruise fans enticed by dramatic discounts can sail from the Bay and save on airfare for voyages to Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and the California coast.
“Having
the ship sail under the Golden Gate Bridge and berth at the foot of
Coit Tower will be spectacular, both for the guests on board and the
people of San Francisco,” raves Monique Moyer, Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco.
But
critics of the supersized cruise ship trend are signaling foggy
conditions ahead for accessing the country’s needs to keep its affluenza afloat.
Habitual over consumption and the demand for cool aqua parks and live
theaters on billion-dollar high rise vessels comes at a huge cost to
both the environment and the widening schism between rich and poor.
This, amid a growing discontent among the masses worldwide and a
contagious occupy mentality. Will occupy the Grand Princess be next?
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