At Sea with Doug Newman

On the recommendation of my friend Ernie Roller (thanks Ernie!) and several others, I have just finished reading Kristoffer A. Garin’s Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns that Built America’s Cruise-Ship Empires.

This is one of those books I had been meaning to read for a while but never actually got around to reading. (I’m sure we all have books like that!) It came out a few years ago and I meant to to read it and then I pretty much forgot about it until Ernie mentioned that he was reading it and could hardly put it down and that I in particular should read it. Well needless to say I could no longer procrastinate any more so in short order I acquired a copy of the book (I was going to buy one but an acquaintance sent to me his copy that he was finished with - you know who you are, so thanks!) and read it.

I am of mixed minds about this particular volume; all in all I like it though it does have its shortcomings. When this book was released the way it was described and promoted lead me to fear it would be a rabid anti-cruise-industry tome. In fact it does cite in its bibliography - among a plethora of sources - the anti-cruise zealot Ross Klein, a man for which I have nothing but contempt and would not cite other than as a bad example. Nevertheless, Kristoffer Garin seems to have taken a fairly ambivalent approach: this is neither a book that sets out to vilify the cruise industry nor one that sugar-coats it and presents its constituents as saints. Garin seems to at least make a genuine attempt at being neutral, though from time to time I suspect the industry’s shortcomings are exaggerated a bit.

This book is not, and does not attempt to be, the definitive history of the cruise industry. I think such a book is sorely needed; nevertheless, this isn’t it, which is just fine since it doesn’t claim to be. What this book really excels at is describing the characters involved in the Miami cruise business (and it really is about the Miami cruise business) in a vivid and engaging fashion. I don’t know if some of their attributes might be exaggerated for dramatic effect but it certainly makes for interesting reading.

For most, I think, the most interesting part of the book will be the beginning - the bit where it outlines the beginnings of the Miami cruise industry, the birth of the companies that have come to dominate the cruise industry of today. Indeed, to me perhaps the most fascinating part of the book is its account of the days before the Sunward arrived in Miami and “the modern cruise industry” was born. In a way this is all just a prologue to the book’s main story and yet there has been so little said about this era that it is a delight to see it covered here, albeit in a fairly cursory manner.

The real story, of course, is - as the title rather verbosely puts it - the empire-building that produced today’s cruise industry. Thus it should come as no surprise it is foremost a book about the history - together and apart - of the two companies that dominate the industry of today, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The other companies - even NCL - really are only discussed in their relations with the latter-day big two. (NCL features very heavily in the beginning of the book but this is largely because it was predecessor to Carnival; once Ted Arison leaves there’s not a whole lot said about it except a brief recounting of the departure of Knut Kloster, Sr.) Nevertheless, Carnival and Royal Caribbean each have fascinating histories, even more so where it intersects. Carnival’s is arguably the more interesting with higher highs, lower lows, and more characterful characters, while Royal Caribbean’s is the less widely known. They’re really best told together - the highs of one inevitably corresponding with the lows of the other - and here they are, to good effect. Especially in the case of Carnival, there was really very little I didn’t know, but the level of detail in the recounting of events and the amazingly lengthy and candid interviews with an all-star cast of witnesses nevertheless makes it a great read. Unless you were there personally you probably won’t find it dull.

Unfortunately, there are some omissions in the book - and some things I think really ought to have been omitted, but weren’t! As far as omissions go, there are certain minor facts that I think would make the book rather more satisfying, but aren’t there - for example, it is mentioned that Richard Fain was heir to a large family fortune, but the book doesn’t say where it came from. Now, this is not central to the plot, but nevertheless upon reading that sentence one immediately thinks, “Well, that’s interesting - I wonder where his family made it?” Another word or two - “heir to a family (whatever) fortune” - would have been most welcome.

On the other hand the chapters on The Love Boat and on the cruise lines’ relations with the Caribbean islands seem rather out of place. No doubt The Love Boat was important to the cruise industry, but I am not sure it is necessary to recount the program in nearly the detail seen here. The chapter on Caribbean relations, I’m afraid, was lost on me - not that it wasn’t mildly interesting taken in a vacuum, but I really don’t see where it fits into the rest of the book.

Other than that my nitpicks are fairly few; the author does not quite have his facts straight on occasion (an example would be a statement in passing that Mardi Gras came from lay-up in Greece when really that was Carnivale) but glaring though that may be for a ship nut, it’s fairly inconsequential stuff. Rather more annoying was the constant reference to a “Geoffrey Sterling” in lieu of Jeffrey Sterling - this is just a case of bad editing but nevertheless it grated every time I saw Lord Sterling’s name incorrectly spelled.

All in all I think it is a good book - not perfect, but good - and one worth reading. It covers a huge amount of ground and inevitably there will be parts you will find less than scintillating but there should still be something for everyone. It is not a book full of surprising new information but it does add detail and color to stories most of us knowledgeable about the cruise industry probably already know. It certainly helped me “fill out” a lot of areas I may have been a bit fuzzy about before and it may well do the same for you. If nothing else, if you can overlook a few little factual inaccuracies here or there, you will probably find it an entertaining read; and you might learn something along the way, too!