Why are there so few ethnic minorities on the major cruise ships?

Question

I have been spending alot of time on cruise ships in the last few years. I have gone on 7 cruises in the last 3 years. I have an observation about the people on the cruise ships:

97% of them are white people. Why is this the case in a country that is 1/3 minority and especially strange considering most cruises leave from Florida which is 50% Black and Hispanic.

I know, some of you will tell me that you saw some Black, Asian and Hispanic people on your last cruise. I agree, there are some minorities cruising but only maybe 3% of the people on the boat. Why?

Answer 1

It probably has something to do with the fact that Cruise Ships are pretty expensive, and the wealthiest people with time on their hands are old white people.

Answer 2

The cruise we were on was at least 50% black

Answer 3

do they have an idea that cruising is the best way to travel because of advertising?

Answer 4

Same reason you don't see many minorities at your county club.

Answer 5

It is due to demographics.  Most cruisers (over 80%) are repeat cruisers.   The highest majority are couples and families.  The average cruiser is upper middle class or above.  The median range of cruisers is in age 30-59.  Advertising is also a key.  Most advertising for cruises is during shows and in magazines watched by a predominately white audience.

As most cruisers are college graduates or above, and upper middle class, it skews the demographic into a predominately caucasian market.  It is not discrimination, just the way business goes.  There are parts of the economy frequented by a higher percentage of people of color than caucasians.  This would also seem to make you wonder why, as caucasians are the majority race in the US at this time, but it is a matter of demographics and cultures.

Answer 6

.  It could be that the timing when you went on your cruises.  I personally set up a lot of groups for family reunions, churches and girls getaways, and 80% of the groups I set up are Black. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the most popular cruiselines for these groups.  It could be based on which lines you cruised on.  When I set groups up, most of my group leaders are looking for the most economical pricing, and they usually set them up as much as 12-18 months prior to cruising.

Answer 7

maybe send a letter and ask the cruise line (s) ?   the reason i say this is that i was surprised to learn that the prerecorded music changes on cruises week to week.  they get a passenger list beforehand and know the average age/ demographic of the passengers.  they know how full the sailing will be and they adjust the music to reflect what the passenges will like.  the week i went on a cruise in april it was average age passenger 50 and over half of the cruise was from Germany.  They added a special live music / german food festival for this week.   The week we were leaving , the sailing was changing positiion.  The crew was talking about how hard it would be to deal with the New Yorkers lol .. .and the fact that the passengers would be average age 68 .   I was on ship for 9 day cruise.  The cruise the next week was going to be a 14 day cruise NY through Panama and up to LA.  Most people have to retired to take off that kind of time.

the cruise lines would know what the demographics actually are .

Answer 8

I never really noticed the ethnic makeup of cruise passengers.  What I see is a whole lot of people having the time of their lives.

Of course, I am ethnically and racially colorblind......

Answer 9

If most of your cruises similar embarkation ports, cruise lines, and destinations, then that's why you're seeing the same kind of people over and over again.   If you left from San Juan, Puerto Rico, especially during the Fall, you'd have 50% or greater Hispanic cruise ship guest population. If you left from New Orleans, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Baltimore or New York, you'd see a greater number of blacks.  Alaskan and Hawaii/S. Pacific/world sailings have TONS of Asians.  

It also depends on the cruise line.  I've seen lots of Hispanics and Asians on Princess (almost a 65% Hispanic contigency on one sailing) but not often on Carnival which I've only sailed once and had a HUGE black contingency (who I've never seen on Holland America).

Lastly, how can you even be sure how many you've seen?  Pre-kids, I've sailed numerous times without noticing how many kids were on board b/c my attention just wasn't geared there.   After having kids, I suddenly noticed all these pregnant women and kids.  My family says they've always been there, I just never noticed. I just ignored kids.