ABSTRACT
This chapter considers resonances of colonialism and the triangular relationship of power between passengers, Southeast Asian service workers and transnational cruise companies. It focuses on the experiences of Balinese cruise ship workers, presenting the voices of the workers themselves. Ann Laura Stoler and Frederick Cooper identify two relevant approaches. The first locates colonies as a preeminent site for identification of the 'Other' against who the ideal of Europeaness was expressed. The second offers a definition of colonies as a domain of exploitation where European powers could extract land, labor and produce. In the popular imagination, early twentieth century luxury cruising is associated with cinema images of the Titanic. The cruise ship works according to Erving Goffman's concept of the 'total institution', where the person is isolated from family and friends for long periods. Balachandran describes the Asian maritime 'coolie' as a 'product of a political and social project to mobilize colonial labour for a global labour force'.
