Is the BELLE in trouble?

If It Is .................................................. ...........

Greetings From New Orleans ,
If the " Belle " is in trouble and that is a big IF , is there any one that can really do anything about it here ??
From what I observed there was NOT a whole lot of support to save the Str. Mississippi Queen !
You tell me !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Tom Schiffer;26652 wrote: Travis et al: I agree that your writeup should be published. Local tax payers need to know the facts. On this board, of course, you are preaching to the choir. I think that it might be a wee-bit more effective if dates were shown when the various forces took over. What is written is wonderful but it would, in my opinion, command a bit more respect if the dates were there. I agree with Keith's comments and the high cost of fuel impacted the bottom line both from the standpoint of getting pax to the boat and running the boat. The added energy burden of A/C has not helped that aspect either. Louisville has many attractions, but the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE is the only one that takes me there...unless you count the Howard Museum!

A rebuttal...it's easy to blame management but the issues are much more complex than just mismanagement. The world has changed since the BELLE first started in 1963. Back then people had more money to spend, they were used to going downtown, kids weren't tied up all summer playing sports, most houses weren't air conditioned, there were only 2 radio stations the teenagers listened to and those stationed chartered the boat for teen cruises.
I did some research and found the following: (All dollar aounts in inflation adjust dollars)
1960 median family income: $42,856
Todays median family income: $34,483

1964 Ticket..for a 4 hour cruise...$10.43 ($1.50 in 64 dollars)
Todays ticket...for a 2 hr, cruise...$18.00

1964 parking.....free on the levee
Today.....$2.00 to $5.00 depending on where you park.

1964 boats fuel..bunker C...$1.18
Today..diesel fuel....$3.65

Boats manager 1964.......$37,000 a year
Today..........reportedly over $100,00

You can see that it is much more expensive to ride the boat today in real terms while at the same time household incomes have declined.

Hey, I'd like to have that manager's job! That was the biggest discrepancy in your list. Maybe it IS management.

Just heard today that the music concert business is doing very well. To get into almost any concert, indoors or out, requires a ticket costing more than $18. Usually lots more. If it's a pop concert, they are attended mostly by young people, even teens or younger. Sooo, where are they getting the moolah for that? By the way, those outdoor concerts are not air-conditioned.

Correction...in my last post I said the two rock & roll stations chartered the BELLE for the teen cruises. I was wrong, it was the Louisville Fraternal Order of Police. They advertised the dance cruises heavily on the two stations and would have guest DJ's occasionally on the boat. Who knows how much money the FOP made from the BELLE during the years they had the teen dances.

Here's another cost comparison between now and then:
Charter rates....4 hr. cruise...1964 ($600)....$4171.62
Charter Rates...2 hr. cruise....today ...........$3600.00

Deckhand Wages ....minimum wage 1964...$1.25 per hr.....$10.10
" " today $7.75

I don't know what they pay deckhands today but the cost of labor in relative terms has gone down.

I think deckhands now are getting $8.00/hr, maybe $8.25. Also, I don't know where they came up with the manager getting over $100k, according to the Louisville Metro Salary site, where you can look up salaries of every employee of Metro govt, the highest paid person working directly for the Belle is the CEO at just shy of $81,000.