P&O cruise ship staff paid 75p ($1.22) an hour

Just when you think the corporate world can't "sink" (excuse the pun) much lower...it appears that many P&O cruise ship staff are paid a basic salary of 75p an hour (approx. $1.2 an hour). "At the bottom end of the scale, a junior waiter on a ship sailing out of Southampton now earns a basic salary of £250 a month, for shifts lasting a minimum of 11 hours, seven days a week, with a possible £150 extra in bonuses. According to documents seen by the Guardian, this is "a significantly increased basic salary". David Dingle, CEO of Carnival UK, in charge of P&O cruise lines, said the crew were "much happier" and the new arrangement was a win-win for passengers, staff and P&O. He said many crew took home over £1,000 a month, but tougher times meant that "sadly, our customers were reluctant to pay the recommended level of tipping".  
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/apr/29/cruise-firm-performance-bonuses-tips

David Levene for the Guardian

It's interesting to note that Carnival owned the Costa Concordia, the giant Italian cruise liner that sunk on January 13 this year with over 4,200 passengers and crew aboard. Thirty-two did not survive the tragedy but only 30 bodies have been recovered; the search for the final two is ongoing. And on February 27 another Carnival Cruise Ship, Costa Allegra, suffered a generator fire while off the coast of Africa approximately 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles and was towed to Mahé in the Seychelles Islands the following day.

Meanwhile, news today of an Australian billionaire who will build a high-tech replica of the Titanic (Titanic II) at a Chinese shipyard and its maiden voyage in late 2016 will be from England to New York, just like its namesake planned. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/titanic-ii-between-replica-ship-and-hologram-tupac-resurrections-abound/2012/04/30/gIQAPbVkrT_blog.html

Just why would someone want to relive a tragedy that killed over 1500 people? Am I the only person who thinks they may be living in a parallel universe? 

In this April 25, 2012 photo provided by Crook Publicity, 
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer poses in front of an artist
impression of the Titanic ll at MGM Studios in Los Angeles, Ca. (AP)