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| Date |
Ship |
2013 |
Incident |
| March 28 | Golden Princess | Cruise Critic reports Princess Cruises began its anticipated crackdown of contraband alcohol March 27 as passengers boarded Golden Princess for a 10-night Hawaii sailing. Smuggled alcohol was disposed of as it was found. Cruise Critic was first alerted to the extent of the crackdown by community member Antsp, who posted immediately after boarding Golden Princess. "Just boarded the Golden. Any alcohol in your luggage is now being removed and destroyed. It just happened to me. Major arguments going on down on deck 4. The new alcohol policy is now in full force. Be warned." In later posts, he detailed finding a yellow tag on his cabin door telling him where to go to get his bags. Once he showed up he was told to open his bags in front of crew and asked to remove a bottle of vodka and a bottle of Champagne. Crew then placed the bottles in a large grey bin. The empty vodka bottle was returned to him later that day. Princess Cruises' vice president of public relations Julie Benson confirmed the line began implementing the new alcohol policy on Golden Princess but said passengers took it in stride. The line's manager of beverage operations was in attendance during embarkation to oversee the implementation. "He said it went very smoothly and while there may have been a few small grumblings, passengers were very cooperative and there certainly weren't major arguments that this post implies." Benson also contested antsp's allegation that Champagne was being confiscated. "Passengers are allowed one bottle of wine or champagne (champagne is NOT [Princess' emphasis] being confiscated as alleged) for free, and then they can bring on as many bottles of wine or champagne as they would like for a $15 per bottle corkage fee." Other alcohol is not allowed to be brought onboard and will be confiscated. It won't be returned because the logistics of storing the contraband, then returning it to passengers is too challenging, she added. Antsp insisted the Champagne was indeed taken and some posters pondered whether the fact that the Champagne was in checked luggage made a difference. Benson said no, the same rule applies to checked and hand-carried baggage. | Changed alocohol policy |
| March 24 | Coral Princess | A poster at Cruise Critic reports someone went overboard while we were out at sea (in the Carribean) and their body was later recovered. Around 2:00 - 2:30 Central time the Captain announced "Man overboard" and instructed the crew to their appropriate stations. The ship begain to slow down but of course it takes a long time to stop a ship this size. Sometime later we heard a page for a passenger. Then a bit later the Captain came on again to update us - he said that several passengers had witnessed someone going overboard. Then around 3:30 - 4:00 maybe (I may be off there) all passengers were ordered to their cabins so that they could check to be sure who was here. I later saw from my balcony a low flying prop plane (I think it was the US Coast Guard but I was looking into the sun and I'm not sure) circling a couple of times and more activity from the Princess rescue craft as we pretty much just stayed in one spot, occasionally rotating in place. Finally around 6:00 the Captain announced the sad news that the body had been recovered. One passenger said that they "heard" the person had been climbing on the rail, and while that is very believable, I have no idea if that is accurate or not. The person was traveling with at least one other person, and I can't imagine how they must be feeling right now. For those curious, the Captain announced we would be arriving at our next port of call (Grand Cayman) as scheduled. | Passenger overboard |
| March 14 | Emerald Princess | USA Today reports the ship's April 29 visit to Bermuda will not take place because the wharf the ship had been scheduled to use is undergoing repairs. Princess is the first cruise line to cancel a call in Bermuda since repair work began on the destination's Heritage Wharf. Earlier today, the Bermuda Sun reported that two other cruise ships scheduled to tie up at Heritage Wharf next month -- Oceania's 1.250-passenger Riviera and the 2,550-passenger MSC Poesia -- instead will anchor off shore because of the repair work, forcing passengers to tender from ship to shore. The Sun says the repair work also is causing a change to the scheduled arrival of the 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor on April 18, and two visits from the 2,224-passenger Norwegian Dawn scheduled for early May could be affected if the work isn't completed by May 15. | Canceled port call |
| February 7 | Golden Princess | The ship failed its inspection by the Vessel Sanitation Program with a score of 81 (a failing score is anything below 86). | Failed health inspection |
| February 1 | Sea Princess | From a passenger (thought it would be of interest): “We were on board the Sea Princess 3 days into a cruise around New Zealand (January 16th) when a little after 5am we were awoken by an urgent announcement coming over the stateroom loud speaker. The Captain, apologizing for the interruption at this time stated they had a serious medical emergency on-board and asked for blood donors of types A+ and/or O-. If at all possible they should immediately report to the medical centre. I quickly got dressed, found my blood donor card and went down to the Medical Centre on the lower deck. When I arrived some 5 minutes later there were already about 3 people there ready to donate – some still in nightwear! I spoke to the Medical Officer/Doctor who was very grateful but said they had enough donors at present . He took a few details just in case. Speaking with the other passengers I understand a passenger was already donating blood. The ship arrived in Port Chalmers (the Port for Dunedin) about 3 hours later. As soon as the gangway was safely in place we saw a passenger being transferred by stretcher to a waiting ambulance on the wharf. In the restaurant that evening the Captain, once again apologizing for the interruption, said that due to numerous requests about the passengers well being he was able to report the patient was in a “critical, but stable condition”, he continued on to say, that he wanted to sincerely thank the blood donors for the response. Some 40 people had attended to donate. Everyone in the restaurant clapped and applauded!. On our last sea-day at the end of the cruise, the Captain, following his noon day announcement, was able to add the patient was well enough to fly home.” | Pax respond to a Medical emergency |
| January 29 | Golden Princess | KTOO News reports te company has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine for dumping water from on-board swimming pools into Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in 2011. The fine was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday, along with six other enforcement actions taken in Alaska late last year. In a signed consent agreement and final court order, the EPA says Princess violated the Clean Water Act in May 2011 when more than 66,000 gallons of pool water was discharged into Glacier Bay. The order says there was a software malfunction on the ship the Golden Princess, causing the pool dump valves to open. The malfunction allowed chlorinated water from six of the ship’s pools and spas to drain into the national park and preserve. Princess notified the EPA of the discharges the next day. The wastewater permit for large cruise ships prohibits the discharge of pool or spa water in national parks and refuges. The federal Clean Water Act allows the EPA to fine cruise companies for permit violations. | Environmental offense |
| January 24 | Grand Princess | Bermuda Sun reports two employees appeared in Magistrates’ Court today facing serious sex assault charges on the ship. The two European men, 26 and 27-years-old, were charged with sexually assaulting a woman on the ship on January 12. The court heard the men were employees on the ship. The alleged victim was an employee as well. Magistrate Juan Wolffe gave the men $5,000 bail each with a surety. They must surrender their travel documents, report to the Hamilton Police Station on Monday and Friday, have no contact with the complainant and must not leave the island. The two reappear on 7th February 2013 for a Preliminary Inquiry. | Sexual assault |
| January 23 | Caribbean or Emerald Princess | From a reader: An elderly couple from one of the two ships in Aruba today was crossing the street, when the woman stepped in front of and was hit by a passing taxi. (Her husband was ahead of her and had crossed safely.) She was visibly injured, with cuts and maybe broken bones. Police, newsmen, and two nurses attended to the woman until the emergency ambulance arrived twenty minutes later. The woman was placed on a board and taken to the hospital. The condition of the woman is not known. | Injury ashore |
| January 5 | Star Princess | The Independent reports Argentinian protesters disrupted the cruise ship industry today as they demonstrated for the Falklands Islands to be handed over. The nationalist activists targeted the two ships as they docked in Buenos Aires after stopping at the Falklands. Their anger was inflamed today by the publication of a “hands off” the Falklands advert in Argentina by The Sun newspaper. Protestors burnt copies of the newspaper along with Union flags. The advert was published in the wake of President Kirchner’s most recent attempt to put pressure on the UK to sever ties with the Falklands when she wrote an open letter to David Cameron which was published in several UK newspapers, accusing him of colonialism and demanding negotiations be opened. According to The Telegraph, hundreds of passengers were prevented from leaving their vessels by protesters angry at the “illegal” visits to the disputed South Atlantic islands .Ministers condemned the unprecedented wave of “blackmail” and “intimidation” and called on militants to “allow cruise ships to travel without threats or hindrance”. Protesters accused the shipsof stopping at provinces across the region, including the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego, in violation of a provincial law. The so-called “Gaucho Rivero” law is active in five provinces, including Tierra del Fuego, whose capital is Ushuaia, and prohibits British ships involved in the "exploitation of natural resources" around the Falklands from docking. Activists insist it should also apply to cruise liners. | Demonstration |
| Date |
Ship |
2012 |
Incident |
| December 31 | Ruby Princess
|
From a passenger:We were on the Ruby for Christmas Cruise. The areas that were to be adult only were never enforced. We were told that this is a “family” cruise so we cannot separate one family member from another. We suspend some f the rules for “holiday/family” cruising. Wish they had told us that when we booked our cruise. We received conflicting reports of what adults are. We were told by Jorge at the front desk that 18 yrs. is drinking age and an adult. Actually it is 21 yrs. old. We received different stories from every cruise staff person. We have sailed with Princess for 12+ years and each year during the Holidays is getting worse. So, of course, it is our choice to not go at this time of year. It is a shame that an adult, senior citizen cannot have one or two little areas on a ship for quiet time. And if you confront someone that this is an adult only area, they act as if you are the problem. No help from staff. | What happpened to adults only areas? |
| December 15 | Caribbean Princess | According to the US Coast Guard the ship had a loss of electrical power. | Loss of power |
| November 1 | Sun Princess | Otago Daily Times reports the ship will not dock at Port Chalmers today, as scheduled, and no reason has been given. Notice of the cancellation was sent to the Dunedin City Council's economic development unit and other industry professionals yesterday morning. Sophie Barker, the unit's business development adviser for the visitor industry, said at least the cancellation was not last-minute and gave fair warning to those who catered to cruise passengers and crew. "It's disappointing but we are glad the notice came through early. Hopefully, there won't be any more cancellations," she said. Dunedin has missed out on two of the first four cruise ship visits scheduled this season. Sea Princess' visit on October 14 was cancelled after passengers were stranded on land at Akaroa. Sun Princess was due to head for Port Chalmers and Fiordland from Akaroa, but instead would go north to the Bay of Islands then to Sydney, Australia. | Canceled port call |
| October 14 | Sea Princess | Radio New Zealand reports many of the 700 passengers were left stranded ashore by bad weather on Saturday. They had to stay in local homes after the weather prevented them from being ferried back to the ship on Saturday afternoon. Better weather on Sunday allowed the passengers to return to the ship which was anchored in Akaroa Harbour; the ship then departed for Sydney. Carnival Cruises spokesperson David Jones says the company will investigate why people went ashore when the forecast was for bad conditions. He says the passengers were grateful for the kindness of residents who took them in when hotels in Akaroa and Christchurch could not accommodate the numbers. | Pax stranded ashore |
| August 27 | Sun Princess | From a reader: I have friends on Sun Princess which is on a 104 day World Cruise, Sydney to Sydney. Ship docks in Sydney, Wednesday 29 August, 2012. Incident: About 0430 on Tuesday 27 August 2012, the ship was in Tasman Sea west of the Bay of Islands New Zealand. She lost all power, a transformer had blown. After floating around without any power, the transformer was repaired and about 0800 the same day, she continued sailing for Sydney. No persons injured | Dead in the water |
| August 17 | Caribbean Princess | From a Passenger: During our British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess it was brought to our attention on August 4, 2012 that the casino aboard ship would be closed from August 04, 2012 and reopen at 09:30 pm on August 9, 2012. It appears that Princess Cruises new about the gaming restrictions, but failed to notify any of the cruise passengers. I believe that if Princess Cruises had made this information known, the majority of passengers would of made other arrangements. | Casino closed |
| August 2 | Star Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced "material failure." | Material failure |
| July 25 | Sun Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced "material failure." | Material failure |
| July 17 | Crown Princess | Cruise Critic reports a small electrical fire broke out in passenger cabin. "There were no injuries and we're currently investigating the cause," Princess said in a statement sent to Cruise Critic. The ship, carrying 2,948 passengers on a 12-day Eastern Mediterranean cruise, is sailing on schedule. The voyage ends in Rome on July 23. Cruise Critic member MSH from Norway, who was onboard, posted that the fire occurred on the Emerald Deck (Deck 8) and that several cabins filled with smoke. Some cabins were also waterlogged MSH from Norway wrote. While Princess did not comment on the damage to the ship, the line did tell Cruise Critic that the passengers in the affected cabin, as well as those in the cabin next to it, were moved -- both cabins were left without electricity. | Fire |
| July 1 | Star Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced "material failure." | Material failure |
| June 8 | Caribbean Princess | The Daily Echo reports the ship delayed its departure from Southampton. A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises said: "Having completed her turnaround yesterday, Caribbean Princess remained alongside in Southampton overnight in order to resolve a technical issue. Caribbean Princess is due to start a British Isles cruise and her revised itinerary will be confirmed as soon as the departure time is known. Update June 12: The Liverpool Echo reports the Liverpool Cruise Terminal said yesterday’s scheduled visit was cancelled due to a technical fault which delayed the liner’s sailing from Southampton last Thursday. The ship continued straight to its other ports of call including Cobh, Dublin, Belfast, Greenock, Invergordon, South Queensferry, and Le Havre. Angie Redhead, Liverpool Cruise Terminal operations manager, said: “Due to an engineering fault on the ship while she was in Southampton, she was delayed leaving port which resulted in a reshuffle of the itinerary and Liverpool could not be incorporated.” | Delatyed departure / Missed port |
| April 17 | Star Princess | Panama Guide reports three Panamanian fishermen adrift at sea missed a chance for rescue on 10 March 2012 because the Captain of the ship decided to ignore them. Three American birdwatchers on the cruise ship spotted the fishermen in their tiny, stricken fishing boat and alerted the ship's crew. The cruise ship passengers were convinced the men on the fishing boat were, in fact, frantically signaling for help. Two of the people on the boat, 18 year old Adrian "Santi" Vasquez, and 16 year old Fernando Osario, had spotted the cruise ship and were doing everything they could to attract attention to themselves, and to let the people on the cruise ship know they needed to be rescued. "It was a really big, white ship. I was waving a red t-shirt, and Fernando was waving a bright orange life jacket over his head. For a minute it looked like they were going to turn to come for us, but then they just went on their way," said "Santi" Vasquez yesterday afternoon, in an exclusive interview granted to www.panama-guide.com. All three of the Panamanian fishermen were still alive on the day the three birdwatchers on the Star Princess spotted them, and recognized they were in trouble. The oldest of the three, 24 year old Oropeces Betancourt, died during the following night, and 16 year old Fernando Osario died five days later. If the Captain of the Star Princess had believed the three birdwatchers and sent a boat to rescue the three men, all three of them could have survived.The amazing survival story about the eventual rescue of Adrian Vasquez by an Ecuadoran fishing vessel near the Galapagos Islands more that 650 miles from shore after spending 28 days adrift at sea and his emotional return to his family in Panama was widely reported by both local and international media, but this is the first time the story of the missed opportunity for rescue by the Star Princess cruise ship has been reported, anywhere. Also see subsequent stories on Oregon Live andThe Guardian. | Ignored sailors adrift at sea |
| March 28 | Grand Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a problem with "vessel maneuverability." | Vessel maneuverability |
| March 28 | Golden Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a problem with "material failure." | Material failure |
| March 12 | Caribbean Princess | From a reader: The ship left out of San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 11th, 2012. I heard from family on the ship that they are having electrical issues causing the ship to slow drastically. The ship is already over 7 hours off schedule from its "planned" docking time for St. Maarten. The cruise go-ers have already been told that this will adjust the rest of the cruise schedule for the week. UPDATE March 13:Cruise Critic confirms this report: An issue with the propulsion motor will likely impact the remainder of the ship's current itinerary, according to a statement from Princess Cruises. As a result of reduced speeds caused by the problem, the ship arrived more than four hours late for its scheduled call on St. Maarten on Monday, and it will stay there until the situation is fully evaluated by the line's technical team. Princess has not yet released an updated schedule for the seven-night Southern Caribbean voyage. Update March 13: We are presently at sea en route back to San Juan. Here is the transcript of an announcement and written statement delivered to passengers after setting sail from St. Maarten this evening around 745pm - "As you are aware, we have a technical problem and technicians have been onboard reviewing our port propulsion motor. Late this afternoon they advised that the damage will take a significant amount of time to repair. After careful review and consideration, it has been decided that we will return tonight to San Juan to wait for additional parts and make the necessary repairs. We will arrive tomorrow midday in San Juan and all passengers will be able to stay onboard through Sunday and then resume your plans to return home. For those passengers continuing on through March 18 we will provide you with an update late tomorrow as to the full impact on our next voyage." Passengers were given a full refund. UPDATE: The next two cruises (3/18 and 3/25) have been cancelled. Passengers to receive full refund and 25% discount on next cruises. |
Propulsion problems / Cruise terminated |
| March 11 | Ocean Princess | TVNZ reports the ship was delayed 2 hours in docking at Auckland because of labour unrest between wharf workers and the Port of Auckland. | Delayed docking |
| February 27 | Star Princess | The Buenos Aires Herald reports provincial authorities stopped a cruise ship flying under the Bermudan flag from docking in Tierra del Fuego on Monday, upping the ante in Argentina's spat with Britain over the Malvinas. The Star Princess was prohibited from docking in the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego province, because Bermuda is an overseas territory of Britain, Argentina's state news agency Telam said on Monday. Britain hopes to share in any Malvinas Islands windfall when oil starts flowing there later this decade. Other media also report P&O's Adonia was also denied docking priveleges (see The Sun). | Refused port entry |
| February 25 | Caribbean Princess | The US Coast Guard reports the ship expereienced "material failure." | Material failure |
| February 7 | Crown Princess | The Sun Sentinel reports the increased incidence of gastrointestinal illness that occurred during the previous cruise of Crown Princess has reappeared on the current voyage which departed Saturday, February 4, Princess Cruises said in a statement Tuesday. The ship is now returning to Fort Lauderdale where the cruise will end on Thursday, Feb. 9. The ship was scheduled to return on Saturday, Feb. 11. On the current sailing 55 passengers (1.79% out of 3,078) and 56 crew (4.75% of 1,178) have reported gastrointestinal illness. CNN reports the numbers of are 114 passengers and 60 crew members. The Chronicle Telegram reports the shortened cruise stopped at no ports. The company is offerring full refunds to all passengers, assist in arrangements with airline flights and cover any change-flight fees and hotel accommodations if needed. Passengers are also to receive a 25 percent credit good for a future cruise. The CDC reports 288 of 3078 passengers (9.36%) and 68 of 1178 crew (5.77%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. | Illness / Cruise cut short |
| February 4 | Caribbean Princess | A poster at Princess Chatter reports someone posted on my Facebook group that the Caribbean has been getting into ports late and is running slowly. Has there been any official report as to what the issue is? | ?Propulsion problems? |
| January 3 | Sun Princess | The Otago Daily Times reports poor weather across the Tasman resulted in ship arriving at Port Chalmers shortly before 4pm- more than eight hours after its expected arrival. Taieri Gorge Railway chief executive Murray Bond said while the tourism operator had received updated reports of a possible late arrival, the late start resulted in the cancellation of the cruise ship service. "We have lost 400 customers and a considerable amount of money. We lose tens of thousands of dollars every time this happens." In addition to changing staffing numbers on a statutory holiday, "we also chucked 280 meals into the skip". "We are not very happy, but the weather has beaten us." Mr Bond said it was the 13th time in two years where cruise ships into Dunedin had been late or cancelled, and "it is getting to be an epidemic". "Dunedin has really suffered over the last two seasons with cancellations or late arrivals and has suffered more than any other city in New Zealand." Mr Bond acknowledged the city was often the first port of call for cruise ships, but questioned why other cities were not dropped off the itinerary if time needed to be made up.The ship lect at 8PM for Christchurch | Late arrival |
| Date |
Ship |
2011 |
Incident |
| November 28 | Dawn & Sea Princess | Otago Daily Times reports each ship missed a visit to Fiordland, and the latter (Sea Princess) also missed a post call to Napier. There have been inclement weather patterns with high winds around the country. | Missed port calls |
| November 28 | Sun Princess | Hawkes Bay Today reports the ship was spotted a little closer than usual to Perfume Point in Ahuriri on Friday and the estimated 1900 passengers aboard had a good look at the Napier foreshore - which is all they got to see. For the second time in seven days high winds got the better of the local cruise industry. The previous Friday, the 77,499-tonne Sea Princess was forced to bypass the Port of Napier due to strong wind gusts. It was the same situation last Friday when 75km/h gusts were recorded at Hawke's Bay Airport about the time the Sun Princess was scheduled to tie up. It was the third non-arrival this season with the Dawn Princess having called off its visit on October 26 due to mechanical problems. | Missed port call |
| November 23 | Sun Princess | Radio New Zealand reports the required assistance in Wellington after a storm on Wednesday. This followed a severe gale warning for the lower North Island from MetService on Wednesday as well as a heavy rain warning for the West Coast . A tug boat had to brace the cruise ship against the wharf in Wellington when the vessel was buffeted by strong winds. Harbourmaster Mike Pryce says the 260m vessel was undamaged and was able to leave. | Storm experienced |
| November 20 | Sapphire Princess | From a passenger: My wife and I very seldom find fault with a cruise as we realize the crew and staff are handling in essence, a small town full of people, all different. However, in the past when we did have a minor complaint or problem we were handled with professional and courteous response and concern. On this last cruise we had as usual no great problems or complaints except for two towards the end of the cruise: the Cray/craw fish served one night was obviously not up to par and had a foul taste. A friendly exchange with the server and we forgot the matter. A while later he (the server) returned and in a loud and sarcastic manner informed us that all ‘the baby lobsters’ (which they were not) were alive and swimming. This accompanied by banging of dishes and body language showing his disdain for our humble opinion. We dared not tell him the soup was cold! In discussing this with other diners we came to the conclusion that for some reason complaints were not to be tolerated on this ship. We thought perhaps we were over-reacting to an unexpected response and put it behind us. However, the next episode brought us to the reality that perhaps crew and staff had been some pre-cruise orientation that had perhaps shaded their usual friendly and accommodating demeanor: we ended our evening, as usual, in the casino.On this evening we were playing a table game and the dealer had dealt herself four consecutive winning hands. My 78 year old wife noted to me that we perhaps should have a change of decks of cards. At about the same time she, my wife was dealt a winning hand. Immediately a voice from behind us boomed out ‘Misdeal’. We both turned and the one of ‘pit’ managers, repeated “Misdeal”. At which time my wife asked him what he was talking about. And he replied, and I quote: “I am the only boss here. We are on the high seas. What I say is the law. If you don’t like it I will call security.” My wife and I were stunned speechless as were the other players. My wife getting her wits about her asked again, “what ARE you talking about? What is wrong with you?” This ‘pit-boss’ so called again reminded us he was the “boss” and we were subject to his decisions. As the play at the table came to a stand-still and six or seven people were staring at him with open mouths (including the dealer), he smiled and said…”better take your money before I change my mind”. May I say that this very tall gentleman with the heavy Slavic accent booming was very intimidating. I can only guess that he overheard my wife wondering if we should have a new deck of cards and this innocent remark somehow triggered his actions. We learned later that he had threatened other guests during the almost month long cruise. We discussed this with a personal friend, one of the staff, and she replied that we would waste our time bringing this to the Princess’ staff as the casino was independent of the cruise line. In re-reading this review I find nothing serious had actually happened to us. It is a…’you had to be there’ situation to feel the shock at being spoken to in such a manner, especially if one is not accustomed to verbal abuse in his/her normal lifestyle. And especially shocking to non-complainers such as we. Would like to know from anyone else who has had a strange experience with this very tall casino person with the Slavic accent. I personally feel he should not be in a position to deal with people. Perhaps they could find a job for him down in the laundry? From another passenger: We were also on this cruise. My wife did not see anything of interest to her on the daily evening dining room menus so she would order off the "always available" menu. About ten days into the cruise she asked the waiter if she could place an order for the following night. He said she would have to speak to the Head Waiter, as is usual. The waiter went and spoke to the Head Waiter, who was "Memo" from Mexico. The waiter then returned and told my wife the Head Waiter said she would have to use the "always available" menu. The next night I spoke to the Maitre'd and asked if there had been a change in Princess policy on making such a request and explained the circumstances. I was advised there was no change in policy. The next night my wife went to Horizon Court for more selection. While she was absent the Head Waiter came to our table (he never had in ten days) and told a bit about himself then upon leaving apologized to me and said "it was the heat of the moment". The next night when again my wife was not present he proposed three different items that would be considered, and which I knew would not be in her interests. I am a loyal Princess cruiser, but this head waiter was a disgrace to this cruise line. I say a disgrace because not only did he never speak to my wife, we eventually changed areas and, as with other cruises, the new head waiter regularly attended all tables in his area, and was always professional and courteous. | Poor customer relations (restaurant & casino) |
| November 7 | Ocean Princess | A poster at Cruise Critic reports: We were all awakened last night around 12:45 or so with a broadcast announcement calling for an assessment team. Nothing else came over the PA system so settled back in to go to sleep, since we didn't hear any Sierra Papa code - but as you can imagine, rumors of all kinds ran rampant until the Captain made an extensive announcement at 9AM today explaining that there had been a small fire in one of the generators, quickly noted, responded to, contained without serious damage. He gave a lot more detail than that, but the upshot is that all is well, damage is minimal, and repairs are being done and the generator (one of four, we can get by on two) should be back online sometime during the day. | Fire |
| October 31 | Grand Princess | The Daily Echo reports a ship bar supervisor was jailed for eight years at Southampton Crown Court yesterday for attempting to smuggle more than £400,000 worth of cocaine into the country. Herman Spence, 46, was detained by customs officers after leaving the ship when it docked in Southampton on July 16. When they examined his small rucksack, they discovered a size 13 pair of trainers with raised insoles.Inside were packages containing the contraband. Two other packages were also discovered in the bag, said prosecutor James Kelham. Spence, who had worked in the cruise industry for 15 years, told investigators there had been "a dreadful mistake," explaining how he had given the trainers and packages in Gibraltar and once he stepped ashore in England, he would be contacted. He did not think he was doing anything illegal.When his cabin was searched, more than £16,000 in cash was also found.Spence, from Montego Bay, Jamaica, admitted smuggling 1.29 kilos of cocaine with a 100 per cent purity and having a street value of about £435,000. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Ralls QC dismissed his claim he had been doing so | Drug importer jailed |
| October 27 | Dawn Princess | Dominion Post reports Napier's tourism operators missed the boat yesterday when a mechanical problem on the ship meant 1950 passengers bypassed the Hawke's Bay port. The ship, which sailed out of Wellington three hours late about 9pm on Tuesday night headed straight for Tauranga. The cruise manager for the ship's agents ISS McKay, Douglas Colaco, said the late departure from Wellington had been caused by a "mechanical problem." He was unable to say exactly what the problem was. He also declined to comment on possible compensation for passengers on the 12-day return cruise out of Sydney. The Dawn Princess had visited Fiordland, Port Chalmers, Akaroa and Wellington on its cruise. It is also scheduled to visit Auckland and the Bay of Islands, but bypassed Napier to make up time after leaving Wellington late. | Missed port call |
| September 28 | Caribbean Princess | The Portland Press Herald reports an astronomical low tide likely prompted a cruise ship captain to depart from Portland's new "megaberth" about three hours ahead of schedule Tuesday afternoon. The captain's decision to move out into Portland Harbor – he was uncomfortable with how shallow the water was getting at the berth – left an undetermined number of passengers on shore, said Nicole Clegg, the city's spokeswoman. Passengers eventually were ferried to the Caribbean Princess in motorboats. | Early departure |
| September 23 | Diamond Princess | The Associated Press reports several dozen stranded cruise ship passengers found shelter and a ride from the state ferry Malaspina this week. Brenda Hewitt of the state transportation department says the Malaspina was docked in Haines after it couldn't make it to Skagway because of the strong winds. She says 68 tourists also were stranded there Wednesday since they couldn't make it back to their cruise ship in Skagway after traveling to Haines by water taxi. The Malaspina took them on board and brought them back to Juneau on the ferry Thursday morning. | Unexpected overnight in Haines |
| September 7 | Sapphire Princess | Fairbanks Daily News reports two boats were swamped with water and a float dock was damaged by the wake of a cruise ship using more power in high winds to maneuver into Ketchikan's Casey Moran Harbor. Wind gusts of more than 30 mph early Tuesday prompted the ship to increase power. Port and harbors officials say a 20-foot boat was swamped with water, and the float it was attached to was damaged. Another metal skiff on another float was also swamped. Divers were expected to inspect the float Wednesday. Princess Cruises arranged for the submerged boats to be refloated. The windy conditions led the Holland America Line to cancel the Ketchikan port call of its ship Zaandam. | Damage in ship's wake |
| August 19 | Coral Princess | The Sun Sentinel reports an alarm on the ships turbine oil system, causing the vessel master to anchor and complete troubleshooting. 19 August 2011: It was determined after troubleshooting that the turbine had small metal particles within the lube oil system indicating an internal failure. Turbine was secured and vessel switched to diesel electric (main propulsion) and continued voyage. | Engine problems |
| August 14 | Diamond Princess | The Sun Sentinel a fault alarm sounded on the port propulsion motor. | Engine problems |
| July 19 | Grand Princess | BBC reports a man from Jamaica has been charged with attempting to smuggle about £80,000 worth of cocaine into the UK through Southampton Docks. About 2kg of the class A drug was discovered in a pair of training shoes in a rucksack. Anthony Spence, 45, of Montego Bay, was arrested on Sunday after arriving on the MV Grand Princess cruise liner. He was remanded in custody until 18 August. | Drug bust |
| June 21 | Princess Cruises | USA Today reports Princess has canceled calls in Puerto Vallarta for the rest of the year, citing safety concerns. The move comes three months after Princess and several other lines pulled out of nearby Mazatlan, Mexico, also over safety concerns. "As the safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority, and based on the continued violence in these areas, we've made the decision to cancel our calls to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan," Princess spokeswoman Karen Candy tells USA TODAY. While several lines have dropped calls in Mazatlan this year, Princess is the first major operator to cancel calls in Puerto Vallarta, and the move raises questions about the viability of the Mexican Riviera as a cruise destination | Canceled port calls |
| June 11 | Dawn Princess | Princess Chatter has a posting that the ship is operating on 3 engines. They put on engineers in Singapore, but problem not fixed. They have to wait until Dover. Heaven knows if the World Cruise will go on from there. Rumours abound on the ship of course. But they have reduced speed and itinerary changes leading up to Dover. One week earlier a passenger posted: They are running at half speed on 3 engines. Upon reaching Singapore it is likely the ship will be drydocked for a few days to enable engine repairs. Itinerary is to be adjusted and TBA by the Capt. at Singapore. I suppose hotel rooms will have to be found for 2000 pax. Maybe the crew will have to sweat it out on the ship with no A/C. What a way to start a world cruise ! Even a twin share inside cabin is $20,000 pp. | Propulsion problems |
| May 27 | Ruby Princess | From a reader: On Friday, May 27, 2011, early in the morning at about 2:15 a.m., the Ruby Princess was sailing from Athens to Venice. At about that time, the Captain came across the speaker stating that there was a man overboard and that the ship would be turning around to try to save him. After about an hour and 45 minutes, the Captain announced that they located the man and had saved him. The sea water was about 68 degrees and we heard the man was a crew member (cook) who had jumped. | Crew member overboard (rescued) |
| May 17 | Emerald Princess | From a passenger: On May 17th, the ship sustained considerable damage to several lifeboats when a fuel loading barge collided with the side of the ship while in the port of St Petersburg, Russia. After inspection by authorities, it was determined the ship still had enough passenger space in an emergency using inflatable life rafts, and the ship will continue on the planned itinerary. See attached photos here. | Collision |
| May 10 | Grand and Crown Princess | The Royal Gazette reports the two vessels called on Bermuda to drop off passengers for medical treatment. A US male was brought ashore from Grand Princess Sunday morning; another male passenger was brought ashore from Crown Princess the next day. Both vessels were en route to the Azores from Fort Lauderdale, but the two incidents are not believed to be related. | Unplanned port call |
| May 9 | Sapphire Princess | A poster at Princess Chatter reports the ship's second visit to Santa Barbara was cut short because of sea conditions. White-capped waves made a bumpy ride as tenders ferried pax from the ship to shore. The ship arrived in San Francisco an hour late the next day because of the winds. | Early departure & late arrival |
| March 18 | Ship unknown | The Spalding Guardian reports a “world class” cruise ship captain from Donington has been jailed for nine months for sex offences against a 14-year-old girl while she slept in her cabin. Lincoln Crown Court heard on Thursday how Peter Russell (64), of Bicker Road, performed a sex act on a teenage girl while she was asleep in her bunk. The victim thought she had dreamt the incident but it later came to light when Russell chatted to her on the internet on MSN Messenger and made obscene suggestions. Matthew Lowe, prosecuting, said Russell made comments about the girl’s breasts and urged her to perform a sex act while chatting to him over the internet. Russell went on to request that the girl take a photograph of herself naked and send it to him. The incidents came to an end when the girl broke down in front of her dad and showed him the records of her online conversations she had with Russell. Russell admitted two charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity together with sexual activity in the presence of a child and a further charge of sexual activity with a child. Judge Sean Morris jailed Russell for nine months and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for ten years. | Sexual assault of minor |
| February 8 | Dawn Princess | Otago Daily Times reports the ship's visit yesterday was cancelled after the vessel encountered rough seas across the Tasman. Dunedin City Council Visitor Centre team leader Louise Van De Vlierd said she had been advised on Saturday the Princess Cruises vessel would not be arriving. The early notice was welcomed by those in the tourism industry, she said. It was the second weather-related incident to hit the Dawn Princess while en route to New Zealand. The ship arrived five hours later than scheduled on Christmas Day after poor weather hampered its departure from Sydney. | Skipped port call |
| February 4 | Caribbean Princess | The Bermuda Sun reports a crew member has been accused of a sex attack on a woman on the cruise ship. The 40-year-old Filipino was charged with sexual assault in Magistrates’ Court today. He is accused of attacking the woman on board the Caribbean Princess, a Bermuda-registered vessel. The sailor was brought to Bermuda from Miami by the Bermuda Police Service to face the charges. Kenrick James represents the defendant. He was given $5000 bail and his trial will begin on March 7. | Sexual assault |
| January 24 | Emerald Princess | From a passenger: Between 4 and 5 pm today in the port of Kralendijk, Bonaire, a Canadian couple in cabin R740 disembarked the ship. When they didn't return by 6:30 pm, the required time to be back on the ship, the captain had their cabin searched and no passports were found. At that point they were repeatedly paged throughout the ship with no response. Then the Captain blew the ship's horn in hopes that they would hear it ashore and even held the ship's departure up for nearly one hour. When they still didn't show up the Captain, reluctantly, was forced to leave them behind and sail on to Aruba. As it turned pout, they turned up before the ship left and were permitted back onboard -- they thought the ship was leaving at 7:30PM. NOTE: This is a reminder to always double-check the departure time when leaving a ship -- you don't want to be left behind. | Almost left behind |
| January 13 | Island Princess | LA Weekly reports a female passenger files a lawsuit earlier this week in Los Angles Superior Court against the cruise line. It was the wee hours of the morning last January,the woman claims, when a man who worked aboard the ship, cruising from Acapulco to Florida, grabbed her and pulled her against him. She says the man began groping her and tried to kiss her, before forcing her toward a deserted part of the ship. She tried to ward off her assailant and slip away, but he physically prevented her from escaping. Once the crew member, whose name is unknown, according to the lawsuit, pulled her into a secluded area, he allegedly held her against a counter top, hiked up her skirt and touched her private parts. She says she was then able push the crew member off of her and run away. The woman claims not only that she was sexually attacked, but that the man had a "prior, similar incident of misconduct" while employed aboard one of Princess' ships. | Sexual assault |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2010 |
Incident |
| 23.12.10 | Sea Princess | Metro News (UK) reports a 50-year-old woman went overboard from the balcony of her cabin while the ship was sailing between Curaçao and Grand Turk islands. The ship turned around to comb the area and a search plane was launched but both drew a blank. The woman was reported missing by her husband on the fifth day of their two-week Christmas trip. Princess Cruises published a statement which said: 'The ship was alerted by her husband, who had discovered her missing from their cabin, and our missing persons routine was immediately begun to account for all passengers onboard. 'A review of CCTV footage confirms that the passenger went over the side of the ship from a balcony cabin.' The ship is currently on a two week cruise from Barbados. The ship was on the fifth day of the sailing, which is scheduled to conclude on December 27. | Pax overboard |
| 26.10.10 | Emerald Princess | The New York Post reports the four ships were delayed on arrival in St. Thomas on Tuesday because some harbor employees did not show up for work. The ships circled outside Charlotte Amalie harbor for as long as two and a half hours while the cruise lines and officials worked out a temporary solution. Missing from duty were crews manning boats used by harbor pilots to guide ships safely to port. Under the temporary agreement, the pilots were taken aboard the cruise ships to do their job instead of using their vessels. Shops and restaurants along Charlotte Amalie's waterfront said the delay cut into their business. "It hurt us quite a bit. There's no people. It definitely hurt our lunch business," said Dean Flowback, a chef at the Shipwreck Tavern. Flowback said on a busy cruise ship day his kitchen typically sells 300 lunches. On Tuesday, he said, they sold less than 100 meals. Subsequent reports indicate the employees not showing up for work was part of a "sick out" -- the day was the first five-ship day of the 2010-11 cruise season in St. Thomas. | Delayed docking |
| 1.10.10 | Sun & Dawn Princess | From a reader: Both vessels got away late from Sydney. Sun departed over an hour late owing to late arrival of the fuel tender for bunkering from Darling Harbour. Meanwhile round the corner at the International Passenger Terminal Dawn got away several hours late owing to a reported external security threat . | Late departures |
| 27.9.10 | Dawn Princess | The Mercury reports wild weather prevented the ship from docking at Burnie wharf this morning. This was the first cruise ship of the season, scheduled to dock at 6.30AM. The ship is now on its way to Hobart – the next scheduled stop on the ship's 28-day tour. Burnie Mayor Alvwyn Boyd was upset the cruise ship had been unable to berth so its passengers could explore the city and surrounds. "Many volunteers, tour operators and businesses spend a lot of time planning out activities for the visitors and it is disappointing for all involved," Ald Boyd said. | Canceled port call |
| 9.9.10 | Crown Princess | From a passenger: The ship missed Belfast on Monday 6th sept due to bad weather in Irish Sea causing a delayed departure from Dublin. Also missed Reykjavik on Wednesday 8th due to high winds preventing entry to Harbour. NOTE: The next ports are Greenland and then St. John's, Newfoundland. | Missed ports |
| 23.8.10 | Crown Princess | The Guernsey Press reports that due to forecast weather conditions and rough seas, the three ships all decided to move on after being in Guernsey waters for just a few hours. The ships arrived early in the morning but after discussions with the harbour authorities the Saga Ruby and Black Watch decided to leave straight away. ‘The Crown Princess wanted to wait and see if the weather was going to clear up and to speak to its head office. But at 8.07am it decided to cancel. | Skipped port call |
| 28.7.10 | Sapphire Princess | Anchorage Daily News reports federal authorities are investigating the cause of death of a whale found stuck on the bow of the ship near Juneau this morning. The Coast Guard says the adult humpback whale was discovered on top of the bulbous bow of the Sapphire Princess about 8 a.m. as the ship was south of Juneau near Tracy Arm. The ship waited south of Juneau following the discovery while a tugboat crew worked to dislodge the carcass. The vessel was cleared to proceed to port after 3 p.m. The tugboat was hauling the carcass to an undisclosed location where authorities could conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death of the whale. UPDATE: A necropsy indicated the whale likely was dead before it was impaled by the ship. The ship had a similar strike in 2009 -- See July 25, 2009. | Whale impaled |
| 26.7.10 | Emerald Princess | CBS4 News reports the ship left Port Everglades bound for an island in the Bahamas, apparently developing problems at around 6:30 PM, shortly after leaving the port, causing it to operate on half of its power and leaving passengers without air conditioning. Passengers onboard reported that conditions onboard are rough because the air conditioning is not working. The Coast Guard said a computer glitch is to blame. The ship's engines were knocked out momentarily. But the ship's chief engineer has been able to get at least two of those engines up and running, according to the Coast Guard's report. The engineer is working on getting the third engine powered up, officials said. UPDATE: CBS4 reports the problems was resolved by 11:00 PM. The ship skipped its port call at Princess Cays. | Engine problems - No A/C |
| 16.7.10 | Dawn Princess | A poster at Princess Chatter reports on the ship's 104 day World Cruise, Sydney to Sydney, The ship missed Safaga a while ago due to engine problems. Ship left Southampton on 14 July and yesterday tried to berth at Dublin, Captain decided not to because of operational problems, high winds, so she missed Dublin. Now has 7 sea days to Boston USA. Lot of unhappy cruisers on board, such is life. | Missed port |
| 12.7.10 | Sapphire Princess | From a passenger: We just returned from our Alaska cruise leaving Seattle July 4th, 2010 and returning July 11th, 2010. One night my family and I were in the dining room when all of the sudden the boat felt like it was sinking. Glasses flew off the water station. A lot of items were thrown off into the ground. The water level rose to the dining room windows. I saw one man who had been sitting and eating completely fall out of his chair the list was so severe. I was thrown on the other side of the dining room. About a minute later the ship right sided. About 3 to 5 minutes later an announcement was made that a hump back whale had traversed in front of the ship and the crew took evasive actions to avoid hitting the whale. I find this incident to be suspicious as I have to ask why the crew would risk passenger safety for a whale ? I am not sure the extent of the injuries (if any at all). I just know the incident had scared the heck out of us. | Severe list |
| 15.6.10 | Dawn Princess | From a passenger: We are on our World Cruise on the Dawn Princess. The ship has suffered a total propulsion break down, at 5;25PM Dubai time. Currently the ship is drifting helplessly in the Gulf of Aden on the way to the Port of Safaga Egypt. The Captain made two announcements stating that the problem was a soft problem and that they were in touch with the technical division head office. Power propulsion was fully restored at 7:44pm but I will keep you fully informed of further developments. Another person writes that the ship can only do 14 knots and will be going into Port Said for repairs. | Propulsion problems |
| 27.5.10 | Sapphire Princess | The ship was cited for five violations of Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May . On May 27 the ship did not conduct sampling of discharges in accordance with the current Quality Assurance/Quality Control Plan. The NOV cites: incorrect entries on cooler receipt forms, use of unapproved pH testing methods, sample volume reporting issues, DMR reporting with no ID of sample results and reflection of deviation from QA/QC plan. | Water pollution |
| 24.5.10 | Star Princess | From a passenger: For the second cruise in a row the Star was unable to dock at Stockholm. This time it was because of 35 knot winds. The Star again anchored off of Nynashamn and passengers were tendered onshore. The operation was faultless due to experience ten days earlier. | Change of port |
| 14.5.10 | Star Princess | From a passenger: The ship was unable to dock in Stockholm, Sweden due to heavy fog. The ship anchored at Nynashamn, Sweden some 40 miles from Stockholm and began tendering service to Nynashamn. | Change of port |
| 9.5.10 | Caribbean Princess | From a passsenger: The ship hit the gangway structure and was delayed several hours in departure. I asked why we were were behind schedule and that is what I was told. | Collision with gangway |
| 22.4.10 | Caribbean Princess | London Free Press reports a 41 year old man was killed and his 37 year old wife was seriously injured in a head-on accident involving the ATV they were riding and a truck. The crash occurred on the main road that connects the port city of Oranjestad, where cruise ships dock, with resorts that line beaches to the north. A newspaper account says the truck may have swerved into the ATV and police reportedly found drugs in the cab. The ATV rental was not one sanctioned by Princess Cruise Lines. | Death ashore |
| 9.4.10 | Royal Princess | A poster at Cruise Critic writes: Early this morning the Royal experienced a significant water leak in the Sabitini's on the 10th deck. Water leaked all the way down to the crew quarters. The panorama buffet, sabitini's are all closed. Food service this am so far consisted of luke warm instant coffee put out near the hamburger site on the pool deck. Crew is scrambling to set up deck five main dining room for breakfast. No announcements yet. So early risers are stumbling to figure out what is going on. no access to deck 10 whatsoever - crewmen posted at all stairs and elevators. A bit later the some p[erson writes: Announcement from ships's officer. Water break was a fire hose fitting in Sterling steak house. All closed UFN. Elite breakfast cancelled, English Pub lunch cancelled. All activities on deck 10 aft cancelled UFN. Only dining is in main dinning room. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen but these things sometimes happen." We heared a loud bang at around 0500 in our cabin. Sounded like someone had dropped something heavy onto the deck above. | Significant water leak / damage |
| 4.3.10 | Caribbean Princess | From a reader: I was a passenger on the Mar 28-Apr 4 sailing. On April 1 (yes April Fool's Day) the ship listed severely as we approached our next port. I was on deck taking a walk when I noticed the side of the ship I was on appeared much higher than the other side. I then noticed water draining from the pools and told my partner to grab his towel and run inside. Bridge called crew to passenger assist stations. Several minutes later the ship righted itself. The Captain later came on the intercom and said there was a steering malfunction and the ship listed 5-9 degrees. Crew accounts say it was much worse. The incident delayed our arrival into port by as much as an hour. There are passenger accounts of dishes falling in the buffet and a wine barrel snapping loose in the wine bar and careening into the Piazza Court on Deck 5. |
Severe list |
| 14.3.10 | Emerald Princess | From a reader: Embarkation at Fort Lauderdale was delayed due to ship “inspections,” and Horizon (buffet) has mandatory servers. You know what that means. | Delayed embarkation - ?Illness? |
| 12.3.10 | Sea Princess | From a passenger: We sailed from Bonaire at midday on Wednesday 10th March 2010 as planned and spent the next day at sea as planned sailing towards Grand Cayman. We experienced force 6 winds on the day at sea and they were still force 6 on arrival at Grand Cayman. The Captain announced that the Port Authorities would not allow them to disembark pasengers so the ship sailed around Grand Cayman without stopping and sailed slowly on towards the final port of call in Jamaica. We not only missed our main reason for the cruise but it meant we spent a full 2 1/2 days at sea non stop. | Missed port call |
| 10.3.10 | Crown Princess |
From a reader: Ship made multiple attempts at docking in Roatan, Honduras on March 9th, but was unable to dock due to high winds and ultimately left the harbor to spend a day at sea. | Skipped port call |
| 2.3.10 | Star Princess | Because of the earthquake and tsunami in Chile, the ship has spent a couple of extra days in Valparaiso (Chile) to allow passengers to join and leave the ship. As a consequence, the itinerary for the March 2 cruise has dropped port calls at Stanley (Falkland Islands) and Punta Arenas (Chile), | Itinerary change |
| 27.2.10 | Island Princess | From a reader: Because of strong underwater currents at Huatulco, MX, the ship docked and then less than 10 minutes later left the dock. The forward and aft ropes broke. Many little boats in Huatulco sank as well as unmanned boats went out to sea. You saw no wave (tsunami) but you could see like an underwater flash flood/current moving the opposite direction from the waves. It was cool to see. We were looking forward to Huatulco, but I have not found anyone aboard who is upset. I am sure everyone is glad just to have another day at sea before we end on Sunday. | Aborted port call |
| 23.2.10 | Caribbean Princess | Cruise Critic reports a tour bus carrying passengers to a "Tropical Forest Hike and Beach" ship-sponsored shore excursion in Tortola went off the road and flipped earlier today. Of the 20 passengers onboard, one person was killed and two others were seriously injured. According to a statement issued by the cruise line, Princess is still investigating the details of this morning's accident. The injured passengers have been taken to a local hospital, while the other tour participants are back on the ship, being checked out by the ship's medical staff. The passenger who died was a 24-year-old man from Rochester, New York, on vacation with his parents, who were also on the tour. The ship is on the second day of its seven-night Southern Caribbean itinerary. It was in St. Thomas yesterday, and is scheduled to visit Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados before returning to its embarkation port of San Juan on Sunday. UPDATE: The crash occurred as the bright green tour bus was descending a steep hill on Tortola when it reportedly veered off the road, crashed into a rocky embankment and flipped on its side. There is some suggestion the brakes failed. The driver has been charged with dangerous driving. | Passenger death on shore
excursion; others injured |
| 22.1.10 | Sapphire Princess | From a passenger: The ship cancelled our stop at Cabo San Lucas yesterday, January 21, 2010, due to high seas because of storms that had passed through north of Cabo, which would have slowed us down and possibly made people miss their flights home from Los Angeles on Saturday. Good thing they did, we think--pretty rough seas today. | Canceled port call |
| 14.1.10 | Sapphire Princess | The following was received today from a reader - I include it here because it is (in my mind) outrageous -- children throwing food overboard are expelled from the ship, but the ship itself regularly discharges liquified food waste as part of normal operations. Make up your own mind on who is "right." For Christmas, my husband and I gave our two grown sons and their families a cruise to Mexico on the Sapphire Princess departing and returning to Los Angeles. We were spending Christmas on the ship. It would have been the first time I had managed to get both families together in 20 years for the holiday. On Dec. 23, at sea between Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, my two grandsons, age 13 ands 15, were in a cabin of another boy they had met on the ship and they had thrown some articles of food overboard including a fork. Apparently, they were spotted on camera by security. The next day in Cabo San Lucas (Christmas Eve day), my son, his wife and the two boys were ordered off the ship by Captain Tony Herriott and had to pay their own way back to Los Angeles. Three other families whose sons were also involved were ordered off the ship. The Captain's actions devastated us all. Needless to say, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were very depressing days for the seven of us that remained on board. There is now a new Christmas Grinch out there and he is the Captain of a Princess cruise ship! |
Expulsion from ship |
| 5.1.10 | Sea Princess | Virgin Islands Platinum News reports a cruise passenger from a ship docked at Tortola died after he was pulled out of the sea in the area of Cane Garden Bay (CGB) beach. The man, in his 50´s, was unconscious but relentless CPR work assisted him in regaining some level of consciousness. At one point, he was not breathing on his own and information suggests that he had a weak pulse. Rescuers were able to get a substantial amount of food and liquid out of him during rescuing measures at the beach, however one and a half hours later he was pronounced dead at the hospital. BVI lifeguard officials have been warning persons not to go into areas where there are red flags and a bulletin issued for Tuesday had clearly stated the dangerous areas on Tortola included Apple Bay, Josiah´s Bay, Lambert Beach and with Cane Garden Bay being the most dangerous for Tuesday. All these areas have red flags as warning signs. | Death ashore |
| 5.1.10 | Star Princess | Cruise Critic and Princess Cruises reported the ship arrived in Valparaiso late (at around 11:30 AM rather than 6:00 AM), likely the result of rough seas enroute to the port. Many passengers needed assistance changing flight arrangements given the late arrival. The report was removed from both websites later in the day, so a URL cannot be given. | Late arrival |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2009 |
Incident |
| 12.12.09 | Sun Princess & Diamond Princess | ABC News (Australia) reports hundreds of cruise ship passengers had their travels disrupted this afternoon while police investigated a suspicious package at Melbourne's Station Pier. The package was found just after 3:00pm (AEDT) and as a precaution the pier was closed to all pedestrians and vehicles. Operations resumed as normal several hours later after the bomb squad investigated. It is believed that package contained military uniforms. | Bomb scare |
| 29.11.09 | Coral Princess | Associated Press reports Colombian maritime authorities searched Sunday for an Italian chef believed to have gone overboard from the ship while off Colombia's Caribbean coast. The 31 year old man was last seen in the galley at about 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 25 while he was working the dinner shift while the ship was sailing between Aruba and Cartagena, Colombia. His family was alerted Thursday that he had been reported missing and that a life preserver was also missing, with its nighttime illumination flares torn off and left aboard the ship. His sister said, "He surely didn't jump off. It wasn't suicide. We think there was an accident or a homicide." The ship left Miami on Nov. 23 and is currently en route from Panama to Acapulco, Mexico; it is due to dock in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, at which point the FBI is expected to join the investigation. | Crew member missing |
| 23.11.09 | Coral Princess | The ship was cited for one air quality violation in Alaska during the 2009 cruise season. | Environmental |
| 14.11.09 | Sapphire Princess | From a passenger: I was on the cruise that departed San Pedro, CA November 14th to Cabo San Lucas. The was one of three ships docked offshore. The water had moderate to strong chop with a swell of two to three feet. The wind was from the south at approximate 10 to 15 knots. The ship's tenders were providing ferry service in and out of Cabo that day. Other ships were using commercial tenders or water taxis that were larger and more stable. The trip to shore was more or less uneventful. However, on the trip back to the ship that afternoon, the tenderlost an engine. The drived immediately cut the other engine. The tender was bobbing in the ocean under no power. It was rolling in heavy swells with a pitch of approximately 35 degrees, side to side. This was not pleasurable. The driver made a decision to go back to port and restarted the signle functioning engine and started back. He was then instructed to go to the ship instead and made a u-turn, limping on one engine. He was barely able to make it back to the ship; at no time was anything said to passengers by the crew, and life jackets were not passed out. Once at the ship, there was no plan in place to get the tender under control. The driver could not control the tender with one engine. We bobbed and rolled and bounced off the ship several times. The shipboard crew had a large bale of ropes and were trying to get them untangled to toss a line. It was a Chinese fire drill, and no one spoke English. It was a totally unprofessional exhibition of how not to react in an emergency. We, the passengers, were all aghast at the total lack of seamanship of these inept crewmembers. I have never seen anything like it. | Tender nightmare |
| 2.11.09 | Sapphire Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. There were three violations. The ship's effluent on September 8 exceeded the allowable level of zinc, on September 16 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia, and onSeptember 16 exceeded the allowable level of copper. | Environmental |
| 2.11.09 | Island Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on September 3 and September 11 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 2.11.09 | Sea Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 4, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 2.11.09 | Golden Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on September 7 and September 14 exceeded the allowable level of zinc. | Environmental |
| 2.11.09 | Diamond Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 15, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of zinc. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Diamond Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on August 12 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia and zinc. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Sapphire Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. There were three violations. The ship's effluent on August 11 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia and on August 11 and August 25 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of biological oxygen demand. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Sea Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on August 16 and August 26 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Pacific Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 3, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of copper. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Golden Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. There were three violations. The ship's effluent on August 3 exceeded the allowable level of chlorine and on August 3 and August 10 exceeded the allowable level of zinc. | Environmental |
| 23.10.09 | Island Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on August 14 and August 20 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 19.10.09 | Crown Princess | The Cape Breton Post reports ship cancelled its planned call in Sydney(Nova Scotia) today due to weather. The port authority said the ship was about an hour away from Sydney this morning when the decision was made to cancel the stop due to high winds off shore. | Port skipped |
| 16.10.09 | Caribbean Princess | Cruise Critic reports while at sea today en route from Halifax to New York, the encountered gale force winds that caused the ship to list. According to an official statement from the cruise line, there were no passenger injuries and only one minor crew injury; this crewmember has already returned to work. The severity of the list in actual degrees is not yet known. Cruise Critic member JohnLauben was onboard and shares this post on the Princess forum: "Currently onboard, off the coast of New England. We're in a storm, with gale-force winds up to 70 knots. We listed a bit this morning ... several waiters in the Horizon Court fell, carrying trays of food or other dining supplies. A piano in the Explorer's Lounge slid off the stage, and was [totalled]. The galley and backstage tours were cancelled...." From a Reader: Seems there might be more Damage to the Caribbean Princess, last night [Oct 19] she left Boston late [9pm ish] due to inspections and possible repairs [report of DECK Damage / Cracked]. According to Sources at the port, Llyods of London was there doing the inspection[s] as well.See here for more information. | Storm damage |
| 23.9.09 | Sapphire Princess | Vancouver Sun reports a search is underway for a 67-year-old American woman who boarded the ship in Alaska on Sunday but never got off in Vancouver when the ship docked at Canada Place on Wednesday morning. Crew members checked the woman's cabin where they found all her belongings. Rescue crews in three helicopters immediately started searching the waters between Comox and Vancouver on Wednesday, while Vancouver police have boarded the ship at Canada Place. It's not clear where the woman may have gone overboard or how long the search will take. UPDATE: Subsequent reports indicate the woman jumped overboard at 6:08 AM Tuesday morning based on video surveillance equipment. The ship was more than 200 miles south of Ketchikan. Earlier, the cruise line had said she went overboard Monday evening around 6 p.m. near Ketchikan, in southeast Alaska, and the Coast Guard had been searching in that area for two days. | Missing Pax (suicide) |
| 1.9.09 | Diamond Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 29, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 1.9.09 | Island Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 9, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 1.9.09 | Pacific Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on July 6 and July 20 exceeded the allowable level of copper. | Environmental |
| 1.9.09 | Sapphire Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. There were three violations. The ship's effluent on July 13, July 14, and July 28 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 1.9.09 | Sea Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 27, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 14.08.09 | Sea Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. On June 17, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 14.08.09 | Sapphire Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. There were six violations. The ship's effluent on June 2, June 16, and June 30 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. On June 2 and June 30, it's effluent exceeded the allowable level of copper. And on June 2 its effluent exceeded the allowable level of nickel. | Environmental |
| 14.08.09 | Island Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on June 11 and June 25 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. | Environmental |
| 14.08.09 | Golden Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. On June 1, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of zinc. | Environmental |
| 14.08.09 | Diamond Princess | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. There were two violations. The ship's effluent on June 3 and June 17 exceeded the allowable level of ammonia. |
Environmental |
| 13.08.09 | Coral Princess | According to a passenger, four people were ejected from the ship in Juneau for smoking pot onboard. The ship was held for many hours up to midnight while C.B.P. and state troppers searched the ship. The passengers reportedly were in rooms 9216 and 9218. | Drug bust - delayed departure |
| 1.08.09 | Crown Princess | A passenger posted the following at Cruise Critic: Just disembarked the Crown Princess British Isles cruise yesterday morning, and there were a couple of instances of idiots being idiots. There were quite a few really, really rude people onboard but that wasn't the worst. As we were waiting to disembark, we learned that some idiot threw a glass at the pilot boat in one of the ports. Someone reported it and after reviewing the security tapes, the people were put off at the next port (which must have been either Ireland or France); because of the seriousness of this, the UK barred them from entering so they couldn't use their air tickets from Heathrow so they had to pay for all new airfare to get home. Also, during the last night before disembarkation, the elevators were vandalized and rendered unusable. They got one working among the aft elevators and a couple mid-ship (I don't know about the forward elevators) but it was chaos with only one working elevator in the aft of the ship with people trying to get up to the buffet or down to disembark. I was told that the security cameras would be reviewed and the culprits identified. I hope they throw the book at them. IMHO, this is a criminal act since it affected the safety of everyone on the ship, particularly those with limited mobility. | Pax evicted / vandalism to elevators |
| 27.07.09 | Sea Princess | The Sun Sentinel reports that on 26 July 2009 at 2000 AST, the ship was underway northbound in Snow Passage when all propulsion was lost on the ship. The momentum carried the ship through the narrows with steerage and after 10-15 minutes, steering was restored. Inspection determined that the port main circuit breaker tripped, causing the port and starboard propulsion motors to shutdown, and resulting in the loss of propulsion. Crew reset the main circuit breaker and vessel propulsion was back on line. The incident occurred a second time while transiting northern Lynn Canal on 28 July 2009. Sector Juneau Inspections reported that the port auxiliary circuit was replaced but advised that possible problems may occur on the three sister vessels, and have conveyed this to the Chief Engineer for follow-up (two in Australia & one in Europe). | Loss of power- adrift |
| 27.07.09 | Golden Princess | The Juneau Empire reports the ship twice violated Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards for zinc in May 2009. On May 11th the concentration of zinc was 0.250 mg/L (effluent limit is 0.23 mg/L); on May 18th the concentration of zinc was 0.290 mg/L. | Environmental |
| 27.07.09 | Sea Princess | The Juneau Empire reports the ship violated Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards for ammonia in May 2009. On May 27th the concentration of ammonia was 99 mg/L (effluent limit is 80.4 mg/L). | Environmental |
| 27.07.09 | Sapphire Princess | The Juneau Empire reports the ship twice violated Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards for ammonia in May 2009. On May 19th the concentration of ammonia was 99 mg/L (effluent limit is 80.4 mg/L), May 27th it was 120 mg/L. In addition, on May 19th as a result of a hose leak that resulted in 50 gallons of untreated graywater being released at dock, the ship was cited for one violation of pH, one violation of Biological oxygen demand, one violation of allowable total suspended solids, and one violation of allowable fecal coliform. | Environmental |
| 27.07.09 | Island Princess | The Juneau Empire reports the ship violated Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards for ammonia three times in May 2009. On May 14th the concentration of ammonia was 130 mg/L (effluent limit is 80.4 mg/L), May 27th it was 120 mg/L, and May 28th it was 160 mg/L. | Environmental |
| 27.07.09 | Coral Princess | The Juneau Empire reports the ship violated Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards for ammonia in May 2009. On May 21 the concentration of ammonia was 91 mg/L (effluent limit is 80.4 mg/L). | Environmental |
| 26.7.09 | Ruby Princess | The Daily Mail reports the ship was briefly impounded by Italian authorities when it arrived today in Venice. Two additional people (passengers) have now been reported with swine flu. An official with the Maritime Health Agency in Venice said that three passengers, an American, a Mexican and a German had been confirmed while the other four were crew. He added that the Mexican and German would be taken off and treated ashore, while the American and the crew members were making good progress and would be allowed to remain on the ship -- about an hour delay. The ship is in Venice until Tuesday (July 28) when it leaves for Dubrovnik. (See July 24th below for more information.) | Impounded briefly |
| 25.7.09 | Sapphire Princess | Vancouver Sun reports the ship arrived on its return from the Alaska run with a female whale firmly wedged in the bulbous bow. Lisa Spaven, a coordinator for the B.C. Marine Mammal Response Network, said it appears to be about a fin whale, a threatened species in Canada. Spaven estimated the whale is about 70 feet long. The whale's fin and part of its back is protruding from the water and tourists are snapping photos. According to information Spaven obtained she said the ship's captain wasn't aware of the whale until the ship docked at Canada Place. She believes in all likelihood the whale was struck north of Vancouver Island since fin whales are not normally found in Johnstone or Georgia Strait. This is the second time in the last 10 years that a cruise vessel has come into the Port of Vancouver with a whale caught on the bow. In that instance, in June of 1999, the Celebrity Cruise vessel MV Galaxy collided with an adult male fin whale, which likely happened as the ship transited the Hecate Strait north of Vancouver Island. However, there are many more whale strikes on Alaska-bound cruise ships, as well as cruise ships in other parts of the world (for example, see January 31, 2009 below). NOTE: In January 2007, Princess Cruises agreed to a plea bargain under which it payed a fine of $200,000 and restitution of $550,000 after criminal charges were filed -- the company was charged with failing to operate at a slow, safe speed while near humpback whales when in 2001 the Dawn Princess hit and killed a humpback. UPDATE: A necropsy determined the whale had been dead for up to a week before it was struck by the cruise ship. | Whale strike |
| 24.7.09 | Ruby Princess | Earth Times reports five people (one passenger and four crew) discovered with swine flu aboard the ship have been put in quarantine by oficials in Athens. "We have advised the four crew and passenger to remain in their cabins and to not disembark," said Health Ministry official Panagiotis Efstathiou, adding that all the other passengers have been allowed to leave the vessel. The captain had asked the Greek government to inspect the ship as soon as it arrived in the port of Piraeus from neighboring Turkey. The Ruby Princess is scheduled to leave for Venice, Italy on Friday evening. | Swine flu |
| 21.7.09 | Tahitian Princess | Newspapers in St. John's (Newfoundland) and Sydney (Nova Scotia) report unscheduled visits by the ship yesterday and today. The visit to St. John's was advanced one day because the ship's port calls to Greenland had been canceled (it sailed directly from Iceland); the visit to Sydney was apparently added. | Ports canceled and added |
| 16.7.09 | Dawn Princess | Chinese media report five passengers on board the ship were in isolation due to influenza A/H1N1 as the vessel is on a stop-over in the French Polynesian capital of Papeete. The health ministry said the five have been given Tamiflu, and there is an unspecified number of people who were in close contact with the five, Radio New Zealand International reported on Thursday. The ship is carrying nearly 2,000 passengers and almost 900 crew. It arrived from Samoa and will sail to Bora Bora before continuing its voyage to Hawaii and California. | Swine flu |
| 8.7.09 | Emerald Princess | Media in Finland report the ship docked in Helsinki this morning. Helsinki City health authorities have been notified that five people aboard the ship have contracted swine flu. On Tuesday Helsinki City Epidemiologist Hannele Kotilainen said any passengers or crew members who are infectious will not be allowed ashore while the vessel is in Finland. All in all, ten people have been quarantined. When the ship was last in Helsinki in late June (see July 2 below), Finnish officials were not informed that there were several people on board at the time who had contracted swine flu. The ship was in Finland on June 28th before sailing on to St. Petersburg. Cases of swine flu onboard had been confirmed by tests taken in Oslo four days earlier. The infections were reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control by Norwegian officials, but the information went unnoticed by Finnish authorities. The captain of the vessel was under obligation to report the infections before entering Helsinki harbour. | Swine flu |
| 6.7.09 | Sun Princess | Press in Australia report Customs and Border Protection successfully prosecuted Princess Cruise Lines for allowing an unauthorised person to board a vessel while in port. The company was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay an additional $1000 in court costs. On 11 November 2007, the ship Princess was anchored at Funnel Bay in the Whitsunday Islands. While the ship was anchored, an unauthorised person boarded the vessel for a personal visit. The cruise ship had been granted permission under the Customs Act 1901 for the vessel to be brought into unproclaimed ports in Queensland subject to a number of conditions. One of these conditions stated that persons are not permitted to visit the vessel except for work-related situations and detailed advice must be relayed to Customs and Border Protection if this is to occur. | Fine (Border protection) |
| 2.7.09 | Emerald Princess | Copenhagen Post reports doctors at Copenhagen hospitals are awaiting the arrival the cruise ship due to dock in Copenhagen on Saturday that has 14 crew members on board infected with the Influenza A H1N1 virus (see June 29, below). Princess Cruises confirmed to the Cruise Critic website that some of the crew on board its Emerald Princess cruise liner had tested positive and are now in isolation and being treated with anti-viral medication. The ship has already called at ports in Finland, Russia and Sweden, prior to its expected arrival in Denmark this weekend. There are 4,400 passengers and crew on board, but Danish health authorities have not yet decided if passengers will be allowed off the ship when it reaches Copenhagen. ‘The hospitals have been advised that there could be a number of passengers or others who have to be admitted,’ said health inspector Arne Scheel Thomsen. ‘So the system is ready to deal with the situation.’ | Swine flu |
| 29.6.09 | Emerald Princess | RIANOVOSTI reports the ship, with 14 A/H1N1-infected people onboard, arrived in St. Petersburg on Monday. Swine flu was confirmed in 13 crew members and one passenger. The ship sailed from the Finnish capital, Helsinki. The infected have been quarantined in their cabins and are being treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The first case of the highly pathogenic virus was confirmed in several crew members on June 18. When the vessel arrived to St. Petersburg, 16 people had already recovered and tested negative for the virus. | Swine flu |
| 20.6.09 | Crown Princess |
From a reader: My friend is on board the Crown Princess Mediterranean Explorer itinerary. She emailed me this morning with the following information: "Yep- we heard it from the head of passenger services - there was a fire on board this morning.
We heard an announcement that said "immediate containment in room---" Later we were in the Sky Walker lounge and the head of passenger services was there to chit chat again and he volunteered the information. Story is- woman smoking in her room was collecting her ashes in a napkin and wrapping them up to put in the trash can. Destroyed her room. She is being escorted off tomorrow and charged for the repair of the room. He then told us about the sensors to pick up candles and then smoke!! The sprinklers do more damage than fire." Note - This clarification was offered by another reader: I was disturbed to read the last sentence. Being a firefighter, sprinklers SAVE LIVES, and protect property. When a sprinkler is activated, it contains the fire until firefighters arrive, then the sprinklers must be turned off at a reasonable timeframe, usually when the firefighters with hoses have contained the blaze. So the sentence, they cause more damage is just wrong! Note: Many cruise ships have fog nozzles rather than sprinklers in the main
crew/passenger areas. These are just as effective, but cause less damage should
they be activated. |
Fire |
| 18.6.09 | Royal Princess | Cruise Critic reports a fire broke out in the engine room at 8:10 p.m. local time on Thursday as the ship was departing from Port Said, Egypt. A statement from Princess says that passengers aboard were called to their muster stations and fire teams were deployed. All 733 passengers and 393 crewmembers have been accounted for, and there have been no resulting injuries onboard the ship, which is currently in the middle of a 12-night Holy Land sailing from Rome to Athens. Royal Princess is currently anchored off the coast of Port Said. Princess spokeswoman Karen Candy said there is no word yet on whether the incident will delay any of the ship's remaining calls in Ashdod (Jerusalem), Haifa, Kusadasi or Patmos Island. The ship is due in Athens on the 25th. UPDATE: Princess Cruises released the following statement: In order to fully assess the impact of the engine fire that occurred earlier this evening, we plan to bring Royal Princess back into Port Said, Egypt tomorrow. The assessment process includes flying various technical experts and regulatory authorities to the ship for a complete inspection, and they should be arriving onboard by tomorrow evening. So while our own assessment will occur throughout the day tomorrow, we expect the full assessment to be complete on Saturday. This means Royal Princess will be spending Friday and Saturday in Port Said. UPDATE June 19: Princess reports that the current cruise and the next cruise (June 25) will be cancelled because damage is greater than initially thought. Passengers on both voyages will receive a full refund of their fare, plus a future cruise credit equal to 25% of the cruise fare paid for these sailings. | Fire |
| 16.6.09 | Sun Princess | The West Australian reports ill passengers aboard the cruise ship have been tested for swine flu before docking in Fremantle tomorrow. The ship, which departed from Sydney on May 2 for an Indian Ocean cruise. is the first international cruise ship to arrive in Perth since the outbreak of the A/H1N1 virus. It is due to dock at Fremantle Port at 7am tomorrow and is expected to leave at 4pm. A Princess Cruises spokesman said he did not know how many swabs had been taken from passengers for testing at a WA health laboratory but confirmed the ship’s doctor had sent swabs to for testing as precaution. He said during the 46 night cruise, which made stops in Asia, South Africa, India and Mauritius, only seven people had shown flu-like symptoms of which five were confirmed to have contracted influenza A. In line with national protocols, all passengers will be required to fill out health declaration cards before being allowed off the ship. All sick passengers will be assessed by WA health communicable disease control staff and people sharing the same cabin will be offered Tamiflu as a precaution if appropriate. | Swine flu |
| 2.6.09 | Dawn Princess | ABC News reports the ship has been turned away from Lifou, New Caledonia amid fears of swine flu after up to five people on board started showing flu-like symptoms. Swabs have been taken from the sick passengers and sent to Sydney for testing. The cruise left Sydney May 24 for a 13-day South Pacific cruise (previous port calls at Vanuatu and Fiji) and is now heading back to Sydney and will arrive on Friday. | Swine flu |
| 23.5.09 | Dawn Princess | The Melbourne Herald Sun reports ship was quarantined for several hours on arrival in Sydney at the end of a 35 night cruise of the Pacific amid a swine flu scare. Almost 2000 passengers, and another 900 crew, were kept on the ship for more than five hours while another 2000 passengers waiting to board were left to wait on the dock. The ship arrived at Darling Harbour at about 12pm (AEST) today, hours late due to poor weather conditions. Then, health officials were called out and the ship was locked down because four passengers with mild influenza-like symptoms were suspected to have swine flu - they underwent tests. All passengers and crew were subsequently allowed to leave the ship but told to remain in isolation in Sydney until the test results are known. | Swine flu |
| 16.5.09 | Coral Princess |
From a passenger: During a 3 day repositioning cruise on the Coral Princess from L.A. to Vancouver at 10:30 am in the Lotus Pool on deck 14, a young woman was severely injured while swimming. At 2:30 pm, the Captain ordered all upper decks cleared as well as many staterooms on the port side, as a Coast Guard rescue helicopter was on its way from San Francisco to initiate an emergency evacuation of the young woman. They announced over the P.A. system, that no photography or video cameras were allowed during the procedure. At 3:00 PM the rescue team arrived and hovered over the Coral Princess mid ship pool during the evacuation procedure that lasted until 4:00 pm. | Swimming pool injury |
| 8.5.09 | Crown Princess | Gibraltar Chronicle reports a British Airways plane aborted its landing after the ship strayed into its flight path as it sailed from Gibraltar. “By the time we did the final turn, it was obvious to me that we would not clear the ship,” one passenger told the Chronicle. The exact position of the cruise ship is not clear but admiralty rules establish an exclusion zone at either end of the runway. | Plane aborts landing |
| 17.4.09 | Star Princess | From a passenger: My sister and I were on a 10 day cruise from San Francisco to the Mexican Rivera. At midnight, after leaving port, we learned our luggage was missing. We filled out and filed a report with the passenger service desk. We were offered tolieties items and nothing else. We called in the AM and told the luggage was still missing. Since we are both on scooters we had no carry-on or any clothes except what we had on our backs. We were not offered any help with shipboard credits for clothing even though we were at sea for 4 days and still no luggage. We were questioned at one time if we were sure we brought luggage and could we show them airline claim check for the luggage (ironically, the Princess agent assisted us with our luggage because we relied on scooters). Now not only did we not have luggage we were now called liars. Late Saturday afternoon they offered to wash and dry our clothes but they would not be returned for 24 hours. Being those were the only clothes we had we declined. I instead went to the laundrymat and did the clothes myself in a Princess robe. Sunday still no luggage I called my travel agent from the ship to arrange a flight home on Tuesday from Accapulco. We had to pay for this flight home even though we had one for the end of the cruise. Still no compensation from Princess Cruise on board; our travel agent call the headquarters and since we are on board only the on board staff could help us. Very late Sunday our luggage was found. It had been left in the bus with 5 other pieces. The assistant purser called and told us this and also said they could not get our luggag to us in Acapulco. I asked if he would arrange transportation for us on Tuesday to go to the airport in Acapulco and he said he would. On Tuesday at noon when we docked there was no ride waiting for us. We finally found the taxi and left for the airport. During the trip to the airport my sister asked if this was paid for by the cruise line and was told no we needed to pay and it cost $70.00. UPDATE: We have heard back from Princess -- given a $75.00 shipboard credit. despite leaving the 10 day cruise on the 4th day. | Missing luggage |
| 22.3.09 | Golden Princess | From a passenger: Just got back from a 14 day cruise to Hawaii. On Sunday March 22nd just before midnight the ship's main fire alarm sounded off. The assesment crew was sent to the engine room. The Captain came on the PA system and announced a reported fire in the main engine room. The crew was scrurrying around with their life vests on. I went up to the top deck to see the smoke stacks. The ship had slowed down to less than half speed and there was a strange burning smell. About 20 minutes later the Captain came back on and announced that a turbocharger on one of the main engines had blown a seal, set off the smoke detectors and blinded the cameras. Within an hour we were back up to speed again. Also we aborted the port docking in Nawiliwili, Kauai. We were told this was due to high winds although they didnt seem all the high? Some of the crew members confessed that this port is missed about 1 out of 4 times?? Had I known this I might have thought twice about booking this cruise. | Fire |
| 19.3.09 | Coral Princess | Posted at www.cruise.co.uk: Just be aware we are currently on this cruise & have been just told that the ships turbo is broken & we cant go as fast !! We have to miss Colombia, but the Captain is aiming to get us to Aruba.If your on this cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale next Monday Good Luck !! | Propulsion problems |
| 9.3.09 |
Coral Princess | The Los
Angeles Times (and Associated Press)
reports a dining room headwaiter (a 38-year-old Portuguese national who
has worked for Princess for 18 years) was
arrested
today on suspicion
of sexually assaulting a 42-year-old female passenger. The crew member
was taken
into custody after the Federal Bureau of Investigation received the
complaint about the assault and dispatched investigators and an
evidence response team to the ship, which docked in Los Angeles this
morning. The ship was on 14-day cruise through the Panama Canal,
between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Los Angeles. |
Sexual assault |
| 27.2.09 | Grand Princess | From a passengers: I just returend from a 2 week Souther Caribbean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale. Staff had colds the first day, including our waiter. By the second week every other person was sneezing and coughing. Nothing was done to contain this and no announcement was made. Not sure if they even realized how many people were sick! | Illness |
| 23.2.09 |
Grand Princess | Caribbean
Net News reports strong winds prevented two of the four scheduled
cruise ships from docking at Port Zante (St. Kitts) over the weekend.
While Island Star and Carnival Victory were able to berth, Ventura
aborted efforts on Saturday, after trying to berth in winds up to 32
knots. On Sunday, unusually strong winds gusting as high as 45 knots
forced Grand Princess to turn away. Unrelated
missed ports: In other news, several cruise ships skipped port
calls at Guadeloupe and Martinique because of labour unrest on the
islands. Silversea's Silver WInd skipped Sri Lanka because of civil
unrest. |
Missed port calls |
| 12.2.09 |
Emerald Princess | The Antigua
Sun reports the ship canceled its scheduled call to Antigua
yesterday due to the weather conditions. The vessel had entered the
entrance of the St. John’s Harbour channel when it decided to turn back
because the ship’s captain became very concerned about the ground
swells and the high winds. This forced him to cancel the call out of
safety for his passengers and crew.The President of the Antigua and
Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association said pilots at the Antigua and
Barbuda Port Authority tried to reassure the captain that they could
have brought in the cruise ship safely. This was, however, not enough
reassurance for the captain. |
Canceled port call |
| 24.1.09 |
Dawn Princess | The ship's port call at Otago (New Zealand) was delayed
because of dense fog. Rather than arriving at 8:30 AM, the ship set
anchor and finally entered the habour at 11 AM. Its departure from
Otago was delayed for two hours, but some shore excursions had still
been disrupted. |
Fog-caused delay |
| 22.1.09 |
Golden Princess | Associated
Press reports that a commercial fishing vessel nearly collided with
the cruise ship in Los Angeles harbor's main channel. A Coast Guard
spokesperson said a 31-foot-long fishing vessel "erratically" crossed
within about 30 feet of the front of the cruise ship as it entered the
harbor. The incident is under investigation. Federal law prohibits
vessels from coming within 200 yards in front and 100 yards behind or
to the sides of a cruise ship that is moving. |
Near collision |
| 15.1.09 |
Golden Princess | The ship was anchored offshore from Lahaina (Maui) and
unable to disembark passengers because of rough seas and weather
conditions. The ship was scheduled to allow passengers to go onshore at
Lahaina Harbor, but the captain feared the weather conditions would
deteriorate Thursday afternoon, making it unsafe for passengers who
would need to use a tender to get back to the ship. He was concerned
about having a large number of passengers onshore during the one-day
stop before going on to Ensenada, Mexico. If they were unable to
reboard, they would have to be flown to Ensenada. |
Canceled port call |
| 7.1.09 |
Sun Princess | Hawke's
Bay Today reports three passengers (one a seven-year-old boy who
needed cut on his head stitched) needed medical care following a
traffic accident when a car crossed into the path of their tour bus
with 26 passengers. The accident, which occurred in Napier (New
Zealand) brought residents out to comfort the 26 shocked passengers
with tea and biscuits while ambulance officers checked them over. |
Accident on Shore Excursion |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2008 |
Incident |
| 29.11.08 |
Grand Princess | Antigua
Sun reports the the ship diverted to safe harbour, anchoring
outside English Harbour. It had to be diverted to that part of the
island because it was having problems with its bow thruster. Due to
this mechanical problem, the ship had to be anchored and the cruise
line made the choice of securing the ship in the safe port of English
Harbour considered much more sheltered than St. John’s. The decision
was also made on the basis that the prevailing high gusts of winds
being experienced in Antigua required that the ship, its passengers and
crew go to the safest position which is in English Harbour’s sheltered
bay. |
Thruster problems |
| 30.11.08 |
Emerald Princess | Miami
Herald reports that officials are checking cars leaving Port
Everglades, looking for a fired cruise ship worker who slipped out of
government custody. The worker, who is not a U.S. citizen, was fired by
Princess Cruises and was being processed by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to be sent back to his country when he ran off, said a
spokeswoman for Port Everglades. It was believed that the man was
hiding somewhere in the port. He was let go along with five other
workers. Those five workers remained in the custody of Customs and
Border Protection. |
Fired worker |
| 22.11.08 |
Grand Princess | Cruising
Talk reports the ship has been delayed by overnight poor weather
and will not be arriving in Civitavecchia until at least 1430 today. FROM A PASSENGER: At around 9pm during dinner, there was a
sharp lurch and then a hard drop and the ship shuddered
noticeably. Several hours later, the ship lurched again and then
came down hard and shuddered again and the power to the entire ship
went out. The ship seemed to drop again, and vibrated very hard. about
5 minutes later power was restored only briefly, and then went out
again. Power was out for about another 5-10 min and then came
back on, but not to propulsion. We drifted for about 30 min
before limited propulsion was restored. There was VERY limited
notification as to what happened, just the usual all is well and we are
working on restoring power and propulsion. The ship was to arrive
at 6am, but we were proceeding only at about 5 knots and on only one
screw. We finally limped ashore and arrived at 1230pm. We
had to be assisted by 2 tugs to get us docked- something I NEVER saw on
any other port call for this ship. The scene ashore was totally
anarchy with little comment from Princess. I heard from an
engineer when i questioned him that we lost a generator as well as
damaged a stabilizer- but again nothing from Princess in terms of
compensation, assistance or comment. Overall a very bad situation
on their part. What I want to know is how seas of only 4-8 feet
could take out a modern mega-ship like Grand Princess? Yes
winds were like 40MPH but that should be nothing for a ship this large
and modern. Another passenger
adds: the subsequent cruise
sailed at 830PM but missed Cannes
due to wind. There were quite a few ships caught in the unexpected
storm and a ferry is missing. There was damage to one window in
Sabatini's but no damage to any passenger cabins and no injuries. She also suggested that the power outage was not as long as mentioned
above, and that Princess did everything possible to make a bad
situation better. And another writes: I can confirm that during
second seating dinner, 9ish, a crash sent our cutlery and glasses all
over the table. I can also confirm that around 11 pm - 12:30 am we were
hit by several waves the biggest of which cut power and engines.
My room on the Aloha deck was one of the last to have power restored at
about 2 am, so it wasn't just 15min like reported, my series on deck 12
camped out in the hall until power was restored. |
Delayed embarkation |
| 21.1..08 |
Sapphire Princess | From a passenger: We
are booked on the Sapphire Princess for November 22-29, and just got a
notification via email that the cruise will have a delayed boarding due
to operational reasons. We were also contacted by phone and told
that there had been a delayed departure from Cabo on the current
cruise. |
Delayed embarkation |
| 12.11.08 |
Coral Princess | The port call at Punta Arenas (Costa Rica) was cancelled
after industrial fishing boats blocked entrance to the port in protest
at shark finning regulations. |
Cancelation of port call |
| 4.11.08 |
Sea Princess | SKN Vibes (St. Kitts and Nevis) reports the ship encountered ‘technical difficulties’ as it attempted to dock at Port Zante this morning which resulted in passengers being ferried to the nearby marina by the ship’s life crafts. Initial reports indicated that there had been a fire onboard the Sea Princess which caused engine damage to the vessel and hindered its berthing. However an employee at the Port explained that the ship developed engine problems earlier today and was drifting out at sea. The individual informed that since there is no tug boat at the pier, the passengers were therefore tendered to the marina adjacent to the Port. A press release issued by the St. Christopher Air and Sea Port Authority (SCASPA) shortly after the incident indicated that the cruise vessel will remain at anchor for the entire day due to said engine problems. | Engine failure |
| 3.11.08 |
Island, Sapphire, and Diamond Princess | The Juneau
Empire reports that each ship reportedly violated
its
wastewater discharge permit in September (2008), according to Alaska
state
regulators. Wastewater
samples from the ship had higher-than-permitted ammonia. |
Environmental |
| November |
Dawn Princess | From a reader: On
the recent repositioning from San Francisco to Sydney aboard Dawn
Princess, it seemed the captain and his crew showed who was the boss on
board ship a few times. Two women were removed from the ship after
being caught shoplifting in the ship's boutique. Two men were removed
from the ship after assaulting crew who had removed their belongings
from a hogged lounger. And to round it all off another couple of men
having a heated argument/fight in the laundryroom were also removed
from the ship. |
Ejections |
| 16.10.08 |
Ruby Princess | The launch ceremony for the ship was cancelled after a
worker died in an accident on board the vessel last night. A 43 year
old supervisor at the Fincantieri shipyard was killed when he tried to
squeeze through a heavy watertight door that closed upon him. Around
2,000 workers at the Monfalcone shipyard went on an eight-hour strike
in protest of the fatality and to call for improved workplace security. |
Death at shipyard |
| 5.10.08 |
Caribbean Princess | The ship lost power after arrival at Ambrose light (New
York). It was towed into New York Harbor by 3 tugs from Moran Towing,
arriving at Pier 12, Brooklyn approximately 2 hours late. |
Loss of power |
| 2.10.08 |
Island, Sapphire, and Sun Princess | The Juneau Empire reports that each ship reportedly violated its wastewater discharge permit in August (2008), according to Alaska state regulators. Wastewater samples from the ship had higher-than-permitted ammonia (twice on Island Princess, once on Sapphire and Sun Princess. | Environmental |
| 2.10.08 |
Star Princess | The Juneau Empire reports that the ship reportedly violated its wastewater discharge permit in August (2008), according to Alaska state regulators. Wastewater samples from the ship twice had higher-than-permitted copper. | Environmental |
| 2.10.08 |
Golden Princess | The Juneau Empire reports that the ship reportedly violated its wastewater discharge permit in August (2008), according to Alaska state regulators. Wastewater samples from the ship had higher-than-permitted zinc. | Environmental |
| 29.9.08 |
Royal Princess | The ships' Bar Harbor call, originally scheduled for today,
has been cancelled. The ship instead spent the night in Boston, and
sailed after 7:30am today for Saint John, New Brunswick, where it
will arrive on schedule at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. |
Cancelled port |
| 27.9.08 |
Golden Princess | A fellow passenger saved the life of a nine-year-old child
who he found lying unconscious att he bottom of the 1.5 metre deep
swimming pool. According to The
Province, "the pool area was busy, he recalled. There were lots of
people chatting, loud music and a group of kids frolicking in the
water. There were no lifeguards, and large signs warned swimmers they
were on their own." The man, who received a free seven night cruise for
his heroics, says the cruise line should post a lifeguard at its pool. |
9-year-old saved
from drowning |
| 26.9.08 |
Coral Princess | Passengers were met with a protest by local independent
transport operators when the ship arrived at Punta Arenas (Costa Rica).
The
independent transport operators were protesting the decision by the
cruise line not to use transport services unless contracted by them
(services for which the cruise line likely gets a commission or cut).
The protest was quickly disbanded when members of the Fuerza
Pública (police) and Tránsito (traffic police) arrived on
the scene. |
Protest Onshore |
| 25.9.08 |
Crown Princess Princess Cruises |
A passenger writes: The Crown Princess was unable
to make its planned port call to
Reykyavik yesterday (9-24) due to a storm. The Crown Princess is
currently off the coast of Greenland and hopes to make its planned stop
tomorrow at Qaqortoq. |
Missed port |
| 25.9.08 |
Island and Golden | The Juneau Empire reports the ships violated its wastewater discharge permit in May, June and July (2008), according to Alaska state regulators. Wastewater samples from the ship had higher-than-permitted zinc. | Environmental |
| 25.9.08 |
Sapphire, Star, Coral, and Diamond Princess | The Juneau
Empire reports the ships violated its
wastewater discharge permit in May, June
and July (2008), according to Alaska state regulators. Wastewater
samples from the ship had higher-than-permitted effluent limits on
several parameters. |
Environmental |
| 23.10.08 |
Caribbean Princess | It was announced today that five Caribbean Princess cruises
in April 2009 have been cancelled following an approach to hold an
important government conference on board. The affected cruises are
April 5 (14-day), April 12 (7-day), April 12 (14-day), April 19
(7-day), and April 19 (14-day). Passengers affected will be offered
alternative cruises. |
Cancellations |
| 15.9.08 |
Sea Princess | From a reader: The ship appears to have had problems with
one of the Stern Thrusters, entering and departing Boston. Both
times a Tug was required to assist [if needed]. It doesn't look like it
is affecting schedules, but today due to the Winds [remnants of
Hurricane Ike] it seemed to be a precaution. |
Thruster problems |
| 10.9.08 |
Sea Princess | From a passenger: During Sea Princess' recent
transatlantic 'repositioning' cruise the
port of St Johns, Newfoundland was missed on 10th September 2008 due to
high winds making the passage through 'The Narrows' too
dangerous. Captain stayed offshore for 2 hours before
making the decision to sail for New York in advance of scheduled
departure time, making for a very slow transit to final destination. Editor's Note: Winds that day were
40 kph (24 mph) and coming from the WSW meaning there was no cross wind
affecting entrance through the narrow. Note event on September 15 --
this may be a more logical explanation for skipping St. John's given
the absence of tugs at the harbour. |
Skipped port call |
| 25.8.08 |
Sun Princess | The Sydney
Morning Herald reports about 1,600 Australian cruise ship
passengers were forced to wait in a Russian port for five hours as
local authorities took hours to make a series of passport inspections.
The ship, which left Sydney on July 14 carrying 2,000 passengers -
mostly Australians - was held in the port of Petropavlovsk on Russia's
east coast as the Russian navy checked and re-checked every passport.
The ship was blocked from leaving the port by two naval frigates. The
ship was scheduled to depart at 4:30PM but was still at dock past
9:30PM. Local authorities did not explain why they had kept the boat so
long. |
Delayed in port |
| 7.7.08 |
Caribbean Princess |
It has been reported that the ship is experiencing
mechanical problems (i.e., genset fault) and that it is running slow.
St. Maarten has been dropped from the itinerary and replaced with
Tortola. Other port calls have been shortened. |
Mechanical problems |
| 22.4.08 |
Sapphire Princess |
The was prevented from making its scheduled port call at
Dunedin because of bad weather. Winds were expected to whip up to 110
km per hour in the afternoon so even though the ship could get into
port at 6AM, there was concern it would not be able to leave with winds
so high. It was to be the last cruise ship visit of the 2007-08 season.
The ship continued on to Auckland. |
Missed Port |
| 31.3.08 |
Grand Princess |
Press in Jamaica reported what appeared to be a fire when
the ship was in Ocho Rios -- residents in the area reported the ship
came to a halt and there was thick smoke surrounding the vessel.
Princess Cruises later reported there had been a breakdown of one of
the ship's engines and damage to another. The ship cruised at reduced
speeds with delayed arrivals in ports. Repairs were planned without
taking the ship out of service. |
Engine breakdown |
| 24.2.08 |
Sun Princess | The ship's arrival/departure (debarkation/embarkation) from Darling Harbour (Sydney, Australia) was delayed by more than eight hours. The reason for the ship's late arrival is not known.Accoridnmg to a passenger: We learned in the morning that the ship was running late and instead of a midday embarkation we would have to wait until 18:00. On arrival at the Passenger Terminal at about 17:30, we were met with chaos -- passengers were still in the process of disembarking and check-in was terribly long with a huge degree of confusion at all points. We were issued with a number and then promptly stood around trying to look intelligent but feeling distinctly like a herd of sheep. There must have been about 1500 people in an area designed to hold about 500. The public toilets were over loaded and much to be desired, in fact were disgusting. There were attempts to distribute water bottle amongst the crowds with the occasional fruit and crisps, however this was not a very effective exercise either. We finally cleared check-in and boarded the ship at 20:00 with tempers flaring; the ship offered late dinning which I suppose was a small compensation. We set sail at 23:00 and left Sydney in the dark. I think our baggage was finally delivered to our stateroom at about 03:00 in the morning. We were then woken at 10:00 in the morning with a Fire Drill, so not much sleep for many! |
Delayed
Debarkation & Embarkation |
| 20.2.08 |
Emerald Princess | The port call at Basse-terre, St. Kitts was canceled for both ships because of high winds. An explanation is given in Caribbean Net Newspaper: “As we are all aware, the pier in St. Kitts lies in a north to south direction on the windward side of the island which means it is fully exposed to the winds out of the east. Ships the size of Crown and Emerald have a very large profile surface area. They also have a large number of balcony cabins providing pockets of further resistance to the wind,” said Nielsen, who added: “With winds in excess of 30 knots out of the east, it is nearly impossible to safely come alongside the berth and even more difficult to maneuver off the berth if the winds conditions do not improve at the time of sailing." | Port call canceled (weather) |
| 18.2.08 |
Crown Princess | Port call canceled (weather) | |
| 11.1.08 |
Star Princess | From a passenger:
There was a fire in the
incinerator room on deck 3 on the Star Princess this morning (Jan 11).
We knew that something was up when the captain called for an assessment
crew for the incinerator room on deck 3. I was at the purser's desk
when a bell sounded an alarm and the captain announced that the crew
was to respond to an emergency. The pursers ran out of the room, the
gift shops closed and we could see the crew with their life jackets on.
In a few minutes the captain came on and announced that a small fire in
the incinerator had been put out. I was impressed with how fast the
crew responded and that the captain let us know what was going on as
soon as he could. The ship left Buenos Aires yesterday and is
en route to Port Stanley (Falkland Islands). |
Fire |
| 2.1.08 |
Grand Princess | The port call at Cozumel was canceled because of rough seas
and weather. On January 4 the ship stopped at Freeport instead of
Princess Cays. |
Canceled port call (Weather) |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2007 |
Incident |
| 2.12.07 | Sapphire Princess |
The Sunday
Mail reports that passengers were offered compensation after the
ship was battered by storms as it sailed from Bankok (Nov. 18) to
Beijing (Dec 4). Weather also caused the ship to miss several ports.
The mix of rough seas, and extra days at sea and missing ports led to a
near-mutiny on the part of a large group of passengers. The compenation
was a gesture of goodwill, and as uch it was modest. |
Compensation |
| 24.7.07 |
Sun Princess |
A sightseeing plane with a pilot and four cruise ship
passengers (2 sisters and their husbands) crashed in steep Alaska
terrain and all were killed. The floatplane left Ketchikan
(Alaska) Tuesday afternoon for a tour over Misty Fiords National
Monument. The ship was on the second day of a 7-day roundtrip
cruise from Seattle. |
Shore Excursion Plane Crash |
| 17.5.07 |
Crown Princess | A 32-year-old sailor who put out
a Mayday call after he lost his sails in storms and went two days
without food was plucked from his stricken yacht in rough
seas off
Puerto Rico by the Crown Princess, which had picked up his
distress signal. Ironically, the ship's Captain and the rescued
man live around the corner from one another in Warsash (UK). |
It's a small world |
| 12.5.07 |
Sea Princess | The cruise scheduled to depart today was cancelled at the
last minute due to technical problems with one of the propulsion
systems. The cruise scheduled for May 26 is expected to sail as
planned. Passengers received a full refund plus a 25% discount on
a future cruise. |
Cancelation |
| 25.3.07 |
Grand Princess | A
22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were rescued after
"accidentally" going overboard from their cabin balcony. The two
were
reported to have gone overboard at 1:30
a.m. when Grand
Princess was approximately 150 miles off the coast of Galveston. They
were recovered after a four-hour search, one found at 5:30 a.m. and the
other at 6 a.m.. The female returned to the US for medical
attention;
the male continued on the cruise. UPDATE MARCH 30: The Colorado
Springs Gazette reports that the jumpers were both trained for
water survival. The 22 year-old-male is an Air Force Academy
cadet with extensive training in water survival, which includes how to
leap into the water from a high dive platform and how to stay afloat by
inflating clothing with air. The 20-year-old woman is a trained
lifeguard. This has led some to speculate that their going
overboard was a stunt designed to demonstrate (two days before
Congressional hearings) that the cruise industry could effectively and
competently save passengers who go overboard. Watch here for
further updates. |
People Overboard -- Rescued Alive |
| 8.3.07 |
Sapphire Princess | The ship's call at Dunedin (NZ) was cancelled because high
winds (40 knots) made it too dangerous to enter Port Chalmers. |
Missed port |
| 3.3.07 |
Sea Princess | From a passenger on the 14-day sailing (17 Feb - 3 Mar): The Southern Caribbean sailing experienced 3 missed ports: Princess Cays (rough water), Dominica (the captain claimed swells too large to permit safe docking, though the seas appeared calm, what appeared to be average-sized swells hitting the sea wall in port, and another cruise ship docked!), and Curacao (the captain claimed winds were too high to attempt to enter the channel into port). As a replacement port for Curacao, the Captain announced that he had obtained corporate approval and obtained allocation of a berth in Aruba. But when we arrived there, he turned the ship around and sailed away, again saying the winds were too high to dock. However, another cruise ship was observed to be docked there. Another event was a power outage while docked in Barbados, that the captain said was due to an engine problem. The emergency power did come on very quickly, and full power came back on in about 20 minutes. | Missed ports |
| 20.2..07 |
Regal Princess | The 10-day Panama Canal cruise scheduled for February 19 has
been canceled after the shipsustained damage to a ballast tank after
touching bottom on Sunday’s (2/18) departure from Huatulco. The vessel
arrived safely in Acapulco from where it was due to sail for San Juan.
Passengers boarded the ship on the 19th and were soon told the cruise
was cancelled and the would be flown home. After temporary
repairs, the ship will proceed to a drydock. It was announced
February 21 that the cruise scheduled for March 1 has also been
cancelled. The next scheduled voyage will be March 13 from Lima
to San Juan. The ship was seen leaving Acapulco at 10:30AM
on February 22. |
Grounded -- Cancelation |
| 29.1.07 |
The cruise line agreed to a plea bargain under which it pays a fine of $200,000 and restitution of $550,000 after criminal charges were filed. The company was charged with failing to operate at a slow, safe speed while near humpback whales and in 2001 the Dawn Princess hit and killed a humpback. | Fine Whale Death |
|
| 17.1.07 |
Coral Princess | Rescue at sea -- a passenger's
pics of 16 Cuban refugees who were rescued off the coast of Cuba.
He writes: When our ship sent
a small rescue craft over to tow them to the cruise ship, it appeared
that some of the men were waving the rescue boat away. We have
since learned that Cubans refugees found at sea are returned to Cuba;
if they had made it to land, they would have been able to stay. |
Rescue of Refugees |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2006 |
Incident |
| 4.11.06 |
Grand Princess | According to a passenger, at
approx 19:20 (local time) the ship appeared to run aground while
heading to sea from Liverno, Italy. Approx 1/2 mile beyond the
harbor entrance, just as the pilot appeared to have disembarked, the
ship appeared to come to a soft stop. For the next 30 minutes (from our
starboard balcony) it appeared that the ship's officers tried many
combinations of thrusters and props at varying speeds and directions
trying to twist and pivot the ship back and forth on it's axis until at
about 20:00 she began to regain her way forward. No notice was or
has been given to passengers. In an unrelated incident, a
week and a half ago the Golden Princess in the waters around Rhodes
reportedly scraped bottom (sustaining some damage to itself and
to the reefs). |
Grounded |
| 10.10.06 |
Diamond Princess | A 58 year old man was arrested in Long Beach after returning from a cruise. He was suspected of molesting two 12 year old boys in the ship's sauna. FBI agents interview the two alleged victims when the ship pulled into port on October 7. Details are laid out in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. UPDATE JUNE 11/06: Alleged perpetrator acquitted. | Alleged Child
Molestation (Pax on Pax) |
| 4.10.06 |
Star Princess | A security breach while the ship was in St. John's
(Newfoundland) resulted in passengers being forced to disembark while
the ship was searched. According to police, some passengers had
reported seeing a stranger onboard the vessel, although the
unidentified man left the ship before the search. Three
suspicious packages were found onboard and removed. The ship left
port three hours past its scheduled departure. See
article here. |
Security |
| 12.8.06 |
Sapphire Princess | A senior assistant purser was taken off the ship in
Ketchikan and appeared in court on charges she stole $400,000 from the
ship's safe. A search of her cabin recovered $400,000 in US
bills, Can$40, $4660 in US traveler's checks, and $9700 in credit card
payment slips. |
Robbery |
| 20.7.06 |
Crown Princess | The nine-day cruise scheduled for today has been delayed
until Saturday and changed to a seven day cruise. The ship will
visit Bermuda and Grand Turk, but will skip San Juan and St.
Thomas. Passengers may canacel and receive a full refund, or take
the cruise and receive a 50% refund plus reimbursement of airline
change fees. |
Itinerary change |
| 18.7.06 |
Crown Princess | The month-old ship severely rolled (15 degrees) to one side
shortly after
leaving Port Canaveral (at 3:25 PM) on its return to New York City from
a nine day cruise of the Western Caribbean. Approximately 240
passengers were treated on board for various injuries,
such as abrasions, bruises and fractures; 94 were transferred
to local hospitals ashore for evaluation and treatment, of which three
passengers and two crew
members remained hospitalized the next day but were expected to make a
full recovery. Some described the roll as feeling like the
ship was going to fall over. The cruise returned to Port Canveral
and the cruise was terminated; passengers received a full refund.
Speculation is that the roll was caused by a malfunction of the
auto-pilot. A similar severe list occurred on February 4 on the
Grand Princess -- see below. |
Severe Roll |
| 16.7.06 |
Sun Princess | Passengers were advised, with the final onboard statement
delivered the last night of the cruise, that a passenger had contracted
an illness presumed to be Meningococcal Meningitis and was taken to
hospital in Victoria. They were alerted that though the risk of
catching the illness was low, they should consult a physican
immediately if the experience any of several symptoms. The
passenger in hospital is expected to fully recover. |
Meningococcal Meningitis |
| 2.7.06 |
Crown Princess | According to a passenger, the ship was supposed to depart at 4:30 but didn't leave until 1AM because of fuel problems -- the Captain said the fuel delivered was of improper grade and the ship refused shipment. Fuel was then sent in from NJ and it arrived late. We missed our first port call in Grand Turk and sailed directly to San Juan. | Delayed departure -- Missed port |
| 15.4.06 |
Regal Princess | The ship became stuck on a sandbar in the Amazon in its
current cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus. The ship was freed
after 1.5 hours, "by using its bow thrusters, emptying the pools and
probably grey water and some ballast." |
Aground |
| 1.4.06 |
Grand Princess | Two crew members jumped ship from the Grand Princess on its
turnaround day in Galveston. As a result, crew members were
restricted in shore leave in Galveston on subsequent visits. A
bit more information here. |
Jump ship |
| 23.3.06 |
Star Princess | At approximately 3:10 AM, as the ship was en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, a fire broke out in the passenger accommodations, and spread to adjacent cabins. About 150 cabins were damaged by the fire which may have been started by a cigarette. Passengers were immediately notified of the fire using the public address system and requested to report to their muster stations. The company confirmed that one passenger had died following a cardiac arrest, two passengers had significant smoke inhalation injuries and nine passengers with had minor complications resulting from smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished, and the ship proceeded to Montego Bay which it reach around noon. Passengers in the cabins affected by the fire were provided hotel rooms ashore in Montego Bay; other passengers remained on the ship until their flights home were arranged. The cruise began March 19 in Fort Lauderdale. All cruises are cancelled until May 15th. See: Report of the investigation of the fire onboard Star Princess off Jamaica 23 March 2006. UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch Report No 28/2006, October 2006 | Fire |
| 4-11.3.06 |
Grand Princess | It was reported by CBS TV in Dallas-Fort Worth that a couple
staying in the Vasco de Gama suite had an encounter with bed bugs
onboard the ship. The family said they are disappointed the
cruise line did little to eradicate the bugs while on-board.
According to the TV report, the company spokesman admitted fault and
offered the family its "unreserved apology". |
Bed Bugs |
| 11.2.06 |
Grand Princess | The ship returned to Galveston 1.5 hours
late at
the end of the cruise (because of high winds) causing some passengers
to miss flights home. Princess-arranged bus transportation to the
airports was anarchic, causing further delays. One passenger says
it took 3 hours to get to Hobby Airport, twice the time normally
required because the bus driver kept getting lost on the way.
Another passenger (on the same bus) says passengers destined for
Bush Airport (IAH) were abandoned at Hobby Airport and left to
find their own way to Bush. (See thread at Cruise
Critic) |
Ground transportation nightmare |
| 4.2.06 |
Grand Princess | Two hours after leaving Galveston, a passenger suffered a heart attack and required urgent onshore medical attention. The ship made a sharp turn while traveling at 21 knots, causing 18.5 degree list (at 24 degrees the ship would be in trouble) which resulted in glassware, dishes, ornaments, and numerous objects sliding off tables in the dining room and shelves in shops. Twenty-seven passengers and ten crew suffered injuries, mainly cuts and bruises (including some who were injured when TVs in their rooms slid off shelves -- reportedly, 82 television sets were destroyed by the list). According to Princess, the vessel experienced a “roll greater than normal” during the execution of the turn. The ship was met by the Coast Guard eight miles offshore to transfer the sick (reportedly dead) passenger from the ship. An injured crew member was also taken off the ship by stretcher. Unconfirmed reports were that 300+ passengers left the ship at its first stop, in Costa Maya | Severe List --- Injuries For pictures of shops after list, click here |
| 1.2.06 |
Grand Princess | A passenger has written to say that again the ship's
itinerary was changed for "technical reasons," dropping Grand Cayman as
a port call. Passengers on subsequent cruises were
informed: Due to increased
passenger satisfaction scores based on our recent itinerary changes,
the decision has been made to enhance the itinerary for the remainder
of the season, therefore the 1/2 day call to Grand Cayman has been
canceled and replaced with a full day call to Playa Del Carmen on March
22, 2006, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. In addition, the port times in
Belize and Cozumel have been extended. We recognize that some passengers may be
disappointed as a result of this itinerary change and are pleased to
provide your clients with a non-refundable goodwill credit of usd $25
per person. This credit will be applied to your client's onboard
folio. |
Itinerary change |
| 29.1.06 |
Island Princess | A veteran harbour pilot died when he fell from a ladder and
was hit by the pilot boat after navigating the ship out of Nawiliwili
Harbour (Kaua'i, Hawai'i). The accident occurred about 5PM. |
Pilot slips |
| 28.1.06 |
Caribbean Princess | The Sun-Sentinel reported on Feb 4 that a 30 year old
waiter from Portugal was found dead in his cabin on Jan 26. When
the
cabin was searched, 2 packages of heroin (1 kg) were found wrapped in a
white t-shirt stashed in the bed's headboard. Federal authorities
began investigating when the ship returned to Fort Lauderdale on
January 28. |
Crew death --- Drugs found |
| 23.1.06 |
Grand Princess | The port call at Georgetown, Cayman Islands on January 25 is
cancelled on the seven day cruise running January 21 - 28 from
Galveston. Passengers were initially told it was because the port
of Georgetown was closed to all cruise ships that day. But a
passenger contacted the port and learned that was false. The port
says the ship cancelled its planned call for "technical reasons."
The ship is replacing Playa del Carmen for Cayman; passengers are being
given a $75 onboard credit. For full story see Cayman Net
News. |
Cancelled Port |
| 5.1.06 |
Island Princess | From a passenger: A toddler fell overboard when her mother set her on the railing on the gangway staircase. The mother let go of the child to put her documents back into her purse. The 3 yr old fell overboard between the ship and the dock while at port in Ensenada, MX. The toddler was alright after staff ran to her rescue and one person jumped in. | Reminder to take care |
| 1.1.06 |
Island Princess | From a passenger: The port call at Kona, Hawaii on Dec. 31, 2005 was cancelled due to forecast of high surf in the afternoon that would make tenders dangerous. The Captain announced the changed itinerary at about 8:00a.m. and we proceeded directly to Ensenada, Mexico which was changed from four hour service stop to all day stop. |
Missed Port |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2005 |
Incident |
| 3.11.05 |
Sun Princess |
A power outage while docked at St. Thomas, USVI, left
passengers mostly in the dark for more than 2 hours in the
evening. Backup generators provided limited power. Power
was restored and the ship left port two hours later than scheduled. |
Power Loss |
| 25.10.05 |
Coral Princess |
Many ships had their itineraries impacted by Hurricane
Wilma, including the port of embarkation and de-barkation changing
without proper notice. I received many e-mails, including from
the Coral Princess and Volendam. The latter two were interesting
because passengers complained about the lack of information and the
giving of false information by folks on the phones prior to the
cruise. There were also complaints about confusing information
onboard. As one person recommended to cruise lines: This is not
the only time this is going to happen -- learn some lessons and develop
measures to ensure customer support and satisfaction for the next
time. Interestingly, a passenger on the Coral Princess reported
that passengers on the shortened sailing received a refund of 33%; a
passenger on the Volendam reported receiving an onboard credit of 78
cents and a free cocktail. |
Weather Delays |
| 13.9.05 |
Grand Princess | Repairs were not completed while the ship was in Venice and
the ship is operating at decreased speed. Time of stay has been
shortened in several ports (Dubrovnik, Corfu, Katakolon, amd Mykonos)
but the ship is otherwise expected to stick to the published itinerary. |
Propulsion problem - Itinerary change |
| 8.9.05 |
Grand Princess | The ship reportedly suffered engine problems while sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean en route to Istanbul. It missed its scheduled calls at Istanbul and Kusadasi, stopping instead at Samos and arriving in Piraeus (Athens) yesterday. Repairs are expected to be completed on Sunday when passengers embark/disembark in Venice. Passengers reportedly "rioted and protested" and were subsequently given a $400 onboard credit. One passenger wrote: We were informed by the bridge that there were propulsion problems that would cut our speed from 22 to 11 knots. It was apparent there were problems because if you watched the wake there was a very noticeable difference between the two sides. While we were disappointed at missing the two ports we were liberally compensated by the cruise line. They gave us one on shore excursion at no cost and also gave cash credit toward either excursion or on board charges. | Propulsion problem -- Missed ports |
| 29.7.05 |
Caribbean Princess | Posted at Cruise
Critic: Yesterday in St.
Maarten we had some kind of power loss
on the ship. When we embarked from St. Maarten none of the elevators
were working. Capt announced the engineers were working on
fixing the problem. I have an aft balcony and can watch the wake as we
leave - as we were leaving the engines did not sound right. Then the
capt announces that we would be leaving the harbor and doing some
manuevers (360's) so the engineers can make sure everything was
online. All nite it
seemed we not were sailing as fast as we had been. Sure
enough - today they announced that there were engine problems and we
would NOT be stopping at Princess Cay. Compensation is $100 ship board
credit per passenger and port taxes for
Bahamas refunded. |
Engine problems |
| 19.6.05 |
Star Princess | The New
Orleans Times-Picayune reports on an incident in which a couple was
told upon disembarkation that their luggage had been "dumped"
overboard. Princess assured them that the cruise line would take
care of everything, including monetary compensation and a free
cruises. What they actually received, after wrangling and
hassles, was $500 per passenger for the lost luggage and belongings and
nothing more. The possessions lost with the luggage were valued
at over $5000. |
Luggage overboard |
| 26.5.05 | Sea Princess | After being flown to Southampton on a private jet, Goldie
Hawn said she was unwell and refused to christen the ship. Guests
were "disappointed, and the ship's owners were apoplectic."
British actress Joanna Lumley christened the ship in Hawn's
absence. The ship was returning to the Princess fleet after
sailing two years as P&O's Adonia. |
Christening |
| 3.4.05 |
Diamond Princess | FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED --
From a passenger A passenger reported a compact 35mm camera was stolen while s/he was being cleared by security -- the details are here. The moral of the story is don't trust your valuables to those wearing a uniform onboard a ship -- vigilance should be maintained both on and off the ship. |
?Robbery? |
| 29.3.05 |
Sapphire Princess | According to passengers, the ship is still experiencing
engine problems and is "limping its way to Singapore." It was
supposed to be at Singapore at 9:00am on Monday but as of Monday night
they were still on their way "at sea" heading towards Singapore.
They're skipping their Viet Nam stop. The delay was made worse by
a lengthy but unsuccessful search for a crew member who went overboard. |
Engine problems contine -------- Crew member overboard |
| 20.3.05 |
Sapphire Princess | The ship is "limping" to Malaysia after a malfunction in an engine turbine between Darwin and Indonesia on Tuesday -- a scheduled stop in Bali was canceled in order that the ship arrive in Thailand on time. P&O Cruises spokesman John Richardson said crew members were having trouble starting one of the gas turbines used to boost the ship's speed from 17 to 22 knots. "The gas turbines operate separately to the diesel engine, which is fine, and they allow the boat to perform high speeds." A technician is due to join the boat in Singapore on Tuesday morning. The 19-day cruise began on March 9th in Sydney. | Engine Problems Canceled port |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2004 |
Incident |
| 28.12.04 |
Coral Princess | The FBI is investigating a stabbing that took place two days
earlier. Two workers reportedly got into an argument and one stabbed
the other. The wounded man was transferred to hospital in stable
condition. |
Assault Crew on Crew |
| 6.12.04 |
Sapphire Princess |
From
a reader: As the ship came into the inlet to anchor at Moorea it lost all power and was out of control for about 5 minutes, which resulted in the ship touching the coral reef. Two weeks later the captain admitted what had happened and that to lose control of the ship was the worst thing to happen in his career. He told us that in August one of the front three thrusters packed in and a little while later the second one left him. As we manoeuvred into Moorea the last one as he said, left us resulting in a power surge and cutting all power. The only way to stop the ship was to drop an anchor and he said they just touched the reef. We then had to use tugs from then on and I don’t think even as I write this that the three thrusters have been fixed. |
Loss of propulsion |
| 22.5.04 |
Diamond
Princess |
The
ship left port late (3:30 AM Sunday morning) because of
inspection of damage caused by
the grounding/collision in Victoria. Because of the late
departure, and sailing at slower than normal speeds, both Juneau and
Victoria have been dropped from this weeks itinerary (although
there will be at least a technical stop at a Canadian port in order
to satisfy Cabotage laws). |
Delay Schedule change |
| 21.5.04 |
Diamond
Princess |
High
winds pushed the ship into a pier at Victoria, BC, when
it tried to dock. "You could hear the scraping and crunching,"
said one witness. The ship aborted the docking operation until
winds subsided. Damage was minor, except for bent propeller blade
tips, and there were no injuries. The ship returned to Seattle
the next day, arriving six hours lite. |
Collision with pier |
| 7.5.04 |
Coral
Princess |
A
cruise passenger called a
San Francisco television station to report that the Coral Princess
struck a whale near Golden Gate Bridge while leaving San Francisco
harbour enroute to Vancouver. The incident was reported by KNTV,
Channel 11. |
Whale collision |
| 10.3.04 |
Diamond
Princess |
The
ship was 5 hours late in
its return to Los Angeles on the 3 - 10 April 2004 Mexican Riviera
cruise because of "technical difficulties.". The rumor onboard
was that the ship had blown an engine. On the cruise before this
one, there were three power failures (none longer than 5 minutes) and
there had been a water main break in a public washroom. |
Delayed
arrival |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2003 |
Incident |
| Nov.03 |
Coral Princess | A kitchen assistant (new employee) jumped overboard and committed suicide shortly after the ship left Cozumel. According to an officer onboard: he was a new guy, had only been on the ship a short time and he said he missed home a lot. People remembered him being very miserable and lonely. Our Captain was very sympathetic and held two memorial services for him so that many of the crew could attend. | Suicide |
| 21.11.03 |
Royal
Princess (4) |
A
passenger report indicates that the ship collided with the
pier when it was docking, causing an 8 foot rent in the bow of the
vessel and delaying its departure
until repairs were completed. Mykonos was skipped as a result;
Rhodes was missed earlier in the cruise because of sea conditions. |
Collision and delay |
| 1.11.03 |
Sapphire
Princess |
Announced
that the ship's
maiden voyage will be delayed from May 16 to June 13. Sapphire's
hull was damaged by a shipyard fire when it was originally destined to
be the Diamond Princess -- This delay is the coninued after effect of
the
original delay. |
Delay |
| 22.10 - 1.11.03 |
Sun
Princess |
A
passenger reported that
during this 10 day cruise they were told that 1 of the 4 engines were
not
working. Consequently, they left ports of call early and arrived late.
They
also did not stop at Princess Cay as planned. |
Engine
problems |
| 27.8.03 |
Sun
Princess |
A
61 year old man is indicted on six felony counts of
sexual abuse on a minor. It is alleged that he
forced sexual relations on a 15 year old boy while the boy was in the
sauna and the cruise ship was near Juneau. |
Sexual Assault (Pax on Pax) |
| 6.2.03 |
Island
Princess |
Announced
that the ship's delivery will be delayed 2 months.
The maiden voyage, originally planned to be a Panama Canal
transit on May 13, is now set for July 12 -- an Alaska sailing from
Vancouver to Seward. |
Delivery
Delay / Cancelation |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2002 |
Incident |
| 10.12.02 |
Coral
Princess |
Announced
that the ship's
inaugural voyage will be further delayed because the ship isn't ready
yet. The December 24 and January 3 sailings have now been
cancelled. |
Cancelation |
| 13.11.02 |
Coral
Princess |
Announced
that the inaugural sailing scheduled for December
14, 2002 is being cancelled because of delays in the delivery of the
ship by the shipyard. |
Cancelation |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
Significant Events 2001 and earlier |
Incident |
| 25.6 - 5.7.01 |
Crown Princess |
Engine problems delayed for
departure from Copenhagen for three days of the 10 day cruise.
When the ship was finally repaired, the revised itinerary dropped half
the ports (Tallin, Gdansk, Oslo). There was a near-mutiny by
passengers. The company finally increased compensation to a
rebate of 1/2 of cruise fare paid. |
Engine problems --- Revised interary |
| Apr.01 |
Dawn Princess |
Engine problems. 5 hours
late in arriving at Barbados. |
Engine problems |
| 26.4.01 |
Royal Princess |
While docked at Port Said the
ship broke its mooring oines, drifted further from the pier, and was
side swiped by a cargo ship. |
Collision |
| 16.3.01 |
Regal Princess |
Investigation into the
grounding of the
British flag passenger ship Regal Princess in the
|
Grounded |
| 20.12.00 |
Crown Princess (1) |
Engine problems caused late
arrival in Cartagena and replacing Aruba with Nassau. |
Engine problems |
| 24.7.99 |
Crown Princess |
The ship is operating with a
propeller that is damaged and the ship is now scheduled for repairs
September 20 -- that cruise has been cancelled. |
Cancellation |
| 12.7.99 |
Grand Princess | Princess reported a passenger missing in the
Mediterranean. He apparently fell overboard from the private
balcony in his cabin. |
Passenger
overboard |
| 7.7.96 |
Golden Princess (2) |
An engine room fire knocked out
power and left the ship adrift. It will be towed to Victoria
(British Columbia). |
Fire |
| 24.6.95 |
Star Princess (3) |
The ship struck Poundstone Rocks in ALaska and sustained a 40 ft long, 8 inch wide gash to the starboard bow section and a 100 ft gash amidships. Water was taken on by the ship, and oil released. See: Grounding of the Liberian Passenger Ship STAR PRINCESS on Poundstone Rock, Lynn Canal, Alaska June 23, 1995, NTSB/MAR-97-02 | Grounded - Holed |
| 19.2.95 |
Regal Princess | A 14 year old Canadian boy jumped overboard after an
argument with his parents. He left a suicide note before
disappearing while the ship was off the Florida coast. |
Suicide |
| Apr.95 |
Regal Princess | Princess Cruises agrees to a fine for dumping more than 20
garbage
filled plastic bags off the Florida Keys. Passengers videotape
offense and receive half of fine. FINE = $500,000 |
Environmental |