|
Date
|
Ship
Cruise Line
|
Event
|
Type of Incident
|
| December 31 |
Silhouette
Celebrity Cruises |
From a passenger: My daughter and I went on our first cruise this past December 20 - 27th out of Ft. Laurderdale. The seas were fierce and we got to PR late, so no excursion for us. The taxi driver in St. Kitts tried to rip us off. And our final stop in St. Maarten I spilled my Rum punch all over my daughter. But the thing that really has us in shock and probably won't get us back on a cruise for a while is the removing of a 'dead body'. We do not know what happened, only that was we were disembarking the Cruise Activity Director ask us to look the other way as there was a body being removed. Hmmmm. |
First cruise impressions
|
| December 31 |
Breeze
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger:The Carnival Breeze that left Miami on December 19, 2015 for an 8 day cruise to Southern Caribbean and was supposed to stop at Curacao from 2 pm to 11 pm on Wednesday, December 23 could not stop the ship at the port at the scheduled time because, they informed us, there had been a mistake and another ship had taken the space. Instead, the ship arrived around 7 pm. Excursions had to be cancelled and passengers lost the chance to see the island during daylight. A US$50 dollar onboard credit was placed in passengers accounts. |
Very late arrival
|
| December 30 |
Star Pride
WIndstar Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports more sailings on Windstar's Star Pride have been canceled after a grounding of the ship in Panama on December 22. The January 2 and January 9 departures on the 212-passenger ship will not take place, the line said in a statement. Previously, only the December 26 cruise had been canceled. |
Cruises canceled
|
| December 30 |
Sunshine
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: There was a late departure from the port of Aruba for the Carnival Sunshine on December 22nd, 2015. Two ambulances pulled up to the ship around 11 pm ship time. A person was removed from the ship and taken away via ambulance. A few other passengers left the ship and left the dock in a van |
Delayed departure
|
| December 29 |
Ecstasy
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Fox 9 reports on passenger videos of blood pouring out of the top of the elevator as the doors were struggling to open and close. A couple said a man was inside the elevator, and had to run through the blood that was coming down to get out. Forty five minutes later, the scene was sectioned off with a sign by the elevator reading "Sorry, but I'm not working at the moment." A spokesperson said in an email the victim is 66-year-old Jose Sandoval Opazo, an electrician aboard the ship. |
Death of crew member
|
| December 29 |
Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a reader: My son and I were staying in Cozumel and watched a Royal Caribbean ship pull in and two ambulances meet it. Once the doors were opened, we saw a stretcher wheeled out with what appeared to be a body bag. It sat there for 30 minutes before being loaded into the back of the first ambulance. During that time about 7-10 people appeared to be standing around, some of them hugging. Once the first stretcher was loaded another one was brought out with what appeared to be another body bag and loaded in the second ambulance. More people came out and hugged for another 5-10 mins and then the ambulances drove off the pier very slowly (with lights on), 3-4 people got into a white van following the ambulances, and the ship departed. My son and I are frequent cruisers and curious to know what happened. UPDATE: I was on this sailing. 2 people were taken off the shop at an unplanned stop in Cozumel due to illness. The ship docked, the ill passengers were taken off the ship, and we resumed sailing. The next morning the captain announced that the two passengers were going to be okay. As a matter of fact, one of the passengers rejoined the cruise on 12/24 when we were in Cozumel for a scheduled stop. Thankfully, no passengers passed away. |
Two bodies offloaded in Cozumel -- Circumstances unknown
|
| December 28 |
Pacific Eden P&O Australia |
Sydney Morning Herald reports P&O confirmed about 60 of the 1500 people (4%) on board were taken ill with norovirus as the ship made its way from Sydney to Cairns and back over Christmas. It was the second outbreak of the Pacific Eden's short life - she joined the fleet on November 25 after being purchased and refurbished by P&O. The voyage was beset by drama before it even began, with a gastro outbreak on the previous trip necessitating a full sanitation of the ship and delaying departure by three to four hours. |
Illness outbreak
|
| December 24 |
Veendam Holland America Line |
CDC reports 73 of 1429 passengers (5.11%) and 11 of 588 crew (1.87%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship in San Diego, CA on December 27, 2015 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The cruise began December 20th. |
Illness outbreak
|
| December 24 |
Magic
Disney Cruise Line |
WSVN News reports a Honduran man is behind bars, Thursday, after he was accused of molesting an 11-year-old girl aboard a Disney cruise ship. The incident took place on board the Disney Magic, which set sail from Port Miami on Dec. 18 for a weekend cruise. While on the ship, the girl told her parents that a man, later identified as 31-year-old Juan Manuel Palma Ortega, fondled her three times. Miami-Dade police detained Palma Ortega back at Port Miami, where he allegedly confessed to the crime. He was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor and is being held without bond. He's also being held on an immigration hold, subject to possible deportation. Ortega was ordered no bond in a Miami-Dade courtroom Thursday. |
Child sexual assault |
| December 23 |
Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Northern Advocate reports a 43-year-old man from Tasmania was removed from the ship when it anchored in the Bay last Monday. The man had kicked in the cabin door of his ex-partner and their 10-year-old daughter, who were travelling on the same ship, and he assaulted both. The child was not injured but the woman suffered bruising in the incident, which Mr Symonds said had been fuelled by alcohol. The captain ordered the man off the ship and he was arrested at Waitangi jetty. He was charged with male assaults female and assault on a child. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Kaikohe District Court the next day. He was then deported to Australia after Immigration New Zealand refused him entry into the country. |
Man ejected after domestic violence
|
| December 22 |
Star Pride
WIndstar Cruises |
From a passenger: We have just picked up 109 passenger and crew from another Windstar Cruise Liner in (What I think is) the south end of Costa Rica. The other Windstar ship hit rocks and took on water near the port where people got off. We left our port in an emergency to assist and it took 13 hours to get to them. According to people on that Windstar ship no one was injured which makes us all happy. We are going to be back tracking to get them to the closest airport. The ship we all saw is clearly damaged at it is listing. News sources says that guests were refunded 100 percent of their voyage fare, and they also received a voucher for a future voyage. The cruise ship will be towed to the port of Balboa in Panama for repairs to the hull. Windstar is also reportedly canceling the December 26th voyage. |
Grounded - taking on water, evacuated |
| December 21 |
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
A notice given to passengers states that earlier today an eight year old boy drowned in one of the pools. He was spotted and pulled out of the pool by a guest. The medical team responded but was unable to revive the child. |
Eight-year old boy drowns
|
| December 21 |
Cruise Europa
Minoan Lines |
Maritime News reportsfFire erupted in the galley of the ship during a voyage from Ancona, Italy to Igoumenitsa-Patras, Greece with 781 passengers on board. The fire started in a galley, but the sprinkling fire fighting system stopped its extension and quickly extinguished it. There was slight damage of the ship’s galley during the accident, but no injured people and vessel remained seaworthy. The ship was not significantly delayed. |
Fire
|
| December 20 |
Silhouette
Celebrity Cruises |
From a passenger: Last week a passenger was being lowered 20 feet to the ground at the end of a zip-line excursion. (This occurred in Jamaica on 12/17.) The Zip-line attendant accidentally dropped the passenger those 20 feet onto the jungle floor… resulting in a broken foot. The excursion was made through the ship and so Celebrity had her transferred back to the ship and handled the medical. The foot was cast and she remained on board for the duration of the cruise. |
Injury on shore excursion (zip-line)
|
| December 19 |
Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises |
From a passenger: Left Houston on December 13th for 7 day cruise. Monday night the crew started sanitizing and only one buffet section was open so we suspected something was going on; Tuesday morning there were reports of norovirus outbreak. Not sure the exact number of passengers that fell ill during the week but Friday the number of people still in isolation was about 40 with 16 new cases reported the night before. |
Illness outbreak?
|
| December 16 |
Golden Princess
Princess Cruises |
From a passenger: We were on the Golden Princess returning from a cruise around New Zealand when the ship lost all power (on December 6th). Initially told we were safe but not to use toilets while the power was off we drifted on the ocean half way between Australia and New Zealand for several hours. Gradually the generators were turned on and lights and toilets restored. Although the Captain made lots of announcements we were not told what had caused the outage. Initially quite frightening as we were unsure what had caused it could have ended worse than it did. |
Loss of power for several hours
|
| December 15 |
Fascination
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Action News reports the FBI is investigating an incident that happened on board the Carnival Fascination. Agents boarded the ship as it returned to port Monday morning. The passenger we spoke to said they were in a holding pattern as soon as the FBI started bringing its team on board. The ship had already left the port by Monday night on another cruise. On Monday, the ship returned from a four-day trip to the Bahamas and was met with FBI agents. A passenger on board who did not want to do an interview tells us Sunday, they heard an announcement a couple times asking for “medical staff.” He thinks that call was related to agents boarding the ship Monday. The passenger said one law enforcement officer told them to “please move back” and they had to wait to get off the ship. Former FBI agent and Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said the FBI has to move in quickly to get the evidence they need in the case. |
Crime investigation
|
| December 15 |
Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Sydney Morning Herald reports more than 180 passengers and crew members on a cruise ship that docked in Sydney on Wednesday morning have been struck down with gastro, health authorities say.
Royal Caribbean, the operators of the Explorer of the Seas, notified the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District of the outbreak on board, which affected 182 people. NSW Ambulance paramedics were on standby when the ship docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at The Rocks just before 6am. The Explorer of the Seas cruise ship docked in Sydney this morning. The Explorer of the Seas cruise ship docked in Sydney this morning. None of the passengers were taken to hospital for treatment. The ship, which had left Sydney on December 2 on a 14-night cruise, is due to take on more passengers before leaving Sydney on Wednesday afternoon. NOTE: Illness outbreaks on ships operating from non-US ports are not required to report the number of ill passengers and crew to US authorities. |
Illness outbreak
|
| December 14 |
Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Yahoo Travel reports it probably comes as no surprise that you can get kicked off a cruise for being rowdy or doing something illegal. But you may not know that you can be forced to leave a cruise — in a foreign port, against your will — for getting injured. That’s what happened to Mary Rosenberg of Penn Valley, Calif. Rosenberg says she and her travel companion, a friend from church, were asked to leave the Carnival Imagination just two days into their four-day cruise after Rosenberg suffered a fall. Rosenberg says the two were left helpless in Mexico, charged $1,800 to get back to the United States, and told they would have to eat the fare they’d paid for the unused portion of her cruise. Now, Rosenberg is angry, Carnival is admitting someone screwed up, and we’re getting another lesson in the perils of getting hurt during an international trip. “It was so irresponsible for Carnival to treat us that way,” says Rosenberg. "I’m just appalled at the treatment I got after I got injured on their cruise.“ Ironically, she would have gotten home quicker if she had remained on ship.
The same article links to a story from June in which a 12 year old was offloaded in Mexico after suffering a burst appendix. Again, the child and his mother were offloaded and left to fend for themselves -- the hospital demanded $3,300 in cash before they would begin surgery, saying it could cost more. |
Offloaded in Mexico after minor injury; cruise line admits it was wrong, but won't make it "right"
|
| December 13 |
Saga Sapphire Saga Holidays |
The Daily Mirror reports a female passenger , aged 70, was reported missing by her travelling companion after she went missing in the early hours of Sunday morning, She was travelling aboard the 600-passenger Saga Sapphire cruise ship which is currently on a 35 day cruise from Southampton to the Caribbean for Christmas and New Year. The ship, specializing in holidays for the over 50s, has turned round and is conducting a grid search of the area she went missing in with the maritime authorities. A Saga spokesman said: "During the morning of Sunday 13th December, whilst the Saga Sapphire was crossing the Atlantic, a passenger was reported missing by her travelling companion. |
Pax overboard
|
| December 13 |
Queen Mary II
Cunard Line |
Maritime News reports the ship caught fire in engine room, which caused pod malfunction and loss of propulsion power off Lisbon, Portugal. The crew succeeded to extinguish the fire fast without putting in danger the passengers. However, due to the fire the ship got malfunction in the pod and lost propulsion power, which caused small delay in cruise schedule of Queen Mary 2 and later arriving to Vigo, Spain. During the accident there were no injured people and no water pollution. The ship was not detained for inspection in Lisbon and survey was made after arriving in Vigo, which estimated that there is no problem for seaworthiness and engineering of the vessel. The ship operator Cunard Line will start investigation for the root cause of the fire and following of safety rules on board. |
Fire
|
| December 13 |
Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Otago Daily Times reports a tour of Dunedin came to a grinding halt for a group of cruise ship tourists after their bus ran aground at the weekend. The bus struck trouble while attempting to turn from North Rd into Blacks Rd, in Northeast Valley, shortly before midday on Saturday. It appeared the bus had bottomed out on the corner, becoming stuck fast and forcing passengers to abandon ship - much to the amusement of some residents of the area. Senior Sergeant Craig Brown, of Dunedin, said police were called after reports of the bus ‘‘stuck at the intersection'', and helped with traffic control until the bus was towed free about 2.15pm. |
Tour bus abandoned after running aground |
| December 12 |
Reflection
Celebrity Cruises |
NBC6 reports the ship was given the "all-clear" Saturday after a security threat was found to be not credible, officials say. The cruise line released the following statement: "This morning, Celebrity Reflection received a security threat that appeared to not be credible due to the nature and content of the threat. In an abundance of caution, Reflection immediately implemented safety response procedures and contacted law enforcement authorities. At 2 p.m., Celebrity Reflection received the "all-clear" and resumed boarding. We apologize for any inconvenience that this situation may have caused." |
Not credible security threat
|
| December 12 |
Divina
MSC Cruises |
From a passenger: We were heading to Stirrup Cay (12/5/2015 to 12/12) when the captain said we had to go back to San Juan because a passenger was ill. The floors were so slippery that I wouldn't doubt it was a severe fall. As a result, the stop at Stirrup Cay was replaced with a four hour stop in Nassau. |
Skipped stop at private island
|
| December 9 |
Coral Princess
Princess Cruises |
From a passenger: Two of the dancers were working out and saw two fishermen in life jackets in the water about 195 miles north of Aruba. We turned around and located them and rescued in moderately high seas. Crew did an outstanding job. They had been in the water for two days clinging to their partially submerged fishing vessel. The third fisherman had evidently drowned a day before and was not able to be located. |
Rescue at sea
|
| December 8 |
Zenith Pullmantur Cruise Line |
Cayman 27 reports another cruise ship’s chain and anchor has done significant damage to a coral reef in George Town. It happened Tuesday (8 December) just south of George Town Harbour in between Eden Rock and Don Foster’s Dive Cayman. Don Foster’s dive instructor Scott Prodahl shot video of the Zenith cruise ship’s chain and anchor on the reef. The video shows a large chain rolling over a once-healthy reef. Clouds of dust and silt are stirred up from the chain’s movements. Mr. Prodahl said the damage to the reef was extensive. “It’s a lot bigger than what you see in the video,” said Mr. Prodahl. ”In the video you only see a very small portion of that chain tumbling nut in reality it’s the entire length of it tumbling and scouring across the reef.” Department of Environment Deputy Director Scott Slaybaugh told Cayman 27 he believes based on his information the ship was inside the designated anchorage zone. The damage is in relatively close proximity to the site where the Carnival Magic cruise ship damaged 16,000 square feet of reef in August of 2014. That incident happened outside the designated anchorage zone, yet none of the parties deemed responsible in the DOE’s incident report were ever prosecuted. Those parties were Carnival Cruise Lines, Bodden Shipping Agency, and The Port Authority. |
Anchor damages reef (environmental)
|
| December 7 |
Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: I was on the ship Nov 28 - Dec 5 from galveston. During our sailing when we were docked in Montego Bay, Jamaica (December 1, 2015) there were diesel generator issues that caused electrical problems for about half an hour to an hour. As we were getting off the ship that morning the power went out a few times. Friends who stayed on the ship reported that the power and water were out for half an hour to an hour, but it was restored not too long after the electrical issue that caused by the diesel generator issue was resolved. I attached a photo of the smoke coming from the Freedom while docked in Montego Bay, Jamaica. |
Generator problems
|
| December 7 |
Star Breeze Windstar |
The Saint Maarten Nature Foundation reports they were contacted by the harbor and the Maritime Affairs department requesting them to investigate what appeared to be wastewater being pumped out of a cruise ship at the cruise facilities Saturday morning. It was soon established that due to faulty equipment the wastewater tank overflowed and a significant amount wastewater was entered into the sea. We made an official report and complaint regarding the incident but due to the "unavailability" of the public prosecutor, the Coast Guard issued a warning and the vessel left without a fine. (Note: this is a violation of mandatory standards from the Cruise Lines International Association, however CLIA has never taken action against a ship for such violations.) |
Pollution
|
| December 6 |
Summit
Celebrity Cruises |
BVI News reports the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) said it is still trying to figure out what caused the accident this morning which claimed the lives of two tourists, and resulted in 18 others being treated for injuries. The group of 20 tourists who were traveling in the ill-fated tour bus along the Cane Garden Bay main road when the accident occurred after 11:am, were all passengers on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship, which was docked at the cruise pier in Road Town. “Police are confirming a lone-vehicle traffic collision late this morning involving a tour bus while the bus was descending the Cane Garden Bay Hill. Of the 20 passengers aboard, 18 were taken to Peebles Hospital for treatment (and) two were pronounced dead at the scene,” said Police Information Officer, Dian Drayton in a press release. The release stated that the bus driver did not sustain any injuries. |
2 die on shore excursion
|
| December 6 |
Unnamed |
Cruise Law News reports newspapers in Norway and Germany are reporting that the police in Berlin arrested a cruise ship employee impersonating a cruise ship doctor. In an article titled "Fake Doctor Treated Hundreds of Cruise Passengers," the German newspaper Aftenposten says that a 40 year old man was arrested in Germany after flying from Miami yesterday to join an AIDA cruise ship. He had been working on cruise ships in the Caribbean, after falsifying documents in order to claim that he was a doctor. He was actually educated as a nurse but had he had worked as a ship doctor for five years the newspapers suggest.
AIDA Cruise A German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost.also covered the story and says that the so-called doctor falsely claimed that he specialized in anesthesia and intensive care. Carnival-owned Aida Cruises offered no exploration why it hired someone with no medical school education or credentials. The cruise line obviously did not conduct a thorough pre-employment background check. It also potentially compromised the heath and well-being of hundreds of passengers and crew members. It also raises the issue whether adequate background checks were performed on other cruise employees. The strange thing about the articles is that neither the supposed ship doctor nor the Aida cruise ship where the headed or the ships where had previously worked were identified. |
Fake doctor on cruise ships
|
| December 5 |
Unnamed |
WINN FM reports an n elderly tourist, who wandered out of downtown Basseterre, was robbed by two unarmed men on Friday. WINN FM understands that the 74 year old cruise ship passenger was in the Wade’s Garden area when he was pushed to the ground by two youngsters and robbed of a cell phone. It is not clear if he was injured, nor if anyone was taken into custody in relation to the incident. |
Pax robbed in St. Kitts
|
| December 4 |
Sojourn Seabourn Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports the ship will delay its December 6 sailing from Singapore for a day because of unscheduled maintenance on the ship. In a note sent to passengers, the luxury line said the maintenance would take 36 hours, causing the ship to leave at 8 p.m. Monday, December 7, instead of 4 p.m. December 6. The unexpected overnight in Singapore means the ship will be skipping a call at Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia. |
Delayed (maintenance)
|
| December 4 |
Sky
Norwegian Cruise Line |
CBS Miami reports the all clear has been given after a security scare at PortMiami, which was being blamed on a passenger who boarded the ship without scanning their keycard. In a statement provided by Norwegian Cruise Lines, “At approximately 12:30 pm this afternoon, a guest who had previously cleared a pier-side security checkpoint boarded Norwegian Sky without scanning their keycard. Almost 700 passengers were already on board and had to disembark; the other 1500 or so still arriving were held inside a terminal for up to seven hours. Passenhers were given a $50 credit per cabin. |
Security scare
|
| December 4 |
Mariner of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Courthouse News reports a former crew member claims in court that she was sexually assaulted by a co-worker after she found him having sex with her roommate in her cabin. In a lawsuit filed in the Miami-Dade County, the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, says that on Nov. 10, 2013, after attending a Royal Caribbean's employee birthday party she entered her room to find her roommate having sex with defendant Meugin Fredericks. Doe says she left the room, and when she returned, both her roommate and Fredericks were asleep. She then got into her bed and fell asleep. "The next thing that plaintiff remembers is being awoken by the defendant's hand wrapped around her throat and his other hand ripping off her bra. The defendant then proceeded to sexually assault the plaintiff and perform forced digital penetration," the complaint says. After the sexual assault, Doe claims that she notified the ship's chief of security, and then went to the ship's medical center to have a rape kit performed. She says that the doctor on duty told her that she did not need a rape kit because there had not been penis/vagina penetration. |
Sexual assault (crew on crew)
|
| December 3 |
Brilliance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The Advocate reports Sherry Donegan of Fresno, Calif., had never taken a cruise before when she joined 17 others last month aboard the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas for a six-day vacation. But a comment from an anti-LGBT employee aboard the ship and being relegated to the back of a ballroom certainly didn’t make a good first impression. Donegan is transgender, and her group consisted of trans women, men, and allies. On her second night, a bartender turned her away, telling her, “We don’t serve fags here.” Donegan filed a complaint aboard ship and two days later was told that employee had been fired and put off the ship in Mexico. She told the Reporter she doesn’t believe Royal Caribbean, which recently scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for the second year in a row. And the bartender wasn’t the only problem, she told the paper. The maître d’ seated Donegan and her group in a far corner of the dining room. “A table way, way in back of the room, like we are little kids not being seen," Donegan told the Reporter. |
Discriminatory treatment |
| December 2 |
Grand Princess
Princess Cruises |
Honolulu Star Advertiser reports the ship, which lost power at sea Monday about 20 miles east of Hawaii island, canceled the rest of its Hawaii voyage today and will offer its 2,592 passengers full refunds and airfare to San Franciso. The ship docked Tuesday morning in Honolulu Harbor for repairs. The cruise line canceled the port calls to Nawiliwili and Lahaina in order to return to San Francisco as scheduled on Dec. 10. The vessel was on the fifth day of a 15-day cruise to Hawaii and Mexico. |
Cruise canceled
|
| December 1 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Tribune242 reports a Canadian cruise ship passenger who was reported missing by police was found in “good health. In a press release issued on Tuesday morning, the RBPF said Canadian Samantha Loveridge, 27, was missing.She arrived in New Providence on Sunday and was last seen when she disembarked the cruise ship at Prince George Dock, However, police later reported yesterday evening that Ms Loveridge had missed the boat and was found in “safe company” with a Bahamian man at a home on East Bay Street. |
Pax missing/found ashore
|
| November 30 |
Riviera Oceania Cruises |
CDC reports 74 of 1160 passengers (5.09%) and 12 of 776 crew (1.29%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Three CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship in Miami, FL on December 2, 2015 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The cruise began November 18th. Bermnews reports the ship cancelled its visit as an outbreak on the ship “posed a public health risk to Bermuda.” |
Illness / Canceled port call |
| November 30 |
Grand Princess
Princess Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports a fire broke out in the engine room of the Grand Princess this morning as the Princess cruise ship approached Hilo, Hawaii. The reader cites the Cruise Critic boards as the source of her information: "BAD news first…...about 0530 the captain came on and advised the was a small fire on deck 4 near the engine room…we were losing propulsion and had limited lighting…well that certainly wakes you up! 20 minutes later he advised fire was out but we have limited propulsion and limping onwards to Hilo Hawaii, our first port since leaving SF… GOOD news… we are about 6 miles fro Hilo…" Cruise Critic reports a propulsion circuit breaker in the ship's aft electrical switchboard suffered a “significant failure, resulting in smoke and a small fire. The fire was contained within the switchboard “The call to Hilo has been cancelled in order to proceed to Honolulu where shoreside engineers have been deployed to meet the ship for an on-time arrival at 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, December 1,” Princess Cruises said in a statement. Any further impact to the itinerary will be determined after the technical officers and engineers complete their assessment. |
Fire
|
| November 29 |
Golden Princess
Princess Cruises |
13 News reports the ship is delayed on its return back to Galveston because of fog. It was supposed to return Sunday, but cannot dock at the Bayport Terminal due to heavy fog. Passengers will be forced to stay on board Sunday night. The ship is expected to arrive in port at 7am Monday. |
Delayed by fog
|
| November 27 |
Imagination
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: I was a passenger on the November 15, 2015 sailing from Long Beach.
There were some very rough waves. The doors to the outer decks were closed off and the outside top decks were also closed. I used my leveling app on my phone and we were listing 12 degrees in both directions from the waves. We missed our port of call, Catalina Island, on Monday, Nov. 16 due to 30 foot waves. Many people were running to restrooms throwing up. On the last day of the cruise, a pipe broke to the kid's water park and water poured into the buffet area below it. The buffet area was closed for about 14 hours with the crew cleaning up the water. I saw them cleaning up right after dinner Wednesday night and they were still soaking up water and blow drying carpets the next morning. That afternoon, you could walk on the carpet and still hear the water squish under your shoes. |
12 degree list; missed port / Broken water pipe and water damage
|
| November 27 |
Divina
MSC Cruises |
Travel Mole reports two passengers suffered minor injuries when a freak wave struck the side of MSC Divina as she sailed in the Caribbean. The wave hit the side of the ship at 23:40 local time on Thursday, damaging a small cabin porthole. "One of two Mexican guests staying in the cabin sustained minor abrasions, while an Argentinean guest in another cabin slightly injured a finger when closing a balcony door," said the cruise line. MSC Divina was sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Nassau in the Bahamas when the incident happened. |
Freak wave
|
| November 27 |
Nova Star ferry |
Boston Globe reports the owner of the docked ferry that ran between Maine and Nova Scotia asked a federal court to release the vessel so it can be put to work elsewhere. But a gambling company said the vessel should not be allowed to sail out of Portland Harbor until the company is able to retrieve 70 slot machines onboard. The owners have other parties interested in chartering the vessel, but of course they cannot charter her while she is under arrest. The ferry was seized by US marshals on Oct. 30 because of the outstanding debts of the cruise line. It is docked in Portland. |
Vessel seized
|
| November 26 |
Berkay N (Cargo Ship) |
Yahoo News reports U.S. Coast Guard rescue teams are combing the Atlantic Ocean near Puerto Rico in search of a Chilean man reported missing from a cargo vessel traveling through the region. Coast Guard officials say the missing man was 62, a first engineer. He was last seen about 11 p.m. Wednesday. The crew reported him missing Thursday after he did not show up for his scheduled 4 a.m. assignment. (This is not included on Persons Overboard page.) |
Crew overboard (cargo ship)
|
| November 26 |
Multiple ships |
Latin One reports tourism in Acapulco has been chaotic. It was reported in the local publication that over a thousand businesses as well as 14 schools in the area have closed due to incidents of gang violence. Cruise ships have also ceased operations, as well. |
Canceled port calls
|
| November 24 |
Splendor
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Forwarded by a reader: I have never experienced a violent episode on Carnival. But it does happen. Last night at the restaurant there was a domestic incident where a wife and husband got into it. I had just left the restaurant so didn't witness it. But this morning people that were there were talking to us about it. The wife threw her drink at her husband and he in turned threw one at her. Plates and glasses went flying all over. The kitchen staff and people were running and hiding under tables. Then her 3 brothers beat and stabbed the husband all over. The husband took a plate and cut one of the brothers throat. It took security 20 min to respond. They said the brother died this morning and the rest were locked up last night. So sad what alcohol does to people. Another post states: I know there was some controversy about the violent incident on the Splendor last night. Most of what was written was true. We were at the very next table (it was the 8:15 dinner on the 2nd level at the far end). Two people (at first) were fighting and others got involved. It started with shoving and water being thrown and quickly turned into glasses and plates being thrown. The fight lasted about a minute and a lot of people from 1 (possibly 2) tables jumped in. One of the fighters was left bleeding terribly from his head wound. His white shirt was covered in blood (it was formal night) and I don't know if he made it or not. Security took about 10-15 minutes to get there. People were hiding under the tables and scattering during it. Our table was covered in broken glass and plates, and we were close enough that my brother-in-law had blood on his jacket. I saw that the other thread was deleted. I just wanted to verify that the basis for the story is true. My sister is also in this group and she was at the table as well and can verify this. |
Fight - death?
|
| November 24 |
Queen Mary II
Cunard Line |
Virgin Island News reports a female tourist was pronounced dead on arrival at Peebles Hospital last Friday, November 20, 2015 after attempts to resuscitate her proved futile.
Cruise passenger, Valerie Lyles, 66 years, of New York reportedly experienced difficulties while in the water at Cane Garden Bay. She was subsequently transported by ambulance to the Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Official cause of death is unknown. |
Pax death ashore
|
| November 21 |
Infinity
Celebrity Cruises |
From a passenger: A passenger reports the ship arrived under "Code Red" when it docked at San Diego at the end of the cruise on Friday. EMbarking passenger were notified that boarding would be delayed because of cleaning operations. If others have information about the breaddth of the outbreak, please write. |
Code Red - Illness outbreak?
|
| November 21 |
Golden Princess
Princess Cruises |
Otago Daily Times reports stormy weather forecast for the South Island today has prompted a cruise company to turn around the ship carrying more than 2600 passengers. Passengers on the ship, including about 400 who boarded it in Auckland on Monday and the rest from Australia, were disappointed to hear late yesterday that the ship was turning back to Cook Strait rather than heading to Melbourne via Port Chalmers and Fiordland. A Princess Cruises spokeswoman said an intense depression in the southern Tasman Sea was expected to serve up strong head winds and seas of up to 7.5 m. That had forced calls to Port Chalmers and Fiordland for scenic cruising to be cancelled. Passengers were offered a 30% discount on a future cruise for the missed ports (this does not appear to be consistent with the CLIA Passenger Bill of Rights). |
Skipped port call
|
| November 20 |
Noordam Holland America Line |
The Australian reports Victoria Police's bomb response unit declared Station Pier safe on Friday afternoon after the Spirit of Tasmania and the MS Noordam were evacuated when sniffer dogs responded to a suspicious scent. During the bomb scare, truck drivers who did not want to be named said the suspicious package was in a load of groceries being delivered to the MS Noordam. The groceries were unloaded on a pallet on the docks, and a sniffer dog became alerted by a small box on one of the pallets.
A second dog was brought in to check and it raised an alert for the same box. The load of groceries would have been packed several days ago, the drivers said. "We're just a few of the drivers that drop off the boxes and take the empty ones back," a driver told AAP. "The dogs sniffed it out and that was it ... the siren went off and we evacuated." The Spirit of Tasmania and the MS Noordam were due to depart at 5.30pm before the evacuation was ordered. |
Bomb scare
|
| November 18 |
Le Boreal
Ponant |
Travel Weekly reports hundreds of passengers have been evacuated from a luxury cruise ship in the South Atlantic after a fire broke out in the engine room. The ship issued a distress call just after 2am local time near Cape Dolphin, to the north of the Falkland Islands. 347 passengers and crew were picked up by Ponant vessel L’Austral which happened to be in the vicinity (The Telegraph reports the involvement of the Royal Air Force and Navy inrescuing passengers from lifeboats/rafts). There were no injuries. They were being taken to the Falklands capital of Port Stanley and the Antarctic cruise has been cancelled. Ponant confirmed that Le Boréal suffered from “a fire of a technical nature” which broke out in a compartment of the engine room. |
Fire - evacuation
|
| November 17 |
Ro-Ro Ferry (Indonesia) |
Vessel Finder reports the ro-ro ferry KM Wihan Sejahtera sank in Lamong Bay, Surabaya in Indonesia on Monday, November 16. After the vessel suffered what was believed to be a collision, and started listing, the passengers rushed to save their lives by climbing down the side of the vessel. All passengers and crew evacuated without injury. |
Collision - Sinks
|
| November 16 |
Ocean Endeavor Quark Expeditions |
Cruise Critic reports the ship sustained damage from ice in Antarctica, forcing the line to cancel the vessel's next sailing. There were no passenger or crew injuries during the incident, which occurred near the South Shetland Islands at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The vessel is carrying 167 passengers from 24 countries; all of them remain safely onboard. Debarkation is taking place today in Ushuaia, Argentina, at the regularly scheduled time, the line said in a statement. While the ship master performed temporary repairs to ensure the vessel's safe passage north, Ocean Endeavour will need to undergo repairs and a Maritime Authority inspection. That means the line has canceled the ship's next sailing. Passengers booked on the sailing are being given a full refund, and the company will also cover flight costs not reimbursed by travel insurance, up to $500 per person. |
Damage from ice - cruise canceled
|
| November 12 |
Star Princess
Princess Cruises |
Daily Breeze reports hundreds of passengers waiting to disembark the Star Princess cruise ship were delayed Thursday in San Pedro because of a glitch in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection computer system. About 70 percent of the 2,600 passengers were able to leave the ship before noon, but others encountered a two-hour delay, officials said. The ship returned Thursday morning from a four-day cruise to Vancouver and Victoria in Canada. During the problem, the disembarkation process was handled manually, which took extra time. |
Computer glitch delays disembarkation
|
| November 12 |
Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Miami Herald reports the US Coast Guard was searching for a 24 year old woman from Charleston who went overboard from a cruise ship Thursday evening off the coast of Cuba. The woman fell from the deck of the Norwegian Pearl about 22 nautical miles off the coast of Cuba, the Coast Guard said. Crew members reported the passenger overboard to the Coast Guard at around 7 p.m.The trip was a chartered cruise, and both the ship and charter company are providing support to the family and guests. The incident apparently took place during Mad Decent Boat Party, a popular EDM concert series that is being held onboard the Pearl. TMZ says It's unclear if the woman jumped or fell. |
Pax overboard
|
| November 12 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Jamaica Observer reports police are trying to find an American woman who went missing Wednesday after disembarking a cruise ship in Trelawny. She is 38-year-old Latrice Graham of Lauderhill, Florida in the United States of America (USA). About 10:10 am, Graham was seen disembarking the vessel for an undisclosed location dressed in a white sleeveless blouse and black pants. She has not been heard from since. |
Pax disappears onshore
|
| November 11 |
Royal Princess
Princess Cruises |
CBC reports a retired couple from Toronto says cruise ship staff mishandled a serious medical emergency at sea that left the two in St. John's for 46 days and delayed care for the man, who had suffered a brain aneurysm. The man had collapsed in the shower and he was rushed to the medical centre on board, suspecting bleeding in his brain. He was kept overnight. His wife, meanwhile, was told to pack the couple's bags in advance of
disembarking. She thought she and her husband would be whisked off the ship to a local hospital, but that rush never happened. The ship docked in the St. John's harbour around 8 a.m. and instead of getting off first, she and her husband had to wait until other passengers disembarked. They were finally allowed to get off at 10AM -- There was no wheelchair to help or any ambulance waiting. They were sent by taxi to the hospital, but to the wrong hospital for the man's condition. |
Mishandled a medical emergency
|
| November 10 |
Pride
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: Carnival Pride 31 Oct to 8 Nov, Baltimore to Bahamas. Ship lost cabin water a few times on 1 Nov, came back on and was brown before clearing.
Ship had bad vibration at 16 knots, just learned she went aground prior to my cruise (see Oct 30 below). |
Aground on previous cruise?
|
| November 9 |
Opera
MSC Cruises |
Il Giornale de Vicenza reports a 75 year old woman has disappeared into thin air. They searched his cabin, but there was not. They have extended the research to the entire ship: still nothing. Behind the disturbing story the specter of a disease. What could have prompted the pensioner to take a dramatic decision, as they would portend three letters left at home before leaving on a cruise. The alarm went off at 9.15 am yesterday when the group of Vicenza, who had participated in the organized trip, landed in Genoa. Rossato was dropped along with the rest of the party. The last time she was seen at dinner the night before. Her absence was reported to ground staff of MSC Cruises, who asked colleagues on board the ship to go and call. The cabin of the woman, however, was empty. |
Pax missing - presumed overboard
|
| November 8 |
Louis-Jolliet AML Cruises |
Montreal Gazette reports about 7,500 litres of diesel fuel have leaked into the St. Lawrence River from a cruise ship docked in Quebec City. Clean-up teams have set up booms to further contain the oil, and are using special machinery to pump it out of the water. They could not pinpoint the cause of the leak and said it was too early to say whether fines would be eventually levied on the owner for negligence |
Environmental
- fuel leak |
| November 8 |
Star Breeze
Windstar |
Il Tirreno reports a 43 year old Amreican woman went overboard when the ship was between Civitivecchia and Portoferraio. The woman was rescued alive after an hour in the water. She was traveling with her boyfriend and a group of friends.One account suggests that she has an argument before she went into the water, The Master of the cruise ship mentioned that the woman consumed alcohol before she went overboard. |
Passenger overboard - rescued alive
|
| November 7 |
Unnamed |
Sydney Morning Herald reports three men have been arrested after allegedly trying to import 20 kilograms of cocaine into Sydney on a cruise ship. The US nationals, two aged 49 and one a 61-year-old, were arrested when the ship arrived in Sydney Harbour on Friday. They were expected to face court on Saturday charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine after a joint operation between Australian, US and New Zealand police, customs and homeland security officers. |
Drug bust
|
| November 6 |
Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: Sailing 31st Oct 2015 from Hong Kong to Singapore, major engine/shaft vibration problems on this vessel, worst ever encountered. Day two – three into cruise, weather was bad and we couldn’t dock in Taiwan, so thought the vibrations were due to the sea conditions, well, today day four, 3rd November, the sea is calm and the sun is out, but the ship, cabin and the bed is shaking, there sure is something wrong with this ship. We have been on the LS before and don’t remember this. It sure will be the last time we sail on this ship. We have a cabin on the 8th floor stern, area of the ship where we always book. That bad it has been affecting our sleep, headaches due to the ship vibration. The vibrations were bad enough to make drinks slosh on the top deck in the rear. Spoke with others on the ship and similar comments from them also. Spoke with guest relations this morning and they say that they are going full speed to get to Manila tonight for 6pm, but when asked are we getting off, they say no just to let immigration onboard tonight and process the passports (rather than the morning for when we should arrive!) So all this passenger discomfort so that they can get passports cleared, it just doesn’t make reasonably sense. |
Bad vibrations - missed port
|
| November 6 |
Unknown
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Naples Daily News reports a 51 year old Gulf Coast High School teacher was on a trip aboard a Carnival Cruise Lines ship when she died. In a statement, the company said she died Tuesday during a snorkeling excursion in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. The cause of death has not been released. |
Death on shore excursion (snorkeling)
|
| November 6 |
Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a reader: Friends on board state it has not departed as of 9:20 pm due to concerns with Legionella on board. Crew chlorinating the ship, conflicting messages from RC |
Delayed departure - health issues?
|
| November 6 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
USA Today reports the U.S. Coast guard was searching the Caribbean northeast of the Bahamas Friday for a 35-year-old Brazilian man who the Royal Caribbean cruise line said jumped from the Oasis of the Seas during the night. Royal Caribbean said the man, who was not identified, was spotted by the ship's crew "intentionally going over the side of the ship" about 17 miles east of the Turks and Caicos islands. It did not elaborate. The Coast Guard said the man, who was reported missing at 1 a.m., was last seen wearing a pink shirt and white shorts. Video taken by a passenger shows him holding on to a ledge near the life raft before falling into the water, Miami's WPLG-TV reports. "Our report was that he jumped on to a lifeboat and subsequently fell into the water, but regardless of how he ended up in the water we're concerned right now about just finding him," said Petty Officer Mark Barney of the U.S. Coast Guard, according to WPLG. The man was repor tedly intoxicated. (See video here) WSVN News reports indicate the man overboard and his husband Eric were on board the Royal Caribbean ship to celebrate Eric's birthday when, attorney Mike Winkleman said, things took a turn for the worse. "There were crew members that made anti-gay remarks against this legally married gay couple, including saying things like, 'Hi, Lipstick,' and repeatedly saying it over and over to them," Winkleman said. Advocate reports Royal Caribbean denied there was a physical altercation and claimed Albaz intentionally jumped over the side of the ship. “Our onboard security team responded to the guest's stateroom after a neighboring guest complained about a domestic dispute on the guest's balcony,” the company said in a statement. “Our staff did not have a physical altercation with the guest and were unable to prevent his jumping from the stateroom balcony.” However, the attorney for the Albaz family, says what happened was “not a suicide” and “Bernardo did not jump.” "Bernardo ended up getting in a huge altercation and ended up in his cabin where he is furious and ultimately Royal Caribbean security came to the scene," Winkleman told NBC Miami. "As a result of the altercation in his cabin Bernardo falls off his balcony onto the life boat area." |
Passenger overboard
|
| November 5 |
Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Cruise Law News reports a fire occurred on the third night of the cruise around 8 PM. The Captain announced there was a fire and they were trying to contain it and not to be alarmed at the black smoke coming from the ship's stacks. "We also heard from one of the crew's walkie talkies that they called for a medical team twice. About 2 1/2 hour later, around 10:30 PM we were told we could proceed back to our aft cabin, and were also told the A/C was shut down because of the smoke and would take a while before they could restart it for many of the cabins. Also, there was a very heavy smell of diesel fuel in the hallways and in our Suite." Fairplay (an industry trade magazie) recently published an article about the "continuing string of cruise ship engine room fires" aboard: (1) Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas (October) while sailing to Greece (2) Carnival Liberty (September) while at dock in St Thomas (3) Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas (July) before it arrived in Falmouth, Jamaica (4) P&O’s Oriana (April) after leaving Miami, Florida (5) Fred Olsen’s Boudicca (January) Casablanca, Morocco (6) Oceania Cruises’ Insignia St. Lucia (December). |
Fire
|
| November 4 |
Rotterdam Holland America Line |
From a passenger: On October 30, 2015, the ship cancelled its visit to Istanbul scheduled for Nov 3 & 4. This last minute adjustment upset passengers due to disembark at Istanbul. The change was justified by possible unrest after the Turkish elections. Note that Celebrity cancelled overnight Istanbul visits September 7.
Cannot find mention of this diversion on any other web sites. |
Canceled overnight port call
|
| October 31 |
Holland America Line |
KREM reports a Seattle jury awarded a Springfield, Illinois, man $21.5 million in lawsuit settlement after the man suffered a mild traumatic brain injury when he was hit by an automatic sliding door on board a Holland America Line cruise. James Hausman is a successful businessman who was on an eight-month cruise around the world with his wife and daughter. On November 26, 2011, in the South Pacific around the equator, Hausman walked out to the pool when an automatic sliding door opened and he was struck in the side of the head. Doctors diagnosed him with a mild traumatic brain injury and post concussive syndrome. Hausman's wife Carol said he now has problems with dizziness and fatigue. |
Judgement in lawsuit
|
| October 30 |
Pride
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: On October 28, 2015 the Carnival Pride got stuck on a sandbar while heading to the Bermuda Kings Wharf. Tugboats were used to free the ship and it proceeded to complete a successful docking procedure. |
Aground
|
| October 30 |
Unspecified
Royal Caribbean International |
NBC Los Angeles reports on a woman's mother dying while on a cruise, but instead of compassion from the cruise line, she says what her family got was a $6,000 credit card bill and a fight with the cruise line trying to resolve medical expenses for her mother’s death. "My parents were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and they were going on a cruise with Royal Caribbean," she recalled, noting how much her parents loved vacationing at sea. While cruising through the Caribbean, though, the couple’s anniversary trip ended tragically. “My mother had a medical emergency that she ultimately did not live through,” Smith said. Devastated, Smith’s grieving was compounded by anger when just a few weeks after her mother’s death, her father received charges on his credit card for $6,000 in medical expenses. “We weren’t trying to not pay for these services,” Smith said. “We just wanted to pay through a reasonable channel, which would be health insurance.” But the cruise line refused to wait for insurance to pay the long list of medical expenses. “The ship increased speed in order to reach San Juan eight hours ahead of schedule, this cost many thousands of dollars which we did not pass on to you,” a representative wrote. The billed charges pushed the couple’s card over the limit, and the credit card company — BBVA — closed the account and sent it to collections. “They put people after profit,” Smith said. “I wonder how often this happens and I think people should know what they’re getting themselves into when they plan a dream vacation.” The NBC4 I-Team reached out to Royal Caribbean repeatedly. While never responding to the inquiries, Smith said the company eventually agreed to reverse all medical charges. Also contacted by the I-Team, BBVA assured NBC4 that “all collection efforts” were “discontinued,” and there would be “no negative impact on credit.” BBVA also sent the widower a $1,500 gift card. |
Corporate insensitivity after pax dies
|
| October 30 |
Azura
P&O
Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports the ship's embarkation has been delayed in Southampton due to a Norovirus outbreak onboard; itis being deep cleaned today (October 30) and passengers are being asked to arrive five hours later than planned, with the ship setting sail at 8.30 p.m. (GMT) tonight. A statement posted to the line's Facebook page yesterday (October 29) states: passengers should be aware that there has been an increase in gastrointestinal illness on board caused by Norovirus; as a result, embarkation will be starting 5 hours later than originally planned. |
Illness
|
| October 29 |
Asuka II
NYK Cruises |
Manila Bulletin reports a Filipina seafarer allegedly raped while onboard a foreign cruise ship earlier this year is seeking justice in Tokyo, Japan by filing $200,000 in compensatory damage. Atty. Pedro Linsangan of the Free Legal Assistance for Seafarers said that the 23-year-old who hails from Passi City, Iloilo province has filed a civil suit after Filipino law enforcement agencies failed in helping her file criminal charges as the alleged rape was committed on high seas.
Along with Tokyo-based lawyers Linsangan filed the $200,000 civil suit against NYK Cruises Company Limited, owner of cruise ship MS Asuka II. Juliet (not her real name) was allegedly raped last February 8, 2015 while onboard MS Asuka II, which was sailing from Saipan to Australia. |
Sexual assault (crew on crew)
|
| October 25 |
Multiple ships |
Cruise Critic reports there were delays disembarking and embarking given weather issues in Galveston. |
Delays because of fog and wind |
| October 25 |
MSC Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports a Brazilian labor court ordered the payment of fines, wages, overtime and "moral damages" to eleven (11) crew of the MSC Magnifica after finding that they had been subjected to working conditions similar to "slaves." You can read the order here. According to Defonsoria Publica Da Uniao, in 2014 eleven crew members were "rescued" from the MSC cruise ship and alleged to have been forced to work up to 16 hours a day and were subjected to abuse and sexual harassment. We wrote about these allegations in April of 2014. The testimony of a number of crew members was taken and indicated that other Brazilian crew members reaffirmed what was described as "appalling" working conditions on the MSC cruise ship. In a blockbuster order, the labor court determined that crew members during contracts between eight to 12 months duration, the MSC crew members were required to work excessive hours and were mistreated. In addition to suffering intense bullying, the stewards and waiters had to work excessive daily hours (13-16 hours a day) without the right to adequate rest. One Brazilian newspaper explained the plight of a MSC room steward from São Paulo who was bullied. Even working up to 18 hours straight, the crew member was called "lazy and a slut." The labor court awarded R$ 330,000 to the eleven crew members. |
Convicted of treating workers like slaves
|
| October 24 |
Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Canberra Times reports Royal Caribbean said that following the eight night sailing, the ship and terminal underwent an "enhanced cleaning and sanitisation", and that relevant health authorities were alerted. She said of 2661 total passengers, 1802 guests and 859 crew, 175 reported feeling sick. While at sea, the cruise asks anyone with symptoms to advise staff on the ship as soon as possible. "As well, all new guests embarking receive a letter at boarding that asks them to advise if they have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days – it is very important that guests advise us of any illness," she said. |
Illness outbreak
|
| October 24 |
Costa Diadema
Costa Cruises |
Primo Canale reports a 50 year-old Honduran cleaner aboard the ship is charged with sexual assault against a fifteen year old, which occurred in the cabin of the latter. The incident occured in the early afternoon yesterday, when the cruise ship was moored at the terminal break. The girl, who was traveling with her aunt and uncle, returned to her cabin and was followed by the crew member. She was able to break free and escape after he moilested her. She told her uncle who in turn reported the incident to the ship's captain, who immediately turned to the Border Police. NOTE: A young passenger was raped by a bartender on this ship on August 29th of this year (see below). |
Sexual assault of minor
|
| October 22 |
Splendour of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
WSB-TV reports consumer advocate Clark Howard, who can be seen on WSB-TV is on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas on a 7-night trip from Italy. Clark says the fire started early Thursday morning in one of the ship’s engine rooms while they were about 20 miles off the coast of Greece. Using a WSB cellphone app, Howard was able to update his colleagues back in the newsroom — all while sailing in the Adriatic Sea. “We had a severe engine fire that lasted just under two hours,” Howard said in the voice recording. “Now we’re moving on less than half power.” In an interview with Channel 2’s Fred Blankenship via Skype, Howard said the passengers were awoken by alarms and announcements alerting everyone to the emergency. Clark said two floors of the ship were evacuated because the “smoke was choking.” He added the smell throughout the ship was “intensely gross.” No injuries were reported from the fire but Clark said the ship was operating on minimal power. He said they should arrive in Italy on Saturday. Twenty-one people were treated for smoke inhalation. |
Fire - reduced power
|
| October 20 |
Sensation
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Tribune242 reports a cruise passenger was struck by a garbage truck and dragged several feet while attempting to cross the street, yesterday afternoon. The accident happened shortly after 2pm on Baha Mar Boulevard. Superintendent Craig Stubbs, officer in charge of the Traffic Division, said the garbage truck lost control and collided with a vehicle before striking the visitor. The Tribune understands the victim is a Canadian resident who was travelling with his family on board a cruise ship, the Carnival Sensation. He was on an island tour at the time of his death. |
Death ashore
|
| October 20 |
Unknown |
Associated Press reports a 56-year-old cruise ship passenger from New Mexico has died after falling from a zip line in Puerto Rico, police said Tuesday, prompting calls for greater oversight of adventure tours in the U.S. territory. Police said Marsha Boekeloo fell 20 feet (6 meters) from the line at the Hacienda Campo Rico just east of the capital of San Juan. The death occurred Oct. 15, but police released information on it for the first time Tuesday. |
Death on shorex (zipline)
|
| October 19 |
Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises |
Korea Herald reports over a dozen Chinese tourists disappeared during a sightseeing tour in the southern city of Busan, with the purpose remaining mysterious, police said Monday. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said 13 Chinese visitors -- including seven men -- ran away while traveling to tourist spots in Busan on Sunday. They disembarked in the morning for a day trip in Korea. “They gradually disappeared in small groups of two or three,” the tour guide was quoted as saying by the police. While stepping up the stops and searches on foreigners in the city and analyzing the surveillance camera footage, the authorities are probing chances that the missing tourists may be visiting here for crimes, the police said. “The Chinese tourists taking the Sapphire Princess cruise are usually from high-income groups. It’s unlikely that they disappeared for the purpose of overstaying,” travel agency sources said. |
Pax "disappear" ashore
|
| Octiober 17 |
Adventure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The ship failed its santitation inspection with a score of 84 (a score of 85 or below is unsatisfactory). |
Failed health inspection
|
| October 17 |
Star
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Cruise Law News reports Passengers aboard NCL's Norwegian Star are telling me that the ship's azipod system has failed. The cruise ship is skipping Miami today and is heading for Tampa one day early. One passenger said that the next cruise is reportedly canceled. (The cancellation of the next cruise is not confirmed information. Please double check this information with your travel agents or the cruise line). This ship experienced propulsion problems earlier this year which were supposedly fixed while in dry dock. UPDATE: The two subsequent cruises operated as scheduled. |
Azipod failure
|
| October 17 |
Silhouette
Celebrity Cruises |
From a reader: The ship has canceled port calls at Ashdod (Jerusalem) and Haifa because of increased violence in Israel. |
Port calls at Israel concelled
|
| October 14 |
Crown Princess
Princess Cruises |
Variety reports the ship lost power for 25 minutes during a performance while docked at Long Beach. On Oct. 10, Princess Cruises unveiled the first of several original collaborations with Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning composer Stephen Schwartz, “Magic to Do.” The show, a showcase of the cruise line’s new direction into original, bespoke live shipboard entertainment, on the Crown Princess, docked at the Port of Los Angeles, combined songs from Schwartz’s catalog and stagecraft. the show was hit with some technical difficulties – the power on the ship went out for about 25 minutes. |
Power loss
|
| October 13 |
Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports the ship has developed a problem with its propulsion system, forcing it to reduce its cruising speed. As a result, the Spirit will be delayed arriving in Sydney on Wednesday, and will arrive at approximately 3:00 PM. According to Carnival, the cruise ship obviously needs to disembark its current passengers.So check-in for the next cruise is delayed and will not begin until 6:30 P.M. The ship will not sail until midnight. Carnival plans to send "technicians" to meet the ship when it returns to port "to make the necessary repairs." Carnival plans to operate its current scheduled itinerary. Carnival is giving the boarding guests a 100.00 AUD per person credit to their Sail & Sign accounts. |
Propulsion problems
|
| October 10 |
Ventura
P&O
Cruises |
BBC reports rescue teams have called off a search for a passenger who is reported to havegone overboard from a cruise ship off the Isle of Wight. The man is believed to have goneoverboard at about 04:30 BST as the ship was returning to Southampton from the Mediterranean. An air and sea search by the RNLI, coastguard and other vessels was carried out for almost 12 hours. The ship retraced its route for several hours to aid the search. Vessels in the area are being asked to maintain a look out for the missing man, the coastguard said. |
Passenger overboard
|
| October 9 |
Super Star Gemini
Star Cruises |
A passenger reports that his brother (a 30 year old Indian businessman) went missing on October 7th aboard the cruise. The brother was last seen at 11:45PM on October 6th. According to the brother, the cruise line told him that his "brother fell from room's balcony at around 12.22 am (7th oct). however they are unwilling to show us any cctv video footage in which they claim they have seen that my brother fall from the cabin...i believe they are hiding facts or there is some foulplay." The incident was subsequently reported in the India Times. The Times of India subsequently reported (October 16) the cruise line have agreed to show the video footage of the ill-fated night when Raj Kumar Agarwal was suspected to have gone overboard. The article discusses inconsistencies suggesting the disappearance is not so clear. |
Passenger overboard
|
| October 9 |
Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Western Australia Today reports a potential Australian passenger mutiny is simmering aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship currently steaming through the Malacca Straits en route to Phuket, Thailand. Passengers are enraged by what they believe is duplicitous behaviour by the captain and have suggested that he might "walk the plank" before the ship docks in Singapore in four days. An angry email was received from one of the passengers who claimed the Royal Caribbean and ship's captain deceived them about a scheduled stop in Broome. Instead, they stopped at Port Hedland, the highlight of which they said, was a bus trip to the local Woolworths. "Garry" said that like many of his fellow passengers, he booked the cruise as it included the iconic Australian destination of Broome. "It was to be the highlight of the cruise for most of the passengers," he said. After they boarded on September 27, Garry said passengers were told the ship would now not visit Broome, but would instead dock at the less picturesque mining hub of Port Hedland. The descent in relations between a core of 400 passengers and the ship's captain and senior crew really began two days later when they demanded the captain address them as to why the ship wasn't stopping in Broome. Garry said the captain refused. The official reason for the switch was that due to the Blood Moon and a nine-metre tide the ship would be unable to dock safely in Broome. Garry said passengers were "pretty enraged" and it was pointed out to Royal Caribbean staff they must have known well in advance of the ship's arrival in Broome. The disgruntled passengers were apparently then told the cancellation happened on September 25 and all passengers were notified by email. "I certainly wasn't notified by email and nor was any other passenger I have spoken to," Garry said. "One passenger rang the Broome harbourmaster who said they were told the ship would not be coming to Broome as far back as September 22." |
Skipped port - Pax mutiny?
|
| October 8 |
Carnival Breeze
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Crew Center reports a huge fight broke out onboard Carnival Breeze among female passengers waiting in line for burgers. The incident happen in front of Carnivals 'Guy's Burger Joint' when three female passengers confronted another female passenger and started kicking her. Shortly after the friends and relatives stopped the brawl. Passengers witnessing the attack were shocked by the fight while one group of passengers instantly took out their smartphones to record the fight. |
Fight between pax waiting for burgers
|
| October 8 |
Un-named |
Greek Reporter reports Santorini has been shocked by a tragedy that occurred in Fira, when a donkey accidentally caused the death of 67-year-old German tourist who was enjoying a cruise in the Aegean. The unbelievable accident occurred on Wednesday, October 7, after the cruise ship anchored at the old port of Fira. The German tourist and her husband disembarked along with two friends and went on a walk around the town center, only a few hours before the ship was set to leave for Mykonos. The two couples were enjoying their walk, when suddenly a donkey, used by tourists to navigate around the island, freed itself from its owner and ran away. At first, the animal hit the 67-year-old woman and then trampled her while its owner was frantically running behind it trying to subdue the animal. The husband of the 67-year-old tourist is in disbelief of what has happened. One day earlier he had been celebrating his wife’s birthday, and now he is left alone. |
Death ashore
|
| October 4 |
Star Princess
Princess Cruises |
CBC reports atleast one norovirus-stricken Star Princess passenger flew home from Hawaii after getting seriously ill on a dream cruise that stopped for cleaning in Vancouver. "We've stopped at four ports and every day there was people being taken off with the ambulances and stuff," said passenger Chuck Woodcock from Seattle. The cruise ship docked in the early morning of Oct. 4 in Vancouver after completing a 15-day Hawaiian cruise. The number ill is reported to be 80. |
Illness
|
| October 1 |
Summit
Celebrity Cruises |
Cape Breton Post reports the ship was set to dock in Sydney, NS at 8 a.m. and remain until 4 p.m. but has cancelled that visit because of wet and windy weather. |
Canceled port call
|
| October 1 |
Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line |
WLBZ-TV reports the weather in Bar Harbor became so rough Wednesday afternoon that it kept one scheduled cruise ship from coming in to port, and almost kept another from leaving. That cruise ship had to stop shuttling ship passengers to and from shore this afternoon when waves grew up to 6 feet. That cruise ship was able to depart as scheduled around 5 when the wind and rain died down and the fog cleared. |
Canceled port call - weather related
|
| September 30 |
Diamond Princess
Princess Cruises |
Otago Daily Times reports the cancellation of Dunedin's first cruise ship of the season has disappointed tour operators, and hit them hard in the pocket. The Diamond Princess was to have been the first of 70 ships for the season expected to pump millions into the city economy. But it cancelled its visit yesterday afternoon, appparently because of expected bad weather. Dunedin Railways chief executive Murray Bond said his company had expected to carry 650 people on trips to the Taieri Gorge, and to Waitati.'' Mr Bond said income lost would be about $70,000. Passengers had called the company from the ship to cancel and said they were told on board ''the weather's no good'' But the forecast for Dunedin was ''brilliant weather'', Mr Bond said, although gale force winds were forecast for the east coast on Sunday. ''To drop Dunedin out is weird, because if they depart Dunedin at 6pm on Saturday night, which they're supposed to, they'd be well ahead of any Sunday storms.'' |
Canceled port call
|
| September 28 |
Getaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Virgin Island Daily News reports the U.S. Coast Guard is now investigating the death of a 60-year-old tourist who drowned earlier this month during an excursion on Blackbeard's Revenge. John Joseph Russo of Tennessee, who was traveling on the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship with his girlfriend, Jill Pires, died Sept. 15 after diving from the boat anchored in Frenchman Bay, according to the V.I. Police Department. According to Pires, 59, an autopsy report showed Russo died of a broken neck. Pires said Russo dove in headfirst before she did, but because she did not have her glasses on, she did not realize the person swimming in front of her was not Russo until reaching the shore. |
Death on shore excursion (swimmig)
|
| September 28 |
Star
Norwegian Cruise Line |
West Briton reports heavy swell in Falmouth Bay meant that the cruise ship decided not to risk docking and headed on to its next destination. Irthad been expected to arrive in Falmouth early on Monday morning but made a late decision to continue its journey onto the next port. |
Skipped port call
|
| September 24 |
Magnifica
MSC Cruises |
The Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente E Dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) (IBAMA) levied a fine of R$ 2.505 million (US$635K) against MSC Cruises for dumping garbage bags during a cruise between Madeira Island and the Port of Recife. The complaint was made by one of the ship's passengers on board during the trip held between November 26 to December 10, 2013. The complaint was registered with the Public Ministry of Paraná. After analysis of the material was found that there were testimonial and documentary evidence of irregularities carried out by the ship. |
Fine for dumping garbage bags overboard
|
| September 21 |
Breakaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Royal Gazette reports a crew member has been remanded into custody after he denied conspiring to import cannabis and possessing the drugs with intent to supply. Appearing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Lindel Primus, 30, pleaded not guilty to conspiring to import 1,898.5 grams of the controlled drug into Bermuda between a date unknown and September 16. The Grenada national also denied possessing the drugs with intent to supply on September 16. Prosecutor Nicole Smith told the court that the drugs would have had a street value of $94,925. |
Drug bust
|
| September 19 |
Breakaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Royal Gazette reports a female visitor was yesterday in a serious condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit after running into difficulties while swimming. According to a police spokesman, first responders attended a report of a near drowning of a 71-year-old woman, a passenger on the Norwegian Breakaway, at 10.16am. “It appears that the women was swimming at the Snorkel Park in Dockyard when she ran into difficulties and called out for help,” the spokesman said. The victim was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance where she was listed as being in a serious condition in the intensive care unit. It comes after 56-year-old Stephen Sakman, who was a passenger on the same cruise ship, died while snorkelling near Hawkins Island on Wednesday. |
Deaths onshore (swimming & snorkeling)
|
| September 17 |
Carnival Pride
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports several people say that a fire occurred in the engine room of engine no. 1 last night. One passenger described the fire as involving an explosion of the engine. The fire was extinguished and the Pride was delayed arriving at the next port (Half Moon Cay) today. One passenger sent photographs of a fireman in a hallway and passengers on deck. Cruise Hive reports Carnival said: At approximately 1.15am this morning, the Carnival Pride experienced a mechanical failure of one of its diesel generators which triggered the automated fire suppression system. CCTV footage has confirmed that there was not an actual fire, only smoke. At no time did the ship lose power and the vessel is currently continuing on its itinerary which involves a seven-day cruise from Baltimore that departed Sunday. |
Fire
|
| September 12 |
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Primerahora reports a 26-year-old citizen of Zimbabwe and casino employee had sexually assaulted a female crew member at about 4:00 am Sex Crimes Division of Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) of San Juan discontinued the investigation that began this morning related to a complaint of an alleged violation occurring within the Carnival Liberty cruise ship, anchored at one of the piers of Old San John. The commander Jasmine Perez, director of the CIC of San Juan, said the Australian woman who was listed as impaired in the case, said she had no interest in it going forward with the investigation and that, after several interviews with ship personnel and passengers that might know of the situation, officials closed the case. See also 9News.AU |
Sexual assault - crew on crew |
|
Sexual assault (Crew on crew)
| September 12 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: We just returned from our 7 day Oasis of the seas cruise. There was a rumor that a man died of a heart attack on the running track. I can confirm we heard an emergency call for help to report to the running track and we were met by ambulences without sirens when we arrived in St. Thomas. Also, when boarding several people were given papers about gastrointestial issues on the previous cruise and to be sure to wash. We however we were not notified?? Once on board, several people we met in passing said 1 or more family members we quarantined. Thank goodness we all were fine and hand santized every time we walk by a station! |
?Illness? |
| September 11 |
Seabourn Quest Seabourn Cruises |
WCVB reports the body of a woman who fell off a cruise ship off Cape Ann Friday night has been recovered, according to the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said it received word of a woman falling overboard about 10 miles off the coast around 7 p.m. Several search and rescue teams responded and searched the area. Around 8:30 p.m., the Rockport Harbormaster, with emergency medical service personnel on board, recovered the woman's body. The ship had left Boston that afternoon and was bound for Bar Harbor, Maine. UPDATE 19 September: The FBI has released the woman's age (59) but because of an ongoing investigation it is releasing no further details. Update October 14: Gloucester Times reports more than a month later, the death certificate filed with the Rockport town clerk’s office notes only that the cause of death is still “pending.” |
Passenger overboard |
| September 8 |
Multiple ships |
Cruise Critic reports cruise lines that are scheduled to stop at Lesbos, a Greek island where thousands of migrants and refugees have arrived, have changed their itineraries. On Sunday, Regent Seven Seas altered the itinerary for Seven Seas Mariner, replacing a call at Mytilene with a day at sea. Oceania's Riviera, which was also scheduled to stop today at Lesbos, replaced the port visit with Kavala, Greece. Silversea has also rescheduled its Lesbos stop for September 26. Silver Spirit will stop in Myrina, Lemnos, instead. |
Itinerary changes as Lesbos skipped |
| September 7 |
Carnival Breeze
Carnival Cruise Lines |
A poster at Cruise Critic reports there was a man overboard as the ship sailed towards Jamaica. The ship stopped and had to turn around. The passenger just reported on Facebook that the Captain just announced life boat has rescued him and is alive! The 30-35 yaer old man was reportedly heavily intoxicated. |
Passenger overboard - rescued alive |
| September 7 |
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines |
NBC News reports a fire broke out in one of the ship's engine rooms. No one was injured in the fire, which sparked while the ship was docked on the Island of St. Thomas. The cause of the fire, which was extinguished by the boat's automated fire extinguishing system, was under investigation. All guests were evacuated to shore during the fire. UPDATE, Sept 9th: The ship is still in St. Thomas, awaiting repairs, and passengers have been shifted to hotels. Carnival said passengers will get a full refund as well as be offered a 50 percent discount on a future cruise. Carnival said a team of experts, including U.S. Coast Guard representatives, had boarded to assess damage and that the ship would set sail for San Juan once it received clearance from authorities. Guests can opt to leave the cruise or travel back to San Juan and explore the city till Sunday, the company said. If the ship is not cleared to leave St. Thomas by Tuesday evening, Carnival it would fly all guests home (which is what they began doing on Wednesday). |
Fire - Cruise stranded and aborted |
| September 5 (?) |
Unknown
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Posted at Cruise Critic: Just got off the Breeze this morning (boarded on 29 Aug) ... was going to ask what happened in La Romana? We heard there was an incident on one of the Carnival excursions but didn't get details, and I don't want to speculate too much but it almost sounded like maybe the taxi/bus got robbed? Has anyone else heard or was affected? Another poster postulated that it was one of the vans actually for the Carnival hosted excursion. |
Passengers robbed on shore excursion |
| September 5 |
Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Daily Mail reports Cruise passengers are filing for class action after their cruise bound for the tropics was diverted and instead docked at their freezing home cities. On March 10, Carnival Spirit set out for an eight-day cruise from Sydney to New Caledonia. But the ship did a u-turn to instead take its 2,000 passengers, mostly from Melbourne and Hobart, down to Melbourne and Hobart. It had been diverted just three hours into the cruise as a result of Tropical Cyclone Pam, but passengers claim the carrier knew, or ought to have known, about the disastrous weather and are suing for allegedly misleading or deceptive conduct. As many as 400 passengers aborted the cruise when it docked at Melbourne, according to Daily Telegraph, after they had flown from Melbourne to Sydney to board the cruise, only to be taken back to their home city. The passengers were originally told that they would not be compensated for the change in itinerary, but after receiving complaints, Carnival Cruise Lines offered $150 on-board credit, as well as 50 per cent of their purchase to be credited off future purchases. But for many passengers the offer was far too little, with some even referring to it as 'hush money'. 'This 'gesture' is not viable for the Aussie battlers on this cruise, paying again is unaffordable! Families saved, made sacrifices [and] took long service leave,' a petition launched by the group and signed by more than 300 reads. For some, it had been their first holiday in years, saving $4-$5,000 for their family's cruise tickets, with one even going into debt that amount in order to have a relaxing break from work. Many passengers made fun where they could, however disappointed they did not get the international, tropical holiday they had planned and paid for. |
Class action lawsuit for itinerary change |
| September 1 |
Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Shanghai Daily reports passengers had to be forcibly removed from a cruise ship docked in the city yesterday, in a dispute over a change of route. Around 300 passengers refused to disembark yesterday morning when the Quantum of the Seas arrived at Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in Baoshan District, following a nine-day voyage. The liner, which left Shanghai on August 23, had originally been scheduled to visit three Japanese cities. But due to concerns about Typhoon Goni, this was changed to cities in South Korea instead. Passengers argued that they should receive compensation for the change of route. At 11:30am yesterday, more than 200 passengers had still refused to disembark and the standoff lasted till 1pm, despite talks between cruise company Royal Caribbean International, tourism and district authorities and tourists. All the passengers were reported to have left the liner by 1pm, with the final few seen being removed by crew members. A man was photographed by other passengers being carried off the liner by four crew members. Negotiations between Royal Caribbean and passengers reconvened in a hotel. A tourist surnamed Chen, who was among those who had refused to leave, told thepaper.cn that she had been to South Korea before and had paid 46,000 yuan (US$7,200) for a party of three because the ship was due to stop in Japan. “The route totally changed, and the solution offered was not reasonable,” she said. Royal Caribbean said it was willing to communicate with tourists based on international and Chinese regulations. |
Pax refuse to leave ship |
| August 31 |
Unknown |
Breaking 911 reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at Port Everglades arrested a male citizen of the Bahamas for smuggling approximately 2.4 pounds of cocaine taped to his ankles and in his luggage. The man was arriving on a cruise ferry from the Bahamas on Aug. 13. During an inspection, CBP officers noticed the man nervously moving items around in his luggage as they asked him questions. Upon further inspection of the luggage, CBP officers discovered two brick-shaped packages which revealed a white, powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine. After patting down the man, CBP officers discovered additional packages of cocaine taped to the subject’s ankles. A total of 2.4 pounds of cocaine was seized. |
Drug bust |
| August 29 |
Costa Diadema
Costa Cruises |
La Spezia reports a 30 year old bartender has been arrested after he followed a French female passenger, "barely 18," to her cabin and raped her. The crew member had planned to leave Italy but was prevented from doing so by an Italian court. |
Arrest for sexual assault |
| August 28 |
Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: At the end of a Northbound Alaskan Cruise,the ship was due to arrive at the terminal point of the the cruise, the Seward, AK Harbor, at 5:00 AM. When I awoke at 6:30 AM, the ship was still under way, but clearly fighting a strong headwind. At 8:00 AM, the Captain announced over the PA system that the harbor had been closed due to high winds. At 10:00 AM, the Captain announced that the winds had not changed significantly, and that we would remain at station for another 2 hours. Finally, at noon, the ship began to move, very slowly, into the harbor. and successfully docked at about 12:30. The delay caused many to miss the scenic train trip from the port to Anchorage International Airport (buses were substituted and fees reimbursed), and to miss afternoon flights out of Anchorage. |
Delayed arrival and debarkation |
| August 27 |
Condor Liberation Condor Ferries |
BBC reports that Condor Ferries has apologised to passengers who were delayed by a day when a ferry bound for Guernsey was unable to dock. The Condor Liberation from Jersey to Poole via Guernsey on Monday did not dock in St Peter Port due to strong winds and no berth, the company said. It was forced to travel direct to Poole and Guernsey-bound passengers arrived in the island on Tuesday. Condor Ferries said it would be talking to Guernsey Harbours. The lack of a berth was caused by a cruise ship sheltering in St Peter Port, meaning the ferry could not dock safely, said the firm. |
Ferry prevented from docking because of cruise ship |
| August 26 |
Carnival Paradise
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: The ship had to turn around on the 24th and return to Grand Cayman after stopping there earlier the same day. Consequently, we had our regular port call on the 24th and then had a second port call on the 25th (8AM - 4PM) due to a medical emergency. The captain stated on the 26th all is well but several employees said a man in his early 50's died shortly before reaching grand cayman the second time. A port call at Cozumel was canceled. |
Itinerary change - 2 days in Cayman |
| August 26 |
Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a reader: My in laws were on the Norwegian Pearl coming back to Seattle from Alaska when the ship ran over a whale (August 22). They said they were stopped at that point and the Canadian Coast Guard came out and the ship had to be cleaned where it hit the whale. They were delayed for a little while. My mother in law said there were pods of whales all over. She didn't know what kind of whale was killed. After doing a web search I was sad to find out this is not very uncommon. |
Collision with whale |
| August 26 |
Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a reader: Just reporting on a recent cruise I returned from (7-day western Caribbean, 8/16-8/23); the 8/20 scheduled port stop of Roatan had to be scrubbed altogether due to winds (although it’s worth noting that another cruise line that had been shadowing our entire itinerary appears to have made it into port earlier than we did, and successfully allowed guests to visit Roatan). |
Canceled port call |
| August 26 |
MS Savor Tauck River Cruises |
From a reader: Due to current very low Danube River levels the ship will be docking in Vilshofen, Germany instead of Regensburg, Germany. |
Changed itinerary |
| August 26 |
Costa Cruisesand Celebrity Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports Celebrity Cruises has become the second cruise line to cancel a call at Istanbul. Today the line said Celebrity Reflection's August 31 departure will skip its overnight visit there. Costa Cruises pulled its ships out of Istanbul through 2015, in reaction to concerns about safety following a deadly terrorist attack in Turkey's largest city earlier this month. It also canceled calls at Izmir. |
Cancel callls to Turkey |
| August 24 |
Costa Mediterranea
Costa Cruises |
L'Unione Sarda reports the crew was leaving the ship for an excursion planned travel itinerary, but one of the boats which were supposed to go up on the mainland has dropped and remained hanging on the side of the ship. Fortunately, no one was on the boat at the time. There was a technical problem - the boat came off as it was being lowered into the sea to bring the passengers to the fjord of Kotor, in Montenegro. |
Tender fails to lower - left dangling |
| August 23 |
Multiple |
Virgin Islands Daily reports in anticipation of Hurricane Danny's arrival in the Virgin Islands Monday, the West Indian Company Ltd. issued an advisory Friday about changes in the cruise ship schedule for next week. "Due to the projected path of Hurricane Danny to the territory, the U.S. Coast Guard will close our port to all inbound traffic at 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 23, and completely close the port to all traffic at 4 p.m., Monday, Aug. 24," WICO President and CEO Joseph Boschulte said in a prepared statement. Carnival Liberty, scheduled to berth at the WICO dock on Monday, has rescheduled and will now arrive on Friday. Carnival Glory, scheduled to berth at the WICO dock on Tuesday, has canceled. Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas will make an unscheduled call on Friday. Adventure of the Seas will return for its scheduled call on Aug. 30. |
Port closure - weather |
| August 20 |
Viking Star
Viking Ocean Cruises |
Travel Weekly reports Viking Cruises said it has re-installed the shower glass in virtually all of the cabins because several shower panels have shattered unexpectedly at sea. A spokesman for Viking said the incidents were isolated and were related to the installation process of the glass. A Viking passenger posted an account on the Cruise Critic message board about how she was injured when the shower glass exploded in her cabin. The spokesman said the Fincantieri shipyard has "taken care of the situation” by re-installing almost all of the shower glass. |
Shower glass replaced/reinstalledl |
| August 19 |
Pearl Mist
Pearl Seas Cruises |
WoodTV reports a Great Lakes Cruise ship remained docked in Holland on Wednesday well after it was supposed to leave after weather delayed its departure. The Pearl Mist is on a seven-night trip from Chicago to Toronto. It docked in Holland on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to leave port at 1 p.m., but couldn’t because waves were too big. The ship was expected to stay in Holland overnight and attempt to leave on Thursday, though the forecast calls for even taller waves. The Pearl Mist was originally scheduled to spend Thursday at Mackinac Island. Detroit Free Press reports conditions calmed and the ship left Holland at 5PM Thursday. |
Stuck in port (Weather) |
| August 19 |
Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The Standard reports passengers caused their own storm after their dream vacation was "downgraded" due to twin typhoons directly hitting their original destinations. The ship, which left Hong Kong yesterday, will take in Vietnam during its eight-day trip instead of going to Japan as originally scheduled. Hundreds of tourists held up A4-size signs stating "No" as they jeered in the waiting hall. Staff of cruise line Royal Caribbean called police to intervene in the dispute in the morning. The 3,500 passengers had each paid HK$8,000 to HK$15,000 for the cruise, but 200 refused to board the ship. Marketing director Balwin Yeung Pok-hung said the company decided to change the itinerary at 3pm on Tuesday and contacted travel agencies. The contract terms and ticket state the cruise line can rearrange the itinerary and need not refund in the face of unavoidable incidents. Royal Caribbean explained the change was due to two typhoons, Goni and Atsani, churning through the tropical western Pacific Ocean, with expected waves of eight to 10 meters. The cruise itinerary originally included Xiamen, Fukuoka and Nagasaki, but this was replaced with Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. About half the passengers are Hongkongers, with the rest mostly from the mainland. |
Pax reactiopn to itinerary change |
| August 19 |
Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports a man overboard this afternoon from the Carnival Glory cruise ship. A reader from Honduras listening to channel 16 heard the report and said that the Honduran Navy and locals were searching for a person overboard at certain coordinates in Honduran waters. ABC reports authorities in Honduras say the body of a U.S. tourist who went overboard from a cruise ship has been found in waters near the island of Roatan. Tourism Institute press director Emilio Silvestri identified the tourist as 65-year-old Carol Ann Dimas. He said the incident took place 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Honduran island, which is popular with foreign tourists. |
Passenger overboard |
| August 19 |
Magnifica
MSC Cruises |
ANSAMed reports the Greek Coast Guard have launched a rescue operation in the sea region between the Aegean islands of Kea and Kythnos and the north coasts of the island of Chios to locate a Chinese female passenger of MSM Magnifica cruise ship that was declared missing on Wednesday, as Ana-Mpa reports. The cruise ship with 3,154 passengers sailed from Brindisi (Italy) for the Turkish port of Izmir with mid-stop the Greek port of Katakolo. |
Passenger overboard |
| August 18 |
Black Watch
Fred Olsen Cruises |
H&V News reports the cruise line has paid a five-figure out-of-court settlement to a guest who claims he was struck down with Legionnaire’s disease but has not accepted liability for his illness. TravelMole reported the cruise line said it was cheaper to pay the settlement than to face lengthy and costly proceedings in court. Frank Standen, 84, from Tunbridge Wells, claims he became ill while on a cruise with his wife on the MS Black Watch in 2011. Mr Standen had to be airlifted to hospital in Las Palmas where he was admitted to intensive care and was unconscious for three weeks. Tests confirmed he was suffering with Legionnaires’ disease, a very serious lung infection usually caused by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated with legionella bacteria. He spent seven weeks in hospital in Las Palmas before being transferred to Sevenoaks Hospital in the UK, where he spent a further five weeks. |
Settle lawsuit for Legionnaires |
| August 17 |
Aqua
A-Rosa River Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports a river cruise ship and a freight barge collided on the Rhine River in Düsseldorf, Germany, injuring 11 passengers. The accident, involving A-Rosa's 194-passenger river cruise ship, Aqua, and a cargo vessel transporting corn, happened at 10:20 a.m. local time on August. 17. Of the 11 passengers who were hurt onboard Aqua, two reportedly required hospital treatment, although the injuries are not believed to be serious. "There was an accident with one of our ships -- it collided with a ship which was transporting corn -- but the good news is there were no serious injuries to our passengers, just bumps and bruises." The line was unable to comment on the extent of damage or how the collision will impact the remainder of the itinerary because the damage to the ship was still being assessed. The official cause of the accident is not yet known. "The ship is stopped in Dusseldorf at the moment. Technical experts are assessing it. The passengers are onboard. It was a full charter and was chartered by a Spanish travel group,” the line said. |
Collision |
| August 17 |
Independence of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Sun Sentinel reports a man attacked a 13-year-old boy after the boy offered the man's niece a "keychain for her virginity." Arturo Martinez, Jr., 30, of Toledo, Ohio, confronted and beat the boy at about 2 a.m. Sunday in the library of ship, according to an arrest report. When the ship docked six hours later at Port Everglades, Martinez was arrested, sheriff's officials said.The situation began Thursday, the boy told investigators, when he made the remark while hanging out with the girl and some friends aboard the ship, the report stated. The girl's father made the boy apologize, according to the report. But Martinez, her uncle, went further, the boy told investigators. The boy, whose identity wasn't released, said Martinez yelled at him for several minutes, pinned him against a wall, and held his arms over his shoulders to prevent him from leaving, detectives said. Martinez also took off his own shirt, the boy said, as if preparing to fight. He then grabbed the boy by the throat and forced the boy face down onto a couch, investigators said. "This will never happen again!" Martinez yelled, according to the arrest report. The teen said Martinez then pulled down his own pants and ordered the boy to pull down his pants, and the boy complied, the report stated. Both still had their underwear on. After forcing the boy's face into the couch several times, Martinez stopped and walked away, the report said. Martinez pulled up his pants, and he and the girl's father left the area before the ship's security officers arrived. |
Assault after sexual comment |
| August 15 |
Valor
Carnival Cruise Lines |
WFTV reports a crew member was arrested at Port Canaveral Saturday evening for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage passenger aboard a cruise ship. Yovany Sauzo-Batiz, a 46-year-old Honduran national, was working as a stateroom steward Friday when he tried to start a conversation with a teenage boy in a sauna, said Maj. Tod Goodyear, a sheriff’s office spokesman. “The victim then moved to a shower area to avoid the suspect when the alleged sexual conduct occurred. Immediately following the incident the victim identified the crewmember to his father who detained him with the assistance of other passengers until ship security arrived.” Investigators waited dockside Saturday morning as the ship returned to its home port following a seven-day trip to the eastern Caribbean. |
Sexual assault of minor (crew on pax) |
| August 15 |
Queen Mary II
Cunard Line |
Cruise Law News reports a crew member reportedly disappeared early this morning as the cruise ship was 750 km off the coast of Newfoundland. The crew member apparently was not seen when he went overboard and the ship does not have an automatic man overboard system. The cruise ship turned around to search for the man who went overboard many hours ago. The captain Kevin Oprey announced the overboard incident to the passengers. The weather is bad with reports of fog as the search continues. The QM2 is sailing between Southampton and Halifax. The crew member is reportedly a 26 year old male chef from Chile. |
Crew member overboard |
| August 11 |
Bahamas Mama
Balearia Bahamas Express |
Travel Pulse reports the ship, which operates between Fort Lauderdale and Freeport, scored a 69 on its June 11 inspection, below the 86 that is considered satisfactory, according to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). Among the violations were several dealing with food pr eparation and storage. “Lack of supervisory knowledge of food safety was evident during the inspection,” according to the inspection report. Some foods were not kept at the proper temperature or didn’t have the related documentation. Some nonfood-contact areas, such as cabinets, drawers, stovetop, refrigerator fan grates and dumb waiter, were “heavily soiled” with food debris or dust, the report states. Two insects were spotted in a recessed area of the provision room. In another case cited by the inspectors, a container of raw hamburger patties was stored above a tray of raw bacon. In addition, there were improper testing devices or record-keeping for potable water and the swimming pool. Also, some crew members didn’t complete health assessments before boarding the vessel. |
Failed health inspection |
| August 10 |
Sea Princess
Princess Cruises |
Stuff.co.nz reports a male cruise passenger has been sentenced for indecent assault of a female passenger. On October 13 last year the ship departed Brisbane bound for Auckland. On board was Australian citizen Eduard-Laurentia Popeea, a man in his mid sixties who was excited about the trip. But three days later, while at sea, the cruise took a nasty turn after a night out drinking ended in criminal charges for Popeea. At the Auckland High Court Justice Graham Lang went over the events of the night. Popeea had gone to a nightclub on the ship with a friend, where they approached a group of women and shared drinks. The pair ended up going back to Popeea's friend's cabin with one of the women, where they shared a bottle of wine. Popeea and the woman then went back to his cabin. Once there Popeea, who is of Romanian descent and needed a translator in court, took off his clothes and placed the woman's hand on his genitals. She fell asleep and he touched her genitalia, then she woke up and left the cabin. When the ship arrived in Auckland the woman made a complaint to police and said she had been unable to protest as she was "drunk and scared". Popeea was initially facing three more serious charges, but these had been downgraded to a single charge of indecent assault. Popeea was ordered to pay the victim A$5000 reparation and NZ$3000 in court costs. |
Pax sentenced for indecent assault |
| August 9 |
Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises |
Shanghai Daily reports an 8-year-old girl is in a critical condition at a city hospital after being found unconscious in a cruise ship swimming pool. The child and her mother, whose surnames are Yang, left Shanghai on August 2 for a trip to Fukuoka in Japan and South Korea's Chejudo Island. The girl was found unconscious in a swimming pool in the afternoon of August 5, after a search by her mother. The ship returned to Shanghai early the following morning and the child was rushed to Xinhua Hospital. The mother told Xinmin Evening News that she took her daughter to the pools located on the 14th floor of the ship. She let the daughter play in the paddling pool as she had only started learning to swim last month. The mother was relaxing beside the pool when she noticed that her daughter was missing. Other tourists found the little girl unconscious in a deeper pool. Surveillance camera footage and an examination showed that she had been in difficulties for seven to nine minutes. Medical staff used a ventilator to keep the child breathing until the ship reached Shanghai's Wusong Dock at 3am the next day. The girl reached hospital some 12 hours after the incident. A 29-year-old woman was found dead in a swimming pool on the Sapphire Princess on August 7 last year. |
Child drowns (?) |
| August 7 |
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Daily Business Review reports a federal appellate decision in a slip-and-fall case against Norwegian Cruise Line could lead to more plaintiffs victories in similar cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that the district court should not have dismissed expert testimony on the slip resistance of the Norwegian Sky pool deck where passenger Teresita Sorrels slipped and fell, fracturing her wrist. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in Fort Lauderdale awarded summary judgment in favor of Norwegian Cruise Line, ruling the plaintiff's expert relied on slipperiness standards that apply only to crew members and waited too long to test the surface. The appellate panel ruled the American Society for Testing and Materials standards for pool deck slip resistance should apply to anyone who falls on a cruise ship, not just workers. |
Lawsuit over slip and fall |
| August 5 |
Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The Patch reports a federal judge in Newark sentenced a citizen of Mauritius to 13 months in prison on Wednesday for sexually abusing a sleeping woman aboard a cruise ship. Karan Seechurn, 26, previously pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact Prosecutors stated that Seechurn was employed by a cruise line and was responsible for restocking the minibars located in passengers’ rooms. In order to conduct this duty, he was provided with a key that gave him access to passengers’ rooms. Seechurn admitted that on Dec. 23, 2014, while he was off-duty, he entered a passenger’s room and encountered a sleeping woman. Seechurn admitted that he touched the passenger’s genitalia while she was asleep. |
Sentence for sexual assault |
| August 5 |
Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line |
WPTV reports the ship was scheduled to leave at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday but didn't leave until after midnight. This recent occurrence comes after the cruise line overbooked passengers this past weekend and were forced to turn passengers away. A company spokesperson says there was a short in the ship's electrical system which caused a blackout across the cruise Tuesday night. Passengers say there was no electricity so there was no air conditioning running on the boat. Some say they weren't even able to use the restroom. One woman says she got stuck in an elevator on board the boat after the power went out. She disembarked when things got too uncomfortable. "It would've been fine if it took off at 6 o'clock. It's now 12 o'clock and it's still here and there's no air conditioning. So we had to get off. It was impossible to stay there," she says. |
Loss of electricty - delayed departure |
| August 4 |
Royal Princess
Princess Cruises |
Liverpool Echo reports the ship skipped Dublin because of winds and will arrive one day early (at 3PM) in Liverpool and will apparently spend the full day tomorrow in port. Its next prot is Belfast. Afloat reports on the cancelation of Dublin. |
Port skipped (weather) |
| August 1 |
Viking Star
Viking Ocean Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports the ship is stuck in port in Tallinn, Estonia. The cruise ship lost power in an engine three days ago (Thursday). Passengers are reportedly getting restless. Some of them are complaining that their 14 day cruise has been delayed and they have missed ports of call in Germany and Poland. The crew and guests have not been told anything specific about what the problem is, only that the ship is "waiting for a part to arrive." The ship will remain in Tallinn until at least August 4th, although the passengers have reportedly been told that they can get off of the cruise ship and end their cruise vacation. Cruise Critic reports the cruise has been canceled. The company issued a statement saying, "The mechanical issue is related to the electric transformers in one part of the ship's propulsion system. Engineers are working onboard, but because repairs are expected to continue through the weekend Viking has decided to cancel the remaining portion of this cruise. All guests onboard were informed earlier today and have been offered options for continuing their journey to Bergen or returning home from Tallinn at Viking's expense. This specific mechanical issue is highly unusual, and all guests will receive compensation for the inconvenience." Passengers who do not wish to return home immediately can stay onboard Viking Star until Tuesday, at which point, Viking will fly them to Bergen and put them up in a hotel for the remaining days until the original debarkation date of August 8. |
Engine problems - stuck in port 3 days - CANCELED |
| July 31 |
Thomson Spirit TUI UK |
Marine Link reports a landmark decision where a law firm successfully defended a UK class action case involving a Norovirus outbreak onboard a cruise liner. The case, which involved an outbreak of gastroenteritis onboard the “THOMSON SPIRIT”, chartered by TUI UK limited and operated by Louis Cruise, was a 43-claimant class action, 28 of whom had alleged bacterial illness with the balance claiming breach of contract. The case was brought against TUI UK Limited who as contracting carrier would have been liable for the fault or neglect of the performing carrier, Louis, pursuant to the Athens Convention 1974. Lawyers acting for the claimants had alleged that the outbreak was bacterial, caused by negligence on the part of the cruise line and poor adherence by the crew to the ship’s established outbreak response plan. In the alternative, if it was Norovirus, then the ship itself was the source of the outbreak and the crew then failed to implement its GI Outbreak procedures. However, the performing carriers, Celestyal Cruises (Louis Cruise Lines) produced test results showing that this was a Norovirus attack rather than Campylobacter as alleged. Judge David Mitchell, sitting in the Central London County Court, found in favour of the cruise line, saying that it was a very well-controlled outbreak and that the cruise line applied and implemented its systems well and that the cruise line was not negligent. (See May 18 below) |
Cruise line wins lawsuit over illness outbreak |
| July 29 |
African Safari
Un-cruise |
Ballard News Tribune reports Seattle Firefighters responded to a fire at Fishermen's Terminal. At approximately 7:30 a.m. SFD dispatchers received a call that there was a fire on a Un-Cruise cruise ship called the Safari Voyager. The ship is mooring at the terminal and undergoing construction. The fire happened inside the ship and was limited to one room. SFD investigators are still determining what caused the blaze, but Lieutenant Johnson of SFD reported that there was welding work being dong on the deck when the fire started. Over 27 units were dispatched to the scene. By the time firefighters arrived the welders had extinguished the flame. |
Fire |
| July 28 |
Pride of America
NCL America |
KHON News reports according to the Hawaii County Fire Department, two men in their 30s were lowering a lifeboat from the ship when the lines gave way. A state Department of Transportation spokesman said the men were crew members on the ship. Hawaii News Now reports the men were doing maintenance work in a life boat when it somehow gave way from the side of the cruise ship and fell 45 feet into the ocean. The incident happened around 2 p.m. in Hilo Bay. The men were transported to a local hospital where they are currently in serious condition. |
Lifeboat lowering accident |
| July 27 |
Aegean Paradise
Etstur
|
Gazzetta reports there were no injuries in a collision on Sunday between a coast guard rescue vessel and the cruise ship "Aegean Paradise" east of the harbour on the island of Chios. According to authorities, the collision was caused due to misty conditions prevailing at the time and only the coast guard vessel, which was carrying 25 irregular migrants, suffered damages. The irregular migrants were taken safely to Chios harbour, where the coast guard vessel was lifted out of the water for inspection and repairs. The "Aegean Paradise" will remain at Chios harbour until an inspection is carried out by the shipping register it belongs to before continuing its journey. el | |
Collision |
| July 27 |
Multiple River Cruises in Europe |
Travel Agent Central reports continuing low water levels on European rivers forced the cancellation of several scheduled cruises on both the Elbe River or Danube River this past weekend. Viking River Cruises cancelled two of its "Elegant Elbe" cruises scheduled to depart last Friday (July 24) from Berlin to Prague on Viking Schumann, and from Prague to Berlin on Viking Fontane. The line's Saturday departures (July 25) for the same itinerary on Viking Astrild and Viking Beyla are operating, but the line plans to adjust as needed to accommodate low water levels. Similarly, Uniworld cancelled the scheduled departure of S.S. Maria Theresa on Sunday (July 26), and on its website noted that it was contacting all guests and will issue full refunds and a goodwill future cruise credit. These are just the latest in a series of adjustments over the past few weeks by many lines including Viking, Uniworld, Avalon Waterways, Tauck and others. At times river lines are forced to cancel due to low water, but many times they operate the cruise on an abbreviated or changed sailing schedule. One recent Viking Elbe River cruise never left its original docking point, for example. Guests took excursions and side trips as planned to other destinations by motorcoach. UPDATE: Viking River Cruises has been forced to cancel two more itineraries due to low water levels on the Elbe, both departing tomorrow (July 30, 2015). They are: Elegant Elbe (Berlin to Prague) aboard Viking Schumann and Elegant Elbe (Prague to Berlin) aboard Viking Fontane. There are a large number of other future sailings which have have been altered or adjusted (the full list is below) up to August 2, though no further cancelations. A statement from Viking read: "These are currently the only sailings we expect to be altered by the low water on the rivers." |
Cancelations |
| July 24 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: We were on the ship in port at Cozumel. A man and his family were on our shore excursion Fury Catamaran snorkel and Beach break on July 23rd with us. While at the beach the man was found unconscious in the water. He was dragged to shore. Boat crew worked on him, EMS was called. He never regained consciousness. It was not known if he drowned or had a heart attack or was injured while in the water on the inflatable beach course. His wife and 2 kids witnessed the entire thing. Very tragic. We left the family and he body on the beach while we headed back to the boat. |
Death on shore excursion |
| July 24 |
Pride of America
NCL America |
From a passenger: In port - Hawaii, Narwiliwili. Code alpha called @ 13:15. Now 16:20. Ship has not sailed. Just cleared to leave now (tannoy message). Said it was a medical emergency... my wife has just seen the coroners van. Another passenger writes: Medical Emergency call over the loudspeaker to a passenger cabin on Deck 9 ... Sailing was scheduled at 14:00 but was delayed until about 16:30 due to investigation. An ambulance was heard and seen pulling up to port. When asked, crew members confirmed a passenger had died. |
Delayed departure - Pax death |
| July 23 |
Carnival Corporation |
USA Today reports Carnival Corp. will pay more than $400,000 in penalties and damages as part of a settlement over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday. The parent company of Carnival, Princess and Holland America also has agreed to survey and, if necessary, make changes to 42 existing vessels at the three brands to comply with ADA regulations. Seven vessels in various stages of design and construction also will be surveyed and, if necessary, updated to comply with the regulations. Another 13 ships operated by the brands will be subject to possible changes if they continue to be in service in U.S. ports in four years. The settlement calls for 3% of cabins on the ships to be accessible to passengers with disabilities, with the cabins falling into one of three categories: fully accessible cabins, fully accessible cabins with a single side approach to the bed and ambulatory accessible cabins. Carnival Corp. also agreed to create brand standards that address an array of accessibility issues, provide ADA training to employees and ensure reservation systems allow for people with disabilities to book accessible cabins. The company also will appoint an ADA compliance officer at the executive level as well as ADA responsibility officers at its Carnival brand and at the Holland America Group, which includes Holland America and Princess. An officer on each ship also will be appointed to resolve ADA-related issues. The settlement follows a Justice Department investigation of complaints that Carnival Corp. failed to properly provide and reserve accessible cabins for individuals with mobility disabilities as is required under the ADA. The company also was accused of failing to reasonably modify policies to accommodate individuals with disabilities; afford individuals with disabilities the same opportunities to participate in programs and services, including embarkation and disembarkation; and provide effective communication during muster and emergency drills. Carnival Corp. will pay a civil penalty of $55,000 to the United States and $350,000 in damages to individuals harmed by past discrimination. |
Settle lawsuit over violation of ADA |
| July 23 |
Reflection
Celebrity Cruises |
Times of Malta reports a 20-year-old Scottish student was today charged with raping a woman he met while cruising the Mediterranean on a Maltese-registered vessel.
The man, whose name cannot be published by court order, allegedly raped the woman a year ago today. He was also charged with holding her against her will and with committing violent indecent assault on the woman. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli heard how the alleged rape took place on the cruise ship, that Royal Caribbean registered in Malta. The man and the woman were enjoying a cruise with their respective families. According to foreign reports, the alleged rape took place after the woman had her drink spiked. The man was brought to Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Maltese police. Since the alleged case took place on a vessel registered in Malta, the case must be heard by a Maltese court. |
Sexual assault (pax on pax) |
| July 23 |
Millennium
Celebrity Cruises |
Juneau Empire reports comedian Rodney Johnson was working a gig on the ship earlier this month; he witnessed a sexual assault in progress and stopped it before it could escalate further, court documents show. Johnson stepped out of his cruise ship cabin at about 2:30 a.m. July 12 in search of Ibuprofen; as he walked down the hallway, he heard a woman scream behind a door that led to the crew members’ stairwell. When he opened the door, he saw a man holding one hand over a woman’s mouth and his other hand across her waist. The interruption apparently startled the man, identified in court documents as Eduar Klay Moran Bonilla, a 40-year-old cruise ship worker from Honduras. Bonilla immediately released the woman from his grip. “Johnson could tell that (the woman) was not enjoying the contact, and he pointed at Moran Bonilla and said ‘Hey!’” Bentz wrote in his report. “Moran Bonilla looked up and made eye contact with Johnson and released (the victim) from his grip.” The victim, a 26-year-old woman from Ottawa, Canada, also a cruise ship worker, “gathered herself, walked past Johnson and told him ‘Thank you,’ the complaint reads. Moran Bonilla is now facing felony charges for the attack. A Juneau grand jury indicted him Friday on two counts of second-degree sexual assault for groping the woman. That level of felony assault can be punishable by up to five years in prison. |
Sexual assault (crew on crew) |
| July 22 |
Freedom of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
WPTV reports the ship experienced a fire Wednesday as the ship arrived at Falmouth, Jamaica.The fire happened in a "mechanical space." The company released the following statement: On July 22, 2015, Freedom of the Seas experienced a fire in a mechanical space as the ship was pulling into Falmouth, Jamaica. The ship's fire suppression system was immediately activated, which contained and extinguished the fire. In an abundance of caution, the Captain mustered all guests at their assembly stations. The ship is currently alongside in Falmouth and all systems are functioning. Miami Herald reports the ship will continue its weeklong voyage Wednesday after fire broke out, injuring one crew member and sending thousands of passengers to their emergency gathering stations. No passengers were reported hurt, but one crew member suffered first-degree burns. The U.S. Coast Guard will inspect the ship when it returns to a U.S. port. Subsequent reports indicate the fire was not minor -- According to the ship Captain, the fire erupted from what he describes as the engine spaces. It spread from the bottom of the ship to the top, above the Viking Crown lounge via an exhaust stack through the ship. The crew had to fight the fire in "multiple parts" of the ship.Due to the sparks and hot spots, it took around an hour to completely extinguish the fire. |
Fire |
| July 20 |
Stena Jutlandica
Stena Line |
Aftenbladet reports a ship with 12,000 tons of petrol and diesel collided withe the passenger ferry. The ferry had a large hole in the hull and began to take in water, but there were no known injuries. The tanker had to turn back towards Gothenburg and anchor in the sea for examination - with damage to the forepeak. |
Collision |
| July 19 |
Crystal Serenity
Crystal Cruises |
From a reader: A 33 year old chef from the UK, who had worked for the company for 6 years, was found having hung himself while the ship was in Bordeaux before leaving for Brest. (see http://news24h.allnews24h.com/njWy |
Chef hangs self |
| July 19 |
Costa Fortuna
Costa Cruises |
TV2 Norway reports a woman (52) from Italy is critically injured after falling overboard from a cruise ship while in port according to police in Sogn og Fjordane. How she fell overboard is yet unknown, said operations manager Trond Hatlenes to TV2. According to police, the woman fell 30-35 meters down. The woman was in the water for two to three minutes and was unconscious when the Port Authority got her ashore, says harbor master John Erik Johnsen at Aurland Harbour to Bergens Tidende. TV 2 has spoken with Hilde Lehmann Syversen, who was on the pier when the woman fell overboard. "I heard a scream. At first I thought that it came from some birds, but then I heard what had happened," she said. Shortly after it threw flares into the water. Subsequently, two life boats lowered from the ship, she adds. From a passenger: I was there and witnessed everything. The lady was hanging down from her cabin deck 10 and a man was holding her from her wrists for about 2-3 minutes. After she fell down into the water, she was in the water about 9-10 minutes. (not 2-3 as tv mentioned. We have records of it) And Costa lowered a life boat but it was so slow that it didn’t mean anything. Norwegian lifeguards came from the shore and took her out of the water while costa was still lowering its tender boat. A big tragedy... Subsequently, there was debate whether the "fall" was intentional or whether the woman had been pushed (see NRK.NO). The Times reports Italian police have launched an investigation into attempted murder after a woman who allegedly leapt 115 feet from a cruise ship into icy water awoke from a coma to deny she had tried to commit suicide. |
Fall overboard in port - rescued alive - Attempted murder |
| July 15 |
Princess Cruises |
Northern Echo reports a couple are taking legal action against a cruise line after they were struck down by a gastric illness which still affects them more than three months after the voyage. Allan and Mary Strange, from Ferryhill, County Durham, sailed around southern Asia with Princess Cruises to celebrate Mrs Strange’s 65th birthday in March. But just days into their dream holiday aboard the Sapphire Princess, the couple began to suffer with diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and fever. They are still experiencing symptoms of the illness and instructed travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate its cause. Mr and Mrs Strange were given intravenous injections and medication at the ship’s medical centre to alleviate the symptoms but their illness continued for the rest of their holiday. They claim hand sanitising procedures were not enforced on the ship and guests did not clean their hands before visiting the restaurants. They also allege that food was sometimes served lukewarm and occasionally undercooked. Princess Cruises, however, disputes these allegations and say the couple’s symptoms were consistent with Norovirus, caused by person-to-person transmission not food. |
Lawsuit over illness outbreak |
| July 14 |
Pied Piper (ferry)
|
Vineyard Express reports a Falmouth-based passenger ferry ran aground in Woods Hole passage late Tuesday evening during a private charter cruise with 106 people and seven crew members aboard, the Coast Guard said. The Pied Piper, a 72-foot privately owned ferry which runs five trips a day from Falmouth to Edgartown and operates harbor cruises and private charters at night, ran aground near Grassy Island in Great Harbor after 10 p.m. There were no injuries or pollution the Coast Guard said later, and the small ferry was refloated and towed back to Woods Hole. At 1:30 a.m., the Coast Guard and Falmouth police were still taking people off the ferry and transporting them ashore. The ferry ran aground in the narrow channel which connects Vineyard Sound with Buzzards Bay. The passage is well marked but can be treacherous because of swift tidal currents and rocky ledges. Helped by an incoming high tide, the vessel was refloated and towed back to a dock owned by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. |
Aground |
| July 14 |
Solstice
Celebrity Cruises |
Daily Business Review reports Celebrity Cruises Inc. was sued Monday for allegedly barring a quadriplegic Colorado man from an excursion in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court said Matthew Hendrick took a Hawaii cruise from April 20 to May 1. He boarded a tender boat for the excursion, but a crew member removed his wheelchair and returned him to the ship, the complaints said. Hendrick used Celebrity's disability specialist to book the cruise, paying $9,000 for him and a companion. The suit seeks a permanent injunction ordering Celebrity to assist people with disabilities onto tenders through use of a platform lift or other means as other cruise lines do. Celebrity, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., offered Hendrick two cruise vouchers to be used in the next two years, but he doesn't want to return to the ships until he is able to access the tenders. |
Lawsuit - disabled passenger |
| July 13 |
Statendam
Holland America Line |
Associated Press reports the Coast Guard \has suspended its search for a passenger reported missing from a Holland America cruise ship in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca near Seattle. The cruise line says the 64-year-old man was aboard the ship Statendam when it sailed from Victoria, British Columbia, Sunday night, but there's no sign he left the ship after it docked in Seattle on Monday. Petty Officer Katelyn Shearer says Holland America reviewed surveillance video and determined the man's location was last known off the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. Neither the Coast Guard nor Holland America would immediately say what the video showed. The man was described as a U.S. citizen who had been traveling alone. A Coast Guard duty officer, Eric Cookson, said Monday evening that the agency has been unable to locate the missing passenger after a search of more than six hours. The Statendam was on a 14-day roundtrip cruise from Seattle to Alaska. |
Pax overboard |
| July 8 |
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
10 News reports a couple has lost their taste for cruise ship vacationing because of the nightmare they said they endured over a security check and an off-hand remark. “We’ll never get on a cruise ship again, ever,” Michele Baker said. “This would have been my fifth cruise and Tim’s seventh with Royal Caribbean.” The Bakers said their cruise started going south even before they left port in New Jersey. Tim said a security screen discovered a .45-caliber magazine that he inadvertently left in his luggage, followed by Michele’s off-hard remark about being detained. “I said I want to go home…it would be expensive plane ride back to Bermuda. I said I could go overboard and a dolphin could swim me back to the Jersey Shore,” she said. The couple said they suddenly went from staying in this luxurious suite to spending the next 36 hours in a cramped cabin with her under suicide watch until the ship docked in Bermuda. They said they got kicked off the ship with no refund and had to pay their own way back to Ohio. But they never filed a formal complaint. “It didn’t matter what we said, they were the judge, jury and executioner,” Tim said. “I had no voice that’s what bothers me the most,” Michele said. Michele said the ordeal left her with post-traumatic stress. She’s meeting with a forensic psychologist before they file a lawsuit. While being detained on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Sea, the Bakers said they emailed family and friends who complained to the cruise line on their behalf but got no response. 10TV was unable to get comment from Royal Caribbean’s customer service people this evening. |
Pax evicted |
| July 6 |
Summit
Celebrity Cruises |
Two readers have reported that the ship has propulsion problems and was stuck in NY harbour. After five hours it was observed to be towed back to port. The following statement was subsequently released by the cruise line: Yesterday, following Celebrity Summit’s departure from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, the onboard engineering team detected a technical issue with one of the ship’s propulsion motors. In an abundance of caution, we made the decision ... to return to port to assess the situation ... The ship departed Cape Liberty at 4:00 a.m. on Monday. Even with the later departure, the ship’s original itinerary will not be affected. |
Engine prblems - stuck in port |
| July 5 |
Adventure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The Mirror reports Jack Moran, 85, was complaining about wet paint when he made the remark but was left flabbergasted when staff took his comments about jumping ship literally and evicted him from the ship. He had been labeled a "suicide risk" because he joked about "jumping ship. The 85-year-old repeatedly flagged the problem up to staff after his clothes and hand were covered with paint, and furniture in the cabin also smeared. The pensioner got so fed that he flippantly claimed wanting to "jump ship", but off-the-cuff remarkwas overheard by the vessel's restaurant maitre. d’. The traveller, just one day into his diamond wedding anniversary celebration with wife Anne, 83, was constantly monitored with a security guard stationed outside their cabin during the night. Employees even checked on him regularly, shining a torch on the couple as they slept in May, last year. When the cruise reached first port Zeebrugge, in Belgium, Jack and Anne were escorted off and left with their luggage on the quayside. |
Pax evicted |
| July 5 |
Maasdam Holland America Line |
CBS in Boston reports a cruise ship that had been stranded in Boston Harbor since the Fourth of July departed for Halifax on Sunday. The Maasdam’s Boston-to-Montreal Canada/New England cruise experienced technical problems with the engineering plant shortly after departure on Saturday, according to a Holland America Line statement released on Sunday. The port of call to Bar Harbor has been cancelled because of the delay. |
Technical engine problems/ Canceled port call |
| July 3 |
Sun
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Associated Press reports the Coast Guard has suspended a search for a cruise ship crew member who was reported overboard off Alaska. Alaska State Troopers identified the crew member as 27-year-old Jonas Fillipe de Miranda Santiago of Brazil, who went missing Thursday south of Douglas Island. Coast Guard Lt. Colin Boyle says footage from the security system of the Norwegian Cruise Line ship shows the crew member jumping overboard without a life jacket at 4:16 a.m. Thursday. The search was suspended shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Troopers say they were notified shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday (13 hours after the incident). Troopers say the crew member was reported missing to the ship's security just before 2 p.m. Thursday (10 hours after he jumped). |
Crew overboard |
| July 2 |
Fincantieri Montefalcone shipyard |
ANSA Business News reports Carabinieri police on Tuesday made a court-ordered preventive seizure of areas of Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri's shipyard at Montefalcone in northern Italy as part of a probe into alleged illegal waste management at the site. Seven people including the former shipyard manager Carlo De Marco have been placed under investigation in the probe launched by local prosecutors in May 2013. The other suspects are subcontractors operating at the site. Fincantieri said Tuesday it would take all appropriate legal measures to have the seizure repealed. Meanwhile, it was "forced" to suspend all activities at the shipyard, it said. Approximately 4,500 people are employed on the site including Fincantieri workers and employees of its subcontractors. Of these, only those in charge of systems maintenance - roughly 100 people - will remain in service. |
Shipyard seized |
| July 2 |
MB Nirvana
Ferry - Philippines |
CNN reports a ship carrying 189 people has capsized in the central Philippines, minutes after leaving port, the Philippine Red Cross said Thursday. The local coast guard reported that at least 36 people have died, with 118 survivors, and another 19 still missing. Philippine Red Cross Chairman Gordon told CNN from Manila that the boat had 189 on board, with 173 passengers, 15 crew and the boat's owner, who he said had survived. Gordon put the number of missing at 35. The boat could accommodate up to 193 people. The MB Nirvana had just departed Ormoc City in Leyte province bound for the town of Pilar on Camotes Island, east of Cebu Island, about noon local time when the disaster occurred. The boat, which is 27 meters (89 feet) long, was barely 200 meters (more than 650 feet) from the shore when it capsized, Philippine coast guard Lt. Christopher Ganet said. |
Ferry capsizes |
| July 1 |
Ryndam Holland America Line |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has been forced to cut short a 14-day round-trip cruise from the U.K. due to a Norovirus outbreak. It will return to Harwich a day early, on Friday July 3, so staff can perform a deep clean before its next cruise. The upcoming cruise, the 14-day Voyage of the Midnight Sun, is scheduled to depart on time July 4, 2015. |
Illness |
| June 27 |
Celestyal Crystal |
Sea News reports the cruise ship (previously NCL Leeward in the 1990s) collided with tanker STI Pimlico at the Northern entrance of Çanakkale Strait. Both vessels damaged, tanker leaking cargo, reports the leading Turkish maritime news portal www.kaptanhaber.com. There are no injuries at both vessels but laden with 30.000 MT of Nafta Cargo and her cargo tanks heavily damaged, the tanker STI Pimlico has the risk of explosion. On the way from Myconos, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey, 162 meters long Maltese flag cruise ship 'Celestyal Crystal' collided with 182-meters long Marshall Islands-flagged tanker 'Sti Pimlico' which was sailing towards Malta from the Russian port Tuapse. The accident took place at 01:30 after midnight today in front of the Gallipoli Lighthouse for an undetermined reason. The 854 passengers onboard passenger cruiser Celestyal Crystal, with 240 of them Turkish citizens, had no injuries in the accident. Passengers onboard the cruiser will be evacuated by smaller ferries and transferred to Gallipoli. |
Collision with other ship |
| June 25 |
Westerdam Holland America Line |
Seattle PI reports eight passengers on an excursion off the ship and a pilot were in a plane that was found crashed against the granite rock face of a cliff about 20 miles northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. All nine people aboard died in the crash, authorities said. |
Pax deaths on shore excursion |
| June 19 |
Saint Laurent Great Lakes Cruising Company |
CBC reports the ship collided with the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway on Thursday night, injuring 30 people and forcing the partial evacuation of the ship. The ship was carrying 274 people at the time. It was heading to Toronto. Twenty-seven injured passengers and three injured crew members had to be removed from the ship with the help of fire officials late last night. Two people were seriously hurt, while the rest had minor injuries. It was travelling through the lock in Massena, in upstate New York. It entered the lock around 9 p.m. and hit the side of the concrete wall shortly afterwards. "When the ship hit the wall, it started taking on water," said coast guard spokeswoman Lauren Laughlin. Crews immediately closed the doors to the lock and removed water so the ship didn't sink further. |
Collision - taking on water |
| June 16 |
Hermod
Viking River Cruises |
A reader forwarded two reviews from Cruise Critic with regard to this ship. One review (May 2015) reports "Monday evening as the boat sailed and went into the Lyon first stop at 8am, the captain backed the boat into something and all 8 propellers were damaged. The boat was no longer able to move. Viking proceeded to use buses to travel us for hours past the ports we were supposed to cruise to and return to the disabled boat. This busing went on from Wednesday through the rest of the trip. We were told Friday night we had to pack up, disembark and be bused (again) 4.5 hours to Arels and then another 45 min. to Avignon. We were herded like a bunch of children, fed the same meal Thursday, Friday lunch and dinner in restaurants that were hot and we were jammed in." Another reviewer writes of the following cruise (June 2015) "the Hermod had an accident last Saturday night so we never got to board on Sunday. They put us in a business class hotel in Avignon for 3 days and now in Lyon for the remainder. It has turned into a bus trip of very inferior quality with customer service being intractable. Missinformation and very little help. Many went home. Only about 50 people stayed. Very unclear about compensation. Those who went home had to wait for flights and were told they had to pay for hotel themseves till then and transportation yo airport." |
Collision / out of service / cruise becomes bus tour |
| June 16 |
Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises |
Daily Mail reports the ship has been hit by an outbreak of norovirus which is believed to have affected 'hundreds' of passengers on board. This afternoon Fred Olsen Cruise Lines confirmed the outbreak and announced it was cancelling a three-day 'mini-cruise' due to take place on Saturday. Last month MailOnline reported passengers on board the ship were hit by a vomiting bug which ‘ruined’ their eight-day cruise - prompting them to take legal action against the company. The ship is currently docked in the port of Skagen in Denmark, with passengers struck down with the virus confined to their rooms for a minimum of two days. Peter Boag, a 67-year-old black cab driver from north London who paid over £1,000 for the cruise, told MailOnline that passengers started to become ill on the day two of the 11-day cruise which departed on June 9 - and that he believes more than 100 passengers have been ill so far. |
Illness outbreak / cruise canceled |
| June 16 |
Millennium Time
City Cruises |
The Standard reports an official investigation into a dramatic passenger boat crash on the Thames that left nine injured has found the vessel had steering problems and its helmsman did not hold a boatmaster's licence. The Millennium Time cruise liner, packed with more than 360 passengers including tourists and schoolchildren, smashed into a tug between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge on July 17 last year. The collision left the vessel, operated by City Cruises, with bad damage to the bow as well as smashed windows - and it was out of service for more than a month. The tug, which was hauling tonnes of cargo along the river, also required repairs. Today a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch found the crash would have been less likely if the fully qualified skipper, 58, had been at the helm instead of the mate, 69, who lacked a boatmaster's licence and took too long to spot the imminent collision. |
Accident report released |
| June 15 |
Baranof Wind and
Noordam Holland America Line |
Juneau Empire reports the ship came to the aid of a broken-down tour boat Wednesday in Glacier Bay National Park. According to park officials, the starboard engine room of the 79-foot sightseeing boat Baranof Wind caught fire in the upper reaches of Glacier Bay on Wednesday afternoon. The boat’s crew extinguished the fire, which partially disabled the boat. The boat’s crew called for assistance and were answered by the Noordam, which used a tender to offload all 40 passengers (and one Park Service ranger) from the Baranof Wind, which proceeded to Juneau under tow. The Noordam’s tender dropped off its passengers at Bartlett Cove, and the cruise ship continued on schedule to Ketchikan as part of a five-day cruise. |
Fire on tour boat - pax rescued by cruise ship |
| June 15 |
Silhouette
Celebrity Cruises |
Daily Post reports the ship will not come to the island (Holyhead) due to a combination of predicted windy conditions and its large size for the port jetty |
Skipped port call |
| June 14 |
Northern Spirit Mariposa Cruises |
Toronto Sun reports the search continued Sunday for a man who disappeared after falling off a ship in Lake Ontario Saturday night. Officers say they are treating the search as a missing persons case, and focusing the hunt on an area about three kilometres south of Humber Bay, where the man fell into the water at about 7:40 PM. “The water is 9C and he’s been out there since 7:30 p.m. (Saturday), but we’re not going to presume anything because he might be hanging on to something or he might wash up somewhere unconscious,” Const. John Liggio said Sunday. There were 427 guests aboard the 41-metre-long vessel, which has a maximum capacity of about 550 passengers. There were also 10 paid security officers present on the 400-tonne triple-decker boat. Alcohol was likely a factor. |
Passenger overboard |
| June 13 |
Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line |
The ship failed its santitation inspection with a score of 80 (a score of 85 or below is unsatisfactory). |
Failed health inspection |
| June 9 |
Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
and Royal Caribbean International |
Want China Times reports Chinese cruise lines are beginning to skip port calls in South Korea as travelers cancel plans to travel amid an outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The cruise lines are instead adding a stop in Japan to their itineraries, reports Shanghai's the Paper. A charter secured by online travel agency Ctrip on the cruise ship Sapphire Princess, scheduled for June 27, was confirmed to have changed its itinerary. The original route included stops in Busan and Jeju, which have now been replaced by Okinawa, according to Ctrip. Some cruise lines traveling to Jeju or navigating the Jeju-Japan route have not changed their itineraries, mainly because South Korea's MERS cases are concentrated in Seoul. Jeju, an island off the southern coast of South Korea, has not been affected, according to a travel agent. Several cruise line operators have issued statements outlining the measures they are taking to cope with the MERS outbreak. Royal Caribbean Cruises said the company will not allow people from MERS-affected countries or those who have visited these countries over the past 30 days to board its ships. Princess Cruises and SkySea Holding International, a company co-founded by Ctrip and other investors, said they will strengthen health checks for crew members and passengers. RCI Blog reports RCI has canceled (Mariner, Voyager, Quantum) calls to South Korea (13 June). |
Ports skipped because of MERS |
| June 9 |
Miracle
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has altered its itinerary to avoid the path of Hurricane Blanca, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Now on the second day of a seven-night cruise to Mexico from Long Beach, the ship traded a sea day for a call on Ensenada on Sunday. It also bumped tonight's overnight in Cabo San Lucas to Wednesday, scrapping Wednesday's previously planned call on Puerto Vallarta; today and Tuesday will instead be spent at sea. The sailing will conclude in Long Beach Saturday, as originally scheduled. |
Canceled port call (weather) |
| June 7 |
Getaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a passenger: At around 8:30 PM women jumped overboard. The code was called within a few minutes the capt got on the speaker explained the situation . Said he was turning the vessel around to try do rescue . We were sitting window seat at the Savor restaurant and saw the flashing light and the rescue boat go flying to get her . She made it ! Story we heard it was a drunk mid age women fighting with her boy friend . They kept her in medical until we got to our first port ST. Thomas where she left in a ambulance. Durning Q & A with the Capt they didn't want to talk about it . He did say it was his first rescue and she was lucky she lived. |
Overboard - rescued alive |
| June 3 |
Ocean Endeavour Adventure Canada |
Cruise Critic reports two sailings have been canceled after damage to its rudder was discovered during an inspection in Hamburg, Germany. The canceled sailings are the June 14th Mighty Saint Lawrence and June 24th Newfoundland Circumnavigation expedition cruises. According to spokeswoman Melissa Medeiros, damage to the rudder was identified by FleetPro, the ship's management company, during a dry dock inspection in Hamburg, Germany on May 25, 2015. The time required to repair the rudder necessitated the cancellations. The ship is expected to arrive in Canada in early July. |
Damaged rudder - canceled cruises |
| June 2 |
Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises |
Daily Echo reports the company is offering a compensation package to pasengers struck be norovirus on a recent cruise that ended a day early (see May 23 below), apparently to neutralize a wave of passengers looking at legal action. The company is offering to refund one day’s cost of the cruise including a refund for an all-inclusive drinks package, a voucher for up to half off a future Norwegian fjords cruise and any out of pocket expenses. |
Compensation for illness outbreak |
| June 2 |
Eastern Star |
Xinhuanet reports a passenger ship carrying 458 people sank Monday night in the Hubei section of China's Yangtze River. The ship, named Dongfangzhixing (Eastern Star), sank at around 9:28 p.m. in the Jianli (Hubei Province) section of the Yangtze River, according to the Yangtze River navigation administration. The captain and the chief engineer, who have been rescued, both claimed the ship sank quickly after being caught in a cyclone. It was heading from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to southwest China's Chongqing city. There were 405 Chinese passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members aboard, according to the administration. Network AsiaNews subsequently reported there were 12 survivors and 442 confirmed dead. The sinking was China's worst shipping disaster since the Communist Party came to power in 1949. In 1948 up to 4,000 on board the SS Kiangya were killed when it sank near Shanghai. |
Sunk |
| June 1 |
Baltic Princess Tallink Line |
Tucun Sanomat reports a 20-something man went overboard at about 17:00 when the ship was sailing from Stockholm to Turku. The man was observed by passengers as he went overboard and a rescue operation initiated. The operation lasted 20 minutes and the man rescued and transported by helicopor to the mainland of Finland. |
Overboard - rescued alive |
| June 1 |
Wonder
Disney Cruise Line
Sensation
Carnival Cruise Lines |
ABC News reports Bahamian authorities are investigating the deaths of two crew members on separate cruise ships that were in the islands' waters. Police have disclosed few specifics, saying only that they are "actively investigating these incidents to determine the exact cause of death." A statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force says a male crew member was found dead early Sunday aboard a cruise ship anchored at Castaway Cay, a private island that serves as an exclusive port for Disney Cruise Line vessels. Police say the lifeless body of a female crew member was found aboard another cruise line's vessel early Monday as it passed through Bahamian waters. Neither ship was identified. Police spokeswoman Terecita Pinder did not immediately respond to calls or an email seeking comment Monday. Cruise Law News reports an officer was reportedly discovered dead on the Wonder yesterday. The officer reportedly was discovered hanging, in what I am told is an apparent suicide. His body was located in an air conditioning room reportedly on deck seven. Cruise Law News reports the woman crewmember on Sensation was reportedly found hanging in an officer's quarters. |
2 crew deaths on different ships |
| May 30 |
Crown Princess
Princess Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports a fire broke out Thursday night in the back stage of the Princess theater. It was extinguished with no reports of injury. The fire started in a store room behind the theater. The entire theater had to be evacuated. The smoke-generating machine had been left on, overheated and caught fire. The crew had to put on breathing apparatus. It turned out to be nothing but caused a lot of smoke at the time. At present they are investigating how/why the machine caught fire.
Princess Cruises tweeted the following to me: "Last night aboard Crown Princess a small fire occurred backstage in the Princess Theater during a performance. The cause of which was determined to be a piece of theatrical equipment used for special effects. The fire was quickly extinguished by our fire team. We immediately initiated our response procedures & all guests on board were asked to return to their staterooms. The ship's Captain made several announcements during the incident to keep guests informed of the situation & no one was injured. We're currently investigating the cause of the special effects equipment malfunction." |
Fire |
| May 29 |
Allure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a reader: I have family onboard Allure of the Seas who have just contacted me to say that a fire has broken out in the casino. Apparently somebody dropped a cigarette and fire crews are responding. Update: I have just spoken to them again, apparently the captain originally said there had been a short circuit in the casino and that it was only smoke, not a fire. He shortly after corrected himself, saying that somebody had dropped a cigarette and there was in fact a fire. They haven't heard anything about the fire being contained, only being told to remain calm. |
Fire |
| May 28 |
Prinses Christina
TransRiver Line |
NL Times reports 25 passengers caught a virus and became ill during a trip on the Rijn. German doctors and emergency services boarded the cruise ship on Wednesday night in Boppard, in the German State of Rhineland. They determined that the infection is not life threatening and the ill passengers are stable. According to the German water police, there are about 100 people on board. The three deck cruise ship has a capacity of 107. The passengers are believed to have been infected by the norovirus, a spokesperson for the owner of the ship, Trans RIver Line, said today. |
Illness |
| May 25 |
Unnamed
Royal Caribbean International |
WHIO News reports an Ohio couple claims they were “held hostage” on a recent Royal Caribbean cruise because a private joke was mistaken as a suicide threat.
Former Dayton resident Michele Baker told this reporter that she said, “Maybe I could go overboard and a dolphin could take me back to shore,” in a private conversation with her husband after he was nearly detained and arrested by Port Authority for a gun magazine that he had forgotten to take out of his bag. A security guard overheard Michele’s comment, reported it and she was placed on suicide watch. “It’s beyond me how anybody could think that a private conversation between a husband and wife joking around with each other after a very stressful day could be taken as a suicide threat,” Baker said. The couple was moved from their $3,000 suite with a balcony to a much smaller, inside room with no windows, hangars, silverware or anything else that could be used for self-harm. A security guard stood watch outside the door for 36 hours. “If she tried to leave, they would have thrown her back in,” Baker’s husband, Tim Baker, said. Michele and Tim Baker, who live in Hilliard, said they were ordered off the ship at the first port in Bermuda, where they caught a flight back to the United States. They said they spent about $5,000 with everything that happened. Officials with Royal Caribbean International did not return phone calls or respond to email requests for comment. |
Detained/ evicted |
| May 24 |
Unknown |
Jamaica Observer reports three men and one woman from Florida were arrested on Sunday after officers from the Tourism Policing Unit acting on intelligence went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf (Nassau), where they found the four suspects in possession of a quantity of marijuana. The police gave no details regarding the amount of drugs found in their possession, but said they were taken into custody and are expected to appear in court early this week to be formally charged. |
Drug bust |
| May 24 |
Explorer National Georgraphic |
NRK Norway reports an American man in his 60's was rescued after experiencing a diving accident. According to police, "We were informed that the experienced divers from the cruise ship, the National Geographic Explorer carried out the planned dives outside of Træna. After a short time there was a diver who had problems, and came to the surface unconscious and without a pulse. The diver was eventually picked up by helicopter and taken to University Hospital of North Norway (TREAT), where he is being treated. The ship has gone from Træna, and that it has now anchored off Værøy. NRK subsequently reported the mad died. |
Critical diving accident |
| May 24 |
Insignia Oceania Cruises |
Bay of Plenty Times reports the ship was turned away from the Port of Tauranga today because of high winds.
This is the fourth ship of the season (out of 84) that missed the port call. |
Skipped port call (weather) |
| May 23 |
Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises |
Daily Mail reports passengers have been struck down by an outbreak of gastric illness and confined to their cabins for the second time this month on the ship. It is not known how many passengers have been hit by the vomiting bug; the cruise line confirmed staff are attempting to contain an ‘extremely contagious gastric illness’, just days after the ship underwent a ‘deep clean’ in response to an earlier outbreak. Passengers who have been struck down by the bug on the MV Balmoral are being confined to their cabins. A relative of a passenger who is currently on board the Balmoral said quarantine restrictions have been imposed at least twice during the 13-night return journey from Southampton to the Azores and Madeira. The relative told MailOnline Travel at least one swimming pool and casino tables were made off-limits to those on the vessel. It left the UK on May 11 and is scheduled to return on Sunday. |
Illness |
| May 19 |
Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line |
NBC News reports the ship temporarily lost control Tuesday afternoon, running aground off the coast of Bermuda as it hit a reef, company officials said. But there were no injuries, the company said. The Norwegian Dawn "had a temporary malfunction of its steering system" around 5 p.m. ET, shortly after departing from King's Wharf, Bermuda, on its way back to Boston, the company said in a statement. "The ship's propulsion was affected and, at which time, the vessel made contact with the channel bed." The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a tug and dive team, which confirmed there had been no damage to t.he hull. "With high-tide this evening, the ship was floated and moved to a nearby anchorage position where it will remain overnight," Norwegian Cruise said. "The ship will be thoroughly inspected in Bermuda by DNVGL, the ship's classification society, before returning to Boston." |
Aground |
| May 18 |
Royal Princess
Princess Cruises |
|
Tender loss of power |
| May 18 |
Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Associated Press reports a10-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Carolinas and the ship immediately sailed to a nearby port in Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn told The Associated Press that the girl drowned Sunday afternoon aboard the Norwegian Gem while it was in Atlantic waters some 75 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The ship left New York on Saturday on a scheduled seven-day cruise to Florida and the Bahamas. |
Child drowns in pool |
| May 18 |
Emmanuel
Cruises Croatia |
The Daily Mail reports a British woman has drowned on holiday after falling off a tourist ship in Dubrovnik, southern Croatia. Crew members who spotted the woman falling overboard dived into the water and pulled the 64-year-old to the shore, but despite the fact that medics were quickly on the scene, they were unable to save her. The tragedy happened in the early hours of Sunday morning while the 36 passsenger shsip was moored in the port of Gruz in Dubrovnik. Emergency services that administered first aid confirmed the British woman was dead at the scene. A police spokesman said the woman had been fine before the incident. She was with her husband and friends enjoying a drink on deck when she fell. An autopsy is due to be done today to find out the exact cause of the death. |
Fall overboard - death |
| May 18 |
Thomson Spirit TUI UK |
The Daily Mail reports furious passengers are suing over a 'nightmare' luxury cruise which was blighted by 'norovirus, blocked toilets and flies feasting on the buffet'.
Eight holidaymakers have taken Thomson owners TUI UK Ltd to court after suffering sickness and diarrhoea during their May 2009 cruise aboard the Thomson Spirit.
They are suing the travel giant for thousands in damages for the distress caused, but TUI claims it did all it could to control an outbreak of norovirus on the Mediterranean cruise. |
Lawsuit for illness outbreak |
| May 18 |
Coral Princess
Princess Cruises |
ABC News 7 reports police have arrested a suspect on a cruise ship in Alaska and charged him with a double murder after he confessed to killing a well-liked couple found slain on Mother's Day, police said Sunday. Montgomery County (Maryland) police announced Scott Tomaszewski, 31, of Rockville, was arrested Saturday in Juneau, Alaska. Tomaszewski was on a luxury cruise with his father, mother and 28-year-old sister. All four were disembarking from the ‘Coral Princess’ on the Princess Cruise Line, destined for a morning whale watching excursion when police officers confronted the 31-year-old. |
Arrested for murder onshore |
| May 12 |
Hamburg
Plantours Kreuzfahrten |
Press and Journal reports the ship developed technical problems and is steaming on reduced engine power to Belfast instead of its schedled port call in the Hebrides. |
Engine problems |
| May 12 |
Azores
Portuscale Cruises
Sea Explorer
Quark Expeditions |
Press and Journal reports the Western Isles missed out on a cruise ships bonanza yesterday – as what should have been a major tourism boost for the Hebrides was blown off course by gales. The liners Azores and the Sea Explorer had been due to dock in Stornoway carrying hundreds of visitors. But they were forced to steer clear of Lewis because of the weather. A fleet of coaches had been laid on to take passengers on sightseeing tours around the island and neighbouring Harris. But they were all cancelled when the ships’ captains decided the conditions were too bad for them to risk coming inshore. |
Skipped port (weather) |
| May 12 |
Seven Seas Navigator Regent Seven Seas |
Vancouver Sun reports a dead whale that came into Vancouver's harbour on the bow of a cruise ship is believed to be a 15-to-20-metre male fin whale. It's not known if the whale was dead or alive when it was struck by the ship. When it docked, a whale that had apparently been draped over the bulbous bow of the ship floated off Monday. A necropsy indicates it appeared the whale was hit north of Vancouver Island on Sunday. |
Collision with fin whale? |
| May 12 |
Multiple |
Travel Weekly reports civil unrest and violence around Puerto Vallarta led to cruise lines canceling ship calls there.The Celebrity Infinity bypassed the Mexican port on May 10 for a day at sea, spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said. On May 12, Royal Caribbean International's Jewel of the Seas will substitute a sea day for Puerto Vallarta. Disney Cruise Line distributed a letter to passengers on a 14-day Panama Canal cruise aboard the Disney Wonder explaining that the May 12 port call was being canceled. The Carnival Miracle will continue with its scheduled May 12 stop, but some shore excursions have been canceled, a spokesman said. |
Canceled port call |
| May 12 |
Star Princess
Princess Cruises |
CDC reports 138 of 2597 passengers (5.31%) and 18 of 1094 crew (1.65%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and two Epidemiologists will board the ship in San Francisco, CA on May 14, 2015 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship was on a 16 day cruise. |
Illness |
| May 10 |
Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises |
Cruise Critic posters report the ship returned to Southampton one day early from its Norwegian fjords cruise because of an illness outbreak on the ship. Some estimates are that as many as 25% of passengers and crew were effected. The Daily Echo reports says approximately 250 passengers became ill. UPDATE:Daily Mail reports passengers who were hit by a vomiting bug that ‘ruined’ their eight-day cruise to Norway are taking legal action against Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Martin D’Arcy, one of the passengers who has contacted lawyers, claims he was confined to his cabin with diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever. |
Illness - early debarkation (one day early) |
| May 10 |
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Law News reports the ship returned early to Fort Lauderdale this morning because a passenger sustained a serious injury yesterday. Several passengers emailed me stating that the Royal Caribbean passenger sustained major head trauma after he fell on the FlowRider. It is unclear exactly when or how the accident occurred, but the Independence of the Seas returned to port in Fort Lauderdale this morning around 3:00 A.M. Flowriders are exceedingly dangerous. There have been numerous broken ankles, wrists, elbows, shoulders and necks and even one death on Royal Caribbean cruise ships when a passenger broke his neck and was killed. We believe the FlowRiders are unreasonably unsafe, defectively designed with negligent instructors. Most passengers do not realize that the Royal Caribbean waiver which the cruise line forces passengers to sign is illegal and unenforceable under Maritime Law. |
Pax injury onboard - early debarkation |
| May 8 |
Star Princess
Princess Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports that news sources in Hawaii are reporting that dozens of Princess cruise ship passengers have been quarantined on Maui after a norovirus outbreak. Newspapers are saying the ship is ported at Lahaina. According to the local health department, around 30 people are quarantined in their rooms. Princess Cruises notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but here is no official CDC information because there is no need for the CDC to make a report to the public unless 3% or more of the cruise passengers or crew are ill. Hawaii News Now subsequently reported a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises said a total of about 100 passengers were affected by the virus over several days. |
Illness |
| May 7 |
Azura
P&O Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has undergone repairs in Norway for a “technical issue” with the ship's electrical system, and will return to Southampton 24 hours later than scheduled, delaying the next cruise by 48 hours and altering the itineraries of both cruises (see item below on May 6). The delay began when a technical problem with the ship's electrical system forced the ship to stay in port in Flam, Norway, to allow a team of experts to assess the problem. Azura then overnighted in Bergen last night (May 6) to allow for repairs to the ship. This morning, the line posted: “Azura has completed the repair and we have undertaken extensive testing overnight. Azura has now left Bergen to return to Southampton where she will arrive on Saturday, where guests on the current cruise will be able to disembark. As there are already four ships scheduled to be in Southampton on Saturday the port is completely full so unfortunately, those passengers joining Azura will start their cruise on Sunday.” |
Delayed debarkation / delayed embarkation (48 hrs) |
| May 7 |
Breakaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
The Royal Gazette reports a passenger died aboard the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship, which arrived in Bermuda yesterday, and four passengers were reported sick upon arrival in what appear to be unrelated incidents. At about 10am yesterday, The Royal Gazette was alerted to passengers not being allowed off the ship and that first responders had attended Heritage Wharf in Dockyard. Although passengers began disembarking shortly after 10am, a crew member confirmed that there had been a medical issue and that the ship had not been cleared until about 9.40am. A local resident, who asked not to be named, added that passengers usually start leaving the ship, which arrived at 7.30am, shortly after 8am and that she had heard unofficial reports that someone had died. By 11am, a Bulley-Graham-Rawlins Funeral Home van had arrived and tour guides began informing passengers who were upset over delays that someone had passed away aboard the ship. |
Delayed debarkation - death onboard |
| May 7 |
Marina Oceania Cruises |
CDC reports 69 of 1185 passengers (5.82%) and 11 of 769 crew (1.43%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The CDC Vessel Sanitation Program conducted an unannounced operational inspection of the ship in Miami on 3 May, 2015, and will continue to monitor the outbreak, providing epidemiological support as needed. The ship was on a 16 day cruise. |
Illness |
| May 6 |
Island Escape
Thomson Cruises |
The Daily Mirror reports Thomson could be sued by almost 100 holidaymakers who claim they suffered severe sickness and diarrhoea on a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship. Legal action has been lodged by dozens of passengers travelling on different Island Escape trips over a nine-month period. They include a honeymoon couple, a man celebrating his 60th birthday and a couple marking their tenth anniversary who all claim their breaks were ruined. Passengers complained of suffering "severe gastric illness symptoms" after being served "reheated and undercooked food". Amandeep Dhillon, a partner at Irwin Mitchell representing the group, said: "The large number of people who have instructed us to investigate their complaints about this cruise ship is very worrying. Some of these passengers suffered from severe gastric illness symptoms whilst on board the cruise ship when they should have been relaxing and enjoying themselves." The legal firm said passengers "reported reheated food being served in the restaurant as well as undercooked food being served on occasions, with their complaints echoing those made by victims of illness on board the Island Escape in previous years". Solicitors representing the group of angry passengers say it is the fourth time in six years it has pursued complaints about the Island Escape ship. |
Lawsuit for illness |
| May 6 |
Multiple River Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports high water on Europe's rivers is disrupting river cruise itineraries, forcing cruise lines to bus people to the next stop, cancel ports and delay cruises. A combination of recent heavy rainfall across Switzerland and France and spring snowmelt in the mountains has waylaid ships from lines including Viking River Cruises, Scenic, Emerald Waterways, APT, Uniworld and CroisiEurope, sailing itineraries on the Rhine, Rhône, Saône, Danube and Seine rivers. |
Disruptions by high water |
| May 6 |
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Local 10 News reports a Pompano Beach man was arrested after he stole another man's cash during a hot tub encounter on a cruise ship, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. John Radwan, 29, faces a grand theft charge for an incident that occurred while he was a passenger on the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. According to the arrest report, Ian Sinisgalli was in the hot tub about 4 a.m. Monday when he was befriended by Radwan. Before getting in the hot tub, Sinisgalli removed his pants and placed them on the side of the hot tub. At some point while Sinisgalli was in the hot tub, Radwan reached into his pants and removed about $500 in cash, the report said. The theft was captured on surveillance video, the report said. |
Arrested for theft onboard |
| May 6 |
Magnifica
MSC Cruises |
e-Nautilia reports an 86 year old French man disembarked from the ship at 8:30 AM and has been "lost". His wife returned to the ship and he was not on the ship; a search is underway for the man with dementia. |
Pax misssing ashore |
| May 6 |
Azura
P&O Cruises |
From a passenger: Tendering problems on 04/05/2015 at Geiranger. Some passengers able to disembark in the early morning but tendering had to be cancelled due to loss of anchor, leaving some temporarily stranded in Geiranger. Engine failure 05/05/2015 into 06/0/2015 meaning that ship left Flåm this morning and no longer stopping at Stavanger so 2 straight days at sea back to Southampton. UPDATE: The Azura experienced another engine failure and may be delayed by a day returning to the UK. |
Propulsion problems / missed ports / delays |
| May 5 |
Amadea Phoenix Reisen |
Torquay Herald Express reports bad weather meant Dartmouth missed out on its first cruise ship of the season. The ship MV Amadea, which is carrying around 600 passengers who are mainly German, was due to visit the port from around noon. However, the 192-metre ship was making her way into Tor Bay instead. Her last port of call was Cork. Winds were gusting up to 40mph off the South Hams coast on Tuesday morning. Coaches were waiting at Torquay harbourside, with Dartmoor among the destinations for the visiting cruise passengers. |
Missed port (weather) |
| May 5 |
Fortuna
Costa Cruises |
L'Unione Sarda reports the ship was forced to divert to Palermo for repairs after an electrical failure left the ship operating on only one engine. It dropped its port call to Malta. Passengers protested the lack of information and those from Sardinia advocated that the ship divert to Cagliari. |
Mechanical failure |
| May 5 |
Unknown |
Jamaica Observer reports the police said acting on a tip off, they went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they found the suspect in possession of a quantity of marijuana. “The suspect was taken into custody and is expected to appear in court early this week to be formally charged,” the statement said. |
Drug bust |
| May 4 |
Carnival Inspiration
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Critic reports the ship due in Long Beach Monday, instead docked in San Pedro. Passengers leaving the ship were offered bus transportation back to Long Beach or to the airport. Those boarding Inspiration were told to proceed to Long Beach to be transported to San Pedro by motorcoach for check-in there. As further swells are anticipated, the vessel will spend a day at sea tomorrow, forgoing a planned call on Catalina Island. It will call on Catalina Island on Wednesday instead. |
Changed port of embarkation & debarkation |
| May 3 |
Carnival Imagination
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Fox 5San Diego reports the ship scheduled to dock in Long Beach was diverted to San Diego Sunday due to forecasts of high surf in Long Beach. Passengers scheduled to sail on the next cruise were advised to check-in at the Long Beach cruise terminal. Motor coach transportation was provided to San Diego from Long Beach. The forecast in Long Beach calls for heavy swells throughout Sunday. |
Changed port of embarkation & debarkation |
| May 1 |
Maasdam Holland America Line |
CDC reports 67 of 1138 passengers (5.89%) and 12 of 578 crew (2.08%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship in Fort Lauderdale on May 1 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 14 day cruise. |
Illness |
| May 1 |
Silver Shadow Silversea Cruises |
Travel Pulse reports the ship scored an 82 out of 100. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) says scores of 85 or lower are “not satisfactory.” The inspection found 40 infractions, including improper food storage temperatures and records, sneeze guards that failed to fully protect food items on a buffet, and food-service items improperly stored in a location where they could be exposed to dust or other contamination. According to the CDC report, inspectors also found that in-suite whirlpools were disinfected every seven days instead of between occupancies, even when the ship embarked new passengers. |
Failed health inspection |
| April 30 |
All |
The US Coast Guard has just released its latest annual listing of Top Cruise Ship Deficiencies. It says that a total of 329 deficiencies were issued in 2014. In order, they were: Fire Screen Doors not Operating Properly (31 occurrences), Impeding Means of Escape (26 occurrences), Drills and Crew Training Issues (25 occurrences), Problems with Lifeboats and Rescue Boats (21 occurrences), Improper Utilization of Categorized Spaces (17 occurrences), Problems with Fire Detection systems/Smoke Detection (13 occurrences), Fire Suppression Systems (12 occurrences), Issues with Pollution Prevention Equipment (9 occurrences), Emergency Lighting Issues (7 occurrences), Fuel and oil leaks (7 occurrences). |
Deficiencies |
| April 30 |
Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Hamilton Spectator reports an Indiana woman who secretly gave birth to a child who died on a Carnival Caribbean cruise will plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Alicia Keir, 24, gave birth on Oct. 8, 2011, according to court documents. Those with whom she was traveling on the Carnival Dream did not know she was pregnant and, after the birth, she hid her child, who died. Keir killed the infant, a criminal information filed in the case alleged, "by giving birth to infant Keir while onboard a cruise ship and not summoning help or medical attention." |
Plead guilty to manslaughter |
| April 30 |
Hamburg Plantours Kreuzfahrten |
Falmouth Packet reports the ship has cancelled her planned call due to technical problems. |
Canceled port call - mechanical problems |
| April 30 |
Divina
MSC Cruises |
The Royal Gazette reports the ship has cancelled a scheduled trip to Bermuda because of weather concerns. The cruise ship was scheduled to depart New York for the Island tomorrow, arriving at Heritage Wharf, Dockyard, on Saturday with an estimated 3,737 passengers. The visit was set to be the ship’s second and final visit to the Island this year. According to the Bermuda Weather Service, strong southwestern winds are expected on Friday and Saturday before easing on Sunday. |
Skipped port call |
| April 29 |
Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a passenger: About half an hour after leaving Nassau Bahamas to begin the return trip to New York, the captain came on the intercom and advised that along with the two RCL ships (Enchantment and Quantum OTS), we would be detouring to assist in a search & rescue effort to find the captain of a private yacht who had fallen overboard from his boat. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter soon arrived and began an aerial search. After close to an hour, we observed the helicopter drop altitude and hover for a short period before the captain came on the intercom and announced the successful rescue of the captain. |
Assist search for person overboard |
| April 28 |
Sorrento Grimaldi Lines |
The MediTelegraph reports a fire broke out about 20 miles from Palma. The ship was abandoned; passengers and crew were rescued by another Italian ship "Puglia", owned by Tirrenia, chartered to Spanish company Balearia. Aboard the ship at the time of the fire, there was the crew consisting of 45 people and 160 passengers, in addition to the load of cars and trucks. The ship is now adrift about 20 miles east of the island of Majorca. |
Fire - Evacuated - Adrift |
| April 26 |
Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: Around 3:50am on the 25th, we received a message from the captain alerting all employees, my friends told me they understood the word code alpha, deck 0, I did not understand the message. We went to the guest relations area and they told us there was a small fire on deck 0. Some people panicked. Around 4:30am the captain again use the speaker and told us all that the issue was a small fire from a small refrigerator on a crew room. He said he was sorry to wake us all and to don't worry as it was solved. The same day when he updated us about the location, etc, he once again mention he was sorry to wake up all that early and mention the situation with the fridge. Speaking with others guest on the cruise we believe he used the wrong button for the speaker for the first time. Some people thought his voice was nervous and others think he was sleepy. |
Fire (small) |
| April 26 |
Adventure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Antigua Observer reports a man has died while on a cruise ship stopover in Antigua. The man, believed to be 73 years old, complained of feeling unwell Thursday morning, but decided to take a swim anyway. He is said to have been in the water at Jolly Beach only a couple of minutes before getting into difficulty. The ship’s doctor, who was in swimwear, was one of four people attempting to resuscitate him. Based on the blue hue of his skin after being pulled out of the water, medics suggested that that he may have had a heart attack rather than drowned. Cause of death, however, is never official until a proper examination is undertaken. A passenger reports that two passengers were left behind at Barbados or St. Lucia because they missed the ship. |
Pax death ashore |
| April 26 |
Coral Princess
Princess Cruises |
CDC reports 99 of 1958 passengers (5.06%) and 12 of 881 crew (1.36%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship in Los Angeles on April 27 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 15 day cruise. |
Illness |
| April 25 |
Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
From a reader/passenger: just getting notification of this ship being repaired. Were getting ready to leave on Sunday from Canada to Miami. Just shocked to learn of this now. How can they do this now ... Totally shocked that they cancelled it now. Cruise Critic cubsequently reports the ship was unexpectedly dry docked to resolve an issue that is causing a small amount of "bio-friendly" oil to leak. The ship, currently the oldest in the line's fleet, will finish its current sailing in Miami tomorrow, as scheduled. It will then sail to Freeport, where repair work will be completed. Passengers booked on the subsequent sailing -- a four-night Bahamas cruise from Miami, scheduled to depart April 27 -- will receive full refunds, as well as future cruise certificates equal to 100 percent of the cruise fares paid for the canceled voyage.
The company did not specify how long the repairs will take or whether further sailings are expected to be impacted. |
Cruise canceled because of ship repairs - Drydock for oil leak |
| April 23 |
Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
NJ.Com reports an employee faces up to three years in prison after admitting Thursday that he sexually assaulted a passenger last year. Karan Seechurn of Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact and is scheduled to be sentenced in August. The incident occurred Dec. 23, 2014. Authorities say Seechurn, 25, was responsible for re-stocking passengers' minibars and had a key to the victim's room. While off-duty, he entered the room and touched the victim's genitals while she was asleep. When the victim awoke, Seechurn tried to prevent the woman from leaving and threatened to burn down the ship if she told anyone, according to court documents filed at the time of Seechurn's arrest. |
Crew member pleads guilty to sexual assault |
| April 22 |
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines |
WINN FM Carnival Cruise Line has again cancelled its Liberty vessel's Friday call to St. Kitts' Port Zante. According to a press release from the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, the April 24th scheduled port call was cancelled in light of ongoing wind conditions and continuing repairs to the ship’s thruster system. This is the fourth port call in a row that has been canceled because of thruster problems. |
Propuylsion problems / canceled port calls |
| April 22 |
Thomson Celebration
Thomson Cruises |
Daily Mail reports a holiday maker accused of beating an elderly couple unconscious aboard a cruise ship has claimed he was angry with them because they had ignored him over dinner. Graeme Finlay, 53, from Glasgow, denies unlawfully wounding Ron Phillips, 70, who walks with a crutch and was carrying two cocoas back to his cabin for him and his wife June, 68. He also denies causing grievous bodily harm to Mrs Phillips, as they were all cruising in a luxury liner on a 14-night holiday based in the Canary Islands. A court heard that the pensioners were ambushed outside their room by Finlay who had earlier sat with them in the restaurant where he claims that he was snubbed. Finlay, 53, says he was ‘ignored’ when he joined their table and so moved to another after looking at the menu. Teesside Crown Court heard he was on the ship alone and had drunk two pints of lager, three glasses of red wine and around five vodka and Cokes that evening. The Northern Echo reports the accused was cleared by the jury. |
Lawsuit over pax on pax assault |
| April 21 |
Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: The same storm that affected Carnival Spirit, also led to some damage and injuries on the Carnival Legend. The ship was sailing out of Sydney on the 20th and encountered 15 - 25 meter waves that smashed out the windows on two guest cabins located on deck 1 (cabins 1233 & 1235), injuring two of the guests with cuts from glass and being swirled about the cabin while filled with water. A life boat was damaged on deck 4 after being hit by a wave and a life raft was lost overboard. |
Damaged in storm |
| April 21 |
Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines |
News.Com.Au reports wild weather battering Sydney has left a cruise ship damaged and stuck out at sea. The Carnival Spirit due to dock in Sydney this morning has been unable to enter Sydney Harbour due to the extreme weather. The ship has also suffered damage from the wild weather conditions including damage to a hand railing and pedestal lighting as well as to the cover of a satellite system. A passenger from Sydney who is on Carnival Spirit said the waves on the coast were massive. “It’s not pleasant, it’s been like this all night,” she told ABC radio over the phone from the ship. “I don’t think many people got much sleep,” Debbie from Cherrybrook said on Tuesday. Carnival Spirit is hoping to berth in Sydney tomorrow, however the delay has meant an itinerary change to the next cruise and the cruise line is offering affected customers a refund or on-board credit. Massive waves have been recorded along the NSW coast, reportedly reaching just over 11m at Manly. SES Deputy Commissioner Steven Pearce said the “enormous” storm was the worst Sydney had experienced in recent times. “We haven’t seen gale force winds this consistent for years ... They are cyclonic and it will only get worse.”
Meanwhile, the ship is bobbing offshore with much seasickness and discomfort. A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines gave the following statement to news.com.au: “The scheduled Sydney arrival of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Spirit early this morning has been delayed due to severe weather which has led to the closure of Sydney port and prevented the Harbour Pilot from boarding the ship. “The ship is now waiting off the Sydney coast line until the port is reopened and the Harbour Pilot is able to board. It is mandatory maritime requirement for a Harbour Pilot to board any ship before it enters Sydney port. |
Stuck at sea because of weather |
| April 20 |
Scenic Emerald
Scenic Cruises |
From a passenger: I noticed immediately we boarded that the hand sanitisers at the entrance to the restaurant were not working. When I pointed this out I was told that
this was because they were awaiting replacement batteries. On complaining, I was offered a sanitiser bottle for my own use but I had to point out that everyone should be sanitising their hands before eating not just me. I was very surprised that I had to point this out. On the Saturday (6 days into the cruise) we were told that there was what was believed to be a gastrointestinal virus on the ship and that an increasing number of people were becoming ill. At this stage, one of the portable sanitisers from the reception area was placed outside the restaurant and we were advised to use it. The next day I came down with the virus and, as a result, missed the Beaujolais visit (which would have been one of the highlights for me) and the Captain’s dinner, amongst other things. I believe that my illness was a direct result of the poor hygiene
regime aboard the ship and so was completely avoidable. I wrote to complain after the cruise and had to send a reminder after four weeks. The eventual reply was superficial and flippant and didn’t address the issues I had raised. When I complained again it took two and a half weeks for them to offer a discount on another holiday. As we would be unlikely to book again with Scenic, given the poor hygiene regime, I asked for a partial cash refund. They refused. |
Illness outbreak |
| April 19 |
Oriana
P&O Cruises |
Cruise Hive reports the ship returned back to Port after a fire broke out in the ship engine room. The small fire broke out yesterday evening (April 18th) at around 7 PM not long after the 65,153 gross ton cruise ship departed Miami, Florida. From what we can tell the damage was minor as the P&O Oriana has now departed Miami once again. No injuries have been reported. The news first broke via @PTZtv and they mentioned that a viewer of one of the web cams heard radio messages between the cruise ship and the US Coast Guard. Seatrade reports the first port of call, Key West, has been canceled. |
Fire - delay / canceled port call |
| April 18 |
Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Cruise Law News reports a NCL crew member employed aboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship was arrested yesterday when he attempted to smuggle cocaine aboard the ship when it was docked in Roatan, according to the Teledifusora Insular television station. The television stations reports that the NCL ship employee, identified as Keneth Antonio Salas Taylor (age 35), a Nicaraguan galley worker, tired to board the Dawn with a package of cocaine hidden under his clothes. The ship's security discovered the drugs and reported the incident to the national police, who arrested the crew member. |
Drug bust |
| April 18 |
Regal Princess
Princess Cruises |
Chronicle Herald reports the ship was slated to make its inaugural call at the Port of Halifax on Sunday morning. However, the stop has been cancelled because a storm is brewing while the ship would be making a transatlantic crossing, the Halifax Port Authority said Friday. From a reader: The Regal Princess departed Fort Lauderdale PM April 15th. on a transatlantic cruise with first scheduled stop Halifax, also Halifax’s first cruise ship of the season; however approximately 2 hrs. out there was a medical emergency and she returned to Fort Lauderdale after the call at Halifax was dropped. Her 2nd. scheduled stop was Cork Ireland. |
Skips port - aniticipated weather |
| April 17 |
Voyager Voyages of Discovery |
BBC reports a tender from a cruise liner visiting Guernsey was aground for an hour as it tried to pick up passengers using a temporary pontoon. No passengers were on board when the vessel from the MS Voyager that by the pontoon connected to the Albert Pier. It was refloated at 13:50 BST. A harbour spokesman said the tender's crew had been advised earlier to move to a deeper area next to the pontoon. Permanent pontoons, suitable for all tides, are due to be completed by May. |
Tender aground |
| April 16 |
Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cayman News Service reports a 31-year-old American cruise ship passenger died after two Jet Skis collided yesterday afternoon. Robert Cole and his 37-year-old female passenger, named as Amy Comer,were thrown into the water when the Jet Ski they were riding collided with one driven by a 15-year-old boy, a cruise visitor from New York. The crash occurred on Wednesday 15 April just before 1pm close to the Westin Hotel. Cole was transported to the shore where CPR was administered to him. Emergency Services responded shortly and transported him and the woman to the hospital. Cole later succumbed to his injuries, but the female passenger has since been treated and released from the hospital. The 15-year-old boy from New York, a passenger on the Carnival Paradise, was the sole rider of the other Jet Ski in the collision. He suffered a minor nose injury which did not require hospitalization, police said. According to other sources the teen may have t-boned Cole’s Jet Ski. |
Pax death ashore |
| April 14 |
Horizon
Croisieres de France |
721 News reports that around 12 noon on April 13th the police department received a call from the security office at the A.C. Wathey Cruise Facilities that they had received a message from the cruise vessel “Croisieres de France Horizon Cruiseship” informing them that a passenger on board of the cruise ship had jumped from the ship in open waters between the Dominican Republic and Sint Maarten. The male victim, 67-year-old Dominic William O'Carroll, is a resident from the French Side of the island. What the circumstances are that led to this incident will be investigated when the ship arrives in the port of Sint Maarten. |
Passenger overboard |
| April 13 |
Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
The CDC reported 135 0f 1746 passengers (7.73%) and 7 of 748 crew (0.94%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and one epidemiologist will board the ship in San Diego on April 14 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 16 day cruise. |
Illness |
| April 10 |
Sinfonia
MSC Cruises |
Mallorca Magazin and UH Sucesos report Palma Local police arrested two Italian crew that had committed a series of robberies on the promenade shortly before sailing. A nightlife security camera caught them red-handed. Ten minutes before two o'clock on Friday morning, a patrol was alerted by the theft of a bag in a place of the Avenue Gabriel Roca. Employees of the bar held the suspects (a 21 year old and a 19 year old, both Italian men). It turned out, they had stolen the bag, and in another bar a tablet of last generation and credit cards. These were found among their clothes. |
Theft spree ashore by 2 crew members |
| April 10 |
Infinity
Celebrity Cruises |
The CDC reported 106 0f 2117 passengers (5.00%) and 6 of 964 crew (0.62%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and one epidemiologist will board the ship in San Diego on April 13 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 16 day cruise. |
Illness |
| April 9 |
Azores
Cruise & Maritime Voyages |
Daily Mail reports nearly 500 British holidaymakers were stranded overnight on an impounded cruise ship in Lisbon harbour after its owners were served with a summons for an allegedly unpaid debt. The passengers coming towards the end of a 15 night cruise became the unwitting pawns in a legal wrangle between a former crew member and the owners of the MV Azores. The ship had been set to leave Lisbon at 7pm on Tuesday night with its 489 passengers heading back to Bristol Avonmouth after a round-trip tour that took in La Coruna in Spain, the Azores, and Madeira. But that was scuppered when lawyers slapped a court order on the ship over an 'unresolved' and 'historic' financial wrangle. The harbour master then refused to let the ship leave for Bristol. The ship is operated by Essex-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages. But the legal dispute was between owners Portuscale Cruise - from which they were chartering the vessel - and one of that company's former staff. The UK cruise firm, which had nothing to do with the financial wrangle, eventually came to an arrangement with Portugese authorities which allowed the ship to sail - 19 hours late - at 2pm Wednesday. It said passengers were kept informed throughout, helped with onward travel arrangements affected by the delay, and given access to a complimentary bar. |
Detained for 18 hours |
| April 9 |
Henna
HNA Cruise Company |
China Times reports nearly 400 Chinese tourists refused to leave the Henna, China's first domestically-operated luxury liner, for nearly eight hours on Monday after their tour schedule to Japan was halved and disrupted by heavy fog, reports Shanghai-based outlet the Paper. The passengers refused to disembark from 8 am until 5 pm before they reached an agreement with the cruise line on compensation. The incident also caused another five-hour delay to passengers waiting to board for the next trip. One of the passengers, surnamed Wu, said he and his friends and family had booked a six-day cruise to Fukuoka and Sasebo through Chinese travel agent ly.com. They were scheduled to board at 5 pm on April 1 but waited until 9 pm. After boarding, the crew told passengers that the ship could not leave Shanghai Wusongku International Cruise Terminal until 1 am and that the visit to Fukuoka would have to be cancelled. Passengers were given the option of staying or leaving, the crew said. Wu and his wife left but his parents stayed. Wu's mother said that after arriving at Sasebo, passengers had originally been told they would have seven to eight hours in the city, but the actual time was halved. Passengers were also denied access to the liner's pools and karaoke machines, something Wu's parents had been looking forward to enjoying. That left passengers with the options of eating, sleeping and drinking for the rest of the cruise, said the mother. She, along with nearly 400 passengers, refused to leave the ship after it returned to Shanghai until the operator agreed to compensation for the disappointing voyage. |
Pax refused to disembark - Embarkation 12 hours late & itinerary change |
| April 7 |
Star
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Travel Pulse reports cancelation of the April 12 Panama Canal voyage due to “a technical issue with the ship’s ABB-manufactured Azipod propulsion system.” Guests booked on the 15-day cruise from Los Angeles will receive a full refund of the cruise fare, as well as a 50 percent future cruise credit. The ship will be out of service April 12-26 so repairs can be made and is expected to resume service on April 27 from Miami, the company said. The ship late last month emerged from a two-week dry-dock renovation that included “an Azipod hydrodynamic upgrade” and other technical improvements including state-of-the-art silicone paint on the hull that improves fuel efficiency, thrusters and stabilizer maintenance; and ballast and bilge piping replacement. |
Canceled cruise for drydock |
| April 6 |
Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line |
The CDC reported 107 of 2472 passengers (4.37%) and 7 of 1062 crew (0.66%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Two Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship in Miami to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on an 11 day cruise. From a passenger: The reports coming from the CDC are not accurate. The captain said that 20% of the ship was sick. We have taken 20 cruises. We are not cruise virgins. Had medications for diarrhea from our doctor. Still, felt terrible the whole cruise. We would call some halls, including on deck 10, which we were on “red light districts”, noting the number of rooms on do not disturb. The smells were noxious. We were very close to getting quarantined. Took us over one hour to clear customs in St. Kitts. The last time we fell ill was in 2002 on RCL. I sent a notice of claims to the Supervisor of Customer Complaints and they gave a credit for another cruise. |
Illness |
| April 6 |
Unknown |
Olive Press reports a total of 16kg of cocaine, worth around €1 million, was seized by police checking cruise ship passengers stopping off at Malaga port. cruise ship The majority – 12 kg – was found with two Argentinean men travelling on board whilst the remaining 4 kg had been smuggled in a car’s hidden compartment. |
Drug bust |
| April 2 |
Ryndam Holland America Line |
Associate Press reports a couple was found dead Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide aboard a Holland America cruise ship that docked in Puerto Rico. T he unidentified man and woman were in their 50s and from Cleveland, Ohio, police Sgt. Ricardo Cruz told The Associated Press. Cruz said blood was found in the cabin, but it was unclear how the couple died. "We don't know yet whether an object was used or what the motive was," he said. He said the ship's crew found the bodies when they checked on the couple after not seeing them for a while. The FBI has taken over the investigation. It was unclear exactly when the couple died. The ship departed Tampa, Florida, on Sunday for a two-week cruise in the southern Caribbean. It stopped in Key West on Monday and then spent two days at sea before docking in historic Old San Juan on Thursday, Holland America spokesman Erik Elvejord said.Passengers said they were not aware of what had happened. The crew had roped off part of the ship and hung a sheet in the hallway as passengers disembarked around noon. The Ryndam was scheduled to depart Puerto Rico late Thursday and arrive in St. Thomas on Friday. |
2 pax dead
--
Speculation that it was a murder-suicide? |
| April 1 |
Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line |
The Telegraph reports a passenger has died following an accident while boarding the ship from a tender (the small boats that carry passengers from ship to shore or port when the cruise ship anchors at sea). The cruise ship was in Sihanoukville, a-water port city in Cambodia, on a 112-night world cruise which left Southampton on January 10. "We can confirm that a passenger died earlier today following an accident whilst boarding Queen Elizabeth from a tender," says the official statement. "Two of our crew members reacted very quickly and jumped in to rescue her. She was then taken to the medical centre but despite our very best efforts, she died."
Gangway ramps can, on occasion, break free of either the ship or the tender, causing passengers or crew to fall into the sea. Carnival Group offered no further comment on the accident. |
Pax death while boarding via tender |
| April 1 |
Crystal Serenity Crystal Cruises |
From a reader: the ship is busy cruising down the South African coast. She was due to berth at Port Elizabeth this morning. This call was cancelled due to weather and she is now en-route to Cape Town where she was originally due on the 3rd, will now arrive tomorrow, 2nd April. Guess at this stage pax will enjoy an additional day in Cape Town where we are enduing PERFECT weather ! UPDATE: Crystal Serenity was originally due in Cape Town 2nd April at 18h00 local time. Since she has omitted Port Elizabeth call this morning due to weather, she will now arrive in Cape Town tomorrow morning (2 April) at 05h30 local time and pax will have an extra full day in Cape Town and she will depart on schedule for Rio de Janeiro on Saturday 4 April at 14h00 local time. UPDATE April 4: The ship's scheduled departure from Cape Town today (4 April) at 14h00 has been delayed. The Port of Cape Town is currently wind bound with a drop only forecast for early tomorrow, Sunday 5th April. Regardless, the ship sailed with the assistance of 2 tugs late afternoon on April 4th. |
Skipped port call |
| March 31 |
Marco Polo Cruise & Maritime Voyages |
Island FM (Guernsey) reports the second cruise liner visit of the season has been cancelled due to the weather. The Marco Polo was due to come in this morning, but won't be - and the visit scheduled for tomorrow is at risk too. |
Skipped port call |
| March 31 |
Oriana
P&O Cruises |
ITV reports cruise ships based in Southampton are being delayed because of the bad weather and high winds of up to 50 knots this afternoon. P & O have said they are unable to move Oriana to a terminal where passengers can safely embark today so the ship will be delayed by 24 hours. Passengers will receive a refund of 50% of the price of their holiday and those on the current sailing will remain on board until later tonight or tomorrow. |
Delayed embarkation and debarkation (24 hours) |
| March 30 |
Queen of Oak Bay
BC Ferries |
The Vancouver Sun reports BC Ferries cancelled the remaining Monday sailings of the Queen of Oak Bay after a man went overboard from the main car deck around 4:15 p.m. The vessel was headed from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Departure Bay in Nanaimo when the person went into the water just south of Bowen Island, said Deborah Marshall, a BC Ferries spokeswoman. The crew stopped the ship and launched a rescue boat, as did the eastbound crew of the passing Queen of Cowichan. By the time they found the man in the water he was unconscious and unresponsive, said Marshall. They transferred the man to a Vancouver police boat which was on scene. BC Ferries cancelled the 5 and 9 p.m. Sailings from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay and the 7 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay. |
Overboard / rescued |
| March 30 |
Concordia Costa Cruises |
The Independent reports the doomed Costa Concordia was carrying a huge shipment of Mafia-owned cocaine when it set off on its final voyage, investigators have said. ’Ndrangheta', the feared Calabrian crime syndicate, had its drugs hidden aboard the ship that partially capsized in January 2012, phone and tape recordings of gang members have revealed. “The same ship that made us a laughing stock around the world, took the piss out of us, too,” ’Ndrangheta boss Michele Rossi is heard saying to an associate, Massimo Tiralongo, according to police officers investigating the organisation’s vast cocaine-trafficking operation. In addition to vessels operated by Costa Cruises, ’Ndrangheta also placed its drugs on ships owned by MSC and Norwegian Cruise Lines, which travel between Europe, North America and the Caribbean, according to details of the criminal investigation revealed in La Repubblica. Officers from the organised crime investigation group in Florence say that the drugs on the Concordia, which have not been found, were stowed aboard without the knowledge of senior officers or senior company officials, but almost certainly with the complicity of one or more crew members. |
Drug investigation |
| March 29 |
Carnival Fantasy
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: On Saturday when we docked in Charleston a man was lead off board by the local police in handcuffs. No information on why he was arrested.NOTE: If a reader has further information, please drop a note. |
Pax led off ship in handcuffs |
| March 29 |
Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines |
ABC 13 reports a man was arrested and charged Saturday with assault after an incident on the ship, which is now docked in the Port of Galveston. Joseph Allen faces a federal charge amounting to assault resulting in substantial body injury. The FBI is handling the case because it has special maritime and territorial jurisdiction. The charge comes after a statement from Carnival Friday, saying a domestic dispute broke out between a 44-year-old male guest and his 14-year-old stepson. |
Arrest for assault w/ SBI |
| March 28 |
Queen Mary II
Cunard Line |
From a reader: An elderly woman fell as she was getting off the tender. She fell in to the sea. 2 crew dived in after her and a man overboard call was announced. They got the lady back and got her to medical where she unfortunately died from a head injury (she got when she fell). They did an announcement to the whole ship so all the guests knew what happened. |
Fall from tender - Death |
| March 28 |
Sinfonia
MSC Cruises |
Genova 24 reports the ship, which just left the plant of Fincantieri Palermo after being stretched, arrived in Genoa and while manoeuvring to dock, entering al Ponte dei Mille, collided and destroyed a portion of the wharf. On board there were only the crew and the management of MSC, including the ceo Gianni Onorato. There were no injuries and only minor damage to the shp. The ship left March 27 on its inaugural cruise.The first port of call is Ajaccio. |
Collision with pier |
| March 28 |
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Independent reports a number of passengers and crew members were evacuated after smoke was spotted billowing from the front section of a cruise ship docked in the Dutch Caribbean nation of St Maarten. Officials said there were no reported injuries. Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vince Gulliksen said an overheated bearing caused smoke to emerge from the front section of the Carnival Liberty. He said the problem has been resolved. The ship was expected to depart St Maarten later as scheduled. It left Florida on Sunday for a seven-day Caribbean cruise. |
Ship evacuated in port - Smoke from overheated bearing |
| March 26 |
Spirit
Viking River Cruises |
From a reader: My parents were booked on a cruise set to leave this Friday and were just contacted that the cruise is canceled due to the boat being involved in an accident. The customer service rep said it was not safe to set sail. I'm looking online but am not finding any info. If you have information about this please drop me a not. From another reader: We were booked to leave for March 19th and return 7 days later. We had to cancel due to illness. The cruise line just sent us an email saying "Welcome Home" and that they were sorry the itinerary had to be changed due to an accident. They gave us a 25% off a future cruise. I guess they didn't realize we were not there (SCARY). NOTE: It appears the accident occured on the March 19th cruise. |
Accident / canceled cruise |
| March 25 |
Britannia
P&O Cruises |
The Telegraph reports that in Monaco this week passengers who had left the ship on morning excursions during her maiden voyage were temporarily unable to re-board the ship due to a swell that halted tender operations for more than 90 minutes. Once transfer operations resumed the crew safely re-boarded several thousand people. This meant waiting for the tender boats, which rose and fell several feet on the swell, to align with the ship's gangway and then, aided by crew, making a dash for the gangway ramp. |
Tendering operations halted |
| March 24 |
Magnifica
MSC Cruises |
Crew Center reports five Tourists with Slovenian passports were arrested in the northern coast of São Paulo by international drug trafficking police. The tour group was trying to board on a cruise ship in Ilhabela, with 26 kilos of cocaine. The cruise ship MSC Magnifica, sailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and during the boarding ships security found five tourists acting suspicious and immediately notified the police. The search was conducted by the Federal Police of San Sebastian, which said that the tourists tried to re-embark with drugs wrapped around their body. One of the suspects was already investigated by international traffic. Police said Ilhabela became a strategic point of international drug trafficking, because the city quick stops vessels are made with a large number of tourists. Detainees with Slovenian nationality are between 20 and 35 years of age and were taken for questioning at the police station. One of them reported that the drugs was destined for Europe. The suspicion is that the seized cocaine had come from Colombia. Police are still investigating the involvement of other people treating this as a international network of drug trafficking. |
Drug bust |
| March 24 |
Veendam Holland America Line |
From a passenger: We have just returned from a 14 day Panama Canal cruise aboard Holland America's Veendam. The first day out, many cabins were without water for a time, and then had brown water for a time. It seems that the cruise ship chose to flush one of the water tanks during the cruise. While we signed up for a six port cruise, we were only able to go to four ports. The reason given for the cancellation of the two ports was that they were performing maintenance on their diesel generator, ran into a problem, and didn't have anyone aboard who could fix the problem. While our cruise was not the total disaster of some that I have read about, I believe it highlights a continuing problem with Carnival and the cruise lines that fall under the Carnival umbrella. Ships do not seem to be adequately maintained, breakdowns, port cancellations, and safety issues are becoming the rule rather than the exception. It is my concern that Carnival is more interested in their bottom line than the safety of their passengers and that, some day, this will result in tragedy. |
Missed ports and propulsion problems |
| March 23 |
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
WPTV reports search crews are looking for a man who either voluntarily jumped or fell from a cruise ship overnight near the Florida Keys, according to U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss. According to a spokesperson with Royal Caribbean, the 43-year-old man was spotted on cameras "climbing over the railing and going overboard from deck 12." The incident happened aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas about 20 miles off Marathon. A Coast Guard cutter out of Miami, a boat crew based in Marathon, two Canadian Coast Guard ships and a helicopter are assisting with the search. U.S. Coast Guard crews continued searching for the man Monday afternoon. |
Passenger overboard |
| March 21 |
Splendor of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Merco Press reports Argentine customs officials seized cocaine worth more than one million dollars million from two crew members on a luxury cruise ship docked in Buenos Aires, authorities said. The suspects, both men, were identified only as a Croatian national and a Chilean traveling on an Australian passport. They were detained as they tried to board Royal Caribbean line’s Splendour of the Seas with packets of cocaine taped to their bodies, Argentina’s AFIP tax agency said in a statement. Authorities with trained dogs then searched the pair’s cabin on the ship and found 10 additional bricks of cocaine inside a backpack with different kinds of wrapping, some of them with the same pattern as the packets they carried on the suspects’ bodies. The cruise ship arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday from Punta del Este, Uruguay, and was scheduled to depart for Brazil en route to Europe, where, according to AFIP’s estimate, the 15.8 kilograms of high-purity cocaine would have had a street value of more than 1 million dollars. |
Drug bust |
| March 20 |
Carnival Valor
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a reader: during the 2nd week of march 2015, it's been reported that a chlorination problem of the tap water onboard Carnival Valor affected blond haired people, their hair becoming green. I have received this information from pax onboard |
Chlorine problem in water |
| March 19 |
Amsterdam Holland America Line |
From a passenger: We are in our third week of code red sanitation restrictions due to serious Noro Virus...bacterial and viral effecting passengers . We are now in Mumbai. Irresponsible passengers continue to violate the voluntary quarantine and infect more passengers. The Captain told us last night that if passengers don't do their part to bring an end to the number of new cases, they may have to even cancel the cruise and to sanitize the ship. The crew have been fantastic, working overtime to clean the ship. We continue to see people who are contagious outside their cabin and using the Lido and public areas. NOTE: Cruise ships not operating from US ports are not required to report illness outbreaks. Thus, there will be no accurate reports of the number of passengers ill. UPDATE: We were off the ship for four days doing an overland trip in India to visit the Taj. We flew to catch up with the ship in Dubai yesterday. When the ship arrived in Port yesterday morning, the ship underwent a deep disinfecting, every cabin too, Ali the linens were changed too. I think about 100 passengers got off and about 70 new passengers got on. The ship is STILL in Code Red tonight. Same precautions in place, plus while E have been off the ship, they have closed the library, the fitness center as well as the Jacuzzis until further notice We sail for Oman tomorrow and have a sea day until we reach Oman. |
Illness outbreak (Serious) |
| March 18 |
Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line |
Dominion Post reports the ship ditched its Wellington visit with the capital in sight. It was due into Wellington Harbour on Wednesday morning but, after a circuitous route across Cook Strait, the pilot aborted entry to the harbour at 5.10am because of a heavy swell and bad weather. The Wellington leg of the cruise was cancelled and the ship is now heading up the North Island west coast to Auckland. |
Skipped port |
| March 18 |
Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines |
ABC 13 reports the ship is now on its way back to Galveston, and should arrive by 11am Thursday. For the thousands of passengers, the past 24 hours have been anything but routine. Around 9pm Tuesday, the ship notified those on board that a passenger went overboard. A body was recovered the following day. Nena Robinson, who is currently on the cruise ship with her husband, called ABC 13 Wednesday afternoon. "About nine o'clock, right as the show was ending, they came on the intercom and said 'Bravo! Bravo Starboard side,'" recalled Robinson. "We learned later that it meant someone had gone over." Passengers say at that point, the ship turned around and headed back to Mexico to aide in the search and rescue. Authorities confirmed the man went overbroad through the ship's onboard cameras, but no other details have been released. By morning, the body of the passenger, a 54-year-old man, was found. The ship is scheduled to return to Galveston by 11a.m., three hours later than planned. |
Passenger overborad |
| March 18 |
Fascinosa Costa Cruises Splendida MSC Cruises |
International Business Times reports at least 19 people were killed and more than 40 wounded as two gunmen in military fatigues stormed the Bardo Museum in the Tunisian capital. Among the victims were passengers on a shore excursion from two liners that had docked in the port city as part of an off-season Mediterranean cruise. MSC Cruises said that a number of guests from the Splendida who joined an organised trip to the museum were caught in the attack. Nine were confirmed killed, 12 injured and six, including a British national, are unaccounted-for, not having returned aboard as the ship pulled out to the Mediterranean at sunrise. According to IHS Maritime 360, Costa Cruises has confirmed that five passengers - four Italians and one Russian - of its cruise liner Costa Fascinosa were murdered in the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis on 18 March. Eight other passengers - seven Italians and one Russian - were injured in the attack and are currently in hospital, the company confirmed in a statement. The total number of cruise passengers killed now stands at 14 - nine were travelling on the cruise ship MSC Splendida. The total injured is 20, including five from Costa Fascinosa and 12 from Splendida. |
Terrorist attack in Tunis |
| March 17 |
Queen Mary 2 & Queen Victoria
Cunard Line |
Marlborough Express reports apair of cruise ships have arrived in Picton at short notice to shelter from Cyclone Pam. The Queen Victoria cruise ship docked at Waimahara Wharf, in Shakespeare Bay, on Monday morning after travelling from Sydney, while the Queen Mary 2 was scheduled to arrive in Picton this morning from the Milford Sound. Port Marlborough chief executive Ian McNabb said Port Marlborough had been contacted by a ship's agent on Saturday asking if the cruise ships could shelter at Waimahara Wharf to avoid the brunt of Cyclone Pam, hitting the east coast of the country. The Queen Victoria had left Picton on Monday evening, while the Queen Mary 2 is due to leave early tonight. |
Unexpected stop to shelter from weather |
| March 17 |
Super Star Libra
Star Cruises |
The Star reports the body of a 50 year old Indonesian man who fell overboard was found on Monday evening. The body of Mulianto Raik, 50, an Indonesian, was found 19 nautical miles west of Muka Head near here by local fishermen. A search and rescue operation was launched on March 13 after a report was received from the ship's captain who saw a man fall from the deck of the liner about eight nautical miles north of Muka Head through closed circuit television camera. |
Person overboard |
| March 16 |
Ulysses
Irish Ferries |
The Independent reports the ship, which had been travelling from Holyhead to Dublin, had been due to arrive at around 5.30pm when it received a request from Holyhead Port Authority. The ship remained at sea until 6.30pm, when the all-clear was given to allow the 1,555 passengers to disembark. A spokesman from Holyhead Port Authority said the request had been made after the alarm was raised about a “medical issue”. But confusion reigned as neither the NHS or Public Health England said they were aware of the incident last night. An Irish Ferries spokesman said: “Our ship, the Ulysses, was arriving into Dublin Port, and we were asked by the port authorities in Holyhead to hold our passengers on board, and not discharge them. Apparently, there was some situation being investigated on the UK side. “It’s normal procedure that we would act on that request, so we acted on it. "Just about an hour later, at 6.30pm, we got clearance to release the passengers. We let them off on their way and the vessel concerned is now back in normal service, on its way back over to Holyhead.” |
Delayed disembarkation/ embarkation |
| March 15 |
Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Travel Pulse reports Carnival Legend,sailing out of Australia, was due to call at Port Vila, Mystery Island and Santo in Vanuatu but a Carnival Cruise Line statement said the captain and his team are currently working on alternative South Pacific destinations. |
Itinerary change (weather) |
| March 15 |
Aurora
P&O Cruises |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has become the latest cruise ship forced to skip a port stop due to Cyclone Pam. , a spokeswoman confirmed. "Due to routing measures necessary to avoid Tropical Cyclone Pam, Aurora will now be unable to deliver the planned call to Apia. She will arrive in Pago Pago on 18th March (East of Dateline)," the P&O Cruises' spokeswoman said. |
Itinerary change (weather) |
| March 14 |
Oosterdam Holland America Line |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has been forced to skip a port stop in Vanuatu due to the cyclone lashing the South Pacific island. It skipped Port Vila yesterday (March 13th) and instead spent a day at sea to avoid the storm front, according to a statement on HAL's Facebook page. The ship was due to arrive as scheduled in Luganville, Vanuatu, today (March 14th). The statement reads: "Due to tropical storm conditions at this time, the ship did not call at Port Vila, Vanuatu, on March 13. Oosterdam sailed west from its scheduled call at Mystery Island, Vanuatu, on March 12 for a day at sea to avoid the weather front. |
Itinerary change (weather) |
| March 13 |
neoRiviera Costa Cruises |
From a reader: the ship arrived off the portof Cape Town this morning 13th March at 09h30 (4 hours ago) and is doing circles in the bay as the port has been wind bound. She was due to berth at 12h00, but actually docked just after midnight. NOTE: I am presently in Cape Town and the winds have been exceptionally strong all day, disrupting sea traffic. |
Delayed arrival because of high winds |
| March 11 |
Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: I was on a cruise March 9th thru March 15th out of Galveston when on the 11th a lady (passenger) drowned next to the pier but I haven't seen any postings about this accident. The incident occured at Costa Maya. |
Death onshore |
| March 11 |
Sea Princess
Princess Cruises |
From a reader: Heard this from passengers of Sea Princess while in port of Tauranga, North Island New Zealand this week. During the journey from Australia, a steering equipment error was made by a staff member who has since been dismissed. Approx 6am ship exxperienced huge noise and listed severely for approx 3/4 hr. Considerable damage, including $250,000 of alcohol. |
Severe list - onboard damage |
| March 10 |
Norwegian Sun
Norwegian Cruise Line |
The Tampa Tribune reports 5 galley workers were arrested over the weekend after investigators said they were found smuggling seven kilograms of cocaine from Honduras in their underwear. They attracted the attention of customs officials as they were leaving the ship, according to a federal affidavit. Investigators followed them to the Hooters restaurant in Channelside, where they observed the crew members “pacing anxiously” and talking on their cell phones until two women pulled up in a rental car. The crew members got into the car, and authorities followed them to a Residence Inn on Boy Scout Boulevard, according to the affidavit. Everyone went inside, and then returned to the car about 20 minutes later. The two women — Semarie Paul and Simone Walters — dropped the crew members off at the Port, then returned to the hotel. They went back inside, investigators said, and then came back out with luggage. Walters and Paul left the hotel and were pulled over by a Pasco County Sheriff’s sergeant for a traffic infraction. The women appeared nervous, a K-9 deputy arrived at the scene, and the dog found four packages of cocaine in the car, according to the affidavit. Customs officials searched the crew members as they made their way back to the ship, and found thousands of dollars and Western Union receipts for currency transfers, records show. The men admitted to officials that they had picked up the packages March 3 in Roatan, Honduras, and smuggled them aboard the ship in their Spandex underwear. They were paid $2000 for each package. |
Drug bust |
| March 8 |
Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a reader: RE: cruise departing Miami, Florida 2015-03-07 16:00. Sometime in the early morning hours of 2015-03-08, en route to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas the passenger went overboard. Carnival verified passenger was onboard and reviewed ships security tapes (according to passenger). Passenger indicates they DID NOT make port call at Half Moon Cay. They continued to do “circles” along with another Carnival ship, looking for passenger. They are currently en route to St. Thomas, USVI. CNN subsequently reported a 21-year-old male guest was reported missing on Carnival Glory and a review of camera footage confirmed a man overboard. The ship is currently en route to the location where it was at the time the individual was last seen on the camera footage and will commence search and rescue operations upon arrival. Authorities have been notified including U.S. Coast Guard which is launching a search and rescue operation as well. The ship is presently near the Bahamas. |
Passenger overboard - Missed port call |
| March 8 |
Getaway
Norwegian Cruise Line |
Miami Herald reports a stalled sailboat started a chain of events that kept the ship in port for several extra hours Saturday. It was leaving PortMiami around 6:15 p.m. for a weeklong Caribbean sailing when it had to maneuver around a powerless sailboat in the middle of the channel, according to a statement from the cruise line. It's starboard side pod, which contains a propeller, “may have made contact with the channel bed,” the statement said. The U.S. Coast Guard performed an inspection and ultimately cleared the ship to leave around 11 p.m.; it could be seen heading toward the port’s turning basin a short time later. Getaway, which launched in 2014, is expected to arrive in St. Maarten on Tuesday as scheduled. |
Contact with channel bed |
| March 8 |
Rhapsody & Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Critic reports a tropical depression north of Vanuatu and east of the Solomon Islands has caused at both ships to change itineraries in the South Pacific, avoiding Fiji in order to evade the storm. Royal Caribbean did not specify what would replace the calls in Fiji on the ships' new itineraries. However, members posting in the Cruise Critic forums have said Voyager of the Seas had turned back to Australia's east coast after visiting Noumea in New Caledonia, and Rhapsody of the Seas had altered its itinerary from a South Pacific itinerary to a cruise up the east coast of Australia. A warning issued by the Fiji Meteorological Services said the tropical depression was rapidly intensifying and could become a tropical cyclone. The weather system is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Vanuatu and Fiji. Carnival Legend and Silversea's Silver Spirit are also on South Pacific itineraries. UPDATE: CNN reports the storm hit Vanuatu on March 14 - Tropical Cyclone Pam is the strongest storm to make landfall since the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013. Relief workers reported "unbelievable destruction" after Tropical Cyclone Pam smashed the capital of Vanuatu, the Australian Red Cross said Saturday and "humanitarian needs will be enormous. Many people have lost their homes. Shelter, food and water (are) urgent priorities" in Port Vila. Meteorologists said the storm has weakened some, but it was still pounding the islands after hours of fierce winds and torrential rain (gusts to 305km and 9 inches of rain within 36 hours). |
Itinerary changes due to weather |
| March 7 |
neoRomantica Costa Cruises |
Il Secolo Xix reports the ship was battered by seven meter high seas and wind gusts exceeding 125 km (75 miles) per hour as it saidled from Trapai to Marseille. It was forced to enter the port of Savona because of weather cinditions and damage to the ship and passengers were then tussed to Marseille. In the midst of the storm, the ship was forced to drop its anchor. Cruise Law News reports The Italian Crociere in Diretto blog and Facebook page contains accounts of the storm and photographs of the damage to the ship. Many cabins were flooded with water and there was a loss of power and black-out during the storm. Passengers were frightened and some had to stay in the hallways. You can also read accounts of the storm in La Provence. |
Damaged in encounter with storm - pax bussed to next port |
| March 7 |
Oceania Cruises |
SFGate has a story about a couple asking for assistance from their ombudsman. Theyhad booked a South Pacific cruise on the Oceania Marina and hadn't bought insurance. "My wife was diagnosed with lung cancer, and we had to cancel our trip a few weeks before our departure. I understand from my friends, who went on the cruise and had the room next door, that our room was occupied the whole trip. I know we probably won’t get back the $29,000 we spent on the cruise. But we paid an extra $14,000 to upgrade our flight to Australia to business class. Oceania has received a refund from the airline, but the cruise line won’t reimburse us for it." The ombudsperson wrote: "It’s too bad you didn’t buy insurance. It’s always a good idea to consider a policy that covers a vacation of a lifetime like the one you planned to take, even if it made it a little more expensive.
Your cruise met two of the criteria for buying insurance: It cost more than $5,000, and you couldn’t afford to lose the value of the vacation. I’m really surprised that your travel agent or Oceania didn’t explain why a policy was necessary. Cruise refund policies are fairly rigid, in part because cruise lines don’t want to lose money and in part because they want to sell more insurance. It’s particularly distressing when you learn that your cabin was occupied, which might mean that Oceania “double dipped” by keeping your cruise fare and reselling your cabin to someone else. I share your disappointment. If a cruise line resells a cabin, it really should refund your fare. But that’s a debate for another time." In the end the ombudsperson was able to get the couple a refund of the sirfare portion of their vacation. Cruise Law News also reports on this issue, but goes further. As the website says: "Oceania didn't lose a penny. In fact, it obtained a double profit. Cruise corporations should not be permitted to make double profits because of the death and personal suffering of their guests. Oceania's parent company, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), likes to do this too. NCL kept the cruise fare of a passenger whose brother died and the funeral was on the day of the cruise. NCL said "sorry, no refund." The passenger also tried to donate his cabin to a child with cancer, but the cruise line refused that too. NCL then sold the cabin on the Norwegian Sky for a double profit. Speaking of children with cancer, NCL also refused to return the cruise fare after a family learned that their five year old child was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo emergency medical treatment. NCL pocketed the family's money and sold their cabin for more profit. NCL also refused to either refund or credit the cruise fare to a 66 year old passenger and his wife after she was diagnosed with bladder cancer and underwent emergency surgery. Interestingly, the CLIA Passenger Bill of Rights does not address these issues -- as far as CLIA is concerned, what the cruise lines are doing is perfectly fine. |
Refusal to refund in case of medical emergency (cancer) |
| March 7 |
Silhouette
Celebrity Cruises |
Seattle Times has a story about a couple that booked an 11-night, air-inclusive Adriatic cruise through the cruise line. "We paid the $6,800 using our Visa card. A few days before our flight from Minneapolis to Venice, Delta Air Lines notified us of a change in flights due to an Air France pilots’ strike. The new flights were to be on the same day as our scheduled departure, but left later in the day. However, when we arrived at the Delta counter, there were no reservations in our names. We called Celebrity and were given two reservation numbers to show the Delta agents for our flights the next day. But we would be arriving only 40 minutes before the ship sailed — not enough time to clear customs and make it to the ship. We had no choice but to cancel our cruise. We went home very disappointed. Ever since then, we’ve been trying to get a full refund from Celebrity. The company’s best offer is a 25 percent credit and a voucher for 75 percent toward a future cruise. Our credit card company has worked with us to find a better resolution, but Celebrity refuses to deviate from its “no cash refund” policy." The newspaper's ombudsman said because the couple canceled the vacation rather than taking flights that would miss the ship and leaving it to Celebrity to get them to the next port, and because they hadn't bought insurance, they had little recourse. However, as he writes, his calls to Celebrity went unanswered, "and I suspect I know why: By the time I contacted them, your credit card dispute was already in full swing. A few days later, you reported back that you’d won the dispute. I don’t know if I could have gotten you a full refund, but all’s well that ends well." |
Refusal to refund after change of airline schedule on air-sea package |
| March 6 |
Reflection
Celebrity Cruises |
Times of Malta reports the Malta Police have issued a European arrest warrant for a Scottish man wanted for attempted rape after he turned a young student’s family holiday on board a Maltese-flagged cruise ship into a nightmare. The incident happened last summer -- on the evening of July 23, the British student who was travelling with her mother, father and younger brother said her drink was spiked by a fellow passenger who then indecently assaulted her and tried to rape her. She recovered consciousness in the cabin and found herself in a compromising position. On returning to the UK, the police interviewed the victim and gathered evidence from her and the cruise liner. Since the incident took place in international waters any criminal proceedings must be instituted in Malta, the country where the cruise ship was registered. Her lawyer, Simon Gallant, got in touch with Times of Malta after he had heard nothing from local law enforcement authorities for six months. The police said that the case was a sensitive one, but the media attention appears to have oushed them to take action. (NOTE: Under US law, the FBI has the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes against U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, but often this authority is not exercised when the crime occurs on a cruise ship.) |
Arrest warrant for sexual assault of pax |
| March 5 |
Caribbean Cruise Line |
NBC News reports the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ten state attorneys general have charged Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., and its telemarketing partners with making "billions" of illegal robocalls to sell cruises to the Bahamas. These sales calls were disguised as political surveys in violation of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, according to the joint lawsuit. The only way a robocall pitching some good or service is legal is if you've given written permission to receive one and these guys had no permission, however calls for political parties are exempt. Caribbean Cruise Line has agreed to change its business practices and pay a $7.7 million civil penalty to settle this case, although most of that penalty will be suspended after it pays $500,000. As many as 15 million robocalls a day were placed during this massive robocall campaign, which ran from October 2011 through July 2012, the complaint says. People who got the prerecorded call from "John from Political Opinions of America" were told they'd been "carefully selected to participate in a short 30-second research survey." By taking the survey, John said, they'd receive a "free" two day cruise for two people to the Bahamas. Those who completed the survey and tried to get their free cruise were connected to a live telemarketer who tried to sell them add-ons and other travel packages. The FTC claims these calls generated millions of dollars for the cruise line. When contacted for a comment, the company's attorney emailed a statement to NBC News. It said Caribbean had agreed to allow its complimentary cruise promotion to be used by a group of Political Action Committees (PACs) to increase the response to the survey calls the PACs made during the presidential election of 2012. "Unfortunately, the PACs made calls that were not part of the program that Caribbean had approved," the statement said. "Since Caribbean had long before disassociated itself from the PACs and the survey calls being made, Caribbean chose to settle the dispute, and there was no finding of any wrongdoing." |
Charged for illegal robocall marketing |
| March 4 |
Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line |
WPTV reports a diabetic woman said her service dog wasn't allowed on a cruise. Robin Phillips claims the cruise line failed to make it clear what was required to bring the dog on board, and then refused to work with her the day of the cruise. Phillips said she called the cruise line's customer service number several times before the trip and prepared a record of Molly's background. But when she showed up at the Port of Palm Beach Sunday, they wouldn't let the dog on board. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line said it allows service animals aboard, but had nothing on record saying Phillips wanted to bring a dog. It does require a vet to fill out a specific form. |
Service .animal refused boarding |
| March 3 |
Infinity
Celebrity Cruises |
Several passengers on the February 15th cruise from Buenos Aires have reported a widespread illness outbreak over their first two weeks onboard -- sounds mainly like an influenza or virus that zaps one's energy, attacks the respiratory system, and has other impacts. Estimates are that one-third to one-half of passengers were effected. |
Illness |
| March 3 |
Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cayman News Service reports government officials have now confirmed that talks has resulted in a payment of $100,000 to the Cayman Islands National Trust towards the Magic Reef Restoration Project. Carnival has not, however, admitted any liability regarding the damage that one of its cruise ships caused when it dropped anchor in the wrong place in George Town Harbour last August.
Instead they are blaming the pilot and the port authority, but not accepting any blame for their crew or staff. The ship anchor severely damaged the coral reef off Grand Cayman in August 2014. The $100,000 cash donation from Carnival is understood to represent a first payment and there could be much more to come in the near future. |
"Donation" to ameliorate environmental violation (destroying a reef) |
| February 27 |
Disney Wonder DIsney Cruise Line |
The Tribune reports police are investigating the apparent drowning of an American cruise ship passenger off Castaway Cay in the Abacos on Thursday. According to reports, shortly before 4pm, a 38–year-old New York man drowned while swimming off Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the northern Bahamas. Police said an autopsy would be performed to confirm the cause of death. The man was a passenger on the Disney Wonder on a five-night cruise to The Bahamas that departed from Miami. Disney spokeswoman Angela Bliss said crew members and medical personnel responded immediately to the incident and the company is working with Bahamian authorities in the investigation. |
Pax drowns on private island |
| February 27 |
Freedom of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
NBC 4 (Los Angeles) reports what was supposed to be a romantic 34th anniversary cruise for a Tarzana couple has turned into a nightmare of sunken dreams and lost cash. This spring, Ken and Pam Brazile planned to spend eight days enjoying the Caribbean sunshine and listening to R & B performers on the "Maxwell & the Seven Seas" concert cruise. They’d reserved $16,000 tickets, which would grant them VIP access, letting them hobnob with singer Maxwell, as well as celebrities like Chef Garvin, Boney James and Brian Culberson. But after paying nearly $12,000 in installments for their tickets, the couple learned the cruise has been canceled, and instead of a refund, they say all they’re getting are excuses. That’s because the promoter, BTW at Sea, had called off the trip. The company offered no reason, but provided an online form for passengers to fill out. Despite submitting the form, and making repeated phone calls, the couple has not gotten their money back. Ken Brazile said a company spokesperson told him it would be many weeks, perhaps months, before their money is returned. |
Full ship charter canceled -- refund problems |
| February 25 |
Fortuna
Costa Cruises |
Virgin Island News 9 reports the ship is stuck in Tortola’s Road Harbour since it arrived on Sunday February 22, 2015 at about 7:30 AM, and it remains unclear when it will depart. The ship was scheduled to depart Sunday at around 6:00pm, but is said to have developed a technical problem while anchored in the harbour. While the ship is stuck in Road Harbour passengers are being allowed off the ship to go for dinner or walk around Road Town. It is unclear if the BVI Ports Authority is collecting fees for the extra days the ship is berthed in Territorial Waters. (Article appeared on February 23 -- no follow-up yet) |
Mechanical problems - stuck port |
| February 23 |
Oceana
P&O Cruises |
Barbados Today reports a cruise ship visitor appears in court today after being slapped with four drug-related charges on the weekend. Police say Drug Squad personnel discovered 1.5 kilogrammes of cocaine in the cabin occupied by Canadian Clifford Uba Ejimamu on Saturday. The 39-year-old was a passenger on the Oceana. Nation News reports he pleaded guilty to all of the cocaine charges against him. On the charge of trafficking he was fined $75 000 forthwith or two years in prison while he was fined $25 000 forthwith or two years in prison on the charge of importation. The sentences will run concurrently. Ejimamu was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the charges of possession and possession with intent to supply cocaine. |
Drug bust |
| February 23 |
Brilliance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Hive reports heavy fog is preventing the ship from docking at its home port in Tampa, Florida today (Feb 23rd) It was originally scheduled to arrive into Tampa Port at around 7 am and has up to 2,500 guests onboard. The heavy fog has stopped the ship from entering the port and docking so as a result the ship is delayed. According to My Fox in Tampa Bay the vessel is surrounded by thick fog in the Gulf of Mexico and is awaiting word from local authorities to enter the port. Passengers who are scheduled to board the cruise ship later the same day have been told by Royal Caribbean that they won’t be able to board until tomorrow. Instead the cruise line has posted that check in will begin on Tuesday, February 24, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Royal Caribbean has also stated that they will provide each the ship to port, a day and a half beyond its scheduled arrival time. The cruise ship was the only one to get into the port. ABC 7 reports the cruise was canceled. The cruise line will refund passengers the full amount of the ticket, and offer a 25% discount on their next trip, but is offering nothing for nonrefundable costs associated with flight changes and hotel nights -- makes one wonder why the CLIA Passenger Bill of Rights is not being followed in this case. |
Fog delay - Cruise canceled |
| February 22 |
Equinox
Celebrity Cruises |
The CDC reported 95 of 2896 passengers (3.28%) and 7 of 1209 crew (0.58%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Three Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and one epidemiologist will board the ship in Port Everglades to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 10 day cruise. UPDATE: The CDC now reports 142 of 2896 passengers (4.89%) and 8 of 1209 crew (0.66) have reported ill. |
Illness |
| February 20 |
Rhapsody of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Nova 100 (Australia) reports that the ship is right in the middle of the danger zone of a monster form off the coast of Queensland. It is on day four of its 11-night journey from Sydney up the coast of Queensland. The ship has scheduled stops in Cairns and Airlie Beach along its 11 day cruise. But today, loved ones of those on board are holding their breath - the ship has been tracked right in the heart of Cyclone Marcia, which is set to hit Queensland today. Marcia has been classed as a category five cyclone, and has picked up in sped tracking around 20km/h with wind gusts up to 285km/h. Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman Patrick Quirk has told the ABC that ships would be moved from the Gladstone Harbour early this morning, while cruise ships due to arrive at the Port Of Brisbane today and tomorrow have been delayed. |
Encounter with storm? |
| February 18 |
Unnamed
Norwegian Cruise Line |
News 5 Belize reports a delivery truck from the Hummingbird Citrus Limited Two- farm collided with a small SUV at mile thirty-one on the George Price Highway. One of three persons travelling in the smaller vehicle, died. She has been identified as a US tourist who was heading to Jaguar Paw for a day trip. A second tourist was injured and is hospitalized and so is the sideman in the eighteen wheeler truck. As for the cargo truck, it ended belly up on the highway which was littered with the thousands of oranges it was transporting. Unable to stop when the SUV was stopped waiting to make a left turn, this loaded truck rammed into it. A woman, Theresa Lyn Meuers, reportedly died at the hospital. She and another cruise ship passenger, Samuel Douglas Schulte, were in the Belize for the day and heading to Jaguar Paw to do day tours. She was travelling in the back seat of the SUV, driven at the time by Tour Guide Leon Garcia of Big John’s Tours. Garcia was released from hospital, but he was too shaken up to speak. The tour was not ship sponsored. |
Pax dies on tour |
| February 10 |
Regal Princess
Princess Cruises |
Miami Herald reports two days after leaving Port Everglades, the Regal Princess was diverted to PortMiami Tuesday due to a medical emergency. The ship was about 80 miles away and sailing to Cozumel when it changed course for Miami so two passengers could disembark due to a medical emergency (2 men). The ship, which left Fort Lauderdale Sunday, already called on Princess Cays in the Bahamas. After it became clear that the passengers needed an emergency medical disembarkation, the onboard medical team and the Coast Guard determined that Miami was the better option. Once the passengers were taken off the ship Tuesday afternoon, Regal Princess was scheduled to head back to sea and visit Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The port calls will be slightly shortened as a result of the stop. |
Diverted for medical emergency |
| February 9 |
Thomson Dream
Thomson Cruises |
Cayman 27 reports the captain of Thomson Dream requested assistance from local tugboats to hold the ship in position due to shifting winds. This took place around 2:30 p.m. (9 February). A Bodden Shipping representative tells Cayman 27 News no one was injured, but tendering was temporarily stopped. Cayman 27 crews saw the tugboats pushing and turning the ship. “The captain of the cruise ship became worried as the winds started to switch to the other direction,” a Bodden Shipping spokesperson said. Weather data shows when the ship arrived, calm southeasterly winds were blowing but when the winds shifted southwest, that forced the ship closer to the shore and the reef. Maritime Authority carried out an inspection and has confirmed that the ship did not run aground. |
Call tugs for help |
| February 7 |
Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Law News reports there was a small fire and there was no air conditioning for five hours. One person left a comment on my Facebook page: ". . . .The fire was dealt with quickly, took about 9 hours to get all the resulting issues fixed and they arrived Jewel of the Seasin San Juan on time. There was a power outage on the day they left San Juan that lasted about 10 minutes. Said the fire was a result of a blown breaker. Another post from someone on the ship said 30 minutes after leaving Barbados a major breaker blew causing a fire in one of the stacks. The fire was quickly put out, but they had no air conditioning for 5 hours and no toilets for at least two. It was 3am before they started moving again. None of the announcements on board mentioned the fire, that there were enough passengers that witnessed it, and knew about it. They missed both the Thursday and Friday shows because of (the) issue." |
Fire |
| February 6 |
Ship Unknown
Carnival Cruise Lines |
News Net 5 Cleveland reports on the case of Trevor Ross of Marblehead Ohio who was all set to surprise his girlfriend Shirley Tomlinson with an engagement ring, but the $2,500 ring was stolen during the final day of the couple's Caribbean cruise. The couple
contacted NewsNet5 they reported Carnival Cruise Line refused to replace the ring following a full investigation on-board following the Jan. 24 incident. The item was stolen form the couples room on-board and the ring box was simply thrown in the toilet. "They pretty much accused us that we lost the item, because we keep a wallet and a ring box in the toilet," said Tomlinson. The couple claims they would often see the cleaning crew working on multiple rooms at one time, leaving all the room doors open. We asked Trevor Ross if he thought security on-board was adequate, especially when it comes to the protection of valuables. "No, they're lacking video cameras in the hallway, they're leaving people's luggage in the hallways, leaving doors open to the rooms," said Ross. "There is a lot more they can do to keep people's stuff safe." newsnet5.com examined the contract for the cruise and found no direct policy for the recovery of stolen items on-board. We contacted the company and Carnival Cruise Line responded to the case within an hour. It said "Our guest services department has been in contact with Mr. Ross and Ms. Tomlinson and has agreed to provide a full refund for the missing engagement ring and $100, along with a future credit equal to the amount the couple paid for the cruise." In 2013, the major cruise lines agreed to post crime stats via the U.S. Coast Guard , however newsnet5.com learned thefts under $10,000 are not included in those posted reports. NOTE: In 2011 (the last year data is available), there were 63 thefts on Carnival Cruise Lines' ships; exactly 50% of all thefts reported to the FBI by all cruise lines. |
Robbery |
| February 5 |
QN-2566 |
Tuoi Tre News reports twenty-five people, including 16 foreign travelers, on board a cruise ship were rescued safely from a fire that burned a ship in Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site in northern Vietnam, on Tuesday evening, local authorities reported. The blaze occurred aboard the 3-star tourist ship QN-2566 when the vessel was anchored near Ti Top Island in the bay in Quang Ninh Province at about 8:00 pm last night, said Le Duy Phuoc, deputy director of the provincial Inland Waterway Authority (IWA). The island is about 7 km southeast of the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf in Ha Long City, which is the provincial capital. At that time, 16 foreign tourists of various nationalities, seven crewmembers, a tour guide and a steward were on board the ship, Phuoc told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper over the phone last night. As soon as the fire was detected, the ship’s captain asked local agencies for help in extinguishing the blaze and evacuating the people on board, Phuoc said. |
Fire |
| February 5 |
Adonia
P&O Cruises |
Trinidad Express reports an elderly English woman celebrating her 73rd birthday with a cruise ship visit to Trinidad was robbed and assaulted along with her husband on the streets of Port of Spain yesterday. Betty Pearson, and her husband, Phillip, 77, of Oxfordshire, arrived aboard the cruise ship Adonia which docked at around 9.30 a.m. They were attacked less than three hours later. The tourists were escorted back to the cruise ship by police officers by mid-afternoon. The Express was told that they were taken in wheelchairs as the woman suffered a fracture to her right foot, and her husband was experiencing pains in his face, right shoulder and elbow. According to police, shortly before midday the couple were walking along Charlotte Street when in the vicinity of Chang’s Variety Store, a man approached and grabbed Betty Pearson’s gold chain valued at £2,000 off her neck. The thief pushed the elderly woman to the ground and when her husband tried to intervene, he was overpowered and also pushed to the ground. The couple’s camera valued at £250 fell and was destroyed. |
Pax robbed ashore |
| February 4 |
Celebration Thomson Cruises |
The Northern Echo reports a date has been set for the trial of a man accused of assaulting a North-East couple on a luxury cruise liner. Graeme Finlay appeared at Teesside Crown Court to deny charges of wounding and grievous bodily harm. He is alleged to have attacked the elderly couple while aboard the Thomson Celebration off the coast of Lanzarote. A woman suffered a fractured spine and shoulder injury and her husband serious injuries to his face in January last year. Mr Finlay, 53, of Meadowside Quay Walk, Glasgow, will appear at the court for a two-day trial from April 20. |
Trial for assault on cruise ship |
| February 3 |
Breakaway Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a reader: The ship had to skip the port of San Juan Puerto Rico due to winter storm Linus. |
Missed port (weather) |
| February 3 |
Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises |
Travel Mole reports a group of passengers whose holidays on Fred Olsen's Boudicca were ruined by gastric illness have received a five-figure settlement from the cruise line. At a trial at Birmingham County Court, His Honour Judge Owen QC ruled there were failings on board the ship which caused 12 out of the 16 holidaymakers to become ill. The decision ended a three-year battle by the passengers who travelled on board the cruise ship between March to April 2011. Fred Olsen had repeatedly denied it was responsible for the problems which affected the sick passengers and their travelling companions. Passengers complained about hygiene procedures on board the ship which included inadequate cleaning of public areas and their cabins. Judge Owen QC found that the fact that there had been repeated outbreaks of illness and incidents of the ship's crew not complying with the outbreak plan and that they should have known that there was a problem. The Judge also concluded that Fred Olsen outbreak plan had been unsatisfactorily implemented. |
Settlement in lawsuit |
| February 3 |
Grandeur of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
WBAL reports the ship returned to Balitmore one day early from a ten-day cruisebecause of an illness outbreak. Themedia reports 193 guests (9.91%) and 9 crew members (1.15%) experienced the illness. The CDC reported 178 of 1948 passengers (9.14%) and 9 of 786 crew (1.15%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Two Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers boarded the ship in Falmouth, Jamaica on January 30, 2015 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 10 day cruise. |
Illness |
| February 2 |
Constellation
Celebrity Cruises |
Keys News reports the Coast Guard suspended its search on Monday night for a Canadian man who went missing from a Celebrity cruise ship bound for Key West. Carol Tremblay, 66, was last seen on a video surveillance camera at about 3 a.m. Sunday, 23 miles south of Summerland Key in the Atlantic Ocean, according to Coast Guard Lt. Peter Bermont. "We don't know the circumstance of how the man fell overboard," Bermont said. "He was not on the vessel once it moored in Key West." Tremblay fell from the 11th floor of the cruise ship, about 110 feet, Bermont said. Tremblay's wife reported him missing after she could not locate him, according to Celebrity cruise line spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. The ship's captain immediately ordered a search for the missing guest. |
Passenger missing |
| February 2 |
Amorella Viking Line |
The Local reports police in Finland have questioned eight Swedish men following claims a woman was gang raped on a Viking Line ferry in Finnish waters over the weekend. Four of the suspects remained in custody on Monday afternoon. The alleged attack took place on Amorella, an overnight ferry travelling from Stockholm to the Finnish port of Turku on Saturday, a popular route with a reputation for attracting Swedes and tourists who enjoy partying and can enjoy tax-free alcohol for some of the crossing. Five were later arrested in Åbo in Finland, one was tracked down in Mariehamn and two others managed to make their way back to Stockholm before being arrested on Sunday. By Monday afternoon, three of the suspects remained in custody in Finland and one was still being questioned in Stockholm. The other four suspects had been released, but had not been "dismissed" from the case, police spokesperson Kjell Lindgren told The Local. "Right now the big task is gathering video evidence and witness statements," he added. The suspects are accused of gang raping a woman, 45, who says she was approached in her cabin by a group of men. |
Sexual assault (gang rape) |
| February 1 |
Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line |
Palm Beach Post reports a faulty public address system sank the ship's inaugural excursion to Freeport — three months after the last ship to make this run ran aground leaving the Bahamas. Travelers on Sunday were given the option to reschedule their trips and claim another for free or get a refund. But that was little consolation to Alyssa Charon, who broke into tears after having landed on the cruise as part of a time-share pitch. She was uncertain where she’d be sleeping Sunday night. The next scheduled departure is Tuesday, Febuary 3. |
Canceled cruise |
| January 30 |
Voyager Voyages of Discovery |
From a reader: The ship is currently at anchor in Table Bay, Cape Town as a result of the port being fog bound. She was due to berth at 06h00 this morning. It is now 07h18. The fog is lifting and the port is expected to re-open soon. This should not affect her schedule as she will be in port overnight brining to an end to her South African cruise programme as she returns to Europe tomorrow evening. Vessel was finally alongside at 09h00 – 3 hours later than scheduled. |
Fog delayed arrival |
| January 29 |
Carnival Corporation |
Law 360 reports cruise line operator Carnival Corp. & PLC allegedly charged certain customers who booked cruises through a Marriott Vacation Club program inflated government and port fees for its own profit, according to a putative class action removed to Florida federal court on Wednesday. (See Finerman v Carnival, Case #1:15-cv-20311, South District of Florida). |
Lawsuit over charges and fees |
| January 29 |
Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line |
The Daily Mail reports on a lawsuit from a passenger for gastrointestinal illness on a cruise in February 2014. a British holidaymaker who went on a cruise while recuperating from throat cancer treatment says his trip was ruined after he was struck down with gastric illness. Robert Keywood, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was travelling on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship with his wife, Verena, to get some rest and relaxation after undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. But the 53-year-old said he was forced to remain in his cabin while experiencing stomach cramps, fever, diarrhoea, aches, lack of appetite and severe lethargy. He said: ‘This was meant to be a holiday where my wife and I could relax and take it easy. I had been having treatment for throat cancer and we just wanted to get away and enjoy ourselves.’ He claimed food was served lukewarm, fruit was not always fresh, the pool water was dirty looking, and public toilets wouldn’t flush properly. |
Lawsuit over illness |
| January 29 |
Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports a a 30 year-old man (passenger) sailing with his wife and other couples apparently fell from his cabin's balcony and landed on an exterior deck that runs above the lifeboats (deck 5 I believe). This occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The cruise ship called on Cozumel on Tuesday, Grand Cayman on Wednesday and Montego Bay on Thursday. The FBI was suppose to board on Sunday when the ship returned to New Orleans. There have been no reports we know of foul play. He is from Missouri. Carnival flew his wife home during the cruise. |
Pax dies in fall from balcony to lower deck |
| January 28 |
Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises |
A poster at Cruise Critic reports a young man dived from deck 13 (we think) and the captain announced man overboard on the tanoid. A few people through life jackets to mark the stop. The ship turned and ribs and tenders were deployed and search lights. I thought he must have been killed in the fall and was devastated to have knowledge of it. I couldn't believe that they found him! A miracle in my view and all credit to the Captain and crew who saved his life. He was thrown off at the next port with his family(so we heard) |
Pax overboard - rescued alive |
| January 28 |
Not named
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Jamaica Observer reports the police are reporting that 43-year-old Shelby Person and 45-year-old Tyrone Rideout, both of Weeping Willow, Maryland in the United States, who were reported missing on Tuesday, January 13 have returned. They are said to be in good health. Person and Rideout disembarked a cruise ship at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier in Trelawny shortly after its arrival in the island about 10:00 am on January 12 and left the pier for an undisclosed destination. OBSERVER ONLINE has learnt that the two were located after officials discovered updated postings on their Facebook accounts. They were allegedly in Ocho Rios, St Ann. The men reportedly turned up at the pier on Monday to board an outgoing ship. They were arrested for breaches of the immigration act. |
Arrest for not boarding ship in port |
| January 26 |
Horizon Croisieres de France |
El Universal reports reports that three people carrying 20 kilos of cocaine were arrested trying to smuggle the drugs aboard the Horizon cruise ship while in port in Margarita Island in Venezuela. Cruise passengers Andreina López Ramírez (26), Mercedes Salazar Benzaquén (22) and Arnaldo Salazar Rosas (34) reportedly intending to smuggle the drugs but a drug dog sniffed the cocaine out at the port terminal. |
Drug bust |
| January 25 |
Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises |
BBC reports the ship was left without power off Morocco after an engine room fire. Holidaymakers on board the Boudicca put on life jackets, according to the son of one passenger. The fire at 04:00 BST left the ship "listing" and "in pitch black", said Dave Tonkin, whose father is onboard. Fred Olsen, the company which owns the ship, said it was now fully stable and had five engines running with two still not working. Spokeswoman Rachael Jackson said Boudicca listed for "a short period" but was now stable and travelling again, although more slowly than normal. "The fire was in the engine room, but has now been extinguished, and no guests or crew have been injured," she said. She said two main engines and three auxiliary engines were running, while two other engines were still being mended. The ship will aim to arrive in Lanzarote, Spain, on Monday as planned, she added. Update Jan 28: Fred Olsen Cruises says repairs to the ship will take time so passengers are being flown home from Tenerife. The cruise line is giving pax a full refund on the current cruise and a 50% discount on a future cruise. |
Fire |
| January 24 |
Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Law News and WDSU report the ship suffered a major power loss today. A passenger says that the cruise ship was partially flooded during a heavy rain storm. The Coast Guard says a broken water pipe caused the problem. This reportedly caused a large part of the cruise ship to experience electrical problems. Royal Caribbean sent this message to the passengers scheduled to board the ship today: "Serenade of the Seas "Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International. We would like to provide you an update regarding your sailing today onboard Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently onboard inspecting the ship. We are waiting for authorization from the Coast Guard to begin boarding. Because the cruise terminal in New Orleans is very limited in space, we ask that guest explore the local area until we can begin boarding. We will contact you again once we have received permission to begin the boarding process. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you onboard."
A few hours later, it sent this message: "Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International with an update your sailing today onboard Serenade of the Seas. The U.S. Coast Guard has given us permission to begin the boarding process. Please return to the terminal so that we may check you in for your cruise. Our entire onboard team look forward to welcoming you onboard, and will do their very best to make your sailing as enjoyable as possible."
Serenade of the SeasOne passenger who was apparently on the Serenade when it returned to port in New Orleans said that power was lost to around 175 cabins. Apparently, according to this passenger, 400 passengers will not been to cruise because their cabins have no power. Nonetheless, the Coast Guard cleared the Serenade to be boarded. The ship is staying in New Orleans until it is cleared to sail. Royal Caribbean has not commented on the condition of the vessel or whether some of the passengers will remain in New Orleans.
Update: Media reports say 417 cabins affecting some 800 passengers have been affected.
|
Electrical loss to 417 cabins; 800 pax have reservation canceled |
| January 23 |
Caribbean Fantasy American Cruise Ferries |
The ship failed its santitation inspection with a score of 84 (a score of 85 or below is unsatisfactory). |
Failed health inspection |
| January 22 |
Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Courthouse News reports an employee of Carnival Corporation followed a female passenger to her room and raped her in front of her minor children, a federal lawsuit claims. Dana Hastings says she and her family were passengers on a Carnival cruise ship in February 2014, when the incident occurred off the coast of Florida. According to a complaint filed in Miami Federal Court, "On or about February 20, 2014, the Plaintiff was sexually assaulted and/or raped by an employee/crewmember of Defendant, believed to be the pit boss of the casino aboard Defendant's vessel. "The crewmember followed the Plaintiff to her passenger cabin, and he raped and/or sexually assaulted the Plaintiff inside her cabin while the Plaintiff's two minor children, Ramsey Hastings and Trey Hastings, were also inside the cabin," the complaint continues. "The Plaintiff's two minor children heard and/or witnessed their mother ... being raped and/or sexually assault." Hastings says she reported the incident soon after it happened, but "Defendant's security officer(s) attempted to dissuade the Plaintiff from pressing charges and forced the Plaintiff to write a statement stating that she would not press charges against the alleged assailant." Hastings claims that rapes and other sexual assaults occur on Carnival's vessels at an alarming rate, "Yet Defendant failed to take adequate steps or provide adequate security and/or training and/or supervision to prevent such rapes and/or sexual assaults, and failed to warn its passengers of the growing epidemic of rape and sexual assault at sea." She says the reason for this is purely financial -- the cruise line doesn't want to scare potential passengers away. Hastings seeks unspecified damages on claims of vicarious liability for the rape/sexual assault, negligence, and multiple counts of negligent infliction of emotional distress. |
Lawsuit - sexual assaul |
| January 20 |
Discovery Voyages of Discovery |
From a reader: The ship left Cape Town on Sunday 18th Jan and was due in East London at 08h00 this morning, 20th January. She is currently mid-way between Port Elizabeth and East London, obviously way behind schedule. No explanation has been given for the delay and she is currently cruising at a mere 11 knots. |
Delayed - propulsion problems? |
| January 19 |
Opera
MSC Cruises |
From a reader: Vessel currently outside the port of Cape Town which is wind bound. Three attempts to dock earlier this morning were unsuccessful. Ship arrived early this morning from Mossel Bay and is due to sail for Walvis Bay at 16h00. As at 13h13, she remains outside the port. Subsequently Posted on MSC Cruises South Africa Website: We regret the unfortunate delay in the departure of the MSC Opera which has been caused by very high winds which have prevented the ship from being able to enter the port of Cape Town. MSC Opera will not be able to enter the port today due to prevailing high winds and all our guests are advised of the below in respect of alternative arrangements. Passengers residing in Cape Town are advised to return home and to return to the port at 09h00 tomorrow the 20th January 2015 when check in will commence for the sailing. UPDATE: Berthed in Cape Town just after 05h00 this morning, 20th January 2015, one day late as a result of high winds. Vessel will sail to Walvis Bay at 14h00 today, 20th Jan and omit Luderitz. |
Delayed arrival/departure |
| January 19 |
Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line |
Cruise Critic reports weather across the Atlantic will result in the late arrival of Queen Elizabeth into New York today, with the ship's next departure to be delayed by 24 hours. According to a spokesperson from Cunard Line, Queen Elizabeth will arrive at the Manhattan terminal around midday on Sunday instead of its original early morning arrival time. "Embarking passengers will still board the ship on Sunday, albeit slightly delayed, and will be looked after in New York until this time," said Jackie Chase, public relations manager for Cunard Line. Queen Elizabeth will remain in New York overnight to ensure passengers are able to visit the city, Chase said. The cruise line is assisting disembarking passengers with their return travel arrangements and those booked on Cunard air will have their travel arrangements changed. Due to the extended stay in New York, Queen Elizabeth will arrive at Fort Lauderdale on Thursday 22 January, one day later than scheduled. |
Delayed arrival (24 hrs) |
| January 14 |
Not named
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Jamaica Observer reports 2 American men (aged 42 and 45) went missing Monday after they disembarked a cruise ship at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Terminal in Trelawny. Information received is that both disembarked the vessel shortly after its arrival in the island about 10:00 am and left the pier for an undisclosed destination. Police have conducted checks at various hospitals as well as the surrounding communities but their searches have proved futile. |
Diappearance ashore |
| January 9 |
Pleasure Cruise in Costa Rica |
NY Daily News reports a catamaran carrying dozens of foreign tourists on a pleasure cruise capsized off Costa Rica on Thursday, killing three people, emergency officials said. The boat, which was on a day trip to the popular Tortuga (Turtle) Island, sank completely about nine miles off the country’s central Pacific coast. Firefighters corps director Hector Chavez said initial reports of an explosion and fire were mistaken. Survivors reported that strong waves filled the boat with water and caused it to sink, he said. Chavez said three people died. The public security ministry said in a Twitter posting that the victims were a US citizen, a Canadian and a man from Britain. Vice-president Ana Helena Chacon said at a news conference that 106 people were rescued, meaning all of the cruise’s 99 passengers and 10 crew were accounted for. |
Sunk |
| January 8 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Law News reports A Mexican newspaper reports that U.S. cruise passenger from Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas fell overboard as the cruise ship sailed to Cozumel. The Disney Magic, sailing the same route, then rescued the passenger, identified as Frank Jade. The newspaper reports that the Oasis didn't even realize that the passenger had gone overboard. After spotting the Royal Caribbean passenger floating in the sea, the Disney Magic stopped and lowered a rescue boat. The Magic reportedly docked at the dock of Punta Langosta and transferred the passenger to a private clinic for medical care. |
Passeneger overboard (rescued alive) |
| January 7 |
Empress Pullmantur Cruises |
Fox News reports a protest by Brazilian fishermen in the southern state of Santa Catarina has been preventing the departure for Uruguay and Argentina of a cruise ship with 1,800 tourists on board, the vessel's operating firm reported Tuesday. More than 100 fishing boats since Monday morning have been blocking the Itajai Port Complex canal, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina, and the fisherman are demanding the nullification of a measure implemented by the Environment Ministry prohibiting fishing for certain endangered species. The cruise ship Empress, with capacity for 1,877 passengers and 645 crewmembers, set sail last Sunday from the port of Santos, in Sao Paulo state, and was scheduled to stop in Montevideo and Buenos Aires before returning to Brazil. |
Blocked from departing |
| January 6 |
Ship unknown DIsney Cruise Line |
Inquisitor dot com reports a large family decided to all take a sailing together aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships right after Christmas. The cruise was heading for the Bahamas, but a few members never made it that far as they were asked to pack up and disembark the ship in Nassau after their baby got sick. According to WPTV, Dave Berg of Naples, Florida, hopped aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship and departed from Miami on December 30. Actually, Berg departed with 31 family members, one of which is his cancer-stricken mother-in-law who was doing the cruise as part of her bucket list. On Thursday morning, Berg’s four-month-old granddaughter began spitting up. She was brought to the ship’s infirmary by Jennifer Moak, Berg’s daughter, and the infant was given medicine for seasickness. Later in the day, the Disney Cruise Line infirmary contacted Moak’s husband to advise them that another checkup was needed for the baby. Once arriving downstairs, Moak said the family was told they would have to disembark the ship. “He said because of her age, she wasn’t supposed to be on the ship and that they would be — I think the word that he used was ‘terminating’ our stay on the ship.” Per the family, the medical staff aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship said that the age of the baby and safety needs were reasons that the family couldn’t stay on board. Early in 2014, Disney Cruise Line had changed the policy for infant travel and pregnant women. Babies used to be able to travel at 12 weeks of age, but Disney did change things. “For reservations made after July 17, 2014, on sailings commencing in 2015 and beyond, the minimum age to sail aboard any Vessel is 6 months of age on most itineraries, and the minimum age for Transatlantic, Hawaii, and Panama Canal itineraries is 1 year of age.” The reservation of the Moaks was not to be affected, which would allow them to travel with the baby younger than six months old. |
Family evicted |
| January 3 |
Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International |
10 News reports a child is in critical condition after nearly drowning on board a cruise ship, deputies said. The ship had just left Port Everglades on Saturday when a bystander noticed the child was caught in a wave pool on the 15th deck. Authorities say the child may have been underwater for about five to ten minutes before he was pulled out. Crews administered CPR while the ship was diverted back to port. The Broward Sheriff's Office said the child was revived and taken to Broward Health Medical Center. The child was not identified by deputies. Sun Sentinel gives more detailed information. |
Child near-drowns |
| January 3 |
Not relevant |
The Press reports Akaroa (New Zealand) police are on the hunt for a possible anti-cruise ship protester who has been vandalising the town's public toilets. Senior Constable Lyle Pryor said toilet door hinges had been removed and toilet bowls filled with gravel on several occasions this summer. The affected toilet block is one of three in the township and was specifically built near the Akaroa Wharf to cater to cruise ship visitors. Pryor said there were some in the town who were against the cruise ships because they changed the character of the isolated community. "These things seem to occur on a cruise ship day or just before," Pryor said. |
Onshore response to cruise tourism |
| January 2 |
Unknown
Heritage River Journeys |
Big News Network reports a member of the crew suffered slight injury after a fire broke out in a luxury cruise liner in Calcutta on Friday, a day before it was slated to embark on its maiden voyage. Two fire tenders managed to douse the fire within a short time, fire brigade sources said. A short circuit is suspected to have caused the fire in the ship anchored at a jetty on the Ganga in the neighbouring Howrah district.
"One member of the crew was slightly injured. Some furniture damaged. It was a minor fire," said a fire brigade official. The cruise liner is slated to leave for Murshidabad with passengers Saturday. |
Fire |
| Click here for events in 2014 |
