|
EVENTS
AT SEA
"All the Things that Can Go Wrong On A Cruise" 2016 |
The
table below lists "events at sea" occurring after January 1,
2015,
including cruise ship accidents. It is based on media
reports,
passenger reports posted at on-line boards and discussion
groups, and
reports sent to Cruise
Junkie.
In
reviewing the information, please keep in mind that
some cruise lines are given less scrutiny by the media than
others, and
it is not uncommon for events to not appear in the
media. This
information reflects only that which has made it into the
public
domain.
|
Reported Cruise Industry Spending on Lobbying the US Congress, 1997-2015 (pdf)
|
THE Comprehensive list of Persons Overboard, 1995 - 2016 Pollution and Environmental Violations and Fines Getting
a
Grip on Cruise Ship Pollution - Summary To go to CRUISE JUNKIE DOT COM Home page, click here |
|
Analysis of Reports of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault on cruise ships, 2003-2005: Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises Analysis
of FBI Crime Data from Ships, |
Useful Resources from Judge Thomas A Dickerson: |
Have you been onboard
during an "event" or illness outbreak?
Let me know,
and send
along
photos or video if you have them.
Date |
Ship Cruise Line |
Event |
Type of Incident |
| December 31 | Arcadia P&O Cruises |
Daily Mirror reports passengers on a British cruise ship found themselves spending Christmas Day at anchor off the east coast of England. P&O Cruises’ Arcadia, on a nine-night cruise to Scandinavia and northern Europe, had been bounced around by Storm Barbara after leaving Oslo last Friday. Rather than spending the day in the middle of the North Sea, en route to Amsterdam , the captain decided to take shelter off Lowestoft, Suffolk . He dropped anchor off the town’s South Beach as the first of the 1,900 guests were starting breakfast , and remained in position until 6pm. | Itinerary change - shelter from storm |
| December 31 | Island Princess |
TMZ reports a passenger claims she was injured in rough waters ... not ocean water, but dirty toilet water. Jillanne Buchannan says in a new lawsuit she and her husband were on a cruise from Spain to France, last year, aboard the Island Princess. According to the suit, the ocean liner had been in dry dock for sewage system problems, which were not fixed, because Jillanne says there was still lots of s*** on the ship. She claims she went to a public restroom on the boat, but the toilet was overflowing with sewage and she slipped ... falling to the floor, striking her face on the door sill, cutting herself, injuring her left breast and neck and losing consciousness as she lay in the contaminated toilet water. Jillanne says she had to get a tetanus shot and was placed on various antibiotics. She says she suffered permanent injuries and emotional distress. | Lawsuit for sewage |
| December 30 | Viking Sea Viking |
Cruise Law News reports the ship is in Barcelona, Spain waiting for repairs to fix an unidentified engine problem. Online AIS shows the Viking ship at the port in Barcelona today after leaving the port of Barcelona last night heading (apparently toward its next port of call, Toulon) but then turning around and sailing back to Barcelona. Viking has informed its guests that they are free to stay on the cruise ship until January 8, 2017. The company is apparently assisting the passengers with excursions. The guests can leave the ship and catch earlier flights home although many seem inclined to enjoy their unexpected time in Barcelona. | Stuck in report for repairs - cruise canceled |
| December 29 | Unknown Avalon Waterways |
Denver Post reports the company was sued by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a bartender who targeted the girl during a Christmas-time excursion in southeast Asia last year. The lawsuit accuses the company of not properly protecting the California girl, in part because the company allegedly failed to learn from sexual assaults reported throughout the cruising industry. One of the crew, a bartender identified only as Louie, continuously followed the girl aboard the boat and joined her and her mother during excursions on land. The assault allegedly happened on the last day of the cruise in a restroom, the lawsuit says. | Alleged rape of minor |
| December 29 | Orion Lindblad |
Cruise Critic reports engine failure has forced the ship to cancel a number of its upcoming Antarctica sailings. All passengers and crew are safe and there was no environmental impact, according to the cruise line. The incident took place December 27 as Orion was leaving the Antarctic Peninsula on its return to Ushuaia, Argentina. The ship is on its way back to port through the Drake Passage at reduced speed. In order for the ship to undergo its necessary repairs, the December 27 departure, as well as all January departures, have been canceled. Passengers on the affected sailings have been notified; compensation details have not yet been revealed. | Engine failure / Cancelations |
| December 28 | Zaandam HAL |
Anchorage Daily News reports an endangered fin whale found dead on the bow of a cruise ship that docked in Seward this summer was killed when it was struck by the 61,000-ton ship, federal investigators have found, but neither the crew nor the operator of the vessel were determined to be at fault in the collision. The dead whale, a juvenile male, was found draped over the bulbous bow of Holland America Line's Zaandam, carrying more than 2,000 passengers and crew, after it docked in Seward early on the morning of May 29. Its carcass was necropsied on a nearby beach that day by a team that included an officer from NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement. | Update on whale strike |
| December 23 | Queen Mary 2 Cunard |
Cruise Law News reports this morning, a crew member from the Queen Mary 2 sent this message from the ship: "Missing woman on QM2. No details yet. Ship turned around and Coast Guard alerted." The QM2 is on a voyage out of New York heading to the Caribbean (St. Maarten). AIS programs show the ship is sailing north, retracing its path. The crew member states that the ship turned around around 8:00 A.M. this morning. This was subsequently confirmed by Daily Mail - a 74 British woman went missing. A spokeswoman for the company said: 'It is with sadness we can confirm that after a comprehensive search, working with all relevant authorities, Queen Mary 2 has halted the search for a missing guest, presumed overboard. 'The ship left New York yesterday, December 22, on a 12 night Caribbean itinerary. | Overboard |
| December 23 | neoRiviera Costa |
Cruise Arabia Online reports Costa neoRiviera suffered a blackout Wednesday during a port call in Abu Dhabi Wednesday, switching to emergency power for several hours during the afternoon. According to staff aboard the ship, who asked to remain anonymous, a fault with one of the ship’s aft generators caused the loss of power. All essential onboard systems remained fully functional during the ‘blackout’ with some parts of the ship’s corridors and internal areas in darkness. Some bar services were suspended on-board and the air-conditioning was off for around two hours. The ship’s spa, with a sauna, steam room, was also forced to close. Cruise Arabia & Africa was on-board at the time and spoke to several passengers who expressed little concern. The lack of air-conditioning became uncomfortable toward the end of the black out, just before power was restored. | Blackout while in port |
| December 23 | Unnamed CCL |
Herald Sun reports a Victorian man, on a cruise to Fiji with his partner, is being held prisoner in a small room with no natural light, fresh air or facilities. It is understood the man has been told he will not be released for at least three days, but could stay locked up until December 29. His partner has told the Herald Sun she has pleaded with cruise staff to let her see him but they have refused. The woman has tried to contact the Australian Embassy. “He has been locked in a small room at the bottom of the ship for three nights now,” she said. “He is not allowed out for daily exercise. “Security even refused to allow me to take a book. They are refusing to release him, despite the fact he has not committed any offence.” The woman, a mental health professional, said on the second night of the cruise her partner had consumed three alcoholic drinks, which reacted badly with new medication. “In anger, he made a verbal threat to jump overboard. He had no intention to do so, however I asked security for help because I was scared he could be impulsive,” she said. “It was reasonable to keep him in the brig overnight until his mental state was stable. Since that night there have been no further issues but they are refusing to release him. “This is inhumane and a serious breach of human rights.” The woman said cruise officials told her that her partner can either remain locked up until the ship arrives in Sydney on December 29, or disembark at Port Denaru in three days. | Pax imprisoned in cabin |
| December 23 | Unnamed CCL |
Florida Record reports a passenger is suing Carnival Corporation, alleging that the cruise ship company failed to keep the floor of its vessel free of any foreign substance that might cause an accident. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 12, she suffered physical injuries when she slipped and fell due to a puddle of water on the floor. The plaintiff holds Carnival Corporation, d/b/a Carnival Cruise Lines, responsible because the defendant allegedly allowed a hazardous conditon and failed to provide adequate warning to the plaintiff regarding the puddle. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 1:16-cv-25030-JLK | Lawsuit - slip and fall |
| December 22 | Independence RCI |
The Miami Herald reports a U.S. Coast Guard search began Thursday for a 22 year old male passenger who fell overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship about 33 miles off Key Largo. At 1:49 a.m., the Independence of the Seas crew relayed a report that a 22-year-old man went overboard from the ship’s 12th deck. The ship was on the last leg of a four night cruise, and returning to Port Everglades. | Pax overboard |
| December 20 | Ovation RCI |
Otago Daily Times reports a bad weather forecast has scuppered the historic Dunedin visit of mega-cruise ship the Ovation of the Seas on Thursday. Dunedin was to be the first New Zealand port visited by the $1.4 billion Ovation, the biggest cruise ship to come to New Zealand with 4905 passengers. The ship will still visit Milford Sound tomorrow as planned, but then spend a day at sea before heading to Wellington. | Skipped port call (weather) |
| December 19 | Spirit of Baltimore Spirit Cruises | Baltimore Sun reports the captain was feeling tired late on the August night when he guided the 119-foot ship on a midnight party cruise through the Inner Harbor, Coast Guard investigators said. About 400 passengers were aboard drinking and dancing for the Aug. 28 cruise (see below). At 2 a.m., investigators said, the mate left the bridge to help with a drunken passenger, and the captain dozed off. The Spirit of Baltimore veered off course and splintered the floating pier at Henderson's Wharf Marina in Fells Point. The cruise ship hit two moored recreational boats, the Patty Bo and Chapter Eleven, and caused about $100,000 in damage to the wharf, investigators said. Two passengers were hospitalized with chest and back pain. | Report: Captaion dozed off before accident |
| December 19 | Serena Costa |
Mid-day reports on an Andheri man going missing mid-sea between Japan and China. Savio had always dreamed of travelling the world, and he was thrilled when he finally got a job that would take him places. “Savio was a very quiet and hard-working person. He had worked for several five and seven-star hotels after he passing his hotel management course. He used to tell us it was his dream to see the world, so he joined the cruise liner,” said his mother Philomena. On September 12, he left for his first destination, China, where he started as a steward on the cruise liner Costa Serena. At the time, his family never imagined that it could be the last time they saw him. The nightmare began just two months after he left, on November 19, when the family got the call informing them that Savio had disappeared. | Crewmember missing |
| December 19 | Symphony Crystal |
SunLive reports the ship made an unscheduled overnight stop in Tauranga, arriving early Sunday morning. A cyclone warning for Fiji resulted in the decision to leave Nuku'alofa and spend two days in the Port of Tauranga. | Itinerary change |
| December 16 | Star NCL |
Florida Record reports a Florida woman is suing Norwegian Cruise Line, alleging the defendant's negligence led to injuries for the plaintiff -- failure to keep the floor of the vessel Norwegian Star dry. According to the complaint, on Dec. 21, 2015, Wilsey suffered a knee injury when she slipped on a wet shuffleboard floor on the Norwegian Star. The suit says a Norwegian Cruise Line employee dashed away without providing assistance and that Wilsey has suffered physical pain, mental anguish and medical expenses. The plaintiff alleges the defendant failed to implement safety measures in order to address the wet and slippery floor where the shuffleboard event was taking place. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division Case number 1:16-cv-25167-RNS | Lawsuit for injury |
| December 16 | Triumph CCL |
Florida Record reports a Texas woman is suing the Carnival cruise line, alleging the defendant's negligence led to injuries for the plaintiff -- failure to keep the floor of its deck free of any foreign substance. According to the complaint, on Jan. 10, Ashley suffered injuries to her left knee when she slipped and fell due to liquid that accumulated on the floor of the Lido deck aboard the Carnival Triumph. The plaintiff alleges Carnival failed to place warning signs to properly warn passengers of the wet floor. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division Case number 1:16-cv-25199-JAL | Lawsuit for injury |
| December 15 | Sun Princess |
Perth Now reports passengers embarking on the cruise from Fremantle this weekend have been warned boarding will be delayed after a "gastro" outbreak. Princess Cruises would not say how many people fell ill but confirmed “passengers on board Sun Princess had reported gastrointestinal symptoms confirmed as Norovirus during the current cruise”. A spokesperson said preventative health vigilance was already high on board the ship after authorities warned that the Norovirus was active in the community. “High sanitation levels were further increased and both the ship and terminal will be thoroughly cleansed,” the company said. | Illness outbreak |
| December 15 | Dawn Princess |
New Zealand media reports the ship, bound for Wellington on Thursday morning, has been diverted to Napier due to high winds. A CentrePort Wellington spokeswoman said the ship had been scheduled to dock at the Gale force northerly winds of up to 110kmh were forecast for Wellington today. All other ships were still coming into the port. | Port change |
| December 14 | Viking Sea Viking |
Cruise Critic reports heavy fog in Venice on December 13 forced the port to close, causing vessels -- including the cruise ship Viking Sea -- to make alternate arrangements for embarking and debarking passengers. Because of the fog, Viking Sea rerouted to Trieste, Italy, a port city near the Croatian border about 100 miles from Venice. Debarking passengers who booked their air through Viking were rebooked on new flights departing today, and transferred to a hotel for the night, the company said in a statement. Passengers who booked their own air were assisted by the cruise line, in conjunction with their travel agents, to make changes to return flights and other travel arrangements. Passengers boarding Viking Sea's next cruise were brought to Trieste by coach from Venice. Because the ship has an overnight in Venice as the first stop on its itinerary, the ship will sail from Trieste to Venice as soon as the port opens, the company said. | Port closed (fog) / Debarkation in Trieste |
| December 14 | A'Rosa Flora | NL Times (Netherlands) reports a woman sustained serious injuries in Nijmegen on Wednesday when she fell off the Waal bridge on the Waalkade and landed on the deck of a passing cruise ship, the Gelderlander reports. Emergency services responded en masse and rushed the woman to the hospital. At this stage the police believe the woman was trying to commit suicide. The cruise ship on which she fell - the A-Rosa Flora - was on its way to Germany. The passengers were inside the ship at the time. | Woman falls onto cruise ship |
| December 13 | Azura P&O Cruises |
Antigua Observer reports the ship skipped the port call because of rough seas. President of the Cruise Tourism Association Nathan Dundas said the captain had to cancel the visit because high winds would not have allowed safe docking. An attempt to dock in Falmouth Harbour was also aborted due to unfavourable sea conditions. Chief Marine Pilot Beresford Sam said the captain of the vessel made the decision after reporting a wind speed reading of over 25 knots and six-foot swells. | Skipped call |
| December 12 | Star NCL |
Cruise Law News reports the following message from a crew member: "At the moment I am on NCL Star and we are in Singapore, still in Singapore! We were scheduled to leave on 11th at 6 pm for 11 days to Hong Kong. We got delayed because it took forever for immigration to process the guests! Some guests were held for 5 hours in the terminal. So finally at 8 pm after we finished all that captain made an announcement that can't actually leave due to the engine problems. ... And we are staying at the moment in Singapore until 3 pm on 13th of December. One engine is down and some electrical issues with azipods. This is not the first time, after a dry dock few years back ship broke down right away and the first cruise was canceled and ship returned to the dry dock for repairs. And few months ago we could not sail out of Stockholm at 4 pm to have a sea day the next day to reach Copenhagen for embarkation. We reached Copenhagen at 4pm with absolute nightmare caused to the guest booking flights on their own. This cruise is already fully refunded to the guests and they will get 50% off the next cruise they choose." According to Cruise Critic, the line said:"On the evening of December 10, while departing the port of Singapore, Norwegian Star experienced a technical issue with one of the ship's azipods. The ship has returned to port so that the azipod can be inspected further by a team from the manufacturer." The ship was due to call in at two Thai ports -- Ko Samui and Laem Chabang -- but will instead spend three days at sea; it will also substitute Phu My, Vietnam for Danang, Vietnam. Norwegian Star is due to arrive in Hong Kong as scheduled on December 22, however the return itinerary has also been modified (and is still subject to change, according to Norwegian). The current plan skips a stop in Taiwan for a day at sea, and again skips Phu My and Laem Chabang. However, the ship will call in at Ko Samui as planned on January 3, 2017. The line has offered a full refund to all passengers currently onboard, as well as a 50% future cruise credit. Passengers scheduled to embark on December 22 who choose not to sail the revised itinerary will receive a full refund, as well, as a 25% future cruise credit. Travelers who choose to sail will receive a 50% refund and 50% future cruise credit. | Engione problems; delayed |
| December 10 | Ecstasy CCL |
US Customs and Border Protection reports a woman was arrested on Wednesday who was wanted in connection with a local murder. The woman, destined to depart Charleston for the Bahamas on December 7, was the subject of an arrest warrant out of Berkeley County, S.C., for Obstructing Justice – Aiding and Abetting Murder. | Arrest of pax |
| December 5 | Royal Princess |
Antigua Observer reports sixty-four-year-old Martin Brutosky of New York, died while snorkelling by Bird Island. The police do not suspect foul play. Martin Brutosky and his wife Diane Montero arrived in Antigua yesterday morning on a Princess cruise ship. In the afternoon, they went on a tour of Stingray City which includes snorkeling just off Bird Island. Observer Media understands that the wife reported to the police that she noticed her husband had stopped moving, ten minutes after they were in the water. The woman also said she brought her husband to the surface and called for help which came in the form of CPR from one of the captains of the Sting Ray city boat. The visitor however remained unresponsive and was taken to Jumby Bay where more CPR was administered. He was then transported to the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre and was pronounced dead on arrival. | Pax dies ashore (snorkeling on tour) |
| December 4 | Grand Princess |
Cruise Critic reports damage to Grand Princess' hull, caused by a faulty tender platform, has forced the ship to end its cruise early in order to undergo repairs. No injuries were reported onboard or ashore. Princess issued a statement about the incident: "While at sea after departing from Honolulu, Hawaii, a tender platform on the starboard side of Grand Princess opened, for reasons yet unknown. The platform sustained damage, such that it could not be closed. "Although the platform is not part of the watertight integrity of the vessel, as a result of it opening, the hull sustained minor localized damage which has been secured. The Captain has confirmed that the ship is safe and secure, and he is communicating updates to guests on a regular basis." Grand Princess is on its way back to Honolulu for repairs. It is expected to arrive December 5. As a result, the ship will miss its December 6 call at Ensenada. Passengers onboard will receive a 50-percent refund of their cruise fare and a future cruise credit equal to the same amount of this cruise fare refund. Princess Cruises also will fly passengers back to San Francisco, where the cruise would have ended, and provide overnight accommodations and transfers as needed. The line added it will protect the commission of its Travel Agent partners. Grand Princess was at the tail-end of a 15-night Hawaiian Islands cruise, that departed from San Francisco November 23. The ship will go into its scheduled drydock after repairs. | Hull damaged - Cruise ended |
| December 3 | Caribbean Cruise Line | Chicago Tribune reports Caribbean Cruise Line has agreed to pay between $56 million and $76 million to settle a class action suit alleging the company and its co-defendants made millions of unwanted robocalls offering the free cruise trips in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Filed more than four years ago in Chicago federal court, the class-action lawsuit was brought by Chicago-area residents Grant Birchmeier and Stephen Parkes, who alleged Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Caribbean Cruise Line illegally contacted them multiple times on their cellphones. The settlement class includes consumers who received one or more of the automated phone calls offering a free cruisqe in exchange for taking a political survey between August 2011 and August 2012. The lawsuit called the survey a "scam" and a "marketing tool with no legitimate political basis." Callers who completed the survey were immediately switched to a Caribbean Cruise Line representative, according to the lawsuit. Those who booked the free cruise were then pitched upgraded accommodations if they attended a sales presentation for resort condominiums owned by Florida-based Berkley Group, a co-defendant in the lawsuit. Caribbean Cruise Line does not operate its own ships, but placed passengers on Celebration Cruise Line, based in the same Fort Lauderdale office building, according to the lawsuit. | $76 million fine for robocalls |
| December 2 | Unnamed, Irish Ferries | The Journal reports a major search operation was launched earlier this morning for a passenger missing from the Irish ferry Isle of Inishmore. The search involved the UK coastguard, an Irish Coastguard helicopter, all weather lifeboats, a Port Authority vessel, the South-Wales Dyfed-Powys police and the Northern Ireland Police. The woman was travelling with Irish Ferries’ Eurolines service from Pembrokeshire, Wales to Rosslare, Co Wexford last night. When the cruise ship docked in Rosslare this morning, the woman was missing from the ship. In a statement, Irish Ferries said that the woman “was reported missing on arrival at the port, and there was no knowledge of the missing passenger prior to docking. “Gardaí searched the vessel and the coach was released back to service.” A body was later found in the water. | Pax missing |
| December 1 | RCI | Florida Record reports Orange County woman alleges she was injured by a bed in her room on a cruise ship. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on March 1, she sustained physical injuries from being struck on the head by a Murphy bed in her room. The plaintiff holds Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to properly warn the plaintiff regarding the hazardous condition aboard its vessel. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 1:16-cv-24877-FAM | Lawsuit - physical injury |
| December 1 | Anthem RCI |
Yahoo News reports two American tourists aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas were found dead Wednesday afternoon, after it docked at Old San Juan Pier. Authorities said the bodies showed no signs of violence and seemingly had died from natural causes. The men were identified as Joseph M. Ambrussi, a 62-year-old retiree, and William Alan Forsytte, 55, a pharmacist. Both were traveling with their respective wives and planned to stay in hotels in Puerto Rico. El Nuevo Dia reported that one of them died while the ship was at sea and that the other passed away once the ship had arrived at port. | 2 unrelated deaths (natural) |
| December 1 | Princess | Washington Post reports Princess Cruise Lines has agreed to plead guilty to seven felony charges and pay a $40 million penalty for polluting the ocean with waste and then trying to cover it up. Federal prosecutors said the payment represents the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate pollution by a ship at sea. California-based Princess is a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., which owns multiple cruise lines that collectively comprise the world’s biggest cruise company. At the heart of the criminal case lies one ship in particular, the 3,192-passenger Caribbean Princess, which prosecutors said used a “magic pipe” to bypass the ship’s usual equipment and illegally discharge thousands of gallons of oily waste into the ocean. The practice came to the attention of authorities after an engineer on the ship reported the problem to British investigators in summer 2013. The ship was sailing off the coast of England at the time, and the whistleblowing engineer quit his job when the vessel reached Southampton, England. Officials from the Justice Department said the ship’s chief engineer and senior first engineer tried to cover up the practice, removing the magic pipe and ordering subordinates to lie to authorities. Upon the ship’s arrival in New York the following month, U.S. Coast Guard investigators conducted an examination of the Caribbean Princess, during which some crew members continued to mislead them about the illegal dumping practice. Investigators eventually determined that the ship had been making illegal discharges since 2005, the year after the ship was put into service. They also discovered a handful of other illegal practices taking place on the Caribbean Princess and four other ships — the Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess and Golden Princess. The practices included allowing salt water in to prevent alarms from sounding when too much oil was being discharged, and discharging oily bilge water when storage tanks overflowed in the engine room, according to the Justice Department. As part of the plea agreement, cruise ships from eight Carnival companies, including Carnival Cruise Line and Holland American Line, will operate for five years under a court-supervised “environmental compliance plan,” which will require independent audits and a court-appointed monitor. Of the $40 million penalty Princess agreed to pay, $10 million must go toward community service projects to benefit the maritime environment — $3 million of that will go to environmental work in South Florida, and another $1 million will go to marine projects in the United Kingdom. | $40 million Environmental Fine |
| November 29 | SuperStar Gemini Star Cruises |
The Strait Times reports Malaysia's rescue teams have been searching for a Singaporean who fell overboard from a cruise ship in Malacca on Sunday night, the New Straits Times (NST) reported on Tuesday (Nov 29). Wuan Poh Fatt, 60, was reportedly on holiday with five others, travelling from the cruise ship's base in Singapore to Penang. But Mr. Wuan was believed to have gone overboard in waters off Tanjung Kling at 11.05pm on Sunday, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said. Investigations said Wuan had gone missing following a headcount and had failed to respond to announcements shortly before the ship docked in Georgetown on Monday, according to the NST. On board CCTV footage confirmed a person going overboard at 11.05pm in an area which corresponded to between 9.5 nautical miles off Pulau Besar and 12 nautical miles off Tanjung Kling. | Pax overboard |
| November 29 | Explorer RCI |
Daily Mail reports a woman has allegedly been sexually assaulted by a fellow passenger while on a cruise ship that travelled to Vanuatu. The ship arrived back in Sydney on Tuesday morning after a nine-day trip to the South Pacific island nation. Police and detectives were reportedly waiting for the ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay when it docked. | Alleged sexual assault |
| November 29 | Liberty CCL |
Click2Houston reports a video sent to KPRC 2 shows a teenaged boy is seen laughing as he climbed down the side of the Carnival Liberty, hanging on to the rail for a few seconds. You could also hear other people in the video laughing, with one person helping the boy back up on the ship. Cruise ship passengers claim that the boy was unsupervised for most of the time and that he was involved in another incident on the ship. Carnival released a statement about the video: "We recently became aware of the video and are investigating. We strongly condemn any such behavior by our guests that puts themselves or others at risk." The boy has not been identified. | Boy videoed climbing down ship |
| November 29 | Queen of the Mississippi American Cruise Lines | Louisiana Record reports a sous chef alleges improperly disposed of grease caused him to slip and fall on a ship. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on July 18, he was a crew member of defendant's M/V Queen of the Mississippi when he sustained severe injuries to his body when he slipped and fell on grease and water in the galley. He alleges he suffered physical and mental pain, scarring and disability, loss of income and medical expenses. The plaintiff holds American Cruise Lines Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly refused to honor its maintenance cure and obligations. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-15966 | Lawsuit foir injury (crew) |
| November 29 | Unnamed Princess |
Northern California Record reports a Texas woman alleges she was injured after a closing door caused her to fall while aboard a cruise ship. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on March 1, she suffered physical injuries, including a fractured left femur, after a sliding door closed on her before she had cleared it and caused her to fall. The plaintiff holds Princess Cruise Lines LTD responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to warn the plaintiff regarding the hazardous condition of the sliding door. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Case number 2:16-cv-08489-MWF-MRW | Lawsuit for injury |
| November 29 | Unnamed CCL |
Florida Record reports a passenger is suing Carnival Corporation alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in February, he suffered a stroke that was left untreated. The plaintiff holds the defendant responsible because its personnel allegedly failed to properly assess the reason why the plaintiff's arm was numb. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 1:16-cv-24753-FAM | Lawsuit for medical misdiagnosis |
| November 29 | Ecstasy CCL |
Florida Record reports a passenger is suing Carnival Corporation alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on July 7, she sustained physical injuries when she fell due to a slippery substance that was left on the floor. The plaintiff holds Carnival Corporation, d/b/a Carnival Cruise Lines Inc., responsible because the defendant allegedly allowed a hazardous condition and failed to provide adequate warning regarding the hazardous condition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division Case number 1:16-cv-24633-FAM | Lawsuit for injury |
| November 29 | Ecstasy CCL |
Florida Record reports a disabled passenger is suing the Carnival cruise ship company, alleging the defendant's negligence led to injuries for the plaintiff. Earline McBride filed a lawsuit Nov. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division against Carnival Corporation, alleging failure to properly secure the ramp used by disabled passengers aboard their vessel. According to the complaint, on Nov. 23, 2015, McBride suffered severe injuries when her wheelchair was thrown off the ramp and onto the ground while she was disembarking the Carnival Ecstasy. The plaintiff alleges Carnival failed to provide adequate supervision and assistance to disabled passengers while disembarking from the ship. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division Case number 1:16-cv-24894-JLK | Lawsuit for injury |
| 28 November | Summit Celebrity |
A poster on Cruise Critic reports today we had our second Man Overboard Announcement in two months. While on Infinity last month, one of the rope handlers in Mexico was pulled into the water as he was preparing to tie up the front cable. Today, a Summit passenger fell into the harbor as he got too close to the water beside a bus in the port of Barbados. Fortunately, only his pride was hurt. | Fall into water at pier |
| November 27 | Unnamed Princess |
Northern California Record reports an Illinois man alleges he was injured because of a bay leaf left in a dish. According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that in Jan. 11, Michael Mariani sustained physical injuries from ingesting a bay leaf left in a seafood salad dish, which became lodged in his throat. He alleges he needed medical attention on the ship because of the leaf. The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek general damages of more than $75,000, medical expenses, property damages, interest, all legal fees and any other relief as the court deems just. (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Case number 2:16-cv-08590-JAK-AS) | Lawsuit - choking on bay leaf |
| 25 November | American Star American Cruise Line | First Coast News reports the ship collided with the Main Street Bridge Friday night, shutting down the bridge to traffic.It is a large river cruise boat and was attempting to moor on the South Bank before it drifted into the bridge, For almost three hours, the boat was stuck on the Main Street Bridge, but eventually, a tug boat was able to pull the ship free. No damage was reported to the boat, but before the bridge can reopen an inspection must find no serious structural damage. "It looked like it was in position to dock, but all of a sudden it started drifting out toward the bridge," says James Cannon, who was there as the ship struck the bridge. "And as it continued, it picked up speed and I never saw them out on the stopper - so the next thing you know you hear this loud crash! Bang! And it's stuck up under the Main Street Bridge now." | Collision with bridge |
| 24 November | Fathom Cruises | Travel Weekly reports Fathom, the one-ship cruise line created by Carnival Corp. in 2015 to offer social-impact cruises, will become a shoreside-only experience in mid-2017. The brand's only ship, the Adonia, will be returned to the P&O Cruises fleet in June 2017. | Ceasing operations |
| 22 November | Louisiane French America Line |
Cruise Critic reports the newest boat on the Mississippi River, French America Line's 150-passenger Louisiane, has canceled November and December sailings, due to mechanical repairs. A spokesperson for the cruise line said the ship's repairs require newly fabricated parts, so it won't be ready for December sailings. The ship will also receive some upgrades that were originally planned for its January winter layup. Passengers on the canceled sailings have been offered their choice of a future 2017 sailing with the 2016 paid, and will be reimbursed for any airfare change fees. People who don't wish to rebook will be given a full fare reimbursement. | Caqnceled sailings |
| 22 November | Solstice Celebrity |
Radio New Zealand reports cruise ship tours were linked to two deaths in 45 minutes. In the first incident, a Mazda driver died after a head-on crash with a busload of cruise ship passengers in Waikato, police said. No-one else was injured in the crash, on State Highway 29 near Te Poi, on the Waikato side of the Kaimai Range, about 11.30am. About 12.15pm, a 71-year-old cruise ship passenger died after she was hit by a truck while on a cycle tour in Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty. She died at the intersection of Mirrielees Road and Te Awanui Drive. Police believed the woman was from the United States. Both tours were organised for passengers of the Celebrity Solstice, which was docked in Tauranga overnight. Police are investigating the incidents. | Deaths ashore |
| 18 November | Ooosterdam HAL |
CDC reports 86 of 1,843 (4.67%) passengers and 18 of 796 (2.26%) have reported ill on the current cruise ending in Tampa today. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship in Tampa, FL, on November 18, 2016, to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. UPDATE 21 Nov: CDC's revised numbers - 90 of 1,843 pax (4.88%) and 22 of 796 crew (2.76%). | Illness |
| 15 November | Unnamed | DaijiWorld reports four persons were killed as a small cruise ship hit a sandbank near the seashore in Cambodia's Kampot province, police said on Tuesday. The accident occurred on Monday night when the ship, carrying about 70 domestic tourists, returned from watching fireflies along the sea and ran aground about 30 metres from the seashore, Xinhua news agency quoted a police official as saying. "The ship hit the sandbank, throwing several passengers off it," he said. "Also, some other passengers panicked and jumped into the water because they confusingly thought that the cruise boat was sinking." "Four persons, including two elderly women and a mother and her young son, drowned in the accident," he said. | Paxdeaths after ship grounds on sandbank |
| 14 November | Vista CCL |
Cruise Law News reports the ships is having propulsion problems. Carnival stated on its Facebook page that the Carnival Vista is experiencing what it calls a "technical" problem with its propulsion system which is "affecting only its maximum cruising speed." Carnival announced that it is replacing Grand Turk with the port of Nassau. | Propulsison problems |
| 13 November | Unknown | Bahamas Weekly reports officers from Tourism Policing Unit took an American man from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida into custody after they found a quantity of dangerous drugs in his possession on Saturday 12th November 2016. Reports are that around 9:00pm, officers from the Tourism Policing Unit, acting on information went onboard a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they arrested the man after they found a quantity of marijuana in his possession. The suspect is expected to appear in court early this week to be formally charged. | Drug bust |
| 12 November | Liberty & Valor CCL |
Cruise Critic reports ongoing technical issues with Carnival Liberty have prompted Carnival Cruise Line to modify itineraries through November and move the vessel from Texas to Florida, replacing it with Carnival Valor. The technical problem on Carnival Liberty is "affecting the ship's maximum cruising speed," he wrote. "The issue is only affecting the ship's speed… all other systems are operating normally. The ship is capable of operating cruises at reduced maximum speeds while Carnival's technical team, together with outside experts, continues to work to fully resolve the problem." Through the end of November, Liberty will sail modified itineraries from Galveston before going into drydock. After its drydock, it will reposition to Port Canaveral and sail shorter cruises from Florida beginning December 15. Carnival Valor will then be sent to Galveston, because it is better suited to operate at the higher speeds required for the longer Mexico itineraries from the Texas port. | Technical problems |
| 11 November | Jade NCL |
Irish Times reports an 11-year-old boy, who suffered two broken front teeth while playing dodgeball on a cruise ship, has been awarded €60,000 damages at the Circuit Civil Court. Barrister Deidre Byrne told the court that Charles Parsons was in January 2014 on a 10-day cruise holiday to Port of Civitavecchia, Rome, on the Norwegian Jade ship, when the incident happened. The court heard he had been playing the ball game, under staff supervision, in the Kids Zone of the ship. He had been told to throw himself on a large rolling ball, belly first. Ms Byrne said that as he did so, Charles, who was nine at the time, bounced off the ball and landed on the hard floor, on his face. Circuit Court President Mr. Justice Raymond Groarke heard that Charles had been bleeding and extremely upset, and was examined by the ship doctor. He suffered two broken teeth which have had to be restored. Ms Byrne said ongoing issues with Charles’ teeth could not be dealt with permanently until he is 16-years-old. His teeth had needed to be restored several times since the incident. | Lawsuit - injured child |
| 11 November | Dream CCL |
Florida Record reports a Tennessee woman alleges she was injured while participating in a game on cruise ship. Tynearia Harrison filed a complaint on Oct. 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Carnival Corp., doing business as Carnival Cruise Line, alleging negligence. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Nov. 3, 2015, she sustained physical injuries from slipping on a foreign liquid substance while participating in a game near the pool on the Carnival Dream. The plaintiff holds Carnival Corp. responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to inspect, clean and maintain the floors in a reasonably safe condition. | Lawsuit - slip and fall |
| 10 November | Azura P&O Cruises |
Daily Star reports a British cruise ship passenger has been killed in a bus crash in the Dominican Republic. The bus was carrying 12 passengers — including 10 guests from the Azura P&O cruise. The cause of the accident is not yet known. Nine other passengers were injured and treated in a local hospital. | Pax killed ashore |
| 10 November | Jade NCL |
From a passenger: the ship is on a 14 day transatlantic from Barcelona to Tampa. One of the ports of call was Bermuda on November 8th. They were not able to make it in due to high winds. There's also been a medical emergency on board and they've had to make a quick stop in Nassau to drop the passenger off today November 10th. | Missed port |
| 9 November | Oriana P&O Cruises |
WGNO News reports a couple returning to a cruise ship successfully fought off an armed robber on Canal Street last night. The unnamed couple were approached by an armed man wearing dark clothing with a bandana covering his face in the 100 block of Canal Street just before midnight on November 8, according to an NOPD report. The couple fought with the robber, who was armed with a semiautomatic handgun. After a short “tussle,” the victims and attempted robber ran in different directions, according to the NOPD. | Attempted robbery ashore |
| 5 November | Liberty CCL |
Cruise Criitc reports the cruise due to start today has been canceled due to on an ongoing issue with a faulty generator which is affecting the ship's propulsion. The cruise line informed passengers yesterday that today's five-night Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston had been canceled. All passengers will receive a full refund and any pre-purchased excursions, Fun Shop items and pre-purchased gratuities. Carnival is also applying a 100 percent credit in the amount paid for the canceled cruise on a future cruise purchase. | Cruise canceled |
| 3 November | Jewel & Unknown NCL |
Florida Record reports a California resident alleges glass hidden in food served on the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship caused injury. Levi Morgan filed a complaint on Oct. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division against NCL (Bahamas) LTD, alleging negligence. According to the complaint, on Nov. 18, 2015, the plaintiff sustained damages after biting glass that was in the ice cream the plaintiff was consuming. The plaintiff holds NCL responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to remove all foreign substances from its ice cream or provide adequate warning to plaintiff. Florida Record also reports a passenger is suing NCL, alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries. Vincent Libero filed a complaint on Oct. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division against the defendant, alleging that the cruise ship company failed to properly maintain a chair aboard its vessel. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Nov. 6, 2015, he sustained physical injuries when a chair he sat on collapsed. The plaintiff holds NCL responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to properly secure the chair on its vessel or provide adequate warning to the plaintiff regarding the hazardous condition of the chair. | Lawsuits |
| 1 November | Liberty CCL |
Click2Houston reports Carnival canceled a cruise out of Galveston Tuesday after a ship that had engine trouble was hours late arriving at the port Monday. The ship should have arrived in Galveston about 6 a.m. Monday after a cruise, but a technical problem, as the company described it, slowed down the ship. It didn’t arrive until about 6 p.m. Passengers for the next cruise were expected to begin boarding at 8 p.m. The ship was expected to set sail late Monday or early Tuesday, but that never happened. On Tuesday morning, Carnival said in statement that its technical team along with other experts discovered another problem with one of the diesel generators, which could not be easily repaired. That prompted the cancellation of Tuesday’s cruise. "Guests scheduled to sail on this voyage will receive a full refund of their cruise, along with a 100 percent future cruise credit and $90 per person reimbursement representing a previously promised onboard credit and stipend for meals in Galveston yesterday," the company said in the statement. The delay has prompted Carnival to modify stops in upcoming cruises, as well. The Nov. 5 five-day cruise will include a full-day call in Cozumel, Mexico, but the stop in Progreso, Mexico, has been canceled, the company said. The Nov. 10 four-day cruise will include a stop in Progreso instead of Cozumel, the company said. "Guests sailing on these voyages will receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise," the company said in the statement. "Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund." Trips after Nov. 14 are scheduled to operate as normal, the company said. | Propulsion problems / subsequent cruise canceled |
| 31 October | Emerald Princess |
Cruise Law News reports the cruise ship was experiencing power issues similar to the Grand Princess which suffered power failures en route to San Fransisco returning from a cruise to Mexico. AIS, like Marine Traffic showed the vessel speed as the cruise ship headed to the port of Laem Chabang in Thailand at around 19-21/knots/hr and then down to 2/knots/hr on several occasions yesterday evening. | Power problems |
| 30 October | Grand Princess |
Cruise Law News reports the ship temporarily lost power. A passenger wrote: "I am on the Grand Princess and we have a power issue and the Captain just made an announcement that they are working on it. We are not moving in the water. Yikes." The Grand Princess was sailing off the Coast of California, heading to San Fransisco. The passenger went on to state that: " . . . the power went out and the emergency lights went on. It was then that the ship stopped moving. They got the power back on and we began to continue but they were clearly having power problems all night. The power would flicker and change color like in a brown out. Then everything went back to normal by bed time. I think that we are arriving in SF on time . . " The Grand Princess was launched in 1998. AIS tracking systems like Marine Traffic showed the cruise ship, which had been proceeding around 11-12/knots hr, losing power briefly last night. | Loss of power |
| 25 October | Adonia Fathom (CCL) | CDC reports 23 of 668 (3.44%) passengers and 2 of 388 (0.52%) crew became ill during the cruise 16 - 23 October. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer boarded the ship on arrival in Miami on October 23, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. | Illness |
| 22 October | Majesty Thomson |
Cruise Law News reports that last night on the way from Livorno to Corsica, the cruise ship lost all power . . . It was drifting for several hours in the Med, with passengers in pitch black, without the use of toilets, without any great communication from staff. The cruise ship regained power but returned to the port in Livorno. | Loss of power |
| 21 October | Spirit Thomson |
Crew-Centre reports the ship ran aground in the middle of the Arade River in Portugal on Tuesday. The ship blocked the river for an hour and a half, after the Captain was forced to abort the docking maneuvers. It was scheduled to arrive in the port of Portimão at 8:00 a.m. entering the river at low tide. After trying to maneuver in the basin in front of the quayside, the captain was forced to give up for security reasons. Spirit finally docked in Portimão at high tide at 09:20 a.m. with assistance of a tugboat. The cause of the grounding was badly silted up channel which underwent major dredging 10 years ago. Authorities at Port of Portimão guarantees safe passage for ships of up to 215 meters and 8 meters draft. The cruise ship Thomson Spirit is 214 meters long and has draft of 7.52 meters, yet still managed to run aground. | Ran agrounded |
| 18 October | Wonder Disney |
La Voz de Cadiz reports a 28 year old Disney crew member was arrested after he allegedly sodomized a 27 year old female crew member. The incident occurred last Thursday when a male employee from St. Lucia assaulted a female crew members from the UK. The incident occured on the Rhapsody, which is being used to house crew members while the Wonder is undergoing renovations in a 40-day dry dock in Cadiz Spain. According to the newspaper the man man wanted to have anal sex with the woman, but the woman refused. Regardless the man forced himself onto her. The newspaper refers to other incidents allegedly involving Disney crew members who are in Cadiz as part of the dry dock. In late September, a crew member of Indian origin, was reportedly arrested "in the vicinity of a shopping center in the capital . . . for indecent exposure with two children." The judge reportedly released him on charges. Earlier this month, the body of a Disney crew member from Poland was reportedly found floating in the water. The article states that "the case is still under a gag order." | Sexual assault & crew member exposes self to two children |
| 18 October | Unknown CCL |
Fox NY 5 News reports FOX 46 Charlotte got results for a woman who said she was shamed for breastfeeding while on a Carnival cruise. She reached out to the FOX 46 newsroom for help. "It was absolutely the most humiliating moment of my life," said Crystal Silvas, a mother of two adopted children. She said she was breastfeeding her 9-month-old daughter on a Carnival cruise when two officers started flailing their arms at her in front of everyone at the pool. "The men in white, started waving their arms really high and saying to cut it out and told me I couldn't feed her anywhere outside my stateroom," said Silvas. She said she was deeply hurt by the experience. "They ruined my vacation. The weeks since have been the most stressful I can imagine," Silvas said. To make it right, Silvas said she reached out to Carnival about its breastfeeding policy, but couldn't get a straight answer for two weeks. FOX 46 Charlotte got results for Silvas within hours. The cruise line apologized. | Woman humiliated for breastfeeding on ship |
| 15 October | Celebration Thomson |
Travel.AOL.Com reports a couple are suing TUI UK Ltd (a joint venture with RoyalCaribbean) after they claim they experienced bed bugs and were left vomiting after a honeymoon cruise with Thomson. Philip and Janice Stephens honeymooned on the Thomson Celebration cruise ship to Turkey in September 2014. But, after a couple of days they said they noticed bed bug bites and their room had to be fumigated twice. | Lawsuit - Bedbugs |
| 15 October | Unknown | WAGM News reports a New Brunswick jeweler says the thieves walked off with the 10-thousand dollar diamond last Friday by switching it with a fake. The owner of W. Smith and Company Fine Jewelers in Saint John says a middle-aged couple came in and asked the clerk to see a single diamond. The diamond was valued at 10 grand. Smith says he decided to speak out because he was angry, because his insurance deductible is so high it won't cover the loss, and because a store video is so clear the public can help nab them. Smith said he has instituted a new policy at his store. Any customer must show picture identification before they can be shown a loose stone. According to Smith, investigators with the Saint John police department, combed through photos of every cruise ship passenger in the city at the time in a bid to find the thieves. The Saint John police haven't made an official statement. CBC reports that Smith said he has been contacted by the Montreal police, who told him they were investigating the couple and know their names. Smith is hoping the security footage he released will be enough to track them down and have them charged. When Smith first came forward with his story, he urged other jewellers to ignore feelings of embarrassment about being scammed. "They're professionals," he said while comparing getting duped by the pair to falling for a phone scam. The Star subsequently reports police are closing in on pair of sticky-fingered diamond thieves suspected in a series of robberies across Canada — and the trail has reportedly led them to the Toronto area. The names of the suspects have not been released but their smug, smiling images are clear as day thanks to surveillance camera footage of one robbery on Oct. 7 at a retail jewelry store in Saint John, N.B. He is a 70-year-old man with a white beard and quick hands. She is a 44-year-old woman who keeps the stash of phoney diamonds in her pocket while appearing to scroll distractedly through her iPhone. Officially, the couple is suspected in two robberies this month — in Saint John and Charlottetown — in which real diamonds worth about $30,000 were surreptitiously switched for worthless cubic zirconium imitations. They are the object of a Canada-wide arrest warrant issued Wednesday by the Saint John police force. Unofficially, their the haul could total more than $100,000, said Wayne Smith, owner of Saint John’s W. Smith & Co. Fine Jewellers, whose store was the target of a $10,000 theft. | Pax steal diamond |
| Editorial Comment | The Arizona Republic and USA Today Network report that oceangoing travelers for the first time can see what crimes are being reported aboard ships operating in U.S. ports. This has been celebrated by International Cruise Victims Association and others, however what has not been said is that crime statistics are based on incidents classified and subsequently reported by a cruise line. The cruise line determines whether an incident constitutes "sexual assault" (many cases of molestation of minors are classified as "sexual contact: groping" or as "inappropriate touch," neither of which is a crime under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 - CVSSA) so while the new disclosure of data is welcomed, it only gives insight into the scale of the most serious incidents, and it only applies to ships operating from US ports (and may not include incidents involving non-US citizens on these ships, and incidents against US citizens on ships operating out of non-US ports). Before jumping on the bandwagon of accolades for the new disclosures, we must look closely to see what is not being reported so we don't assume the problem is less serious than it is. My comments are based on review of incident reports submitted by cruise lines and the tendency for these reports to misrepresent as "sexual contact" incidents that the victim clearly sees as sexual assault (but, again, sexual contact is not reportable under the CVSSA). | ||
| October 14 | Pacific Princess |
Nice Matin reports the ship hit a breakwater of the port of Nice's side this Friday at 7:10. According to the schedule of the port of Nice, the ship arrived at 6:15 Friday morning and had to leave in 17 hours. A leak was found in compartment - 2 of the ship. Since the dike, only a penetration of the hull on the port side (left) is visible. From a passenger: Pacific princess was in beautiful Portofino yesterday and sailed to Nice overnight. But approaching the harbor before dawn there were thunderstorms ànd big wind...35-40 kts. We were up early for an 8am tour as the ship entered the tiny harbor under our own power (no tug). Just as we passed the 300 ft wide opening in the breakwater a big gust from the storm hit us and skidded us into the corner of the breakwater. Heard two grinding sounds in close succession, and I realized we'd rapped our bottom somewhere. They thrusted off and called a damage control party on the pa. But it turned out we'd sprung a leak in a mechanical compartment, and soon lost water pressure and vacuum in all the lavs due to flooding. They got us alongside safely with help from a tug. At 3pm they said the damage was significant -probably needing drydock - and since the vacuum was out none of the lavs on the ship worked. So they have us all in half a dozen hotels in Nice tonight, and the plan is to bus us to Barcelona all day tomorrow for flights home Sunday. | Collides with breakwater - Significant damage; cruise canceled |
| October 13 | Star |
Cape Cod Times reports the ship clipped the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge during its trip through the Cape Cod Canal Wednesday night, the Army Corps of Engineers said today. An aluminum mast with a light on the end of the ship made contact with the bridge, scraping a small amount of paint off of it, said Tim Dugan, spokesman for the Army Corps' New England District, in a statement. The bridge was inspected by staff shortly after the incident and there were no damages, Dugan said. The bridge is fully operational. Engineers are scheduled to conduct more inspections at all three Cape Cod bridges on Friday to see if the Sagamore and Bourne bridges were struck by the same aluminum light pole, Dugan said. | Scrapes bridge while transiting canal |
| October 13 | Victory CCL |
Miami New Times report three years ago today, 6-year-old Qwentyn Hunter was on a cruise with his parents and two older siblings heading back to Miami from Cozumel. Before dinner, Qwentyn and his brother asked their dad, Caselle Hunter, to take them up to the hot tub. He happily agreed. While on the pool deck, however, Caselle bumped into a church friend and became distracted. Before he could fully process what was going on, he heard another passenger splash into the water and pull out his son's limp body. Tragically, Qwentyn, an aspiring child model from Orlando, died onboard the ship. Just a few days shy of the anniversary of their son's death, the Hunters filed a federal lawsuit against Carnival on Tuesday, saying the company acted negligently in failing to provide lifeguards and adequate medical care that might have saved Qwentyn's life. | Lawsuit - drowning of child |
| October 13 | Majesty RCI |
Cruise Law News reports a passenger from Ohio who sailed last November and developed Legionnaires' disease has filed suit against Royal Caribbean. The passenger alleges that only after he boarded the cruise ship in Miami, and the ship had set sail, did the cruise line notify him, via a notice placed under his door, that Legionella had been discovered in the ship's water system on prior cruises. Legionnaires' disease is one of the most serious diseases a passenger can contract on a cruise ship. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe pneumonia caused by inhalation or possibly aspiration of warm, aerosolized water containing Legionella organisms. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), contaminated ships’ whirlpool spas and potable water supply systems are the most commonly implicated sources of shipboard Legionella outbreaks. Symptoms include a cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle aches and headache. Although prompt antibiotic treatment can kill the bacteria, 5% to 30% of people infected with Legionella will die from the infection. After the cruise ended on November 13, 2015, Royal Caribbean sent an email to the disembarking passengers, stating that they may have been exposed to Legionella during the cruise. It stated that if passengers become ill, they should seek medical attention and undergo testing for Legionella. Royal Caribbean stated that two passengers had been confirmed to be infected with Legionnaires' disease from the cruise ship, and that one person was possibly infected. One person was infected during a cruise in July 2015 and one other person was infected during a cruise in October 2015. The email stated that Royal Caribbean had shut down the whirlpools on the ship after it confirmed the first case of Legionnaires' disease associated with the July sailing. The cruise line claimed that it treated the ship's water supplies with extra chlorine (the email mentions "two rounds of treatment with chlorine"), but water samples taken from showers confirmed the presence of Legionella. Royal Caribbean also sent the email to those people who had booked cruises on the Majesty on future dates, advising that the risk of illness is "low but not zero" and suggesting to future cruisers that they may want to reschedule their cruises for a later date depending on their individual risk factors. A few days after returning home, the passenger began experiencing symptoms consistent with Legionnaires' disease. He visited his doctor on an urgent basis and he was immediately hospitalized. His lawsuit lists kidney, heart and pulmonary failure among other complications which he suffered as a result of the disease which he contracted on the cruise ship. |
Lawsuit for Legionnaires' Disease |
| October 12 | Joy NCL |
Cruise Hive reports a second fire has broke out while the ship is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The fire broke out on Saturday morning inside building hall 2. Local and the shipyards own fire crew immediately attended the fire and extinguished successfully. There were no injuries and all workers were evacuated away from any danger. Meyer Werft have stated that the fire started from a deck 9 balcony but a further investigation is needed to know the cause. Several decks have been damage and work on the ship has been halted. Meyer Werft is assessing the damage and it’s not yet clear if the ships scheduled delivery will be delayed. | Fire (while in shipyard) |
| October 12 | Rhapsody RCI |
The Sun reports a couple are suing a cruise firm after they forced to spend two days in quarantine on the holiday of a lifetime after contracting food poisoning. Rachel and David Willcox are taking legal action against Royal Caribbean after they became contracted gastointestinal illness whilst on a luxury 10-day cruise around the Mediterranean in August. Rachel and David Willcox were enjoying their luxury holiday before being struck with food poisoning The couple, from Bristol, say they suffered sickness, lethargy and explosive diarrhoea on the ship – which at one point was so bad for David they were confined to their cabin for two days. They were forced to stay in their room as medics gave David injections and medication. |
Lawsuit for illness |
| October 11 | Emerald Princess |
With increased activity against ships in the region, passengers have been advised of a Piracy Attack Drill as the ship prepares to sail through waters near Yemen (Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean). Problems are not anticipated, but the drill is in the interest of caution. Hopes are the ship will go dark and sail the dangerous Mandib Gap at night. UPDATE: Given missiles aimed at US Navy vessels in the area, and the US response, passage through the straits was delayed twelve hours or so (likely until after the military response to the missile attacks). | Piracy (and missile) attack drill |
| October 8 | Splendor CCL |
NBC Miami reports Miami Fire Rescue is responding to reports of a 2-year-old nearly drowning on a cruise ship at PortMiami. The incident occurred on the Carnival Splendor cruise ship Saturday afternoon. The child was stabilized by paramedics and will be transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Pediatrics unit. | Child almost drowns |
| October 6 | Multiple | Hurricane Matthew is wreaking havoc with cruise schedules. Carnival Ecstasy is spending more lime at sea than planned; many other cruise ships are having their itinerary altered or canceled by the storm. These are too numerous to be reported here. | Hurrican Matthew |
| October 6 | Multiple | The Telegraph reports everal major cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean, the world's largest and second largest cruise ship operators, have banned cruise passengers and crew members from using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones on board their ships over fears of “dangerous explosions” caused by overheating. “Guests and crew in possession of an applicable Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone are required to turn off their device, disconnect the device from any charging equipment, disable all applications that could involuntarily activate the device (e.g. alarm clock) and protect the power switch to prevent its unintentional activation”, Carnival says on its website. | Samsung phones "banned" by cruise lines |
| October 6 | Breeze CCL |
Florida Keys News reports a South Florida woman who says she was sexually assaulted last year by a snorkel guide during her vacation on the Carnival Breeze cruise ship has sued the cruise line and a Key West-based watersports company that teams up with the cruise line to offer excursions, citing “vicarious liability.” Key West Fury Inc., which has offices at 313 Margaret St. in Key West, shares the blame for the alleged assault because it does business as Fury De Mexico S.A. De C.V. and Caribbean Fury, which employed the crew member who allegedly lured Genisis Ordonez away from the group of snorkelers Sept. 24, 2015, under the pretense he was taking her to a better spot, the lawsuit states. | Lawsuit for sexual assault on shorex |
| October 6 | Pride CCL |
NBC New York reports the ship destined for Turks and Caicos turned into an unexpected, unplanned and unwanted trip to New York City when Hurricane Matthew began barreling into the voyage's path. The cruise was scheduled to head to the archipelago southeast of the Bahamas from Baltimore on Sunday, but the ship instead docked in New York City when the hurricane hit the islands. From New York, Carnival planned an alternate trip north to Canada, but because of the weather, that too was canceled. The ship now plans to return to Baltimore, but passengers say if they're going home anyway, they'd rather get there sooner rather than later, especially if it means they need to prepare for the hurricane possibly hitting the mid-Atlantic coast. But the ship isn't leaving Pier 88 off the West Side Highway until Wednesday evening, angering passengers who want to get home sooner and also want a refund. Carnival told NBC 4 New York in a statement that prior to the start of the trip, "guests had the option of canceling and receiving a full refund. Those who opted to sail on the cruise are receiving a $250-per-person shipboard credit and a 50-percent future cruise discount." |
Cruise stuck in NYC |
| September 29 | Joy NCL |
Maritime Herald reports the newbuilding ship caught fire at Meyer Yard in Papenburg. The vessel is under final stage of construction in building hall II at the shipyard, but the manifold inflamed and caused a lot of smoke inside. The fire alarm was activated and at the scene of the incident were dispatched local firefighting brigade, which succeeded quickly to extinguish the flames. All the workers in the dock were evacuated outside, as the smoke continued for a while and engulfed the whole building. The 45-meter-wide goal of the building dock was opened for ventilation and the work over the mega cruise ship Norwegian Joy has been temporarily suspended. The damages caused by the fire were assessed later and estimated to around 50,000 EUR. Fortunately during the accident there were no injured people. The investigation for the root causer of the fire is under way. | Fire at shipyard |
| September 28 | Unnamed Princess Cruises |
Northern California Record reports a former passenger with liver cancer has filed suit against a cruise ship and its medical staff for alleged negligence after he claims he impaled his foot on an object in the ship's pool and a piece of the object was left in his foot after it was sutured on board. Dennis M. McCarthy filed a complaint Sept. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., Minette Botes, M.D., and Van Tonder, M.D., alleging that they failed to carry competent medical professional on board. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Sept. 18, 2015, while aboard the defendant's vessel as a fare paying passenger, he stepped onto a sharp object at the bottom of the pool. He sought emergency care at the ship’s medical center; however, because he claimed he was inadequately diagnosed, it led to significant swelling and redness. After returning home, the plaintiff was hospitalized and treated for a severe foot infection and was required to undergo surgery to remove the foreign object that remained deeply embedded that purportedly was overlooked by the defendants, which caused the plaintiff to suffer damages from medical expenses and further delayed his scheduled liver surgery. | Lawsuit for medical misdiagnosis |
| September 28 | Magic CCL |
Cruise Law News reports on September 13, 2016, a passenger on the Carnival Magic was robbed at gunpoint at the port of Belize. We received the following information from the passenger: "We were at the port next to the belize sign taking pictures. A vendor selling wood and jewelry was trying to sell us some of his handmade work when a male on a bicycle threw down his bike and pointed a gun at me. He then put it under his shirt when my friend turned around. My friend thought it was a joke and wasn't cooperating that's when the man pulled the gun back out racked it and pointed it at us. He told us to empty our pockets. My friend gave him 15$ all he had left and I gave him 25$ he then saw my phone and told me to give it to him. I delayed giving to him as I was thinking about my options. After a few moments I decided it wasn't worth it and gave it to him. He then started yelling at my friend to give him his wallet which he did not have. The man then asked where it was my friend replied in my room. Finally the male said don't make this a big deal and got back on his bike and rolled away. I preceded to run to the first police officer I could find and let them know what happened. The police had several officer driving around in cars and motorcycles trying to find the assailant. They told us it was the 1st time in 2 years this happened in or by the port. They could not locate him and took us to the police station where we gave statements and made reports. 2 hrs later they took us back to the port where we went back on the ship and made report to carnival. They said it never happens. Made report to guest services then wrote statement to security and told me to call corporate office when I get off ship. Called the office they did not seem to care much and I told them why do they go to unsafe ports their reply was this never happens. To future cruisers I would suggest to not get off on this port." Carnival contacted the passenger after the cruise, stating that it is going to increase awareness with cruise guests and also increase police and security at that port. | Pax robbed ashore |
| September 28 | Albatross Phoenix Reisen | Cruise Law News reportsA number of German newspapers are reporting that the cruise ship M/S Albatros, marketed by the German travel company Phoenix Reisen, broke down this week. The ship suffered mechanical problems which delayed her departure to Dover from the Columbus Cruise Center in Bremerhaven (CCCB). The cruise ship was originally scheduled to cruise from Bremerhaven with 800 passengers on Tuesday evening, but problems with the the hydraulic system of the rudder delayed her departure. The problem was reportedly repaired and the Albatros departed 11 hours late on Wednesday morning. The same problem quickly reappeared when the cruise ship was approximately 25 kilometers from the port of Bremerhaven. Two tugs towed the ship back to port for additional repairs. The Albatros was built in 1973 in Finland for Royal Viking Line as the Royal Viking Sea. She has also sailed under the names Royal Odyssey, Norwegian Star, and Crown over her 43 year history. | Mechanical problems |
| September 28 | Unnamed |
Travel Mole reeports MSC Cruises is being sued for the alleged sexual assault and battery of a 12-year old girl. The lawsuit, brought by the girl's legal guardian and grandparent, cites a violation of the International Safety Management Code by failing to protect cruise passengers from sexual assault, according to the Florida Record. The lawsuit names MSC Cruises (USA) Inc., parent company MSC Crociere SA, and employee Rudy Samuel Santos Hernandez who it alleges committed the attack. The assault took place on February 14, 2016, the complaint says, saying Hernandez used his service key to enter the room and attack the girl who was alone at the time. The lawsuit said the minor 'suffered injuries to her body and extremities, pain and suffering, mental anguish, great shame, psychological trauma and scarring.' The plaintiff has requested a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages, interest and costs. | Lawsuit for sexual assault of child |
| September 26 | Multiple ships | The Telegraph reports hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the water in Venice to protest against visiting cruise ships, as relations between tourists and locals reach a new nadir. Flare-waving protestors used gondolas and small boats to prevent cruise ships, including a vessel belonging to Thomson, from passing through the lagoon on Sunday. During peak season some 30,000 cruise ship passengers disembark in Venice every day, which locals claim is ruining their city, both environmentally and culturally. The number of visitors each day, 60,000, now exceeds the number of Venetians. | Protest |
| September 25 | MV Hebrides | BBC reports a ferry has crashed into a harbour wall and run aground at Lochmaddy Marina in North Uist. The MV Hebrides, which had 76 passengers and crew on board, was unable to slow down as it attempted to dock at 11:00. It had been travelling from Tarbert on Harris when it is believed to have suffered engine problems. No passengers on board the Caledonian MacBrayne vessel were injured in the incident. All services on the route have been cancelled for the day after what Caledonian MacBrayne described as "a technical issue". A CalMac statement said: "A technical failure led to the vessel being unable to reduce speed sufficiently for the routine docking procedures and she struck both pontoons in Lochmaddy harbour and the seabed. |
Collision with seawall - Aground |
| September 23 | Monarch Pullmantur |
Cruise Law News reportsA passenger aboard the Pullmantur Monarch (formerly Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas) informed us that the cruise ship apparently struck a whale last week as the ship was returning to the port of Lisbon. He photographed the whale carcass (at bottom) which was lodged on the bulbous bow of the cruise ship. Here's the information which we received from the passenger: "The Pullmantur Monarch cruise ship came into the Port of Lisbon last Monday with the carcass of a whale wrapped around the bow and resting on the bulbous nose. The whitish gray whale looked to be about 18-20 feet long, so it must have been a young whale . . . It must have unfortunately breached directly ahead of the ship. It probably never had a chance as it collided with the 74,000 Ton ship traveling at around 16 knots." The message was from a retired US Coast Guard Reserve officer (Lieutenant) who is accustomed to seeing / investigating these type of incidents. | Whale strike |
| September 22 | Multiple ships | KCAW reports gale-force winds and high seas on the outer coast are keeping about 4,500 cruise ship travelers from seeing Sitka this week. Three Holland America Line ships – the Westerdam, the Amsterdam and the Maasdam – have canceled their port calls. Sherry Aitken is director of tourism for Visit Sitka, which is part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce. “Largely, it’s because they have to go on the outside of Baranof Island. They cannot take the path of the ferries, through the interisland areas. And so, they’re exposed to any type of heavy seas and right now it’s tremendously heavy seas,” she said. The ships were scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week. Two ships are still scheduled to call in Sitka before the end of this month. The Norwegian Jewel is slated to stop on Saturday (9-24-16) and the Westerdam next Wednesday (9-28-16). Aitken hopes the weather will allow them to sail and bring passengers to Sitka shops and tours. “September is a time when you’ve probably made your costs for the season and you’re looking at expanding your margin of profitably.,” she said. Weather cancellations aren’t all that unusual this time of year in Sitka. Storms kept the 380-passenger Silver Shadow from calling on Sept. 10. Three years ago, two of the larger ships also skipped Sitka at the end of the season. | Canceled port call |
| September 19 | Breakaway NCL |
Royal Gazette reports a cruise ship accident that killed a crewman has claimed a second life, after another man seriously injured on July 20 succumbed to his injuries. The man has been named as Ben Buenaventura, of the Philippines, who had been in the intensive care unit of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida. Mr Buenaventura was among four crewmen who fell after a lifeboat came off the side of the vessel during a safety drill, killing 41-year-old Diogenes Carpio, also from the Philippines. He sustained a serious head injury, along with broken bones. A waiter for Norwegian Cruise Line for more than a decade, Mr Buenaventura leaves behind a wife and five-year-old son. |
2nd crew member dies from accident |
| September 19 | Rhapsody RCI |
Cruise Law News reports the ship was damaged after it encountered a storm early this morning during a cruise. A dozen large windows in the Viking Crown Lounge were reportedly broken, as you can see in a video posted to YouTube. Several panes of glass are also missing from the pool deck. Passengers reported that the ship heavily listed during the storm. The ship is the middle of a ten day round trip cruise from Venice. It is currently sailing a sea day and is scheduled to arrive in Santorini tomorrow, assuming its itinerary does not change. | Encounters storm - severe list |
| September 17 | Emerald Princess |
A passenger writes: Around 11:30 PM the cabin emergency speaker came on with the captain’s voice calling the crew to their (muster) stations. It was obvious to me that this was not a drill. After a moment to collect my thoughts I turned on my scanner that I had pre-tuned to all of the ship frequencies. The scanner was chattering non stop with excited voices about a suspected fuel leak and fire in the engine room. Water tight doors had been closed and the fire fighters were moving into position. I continued to closely listen to my scanner to further assess the situation. What I learned was that smoke had filled the engine room. The Captain ordered the shutdown of generators one and four, smoke was apparently found on the lower aft decks and on deck sixteen. A fuel leak fire was suspected. Then the Captain ordered, or perhaps it was automatic, the activation of the engine room fire suppression system. Let me pause here and tell you that fires on a ship are one of the most serious things that can ever happen. If the fire spreads it can be deadly. As the fire fighters prepared to enter the engine room the fire source was discovered to be a generator air supply fan belt on deck sixteen near the funnels which are not far from the Movies under the Stars (MUTS) outdoor theater. The MUTS was ordered to be shut down while the fire fighters fought the fire. After the fire was put out and the smoke was cleared out of the engine room the Captain came on the cabin speaker system twice to reassure passengers that we were all safe and that he was glad that the “small” fire was extinguished. After he concluded his remarks the scanner started chattering something about engine room cleanup from the fire suppression. What a way to start out a cruise. Hopefully this fire incident will be soon be forgotten. | Fire |
| September 14 | Crown Princess and Nieuw Amsterdam HAL |
KTOO reports thousands of unexpected visitors made a stop in Haines today, when an unscheduled cruise ship docked in town this Tuesday morning. The boat was headed for Skagway, but high winds caused a change of plans. Haines Tourism Director Leslie Ross said the official call to come to Haines wasn’t made until about 6:30 a.m. “We were warned a few days ago that they might blow in,” Ross said. “And it’s not a complete surprise. When it gets this windy, sometimes, I mean it’s not the first time it’s happened.” It’s the first time this year a cruise ship has had to stop in town unexpectedly, though it has happened in previous years. “So it was dealing with a couple thousand people trying to find places to go this morning,” Ross said. According to Ross, local tour operators sell tours in both Skagway and Haines, so they were ready to go, but it’s harder to get the word out to shop owners who were expecting a quiet day. An extra cruise ship will bring in a lot of extra money, and Ross said in these situations, usually people end up happy. The Crown Princess is not the only ship that didn’t make it to Skagway. Weather also prevented the Nieuw Amsterdam from docking. |
Missed port call |
| September 13 | Harmony RCI |
20 Minutes France says one person was killed and four others injured Tuesday morning in an accident on the biggest cruise ship in the world, at Marseilles, reports La Provence. According to the newspaper, a lifeboat dropped 10 metres from the fifth deck with five crew members on board. The accident took place during a single security exercise. A first assessment reported one death and four serious injuries. Two of them are in absolute emergency and the other two on emergency, said Julien Ruas, deputy marine brigade battalion in the city of Marseille. The deceased is a 42 year old Filipino. Nationalities and ages of the injured were not known immediately. | Crew death in lifeboat accident |
| September 12 | Sapphire Princess Cruises |
Shanghai Daily reports a 67-year-old female tourist from Hunan Province who jumped off a cruise ship heading to Japan and South Korea from Shanghai remains missing. The ship had left Shanghai International Cruise Terminal in Baoshan District and was in the East Sea when the incident occurred. The crew was alerted and a search was made for her but the ship continued with its voyage after the rescue attempt failed, Princess Cruises said. The ship is scheduled to return to Shanghai tomorrow after stopping over at Nagasaki and Cheju. The Shanghai maritime center said it had sent a helicopter and two ships to search for the missing woman. | Pax overboard |
| September 11 | Freya Viking River Cruises |
Associated Press reports a river cruise ship carrying nearly 230 people struck a bridge early Sunday in southern Germany, crushing the wheelhouse and killing two crew members, authorities said. The Viking Freya had just cast off while it was still dark from the town of Erlangen on its way to the Hungarian capital, Budapest, along the Main-Danube Canal when the collision occurred, police said. The dead were a 49-year-old who was guiding the vessel in place of the captain and a 33-year-old sailor. Both men were from Hungary. Police say the 181 passengers and 47 other crew members on the voyage were unhurt. They remained aboard the ship for hours until rescue workers could extend a walkway to get them off the vessel and take them to nearby hotels. | Colliison with bridge - 2 dead onboard |
| September 9 | Pearl NCL |
Cruise Law News reports a crew member went overboard yesterday during a cruise returning from Alaska. The woman reportedly was employed for two contracts for NCL. The Sitka Sentinel reported that the woman was reported missing at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday when she was noticed to be absent from her cabin. NCL security personnel later looked at CCTV which revealed that she had gone overboard while the vessel was under-way. The Coast Guard in Sitka launched a helicopter and the station in Juneau launched the 45-foot Coast Guard Cutter Liberty yesterday. These searches were reportedly suspended today. The woman's Facebook page this evening has many photographs and comments posted from her friends commemorating her life. Her friends describe her as a loved, cheerful and vibrant young woman. UPDATE: NCL crew members says that according to the ship's security officer, they were looking for her all over the cruise ship when she couldn't be located in her cabin. NCL sent out the rescue boat to search for her. She apparently left a note in her cabin. Public media KTOO reports provides this additional information: "The 25-year-old woman, identified only as a Columbian national, disappeared from the vessel about 1:40 a.m. Thursday while it was in Lynn Canal between Funter Bay and Point Retreat. It’s not clear if the woman jumped or simply fell overboard. The woman was not discovered as missing until 5 a.m. Thursday morning as the Norwegian Pearl was approaching Glacier Bay. Alaska State Troopers are investigating the incident." | Crew overboard |
| September 7 | Ecstasy CCL |
ABC 7 reports the Coast Guard is searching for a woman from upstate New York who went missing from the cruise ship near the Bahamas Wednesday. The Coast Guard said 32-year-old Rina Patel of Interlaken wdisappeared around 2:30 a.m. from the 11th deck. The ship was about 27 miles southwest of Freeport, Bahamas. The ship's last port of call was in Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday. Their next port of call is scheduled to be in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday. | Person overboard |
| September 7 | America NCL |
DNAinfo reports a British man groped a woman as she danced on a Norwegian cruise ship docked at a pier in the Hudson River, the NYPD said. The 21-year-old victim, from New Jersey, was dancing at the Bliss Ultra Lounge on the Norwegian Breakaway around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 4 when Lee Ashley Berry, 28, approached her from behind and groped her, police and a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said. The ship was docked at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal off West 48th Street — its home port since 2013 — when the incident took place, the NYPD said. Berry, a resident of Hull, England, fled the bar after the incident, but the ship’s security followed him, police said. The woman later identified Berry as the person who groped her, the NYPD said. He was arrested and charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse, the DA’s office said.Berry is currently being held at the Manhattan Detention Complex on $500 bail and is expected to next appear in court on Friday, city Department of Correction records show. | Sexual abuse |
| September 4 | Anthem RCI |
NBC New York reports the much-maligned cruise ship that was damaged in rough waters earlier this year appears to be sailing near some of the stormiest sections of Hermine Sunday evening. Several vacationers posted videos and photos to social media showing rolling seas and steely gray skies from aboard the Anthem of the Seas on Sunday afternoon. "Ready to get away from Hermine #seasick #stuck in cabin," Louise Hardag tweeted. The Bermuda-bound cruise ship left Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday and was reported a few hundred miles off the East Coast Sunday night, southeast of Cape Cod, according to ship tracking site Cruisemapper. At least one other cruise ship was also in the area. Robert McHugh of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, posted a video of pounding waves on social media. He's traveling with dozens of family members for a wedding in Bermuda. He said a majority of his relatives were getting motion sickness. "The seas were churning up a little bit," McHugh said in a Skype interview. "There were a lot of people who weren't feeling well." Storm-Battered Ship Passengers Tell of 'Cruise From Hell' The motion of unsettled sea was rough enough that passengers had to hold onto handrails as they navigated the ship. "When you're walking down the hallway, the ship is lifting up and dropping down," McHugh said. Royal Carribbean said in a statement that the boat is safely sailing to Bermuda in winds of about 40 mph — the minimum wind speed threshold for a tropical storm — and was more than 140 miles from the center of the storm. "Earlier today, our captain informed guests that we had experienced higher winds and gusts for a 2-3 hour period," the cruise liner said. "We'll continue to share weather information with our guests throughout their trip." | Sails into storm (again) |
| September 2 | Sapphire Saga | Kent Online reports 25 people on a cruise ship that landed in Dover were struck by an outbreak of contagious illness. The victims were sick with suspected norovirus as they sailed on the Saga Sapphire, which landed at Dover Cruise Terminal early this morning. Saga spokesman Paul Green said: “We believe this was caused by norovirus, which is the second most frequently reported illness after the common cold. | llness |
| September 1 | Unknown Carnival |
WINN-FM reports a tourist who was visiting St. Kitts aboard a cruise ship Wednesday (Sept 1), reportedly died in a jet-ski accident at a beach on the South East peninsula. WINN FM understands that a group of tourists said to be from the US rented jet-skis at Cockleshell Beach that afternoon and were enjoying the water sports until a member of the group fell into the water. Reports are that a local man who works on the beach commandeered a jet-ski from another rental company and rushed to the man’s aid. A boat passing by also joined the rescue effort and the tourist was pulled on board and taken to shore. EMS was summoned and the victim taken to the JN France Hospital where he perished. WINN FM understands an autopsy was to have been performed on Thursday. Police have confirmed that an individual drowned Wednesday afternoon, but have provided no other details. |
Pax death ashore |
| September 1 | Sea Dream I | Cruise Law News reports the ship caught fire this afternoon. A number of Italian newspapers report that a fire broke out in the ship's engine room while the ship was off the coast of Calabria, in southern Italy. The Ansi Chronicle said that the fire occurred while the ship was between Amalfi and Palinuro with 105 passengers and 61 crew members aboard. The Sea Dream I is reportedly under tow. All passengers and crew members were reportedly safely rescued by the fast ferry Isola di Vulcano this afternoon and disembarked in Naples. Travel Weekly reports SeaDream Yacht Club said the next cruise of the Sea Dream I, scheduled to depart Rome on Sept. 3, has been canceled. The company confirmed that a fire broke out on the ship’s current cruise and passengers were disembarked at sea onto a high-speed ferry for transport to Naples. From there they were bussed to Rome. SeaDream said the small fire in the engine room was promptly extinguished and all guests and crew were unharmed. SeaDream said the company’s marine and technical staff is evaluating necessary repairs of SeaDream I. The fire's cause is being investigated. | Fire / evacuated / disabled |
| September 1 | Sky NCL |
Broward/Palm Beach New Times reports when the passenger came to, she was on a deck aboard the M/V Norwegian Sky, crying hysterically and trying to figure out how she’d wound up there. Her vaginal area was sore, and the last thing she could remember was being trapped in a storage room by the bartender who’d served her last Long Island Iced Tea and pushing her head down towards his penis, telling her to “be a good girl.” In a lawsuit filed yesterday in Florida’s Southern District Court, the woman, a Georgia resident who is identified only as “Jane Doe,” claims the bartender singled her out as a target as soon as the Bahamas-bound ship set sail. He plied her with alcohol and may have drugged her last drink. Once she became visibly disoriented, he brought her to an isolated storage room that only crew members could access, locked the door, and refused to let her out, even though she screamed and begged. Not long after, she blacked out. | Lawsuit for sexual assault |
| August 31 | Ecstasy Carnival |
News 2 Charleston reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials say they have arrested two people who arrived in Charleston on a cruise ship from the Bahamas on outstanding warrants. The man and woman, both U.S. citizens who authorities say do not know each other and were traveling separately, were arrested on Monday. CBP officers determined Otto Witherspoon, 28, of North Charleston, to be the subject of an arrest warrant for distribution of cocaine. Officers turned Witherspoon over to North Charleston Police Department. In addition, CBP officers determined Keshanda Mazyck, 37, of St. Stephen, S.C., to be the subject of an arrest warrant for narcotics possession. Mazyck was turned over to Bonneau Police Department. | Drug bust |
| August 30 | Legend Carnival |
From a passenger: I was aboard the ship (29 August) headed to Victoria when there was some sort of engine failure that caused a sharp turn to the right and listing estimated at about 15 degrees. Plates crashed to the ground, swimming pools emptied, and some panicking ensued. It caused cancellations of all shore excursions in Victoria as we were an hour and a half late to port. We left as scheduled for Seattle and arrived on time without further incident. NOTE: It was reported that the cruise line said in a statement that a turning valve in one of the ship’s four engines failed and caused the vessel to make a hard port side turn. This caused the ship to list 30 degrees. |
Severe list - damage onboard |
| August 30 | Unnamed HAL |
Reykjavik Grapevine reports two boys aged 16 and 17 were caught attempting to stowaway on a cruise ship at around noon yesterday. The attempt took place at the Skarfabakki harbour in Reykjavík, when the two boys were spotted. Police were alerted, who arrested the two attempting to break into a restricted area around the ship. They were remanded into custody and child protective services in Reykjavík were alerted. | Stowaways caught |
| August 30 | Liberty RCI |
From a passenger: Just got off the 8/21 - 8/28 out of Galveston. Rumor was a husband stabbed his wife to death on Friday night. We did see an armed guard in front of a cabin on deck 6 and several biohazard bags. From another passenger: We were on the 2nd floor and there was a guard sitting in front of a cabin 4 or 5 cabins from ours. We first saw them there on Thursday there was always a guard there a different one till we exited the ship. | Murder? |
| August 30 | Pride of America NCL |
Cruise Critic reports the ship, which departed Honolulu August 27 for a weeklong cruise, has canceled its August 31 call at Kailua Kona and September 1 call at Kauai. The ship will instead spend one day at sea and another sailing along the Na Pali coast. The line said in a statement: "We continue to monitor the storm's path and will update guests should any further itinerary changes occur." Currently at Category 4, Hurricane Madeline has maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour and has already prompted warnings across the region. Pride of America is expected to return to Honolulu September 3. | Canceled port calls (weather) |
| August 29 | Vista Carnival |
Maritime Herald reports the ship damaged two piers and sank some small boats at Messina Marina in Sicily, Italy. The vessel was leaving the port, but passed too close to the docks with yachts and created large waves, which damages the wooden piers and even sank some small boats. According to witness evidence, the vessel looked like disabled at some time but succeeded to leave the port, but passing too close to the piers and yachts marina. It is not yet cleat what were the circumstances around the incident, but local authorities claimed the cruise line for damaged of over 250,000 EUR. The investigation for the root cause of the incident are under way. Cruise Law News adds additional information. See video here. | Causes damage to pier and sinks yachts |
| August 29 | Paradise Carnival |
From a passenger: On 28 August, brawl between multiple guests with guests throwing Bar glasses blood on floor after fight security seemed afraid to step in | Brawl |
| August 29 | Sea Princess |
7 News Sydney reports three Canadians are accused of trying to smuggle 95kg of cocaine into Sydney on a cruise ship. The 63-year-old man and two women, age 23 and 28, were arrested on Sunday after police and sniffer dogs searched the vessel when it berthed in Sydney and found cocaine in suitcases. The Australian Federal Police say the trio will face Sydney Local Court on Monday charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The joint operation by the AFP and Australian Border Force received co-operation from the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations, New Zealand Customs Service and the Canada Border Services Agency. | Drug bust |
| August 28 | Spirit of Baltimore Spirit Cruises | WBAL-TV reports a Baltimore harbor pier sustained damage after the passenger vessel Spirit of Baltimore collided with the pier Sunday morning, according to the Coast Guard. "The boat struck the pier near Henderson's Wharf around 2:30 a.m.," Baltimore police spokesman Detective Jeremy Silbert said. "There's damage to the boat as well." The vessel reportedly only sustained cosmetic damage. A picture provided by the Coast Guard shows a long scratch along the side of the boat. Sixty feet of the pier was reportedly damaged. There is no word on injuries. Officials said there were 447 people aboard. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. |
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| August 28 | Sunshine Carnival |
Cruise Law News reports last Friday evening, there were comments on social media that a fire had broken out which caused damage to a passenger balcony. The initial comments, on Facebook, were to the effect that the cabin was located on deck 6, fire doors were closed and a number of firefighters responded to the fire. Speculation was that the fire was started by a smoker on the balcony or perhaps from a flicked cigarette which landed on a balcony towel? Carnival released an official statement the next morning, stating that: "A small fire occurred yesterday evening on a passenger cabin balcony on Carnival Sunshine. The specific location of origin appears to have been a towel on a balcony chair. The fire was quickly extinguished. Guests were advised of the Cruise Ship Balconies - Fire detection, Alarm and Suppression Systemsituation and all operations on board continued per normal." Many people have suggested that the fire wasn't serious because it was characterized as "small" and "quickly extinguished." Of course, every fire on the high seas is potentially very serious and starts out small. The issue remains whether the balcony in question was equipped with a "fixed pressure water-spraying and fixed fire detection and fire alarm systems," as required by amendments to the SOLAS regulations when the furniture and furnishings on cabin balconies are not of "restricted fire risk." These amendments to SOLAS came about after the deadly fire aboard the Star Princess in 2006 which burned through over a hundred cabins after a flicked cigarette caught a towel on a passenger balcony on fire. The MAIB was critical of the fact that the balcony chairs and balcony partitions were highly combustible and caused heavy, toxic smoke. None of the balconies had heat or smoke detectors or sprinkler systems. | Fire |
| August 27 | Adventure RCI |
Antigua Observer reports after a mishap with an Island Safari Tour vehicle on the Valley Road on Tuesday, nine tourists including six Americans and three Germans, were treated in hospital for related injuries. An anonymous source said the vehicle was attempting to overtake a tractor, and in an effort to avoid an oncoming vehicle, the driver of the safari jeep swerved, which caused the vehicle to flip on its side. Officials confirmed that three of the tourists were hospitalised as a precautionary measure since the injuries were not life-threatening while the others were treated and discharged. According to the hospital officials, only one of the three tourists suffered a serious facial injury. | Cruise pax injured in onshore accident |
| August 22 | Oasis & Freedom RCI |
Royal Caribbean reports concerns over a tropical disturbance in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Invest 99-L, which may develop into a tropical depression or storm in the days ahead, forced Royal Caribbean to make the change, according to Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe. Oasis of the Seas was scheduled to visit Crown Bay on August 23 and the Freedom of the Seas was scheduled for August 24. According to guests onboard, Oasis of the Seas will skip both St. Thomas and St. Kitts, and instead visit San Juan on August 23 from 1:30pm to 11:30pm, then have a sea day, and then visit Labadee from 8am to 4:30pm. | Canceled port call |
| August 21 | Sky NCL |
Cruisers Choice reports passengers who will board the ship during the Labor Day weekend are disappointed after they found out the Great Stirrup Cay island wasn't part of their itinerary. Great Stirrup Cay is Norwegian's exclusive private island that serves drinks and food, and it's usually one of the stops for the Norwegian Sky itinerary. "When we booked, we thought that Great Stirrup Cay was part of the itinerary. That's one of the reasons we booked our Labor Day cruise. We feel like we've been cheated and I kinda want my money back. Two days in Bahamas? I don't think so," Dorothy Fields told us. The Norwegian Sky is advertised as a Free Open Bar with the tagline: "Drink for Free on Norwegian Sky Cruises." Passengers also drink for free when the ship stops at Great Stirrup Cay. Travel Weekly reports NCL is closing Great Stirrup Cay to guests for about two months so it can work on improvements scheduled to debut next year. The line's private island in the Bahamas will be unavailable from Aug. 25 to Oct. 20. | NCL drops private island stops in September & October |
| August 21 | Skyline Princess Skyline Cruises | New York Daily News reports a 56-year-old Pennsylvania man died after he jumped off a cruise ship in Queens early Sunday, officials said. The man, of Stroudsburg, Pa., leapt from the Skyline Princess ship into the Flushing Bay near 110th St. in College Point just after 2 a.m., police said. The ship’s crew managed to get him back onboard by the time the NYPD’s Harbor Patrol arrived, police said. He was taken to Flushing Hospital where he died. | Jump off ship causing death |
| August 21 | Grandeur RCI |
Royal Gazette reports a 45-year-old American has died on a cruise ship berthed at Dockyard. The victim was found dead in his cabin at 1.40pm yesterday, according to the Bermuda Police Service, who said foul play is not suspected. | Pax found dead in cabin |
| August 21 | Legend Carnival |
Cruise Hive reports a woman missed the ship in Ketchikan, Alaska last week. The unnamed woman was caught on video walking fast down the pier as the ship was just starting to move away from the dock. The ship was calling at the port of Ketchikan on Saturday, August 13. At around 1:00 PM passengers on the ship were surprised to see a woman shouting “hey! hey! hey! hey!, come back! come back!” as she was walking fast along the pier to try to catch the ship. There were several passengers on board shouting out “hey” back to her who can be heard in the video.The user named Tracy Gehrts who posted the video said on Cruise Critic “She was heckled by pretty bad by people both on and off the ship. I don’t think she expected to get left behind. Before I started rolling, she was pleading with people out on their balconies to call someone for her. Then as the ship started drifting away, she can be heard screaming “Pull it back!” She went on to say “Several people asked about what happened to her during the cruise director Q&A. The cruise director said it was likely she was forced to fly to Seattle on her own dime.” | Pax misses ship |
| August 20 | Wildereness Explorer UnCruise | King 5 reports a man and a woman mauled by a bear in Alaska were airlifted by a Coast Guard helicopter to receive medical treatment. The Coast Guard says the two are wilderness guides who were leading a group of cruise ship passengers on a hike about 30 miles north of Sitka. The cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer on Thursday afternoon notified the Coast Guard that two of its passengers had been mauled. The Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Sitka.The crew hoisted the man and woman into the chopper and transported them to emergency medical personnel in Sitka with what the Coast Guard said were "multiple injuries and severe lacerations." | Two guides mauled by bear |
| August 18 | Not specific to cruise ship | New Zealand media report more cruise ships coming into the Marlborough Sounds has thrown a spotlight on how the region would deal with a maritime disaster. The Draft Marlborough Emergency Plan has ranked the seriousness of a maritime accident third only to an earthquake or local source tsunami. Marlborough District Council emergency services manager Brian Paton, who compiled the draft plan, said the risk had been upgraded because of the increased numbers of cruise ships and freighters. Last cruise season, there were 35 cruise ship visits, a new record which would be overtaken in the coming season when cruise ships docked 43 times in Picton. Among them would be one of the largest cruise ships in the world, the Ovation of the Seas, a Royal Carribean Quantum class boat capable of carrying close to 5000 people, more than the population of Picton. | Risk of accident |
| August 18 | Navigator Regent Seven Seas |
Travel Weekly reports the line has canceled a Northwest Passage cruise scheduled to depart Alaska next summer. Based on this year’s weather pattern, Northwest Passage navigational experts said too much sea ice was likely on the route during July. The cruise was scheduled to depart July 19, 2017, from Seward, Alaska, and terminate in Montreal, with calls in Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Regent spokesman Jason Lasecki said that the July departure date became problematic when the climate variance this summer caused large Arctic ice packs to flow south in July, producing transit delays. Postponing the cruise until August, as experts recommended, would have had a cascading effect on subsequent itineraries, Regent said. Instead, the Seven Seas Navigator will do three cruises, from Vancouver to San Francisco, San Francisco to Miami and then Miami to Montreal. |
Canceled cruise to NW Passage |
| August 17 | Caribbean Fantasy AmeriCruise Ferries | CBS reports more than 500 passengers and crew were being evacuated on Wednesday from a burning ship about a mile off Puerto Rico’s north coast, and many required medical care, though there were no reported fatalities. The fire continued to burn aboard the Caribbean Fantasy, a combination cruise and ferry ship, as the U.S. Coast Guard brought passengers into San Juan’s harbor while helicopters whirred overhead. Other agencies and even private vessels joined in the effort. “The boat’s systems have collapsed. It’s not safe anymore to work inside the boat,” said Angel Crespo, director of Puerto Rico’s Emergency Management Agency. The Coast Guard said all passengers had been evacuated, though it was still rescuing 26 crew members. The Coast Guard later tweeted that the ship had run aground. The ship was carrying 512 passengers and crew, Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad told CBS News. The fire apparently had been burning for some time before the alarm was sounded. Gyno Funes told The Associated Press he was one of two mechanics in the control room when a hose carrying fuel burst open and caught on fire. “We were trying to extinguish it for two hours, but couldn’t,” said the other mechanic, Marlon Doblado, after the two reached shore. Dominican passenger Maria Prensa said she was collecting her luggage when she smelled smoke. “I asked and they told me it was nothing, it was under control,” she said. Crespo said 256 people had been treated, mostly for heat stroke, shock and dehydration, and 10 remained hospitalized. The territory’s health secretary, Ana Rius, said eight people suffered broken bones during the evacuation. | Crippling fire / aground |
| August 16 | Paul Gauguin Cruises | Cruise Critic reports the ship has been stuck in Bora Bora for the past several days because of a propulsion issue, which interrupted its Society Island itinerary but didn't affect ship services for passengers. The issue is due to electronic cards related to the propulsion system, the company said in a statement. A service engineer from France is joining Paul Gauguin today; the vessel is expected to sail on its original itinerary later today. During the wait, the ship has been running tender service to and from Vaitape, as well as to the line's private beach, the line said. The company has also arranged more shore excursions and provided a complimentary one for each passenger. Once the ship gets going, it will go to Taha'a (Motu Mahana), Paul Gauguin Cruises' private island off the coast of Taha'a. It is slated to arrive Wednesday morning to spend the day before departing for Moorea at 5 p.m. The ship will be in Moorea Thursday and Friday before departing for Papeete, Tahiti, on August 19. It is expected to arrive at 7:30 p.m. and to overnight as scheduled. The cruise concludes on August 20. Skipped ports include Rangiroa and Fakarava on Tuamotus. The company says it will announce a compensation plan for passengers after the technical issue is resolved and the total impact on the itinerary has been determined. | Propulsion problems - Stuck in port & missed ports |
| August 16 | Pacific Aria P&O Australia |
Sunshine Coast Daily reports weather conditions have forced a change of plans for Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Spirit that was scheduled to make its maiden visit to the Sunshine Coast today. Forecast sea conditions have been deemed too rough to operate a safe tendering process for Pacific Aria's passengers to come ashore, forcing the cancellation of their bookings and activities. |
Canceled port call - weather |
| August 15 | NCL | News Observer reports law enforcement in Brazil have blown up several suspicious bags during the Rio Olympics, but the case of Cindy Lloyd’s blown up bag is particularly bizarre. Lloyd, the mother of Carli Lloyd, a U.S. Olympic volleyball player, was staying on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship docked in Brazil during the games, according to the New York Times. She and her family were in a rush to get to her daughter’s first match last week, so she checked her suitcase in at the cruise ship before rushing off. When she returned later that day, her suitcase and its contents were nothing but charred remains and security wanted to speak with her. After interrogating her for 10 minutes, they told her they blew her bag up because they thought it was a bomb. “The handle was nowhere,” Lloyd told the Times. “It was completely blown up. There was some clothing. They use some sort of wet bomb, I think, because everything was wet. Some of the clothes were salvageable, but some were melted. Some had holes. My American flag was melted. And all the toiletries with caps had their caps blown off.” Lloyd had flown on several flights down to Brazil and the bag hadn’t been stopped, according to the Times. Security told her bomb-sniffing dogs had flagged it. To make matters more confusing for Lloyd, they handed her a cell phone they had retrieved from inside the bag, meaning they had opened her suitcase to retrieve the cell phone and then blown it up after. Lloyd told the Times that Norwegian has been very apologetic about the issue and has promised to reimburse her for the bombed items and suitcase. They’ve also given her sparkling wine and free food. | Suitcase blown up |
| August 15 | L'Austral Le Ponant |
Arctic Journal reports police in Greenland are investigating the cause of an accident on Sunday that resulted in the sinking of a boat carrying 23 cruise-ship passengers and three crew members. Everyone on board the locally hired power boat was rescued by nearby local boats, as well as by inflatable boats belonging to their cruise ship, the L’Austral, which was located some 100 metres away. The cause of the incident, which took place at about 1am on Sunday morning in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland’s most-visited tourist destination, remains unknown. Investigators, however, say no other vessel was involved, and that the boat either struck something in the water or was struck. | Shore excursion boat sinks |
| August 15 | Zaza Moby Lines |
Maritime Herald reports the ferry Moby Zaza caught fire at the passenger terminal in Nice, France. The fire erupted into the engine room after short circuit of the diesel generator and vessel’s funnel was clouded of thick smoke. The crew reacted immediately and succeeded to extinguish the flames without need of the help from local firefighters. During firefighting one crew member was slightly injured and was medical treated in the near hospital. All the passengers were evacuated successfully without injuries. The incident was reported to the port authorities and investigation for the root cause is under way.The fire caused panic among the passengers. The vessel arrived at the terminal after a voyage Bastia, Corsica and fire erupted when all the people were still on board. The crew evacuated all the passengers on board following the emergency evacuation plan, but some of them were in panic and jumped overboard on the terminal. Fortunately there were no reported injuries. The ferry was detained at the port for further inspection and special survey. The next planned voyage to Bastia was cancelled. | Fire |
| August 15 | Med Star | Vessel Finder reports on August 9, the 81 meter long, 1786 dwt ro-ro passenger ferry Med Star caught fire while berthed in Tripoli, Lebanon. The Med Star was preparing to depart for Turkey when fire was spotted by the crew. The fire quickly engulfed the ferry as the crew and local fire brigade attempted to extinguish it. Reports state the fire swept through the superstructure before it was brought under control. No reports of injuries, but the Med Star sustained significant damage. The source of the fire was not yet known. | Fire |
| August 13 | Mariner RCI |
Shanghai Daily reports aShanghai tourist was rescued from the sea by a fishing boat 38 hours after she was reported missing from a cruise ship that was returning from Japan to Shanghai. The 31-year-old woman, surnamed Fan, who was traveling from Fukuoka to Shanghai with her parents, was reported missing from the Mariner of the Seas at around 9pm on August 10, according to the Zhoushan Evening News. She was picked up by the vessel at around noon on August 12. Fan’s parents told the Zhejiang Province-based paper that she did not eat or drink anything during the ordeal, and attributed her survival to her “strong willpower.” The paper said Fan accidentally fell into the sea when the vessel was approaching Shanghai’s Wusong Port. She was eventually saved by the Zhejiang-registered fishing boat and taken to Zhoushan. The paper said crew members reported that she was not injured, but was emotionally distressed by the ordeal. She said she managed to stay awake and remain afloat without anything to hang onto, and had to swim away from big ships to avoid their propeller blades. | Pax falls overboard; swims 38 hrs |
| August 11 | Ecstasy Carnival |
Post and Courier reports a federal grand jury this week handed down an indictment against a man accused of assaulting another person on the ship. Timothy Dean Hill is accused of assaulting a person identified in the indictment as B.J., according to court documents. Hill is charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury while within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction of South Carolina. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The indictment states the alleged assault occurred on Feb. 27, but Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said the incident took place on Feb. 26 while “the ship was on the tail end of a cruise, on its way back to Charleston.” The indictment does not provide further details about Hill or the alleged incident. Nancy Wicker, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbia, declined to comment on the case. De la Cruz said the incident “involved an alleged physical assault by Mr. Hill on another male guest.” She said shipboard security personnel responded to the incident and provided medical assistance to the victim. Carnival officials notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has jurisdiction over matters involving U.S. citizens in international waters. | Pax on pax assault with serious bodily injury |
| August 11 | Viking Sea Viking Cruises | Cruise Law News reports the ship had lost power in Malta. A passenger stated: "Viking Sea broken down in Malta today August 11th. We were due to sail at 6pm but we are now waiting on a technician who will not arrive until 0200hrs. We are due to sail to Athens and fly back from there this is causing major issues already as flights to the US will be missed and we don't know when we will leave and when we are due to arrive. The problem is the Starboard propulsion sounds similar to the Star issue." AIS sites showed the Viking Sea had left port in Valletta slightly after 2:00 A.M. local time in Malta, heading for Piraeus, Greece, approximately eigth hours late. |
Loss of power |
| August 9 | Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line | WTSP reports Gina Clark from Brandon was on a cruise celebrating her friend's bachelorette party. The three-day trip was ruined because she says a worker on the Bahamas Paradise Cruise grabbed her and threatened to rape her. "It was awful, so many thoughts were running through my head," she said. It started when Clark heard a knock on the door Friday. She opened the door and that's when he grabbed her hand. "He kept grabbing and he said, 'I want to rape you.' In my mind, I felt like all the blood left my face." She says he repeated it three more times. "At this point I'm getting angry and he said you know when a man forcefully makes a woman have sex and I slammed the door in his face and locked it." What's more shocking, when she complained, she says a manager returned with the accused employee. "To my surprise, he sat there and said everything that happened, word for word, admitted it," Clark said. As of Monday, no action was taken. So, 10News WTSP called to get answers. Minutes after that call, the executive vice president of the cruise, Glenn Ryerson, called Clark and told her the cruise line fired the employee named Victor and sent him back home to South America. Ryerson said they "weren't happy" to hear about what happened and it was very inappropriate. He said they gave Clark's group of 10 its money back | Threatened rape |
| August 8 | Voyager Voyages of Discovery Caribbean Princess |
The Orcadian reports he visit of the cruise ship Voyager which was due into Hatston Pier today, Monday, has been cancelled due to the weather conditions. This is the second scheduled cruise ship visit to be called off in two days. OIC Marine Services previously said that the visit of the Caribbean Princess, which was due into Kirkwall on Sunday, was also cancelled due to the weather forecast. The ship was due to spend the day at Hatston Pier. • Giving a further update OIC Marine Services have also just announced that the liner Ocean Majesty, due in on Tuesday, has also cancelled. | Skipped port call times 3 |
| August 5 | Coral Princess |
Global News reports a 79-year-old Ontario woman got lost on a solo hike near an Alaska glacier and spent a night in the forest without camping gear but walked to safety the next day. The woman — whose name has not been released — had been a passenger aboard the Coral Princess cruise ship. The woman left on an independent hike of the East Glacier Trail and veered onto the Nugget Creek Trail. As night fell Wednesday, she became disoriented and decided to spend the night on the trail. Juneau police organized a multi-agency search and looked for the hiker until midnight. The woman had travelled independently about 19 kilometres to the Mendenhall Glacier. Police and cruise ship employees called tour groups and hotels seeking information and a patrol officer spent four hours downtown asking people if they had seen the woman. The Coral Princess, meanwhile, left port at about 4 p.m. The woman appeared at the glacier visitor centre at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning — tired and wet but in good shape. | Passenger lost ashore overnight |
| August 3 | Magellan Cruise and Maritime Voyages |
Thurrock Gazette reports passengers have spoken of their shock after a giant cruise ship hit a tiny passenger ferry at Tilbury Docks on Wednesday night. The gigantic CMV cruise ship Magellan went into the ferry just off its landing jetty at Tilbury Docks at about 7pm. Following the incident, the Tilbury to Gravesend ferry service was suspended "until safety checks are carried out.” A spokesman for Cruise and Maritime Voyages said the ship was affected by a "strong gust of wind" which caused it to come into "minor contact" with a local ferry. Investigations were ongoing with the authorities, the spokesman said. A spokesman for Cruise and Maritime Voyages said: "CMV confirms that the cruise ship M/V Magellan, while departing from the Port of Tilbury at around 5pm on August 3 2016, was affected by strong gust of wind with the result that the M/V Magellan coming into very minor contact with a local ferry. |
Collision |
| August 3 | Caribbean Princess |
Cruise Law News reports the Caribbean Princess lost power off the Irish coast, according to several passengers on Twitter. One passenger tweeted: "what an exciting day stuck off the Irish coast with engine troubles and missing port of Dublin but quiet and sunny." The editor of Lloyd's casualty services tweeted "#CaribbeanPrincess with 4464 POB heading WNW towards #Irish coast at 3 knots after #fuel pump issues." Princess Cruises confirmed the lower loss, again via Twitter, stating that The "Caribbean Princess lost propulsion approximately 25 nautical miles southeast of Dublin in the Irish Sea. The ship has electrical power and is operating full ship/hotel services, inc. air conditioning, galleys, lighting & toilets." Princess later said: Our Fleet Technical experts, working in collaboration w/ the Captain and Chief Engineer aboard the ship, have successfully . . . restored propulsion." One of the passengers, who initially tweeted about the problem, added: "#CaribbeanPrincess -Helicopters circling and tug from Anglesey and 9 hours later we're off again!" The Irish Times says the ship was adrift for nine hours and that it was caused by an "electrical glitch." |
Loss of propulsion for hours / skipped port |
| July 31 | Jean Nicoli | Daily Mail reports the ferry has been evacuated in Joliette, in Marseille, after an explosion was heard as passengers were boarding the morning 9am service to Sardinia. Reports in France say that 77 passengers and crew were forced to flee the Jean Nicoli ferry after the explosion was heard. Police in Marseille believe the explosion came from World War Two ammunition lying in the seabed. Deputy prosecutor of Marseille, Jean-Jacques Fagni said: 'We are moving towards an accidental explosion, we think it's an ammunition - what type of ammunition is not clear yet. 'It must date from the Second World War as it exploded in depth the passage of the boat.' When the incident, many people were panicking over the bomb scare. | Bomb scare - ship evacuated |
| July 29 | Boudicca Fred Olsen |
Daily Mail reports sixteen British holidaymakers who fell seriously ill on board a Fred Olsen cruise ship are entitled to compensation, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The passengers suffered gastric illness symptoms, including diarrhoea, vomiting and severe stomach cramps, while sailing on the Boudicca to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and the Iberian Peninsula in March and April 2011. Three judges - Lord Justice Gross, Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson and Lord Justice Christopher Clarke - rejected an appeal by the UK-based cruise line and found it liable for norovirus outbreaks that ruined the passengers' holidays.In 2015 Judge Robert Owen, sitting at Birmingham County Court, found Fred Olsen Cruise Lines guilty of neglect for the suffering of the passengers, including some who were so ill they were confined to their cabins. Lord Justice Gross rejected the cruise line's claim that it was not at fault, and agreed with the trial judge there were 'multiple failures' to implement a plan to prevent the spread of the stomach bug. | Legal case over illness on cruise ship |
| July 25 | Celebration Thomson |
Times of Malta reports as the ship was leaving the Grand Harbour on Saturday it suffered an engine failure which left it powerless near the port entrance. The ship drifted for around 100 metres before the captain was forced to drop anchor in order to avoid hitting the breakwater. Owned by the company TUI, the ship blocked the harbour’s entrance for about an hour before finally sailing off, its engines running again. Two tug boats helped secure the ship in order to stop it moving around with the currents. At one point the cruise ship ended up parallel to the breakwater. The passengers gathered on deck to ‘enjoy’ their unexpected longer stay in Malta, while a number of onlookers gathered at the Upper and Lower Barrakka gardens as the spectacle unfolded. The ship yesterday docked safely in Messina as part of its Mediterranean tour. It was helped out of the Grand Harbour by a tugboat. | Engine failure - Power loss |
| July 25 | Horizon Croisieres de France |
Norwegian press reports the ship ran aground when it sailed into a snadbar near Stavanger harbour. The ship was towed free by tugs and brought to port, but is delayed in departing. | Aground |
| July 21 | Noordam HAL |
From a passenger: While docked in Juneau, during the morning, the crew did a practice emergency drill (this did not involve passengers). Lifeboat 13 was lowered. Either on the way down or up, it was stuck half way up. It could not be raised or lowered. A crane on a barge plus other ships were brought in. Despite the problem occurring in the AM, they did not arrive until the evening. The original all aboard time was 5:30 PM with a departure scheduled for 5:35 PM. The new departure was approximately 1 AM the next day. ALl during this time the lifeboat remained suspended alongside the ship. On Saturday July 23, 2016, the same ship during the same trip stopped offshore of Vancouver island near Campbell River for a medevac. A coast guard ship offloaded the patient. This was around 9 PM and was stopped for about a half hour. | Lifeboat malfunctions - stuck suspended in air |
| July 22 | Magic Carnival |
From a passenger: There was a bomb scare at Port Canaveral before the ship left. There was a piece of unclaimed luggage left somewhere in the terminal that was smoking. All movement stopped at the port and no one was allowed to get on the ship or even come into the port area. The police, fire department, and bomb squads were called out to investigate. Passengers were seen still boarding the ship at 5pm on 7/9/2016 because of the delay (we subsequently learned that the smoking bag was caused by a can of hairspray). We were on a sea day headed to Costa Maya, MX when the captain came on and said we were turning around going to Miami because of a medical emergency. We were very close to Key West at the time. We headed back to Miami and the person was removed from the boat along with family members. As a result of the change we ported in Key West the next day which was not part of the itinerary. Carnival dropped Mohogany Bay, Honduras from the itinerary but kept the other destinations, just changing the order. I heard it was a male in his 40's that had a heart attack and the fast acting crew were able to administer CPR but that he was still in critical condition. There was a sign at guest services saying to keep the family in your prayers. I heard that the captain made the decision to turn around because the family didn't have passports to get back home if we went to Costa Maya and that the hospital in Key West was not going to be able to handle the man's critical condition. I heard he passed before we could get to Miami but some say he was still alive. | Bomb scare, Skipped port call & itinerary change |
| July 21 | Le Boreal Ponant |
USA Today reports investigators say they have found the source of a fire that led to a passenger evacuation at sea last November 18th. The engine room fire on the luxury expedition ship Le Boreal left it drifting without propulsion near the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina. French investigators said the fire was caused by a ship’s officer who mis-identified a clogged fuel filter. When he mistakenly tried to change a nearby filter that was unclogged, fuel oil sprayed onto a hot engine part causing a fire that eventually spread through copper cables from the engine compartment. The ship’s water-mist extinguishing system triggered automatically but was not efficient enough to prevent the fire from spreading along the copper cables, according to a report from the French Bureau of Investigation of Marine Events. According to the report, the night watch was a hotel officer who did not have a mechanic’s rating. It suggested that Ponant consider having a night watch officer with a mechanic’s rating, “particularly for work on fuel circuits and/or putting the crew or the vessel at risk.” The cruise line has since banned anyone from working alone at night on the fuel feeding line, according to the report. Ponant also issued new instructions to the captain specifying which activities can only be controlled by engine or deck officers. | Report on cause of fire |
| July 20 | Breakaway NCL |
BerNews reports police confirm that during the cruise ship’s safety and training drills, a lifeboat broke from its tethering and fell into the water. Four male crew members were onboard the lifeboat and were injured during the fall, and a 41 year old Filipino man died as a result of his injuries. | Crew death in lifeboat accident |
| July 19 | Empress RCI |
CDC reports the ship failed its Sanitation Inspection on June 3, 2016. It received a score of 80. Scores of 85 or below are considered unacceptable. See also Cruise Law News. | Failed health inspection |
| July 18 | Unnamed HAL |
9 News reports a seafaring couple who splashed out on an upgrade for their cruise liner cabin just wanted a room with a view – but they didn't imagine they would become the view themselves. YouTuber Nate Zemanek filmed a coverall clad workman using the kind of grinding tool that sadistic dentists dream about directly outside his window so that he didn't have to share his pain with his partner alone. "This is our view for our wonderful European cruise," his caption reads. "The crew said they will be working during the day the entire time. Thanks for telling us when you upcharged us $600 extra for the window guys." | Noisy ship repairs daily outside room |
| July 17 | Aqua Amazon Aqua Expeditions | Cruise Critic reports the ship sank July 16 after an accident that has left some crew members hurt and four others missing. There were no passengers onboard at the time. The incident took place during regular Saturday supplying and turnaround hours for restocking the ship. An accident occurred, causing an explosion that resulted in its sinking. The investigation is ongoing. According to a statement released by Aqua Expeditions, "All efforts are being made to get a better understanding of the status of the missing crew. The entire operations team is on the ground providing logistical support with local emergency services." Passengers scheduled to disembark July 16 on the Aqua Amazon have been reassigned to Aria Amazon and other ships. | Sunk |
| July 15 | Amazon Discovery Delfin Amazon Cruises | Bernama reports pirates in Peru attacked a luxury cruise vessel carrying international passengers in the Amazonian region of Loreto on Thursday, said a senior police officer of the city of Iquitos. The ship, with 33 Peruvians, 20 Americans, six Australians and two New Zealanders on board, was cruising through the jungle rivers of the Peruvian Amazon when it was attacked by a group of eight men, said Julio Mercado, police chief of Iquitos. Mercado said the pirates attacked the ship at around 3 a.m. local time under cover of darkness, when the ship was in the middle of the jungle. According to Mercado, the assailants were armed with large-caliber weapons and rapidly robbed their victims. The pirates took control of the ship, which belongs to Delfin Amazon Cruises, for about 30 minutes and took personal possessions and money worth around 20,000 U.S. dollars. | Robbery by pirates |
| July 11 | Royal Iris | Liverpool Echo reports an investigation is underway to find out why a Mersey Ferry had to be abandoned after it ran aground off Eastham yesterday. Sixty-nine passengers had to be rescued from the Royal Iris cruise ship after a hole formed in the hull and it started taking on water. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), part of the Department for Transport, has confirmed it is now looking into the case to determine the cause. Jonathan Whittaker, 59, a Stockport employment lawyer aboard the boat, which was on the Manchester Ship Canal Cruise, told of the drama after hearing a “grinding noise”. He said the captain announced the boat was taking on water shortly afterwards when the ship was at Eastham Lock preparing to enter the canal. But he said passengers remained calm while the fire service, HM Coastguard, RNLI, police and ambulance services oversaw the mass evacuation. Those on board were eventually helped onto another boat. | Taking on water / evacuated |
| July 10 | Magic Carnival |
From a passenger: We are on the Carnival Magic on our second day cruising to Costa Maya and at 10:20 Am July 10th the captain came on the stateroom speakers to announce that we have a medical emergency and will be heading back to Miami. No other details known at this time. | CHanged itinerary |
| July 7 | Fascinosa Costa | Cruise Law News reports Italian newspapers are reporting that a 34 year-old waiter was sentenced to 10 months in jail for assaulting and attempting to rape a 17 year-old girl on the Costa Fascinosa. The Il Gazzettino first reported the incident which occurred three years ago on October 19th during a cruise in the Adriatic Sea, between Istanbul and Dubrovnik. La Nuova di Venezia says that the waiter, identified as Floriano Fernandes, assaulted the girl in a bathroom of the cruise ship but she successfully resisted the attempted rape. The following day, the ship called on Venice but the captain failed to report and/or delayed in accurately reporting the assault and attempted rape. In a report to the Coast Guard, the captain, identified as Ignatius Giardina, from Sicily, reportedly wrote that there Costa Fascinosawas no "extraordinary event" during the cruise. The Italian prosecutor alleged that the captain fraudulently misrepresented the fact that a crime had occurred on the ship and prosecuted him for not properly reporting it. Captain Giardina has worked for Costa for 36 years, first as a cadet back in1980, later as a staff captain and safety officer, and as a master for the last 16 years. The captain's defense lawyer argued that "extraordinary event" referred to a navigation point of view, such as a collision, and was not referring to the attempted rape. The captain was acquitted of trying to cover the crime up. | Waiter sentenced for sexual assault of minor |
| July 6 | Escape NCL |
From a reader: Just received an email from my son who is aboard the Escape, they were supposed to be "all aboard" at 2:30 today, have been delayed departure as of 6:30 pm today. There was an announcement of an ill passenger, no further news at this time. The ship was in Tortola, BVI | Delayed departure |
| July 5 | MV Qing | Ship and Bunker reports Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials are in the process of cleaning up a bunker spill after an 800-passenger cruise vessel, MV Qing, grounded in 8.5m of water at the Western India Shipyard Ltd. (WISL) jetty inside Goa's Mormugao Port on Wednesday, Indian media reports. An inspection of the vessel carried out on Sunday is said to have shown that it was leaking oil products, prompting authorities to begin operations for clean up and to prevent further pollution. "After inspecting the site, we immediately took the decision to use booming method to control the oil pollution at sea as the vessel, awaiting to be salvaged has been releasing sludge oil since the time it had hit the sea bed," said Manoj Baadkar, ICG's commander for Goa. The MPT is said to have been asked to debunker an estimated 350 tonnes of fuel that still remains onboard "Now as the booms have been used, I am sure pollution would be contained within a specific area and the same could later be cleared." The MPT is said to have been asked to debunker an estimated 350 tonnes of fuel that still remains onboard the vessel before a salvaging team attempts to refloat ship. However as of early Tuesday morning, bad weather was said to be hindering the salvage operation. The MV Qing belonged to the Sahara Group and was brought to the local port in Vasco in 2014. It was to be converted into a floating hotel. | Grounding - oil spill |
| July 5 | Admiralty Dream Alaskan Dream Cruises | Juneau Empire reports crew members found their 47-year-old captain dead aboard the Admiralty Dream cruise ship on Monday, Alaska State Troopers reported. Kenneth Adam was found dead at 5:46 a.m., according to a trooper dispatch. Jamey Cagle, the vice president of Alaskan Dream Cruises’ Sitka-based parent company Allen Marine, said Adam was found in his stateroom and CPR was administered promptly. When he was unresponsive, troopers and the U.S. Coast Guard were contacted. Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said Alaska Wildlife Troopers assisted troopers, too. The vessel was underway in the Chatham Strait headed for Pavlof Harbor for a day excursion, scheduled to arrive at 6:30 a.m. when Adam was found, Peters said. The vessel made a detour to Angoon because there were docks where float planes and boats could tie up while waiting for law enforcement to respond. The vessel anchored near the Angoon Ferry Terminal and Whaler’s Cove Lodge, 57 miles south of Juneau. Foul play isn’t suspected, and Cagle said it is his understanding that investigators are classifying the death as “accidental” for now. | Captain's death onboard |
| July 1 | Unnamed | Jamaica Observer reports the arrest and charge of a man who attempted to leave the island with cocaine on a cruise ship at the Falmouth Pier. He has been identified as 30-year-old Dwayne Shirley of Great Pond, Ocho Rios, St Ann. Shirley has been charged with possession of, dealing in and attempting to export cocaine. Reports are that on Tuesday, Shirley was about to board the vessel when he was stopped at the security checkpoint and an anomaly discovered in a laptop bag he was carrying. Police were subsequently called and two rectangular packages, containing five pounds of powdery substance believed to be cocaine, allegedly found in a false compartment of the laptop bag. He was further interviewed, taken into custody and charged. Police say the street value of the substance is estimated to be J$7.5 million. | Drug bust |
| July 1 | Black Watch Fred Olsen |
Cruise Capital reports a fire broke out aboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch this morning as the ship made its way to Madeira. The fire, which has now been extinguished, started in the Auxiliary Engine Room, damaging three of the seven engines used to generate power onboard. Some electrical power has been restored to the ship, but some areas remain without power. The four main engines are undamaged by the fire, but further investigations will need to be undertaken, before an attempt to restart them later today. Repairs are expected to be made en-route to Madeira. Black Watch departed Dover, England on Saturday, June 25 as part of a 13-night cruise to the Azores, Madeira, and Portugal. The ship is currently approximately 260 nautical miles from Madeira, where she was due to arrive on Saturday, July 2. UPDATE: It was announced later in the day that all passengers will be flown back to the UK from Madiera. It is hoped the ship will be repaired and able to undertake her next cruise -- a nine-night ‘Norwegian Fjords’ cruise from Tilbury on 8 July 2016. UPDATE: The 9-night ‘Norwegian Fjords’ cruise, sailing from Tilbury on July 8 has been canceled. The British based cruise line has contacted all those guests affected and giving compensation for the cancelled voyage. The cruise line is giving those booked for the cruise a full refund, alternatively if people still want to cruise they can book during any time in 2016 for a similar cabin grade. Guests will also be getting an onboard credit voucher which is worth 20% of the cruise fare, valid until end of December, 2016. | Fire / Cruise canceled |
| June 30 | Anthem RCI |
WABC reports a young boy was found unconscious inside a pool on the ship on Thursday evening. The 8-year-old is currently on life-support. The Coast Guard was notified just before 7 p.m. The cruise ship is headed back to Bayonne, New Jersey. The FDNY will meet the cruise ship at the port to transport the child to an area hospital. Law enforcement sources say the victim is from Netherlands, among group of 49 vacationers. Two buses are on the way to pick up the group in Bayonne and take them to a nearby hotel. UPDATE: The boy died on July 2. | Child drowns |
| June 27 | Empress RCI |
Cruise Critic reports just one month after returning to the Royal Caribbean fleet after several years with a sister cruise line and a $50 million refurbishment, Empress of the Seas is experiencing trouble with one of its engines, forcing the cruise line to reroute the ship's current sailing. "Empress of the Seas is currently experiencing a technical issue with one of the ship's four engines," the line said in a prepared statement. "Since we became aware of the problem, our highly trained engineering team has been working to resolve the issue. While we work on the issue, the ship is sailing at a reduced rate of speed." Because of the speed reduction, the ship will not be calling on Grand Cayman. Instead, it visited Nassau in the Bahamas on Sunday, June 26 and CocoCay on Monday, June 27. It will call on Key West on Wednesday, June 29, as scheduled. To compensate passengers for their trouble, Royal Caribbean is offering passengers an onboard credit in the amount of 10 percent of the cruise fare paid, per cabin. Royal Caribbean has not yet indicated whether the next sailing will be affected by the engine trouble. | Engine problems |
| June 24 | Spirit of Tasmania I | ABC reports police have called off the search for a man who went overboard from the Spirit of Tasmania after medical experts advised it would have been impossible for him to survive. Passengers on the Spirit of Tasmania I saw the 45-year-old Ballarat man go overboard about 11:40pm, when the ship was about 43 nautical miles south-east of Victoria's Port Phillip Heads. The ship was travelling from Melbourne to Tasmania, but by the time it turned around, there was no sign of the man, who is yet to be identified. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the search was suspended at 12:00pm, based on expert medical advice that the man could not have survived past that time. The water temperature in the area was about 12 or 13 degrees, with waves of up to two metres and winds of up to 25 knots. | Overboard |
| June 24 | Unknown | Bahamas Weekly reports two females from North Carolina are in custody after they were arrested for possession of dangerous drugs on Wednesday 22nd June 2016. According to reports, shortly after 10:00am, officers from the Tourism Policing Unit acting on intelligence went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they found the suspects in possession of a quantity of marijuana. The female suspects were taken into custody and are expected to appear in court sometime today to be formally charged. | Drug bust |
| June 23 | Freedom RCI |
WFTV reports four women were arrested on charges of smuggling cocaine inside their bras and girdles after arriving in Port Canaveral from a cruise, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. Lakisha Abney, Shawnta Aiken, Ciera Bryant and Shenique Milbourne departed on a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise on May 8. When the ship arrived at Port Canaveral on May 15, Bryant was found with five vacuum-sealed packages of cocaine in her bra and girdle, agents said. Officials said they decided to pat her down after asking Bryant, who was wearing a loose-fitting muumuu, whether she was traveling alone. Bryant said she was traveling with three others, who officials noted were similarly dressed. The officials also said Bryant's voice and hands were shaking, and she was not making eye contact. Agents found Abney, Aiken and Milbourne, and escorted them into a baggage inspection area where officials conducted a pat-down and found several vacuum-sealed packages containing cocaine in each of the women’s bras and girdles. | Drug bust |
| June 22 | Fantastic Carnival |
From a passenger: New York resident Yan Kit Lam died at Coki Point Beach on St. Thomas, VI. The cruise passenger was rescued from the water by two other cruise passengers (unrelated). EMS was called -- it took 15 minutes for any support to arrive and the service provided is questioned by those who had provided the initial medical assistance. This is a reminder that medical care and medical support may not be the same in cruise ports and locations as one expects in their home community. | Swimming death ashore |
| June 22 | Magnifica MSC |
Cruise Hive reports there was a gunshot scare onboard a MSC Cruise ship while docked in Venice, Italy on June 18. In today’s world hearing a gunshot would no doubt cause panic and worry. When the MSC Magnifica was docked at its home port in Venice Italy last Saturday a security guard’s gun somehow made its way into a ship’s security guards hand. The gun went through the ship’s metal detectors in a metal box, a security crew member picked up the gun and accidentally shot it at one of the walls. Thankfully the bullet hit the ground and finally got stuck in a wall. When the gunshot went off, all those around were in shock. One passenger fainted and was taken to the ship’s medical center for further attention. As a result of this incident the local police have started an investigation. Security staff onboard cruise ships don’t use guns so depending on their past may not be familiar with them. | Accidental gunshot onboard |
| June 20 | Pacific Dawn P&O Australia |
Daily Mail reports an 11-year-old Australian boy is in a critical condition following a head-on bus crash in Vanuatu that killed two locals. The child was one of ten Australian tourists injured during the accident - which P&O have described as a 'terrible incident'. Twelve guests, which left Brisbane two weeks ago, were on board the tour bus when it crashed. Those injured were airlifted to Brisbane and Noumea to receive urgent medical attention, and two locals died in the head-on collision - which happened in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila. P&O CEO Ann Sherry confirmed the ship missed one port due to the accident however is still on track to arrive back in Brisbane this Saturday. However she refused to comment on reports some of the passengers had not been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, saying: 'We require the operator to have seatbelts on the buses'. | Deaths on shore excursion |
| June 20 | Pacific Pearl P&O Australia |
From a reader:I have just heard from my parents who are currently sailing on P&O Australia’s ship, Pacific Pearl. Their scheduled cruise stop at Mystery Island, Vanuatu today (20 June) was cancelled. Strong winds caused the captain to choose not to anchor but rather sail on, beginning the homeward journey to Auckland. | Missed port call |
| June 18 | Unknown P&O |
Daily Mail reports a 57-year-old man has been kicked off a cruise for flicking a cigarette butt over the side of a boat during a dream holiday with P&O. Mark O'Keefe and his wife Debra left on the twelve day cruise to Bali from Freemantle on June 6. The couple, based in Perth in Western Australia, had saved up for the holiday for a year but it was ruined from the moment Mr O'Keefe let the cigarette butt go over-board. Mr O'Keefe's daughter Courtney took to P&O's Facebook page to complain about the treatment of her father who had to leave the ship the next day. 'Saturday they were at a show dad stepped out on deck to have a smoke had 2 drags put it out and without thinking flicked it overboard,' Courtney wrote. 'Security pulled him aside dad apologised profusely and was told ''go back to your room sir and there will be no further repercussions'' so he did.' But the next day there were further consequences to the split second butt-flick. He was taken before the captain who deemed he had shown 'no remorse' for his actions and he would not be allowed to continue with the cruise. The couple did not have enough money to fly home together so they had to part ways. Mrs O'Keefe was left devastated while her husband had to get home to Perth from Indonesia. 'Mum and dad couldn't afford 2 plane tickets home so dad was left on his own on an island nobody has ever heard of!!! 'The ships staff organised transfers home,' the post read. Except according to Courtney there were no transfers waiting for her dad once he got off the island. | Kicked off for flicking a cigarette butt |
| June 16 | MV Hamburg V Ships |
Scottish TV reports the ship, which crashed into rocks off the coast near Tobermory on the Isle of Mull on May 11 last year Scotland, was due to poor practice from the captain and crew, a report has found. The ship's captain was last year prosecuted over the incident for the failure of a passage plan and failing to report an accident contrary to the Merchant Shipping Regulations 2012. He pleaded guilty and was fined. Now, a report into the crash by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has found the crew as well as the captain contributed to what happened. There were no injuries but the accident caused considerable raking damage to the hull and rendered the port propeller, shaft and rudder unserviceable. The cruise ship need three months of repairs. The visit to Tobermory was ultimately abandoned and the vessel was taken back out to the open sea with unknown damage to its structure. It then diverted to Belfast where a dive survey revealed the extent of the damage. The vessel was withdrawn from service for three months. The report, published on Thursday, stated: "The master (captain) did not demand a high standard of navigational practices from his officers which resulted in a weak practices amongst the bridge team. | Grounding investigation |
| June 14 | Harmony RCI |
Cruise Critic reports the ship cancelled a port stop in Marseille due to the general strike taking place in the country today (Tuesday June 14). Royal Caribbean made the decision for Harmony to extend its stay in Palma yesterday and add a day at sea today rather than call in at the French port due to the threat of industrial action. | Canceled port call |
| June 14 | Pacific Aria P&O Australia |
Sunshine Coast Daily reports the ship will not come ashore in Mooloolaba today with bad weather posing safety concerns. Forecast sea conditions were been deemed too rough to operate a safe tendering process for passengers to disembark, forcing the cancellation of their bookings and activities. | Canceled port call |
| June 14 | Liberty Carnival |
ABC reports the ship returned to Galveston just hours after its departure after a three-year-old girl fell down a flight of stairs, according to the company. SkyEye was over the scene as the Carnival Liberty docked and a paramedics loaded the girl into an ambulance. Sources tell abc13 a family from College Station was posing for family pictures by the rail when their young daughter somehow slipped through the rail and fell down the stairs from the 14th deck to the 12th deck. A Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said medical personnel took the girl to the ship's medical center for evaluation, and from there, a decision was made to return back to shore and transfer the child to a hospital. The spokesperson said the girl was alert and stable at the time she was transported. The ship has already left Galveston and will modify its schedule based on the delayed departure. | Toddler falls between rails / Itinerary change |
| June 7 | Symphony Silja Line |
Finland media reports stubborn norovirus infection continues to plague passengers and crew of the Silja Symphony cruise ship. After reporting some 200 infections, the shipping line said Tuesday that another five passengers and three crew members were hit with the stomach bug on Monday night. The shipping company said its Silja Symphony vessel had been in the grip of a norovirus epidemic since May 26. Since that time, the company said that about 200 cases of the infection had come to light. | Illness |
| June 7 | Orteluius Oceanwide Expeditions | Cruise Law News reports last weekend, the Artic expedition cruise ship Ortelius experienced an engine failure in Hinlopenstretet, near Vaigattøyane, and had to be towed' back to Longyearbyen, according to a newspaper in Norway. Svalbardposten.reports that the Oceanwide Expeditions ship was sailing south through Hinlopenstretet, with 39 crew members and 105 passengers aboard, when it sustained an engine failure. Engineers from the Netherlands were helicoptered out to the Ortelius on Saturday night in order to work on the ship's engine, and reportedly were working on the engine while it was under tow to prepare the ship for the next trip scheduled this week | Engine failure |
| June 7 | Multiple ships | Greek Reporter reports the continuing strike of Piraeus Port workers impedes cruise ships from docking and as a result the vessels are forced to go to Turkey, says a Kathimerini report. The workers are on rolling 48-hour strikes protesting the privatization of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP). Foreign cruise ships are canceling their docking to Piraeus because of the absence of services. As a result, cruise activity at the port has been reduced to zero in the past few days, causing losses in revenue. After the cancellation of visits by cruise ships such as Seabourn Odyssey of Carnival Cruises and Mein Schiff 2 of TUI Cruises, Celebrity Constellation, which was to stop at Piraeus on the weekend informed that it will sail to Turkey and on its return, if conditions allow, will dock at Piraeus Port. The Celebrity Constellation carries 2,200 passengers and intended to replenish supplies in Piraeus. However, the absence of dock workers forced the cruise ship to seek restocking supplies in Turkey. | Change of port |
| June 3 | Infinity Celebrity |
KRDB Radio reports the ship hit Ketchikan’s Berth 3 dock this afternoon, damaging the ship and dock. Harbormaster Steve Corporon said Berth 3 sustained $2 million to $3 million in damage. That includes the barge that acts as a dock and two of the three mooring dolphins. Corporon said the dock will not be usable until it’s repaired, which could take at least a month. He said he’ll have a better idea after an engineer’s inspection this weekend. The Infinity was moved to Berth 2. There’s no word yet about the amount of damage. The Coast Guard will determine whether it’s safe to sail. The visible damage was above the waterline and the ship did not appear to be taking on water or listing. Witnesses and Corporon said they saw no indication of injuries. Longshoreman and others on the dock were able to get off before the ship struck. See the video here. Hered is one comment following the KTVA story: Jacob Jones · Server at Annabelle's Famous Keg and Chowder House The captain just came into Burger Queen right across said he literally sneezed and his glasses flew off so he couldn't see Like · Reply · Posted @ 07:07 pm ADT | Collision with pier |
| May 31 | Boston Harbour Cruises | Boston Herald reports the captain of a cruise ship that ran aground in Boston Harbor Saturday while carrying a wedding party has been suspended, with further disciplinary action possible following an investigation, his boss told the Herald. Alison Nolan, principal and general manager of Boston Harbor Cruises, said the company will conduct its own probe after the Coast Guard completes an official investigation, and anticipates the finding will be “operator error and an error in navigation.” Nolan did not identify the captain, but said he has 27 years of experience and was administered a drug and alcohol test “immediately post-incident.” He was also subject to random drug and alcohol tests, she said, adding that results would be confidential. The 113-foot cruise ship Majesty ran aground near Georges Island at about 7 p.m. on Saturday. The 137 wedding guests onboard were then taken by another ship to Long Wharf. There were 15 crew members aboard. | Captain fired after grounding |
| May 31 | Constellation Celebrity |
Cruise Law News reports the local police in Salerno, Italy arrested a 31 year-old Jamaican, man employed as a cook in the galley of the Celebrity cruise ship, the Constellation, for "attempted murder aggravated by petty reasons." The cook, identified only as "OG," attacked a 38 year-old Indian, head chef, with what is described as a "big knife," according to the L'Unione Sarda newspaper. The cook stabbed the chef in the stomach, seriously injuring him and requiring emergency medical treatment at the the Salerno hospital where the chef was admitted in critical condition. The newspapers say that the cook started his shift at 5 A.M. and reportedly was already in a state of alcoholic intoxication. The cook apparently took offense to the chef's instructions. Pursuant to maritime law, the act of a crew member attacking another crew member with a dangerous weapon renders the ship "unseaworthy" and creates strict liability on behalf of the maritime employer for the attack. | Crew attacks crew |
| May 30 | Adonia Fathom | Local 10 reports the ship was on its way back to PortMiami Sunday evening, following a power outage aboard the ship during the initial leg of its journey to Cuba. A cruise spokesperson sent a statement to Local 10 News that read in part: "The ship is fully operational and guests are being updated regularly. The Coast Guard has been notified and the ship is returning to Miami for further evaluation." According to the Coast Guard, the electrical issue surfaced about 5 p.m. Sunday, and the power outage lasted for approximately 30 minutes. Port workers said the ship returned to PortMiami and left again at 3 a.m. Monday to continue a seven-night tour of Cuba. In a second statement, released Monday morning, a cruise liner spokesperson said: "Fathom will now arrive into Havana for the two-day call at 7:30 a.m. May 31, and will depart at 6:00 p.m. on June 1. Unfortunately it has been necessary to cancel the call to Cienfuegos and the ship will proceed to Santiago de Cuba as scheduled." | Power loss - itinerary change |
| May 30 | Elation Carnival |
News4 Jax reports the ship's return to Jacksonville was delayed after losing power and propulsion overnight about 60 miles off the coast. Several passengers called and emailed News4Jax to say the power went out overnight and the ship drifted for about an hour before power was restored. They said several tug boats accompanying the ship as it returned to port early Monday morning. In a statement, Carnival Cruise Lines called it a short power outage. "The ship's technicians promptly restored power and the ship is expected to arrive at his homeport of Jacksonville at approximately 9:30 a.m. this morning, slightly behind schedule," Vance Gulliksen wrote. Passengers say they noticed lights on the ship flickering on and off around 4 times around 1:45 a.m. Monday. Some passengers were seen headed towards the deck in a panic, with their life jackets on. | Power loss - late arrival |
| May 29 | Zaandam HAL |
Alaska Daily News reports the ship arrived in Seward Sunday morning with a dead fin whale draped against its bow, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Crew members discovered the dead whale just as the ship was preparing to dock in Seward at 5:06 a.m. Sunday. It appeared to be lodged on top of a bulbous part of the bow just under the water. After the whale was reported, investigators from NOAA and members of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network and Alaska SeaLife Center were dispatched to the scene, said NOAA spokeswoman Julie Speegle. Initially they believed the animal was a juvenile humpback whale, but it was ultimately identified as a fin whale, Speegle said. It's too soon to say whether the whale was killed when struck by the ship or if it was already dead when it became lodged on the bow, Speegle said. Investigators will remove the whale and send it for a necropsy with a veterinary pathologist. | Whale on bow |
| May 28 | Independence RCI |
From a passenger: 27 May off Brest - An incident occured that was not explained. During the afternoon the ship slowed from 19 to 10 knots. Helicopter arrived, then departed. Two fighter jets flew overhead. About an hour and a half later the helicopter returned. No enlightening announcement was made. Would be interested to know what that was all about! Some security alert perhaps? Do any readers have any information? Response from a reader: I wasn’t on board, but from the description, it sounds like a medical evacuation. A helicopter arrives the first time to drop by a medical technician and a gurney, then comes back a second time to pick up the patient, technician, and gurney. It’s not all done in one shot. It’s pretty standard for other military or coast guard airplanes/helicopters to fly around the vessel during this time for security purposes. To keep the privacy of the family, depending on the incident, the captain may or may not announce the medical evacuation as they generally don’t affect a ship itinerary as they take roughly 1-1.5 hours to complete. Just figured I’d point that out since the person who submitted it seemed unsure of what that was! |
Strange incident |
| May 28 | Harmony RCI |
Daily Mail reports the world’s biggest cruise ship has been branded a floating ‘construction site’ that puts passengers at risk by those on board. Furious cruise fans who left on £800million Harmony of the Seas’ ‘maiden voyage’ from Southampton to Rotterdam and a subsequent trip to Cherbourg complained contractors were still carrying out vital work on board. Gaping holes were left in floors and walls, the hot water cut out, 90 per cent of children’s rides were out of service and sleep was impossible in some rooms as drilling carried on through the night. They also said the top deck of the 1,188ft-long vessel was littered with hazards including loose cables, blow torches, open paint tins and power tools. Ladders were left lying around and tables were dumped beside railings, leaving children at risk of climbing up and falling into the sea. ‘Hundreds’ of passengers have besieged the customer services desk throughout the sailings, according to witnesses. Some that were offered compensation accused owner Royal Caribbean International of trying to gag them by saying they could not discuss what compensation they were offered with others on board. The company yesterday tried to dampen down the furore by describing the North European trips as ‘pre-inaugural sailings’ before the ‘official maiden cruise’ leaves from Southampton for Barcelona tomorrow. But passengers said they had paid a lot of money and the vessel should have been ready. Georgina Davie, 40 – who dubbed the ship Disharmony of the Seas – said: ‘The ship is a construction site and is unsafe and a serious risk to all passengers. ‘I understand contractors sometimes don’t deliver but Royal Caribbean should have taken responsibility for it and given people their money back or reduced it and told people before getting on board instead of leaving them stuck in the middle of the sea where they can’t do anything about it.’ Mrs Davie, who was with a group of ten family members paying £389 each, said her two children had nothing to do because almost all of the attractions for youngsters were closed including the flumes, splash pool and zip line. Xboxes in the kids’ club weren’t working and there weren’t enough skates for ice skating. | Not ready for passengers |
| May 27 | Unnamed, Irish Ferries | Cruise Law News reports that a crew member disappeared at sea from a ferry operated by Irish Ferries from Rosslare, Ireland to Pembroke, Wales yesterday. A number of newspapers have reported that a a large air and sea search was just suspended after the crew member apparently went overboard into the St. Georges channel from a ferry during the cruise of less than five hours. The crew member has not been identified but was said to be a member of the catering staff aboard overboard crew member disappearancethe ferry. |
Crew member overboard |
| May 24 | Boudicca Fred Olsen |
Cape Breton Post reports the ship is having an extended stay in Sydney due to high winds offshore. It arrived in Sydney Sunday and is having an extended stay in port due to high winds offshore. A strong wind warning is in effect for most of the marine areas off of Nova Scotia’s coast, but winds are expected to diminish throughout the afternoon. The ship — which arrived around 7:30 a.m. Sunday and was originally scheduled to depart at 4:30 p.m. Sunday — is now scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m. Monday. | Extended port call |
| May 22 | Ventura P&O |
From a passenger: I've just came back off a cruise on ventura and Thursday we was meant to dock in St Peters Port in guernsey but the weather overnight and the swell in the morning meant the captain aborted tendering and we docked off the coast of France. No free credit or drinks were offered and it felt like the staff didn't care | Missed port call |
| May 22 | Sea Princess |
From a passenger: Currently on world cruise. Departed Sydney 15 May with stops in Melbourne (17/5) and Adelaide (19/5). Departed for Fremantle (due 23/5). Caught in huge seas in Great Australian Bight. Finally diverted to Esperance late Saturday 21/5 where she is at anchor. No sign of seas abating. Could be stuck for several days. No idea if injury or damage involved. UPDATE: sailed from the anchorage at Esperance at 2 PM. local time (22/5) hoping for smoother seas. Scheduled to arrive Fremantle a day late (24/5) at 9 am. Scheduled to leave Fremantle 11 pm. same day. More bad weather forecast for Fremantle that morning. Sea Princess will miss next planned stop, Colombo, (30/5) and sail direct to Dubai arriving 4/6. This means 10 days at sea. Not the ideal start for a 105 day world cruise. UPDATE: Sea Princess actually raced ahead of the weather and berthed at Fremantle at about 1:30 AM (24/5). She is now scheduled to depart at 4 PM. | Delayed - Weather issues - canceled port calls |
| May 20 | Liberty CCL |
Cruise Criutic reports the ship will cut its May 21 sailing short by one day, according to a statement from the line. It will skip its planned call on Progreso and instead return on May 25 -- a day early -- to Galveston, where some of the repairs will be completed. The issue is expected to be fully resolved by mid-June, and other voyages will continue as scheduled. To each person booked on the May 21 sailing, Carnival is offering $100 in onboard credit or the opportunity to cancel for a full refund. Passengers opting to sail will be allowed to spend the day onboard in Galveston if they choose; the repairs are not expected to impact any of the ship's onboard amenities. The May 21 itinerary's Cozumel visit is also unaffected. Carnival Liberty did, however, miss a Cozumel call on its May 2 sailing. According to a previous statement from Carnival, "In the absence of full bow thruster capability, the ship can arrive and depart a port with the assistance of tug boats and maintain its normal itinerary. Based on when the issue occurred ... we were not able to secure tugboat assistance in Cozumel in time to call at that port." | Cruise cut short - bow thruster problems |
| May 20 | Pacific Jewel P&O Australia |
The Mercury reports Carnival Australia has rejected an EPA finding that its ship the Pacific Jewel breached new low-sulphur fuel regulations in Sydney Harbour. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued Australia's largest cruise company with a $15,000 fine after a sample of the Pacific Jewel's fuel when it was berthed at the White Bay Cruise Terminal in February showed sulphur levels nearly three times the limit. The new regulations require cruise ships berthed in Sydney Harbour to use low-sulphur fuel within one hour of berthing until one hour before departure. Carnival Australia, which operates P&O, said on Thursday it was appealing the fine on the basis that the EPA failed to take into account available technical information that would have confirmed the ship had completed the changeover to low-sulphur fuel within the prescribed time period. The cruise company says it took 20 days for the EPA to analyse the Pacific Jewel's fuel samples. EPA acting director Metropolitan Greg Sheehy said the EPA had taken a further three samples from the Pacific Jewel since February and all complied. | Environmental fine |
| May 16 | Star Princess |
Cruise Hive reports was hit by a Gastro bug on the 15-day cruise to Hawaii, U.S. from Vancouver, Canada. The Gastro bug was not reported by the Centers for Disease Control which means less than 3% of passengers became sick during the voyage. It is not clear how many passengers and crew became sick but a passenger who was onboard and cruising with his family and friends told us the gastrointestinal virus began spreading on the fourth day of the cruise. He told Cruise Hive “The outbreak was not contained in Hilo and nurses in the infirmary confirmed just under half the ship’s passengers and crew had come down with the virus.” He went on to say “The crew was viable missing and all services were affected from taking hours to get room service to those who were quarantined. .. to the closing of one of the main food buffets due to crew shortage.” Our reader has said Princess cruises handled the situation badly and got overwhelmed by the amount of sick people. Apparently health officials boarded the ship when it docked in Hilo on May 5, and the ship’s crew activated procedures where extra cleaning and sanitizing was done. Some crew members were also seen at the local Wal-Mart stocking up with 4 full carts of disinfectants. Could this be due to the ship running low on its own stock? From a reader: I was on the 15 days Hawaii cruise The outbreak of Norovorus was well under control. I went at Hilo shopping center and the crew member I saw were buying toilettries for themselves. Yes the crew were serving us at the buffet but it was NEVER close. I wonder if the person saying all those lies were on the ship. | ?Illness? |
| May 15 | Coral Princess |
Cruise Law News reports he has learned from several passengers that a passenger went overboard from the ship on May 11th. A passenger on the Coral Princess tweeted earlier this week: "Captain of the Coral Princess, my home away from home, advised that a male of Russian origin jumped overboard yesterday AM." Another passenger commented that she had just returned from a Los Angeles - Vancouver cruise on the Coral Princess and that a man (passenger) overboard incident has occurred during the cruise. She said that she Coral Princesswas shocked to come home and not be able to find any news on this incident. | Pax overboard |
| May 13 | Liberty Carnival |
USA Today reports the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it is searching for a 33 year old woman who went missing. She was reported missing by traveling companions on the cruise ship Carnival Liberty, the company said. Footage from the Carnival Liberty’s cameras showed her going overboard around 2 a.m. Friday, according to Carnival officials. “Unfortunately, it appears the guest may have gone overboard early this morning,” Carnival said in a statement. “Authorities were notified, including the U.S. Coast Guard, which is initiating a search effort in the area where the ship was located when the individual was last seen. ... We are keeping our guest and her loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time.” The ship departed from Galveston on Thursday on a four-day cruise to Mexico. People reports Samantha Broberg, 33, reportedly climbed up on a deck railing and tumbled backwards, plunging into warm water about 200 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas, at 2 a.m. Friday morning. The Arlington, Texas, woman was not reported missing to ship personnel by companions until Friday around noon. According to Carnival, "camera footage indicates that the guest was sitting on a deck railing and fell backwards into the water." The Coast Guard was not contacted until 5 p.m. on Friday after a ship-wide search was conducted. A Coast Guard statement reveals that search and rescue teams ended their rescue efforts at 8:15 p.m. Sunday after spending 20 hours searching more than 4,300 square miles. Broberg is a stay-at-home mother with four children according to the Houston Chronicle. | Pax overboard |
| May 11 | Star Princess |
From a reader: I am booked on the Star Princess on May 14 for an Alaska Cruise. Today, May 10, I have received notification from Princess Cruises that there were confirmed cases (passengers) of the NOROVIRUS on this current cruise. They are planning to scrub down the ship in Vancouver before the next cruise. The information was sent to us to inform us of delayed boarding. | ?Illness? |
| May 9 | Aphrodite (Vietnam) | Daily Mail reports holidaymakers were forced to jump for their lives after their wooden cruise ship burst into flames in Vietnam on Friday. More than forty people are believed to have been on the Aphrodite Cruise ship when it caught fire, including tourists from Taiwan, France, Switzerland, UK, New Zealand, Korea and India. Shocking video shows passengers jumping from the side of the ship to escape the growing flames, which are believed to have started in the kitchen, as they quickly engulf the boat. They appear to have then been rescued by other boats on the harbour as crowds gather on the shore. A passenger on board told the NZ Herald he was one of those that had jumped into the water. 'I climbed over the front balcony down two decks by just dropping and hoping for the best,' he said. Vietnamese news service, VN Express, reported that the ship sank after ninety minutes. According to the cruise line's Facebook page, four people have minor injuries, including one crew member. The rest of the passengers have been taken to Hanoi. The company say they will compensate passengers for treatment and the loss of their belongings. |
Fire / Sunk |
| May 8 | Crown Princess |
KTOO reports the ship arrived unexpectedly in Juneau on Sunday. The ship was scheduled to arrive Tuesday. Kirby Day is manager of port operations for the Holland America Group, which includes Princess Cruises. Day said operations in Vancouver — where the ship’s journey began — were slower than usual. “There were three ships in Vancouver on Friday and with about 8,500 people the embarkation process just went very slow for all three ships,” Day said. “All three ships sailed late, including the Crown Princess.” The ship was scheduled to be in Glacier Bay yesterday but because of the late start, it would have arrived there at 9 p.m. — too late for passengers to fully see the area. Day said the ship will visit Glacier Bay Monday before heading to Skagway and Ketchikan. | Changed itinerary (port calls) |
| May 8 | Pride CCL |
CBS Baltimore reports the ship crashed while docking Sunday morning in Baltimore. There were no reported injuries. As the Carnival Pride was docking in Baltimore Sunday morning, it made contact with a gangway on the pier, causing part of it to fall and damage three parked cars, according to Port of Baltimore spokesman Richard Scher. The gangway was not in use at the time and the vehicles, which belonged to employees, were empty. No one on the ground or the ship was injured. Damage to the ship is minor. The ship is expected to sail this afternoon on its next voyage as scheduled. Carnival and the Coast Guard are working to investigate the incident. | Collision with pier |
| May 7 | Liberty CCL |
Click2Houston reports the cruise liner Carnival Liberty announced Saturday that it is having problems with their ships' bow thrusters. The cruise company released the following statement in an email: "Carnival Liberty is presently experiencing an issue with the ship’s bow thrusters. Bow thrusters are required during docking maneuvers. They are not required for the normal operation of the vessel except when coming in and out of port. In the absence of full bow thruster capability, the ship can arrive and depart a port with the assistance of tug boats and maintain its normal itinerary. Based on when the issue occurred during the current voyage, we were not able to secure tugboat assistance in Cozumel in time to call at that port. Future voyages are expected to operate as scheduled. Technicians are working to resolve the issue and tugboat assistance for docking maneuvers will be arranged as needed in the interim until the repairs are completed. On the voyage just ended today, given the missed call in Cozumel, guests were provided with a $100 per person onboard credit. The ship did make its scheduled call in Progreso." One passenger said the company refunded everyone $40 after taking out a $60 gratuity. The passenger said the ship never made its stop in Cozumel and that people were protesting on the top deck. "I am told that when the ship left Progreso, there was a Mexican navy ship docked nearby and the swirl in the water from the Liberty departing caused a few of the navy ship's ropes to break," the email statement said. "They were not the Liberty's ropes and the ropes did not come in contact with our ship." |
Bow wthruster problems |
May 7 |
Adonia Fathom | Sun Sentinel and Cruise Law News report the ship may have experienced a norovirus outbreak, according to reports from the captain. At around 2:45 P.M. this afternoon, there were at least 14 people on the ship complaining of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps mentioned by the captain according to the Sun Sentinel. With only around 600 people aboard the cruise ship, that's over 2% of the cruise passengers which is near the threshold where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) become involved. The photos and video from the cruise ship show crew members already rubbing and scrubbing the surfaces of the ship. Self-serve buffets have reportedly been replaced with service by crew members wearing gloves. The cruise ship, of couse, quickly blamed the passengers with the ship doctor writing a letter saying "we suspect that the virus may have been inadvertently introduced on board by embarking travelers, even though the ship had not even performed tests to make such a determination. One of those sick, a former public health social worker, said "I think it was something I ate." | Illness |
| May 5 | Multiple ships | Associated Press reports tourists have been hanging out at a Ketchikan homeless shelter to get free coffee and a bite to eat, but an employee of the shelter says few of the cruise ship passengers make a donation. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the shelter operated by First City Homeless Services relies on donations and funding from the city and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Evelyn Erbele, chairwoman of the nonprofit’s board of directors, told the Borough Assembly about the visits from tourists at a meeting Monday. Erbele says cruise ship passengers often stop by the shelter looking for a restroom, and some decide to stay for a snack or to watch television. But she says the tourists are welcome because “we don’t turn anybody away.” | Tacky passenger behaviour ashore |
| May 2 | Gem NCL |
Miami New Tirmes reports on a case going to the courts: On the second day of a seven-day cruise from New York to Florida and the Bahamas last year, two young children briefly escaped from their mother’s sight and somehow landed in the pool. Within moments, both kids were yanked from the water at opposite ends of the pool. But it wasn't lifeguards who jumped in to rescue the siblings. Instead, the lifesaving attempts were made by passengers with medical backgrounds, who desperately began resuscitation efforts while calling for help. That's because Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line does not employ lifeguards for its on-ship pools. Although one of the children was safely rescued that day — May 17, 2015 — the other sibling died onboard the ship, called the Gem. She was 10 years old. Last week, Miami maritime attorney Michael Winkleman filed a lawsuit against the cruise line on behalf of the children’s mother, Colleen Blair of New York, alleging Norwegian was negligent by not providing lifeguards at the pools. Numerous children have died or been grievously injured on board NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) ships and other cruise ships due to drowning or near drowning prior to this incident, yet NCL does not even spend a single penny on utilizing lifeguards on board its ships to prevent these tragedies," the complaint reads. | Lawsuit for child drowning |
| May 2 | Insignia Oceania |
ABC reports the ship has officially cancelled its visit to the Port of Newcastle on Sunday, May 8. It is understood the company was not prepared to expose those on board to the risks associated with a protest called Break Free -- organised by a range of organisations, and supported by Greenpeace and climate action group 350.org. The protest aims to disrupt coal exports from Newcastle on Saturday and Sunday.The port said it was also disappointed for the volunteers, tour operators and local businesses that "carefully plan and prepare for visits" from cruise ships. The ABC understands around half the guests on board had already booked tours on shore, but they have been cancelled. (NOTE: If I were a cruise passenger, I'd have thought this sort of social event would be interesting to see. Isn't the whole purpose of a shore excursion to experience local life and culture.) | Canceled port call |
| May 1 | Paradise CCL |
Cruise Hive reports three cruise passengers were hurt in a car buggy accident on Thursday while visiting the Mexican island of Cozumel. According to local Police in Cozumel at around 12:15 PM the driver of the small red buggy lost control and ended up hitting a tree on the side of the road. The driver named Frank Colemire hit his head on the windshield and needed further medical attention at a local clinic. Due to the open roof and lots of branches and shrubs, the other two buggy passengers had various bruises and wounds but nothing too serious. The cruise ship passengers were driving in the region of the Mayan Ruins known as El Cedral and were just two miles from the entrance. It’s not clear if this was a tour booked through the cruise line or their own personal tour. | Accident/injuries ashore |
| April 30 | Wonder Disney |
CDC reports 92 of 2679 (3.43%) passengers and 5 of 991 (0.5%) crew have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer is making plans to board the ship upon arrival in the port of Miami on May 1, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The cruise beganApril 27 and ends May 1. UPDATE: 131 of 2680 (4.89%) pax; 14 of 991 (1.41%) crew. | Illness |
| April 30 | Balmoral Fred Olsen |
CDC reports153 of 917 (16.68%) of passengers and 6 of 518 (1.16%) crew have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness caused by norovirus. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist are currently making plans to board the ship upon arrival in Baltimore, MD on April 30-May 1, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The cruise beganApril 16; it ends May 20. CBS News reports some passengers and crew members on a cruise ship docked in Norfolk, Virginia, are being quarantined after positive tests for norovirus, according to CBS affiliate WTKR. UPDATE May 1: 163 of 921 (17.70%) pax UPDATE May 7: 252 of 919 (27.42%), 8 of 520 (1.54%) UPDATE May 11: 277 of 915 (30.27%), 9 of 520 (1.73%) | Illness |
| April 30 | Escape NCL |
From a passenger: A child fell while climbing a basketball hoop on deck 19 and cracked his skull. Alpha x3 called to deck 19 at about 8:30 pm. The casino closed at about 4:30 am and the ship made a stop in San Juan on the way to St Thomas to move the child off the ship. | Unscheduled stop in San Juan |
| April 29 | Oasis RCI |
Mail Online reports acouple who were reported missing on a Jamaican island after their cruise ship departed without them are alive and safe, according to relatives. There were fears for the safety of Hayden Gerson, 33, and Alisha Frank, 32, from California, after they were last seen disembarking at Falmouth Pier in Trelawny two days ago. But Gerson's mother, Margot, has now told ABC News that the couple have been in touch with her and are fine, though a little embarrassed after missing their ship. Gerson, who is the father of a young daughter, and Frank are now trying to find their way back to the U.S. Police said the couple were planning to make a trip to Montego Bay - a popular tourist city on the island - before they disappeared. 'While on board, they asked to debark the ship in Jamaica. The ship team assisted them with this request and were escorted to immigration,' said Cynthia Martinez, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean. | Pax missing in Jamaica located |
| April 28 | Breakaway NCL |
WCVB reports adistraught mother looked on in horror as a cruise ship left her behind, sailing from its dock in the Bahamas with her children on board, ABC News reported. Video taken by a passenger on board the ship shows the mother after she dropped to her knees with her hands in the air, apparently screaming: "My kids are on here!" according to the narrator who filmed the incident. "You see that right there? That is someone that has missed the boat," the narrator says. "And, apparently, she has her kids on the boat, and she’s not on there." The ship was sailing a seven-night cruise, beginning in New York on April 17, when it stopped in Nassau. On Thursday, the mother did not return to the ship by the "widely communicated scheduled all aboard time of 5:30 p.m.," the company said. | Pax left behind - didn't return on time |
| April 27 | Rhapsody RCI |
New Zealand press reports 44 passengers had to abandon their holiday after a giant wave struck the ship, breaking windows and flooding cabins. The ship was hit by the wave around 4am on Monday, while sailing to Ajaccio, Corsica; it occurred on the first night of a nine-night Mediterranean cruise. Passengers were woken by seawater pouring into cabins, according to reports on social media. Todd Scudiere tweeted that passengers were bleeding, and ceilings and walls had collapsed. Another passenger wrote on Facebook that the ship had been hit by a "freak wave". "Cabin totally flooded, we were covered in blood, seawater, scattered glass, ceiling panels, insulation, metal racks and debris, which used to be cabin interior." According to a Royal Caribbean statement, five stateroom windows on the third deck were broken, and six rooms were damaged. Carpeting in some hallways and staterooms was soaked by water. The ship docked in Corsica as scheduled, where repairs were undertaken and windows replaced. However, because of the soaked flooring, 45 guests were relocated to other staterooms. Another 44 departed the ship. | Windows broken by freak wave - pax leave ship |
| April 26 | Queen Mary 2 Cunard |
Mirror reports Brits on board the Queen Mary 2 had their holiday plans scuppered as the lavish cruise liner was banned from entering Jordanian waters following an outbreak of highly-contagious norovirus. Officials at port of the Salalah, the largest port in Oman, took no chances after passengers and crew members were reportedly struck by the stomach bug last week - the ship was also denied entry to Oman. Now the Southampton-based luxury ship, which is the flagship liner of Cunard cruises, is facing further restrictions as it sails through the Red Sea. It has been refused entry into Aqaba, a Jordanian port popular for windsurfing and other water sports, tomorrow, according to a Cunard spokesperson. Passenger Graeme Clements said: "The ship has been struck with a norovirus outbreak and has today been denied access to Jordanian waters." | Illness |
| April 26 | Multiple ships | Evening Standard reports a legal battle is about to break out over controversial plans to let cruise ships run their engines day and night in the heart of London. Residents raising cash to mount a High Court challenge to insist on clean air at the capital’s first proposed cruise liner terminal at Enderby Wharf, near Greenwich peninsula, are set to hit their £16,000 target within days. The company behind the terminal says it would be uneconomic to lay mains power lines out to ships at the terminal, close to the O2 and thousands of homes. Instead, the liners would generate electricity from their engines while moored on the Thames. But nearby residents fear toxic fumes will gather over streets near the site. “We are 90 per cent towards the crowd-funding target,” said Ian Blore of the East Greenwich Residents Association. “I have had pensioners press £2 coins into my hand for the fund, while other donations have been in four figures. It shows how worried people are about the pollution this development could bring.” | Environmental concerns |
| April 26 | Freedom RCI |
WFTV reports two employees working in the galley were arrested after they were accused of bringing cocaine into Port Canaveral, authorities said. Investigators said they found out last year that one of the crew members was a courier for at least one drug trafficking organization. Authorities started following him as he left the port and saw him and another man smuggling the cocaine using sandals. Junior Ellision, 31, was arrested aboard the ship as he was walking away with cocaine, authorities said. Investigators said they started following Ellision last November from the ship, and each time Ellision left the ship, he took a shuttle to a Merritt Island Walmart. Authorities said Ellision would pick up sandals filled with cocaine in St. Maarten and would wear them off the ship. Ellision would then go to the Walmart, buy a pair of sandals, and then put the cocaine filled sandals in the Walmart bag to deliver to someone else, authorities said. Investigators said Ellision didn’t work alone. Another Freedom of the Seas crew member, Sheldon Grant, was also arrested. Authorities said the men admitted they had made multiple deliveries and that someone paid them $1,250 each time they delivered the sandals. Grant and Ellision were charged with importing a controlled substance into the United States. | Drug bust |
| April 24 | Empress RCI |
Cruise Fever reports Royal Caribbean has canceled another seven sailings on Empress of the Seas, bringing the total of canceled sailings to 13 by the cruise line. Last month, Royal Caribbean canceled the first six sailings on Empress of the Seas due to the ship needing additional work before rejoining their fleet. Now, the cruise line is cancelling another seven sailings due to improvements needed in the ship’s galleys to meet the high standards expected from Royal Caribbean. All sailings through May 23, 2016 have now been canceled. Guests who were booked on one of these cruises can rebook for the same cruise fare on Enchantment of the Seas or Majesty of the Seas on sailings through June 27, or on another sailing on Empress of the Seas from June 1 to July 23. Passengers who rebook will also receive onboard credit. | 13 sailings canceled |
| April 22 | QE 2 Cunard |
Travel Mole reports a coroner has recorded the verdict of misadventure in an inquest into the death of a cruise passenger while she was trying to board Cunard's Queen Elizabeth after an excursion. Mary Atherton, aged 75, from Lancashire, was attempting to step from a tender on to a pontoon when an unexpected wave came. Crew members jumped in to try to rescue her but she was crushed between the tender boat and the pontoon. She was returning to the ship after an excursion in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. During the inquest, her family had criticised Cunard saying crew should have been told about her mobility problems, which had been shared with the cruise line. | Inquest into pax death when crushed while boarding tender |
| April 22 | Sun Princess |
Cruise Critic reports less than a week after emerging from its April 2016 refurbishment, Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess has made changes to two itineraries due to technical difficulties. The ship will skip tomorrow’s scheduled visit to Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Malaysia, and instead spend the day at sea. The April 24 call has been cancelled, according to a passenger onboard, “due to the ship’s inability to achieve full speed”. Cruise Critic member Kiwi_cruiser told us: “They said they need the extra sea day to get to our last port of call Bali (Benoa), Indonesia on 27 April.” Passengers received a letter in their cabins to announce the change to the itinerary. “We are currently experiencing a technical issue with one of [the] generators. While this in no way affects the safety of our guests and crew, it does restrict our ability to operate at full speed.” The next Sun Princess cruise -- the May 1 departure of the 17-night Northern Australia Explorer -- is also expected to cancel one port of call in Queensland. | Canceled port calls - technical issue with generator |
| April 19 | Unnamed | 7 News Belize reports 31 year-old American Cruise Tourist Ashley Williams received a stroke of judicial generosity when she was arraigned today before Magistrate Carlon Mendoza. She was caught with a very small quantity of marijuana. Williams, a resident of Virginia was taken to court today on a single count of possession of a controlled drug. When the charge was read to her, she told the court that she came on today's cruise ship from Virginia, and that she bought 1.8 grams of cannabis - less than one tenth of an ounce - in Belize City, not knowing that it is still illegal in this country. After consideration, Magistrate Mendoza dismissed the charge, and cautioned Williams that she now knows it to be illegal, and that she must not be arrested for being in possession of the drug in Belize again. Magistrate Mendoza commented to court reporters that he reason he dismissed the charge without any sanctions was that the cannabis was sold openly to her, against her knowledge of its illegality. He added that police should start to crack down on persons who are selling drugs. | Drug bust |
| April 14 | Ecstasy CCL |
Sun Sentinel reports a cruise ship worker had disabled a safety system before an accident that crushed him in a elevator shaft, horrifying passengers who watched blood drip down the walls, a police report says. Jose Sandoval Opazo, 66, of Liguria, Italy, was an electrician aboard the Carnival Ecstasy and died while working on one of the ship's elevators about 6:15 p.m. Dec. 27. Opazo was doing routine maintenance on the top of the elevator when it suddenly moved from the ship's sixth level to the ninth, according to a report released this week by Miami-Dade police. Opazo apparently fell and was crushed against the wall of the elevator shaft, the report says. The accident left blood dripping down elevator doors in view of passengers. A video of the scene, taken by a passenger, provoked shock and revulsion around the globe after Fort Myers television station WFTX posted it online. Passenger video shows bloody mystery aboard Carnival cruise ship. Opazo was the ship's chief electrician. Carnival inestigator John Butchko told police that crew members found a jumper cable on the elevators' override system, a common practice used by electricians to override safety systems, he said. The crew also found a screwdriver that Opazo might have used to prop open the elevator doors, the police report says. The Ecstacy's chief engineer, Alex Inversini, told police that no one had reported a problem with the elevator and no work order was found, indicating that Opazo was doing a routine check of the elevator's functions, the report says. | Death blamed on the victim |
| April 14 | Kimberley Quest II | Mail Online reports a luxury cruise ship captain has been charged with drug dealing after police uncovered bagged-up ice and smoking utensils on a vessel which charges guests $20,000 for a two-week trip. Jeff Ralston, 55, the joint owner of the Kimberley Quest II, was arrested after police raided the charter boat while it was docked at Wyndham Port, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. He was charged with possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply and has been bailed to appear in Broome Magistrate's Court on Monday April 18. |
Drug bust |
| April 14 | Astor Cruise and Maritime Voyages |
Western Australia Today reports a Perth grandmother will spend her 90th birthday in hospital after nearly dying from complications following food poisoning on an Australian cruise liner. Shirley Faulkin was one of 13 West Australians to get salmonella on a Cruise and Maritime Voyages vessel and was so ill she has spent a month in hospital, Nine News reported. "Doctors said to me I had the choice of having an operation or I would die," she told the station. "And I had to work out what would be best for me." The Australian Medical Association WA is calling for quarantine and inspection services to monitor cruise ships coming in and out of the state. The company refused to comment to Nine. WAtoday has contacted CMV with a further request. | Food poisoning |
| April 13 | Crown Princess |
From a passenger: Here is a copy of the notice Princess sent today -- CROWN PRINCESS PRE-BOARDING HEALTH ADVISORY: Please be advised that during the current cruise there were cases of gastrointestinal illness among guests confirmed to have been caused by norovirus. A comprehensive sanitation program was launched in response, and Crown Princess will undergo a prolonged and additional disinfection in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 16, 2016 . Check-in for your cruise will be delayed until 3:00 PM and your stateroom will be available after 4:00 PM. Please do not arrive earlier than 3:00 PM as the terminal will be closed for sanitation. To minimize terminal congestion we use a progressive check-in schedule as follows: 3:00 PM - Dolphin & Emerald Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with D & E 3:45 PM - Caribe & Riviera Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with C & R 4:15 PM - Aloha & Lido Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with A & L 5:00 PM - Baja & Plaza Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with B & P All guests must be aboard by 5:30 PM. Crown Princess is expected to depart Los Angeles at 7:00 PM. | Illness |
| April 13 | Estrella Amazonica | Fox News Latino reports two American tourists died in Peru when the cruise ship on which they were touring the Amazon River caught fire. The head of the Iquitos port authority, Oscar Garrido said the fatalities were Larry Morris Hammer, 74, and Cristy Jeins Hammer, 72. He said they died while being taken to the hospital in Iquitos, capital of the Amazon region of Loreto in northeastern Peru. The fire broke out before dawn inside the cabin of the American couple, but the first to notice the flames were members of the ship's crew, when the alarm went off at around 2:00 a.m. The head of the Iquitos port authority added that up to now what started the fire on the Estrella Amazonica cruise ship is still unknown. | Two pax die in cruise ship fire |
| April 12 | Cruise Industry | KTUU reports the Cruise Lines International Association filed the federal lawsuit against the City and Borough of Juneau on Tuesday in Anchorage. At the center of controversy are projects funded with cash raised from per passenger fees levied against the cruise ship industry, known as "head taxes." Cruise ships collect the fees and pass them on the city. Juneau gets a $5 entry fee per cruise ship passenger in addition to a per-passenger port development fee of $3. The association estimates it has given Juneau more than $35 million in entry fees in the past four years. Three efforts were mentioned in particular by John Binkley, the association's president: a planned $10 million project to build an artificial island enabling expansion of a sea walk, cash for a life-size whale sculpture intended as a tourist destination, and a park related to the overall effort. The legal question raised in the lawsuit is whether or not spending money on things like that is constitutional because the fees allegedly are not being spent on government services provided to the ships. NOTE: This is a good example of the cruise industry's arrogance and its inability to understand the view of those locations that welcome it as a visitor. Will they also sue the city for spending money on legal fees to defend itself against such a ludicrous and frivolous lawsuit? Alaska Journal of Commerce reports astate audit report released this month concludes more than $270 million in cruise ship passenger tax money collected since 2007 has been used appropriately by the vast majority of Alaska communities the ships visit, with one small exception in Skagway. The audit, conducted by Legislative Budget and Committee staff, uncovered an instance in the summer of 2013 when the Skagway Borough used $114,000 of cruise passenger tax funds to buy playground equipment for the borough’s elementary school. The auditors only examined how the state tax money has been handled; the separate taxes imposed by Juneau and Ketchikan were not reviewed. | Lawsuit against port for how it uses taxes collected |
| April 11 | CCL and RCCL | Travel Weekly reports cruise line bosses hit out at legislators and regulators and environmental critics "who don't understand" the cruise business at the World Travel and Tourism Council summit in Dallas and defended the sector's environmental record. Adam Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises, told the summit: "There are so many people legislating about our industry who have no idea about it. We're at the mercy of 1,000 destinations for taxes and regulations put upon us by people who don't understand our industry." NOTE: The cruise bosses are so arrogant that they fail to appreciate, much less understand, why industry behaviour and its disregard for the environment and social issues (like sexual assaults where 34% of the victims are mionors and environmental practices that are not tolerated on land) is a concern to intelligent consumers. Their approach is that attacking critics is better than engaging in meaningful and sincere dialogue. |
Industry leaders out of touch with reality |
| April 11 | Adonia Fathom | Travel Pulse reports Fathom was scheduled to leave on the new cruise line’s very first cruise yesterday on April 10 from Miami but was delayed until today due to delays in U.S. Coast Guard testing. Potential passengers reconvened in the terminal Monday in hopes of boarding, but the entire sailing to the Dominican Republic was canceled Monday afternoon. Fathom says the April 10 cruise was intended as a "soft-launch sailing," but instead, plans to make the maiden voyage April 17. A Fathom spokesperson was recorded by TV host/actor Lizza Monet Morales as reading the following statement: “Dear traveler, As you know our delay was due to the Adonia running through rigorous operational tests with the U.S. Coast Guard, and it took longer than we expected. Unfortunately, we have now learned that additional testing will be required, and as a result, we regrettably must cancel our sailing…We know this is very disappointing to all of you as it is terribly disappointing to us.” | Cancelation |
| April 11 | Infinity Celebrity |
An unconfirmed reports indicates the ship was due to return to San Diego late. Suspoicions were that the ship had a propulsion issue. | Propulsion problem? |
| April 9 | Pearl Mist Pearl Seas Cruises | USA Today reports Pearl Seas announced last July that it would launch 10-night cruises from the USA to Cuba this spring on its single ship, the 210-passenger Pearl Mist. Six sailings were planned for March and April, and Pearl Seas began taking bookings for cabins at fares that started at $7,810 per person. But as customers have been finding out in recent weeks, the line was selling the trips without permission from the Cuban government to operate them, and as the sailing dates neared, the permission did not materialize as the line expected. The cancellations began. The first sailing to be canceled was a March 6 departure, followed by March 16 and March 26 departures. In recent days, Pearl Seas has added sailings scheduled for April 5 and April 15 to the list of those it is dropping. Holding out hope for a last-minute Cuban approval, the line has been canceling the sailings one-by-one as the sailing dates approach, sometimes with just a few days notice. | Cruises to Cuba canceled |
| April 7 | Explorer National Geographic | Cruise Critic reports the National Geographic Explorer has been forced to cancel its stop at Dart Harbour (Dartmouth, UK) next week because of a technical issue as the ship repositions from Antarctica. The problems encountered by the ship have slowed its movements, resulting in the vessel running a couple of days behind schedule. | Canceled port call because of technical problems |
| April 4 | Dawn Princess |
The Mercury reports an abandoned cigarette was behind high drama on Hobart’s waterfront when it sparked a small fire on a visiting cruise ship. The fire was contained to a stairwell on the Dawn Princess. Emergency services responded quickly to the fire, which was extinguished by the ship’s sprinkler system within minutes. Five pumpers and a hydraulic platform had been mobilised for what a Tasmania Fire Service spokesman said could be “a worst-case scenario” when the alarm was raised about 9am. The Dawn Princess docked at Macquarie Wharf in Hobart on Monday, arriving from Burnie with about 2000 passengers and 1000 crew on board. It’s unclear whether some passengers were evacuated, however the Mercury saw some wearing life jackets during the incident. | Fire |
| April 4 | Liberty CCL |
Cruise Hive reports 2 cruise passengers have died in a moped accident in Cozumel, Mexico. The El Policiaco De Cozumel facebook page is reporting the 2 passengers were visiting the island of Cozumel located on Mexico’s east coast on April 2. The 2 passengers were apparently husband and wife and were riding a black Honda moped along one of the main roads. The tragic accident occurred at around 3:20pm, they skidded off the road and sadly the woman died at the scene. The husband was taken to Hospital but also died later in the day at around 5pm. It’s not clear on the nationality of the 2 passengers. | Death onshore |
| April 4 | Pride CCL |
Cruise Critic reports as the result of an unspecified propulsion issue, Carnival Pride has canceled two ports on its April 3 itinerary. The problem, which began on the ship's March 27 sailing, caused the vessel to arrive back to its homeport of Baltimore several hours behind schedule on Sunday. Due to the need for reduced speed on its current seven-night voyage, the ports of Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay have been canceled. As compensation, the cruise line is offering a 50 percent refund to each passenger, as well as 50 percent off a future Carnival cruise and a $25 onboard credit. Those booked on the sailing were also given the option to cancel for a full refund (including nonrefundable airfare) prior to the start of the voyage. The ship is now on the first of two sea days, followed by calls on Nassau on Wednesday and Freeport on Thursday. It will then spend two additional days at sea before returning to Baltimore on April 10. Technicians are currently working on the issue; Carnival did not comment on what, specifically, the problem is or when repairs are likely to be completed. | Propulsion problems; skipped ports |
| April 1 | National Geographic Explorer | Torquay Herald Express reports the ship has been forced to cancel its visit to Dartmouth on April 16. The ship was repositioning from the Antarctic when it encountered technical issues that have slowed its progress, meaning it is now running a couple of days late. In order to be on time for its next cruise, NG Explorer has taken the decision to drop some ports, including Dartmouth. | Propulsion problems - skipped ports |
| April 1 | Golden Princess |
From a passenger: Embarkation on April 4th in Melbourne will be slightly delayed to allow for deep cleaning given there is a continuing presence of norovirus onboard. Pax were advised check-in for your cruise will be delayed until 1:30 PM and your stateroom will be available after 4:00 PM. | Delayed embarkation - illness? |
| April 1 | Oceana P&O |
The ship failed its santitation inspection on March 1,2016 with a score of 82 (a score of 85 or below is unsatisfactory). The Daily Mail reports dirty grout and inadequate chlorine levels in a swimming pool were among the unsanitary conditions that have been found on a luxury cruise ship. Health inspectors shut down the Oceana's swimming pool and spa baths after operator P&O Cruises failed a spot check from officials. Kitchen staff were also found to be keeping cheese and sandwiches at 'potentially hazardous' temperatures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found a host of violations (20) on the Oceana liner and the Oriana liner which posed potential health risks to passengers. |
Failed health imspection |
| March 31 | AdventureHornblower | NBC News reports a harbor cruise ship (whale and dolphin watching) smashed into the Broadway Pier along San Diego's Embarcadero while docking on Thursday afternoon, jolting tourists on board and sending three people to the hospital. The incident happened just before 1 p.m. in the area of North Harbor Drive and Broadway. San Diego fire officials said seven people suffered minor injuries in the incident; four people were able to leave the boat on their own and another three were taken to the hospital. | Collision with pier |
| March 31 | Victory CCL |
From a passenger: There was a small fire on the ship in an electrical substation on deck 1 at 3 am on March 31, 2016. The fire was quickly put out and there were no injuries. The ship was in the Cape Canaveral Port at the time of the fire. | Fire |
| March 30 | QEII Cunard |
RTHK News reports passengers of the cruise ship that berthed in Hong Kong on Tuesday are recovering from an outbreak of norovirus, health officials said. A total of 150 passengers and crew fell victim to the virus that hit the ship earlier this month and five are still sick on board. Another 27 people are being kept in isolation as a precautionary measure. The Chief Port Health Officer, Raymond Ho, said he believes the peak of the outbreak has passed, because the number of passengers on the sick list has been declining constantly over the past few weeks. | Illness |
| March 30 | Unknown Viking River Cruises |
USA Today reports on Colorado resident Tom Ast who lost his wife of 45 years in December. On her death bed, Marilyn told Ast to go on the Mediterranean cruise they had planned before she became sick. He didn't want to at first but decided it would be a good way to celebrate his wife's life. That's when he got an unpleasant surprise from Viking River Cruises. He called the cruise company to let them know he would be traveling alone because of his wife's death. And despite not wanting to change rooms, dates, or even get a refund for Marilyn's half of the cruise, he was informed he would have to pay an $853 "rebooking fee," according to Consumerist. Viking considered the situation a rebooking because Marilyn's name was being removed from the reservation. Even if Ast found someone to take her place, he'd still have to pay the fee to change the name on the reservation. And if he didn't pay the fee, he would lose the entire $11,000 he and Marilyn had paid for the trip. "About the lowest point in your life, and they're trying to take advantage of it," Ast tells KDVR. Ast eventually went to the news station for help, and the cruise company waived the fee. Consumerist notes that Viking isn't alone in the travel business with its tough rebooking policy, as this Washington Post story about a similar case explained in 2015. "The reasons are many," says the Post. "Strict refund rules ensure bigger profits, boost sales of travel insurance and make a company seem fair to other customers asking for similar consideration." | Wife dies - man charged extra |
| March 29 | Solstice Celebrity |
From a passenger: On March 29, a passenger was put ashore on the Isle of Pines, New Caledonia, for stealing a $20.00 dollar watch. It is a small tender port Island with 2000 inhabitants. It does have a small airport with connection service to Noumea. The incident was caught on video. Yes, they do sweat the small stuff. | Pax evicted after theft |
| March 28 | Marco Polo Cruise and Maritime Voyages | MSN News reports a British holidaymaker has been rescued from the Atlantic after apparently trying to swim to her cruise liner when it left port without her. The 65 year old is said to have jumped into the icy water and tried to reach the vessel after changing her mind about cutting short her holiday following a row with her husband. She was reportedly clinging to a small bag when she was pulled out of the water around 8pm on Saturday. Funchal port captain Felix Marques told local press she had been a passenger on board the Marco Polo cruise ship, operated by Cruise & maritime Voyages, with her husband. They reportedly rowed after the vessel docked in Funchal and she travelled to the island's airport before changing her mind about leaving the ship and making her crazy attempt to swim to it. Mr Marques told daily Correio da Manha: "She was 500 metres from the coast when fishermen heard her shouting. "When they reached her she was clinging onto a handbag she had been swimming with." She was rushed to a hospital intensive care unit in an ambulance after being rescued and taken ashore. | Tries swimming to ship |
| March 26 | Splendor CCL |
Cruise Law News reports from a crew member that on the morning of March 24th, "we had emergency alarm on pa of a fire then several more announcements saying it was not a fire just smoke coming out of an electrical locker still peoples cabins had smoke and force people to wait till going back the general emergency was not sounded as the smoke as they said was controlled and everything was ok anyway announcements went from 5 am till past six." The crew member wishes to remain anonymous. The crew member added that the alarm included "a call for the alpha team to go to the scene. Was an electrical locker . . ." | Fire?/Smoke |
| March 24 | Unknown | Bahamas Weekly reports an adult American female from Fort Lauderdale is in custody after she was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs on Wednesday 23rd March 2016. Reports are that shortly before 1:00pm officers from the Tourism Policing Unit acting on information went on a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they arrested the American woman for possession of a quantity of marijuana found in her possession. The woman is expected to appear in court later today to be formally charged. | Drug bust |
| March 24 | Liberty RCI |
Courthouse News reports RCI failed to ensure the safety a vacationing Florida man who died after consuming large amounts of alcohol on one of the cruise line's ships and falling overboard, the man's family claims in court. In a complaint filed in Miami Federal Court, plaintiff Tamblyn Cubero claims her brother Frank Flippo and a friend, Rene Von Hoyt, had planned their cruise vacation to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of another friend. Cubero says that her brother and Von Hoyt departed from the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on March 19, 2015, on a cruise ship headed to Cozumel, Mexico. Flippo and Hoyt decided to enjoy their last day at the cruise by the poolside ... After having breakfast at the vessel's buffet, Frank Flippo and Rene Von Hoyt proceeded to the upper deck pool where they started to drink rum runners. Cubero alleges that after several hours of drinking and lounging by the poolside bar, Von Hoyt headed back to the cabin because she was feeling sick, but Flippo remained at the bar where the bartender continued to serve him drinks. "Royal Caribbean negligently served alcoholic beverages to Frank Flippo in excess, causing his judgment and faculties to become substantially impaired," Cubero claims. In spite of his condition Flippo was never approached or helped by a Royal Caribbean representative, his sister claims. According to the complaint at some point after Von Hoyt left, Flippo stumbled out of the bar and went to the deck to sit on a lounge chair, where he remained for about half an hour. Cubero says her brother then stood up, approached the outer railings of the vessel, and fell overboard. Cubero says a witness reported Flippo's plunge, but that the ship's crew conducted only a cursory search for her brother before heading off to the vessel's final destination in Fort Lauderdale. Cubero contends her brother's death was not an isolated incident and that Royal Caribbean has had other passengers fall overboard after drinking large amounts of alcohol. |
Lawsuit |
| March 24 | Riviera Oceania |
CDC reports 67 of 1204 passengers (5.56%) and 1 of 776 crew (0.13%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.The ship began its cruise on March 20; the cruise ends April 2. Update March 29: Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 98 of 1,204 (8.13%); Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 6 of 776 (0.77%) | Illness |
| March 22 | Unknown | Jamaica Observer reports police arrested and charged three St Vincent crew members aboard a cruise ship at the Ocho Rios Pier in St Ann on Monday, March 21 with breaches of the Dangerous Drug Act. Arrested are 40-year-old Lloyd Thomas, 24-year-old Dasrick Moore and 25-year-old Kishorn Simon, all of St Vincent addresses. Reports are that between 12:15 pm and 5:00 pm, the three were in the process of boarding the vessel when they were stopped and searched at a police checkpoint. It was discovered that all three men had several parcels of cocaine hidden in their underwear. The combined weight of the seized cocaine is approximately five pounds, and has an estimated street value of J$6 million, the police said. | Drug bust |
| March 21 | Triumph CCL |
Riviera-Maya-News reports a cruise passenger died over the weekend after drowning at a Cozumel beach. On March 18, 56-year-old John Douglas Herberger, died from drowning at the Sky Reef beach club. Accompanied by his wife, the pair were visiting the beach on the south side of the island at around 12:20 p.m. when he decided to swim. His wife explained that her husband was suffering from respiratory problems which became an oversight when he entered the sea. Ángel Pool, a tour guide for the beach, said he saw a body floating behind a buoy when he ran into the sea and pulled Mr. Herberger from the water. Paramedics from a private clinic treated the victim but determined he no longer had vital signs. | Death onshore |
| March 21 | Miracle CCL |
Cruise Hive reports a 47-year-old male passenger on the ship was found dead in his cabin on Friday morning, March 18. The next day when the Spirit class ship arrived at its home port in Los Angeles, California the FBI boarded. As a result the Carnival Miracle was delayed up to 90 minutes. | Death onboard - delayed disembarkation |
| March 21 | Gem NCL |
CDC reports 128 of 2882 passengers (4.44%) and 7 of 1100 crew (0.64%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The cruise began March 12; it ended March 22. | Illness |
| March 21 | Spirit Silversea | CDC reports 24 of 388 passengers (6.18%) and 13 of 366 crew 3.55%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The cruise began March 3; it ended March 21. | Illness |
| March 19 | Golden Princess |
Daily Mail reports there has been a significant outbreak of illness on the current cruise that will end in Melbourne. According to The Age it is unknown how many on board are suffering from the symptoms, which the company says are caused by Norovirus. Company spokesman David Jones said crew had been busy disinfecting railings, door handles and elevator buttons and that infected passengers had been isolated in their cabins in a desperate bid to prevent the sickness sweeping through the ship. The Herald Sun says passengers are battling a stomach bug epidemic and a simultaneous flu outbreak. 9 News says more than 300 passengers on-board the ship are believed to have been affected. | Illness |
| March 18 | Gem NCL |
Cruise Law News reports health officials in St. Maartan have reportedly prohibited the NCL cruise ship from porting there. The passengers are saying that there is a gastrointestinal outbreak reported on the Gem, thought to be norovirus. We are receiving some interesting comments on our Facebook page, including one suggesting that the source of the outbreak may be contaminated port water - rather than the cruise lines' usual excuse of cruise passengers blamed for not washing their hands. | Illness - Refused permission to dock |
| March 18 | Empress RCI |
Miami Herald reports the cruise line canceled six sailings — March 30, April 4, April 7, April 11, April 16 and April 21 — from PortMiami for three-, four- and five-night voyages in the Caribbean. Empress of the Seas’ extensive makeover to take it from a Pullmantur Cruises ship, one of Royal Caribbean Cruises’ brands, to a Royal Caribbean International ship is going to take a little longer than expected, the cruise line told travel agents Friday. Guests who have already booked their vacation can switch to a voyage in the same cabin type on Majesty of the Seas sailings through April 29 for no additional cost. Passengers can also rebook on the 1,602-passenger Empress of the Seas when it sets sail again on April 25 for the cost of their original cruise fare — as long as no other delays occur. Guests who rebook will get $100 in on-board credit. Those who choose not to book again will receive a full refund, the cruise line said. | Canceled sailings |
| March 17 | Unknown Disney |
Orlando Sentinel reports on a new lawsuit against Disney Cruise Line is alleging that a passenger’s thumb was cut off during a Carribbean cruise, when a cabin door slammed suddenly on it. The suit, filed in Orlando federal court, says that passenger Marco Fidel Castro suffered the amputation of his thumb on or about April 26. Castro, a grandfather, and his family were allegedly getting ready for the Captain’s dinner on the second night of the cruise when the injury occurred. “He was near the hallway door with his thumb on the door frame, and his wife was holding the door open with her foot,” said Castro’s attorney Jordan Wagner, of Stuart. “She moved and her foot came away, and he didn’t realize the door was closing. The door slammed shut with force.” The suit alleges negligence and breach of duty against Disney Cruise Lines, including: Failure to maintain cruise cabin doors in a safe manner; failure to warn anyone of the dangers associated with the cabin doors; failure to provide safety devices on the hinges of the cabin doors; failure to provide timely and adequate medical care. The suit seeks unspecified damages associate with the cost of medical care and other costs. | Lawsuit |
| March 15 | Pacific Princess |
From a reader: this morning (14 March) a crew member fell down a shaft and was mangled by a fan. Emergency response came and he is currently unconscious. We are headed to the nearest port where he will be transported by helicopter which will land on the ship at about 8p tonight. The port will be Mumbai India where he can get the best medical care. UPDATES: 3/16/16 - We stayed up late that night to watch a boat come and pick him up. Quite a lesson learned that we would never want to to be in an evacuation situation with an accident of health crisis. We could see that he was on a stretcher completely wrapped in white except for his face. Very sad. 3/17/16 - We are going to arrive early evening in Dubai. We heard an update that the crew member is having multiple surgeries (in Mumbai) and in ICU, but stable. | Crew seriously injured |
| March 14 | Allure RCI |
From a reader: Ship returned to Port Everglades several hours after departing last night and stayed at the dock<30 minutes. Looked like an ambulance was waiting from my view on Fort Lauderdale harbor cam. | Brief return to port |
| March 12 | Oasis RCI |
Local 10 News reports a crewmember who threatened to jump from the railing of the Oasis of the Sea cruise ship while it was docked at berth 18 at Port Everglades has been hospitalized. Deputies responded to the scene at 10 a.m. Saturday. Deputies said hostage negotiators communicated with the man, who is in his late 30s, for several hours. The incident ended at 12:45 p.m. when negotiators were able to get close enough to physically prevent the man from jumping, deputies said. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center | Suicide threat |
| March 10 | Pearl Mist Pearl Sea |
Cruise Critic reports the ship has canceled its first two scheduled sailings between Fort Lauderdale and Cuba. The March 6 voyage would have made Pearl Seas the first American cruise line to sail from Fort Lauderdale to Cuba in more than 50 years. Instead, travelers on the line's ship - 210-passenger Pearl Mist -- have been notified that the March 16 sailing, as well as the one on March 6, will not go as planned. "Pearl Seas Cruises has received notice this morning that the approval meeting of the Cuban government scheduled for today (March 10, 2016) has been postponed until after President Obama's visit," said Timothy Beebe, vice president of Pearl Seas Cruises, in a statement. "Therefore we are forced to cancel the March 16, 2016 Cuba Cultural Voyage cruise. Passengers will have the choice to transfer their reservation to another cruise or receive a full refund." | Canceled port calls |
| March 10 | Island Princess |
Cruise Law News reports the FBI is investigating the death of a crew member. The cruise ship was in Colon, after cruising in the Panama Canal, when a crew member was discovered dead in his cabin. Some people are saying that it is an apparent suicide but others are stressing that the FBI has not discosed an official cause of death. He was a young, newly hired galley employee on his first contract. We are not disclosing the crew member's name nor the alleged mechanism of his death at this time. The cruise ship has canceled the next port of call in Limon, Costa Rica. It departed Ft. Lauderdale on March 4 for a 10-day Panama Canal cruise, scheduled to return on March 14 | Crew member death |
| March 10 | Unknown | Breaking Belize News reports a group of 6 tourists from a cruise ship are leaving Belize with unpleasant Robbery Investigation memories after they were held up this afternoon at the Altun Ha Maya site along the Old Northern Highway. Tour guide from Hattieville, Clifford Hoare, and several tourists lost cash and other valuables to two armed and masked men. | Pax robbed ashore |
| March 9 | Getaway NCL |
A poster at Cruise Critic reports a friend is on the Getaway and someone jumped from 18 and landed on deck 8. They didn't make it. Not sure on the details so far, some people say they were running from security for some reason? Cruise Hive reports “he jumped from the last deck and landed on deck 8 in front of the HR and the senior doctor, they were on the deck together on break…the FBI is on board of the getaway.” A crew member also said staff who were working at the ships front desk got in serious trouble for not answering a 911 call. He said “no one answered the 911 called nor logged the previous called recieved…it has been chaos all day today, the guest died. A reader wrote: that rumor was that a 21 year old was running around on deck 16 in his underwear. When the crew chased him, he jumped over the railing, landed on the roof of deck 8 and died. He also reports that it was initially thought that the passenger had gone overboard -- a life ring was thrown into the water and the ship started turning right, towards the light of the preserver. About 5 minutes later, the Captain announced to all passengers that it was originally thought that someone went overboard but instead it was a medical emergency. | Death "jumping" from upper deck |
| March 8 | Diamond Princess |
Otago Daily News reports the ship was turned away close to Taiaroa Head early yesterday by strong winds. That meant more than 700 people booked on Dunedin Railways trips did not arrive, and extra staff who were ready for passengers at cafes, bars and other tourism operations were no longer required. Dunedin i-Site visitor centre manager Louise van de Vlierd said news of the cancellation did not come through until 7.40am, as she was heading to Port Chalmers to open the centre's marquee. | Missed port call |
| March 6 | Solstice Celebrity |
From a passenger: This morning it was announced that the ship would not stop at Bali, Indonesia On March 7 because both British and Australian authorities were concerned about credible terrorist threats. All passengers were given a notice prior to boarding regarding a potential concern. The Solstice will instead arrive at Darwin two days early and overnight at the port. It will all make a quick technical stop at Willis Island as required by Maritime law. At this time no compensation was offered. | Missed port call |
| March 5 | Navigator RCI |
Cruise Law News reports a passenger (a 46 year old man from Texas) apparantly disappeared into the water late last night. Passengers on the ship are stating that there was an Oscar, "Oscar, Oscar" announcement around 11:00 P.M. The cruise ship began a search. Lighted life preservers were thrown overboard. The Coast Guard was notified and a helicopter arrived on the scene after an hour and a half. Passengers commented that it was very dark and difficult circumstances to try and rescue anyone. The cruise ship has returned to port in Port Everglades without rescuing the overboard person or locating his or her body. Subsequent reports suggest the person "fell" from the balcony of his cabin. The Inquisitor reports the man was on the ship with his mother. Several other passengers told him that the man and his mother “got into a big argument” the night he fell off the ship. Later in the evening, he was seen talking to someone else on the 10th deck stateroom balcony, added the Daily Mail. As the story goes, the person talking to the man turned away for a moment, and then he heard a splash. He had disappeared, apparently tumbling over the railing and 100 feet into the sea. The authorities haven’t put forth their own version of the evening’s events and haven’t confirmed whether the man fell off the ship by accident, fell of his own volition, or was pushed. | Pax overboard |
| March 3 | Sunshine CCL |
CDC reports 173 of 3001 passengers (5.76%) and 5 of 1142 crew (0.44%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The cruise began February 21; it ends March 5th. | Illness |
| March 1 | Anthem RCI |
CDC reports132 of 4061 passengers (3.25%) and 16 of 1592 crew (1.01%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship in Bayonne, NJ on March 2, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. | Illness |
| February 29 | Ocean Princess |
CDC reports 63 of 603 passengers (10.45%) and 7 of 773 crew (1.82%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. CDC Vessel Sanitation Program is monitoring the outbreak and the ship’s response procedures. Specimens have been collected and will be sent to CDC for additional testing. The cruise began February and ends March 7th when it leaves the US for dry dock. | Illness |
| February 27 | Fascination CCL |
Action News Jax reports passengers said they were scheduled to depart at 4:00 p.m. but were told there were issues with hot water onboard; departure was delayted for hours. | Delayed departure |
| February 27 | Anthem RCI |
Cruise Law News reports RCI decided that to cancel the last two days of the current cruise which will skip Barbados and St Kitts in order to "avoid a severe storm & provide guests with a comfortable journey back home." The weather reports seem pretty tame. It seems that the decision to cancel the remainder of the Anthem cruise is motivated more in order to avoid bad press than bad weather. Why? Passengers are reporting that over 65 people have come down with symptoms of the dreaded norovirus. A code red is underway. If there are 65 official reports, chances are that the true number is much higher. There will be what the cruise lines call "enhanced" when the ship returns to New Jersey on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean's reputation can't take a massive noro outbreak on the heels of subjecting its guests to a massive storm earlier this month. So what happens when the cruise ship returns to port 2 days early? If this were truly just a weather related event, then the passengers, whose flights home are still scheduled two days later, should be able to stay on the ship. But if passengers are forced to leave the ship early for the anticipated super cleaning, it would seem that Royal Caribbean is more concerned with eradicating norovirus from its huge cruise ship than risking its guests encountering another round of rough weather. |
Cruise ending two days early |
| February 27 | Breeze CCL |
Cruise Hive reports 2 passengers ended up in jail on Thursday after stealing. Regional news site Spice is reporting 37-year-old Joshua and 20-year-old Casey from Arizona were visiting Cozumel, Mexico when the ship was docked at the island for the day. The 2 passengers had stolen items from 3 different premises at the Royal Village Shopping Centre located just walking distance from the cruise ship. The stealing occurred at around 3PM and they were caught by the facilities security officers and shop staff. Joshua and Casey were then put in a local jail cell. The Mexican site went on to report the passengers ha stolen two pairs of lenses from Sunglass Island (worth about 2,000 pesos each), a pair of sandals and a bag of candy from a pharmacy. Shop managers called for charges against them. | Pax arrested for theft |
| February 27 | Ocean Dream (originally P&O Spirit of London) | Maritime News reports the abandoned ship capsized and sank at Laem Chabang road about a nautical mile off Laem Chabang breakwater. The cruise ship tilted and rested with portside the bottom, as half of the hull remained above the water. The local authorities are monitoring the ship’s wreck for oil leaks and water pollution, which might result in big environmental and economical disaster. During the accident on board of the vessel there were no people, so no report for injuries. The authorities are investigating the root cause of the accident and will open a lawsuit for the costs of wreck removal to the shipowner. The ship was anchored at Gulf of Siam for more than one year and abandoned by crew and shipowner. The local authorities contacted several times the shipowner and operator, asking to remove the vessel from Thailand waters, but without any response. About an year ago, the ship was to depart in China and start cruise from there, but instead was anchored at Laem Chabang road and abandoned and with no crew and due maintenance. | Sunk |
| February 24 | Multiple ships | Cayman Compass reports weather conditions in January and February caused Cayman to miss out on nearly 54,000 cruise ship passengers. According to Joseph Woods, manager of cruise operations for the Port Authority, Cayman missed out on 32,026 cruise ship passengers in January and 21,899 passengers in February as ships passed by as a result of the choppy water and high waves in the port. | Skipped port calls |
| February 22 | Riviera Oceania |
CDC reports 124 of 1225 passengers (10.12%) and 3 of 773 crew (0.39%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship upon arrival in Miami, FL to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. outbreak and response activities. The ship began its 10 day cruise on February 12. According to Cruise Critic, the cruise returned to Miami two days ahead of schedule. Reportedly, embarkation of the next cruise will be delayed. | Illness |
| February 22 | Fantasy CCL |
Miami Herald reports the ship was stalled for several hours at PortMiami on Monday after a technical issue forced the cruise line to change the ship’s itinerary. The cruise experienced a propulsion problem that affected its maximum cruising speed, according to a statement from Carnival. As a result, the 2,000-passenger ship changed its planned 5-day itinerary with stops in Key West and Cozumel to a route that includes Nassau, Bahamas and Freeport, Jamaica as ports of call. A performance by comedian Kathy Griffin scheduled for Cozumel on Wednesday has been canceled. | Propulsion problems - itinerary change |
| February 22 | Divina MSC |
Cruise Hive reports a passenger become aggressive on a chartered cruise by Holy Ship. According to a fellow passenger the man was in cabin 8223 and on drugs when he began shouting for champagne for more than 6 hours. The guest is seen throwing balcony chairs at the tender lifeboat which then ended up falling below on deck. According to a passenger, staff members had to strap him to a wheelchair just to get him out of there and off the ship. when the ship was docked in Nassau, Bahamas which was the second day of the voyage. The ship was sailing a 3-night voyage which departed Miami, Florida on February 10, 2016. | Pax causes damage |
| February 21 | Multiple ships | Cruise Critic reports tropical Cyclone Winston has caused the diversion of several cruises. It is not yet known when cruise ships will return to Fiji as the post-cyclone clean-up continues. P&O Cruises announced today it has cancelled all visits to Fijian ports until further notice. Pacific Pearl, which departed Auckland, New Zealand, today on its 'Fiji Encounter' cruise, will instead visit Tonga. The eight-night itinerary originally included only three ports -- Suva, Port Denarau and Dravuni Island -- all located in Fiji. Over the weekend another P&O ship, Pacific Jewel, cancelled its call to Mystery Island in Vanuatu. Cunard's Queen Victoria, sailing in the South Pacific on its world cruise, also skipped a scheduled port, Apia, due to rough conditions. Royal Caribbean International was forced to make changes to the current South Pacific itineraries of Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas. | Cyclone related port call cancelations |
| February 17 | Sun NCL |
Crew-Center reports Puerto Aysén authorities in Chile are investigating the disappearance of a Filipino crew member who went overboard from NCL cruise ship Norwegian Sun. Investigation was launched to determine the circumstances of the disappearance of the crew member occurring in Chilean national waters. According to the preliminary records the chief prosecutor of Puerto Aysén, Patricio Echeverría Jory, identified the crew member as Dominic Santiago Gubertino age 55. Upon the arrival in Chacabuco, Gubertino co-workers realized that he was not onboard and security officers reviewed the CCTV cameras showing that he went overboard at 06.41 am on 16.02.2016. During the afternoon the prosecutor boarded the cruise ship to investigate this tragic event. According to information provided by Norwegian Sun officers it was not until 9:45 that they realized the crew member was missing and they mobilized all crew members to find out if Gubertino was onboard. Afterwards Norwegian Sun notified the authorities in Puerto Chacabuco informing them that one crew member went overboard into the sea. | Crew overboard |
| February 16 | Riviera Oceania |
CDC reports 79 of 1225 passengers (6.45%) and 3 of 773 crew (0.39%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist are currently making plans to board the ship upon arrival in Miami, FL to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The cruise began February 12th and ends the 22nd. | Illness |
| February 7 | Magic Disney |
Inquisitor reports there was a potential man overboard on Saturday night, but confirmation from Disney Cruise Line was never given. It was confirmed by a number of passengers though, that all onboard were required to emergency stations late on Saturday evening. Upon boarding each sailing on Disney Cruise Line, there is a mandatory safety meeting before setting sail. All passengers must attend the meeting and know of their emergency meeting locations and procedures. Adam Neal is the managing editor for the TC Palm, and he was tweeting out updates on Saturday evening. At one point, Neal said that the cruise director of the Disney Magic did say there was a “possible man overboard” all guests needed to be on deck at their emergency stations. Around 9 p.m., there was an odd notification that came through all speakers on the Disney Magic. Around 10 p.m., there was the announcement that there was a possible man overboard. Around 10:30 p.m., all passengers were requested to report to the deck, and by 11 p.m., it seemed as if all were on deck. Neal continued on saying that many of the passengers on deck were discussing the possibility of a man going overboard, but there was never any more word from Cast Members. The Disney Magic did arrive in Port Canaveral on Sunday morning, but it was a bit late. Upon disembarkation on Sunday, there was no further word on the situation from Saturday night. |
?Person overboard? |
| February 7 | Anthem RCI |
WFTV reports the ship is expected to dock in Port Canaveral Monday morning, following an encounter with a severe storm. Passengers were locked down in their cabins. The strong storm hit the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas hard off the coast of the Carolinas as it was en route to Port Canaveral after a six-day trip from New York. The ship trudged through winds of more than 100 miles per hour, according to Severe Weather Center 9's meteorologist Brian Shields. The U.S. Coast Guard said it has not received any calls for assistance from the ship. UPDATE: NBC reports the ship will double back and return to port -- it will head back to Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, according to Royal Caribbean. The more than 4,000 passengers aboard will receive a full refund for the cruise along with a voucher for 50 percent off a future voyage. Florida Today reports four passengers were injured and the ship experienced minor damage. | Battered by storm |
| February 5 | Fantasy Disney |
Inquisitor reports the ship suffered mechanical issues while out on a seven night Eastern Caribbean sailing; it appeared the left engine stopped working. The ship had to skip its final stop at Castaway Cay in hopes of getting back to port in time on Saturday morning. The Disney Cruise Line Blog was one of the first to get the word out that the Disney Fantasy had been suffering a mechanical issue of some sort. In no time, there was talk on social media and it was revealed that the port engine was not operating. It was later revealed that the ship would have to operate at a speed of just a little over 17 knots. That is a good bit below the typical 22 knots that the Disney Fantasy typically sails on the seven-night cruises. It also meant that the ship was going to be behind in getting back to Port Canaveral in time for the current sailing to end Saturday morning and the next one to begin on Saturday afternoon. That being said, Disney had to make some adjustments. | Propulsion problems - missed port call |
| February 3 | Glory CCL |
Cruise Law News reports a passenger died in St. Kitts during a SNUBA excursion booked on the ship. A cruise passenger who witnessed the spectacle but wishes to stay anonymous states that it allegedly took an ambulance 20 minutes to arrive. The vehicle allegedly had no medical equipment or defibrillator. The passenger who contacted us says that there was "zero medical help" from the St. Kitts paramedics. "They just looked at the guy, said he's dead, and walked away." Nurses and a firefighter vacationing on the Friar's Bay beach reportedly performed CPR on the passenger for 15 minutes without success. The passenger complained that there was allegedly no doctor available who could even pronounce the passenger dead so they could take his body away instead of being left in the sun for hours. |
Death on SNUBA excursion |
| February 2 | Diamond Princess |
From a reader: my wife and grand daughter are currently on Diamond Princess, cruise from Sydney-NZ and return. They have just sent me an E Mail from the ship. 'Due to many on board ill with noro virus (I cannot obtain numbers) Ship is at Code Red. No self serf at Buffet and other Code red precautions taken. Last Port was Dunedin, NZ on Sunday 31 January, cruise ends at next port, Sydney Thursday 4 February 2016. Mostly Australian/NZ pax on board, with a few Asians and North Americans, about 100 children also on board. Ship is sailing full with 2600 pax. UPDATE February 4th: The ship docked in Sydney this morning, Carnival Australia reports 158 pax and unreported number of crew reported sick with noro. (see news.com.au) | Illness |
| January 31 | Emerald Belle Emerald Watrerways |
Cruise Critic reports at 12:30 a.m (UTC+1:00) Sunday morning, the owner of the Den Breejen Shipyard was alerted to a fire on the Emerald Belle,” said Glen Moroney, chairman of the Scenic Group, and owner of the cruise line. “Despite the efforts of firefighters, who were quickly at the scene, the damage is significant. We are grateful and relieved that nobody was onboard at the time and most importantly, there were no injuries to any shipyard worker or firefighters.” Sister line, Scenic, also had a ship under construction nearby but it was quickly moved away so damage was contained to some exterior paint. The cruise line issued the following statement: “Although the Emerald Belle's construction was well along (as it was due to launch in April) the firefighting system onboard was not yet operational. At this point there is no confirmed cause of the fire but a full investigation by the yard and firefighting authorities is being carried out.” | Shipyward Fire |
| January 31 | AIDAprima AIDA |
Japan Times reports arson is being investigated as the cause of a cruise ship fire at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s shipyard in Nagasaki early Sunday, the third such incident to strike in January. According to local police and firefighters, a worker at the Koyagi plant of MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, found cardboard and insulation material ablaze aboard the 124,500-ton AIDA Prima, which is one of two ships it is building German cruise line AIDA Cruises. Firefighters said workers quickly put out the fire and no injuries were reported. Sunday’s incident follows an electrical wiring fire near a theater space on Jan. 11, and a cabin fire involving a piece of cloth on Jan. 13. | Shipyward Fire - Arson |
| January 28 | Orchestra MSC |
Dominica News Online police have confirmed a child, from a visiting cruise ship, has died due to the result of a bus accident in Trafalgar at around 11:00 am Thursday. The child was 16 months old, according to the police. Seven other passengers in the bus, five Italians and two Brazilians, were injured. The passengers were on a shore visit, which they had independently booked through a third party when the accident occurred. The ship’s statement said at least four guests were back on the ship by Thursday afternoon. | Pax injured & death on shore |
| January 28 | Paradise CCL |
WSTP reports the ship was set to embark on a four-day excursion to Belize and Cozumel. But instead, passengers learned just minutes ago they won't be heading there at all. A statement from Carnival Cruise says: "At this time the Port of Tampa continues to remain closed as a result dense fog and it is unknown when the port will re-open. Given the need to disembark guests currently on board, which will take several hours once the ship docks, we are forced to cancel today’s embarkation for the next cruise. "Therefore, today's scheduled four-day cruise to Cozumel has now been modified to a three-day Cruise to Nowhere embarking tomorrow. Guests departing on today’s voyage have been notified of the current situation. Those that wish to sail on the modified itinerary will receive a 50 percent refund of their cruise and a 50 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise." Carnival Paradise was scheduled to return today from a five-day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel that departed on Saturday from Tampa where it is based year-round. | Delayed disembarkation & embarkation b/c of fog |
| January 28 | Amsterdam HAL |
Cook Islands News reports a tender, with 90 passengers aboard, ran into problems while attempting to transport passengers to the beach to join afternoon tours. An attempt was made to pull the boat off the reef using another tender, but it proved unequal to the task and the Ports Authority tug boat Toa was summoned from Avatiu to free the vessel. Six passengers were initially brought to shore aboard a lifeboat, but when conditions became too rough, the cruise ship’s captain and crew took water out to the tender, then helped the remaining passengers walk to shore. Turama Pacific Destination Management, Nina Webb said afternoon tours had been cancelled as a result of the incident. Bill Murphy and Robert Rye from New Jersey in the US were aboard the tender when it struck the reef. “The tender was coming in. It got right into the passage way and then a wave came and pushed it onto the reef and it got stuck,” said Murphy. “Once we were stuck on the reef, the waves would come and just push us further onto the reef. “Originally when we came in, the boat was stuck facing the island, but each wave kept pushing it, causing to turn the opposite way.” Said Robert Rye: “They sent one tender to help pull the tender out but there was too much weight so they had to call in the tug boat. “The crew asked if people could possibly leave the boat and swim to shore to make it lighter to pull it off, but the tender still didn’t seem to be moving. | Tender aground |
| January 28 | Quest Azamara |
The Press reports the ship has been reported to Maritime New Zealand for sailing too close to rocks in the Marlborough Sounds. A passenger on board said the boat came within 30 metres of rocks as it entered Tory Channel on Wednesday. The incident happened about 9.20am. Maritime New Zealand confirmed it was making enquiries about a cruise liner entering Tory Channel. The Azamara Quest is owned by Azamara Club Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises. Marlborough Express reports the ship did strike the rocks. Maritime New Zealand spokesman Vince Cholewa said police divers from the Wellington Maritime Unit had found paint on the side of the rock. The investigation also found damage to the hull of the ship, he said. TAIC spokesman Peter Northcote said two investigators had boarded the ship when it arrived in Napier to collect evidence. However, he would not comment further until the results of the investigation were released, which could take up to 18 months. Port Marlborough chief executive Ian McNabb said an internal investigation had been launched. The pilot who was guiding the ship had been suspended, pending further information about the incident, though McNabb said he could not comment further while the matter was under investigation. | Struck rocks |
| January 26 | Fascination CCL |
From 2 passengers: Missed Freeport on 1/22 due to weather. Death on board the morning of 1./25 caused 2 hours of delayed debarkation. We were on board the ship and arriving back in Jacksonville, FL this past weekend when a death occurred onboard. An intercom announcement was made at about 4:30am about a medical emergency in room M83. Disembarking was delayed two hours or so that the medical examiner could investigate, and that the family could be allowed off first. The death was reported to be a middle aged male, and that he had died in his sleep. | Missed port call & Delayed disembarkation |
| January 26 | Anthem RCI |
From a passenger: There has been an itinerary change. The original sailing was to take place on 1/25 sailing to two ports in Mexico, two in Jamaica, as well as a stop in Labadee Haiti. The new itinerary includes San Juan, St Thomas, St Kitts, and Labadee departing on 1/26. No word on how or if RCCL will credit impacted customers. | Itinerary change b/c storm |
| January 26 | Jewel RCI |
Associated Press reports seven cruise ship passengers have been arrested after 24 pounds of cocaine was found on board a Royal Caribbean liner just before it was to set off on a cruise from Puerto Rico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that a dog doing cabin inspections aboard the ship found the drugs worth around $300,000 on Sunday. The ship departed San Juan on Sunday for an eight-day trip. While performing cabin inspections, the CBP canine alerted to a piece of luggage in one of the cabins. When they opened the suitcase, 10 packages were found that subsequently tested positive to the properties of cocaine. | Drug bust |
| January 25 | Anthem RCI |
Detroit Free Press reports Jan. 15 cruise to the Southern Caribbean had to be extended by a day due to the giant nor’easter Jonas that swept up the east coast. That cruise didn’t return to port until Jan. 25 because of the bad weather. | Delayed arrival & disembarkation |
| January 25 | Unknown | Tribune242 reports an adult male United States visitor from Missouri has been taken into custody by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in connection with an alleged indecent assault of a female on Saturday morning. Shortly after 9am a female visitor on a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf reported to police that she was indecently assaulted on board by the suspect, who is also a passenger on the ship. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody. Separately, police also took an adult female US visitor from Fort Lauderdale into custody for possession of dangerous drugs on Saturday evening. Shortly after 6pm, officers from the Tourism Policing Unit conducted a search of a suspicious female visitor at Prince George Wharf and found a quantity of marijuana in her possession. She was arrested and taken into custody. | Sexual assault - Drug bust |
| January 24 | Vision RCI |
Royal Raribbean Blog reports Royal Caribbean has decided to cancel today's scheduled stop for one of its cruise ships at the cruise line's private destination of Labadee in Haiti due to ongoing protests. marks the third time a Royal Caribbean ship has skipped a stop at Royal Caribbean's private destination since the protests began last week. | Skipped - protests |
| January 23 | Paradise CCL |
BayNews9 reports the ship was delayed returning to the dock at Port Tampa Bay by about 10 hours on Saturday because winds were too high. The ship was supposed to dock at about 5:30 a.m., but the ship finally made it to the dock around 3:30 p.m. Passengers started disembarking the boat around 5 p.m. It s returning from a five-day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel that departed on Monday, Jan. 18, | Delayed return |
| January 23 | Grandeur RCI |
WBAL reports the Maryland Department of Transportation says a winter storm hwill delay the return of a cruise ship to the Port of Baltimore. The port's cargo terminals will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Thus, the ship scheduled to dock Sunday morning will arrive Monday morning instead. The ship's next cruise had been scheduled to depart Sunday afternoon. | Delayed return b/c of snow |
| January 22 | Unknown | Dominica News reports a woman from a cruise ship was robbed in Roseau on Friday morning. An eyewitness told Dominica News Online that the victim and another lady was about to enter a wine store on Long Lane when she was pounced upon by a young man. “The guy ran up, grabbed the lady’s chain from her neck and threw her down in the drain,” the eyewitness said. The eyewitness, who said he couldn’t believe such incident could happen in broad daylight, said the perpetrator made good his escape in the direction of the Old Market. He said no attempts were made by anyone to stop him. “There are all the bus drivers and vendors and nobody stopped the guy,” he said. | Robbery ashore |
| January 21 | Navigator RCI |
Royal Raribbean Blog reports Royal Caribbean has decided to cancel today's scheduled stop for one of its cruise ships at the cruise line's private destination of Labadee in Haiti due to ongoing protests. | Skipped - protests |
| January 19 | Crown Princess |
CDC reports 180 of 3060 passengers (5.88%) and 24 of 1168 crew (2.05%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and one epidemiologist boarded the ship in Los Angeles, CA, on January 18, 2016, to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The cruise began January 3rd. | Illness |
| January 19 | Freedom RCI |
Cruise Law News reports dozens of chanting protesters, banging pots and cymbals, and packed onto a half dozen small vessels, greeted the ship as it docked this morning in Labadee, Haiti. At first it appeared the vessels were approaching the docked ship as part of a rehearsed welcoming ceremony. However, when two coast guard ships arrived and began circling the vessels and encouraging them to leave the waters, it became clear this was a protest – though the specifics of the protesters complaints were not completely spelled out. One sign, held by one of the protesters, read “USA Away!” After some thirty minutes’ delay the ship, a voice over the ship’s loudspeaker system announce there would be a short delay before passengers could leave the ship. The vessels continued to play cat and mouse with the coast guard vessels, slightly larger than the protesters’ boats, but all dwarfed by the docked cruise ship. After more than two hours a voice once again came across the loudspeaker system explaining to passengers that local Haitian elections will take place in another week and that the protests they were watching were a local matter. It seemed a number of passengers and crew members weren’t buying this explanation. Finally, the voice stated that the cruise ship would not be disembarking today “for the safety of our passengers, which we hold to be of the utmost importance.” One veteran crewmember told me said she had been sailing into Labadee for 13 years and this was the first time she had seen such a protest. | Skipped port call because of protests |
| January 18 | Star Princess |
From a passenger: (RE: cruise beginning Jan 4th) Embarkation fiasco at Rio. 4.5 hours standing outside the terminal in high temperatures and then in unorganised long queues inside. Poor weather conditions meant that only 2 ports were visited one of which led to a major event, where by 1500 passengers and 100 crew, were stranded on shore, with very poor conditions, passengers were told to go away and come back later. Many didn't have any money, many stayed in the small cruise terminal and had to stand for over 4 hours before the tender service resumed. Those passengers that managed to take the last tenders between 15.00-16.00 were subject to terrifying tender journeys back to the ship. Those on board the ship were assured that those on shore were being well looked after, however that was not the case. Medicines for heart condition were handed personally to an officer for transport ashore. These medicines never reached the person they were intended for. Compensation? Oh sorry and 50% off the price of a future cruise. Was supposed to be holiday of a lifetime, didn't even get to see the Penguins!, | Missed ports |
| January 18 | Dream CCL |
From a passenger: Missed last port of call St. Marteen on Wed. Jan 13th. We were along the pier, but never tied up. Captain then went back into the bay to try again. He mentioned that because of swells, we could not dock safely. (Sea appeared calm) After another 2 hours, he said that we would be unable to dock and would have to miss the port. Note: After we were initially along the pier, 2 RCL ships docked on the pier next to us successfully. There were 2 much smaller ships on either side of our pier. If we were too long for our pier to dock safely, you would think that 1 of the ships could have repositioned themselves on the other side of the pier to allow us to use only one side. No compensation provided. | Missed port call |
| January 17 | Pride CCL |
From a passenger: The ship missed its port call at Freeport Jan 15th. | Missed port call |
| January 16 | Magic CCL |
From a passenger: We left Cozumel around 7 pm CST last night. At a bit after midnight, the Captain announced he had turned the ship to do a medical evacuation to Cancun. He brought the ship to a halt, and Cancun sent a Marine Rescue boat out to meet us. The initial attempt to link the two boats failed due to heavy winds/seas, so the Captain spun the ship until the boat was able to come to the sheltered side. A white-haired gentleman was eventually transferred to the boat, and it left the ship around 1:20 AM. He was alive and awake, and waved to everyone (who then cheered). I assume we will be an hour or two late to Galveston tomorrow but so far no announcement this morning. | Stop at Cancun for med evac |
| January 15 | Reflection Celebrity |
From a passenger: At around 2pm the cruise director made an announcement asking any passengers or crew who were registered blood donors and type O-negative to report to the medical center. | Call for blood donor |
| January 14 | Independence RCI |
Royal Caribbean blog reports 21 guests on a shore excursion were involved in a traffic accident in Falmouth, Jamaica today. In the incident, one guest passed away, while three others were treated for injuries at a local hospital. Royal Caribbean crew members have gone to the hospital in Falmouth to assist. | Death/injuries in bus accident |
| January 14 | Spirit of Tasmania (ferry) | Stuff.co.NZ reports the ferry broke free of its moorings and crashed into a pier in Port Melbourne during a wild storm on Wednesday. Witnesses said the ship drifted until it was at a 90-degree angle to Station Pier by about 6pm and collided with part of the pier, causing damage to the front of the vessel. By 8pm, tugboats had towed the Spirit of Tasmania II back in line with the pier, and it was then secured. | Collision with pier |
| January 13 | Solstice Celebrity |
3News reports a Brazilian couple has been kicked off the ship today after the woman allegedly stole a handbag from the vessel's store worth hundreds of dollars. The incident happened when the ship was in the Fiordland region and security staff reported the incident once docked in Port Chalmers, Dunedin. A branded handbag was taken from one of the onboard shops and later found in the couple's cabin. The sequence of events was backed up by security footage, Senior Constable Steve Tvrdeic says. He says the ship's security didn't wish to pursue prosecutions but the couple had been told to disembark. | Pax evicted |
| January 12 | NCL | Jezebel reports employees of Norwegian Cruise Lines were recently notified without warning or explanation that they would no longer have access to emergency contraceptives—for free or for purchase—unless they had been raped or sexually assaulted. The change went into effect on November 1. There was no company memo or meeting with a physician announcing the change; rather, women began to be turned away from the health center when requesting the contraception toward the end of 2015. “We do not have access to a CVS or Walgreens while we are out to sea for months at a time,” one employee wrote in an email. “Often crew members are limited as to when they can and cannot get off the ship. For example, non U.S. citizens are not allowed off the ship in New York City.” Still, sexual healthcare available on cruise ships is questionable to begin with—even for guests. According to The Telegraph, only six of the biggest cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MCS Cruises, Holland America, Disney, and Crystal Cruises) out of the 12 competitive cruise lines make condoms available to their guests, and even fewer provide emergency contraception. | Ceases crew access to emergency contraceptives |
| January 12 | Balmoral Fred Olsen |
Cruise Hive reports a tender boat has experienced a malfunction on Sunday, January 10 while doing a scheduled boat training drill. The crew onboard the Balmoral vessel were doing a safety drill, while the ships tender boat was being lowered to the water a malfunction occurred. “This incident occurred as a result of the ship’s winches lowering the tender boat at different speeds” It’s not yet clear why the winches could not synchronise. The winches were independently surveyed in December 2015 for Flag compliance and no issues were found at the time. At the time the 43,540 gross ton ship was docked in Funchal, Madeira. After the tender boat malfunctioned, it was lowered safely and lifted onto the forecastle of Balmoral. | Tender boat malfunction |
| January 12 | AIDAprima AIDA |
Maritime Executive reports an electrical fire in a compartment aboard the new cruise ship AIDAprima, currently at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki, which could push back her inaugural voyage one more time. The fire triggered an alarm on the ship at 2030 hours local time on January 11. The shipyard's fire brigade and local authorities were able to contain the blaze quickly. Shipyard workers and crew were evacuated and no injuries were reported. The delivery of the 125,000 gt AIDAprima, the firm's new flagship, has already been delayed several times. She was scheduled to debut in the first half of 2015; this was pushed back to delivery in the second half of the year, then again to December, according to Mitsubishi. Last month she finished her third set of sea trials. Whether the fire will delay her inaugural trip again is not yet clear. | Fire |
| January 11 | Sinfonia MSC |
From a passenger: The ship was due to dock in Cape Town this morning from Durban at 04h00 and eventually docked at 10h30 local time due to high seasonal winds. Her sailing later this afternoon to Walvis Bay is delayed and the winds are expected to increase at the expected revised time of departure. UPDATE: the ship remained tied up with tugs holding her alongside the pier until winds subside. The itinerary has now changed from a call at Walvis Bay to the tender port of Luderitz (Namibia -- about 600 km south of Walvis Bay). | Delayed arrival & departure |
| January 8 | Divina MSC |
From a passenger: The port call at Belize City was replaced with a port call at Costa Maya because of "technical" issues. | Change of port call |
| January 8 | Caribbean Princess |
Breaking Belize News reports a 67 year old female passenger was snorkeling when she suddenly went under water and had to be rescued. However, she did not respond to emergency assistance and was pronounced dead. The shore excursion was with Hugh Parkey’s Belize Dive Connection, a full service Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) facility located at Hugh Parkey’s Belize Adventure Lodge on Spanish Look-Out Caye located just 25 minutes from Belize City. Superintendent Garcia said they do not know as yet what caused her death, nor whether she had any conditions that contributed. He also noted that most of the deaths at sea involving cruise ship passengers have been largely older persons. | Snorkeling death |
| January 7 | Star Pride WIndstar |
Cruise Critic reports more sailings on Windstar's Star Pride have been canceled after a grounding of the ship in Panama on December 22. Sailings through April 9th have now been canceled. Previously, only cruises through January 9th had been canceled. | Cruises canceled |
| January 7 | Dawn |
The Advocate reports federal authorities have arrested five men accused of smuggling several kilograms of cocaine into New Orleans aboard a cruise ship coming from Honduras. One of the suspects, a Jamaican man known as “Uncle,” was taken into custody following a sting operation inside a Warehouse District hotel. Authorities said he was carrying $19,000 wrapped in a black plastic bag — cash they said he intended to use to buy the smuggled drugs. The bust happened Sunday morning after agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, spotted three crewmen of the docked cruise ship Norwegian Dawn gathered inside a restroom at the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, the shopping mall adjacent to the cruise ship terminal. Two of the men removed their shoes and pants inside restroom stalls — a red flag to border security, as smugglers often hide drugs in their clothing. The agents detained those two men — the third suspect having left the restroom — and seized a shoulder bag holding six packages of cocaine, one of which had been concealed “in a pair of underwear that had a compartment sewn into the crotch area,” according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Once in custody, the two crew members, Asbert Lowmans and Jean Louis, admitted to smuggling, according to the complaint, and Lowmans “immediately agreed to cooperate with agents.” The authorities said they eventually tracked down the third man seen in the restroom, Esias Felicien, and another suspect named Kevin John, whom Felicien had met separately in the Riverwalk. Felicien had been headed toward the elevators, apparently to return to the cruise ship, when he was arrested carrying a shopping bag containing a “used smugglers’ girdle,” according to the complaint, which was signed by Agent Timothy Subervielle of Homeland Security Investigations. John was said to be carrying a shopping bag of his own with another package of cocaine. Combined, the smuggled cocaine weighed about 4.75 kilograms, according to the complaint. | Drug bust |
| January 7 | Pacific Aria P&O Australia |
7 News reports shocking footage of water pouring down a staircase inside a P&O cruise ship has emerged. The moment was taken with an iPhone showing a waterfall flowing down stairs and carpet becoming submerged under storm water as passengers try to dodge the puddles like mine bombs. The incident happened on December 30 on the Pacific Aria while travelling between Cairns and Brisbane and the footage was taken on an iPhone. A passenger told Seven News there was no warning before water began cascading down a flight of stairs and spilling into corridors. The cruise liner company says there was no danger to passengers, blaming a huge downpour during a tropical storm. From a reader: I was interested to be told that P&O provided six hours of free drinks on New Years Eve to passengers on the Pacific Aria. NOTE: It is unclear whether this was because of the water, or just a New Year's amenity. | Water pouring down staircase |
| January 6 | Braemar Fred Olsen |
From a passeger: RE: 18 December to 4 January cruise, two ports were skipped -- one being Madiera and the other being Tenerife. In the case of the latter they said was due to bad weather, but crew said it was due to too few passengers on board make it not financially viable to dock. Other cruise ships had docked (smaller boats). Also a helicopter was called to airlift a 30 year old who was ill, but helicopter was stood down as lady died on board. | Skipped port calls |
| January 6 | Pacific Jewel P&O Australia |
ABC News (Australia) reports early on Saturday, a small group of curious onlookers watched as the Pacific Jewel, carrying about 2,000 passengers and 600 crew, stopped alongside the small coastal port. However, due to strong winds and high swells, the ship was forced to continue on its journey. It was the second time the small seaside town had missed out on a visit by the company's cruise ship passengers, after large swells prevented the Pacific Pearl from dropping anchor in Robe's Guichen Bay in April 2014. | Skipped port call |
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