text:
"All the Things that Can Go Wrong On A Cruise"
table below lists "events at sea" occurring after January 1,
including cruise ship accidents. It is based on media
passenger reports posted at on-line boards and discussion
groups, and
reports sent to Cruise
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
Reported Cruise Industry Spending on Lobbying the US Congress, 1997-2014 (pdf)
Report of Investigation into the Fire Onboard the Carnival Splendor off the Coast of Mexico on November 8, 2010, which Resulted in Complete Loss of Power
To go to CRUISE JUNKIE DOT COM Home page, click here
THE Comprehensive list of Persons Overboard, 1995 - 2015
Pollution and Environmental Violations and Fines
Grip on Cruise Ship Pollution - Summary
Analysis of Reports of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault on cruise ships, 2003-2005: Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises
of FBI Crime Data from Ships,
Useful Resources from Judge Thomas A Dickerson:
Cruise Passengers' Rights and Remedies
Have you been onboard
during an "event" or illness outbreak?
Let me know, and send along photos or video if you have them.
Cruise Line
Type of Incident
|June 27
|Celestyal Crystal
|Sea News reports the cruise ship collided with tanker STI Pimlico at the Northern entrance of Çanakkale Strait. Both vessels damaged, tanker leaking cargo, reports the leading Turkish maritime news portal www.kaptanhaber.com. There are no injuries at both vessels but laden with 30.000 MT of Nafta Cargo and her cargo tanks heavily damaged, the tanker STI Pimlico has the risk of explosion. On the way from Myconos, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey, 162 meters long Maltese flag cruise ship 'Celestyal Crystal' collided with 182-meters long Marshall Islands-flagged tanker 'Sti Pimlico' which was sailing towards Malta from the Russian port Tuapse. The accident took place at 01:30 after midnight today in front of the Gallipoli Lighthouse for an undetermined reason. The 854 passengers onboard passenger cruiser Celestyal Crystal, with 240 of them Turkish citizens, had no injuries in the accident. Passengers onboard the cruiser will be evacuated by smaller ferries and transferred to Gallipoli.
|Collision with other ship
|June 25
|Westerdam Holland America Line
|Seattle PI reports eight passengers on an excursion off the ship and a pilot were in a plane that was found crashed against the granite rock face of a cliff about 20 miles northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. All nine people aboard died in the crash, authorities said.
|Pax deaths on shore excursion
|June 19
|Saint Laurent Great Lakes Cruising Company
|CBC reports the ship collided with the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway on Thursday night, injuring 30 people and forcing the partial evacuation of the ship. The ship was carrying 274 people at the time. It was heading to Toronto. Twenty-seven injured passengers and three injured crew members had to be removed from the ship with the help of fire officials late last night. Two people were seriously hurt, while the rest had minor injuries. It was travelling through the lock in Massena, in upstate New York. It entered the lock around 9 p.m. and hit the side of the concrete wall shortly afterwards. "When the ship hit the wall, it started taking on water," said coast guard spokeswoman Lauren Laughlin. Crews immediately closed the doors to the lock and removed water so the ship didn't sink further.
|Collision - taking on water
|June 16
Viking River Cruises
|A reader forwarded two reviews from Cruise Critic with regard to this ship. One review (May 2015) reports "Monday evening as the boat sailed and went into the Lyon first stop at 8am, the captain backed the boat into something and all 8 propellers were damaged. The boat was no longer able to move. Viking proceeded to use buses to travel us for hours past the ports we were supposed to cruise to and return to the disabled boat. This busing went on from Wednesday through the rest of the trip. We were told Friday night we had to pack up, disembark and be bused (again) 4.5 hours to Arels and then another 45 min. to Avignon. We were herded like a bunch of children, fed the same meal Thursday, Friday lunch and dinner in restaurants that were hot and we were jammed in." Another reviewer writes of the following cruise (June 2015) "the Hermod had an accident last Saturday night so we never got to board on Sunday. They put us in a business class hotel in Avignon for 3 days and now in Lyon for the remainder. It has turned into a bus trip of very inferior quality with customer service being intractable. Missinformation and very little help. Many went home. Only about 50 people stayed. Very unclear about compensation. Those who went home had to wait for flights and were told they had to pay for hotel themseves till then and transportation yo airport."
|Collision / out of service / cruise becomes bus tour
|June 16
Fred Olsen Cruises
|Daily Mail reports the ship has been hit by an outbreak of norovirus which is believed to have affected 'hundreds' of passengers on board. This afternoon Fred Olsen Cruise Lines confirmed the outbreak and announced it was cancelling a three-day 'mini-cruise' due to take place on Saturday. Last month MailOnline reported passengers on board the ship were hit by a vomiting bug which 'ruined' their eight-day cruise - prompting them to take legal action against the company. The ship is currently docked in the port of Skagen in Denmark, with passengers struck down with the virus confined to their rooms for a minimum of two days. Peter Boag, a 67-year-old black cab driver from north London who paid over £1,000 for the cruise, told MailOnline that passengers started to become ill on the day two of the 11-day cruise which departed on June 9 - and that he believes more than 100 passengers have been ill so far.
|Illness outbreak / cruise canceled
|June 16
Millennium Time
|The Standard reports an official investigation into a dramatic passenger boat crash on the Thames that left nine injured has found the vessel had steering problems and its helmsman did not hold a boatmaster's licence. The Millennium Time cruise liner, packed with more than 360 passengers including tourists and schoolchildren, smashed into a tug between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge on July 17 last year. The collision left the vessel, operated by City Cruises, with bad damage to the bow as well as smashed windows - and it was out of service for more than a month. The tug, which was hauling tonnes of cargo along the river, also required repairs. Today a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch found the crash would have been less likely if the fully qualified skipper, 58, had been at the helm instead of the mate, 69, who lacked a boatmaster's licence and took too long to spot the imminent collision.
|Accident report released
|June 15
|Baranof Wind and
Noordam Holland America Line
|Juneau Empire reports the ship came to the aid of a broken-down tour boat Wednesday in Glacier Bay National Park. According to park officials, the starboard engine room of the 79-foot sightseeing boat Baranof Wind caught fire in the upper reaches of Glacier Bay on Wednesday afternoon. The boat's crew extinguished the fire, which partially disabled the boat. The boat's crew called for assistance and were answered by the Noordam, which used a tender to offload all 40 passengers (and one Park Service ranger) from the Baranof Wind, which proceeded to Juneau under tow. The Noordam's tender dropped off its passengers at Bartlett Cove, and the cruise ship continued on schedule to Ketchikan as part of a five-day cruise.
|Fire on tour boat - pax rescued by cruise ship
|June 15
Celebrity Cruises
|Daily Post reports the ship will not come to the island (Holyhead) due to a combination of predicted windy conditions and its large size for the port jetty
|Skipped port call
|June 14
|Northern Spirit Mariposa Cruises
|Toronto Sun reports the search continued Sunday for a man who disappeared after falling off a ship in Lake Ontario Saturday night. Officers say they are treating the search as a missing persons case, and focusing the hunt on an area about three kilometres south of Humber Bay, where the man fell into the water at about 7:40 PM. "The water is 9C and he's been out there since 7:30 p.m. (Saturday), but we're not going to presume anything because he might be hanging on to something or he might wash up somewhere unconscious," Const. John Liggio said Sunday. There were 427 guests aboard the 41-metre-long vessel, which has a maximum capacity of about 550 passengers. There were also 10 paid security officers present on the 400-tonne triple-decker boat. Alcohol was likely a factor.
|Passenger overboard
|June 9
|Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
and Royal Caribbean International
|Want China Times reports Chinese cruise lines are beginning to skip port calls in South Korea as travelers cancel plans to travel amid an outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The cruise lines are instead adding a stop in Japan to their itineraries, reports Shanghai's the Paper. A charter secured by online travel agency Ctrip on the cruise ship Sapphire Princess, scheduled for June 27, was confirmed to have changed its itinerary. The original route included stops in Busan and Jeju, which have now been replaced by Okinawa, according to Ctrip. Some cruise lines traveling to Jeju or navigating the Jeju-Japan route have not changed their itineraries, mainly because South Korea's MERS cases are concentrated in Seoul. Jeju, an island off the southern coast of South Korea, has not been affected, according to a travel agent. Several cruise line operators have issued statements outlining the measures they are taking to cope with the MERS outbreak. Royal Caribbean Cruises said the company will not allow people from MERS-affected countries or those who have visited these countries over the past 30 days to board its ships. Princess Cruises and SkySea Holding International, a company co-founded by Ctrip and other investors, said they will strengthen health checks for crew members and passengers. RCI Blog reports RCI has canceled (Mariner, Voyager, Quantum) calls to South Korea (13 June).
|Ports skipped because of MERS
|June 9
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Cruise Critic reports the ship has altered its itinerary to avoid the path of Hurricane Blanca, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Now on the second day of a seven-night cruise to Mexico from Long Beach, the ship traded a sea day for a call on Ensenada on Sunday. It also bumped tonight's overnight in Cabo San Lucas to Wednesday, scrapping Wednesday's previously planned call on Puerto Vallarta; today and Tuesday will instead be spent at sea. The sailing will conclude in Long Beach Saturday, as originally scheduled.
|Canceled port call (weather)
|June 7
Norwegian Cruise Line
|From a passenger: At around 8:30 PM women jumped overboard. The code was called within a few minutes the capt got on the speaker explained the situation . Said he was turning the vessel around to try do rescue . We were sitting window seat at the Savor restaurant and saw the flashing light and the rescue boat go flying to get her . She made it ! Story we heard it was a drunk mid age women fighting with her boy friend . They kept her in medical until we got to our first port ST. Thomas where she left in a ambulance. Durning Q & A with the Capt they didn't want to talk about it . He did say it was his first rescue and she was lucky she lived.
|Overboard - rescued alive
|June 3
|Ocean Endeavour Adventure Canada
|Cruise Critic reports two sailings have been canceled after damage to its rudder was discovered during an inspection in Hamburg, Germany. The canceled sailings are the June 14th Mighty Saint Lawrence and June 24th Newfoundland Circumnavigation expedition cruises. According to spokeswoman Melissa Medeiros, damage to the rudder was identified by FleetPro, the ship's management company, during a dry dock inspection in Hamburg, Germany on May 25, 2015. The time required to repair the rudder necessitated the cancellations. The ship is expected to arrive in Canada in early July.
|Damaged rudder - canceled cruises
|June 2
Fred Olsen Cruises
|Daily Echo reports the company is offering a compensation package to pasengers struck be norovirus on a recent cruise that ended a day early (see May 23 below), apparently to neutralize a wave of passengers looking at legal action. The company is offering to refund one day's cost of the cruise including a refund for an all-inclusive drinks package, a voucher for up to half off a future Norwegian fjords cruise and any out of pocket expenses.
|Compensation for illness outbreak
|June 2
|Eastern Star
|Xinhuanet reports a passenger ship carrying 458 people sank Monday night in the Hubei section of China's Yangtze River. The ship, named Dongfangzhixing (Eastern Star), sank at around 9:28 p.m. in the Jianli (Hubei Province) section of the Yangtze River, according to the Yangtze River navigation administration. The captain and the chief engineer, who have been rescued, both claimed the ship sank quickly after being caught in a cyclone. It was heading from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to southwest China's Chongqing city. There were 405 Chinese passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members aboard, according to the administration. Network AsiaNews subsequently reported there were 12 survivors and 442 confirmed dead. The sinking was China's worst shipping disaster since the Communist Party came to power in 1949. In 1948 up to 4,000 on board the SS Kiangya were killed when it sank near Shanghai.
|June 1
|Baltic Princess Tallink Line
|Tucun Sanomat reports a 20-something man went overboard at about 17:00 when the ship was sailing from Stockholm to Turku. The man was observed by passengers as he went overboard and a rescue operation initiated. The operation lasted 20 minutes and the man rescued and transported by helicopor to the mainland of Finland.
|Overboard - rescued alive
|June 1
Disney Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Lines
|ABC News reports Bahamian authorities are investigating the deaths of two crew members on separate cruise ships that were in the islands' waters. Police have disclosed few specifics, saying only that they are "actively investigating these incidents to determine the exact cause of death." A statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force says a male crew member was found dead early Sunday aboard a cruise ship anchored at Castaway Cay, a private island that serves as an exclusive port for Disney Cruise Line vessels. Police say the lifeless body of a female crew member was found aboard another cruise line's vessel early Monday as it passed through Bahamian waters. Neither ship was identified. Police spokeswoman Terecita Pinder did not immediately respond to calls or an email seeking comment Monday. Cruise Law News reports an officer was reportedly discovered dead on the Wonder yesterday. The officer reportedly was discovered hanging, in what I am told is an apparent suicide. His body was located in an air conditioning room reportedly on deck seven. Cruise Law News reports the woman crewmember on Sensation was reportedly found hanging in an officer's quarters.
|2 crew deaths on different ships
|May 30
|Crown Princess
Princess Cruises
|Cruise Law News reports a fire broke out Thursday night in the back stage of the Princess theater. It was extinguished with no reports of injury. The fire started in a store room behind the theater. The entire theater had to be evacuated. The smoke-generating machine had been left on, overheated and caught fire. The crew had to put on breathing apparatus. It turned out to be nothing but caused a lot of smoke at the time. At present they are investigating how/why the machine caught fire.
Princess Cruises tweeted the following to me: "Last night aboard Crown Princess a small fire occurred backstage in the Princess Theater during a performance. The cause of which was determined to be a piece of theatrical equipment used for special effects. The fire was quickly extinguished by our fire team. We immediately initiated our response procedures & all guests on board were asked to return to their staterooms. The ship's Captain made several announcements during the incident to keep guests informed of the situation & no one was injured. We're currently investigating the cause of the special effects equipment malfunction."
|May 29
|Allure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|From a reader: I have family onboard Allure of the Seas who have just contacted me to say that a fire has broken out in the casino. Apparently somebody dropped a cigarette and fire crews are responding. Update: I have just spoken to them again, apparently the captain originally said there had been a short circuit in the casino and that it was only smoke, not a fire. He shortly after corrected himself, saying that somebody had dropped a cigarette and there was in fact a fire. They haven't heard anything about the fire being contained, only being told to remain calm.
|May 28
|Prinses Christina
TransRiver Line
|NL Times reports 25 passengers caught a virus and became ill during a trip on the Rijn. German doctors and emergency services boarded the cruise ship on Wednesday night in Boppard, in the German State of Rhineland. They determined that the infection is not life threatening and the ill passengers are stable. According to the German water police, there are about 100 people on board. The three deck cruise ship has a capacity of 107. The passengers are believed to have been infected by the norovirus, a spokesperson for the owner of the ship, Trans RIver Line, said today.
|May 25
Royal Caribbean International
|WHIO News reports an Ohio couple claims they were "held hostage" on a recent Royal Caribbean cruise because a private joke was mistaken as a suicide threat.
Former Dayton resident Michele Baker told this reporter that she said, "Maybe I could go overboard and a dolphin could take me back to shore," in a private conversation with her husband after he was nearly detained and arrested by Port Authority for a gun magazine that he had forgotten to take out of his bag. A security guard overheard Michele's comment, reported it and she was placed on suicide watch. "It's beyond me how anybody could think that a private conversation between a husband and wife joking around with each other after a very stressful day could be taken as a suicide threat," Baker said. The couple was moved from their $3,000 suite with a balcony to a much smaller, inside room with no windows, hangars, silverware or anything else that could be used for self-harm. A security guard stood watch outside the door for 36 hours. "If she tried to leave, they would have thrown her back in," Baker's husband, Tim Baker, said. Michele and Tim Baker, who live in Hilliard, said they were ordered off the ship at the first port in Bermuda, where they caught a flight back to the United States. They said they spent about $5,000 with everything that happened. Officials with Royal Caribbean International did not return phone calls or respond to email requests for comment.
|Detained/ evicted
|May 24
|Jamaica Observer reports three men and one woman from Florida were arrested on Sunday after officers from the Tourism Policing Unit acting on intelligence went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf (Nassau), where they found the four suspects in possession of a quantity of marijuana. The police gave no details regarding the amount of drugs found in their possession, but said they were taken into custody and are expected to appear in court early this week to be formally charged.
|Drug bust
|May 24
|Explorer National Georgraphic
|NRK Norway reports an American man in his 60's was rescued after experiencing a diving accident. According to police, "We were informed that the experienced divers from the cruise ship, the National Geographic Explorer carried out the planned dives outside of Træna. After a short time there was a diver who had problems, and came to the surface unconscious and without a pulse. The diver was eventually picked up by helicopter and taken to University Hospital of North Norway (TREAT), where he is being treated. The ship has gone from Træna, and that it has now anchored off Værøy. NRK subsequently reported the mad died.
|Critical diving accident
|May 24
|Insignia Oceania Cruises
|Bay of Plenty Times reports the ship was turned away from the Port of Tauranga today because of high winds. This is the fourth ship of the season (out of 84) that missed the port call.
|Skipped port call (weather)
|May 23
Fred Olsen Cruises
|Daily Mail reports passengers have been struck down by an outbreak of gastric illness and confined to their cabins for the second time this month on the ship. It is not known how many passengers have been hit by the vomiting bug; the cruise line confirmed staff are attempting to contain an 'extremely contagious gastric illness', just days after the ship underwent a 'deep clean' in response to an earlier outbreak. Passengers who have been struck down by the bug on the MV Balmoral are being confined to their cabins. A relative of a passenger who is currently on board the Balmoral said quarantine restrictions have been imposed at least twice during the 13-night return journey from Southampton to the Azores and Madeira. The relative told MailOnline Travel at least one swimming pool and casino tables were made off-limits to those on the vessel. It left the UK on May 11 and is scheduled to return on Sunday.
|May 19
Norwegian Cruise Line
|NBC News reports the ship temporarily lost control Tuesday afternoon, running aground off the coast of Bermuda as it hit a reef, company officials said. But there were no injuries, the company said. The Norwegian Dawn "had a temporary malfunction of its steering system" around 5 p.m. ET, shortly after departing from King's Wharf, Bermuda, on its way back to Boston, the company said in a statement. "The ship's propulsion was affected and, at which time, the vessel made contact with the channel bed." The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a tug and dive team, which confirmed there had been no damage to t.he hull. "With high-tide this evening, the ship was floated and moved to a nearby anchorage position where it will remain overnight," Norwegian Cruise said. "The ship will be thoroughly inspected in Bermuda by DNVGL, the ship's classification society, before returning to Boston."
|May 18
|Royal Princess
Princess Cruises
|Tender loss of power
|May 18
Norwegian Cruise Line
|Associated Press reports a10-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Carolinas and the ship immediately sailed to a nearby port in Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn told The Associated Press that the girl drowned Sunday afternoon aboard the Norwegian Gem while it was in Atlantic waters some 75 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The ship left New York on Saturday on a scheduled seven-day cruise to Florida and the Bahamas.
|Child drowns in pool
|May 18
Cruises Croatia
|The Daily Mail reports a British woman has drowned on holiday after falling off a tourist ship in Dubrovnik, southern Croatia. Crew members who spotted the woman falling overboard dived into the water and pulled the 64-year-old to the shore, but despite the fact that medics were quickly on the scene, they were unable to save her. The tragedy happened in the early hours of Sunday morning while the 36 passsenger shsip was moored in the port of Gruz in Dubrovnik. Emergency services that administered first aid confirmed the British woman was dead at the scene. A police spokesman said the woman had been fine before the incident. She was with her husband and friends enjoying a drink on deck when she fell. An autopsy is due to be done today to find out the exact cause of the death.
|Fall overboard - death
|May 18
|Thomson Spirit TUI UK
|The Daily Mail reports furious passengers are suing over a 'nightmare' luxury cruise which was blighted by 'norovirus, blocked toilets and flies feasting on the buffet'.
Eight holidaymakers have taken Thomson owners TUI UK Ltd to court after suffering sickness and diarrhoea during their May 2009 cruise aboard the Thomson Spirit.
They are suing the travel giant for thousands in damages for the distress caused, but TUI claims it did all it could to control an outbreak of norovirus on the Mediterranean cruise.
|Lawsuit for illness outbreak
|May 18
|Coral Princess
Princess Cruises
|ABC News 7 reports police have arrested a suspect on a cruise ship in Alaska and charged him with a double murder after he confessed to killing a well-liked couple found slain on Mother's Day, police said Sunday. Montgomery County (Maryland) police announced Scott Tomaszewski, 31, of Rockville, was arrested Saturday in Juneau, Alaska. Tomaszewski was on a luxury cruise with his father, mother and 28-year-old sister. All four were disembarking from the 'Coral Princess' on the Princess Cruise Line, destined for a morning whale watching excursion when police officers confronted the 31-year-old.
|Arrested for murder onshore
|May 12
Plantours Kreuzfahrten
|Press and Journal reports the ship developed technical problems and is steaming on reduced engine power to Belfast instead of its schedled port call in the Hebrides.
|Engine problems
|May 12
Portuscale Cruises
Sea Explorer
Quark Expeditions
|Press and Journal reports the Western Isles missed out on a cruise ships bonanza yesterday – as what should have been a major tourism boost for the Hebrides was blown off course by gales. The liners Azores and the Sea Explorer had been due to dock in Stornoway carrying hundreds of visitors. But they were forced to steer clear of Lewis because of the weather. A fleet of coaches had been laid on to take passengers on sightseeing tours around the island and neighbouring Harris. But they were all cancelled when the ships' captains decided the conditions were too bad for them to risk coming inshore.
|Skipped port (weather)
|May 12
|Seven Seas Navigator Regent Seven Seas
|Vancouver Sun reports a dead whale that came into Vancouver's harbour on the bow of a cruise ship is believed to be a 15-to-20-metre male fin whale. It's not known if the whale was dead or alive when it was struck by the ship. When it docked, a whale that had apparently been draped over the bulbous bow of the ship floated off Monday. A necropsy indicates it appeared the whale was hit north of Vancouver Island on Sunday.
|Collision with fin whale?
|May 12
|Travel Weekly reports civil unrest and violence around Puerto Vallarta led to cruise lines canceling ship calls there.The Celebrity Infinity bypassed the Mexican port on May 10 for a day at sea, spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said. On May 12, Royal Caribbean International's Jewel of the Seas will substitute a sea day for Puerto Vallarta. Disney Cruise Line distributed a letter to passengers on a 14-day Panama Canal cruise aboard the Disney Wonder explaining that the May 12 port call was being canceled. The Carnival Miracle will continue with its scheduled May 12 stop, but some shore excursions have been canceled, a spokesman said.
|Canceled port call
|May 12
|Star Princess
Princess Cruises
|CDC reports 138 of 2597 passengers (5.31%) and 18 of 1094 crew (1.65%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and two Epidemiologists will board the ship in San Francisco, CA on May 14, 2015 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship was on a 16 day cruise.
|May 10
Fred Olsen Cruises
|Cruise Critic posters report the ship returned to Southampton one day early from its Norwegian fjords cruise because of an illness outbreak on the ship. Some estimates are that as many as 25% of passengers and crew were effected. The Daily Echo reports says approximately 250 passengers became ill. UPDATE:Daily Mail reports passengers who were hit by a vomiting bug that 'ruined' their eight-day cruise to Norway are taking legal action against Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Martin D'Arcy, one of the passengers who has contacted lawyers, claims he was confined to his cabin with diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever.
|Illness - early debarkation (one day early)
|May 10
|Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Law News reports the ship returned early to Fort Lauderdale this morning because a passenger sustained a serious injury yesterday. Several passengers emailed me stating that the Royal Caribbean passenger sustained major head trauma after he fell on the FlowRider. It is unclear exactly when or how the accident occurred, but the Independence of the Seas returned to port in Fort Lauderdale this morning around 3:00 A.M. Flowriders are exceedingly dangerous. There have been numerous broken ankles, wrists, elbows, shoulders and necks and even one death on Royal Caribbean cruise ships when a passenger broke his neck and was killed. We believe the FlowRiders are unreasonably unsafe, defectively designed with negligent instructors. Most passengers do not realize that the Royal Caribbean waiver which the cruise line forces passengers to sign is illegal and unenforceable under Maritime Law.
|Pax injury onboard - early debarkation
|May 8
|Star Princess
Princess Cruises
|Cruise Law News reports that news sources in Hawaii are reporting that dozens of Princess cruise ship passengers have been quarantined on Maui after a norovirus outbreak. Newspapers are saying the ship is ported at Lahaina. According to the local health department, around 30 people are quarantined in their rooms. Princess Cruises notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but here is no official CDC information because there is no need for the CDC to make a report to the public unless 3% or more of the cruise passengers or crew are ill. Hawaii News Now subsequently reported a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises said a total of about 100 passengers were affected by the virus over several days.
|May 7
P&O Cruises
|Cruise Critic reports the ship has undergone repairs in Norway for a "technical issue" with the ship's electrical system, and will return to Southampton 24 hours later than scheduled, delaying the next cruise by 48 hours and altering the itineraries of both cruises (see item below on May 6). The delay began when a technical problem with the ship's electrical system forced the ship to stay in port in Flam, Norway, to allow a team of experts to assess the problem. Azura then overnighted in Bergen last night (May 6) to allow for repairs to the ship. This morning, the line posted: "Azura has completed the repair and we have undertaken extensive testing overnight. Azura has now left Bergen to return to Southampton where she will arrive on Saturday, where guests on the current cruise will be able to disembark. As there are already four ships scheduled to be in Southampton on Saturday the port is completely full so unfortunately, those passengers joining Azura will start their cruise on Sunday."
|Delayed debarkation / delayed embarkation (48 hrs)
|May 7
Norwegian Cruise Line
|The Royal Gazette reports a passenger died aboard the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship, which arrived in Bermuda yesterday, and four passengers were reported sick upon arrival in what appear to be unrelated incidents. At about 10am yesterday, The Royal Gazette was alerted to passengers not being allowed off the ship and that first responders had attended Heritage Wharf in Dockyard. Although passengers began disembarking shortly after 10am, a crew member confirmed that there had been a medical issue and that the ship had not been cleared until about 9.40am. A local resident, who asked not to be named, added that passengers usually start leaving the ship, which arrived at 7.30am, shortly after 8am and that she had heard unofficial reports that someone had died. By 11am, a Bulley-Graham-Rawlins Funeral Home van had arrived and tour guides began informing passengers who were upset over delays that someone had passed away aboard the ship.
|Delayed debarkation - death onboard
|May 7
|Marina Oceania Cruises
|CDC reports 69 of 1185 passengers (5.82%) and 11 of 769 crew (1.43%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The CDC Vessel Sanitation Program conducted an unannounced operational inspection of the ship in Miami on 3 May, 2015, and will continue to monitor the outbreak, providing epidemiological support as needed. The ship was on a 16 day cruise.
|May 6
|Island Escape
Thomson Cruises
|The Daily Mirror reports Thomson could be sued by almost 100 holidaymakers who claim they suffered severe sickness and diarrhoea on a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship. Legal action has been lodged by dozens of passengers travelling on different Island Escape trips over a nine-month period. They include a honeymoon couple, a man celebrating his 60th birthday and a couple marking their tenth anniversary who all claim their breaks were ruined. Passengers complained of suffering "severe gastric illness symptoms" after being served "reheated and undercooked food". Amandeep Dhillon, a partner at Irwin Mitchell representing the group, said: "The large number of people who have instructed us to investigate their complaints about this cruise ship is very worrying. Some of these passengers suffered from severe gastric illness symptoms whilst on board the cruise ship when they should have been relaxing and enjoying themselves." The legal firm said passengers "reported reheated food being served in the restaurant as well as undercooked food being served on occasions, with their complaints echoing those made by victims of illness on board the Island Escape in previous years". Solicitors representing the group of angry passengers say it is the fourth time in six years it has pursued complaints about the Island Escape ship.
|Lawsuit for illness
|May 6
|Multiple River Cruises
|Cruise Critic reports high water on Europe's rivers is disrupting river cruise itineraries, forcing cruise lines to bus people to the next stop, cancel ports and delay cruises. A combination of recent heavy rainfall across Switzerland and France and spring snowmelt in the mountains has waylaid ships from lines including Viking River Cruises, Scenic, Emerald Waterways, APT, Uniworld and CroisiEurope, sailing itineraries on the Rhine, Rhône, Saône, Danube and Seine rivers.
|Disruptions by high water
|May 6
|Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Local 10 News reports a Pompano Beach man was arrested after he stole another man's cash during a hot tub encounter on a cruise ship, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. John Radwan, 29, faces a grand theft charge for an incident that occurred while he was a passenger on the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. According to the arrest report, Ian Sinisgalli was in the hot tub about 4 a.m. Monday when he was befriended by Radwan. Before getting in the hot tub, Sinisgalli removed his pants and placed them on the side of the hot tub. At some point while Sinisgalli was in the hot tub, Radwan reached into his pants and removed about $500 in cash, the report said. The theft was captured on surveillance video, the report said.
|Arrested for theft onboard
|May 6
MSC Cruises
|e-Nautilia reports an 86 year old French man disembarked from the ship at 8:30 AM and has been "lost". His wife returned to the ship and he was not on the ship; a search is underway for the man with dementia.
|Pax misssing ashore
|May 6
P&O Cruises
|From a passenger: Tendering problems on 04/05/2015 at Geiranger. Some passengers able to disembark in the early morning but tendering had to be cancelled due to loss of anchor, leaving some temporarily stranded in Geiranger. Engine failure 05/05/2015 into 06/0/2015 meaning that ship left Flåm this morning and no longer stopping at Stavanger so 2 straight days at sea back to Southampton. UPDATE: The Azura experienced another engine failure and may be delayed by a day returning to the UK.
|Propulsion problems / missed ports / delays
|May 5
|Amadea Phoenix Reisen
|Torquay Herald Express reports bad weather meant Dartmouth missed out on its first cruise ship of the season. The ship MV Amadea, which is carrying around 600 passengers who are mainly German, was due to visit the port from around noon. However, the 192-metre ship was making her way into Tor Bay instead. Her last port of call was Cork. Winds were gusting up to 40mph off the South Hams coast on Tuesday morning. Coaches were waiting at Torquay harbourside, with Dartmoor among the destinations for the visiting cruise passengers.
|Missed port (weather)
|May 5
Costa Cruises
|L'Unione Sarda reports the ship was forced to divert to Palermo for repairs after an electrical failure left the ship operating on only one engine. It dropped its port call to Malta. Passengers protested the lack of information and those from Sardinia advocated that the ship divert to Cagliari.
|Mechanical failure
|May 5
|Jamaica Observer reports the police said acting on a tip off, they went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they found the suspect in possession of a quantity of marijuana. "The suspect was taken into custody and is expected to appear in court early this week to be formally charged," the statement said.
|Drug bust
|May 4
|Carnival Inspiration
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Cruise Critic reports the ship due in Long Beach Monday, instead docked in San Pedro. Passengers leaving the ship were offered bus transportation back to Long Beach or to the airport. Those boarding Inspiration were told to proceed to Long Beach to be transported to San Pedro by motorcoach for check-in there. As further swells are anticipated, the vessel will spend a day at sea tomorrow, forgoing a planned call on Catalina Island. It will call on Catalina Island on Wednesday instead.
|Changed port of embarkation & debarkation
|May 3
|Carnival Imagination
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Fox 5San Diego reports the ship scheduled to dock in Long Beach was diverted to San Diego Sunday due to forecasts of high surf in Long Beach. Passengers scheduled to sail on the next cruise were advised to check-in at the Long Beach cruise terminal. Motor coach transportation was provided to San Diego from Long Beach. The forecast in Long Beach calls for heavy swells throughout Sunday.
|Changed port of embarkation & debarkation
|May 1
|Maasdam Holland America Line
|CDC reports 67 of 1138 passengers (5.89%) and 12 of 578 crew (2.08%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship in Fort Lauderdale on May 1 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 14 day cruise.
|May 1
|Silver Shadow Silversea Cruises
|Travel Pulse reports the ship scored an 82 out of 100. The CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) says scores of 85 or lower are "not satisfactory." The inspection found 40 infractions, including improper food storage temperatures and records, sneeze guards that failed to fully protect food items on a buffet, and food-service items improperly stored in a location where they could be exposed to dust or other contamination. According to the CDC report, inspectors also found that in-suite whirlpools were disinfected every seven days instead of between occupancies, even when the ship embarked new passengers.
|Failed health inspection
|April 30
|The US Coast Guard has just released its latest annual listing of Top Cruise Ship Deficiencies. It says that a total of 329 deficiencies were issued in 2014. In order, they were: Fire Screen Doors not Operating Properly (31 occurrences), Impeding Means of Escape (26 occurrences), Drills and Crew Training Issues (25 occurrences), Problems with Lifeboats and Rescue Boats (21 occurrences), Improper Utilization of Categorized Spaces (17 occurrences), Problems with Fire Detection systems/Smoke Detection (13 occurrences), Fire Suppression Systems (12 occurrences), Issues with Pollution Prevention Equipment (9 occurrences), Emergency Lighting Issues (7 occurrences), Fuel and oil leaks (7 occurrences).
|April 30
|Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Hamilton Spectator reports an Indiana woman who secretly gave birth to a child who died on a Carnival Caribbean cruise will plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Alicia Keir, 24, gave birth on Oct. 8, 2011, according to court documents. Those with whom she was traveling on the Carnival Dream did not know she was pregnant and, after the birth, she hid her child, who died. Keir killed the infant, a criminal information filed in the case alleged, "by giving birth to infant Keir while onboard a cruise ship and not summoning help or medical attention."
|Plead guilty to manslaughter
|April 30
|Hamburg Plantours Kreuzfahrten
|Falmouth Packet reports the ship has cancelled her planned call due to technical problems.
|Canceled port call - mechanical problems
|April 30
MSC Cruises
|The Royal Gazette reports the ship has cancelled a scheduled trip to Bermuda because of weather concerns. The cruise ship was scheduled to depart New York for the Island tomorrow, arriving at Heritage Wharf, Dockyard, on Saturday with an estimated 3,737 passengers. The visit was set to be the ship's second and final visit to the Island this year. According to the Bermuda Weather Service, strong southwestern winds are expected on Friday and Saturday before easing on Sunday.
|Skipped port call
|April 29
Norwegian Cruise Line
|From a passenger: About half an hour after leaving Nassau Bahamas to begin the return trip to New York, the captain came on the intercom and advised that along with the two RCL ships (Enchantment and Quantum OTS), we would be detouring to assist in a search & rescue effort to find the captain of a private yacht who had fallen overboard from his boat. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter soon arrived and began an aerial search. After close to an hour, we observed the helicopter drop altitude and hover for a short period before the captain came on the intercom and announced the successful rescue of the captain.
|Assist search for person overboard
|April 28
|Sorrento Grimaldi Lines
|The MediTelegraph reports a fire broke out about 20 miles from Palma. The ship was abandoned; passengers and crew were rescued by another Italian ship "Puglia", owned by Tirrenia, chartered to Spanish company Balearia. Aboard the ship at the time of the fire, there was the crew consisting of 45 people and 160 passengers, in addition to the load of cars and trucks. The ship is now adrift about 20 miles east of the island of Majorca.
|Fire - Evacuated - Adrift
|April 26
|Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a passenger: Around 3:50am on the 25th, we received a message from the captain alerting all employees, my friends told me they understood the word code alpha, deck 0, I did not understand the message. We went to the guest relations area and they told us there was a small fire on deck 0. Some people panicked. Around 4:30am the captain again use the speaker and told us all that the issue was a small fire from a small refrigerator on a crew room. He said he was sorry to wake us all and to don't worry as it was solved. The same day when he updated us about the location, etc, he once again mention he was sorry to wake up all that early and mention the situation with the fridge. Speaking with others guest on the cruise we believe he used the wrong button for the speaker for the first time. Some people thought his voice was nervous and others think he was sleepy.
|Fire (small)
|April 26
|Adventure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Antigua Observer reports a man has died while on a cruise ship stopover in Antigua. The man, believed to be 73 years old, complained of feeling unwell Thursday morning, but decided to take a swim anyway. He is said to have been in the water at Jolly Beach only a couple of minutes before getting into difficulty. The ship's doctor, who was in swimwear, was one of four people attempting to resuscitate him. Based on the blue hue of his skin after being pulled out of the water, medics suggested that that he may have had a heart attack rather than drowned. Cause of death, however, is never official until a proper examination is undertaken. A passenger reports that two passengers were left behind at Barbados or St. Lucia because they missed the ship.
|Pax death ashore
|April 26
|Coral Princess
Princess Cruises
|CDC reports 99 of 1958 passengers (5.06%) and 12 of 881 crew (1.36%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship in Los Angeles on April 27 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 15 day cruise.
|April 25
|Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|From a reader/passenger: just getting notification of this ship being repaired. Were getting ready to leave on Sunday from Canada to Miami. Just shocked to learn of this now. How can they do this now ... Totally shocked that they cancelled it now. Cruise Critic cubsequently reports the ship was unexpectedly dry docked to resolve an issue that is causing a small amount of "bio-friendly" oil to leak. The ship, currently the oldest in the line's fleet, will finish its current sailing in Miami tomorrow, as scheduled. It will then sail to Freeport, where repair work will be completed. Passengers booked on the subsequent sailing -- a four-night Bahamas cruise from Miami, scheduled to depart April 27 -- will receive full refunds, as well as future cruise certificates equal to 100 percent of the cruise fares paid for the canceled voyage. The company did not specify how long the repairs will take or whether further sailings are expected to be impacted.
|Cruise canceled because of ship repairs - Drydock for oil leak
|April 23
|Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|NJ.Com reports an employee faces up to three years in prison after admitting Thursday that he sexually assaulted a passenger last year. Karan Seechurn of Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact and is scheduled to be sentenced in August. The incident occurred Dec. 23, 2014. Authorities say Seechurn, 25, was responsible for re-stocking passengers' minibars and had a key to the victim's room. While off-duty, he entered the room and touched the victim's genitals while she was asleep. When the victim awoke, Seechurn tried to prevent the woman from leaving and threatened to burn down the ship if she told anyone, according to court documents filed at the time of Seechurn's arrest.
|Crew member pleads guilty to sexual assault
|April 22
|Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
|WINN FM Carnival Cruise Line has again cancelled its Liberty vessel's Friday call to St. Kitts' Port Zante. According to a press release from the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, the April 24th scheduled port call was cancelled in light of ongoing wind conditions and continuing repairs to the ship's thruster system. This is the fourth port call in a row that has been canceled because of thruster problems.
|Propuylsion problems / canceled port calls
|April 22
|Thomson Celebration
Thomson Cruises
|Daily Mail reports a holiday maker accused of beating an elderly couple unconscious aboard a cruise ship has claimed he was angry with them because they had ignored him over dinner. Graeme Finlay, 53, from Glasgow, denies unlawfully wounding Ron Phillips, 70, who walks with a crutch and was carrying two cocoas back to his cabin for him and his wife June, 68. He also denies causing grievous bodily harm to Mrs Phillips, as they were all cruising in a luxury liner on a 14-night holiday based in the Canary Islands. A court heard that the pensioners were ambushed outside their room by Finlay who had earlier sat with them in the restaurant where he claims that he was snubbed. Finlay, 53, says he was 'ignored' when he joined their table and so moved to another after looking at the menu. Teesside Crown Court heard he was on the ship alone and had drunk two pints of lager, three glasses of red wine and around five vodka and Cokes that evening. The Northern Echo reports the accused was cleared by the jury.
|Lawsuit over pax on pax assault
|April 21
|Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a passenger: The same storm that affected Carnival Spirit, also led to some damage and injuries on the Carnival Legend. The ship was sailing out of Sydney on the 20th and encountered 15 - 25 meter waves that smashed out the windows on two guest cabins located on deck 1 (cabins 1233 & 1235), injuring two of the guests with cuts from glass and being swirled about the cabin while filled with water. A life boat was damaged on deck 4 after being hit by a wave and a life raft was lost overboard.
|Damaged in storm
|April 21
|Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines
|News.Com.Au reports wild weather battering Sydney has left a cruise ship damaged and stuck out at sea. The Carnival Spirit due to dock in Sydney this morning has been unable to enter Sydney Harbour due to the extreme weather. The ship has also suffered damage from the wild weather conditions including damage to a hand railing and pedestal lighting as well as to the cover of a satellite system. A passenger from Sydney who is on Carnival Spirit said the waves on the coast were massive. "It's not pleasant, it's been like this all night," she told ABC radio over the phone from the ship. "I don't think many people got much sleep," Debbie from Cherrybrook said on Tuesday. Carnival Spirit is hoping to berth in Sydney tomorrow, however the delay has meant an itinerary change to the next cruise and the cruise line is offering affected customers a refund or on-board credit. Massive waves have been recorded along the NSW coast, reportedly reaching just over 11m at Manly. SES Deputy Commissioner Steven Pearce said the "enormous" storm was the worst Sydney had experienced in recent times. "We haven't seen gale force winds this consistent for years ... They are cyclonic and it will only get worse." Meanwhile, the ship is bobbing offshore with much seasickness and discomfort. A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines gave the following statement to news.com.au: "The scheduled Sydney arrival of Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Spirit early this morning has been delayed due to severe weather which has led to the closure of Sydney port and prevented the Harbour Pilot from boarding the ship. "The ship is now waiting off the Sydney coast line until the port is reopened and the Harbour Pilot is able to board. It is mandatory maritime requirement for a Harbour Pilot to board any ship before it enters Sydney port.
|Stuck at sea because of weather
|April 20
|Scenic Emerald
Scenic Cruises
|From a passenger: I noticed immediately we boarded that the hand sanitisers at the entrance to the restaurant were not working. When I pointed this out I was told that
this was because they were awaiting replacement batteries. On complaining, I was offered a sanitiser bottle for my own use but I had to point out that everyone should be sanitising their hands before eating not just me. I was very surprised that I had to point this out. On the Saturday (6 days into the cruise) we were told that there was what was believed to be a gastrointestinal virus on the ship and that an increasing number of people were becoming ill. At this stage, one of the portable sanitisers from the reception area was placed outside the restaurant and we were advised to use it. The next day I came down with the virus and, as a result, missed the Beaujolais visit (which would have been one of the highlights for me) and the Captain's dinner, amongst other things. I believe that my illness was a direct result of the poor hygiene
regime aboard the ship and so was completely avoidable. I wrote to complain after the cruise and had to send a reminder after four weeks. The eventual reply was superficial and flippant and didn't address the issues I had raised. When I complained again it took two and a half weeks for them to offer a discount on another holiday. As we would be unlikely to book again with Scenic, given the poor hygiene regime, I asked for a partial cash refund. They refused.
|Illness outbreak
|April 19
P&O Cruises
|Cruise Hive reports the ship returned back to Port after a fire broke out in the ship engine room. The small fire broke out yesterday evening (April 18th) at around 7 PM not long after the 65,153 gross ton cruise ship departed Miami, Florida. From what we can tell the damage was minor as the P&O Oriana has now departed Miami once again. No injuries have been reported. The news first broke via @PTZtv and they mentioned that a viewer of one of the web cams heard radio messages between the cruise ship and the US Coast Guard. Seatrade reports the first port of call, Key West, has been canceled.
|Fire - delay / canceled port call
|April 18
Norwegian Cruise Line
|Cruise Law News reports a NCL crew member employed aboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship was arrested yesterday when he attempted to smuggle cocaine aboard the ship when it was docked in Roatan, according to the Teledifusora Insular television station. The television stations reports that the NCL ship employee, identified as Keneth Antonio Salas Taylor (age 35), a Nicaraguan galley worker, tired to board the Dawn with a package of cocaine hidden under his clothes. The ship's security discovered the drugs and reported the incident to the national police, who arrested the crew member.
|Drug bust
|April 18
|Regal Princess
Princess Cruises
|Chronicle Herald reports the ship was slated to make its inaugural call at the Port of Halifax on Sunday morning. However, the stop has been cancelled because a storm is brewing while the ship would be making a transatlantic crossing, the Halifax Port Authority said Friday. From a reader: The Regal Princess departed Fort Lauderdale PM April 15th. on a transatlantic cruise with first scheduled stop Halifax, also Halifax's first cruise ship of the season; however approximately 2 hrs. out there was a medical emergency and she returned to Fort Lauderdale after the call at Halifax was dropped. Her 2nd. scheduled stop was Cork Ireland.
|Skips port - aniticipated weather
|April 17
|Voyager Voyages of Discovery
|BBC reports a tender from a cruise liner visiting Guernsey was aground for an hour as it tried to pick up passengers using a temporary pontoon. No passengers were on board when the vessel from the MS Voyager that by the pontoon connected to the Albert Pier. It was refloated at 13:50 BST. A harbour spokesman said the tender's crew had been advised earlier to move to a deeper area next to the pontoon. Permanent pontoons, suitable for all tides, are due to be completed by May.
|Tender aground
|April 16
|Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Cayman News Service reports a 31-year-old American cruise ship passenger died after two Jet Skis collided yesterday afternoon. Robert Cole and his 37-year-old female passenger, named as Amy Comer,were thrown into the water when the Jet Ski they were riding collided with one driven by a 15-year-old boy, a cruise visitor from New York. The crash occurred on Wednesday 15 April just before 1pm close to the Westin Hotel. Cole was transported to the shore where CPR was administered to him. Emergency Services responded shortly and transported him and the woman to the hospital. Cole later succumbed to his injuries, but the female passenger has since been treated and released from the hospital. The 15-year-old boy from New York, a passenger on the Carnival Paradise, was the sole rider of the other Jet Ski in the collision. He suffered a minor nose injury which did not require hospitalization, police said. According to other sources the teen may have t-boned Cole's Jet Ski.
|Pax death ashore
|April 14
Croisieres de France
|721 News reports that around 12 noon on April 13th the police department received a call from the security office at the A.C. Wathey Cruise Facilities that they had received a message from the cruise vessel "Croisieres de France Horizon Cruiseship" informing them that a passenger on board of the cruise ship had jumped from the ship in open waters between the Dominican Republic and Sint Maarten. The male victim, 67-year-old Dominic William O'Carroll, is a resident from the French Side of the island. What the circumstances are that led to this incident will be investigated when the ship arrives in the port of Sint Maarten.
|Passenger overboard
|April 13
|Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|The CDC reported 135 0f 1746 passengers (7.73%) and 7 of 748 crew (0.94%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and one epidemiologist will board the ship in San Diego on April 14 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 16 day cruise.
|April 10
MSC Cruises
|Mallorca Magazin and UH Sucesos report Palma Local police arrested two Italian crew that had committed a series of robberies on the promenade shortly before sailing. A nightlife security camera caught them red-handed. Ten minutes before two o'clock on Friday morning, a patrol was alerted by the theft of a bag in a place of the Avenue Gabriel Roca. Employees of the bar held the suspects (a 21 year old and a 19 year old, both Italian men). It turned out, they had stolen the bag, and in another bar a tablet of last generation and credit cards. These were found among their clothes.
|Theft spree ashore by 2 crew members
|April 10
Celebrity Cruises
|The CDC reported 106 0f 2117 passengers (5.00%) and 6 of 964 crew (0.62%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.One Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and one epidemiologist will board the ship in San Diego on April 13 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 16 day cruise.
|April 9
Cruise & Maritime Voyages
|Daily Mail reports nearly 500 British holidaymakers were stranded overnight on an impounded cruise ship in Lisbon harbour after its owners were served with a summons for an allegedly unpaid debt. The passengers coming towards the end of a 15 night cruise became the unwitting pawns in a legal wrangle between a former crew member and the owners of the MV Azores. The ship had been set to leave Lisbon at 7pm on Tuesday night with its 489 passengers heading back to Bristol Avonmouth after a round-trip tour that took in La Coruna in Spain, the Azores, and Madeira. But that was scuppered when lawyers slapped a court order on the ship over an 'unresolved' and 'historic' financial wrangle. The harbour master then refused to let the ship leave for Bristol. The ship is operated by Essex-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages. But the legal dispute was between owners Portuscale Cruise - from which they were chartering the vessel - and one of that company's former staff. The UK cruise firm, which had nothing to do with the financial wrangle, eventually came to an arrangement with Portugese authorities which allowed the ship to sail - 19 hours late - at 2pm Wednesday. It said passengers were kept informed throughout, helped with onward travel arrangements affected by the delay, and given access to a complimentary bar.
|Detained for 18 hours
|April 9
HNA Cruise Company
|China Times reports nearly 400 Chinese tourists refused to leave the Henna, China's first domestically-operated luxury liner, for nearly eight hours on Monday after their tour schedule to Japan was halved and disrupted by heavy fog, reports Shanghai-based outlet the Paper. The passengers refused to disembark from 8 am until 5 pm before they reached an agreement with the cruise line on compensation. The incident also caused another five-hour delay to passengers waiting to board for the next trip. One of the passengers, surnamed Wu, said he and his friends and family had booked a six-day cruise to Fukuoka and Sasebo through Chinese travel agent ly.com. They were scheduled to board at 5 pm on April 1 but waited until 9 pm. After boarding, the crew told passengers that the ship could not leave Shanghai Wusongku International Cruise Terminal until 1 am and that the visit to Fukuoka would have to be cancelled. Passengers were given the option of staying or leaving, the crew said. Wu and his wife left but his parents stayed. Wu's mother said that after arriving at Sasebo, passengers had originally been told they would have seven to eight hours in the city, but the actual time was halved. Passengers were also denied access to the liner's pools and karaoke machines, something Wu's parents had been looking forward to enjoying. That left passengers with the options of eating, sleeping and drinking for the rest of the cruise, said the mother. She, along with nearly 400 passengers, refused to leave the ship after it returned to Shanghai until the operator agreed to compensation for the disappointing voyage.
|Pax refused to disembark - Embarkation 12 hours late & itinerary change
|April 7
Norwegian Cruise Line
|Travel Pulse reports cancelation of the April 12 Panama Canal voyage due to "a technical issue with the ship's ABB-manufactured Azipod propulsion system." Guests booked on the 15-day cruise from Los Angeles will receive a full refund of the cruise fare, as well as a 50 percent future cruise credit. The ship will be out of service April 12-26 so repairs can be made and is expected to resume service on April 27 from Miami, the company said. The ship late last month emerged from a two-week dry-dock renovation that included "an Azipod hydrodynamic upgrade" and other technical improvements including state-of-the-art silicone paint on the hull that improves fuel efficiency, thrusters and stabilizer maintenance; and ballast and bilge piping replacement.
|Canceled cruise for drydock
|April 6
Norwegian Cruise Line
|The CDC reported 107 of 2472 passengers (4.37%) and 7 of 1062 crew (0.66%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Two Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship in Miami to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on an 11 day cruise. From a passenger: The reports coming from the CDC are not accurate. The captain said that 20% of the ship was sick. We have taken 20 cruises. We are not cruise virgins. Had medications for diarrhea from our doctor. Still, felt terrible the whole cruise. We would call some halls, including on deck 10, which we were on "red light districts", noting the number of rooms on do not disturb. The smells were noxious. We were very close to getting quarantined. Took us over one hour to clear customs in St. Kitts. The last time we fell ill was in 2002 on RCL. I sent a notice of claims to the Supervisor of Customer Complaints and they gave a credit for another cruise.
|April 6
|Olive Press reports a total of 16kg of cocaine, worth around €1 million, was seized by police checking cruise ship passengers stopping off at Malaga port. cruise ship The majority – 12 kg – was found with two Argentinean men travelling on board whilst the remaining 4 kg had been smuggled in a car's hidden compartment.
|Drug bust
|April 2
|Ryndam Holland America Line
|Associate Press reports a couple was found dead Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide aboard a Holland America cruise ship that docked in Puerto Rico. T he unidentified man and woman were in their 50s and from Cleveland, Ohio, police Sgt. Ricardo Cruz told The Associated Press. Cruz said blood was found in the cabin, but it was unclear how the couple died. "We don't know yet whether an object was used or what the motive was," he said. He said the ship's crew found the bodies when they checked on the couple after not seeing them for a while. The FBI has taken over the investigation. It was unclear exactly when the couple died. The ship departed Tampa, Florida, on Sunday for a two-week cruise in the southern Caribbean. It stopped in Key West on Monday and then spent two days at sea before docking in historic Old San Juan on Thursday, Holland America spokesman Erik Elvejord said.Passengers said they were not aware of what had happened. The crew had roped off part of the ship and hung a sheet in the hallway as passengers disembarked around noon. The Ryndam was scheduled to depart Puerto Rico late Thursday and arrive in St. Thomas on Friday.
2 pax dead
|April 1
|Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line
|The Telegraph reports a passenger has died following an accident while boarding the ship from a tender (the small boats that carry passengers from ship to shore or port when the cruise ship anchors at sea). The cruise ship was in Sihanoukville, a-water port city in Cambodia, on a 112-night world cruise which left Southampton on January 10. "We can confirm that a passenger died earlier today following an accident whilst boarding Queen Elizabeth from a tender," says the official statement. "Two of our crew members reacted very quickly and jumped in to rescue her. She was then taken to the medical centre but despite our very best efforts, she died."
Gangway ramps can, on occasion, break free of either the ship or the tender, causing passengers or crew to fall into the sea. Carnival Group offered no further comment on the accident.
|Pax death while boarding via tender
|April 1
|Crystal Serenity Crystal Cruises
|From a reader: the ship is busy cruising down the South African coast. She was due to berth at Port Elizabeth this morning. This call was cancelled due to weather and she is now en-route to Cape Town where she was originally due on the 3rd, will now arrive tomorrow, 2nd April. Guess at this stage pax will enjoy an additional day in Cape Town where we are enduing PERFECT weather ! UPDATE: Crystal Serenity was originally due in Cape Town 2nd April at 18h00 local time. Since she has omitted Port Elizabeth call this morning due to weather, she will now arrive in Cape Town tomorrow morning (2 April) at 05h30 local time and pax will have an extra full day in Cape Town and she will depart on schedule for Rio de Janeiro on Saturday 4 April at 14h00 local time. UPDATE April 4: The ship's scheduled departure from Cape Town today (4 April) at 14h00 has been delayed. The Port of Cape Town is currently wind bound with a drop only forecast for early tomorrow, Sunday 5th April. Regardless, the ship sailed with the assistance of 2 tugs late afternoon on April 4th.
|Skipped port call
|March 31
|Marco Polo Cruise & Maritime Voyages
|Island FM (Guernsey) reports the second cruise liner visit of the season has been cancelled due to the weather. The Marco Polo was due to come in this morning, but won't be - and the visit scheduled for tomorrow is at risk too.
|Skipped port call
|March 31
P&O Cruises
|ITV reports cruise ships based in Southampton are being delayed because of the bad weather and high winds of up to 50 knots this afternoon. P & O have said they are unable to move Oriana to a terminal where passengers can safely embark today so the ship will be delayed by 24 hours. Passengers will receive a refund of 50% of the price of their holiday and those on the current sailing will remain on board until later tonight or tomorrow.
|Delayed embarkation and debarkation (24 hours)
|March 30
|Queen of Oak Bay
BC Ferries
|The Vancouver Sun reports BC Ferries cancelled the remaining Monday sailings of the Queen of Oak Bay after a man went overboard from the main car deck around 4:15 p.m. The vessel was headed from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Departure Bay in Nanaimo when the person went into the water just south of Bowen Island, said Deborah Marshall, a BC Ferries spokeswoman. The crew stopped the ship and launched a rescue boat, as did the eastbound crew of the passing Queen of Cowichan. By the time they found the man in the water he was unconscious and unresponsive, said Marshall. They transferred the man to a Vancouver police boat which was on scene. BC Ferries cancelled the 5 and 9 p.m. Sailings from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay and the 7 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay.
|Overboard / rescued
|March 30
|Concordia Costa Cruises
|The Independent reports the doomed Costa Concordia was carrying a huge shipment of Mafia-owned cocaine when it set off on its final voyage, investigators have said. 'Ndrangheta', the feared Calabrian crime syndicate, had its drugs hidden aboard the ship that partially capsized in January 2012, phone and tape recordings of gang members have revealed. "The same ship that made us a laughing stock around the world, took the piss out of us, too," 'Ndrangheta boss Michele Rossi is heard saying to an associate, Massimo Tiralongo, according to police officers investigating the organisation's vast cocaine-trafficking operation. In addition to vessels operated by Costa Cruises, 'Ndrangheta also placed its drugs on ships owned by MSC and Norwegian Cruise Lines, which travel between Europe, North America and the Caribbean, according to details of the criminal investigation revealed in La Repubblica. Officers from the organised crime investigation group in Florence say that the drugs on the Concordia, which have not been found, were stowed aboard without the knowledge of senior officers or senior company officials, but almost certainly with the complicity of one or more crew members.
|Drug investigation
|March 29
|Carnival Fantasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a passenger: On Saturday when we docked in Charleston a man was lead off board by the local police in handcuffs. No information on why he was arrested.NOTE: If a reader has further information, please drop a note.
|Pax led off ship in handcuffs
|March 29
|Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines
|ABC 13 reports a man was arrested and charged Saturday with assault after an incident on the ship, which is now docked in the Port of Galveston. Joseph Allen faces a federal charge amounting to assault resulting in substantial body injury. The FBI is handling the case because it has special maritime and territorial jurisdiction. The charge comes after a statement from Carnival Friday, saying a domestic dispute broke out between a 44-year-old male guest and his 14-year-old stepson.
|Arrest for assault w/ SBI
|March 28
MSC Cruises
|Genova 24 reports the ship, which just left the plant of Fincantieri Palermo after being stretched, arrived in Genoa and while manoeuvring to dock, entering al Ponte dei Mille, collided and destroyed a portion of the wharf. On board there were only the crew and the management of MSC, including the ceo Gianni Onorato. There were no injuries and only minor damage to the shp. The ship left March 27 on its inaugural cruise.The first port of call is Ajaccio.
|Collision with pier
|March 28
|Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
|The Independent reports a number of passengers and crew members were evacuated after smoke was spotted billowing from the front section of a cruise ship docked in the Dutch Caribbean nation of St Maarten. Officials said there were no reported injuries. Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vince Gulliksen said an overheated bearing caused smoke to emerge from the front section of the Carnival Liberty. He said the problem has been resolved. The ship was expected to depart St Maarten later as scheduled. It left Florida on Sunday for a seven-day Caribbean cruise.
|Ship evacuated in port - Smoke from overheated bearing
|March 26
Viking River Cruises
|From a reader: My parents were booked on a cruise set to leave this Friday and were just contacted that the cruise is canceled due to the boat being involved in an accident. The customer service rep said it was not safe to set sail. I'm looking online but am not finding any info. If you have information about this please drop me a not. From another reader: We were booked to leave for March 19th and return 7 days later. We had to cancel due to illness. The cruise line just sent us an email saying "Welcome Home" and that they were sorry the itinerary had to be changed due to an accident. They gave us a 25% off a future cruise. I guess they didn't realize we were not there (SCARY). NOTE: It appears the accident occured on the March 19th cruise.
|Accident / canceled cruise
|March 25
P&O Cruises
|The Telegraph reports that in Monaco this week passengers who had left the ship on morning excursions during her maiden voyage were temporarily unable to re-board the ship due to a swell that halted tender operations for more than 90 minutes. Once transfer operations resumed the crew safely re-boarded several thousand people. This meant waiting for the tender boats, which rose and fell several feet on the swell, to align with the ship's gangway and then, aided by crew, making a dash for the gangway ramp.
|Tendering operations halted
|March 24
MSC Cruises
|Crew Center reports five Tourists with Slovenian passports were arrested in the northern coast of São Paulo by international drug trafficking police. The tour group was trying to board on a cruise ship in Ilhabela, with 26 kilos of cocaine. The cruise ship MSC Magnifica, sailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and during the boarding ships security found five tourists acting suspicious and immediately notified the police. The search was conducted by the Federal Police of San Sebastian, which said that the tourists tried to re-embark with drugs wrapped around their body. One of the suspects was already investigated by international traffic. Police said Ilhabela became a strategic point of international drug trafficking, because the city quick stops vessels are made with a large number of tourists. Detainees with Slovenian nationality are between 20 and 35 years of age and were taken for questioning at the police station. One of them reported that the drugs was destined for Europe. The suspicion is that the seized cocaine had come from Colombia. Police are still investigating the involvement of other people treating this as a international network of drug trafficking.
|Drug bust
|March 24
|Veendam Holland America Line
|From a passenger: We have just returned from a 14 day Panama Canal cruise aboard Holland America's Veendam. The first day out, many cabins were without water for a time, and then had brown water for a time. It seems that the cruise ship chose to flush one of the water tanks during the cruise. While we signed up for a six port cruise, we were only able to go to four ports. The reason given for the cancellation of the two ports was that they were performing maintenance on their diesel generator, ran into a problem, and didn't have anyone aboard who could fix the problem. While our cruise was not the total disaster of some that I have read about, I believe it highlights a continuing problem with Carnival and the cruise lines that fall under the Carnival umbrella. Ships do not seem to be adequately maintained, breakdowns, port cancellations, and safety issues are becoming the rule rather than the exception. It is my concern that Carnival is more interested in their bottom line than the safety of their passengers and that, some day, this will result in tragedy.
|Missed ports and propulsion problems
|March 23
|Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|WPTV reports search crews are looking for a man who either voluntarily jumped or fell from a cruise ship overnight near the Florida Keys, according to U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss. According to a spokesperson with Royal Caribbean, the 43-year-old man was spotted on cameras "climbing over the railing and going overboard from deck 12." The incident happened aboard the Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas about 20 miles off Marathon. A Coast Guard cutter out of Miami, a boat crew based in Marathon, two Canadian Coast Guard ships and a helicopter are assisting with the search. U.S. Coast Guard crews continued searching for the man Monday afternoon.
|Passenger overboard
|March 21
|Splendor of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Merco Press reports Argentine customs officials seized cocaine worth more than one million dollars million from two crew members on a luxury cruise ship docked in Buenos Aires, authorities said. The suspects, both men, were identified only as a Croatian national and a Chilean traveling on an Australian passport. They were detained as they tried to board Royal Caribbean line's Splendour of the Seas with packets of cocaine taped to their bodies, Argentina's AFIP tax agency said in a statement. Authorities with trained dogs then searched the pair's cabin on the ship and found 10 additional bricks of cocaine inside a backpack with different kinds of wrapping, some of them with the same pattern as the packets they carried on the suspects' bodies. The cruise ship arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday from Punta del Este, Uruguay, and was scheduled to depart for Brazil en route to Europe, where, according to AFIP's estimate, the 15.8 kilograms of high-purity cocaine would have had a street value of more than 1 million dollars.
|Drug bust
|March 20
|Carnival Valor
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a reader: during the 2nd week of march 2015, it's been reported that a chlorination problem of the tap water onboard Carnival Valor affected blond haired people, their hair becoming green. I have received this information from pax onboard
|Chlorine problem in water
|March 19
|Amsterdam Holland America Line
|From a passenger: We are in our third week of code red sanitation restrictions due to serious Noro Virus...bacterial and viral effecting passengers . We are now in Mumbai. Irresponsible passengers continue to violate the voluntary quarantine and infect more passengers. The Captain told us last night that if passengers don't do their part to bring an end to the number of new cases, they may have to even cancel the cruise and to sanitize the ship. The crew have been fantastic, working overtime to clean the ship. We continue to see people who are contagious outside their cabin and using the Lido and public areas. NOTE: Cruise ships not operating from US ports are not required to report illness outbreaks. Thus, there will be no accurate reports of the number of passengers ill. UPDATE: We were off the ship for four days doing an overland trip in India to visit the Taj. We flew to catch up with the ship in Dubai yesterday. When the ship arrived in Port yesterday morning, the ship underwent a deep disinfecting, every cabin too, Ali the linens were changed too. I think about 100 passengers got off and about 70 new passengers got on. The ship is STILL in Code Red tonight. Same precautions in place, plus while E have been off the ship, they have closed the library, the fitness center as well as the Jacuzzis until further notice We sail for Oman tomorrow and have a sea day until we reach Oman.
|Illness outbreak (Serious)
|March 18
|Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
|Dominion Post reports the ship ditched its Wellington visit with the capital in sight. It was due into Wellington Harbour on Wednesday morning but, after a circuitous route across Cook Strait, the pilot aborted entry to the harbour at 5.10am because of a heavy swell and bad weather. The Wellington leg of the cruise was cancelled and the ship is now heading up the North Island west coast to Auckland.
|Skipped port
|March 18
|Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines
|ABC 13 reports the ship is now on its way back to Galveston, and should arrive by 11am Thursday. For the thousands of passengers, the past 24 hours have been anything but routine. Around 9pm Tuesday, the ship notified those on board that a passenger went overboard. A body was recovered the following day. Nena Robinson, who is currently on the cruise ship with her husband, called ABC 13 Wednesday afternoon. "About nine o'clock, right as the show was ending, they came on the intercom and said 'Bravo! Bravo Starboard side,'" recalled Robinson. "We learned later that it meant someone had gone over." Passengers say at that point, the ship turned around and headed back to Mexico to aide in the search and rescue. Authorities confirmed the man went overbroad through the ship's onboard cameras, but no other details have been released. By morning, the body of the passenger, a 54-year-old man, was found. The ship is scheduled to return to Galveston by 11a.m., three hours later than planned.
|Passenger overborad
|March 18
|Fascinosa Costa Cruises Splendida MSC Cruises
|International Business Times reports at least 19 people were killed and more than 40 wounded as two gunmen in military fatigues stormed the Bardo Museum in the Tunisian capital. Among the victims were passengers on a shore excursion from two liners that had docked in the port city as part of an off-season Mediterranean cruise. MSC Cruises said that a number of guests from the Splendida who joined an organised trip to the museum were caught in the attack. Nine were confirmed killed, 12 injured and six, including a British national, are unaccounted-for, not having returned aboard as the ship pulled out to the Mediterranean at sunrise. According to IHS Maritime 360, Costa Cruises has confirmed that five passengers - four Italians and one Russian - of its cruise liner Costa Fascinosa were murdered in the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis on 18 March. Eight other passengers - seven Italians and one Russian - were injured in the attack and are currently in hospital, the company confirmed in a statement. The total number of cruise passengers killed now stands at 14 - nine were travelling on the cruise ship MSC Splendida. The total injured is 20, including five from Costa Fascinosa and 12 from Splendida.
|Terrorist attack in Tunis
|March 17
|Queen Mary 2 & Queen Victoria
Cunard Line
|Marlborough Express reports apair of cruise ships have arrived in Picton at short notice to shelter from Cyclone Pam. The Queen Victoria cruise ship docked at Waimahara Wharf, in Shakespeare Bay, on Monday morning after travelling from Sydney, while the Queen Mary 2 was scheduled to arrive in Picton this morning from the Milford Sound. Port Marlborough chief executive Ian McNabb said Port Marlborough had been contacted by a ship's agent on Saturday asking if the cruise ships could shelter at Waimahara Wharf to avoid the brunt of Cyclone Pam, hitting the east coast of the country. The Queen Victoria had left Picton on Monday evening, while the Queen Mary 2 is due to leave early tonight.
|Unexpected stop to shelter from weather
|March 17
|Super Star Libra
Star Cruises
|The Star reports the body of a 50 year old Indonesian man who fell overboard was found on Monday evening. The body of Mulianto Raik, 50, an Indonesian, was found 19 nautical miles west of Muka Head near here by local fishermen. A search and rescue operation was launched on March 13 after a report was received from the ship's captain who saw a man fall from the deck of the liner about eight nautical miles north of Muka Head through closed circuit television camera.
|Person overboard
|March 16
Irish Ferries
|The Independent reports the ship, which had been travelling from Holyhead to Dublin, had been due to arrive at around 5.30pm when it received a request from Holyhead Port Authority. The ship remained at sea until 6.30pm, when the all-clear was given to allow the 1,555 passengers to disembark. A spokesman from Holyhead Port Authority said the request had been made after the alarm was raised about a "medical issue". But confusion reigned as neither the NHS or Public Health England said they were aware of the incident last night. An Irish Ferries spokesman said: "Our ship, the Ulysses, was arriving into Dublin Port, and we were asked by the port authorities in Holyhead to hold our passengers on board, and not discharge them. Apparently, there was some situation being investigated on the UK side. "It's normal procedure that we would act on that request, so we acted on it. "Just about an hour later, at 6.30pm, we got clearance to release the passengers. We let them off on their way and the vessel concerned is now back in normal service, on its way back over to Holyhead."
|Delayed disembarkation/ embarkation
|March 15
|Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Travel Pulse reports Carnival Legend,sailing out of Australia, was due to call at Port Vila, Mystery Island and Santo in Vanuatu but a Carnival Cruise Line statement said the captain and his team are currently working on alternative South Pacific destinations.
|Itinerary change (weather)
|March 15
P&O Cruises
|Cruise Critic reports the ship has become the latest cruise ship forced to skip a port stop due to Cyclone Pam. , a spokeswoman confirmed. "Due to routing measures necessary to avoid Tropical Cyclone Pam, Aurora will now be unable to deliver the planned call to Apia. She will arrive in Pago Pago on 18th March (East of Dateline)," the P&O Cruises' spokeswoman said.
|Itinerary change (weather)
|March 14
|Oosterdam Holland America Line
|Cruise Critic reports the ship has been forced to skip a port stop in Vanuatu due to the cyclone lashing the South Pacific island. It skipped Port Vila yesterday (March 13th) and instead spent a day at sea to avoid the storm front, according to a statement on HAL's Facebook page. The ship was due to arrive as scheduled in Luganville, Vanuatu, today (March 14th). The statement reads: "Due to tropical storm conditions at this time, the ship did not call at Port Vila, Vanuatu, on March 13. Oosterdam sailed west from its scheduled call at Mystery Island, Vanuatu, on March 12 for a day at sea to avoid the weather front.
|Itinerary change (weather)
|March 13
|neoRiviera Costa Cruises
|From a reader: the ship arrived off the portof Cape Town this morning 13th March at 09h30 (4 hours ago) and is doing circles in the bay as the port has been wind bound. She was due to berth at 12h00, but actually docked just after midnight. NOTE: I am presently in Cape Town and the winds have been exceptionally strong all day, disrupting sea traffic.
|Delayed arrival because of high winds
|March 11
|Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a passenger: I was on a cruise March 9th thru March 15th out of Galveston when on the 11th a lady (passenger) drowned next to the pier but I haven't seen any postings about this accident. The incident occured at Costa Maya.
|Death onshore
|March 11
|Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
|From a reader: Heard this from passengers of Sea Princess while in port of Tauranga, North Island New Zealand this week. During the journey from Australia, a steering equipment error was made by a staff member who has since been dismissed. Approx 6am ship exxperienced huge noise and listed severely for approx 3/4 hr. Considerable damage, including $250,000 of alcohol.
|Severe list - onboard damage
|March 10
|Norwegian Sun
Norwegian Cruise Line
|The Tampa Tribune reports 5 galley workers were arrested over the weekend after investigators said they were found smuggling seven kilograms of cocaine from Honduras in their underwear. They attracted the attention of customs officials as they were leaving the ship, according to a federal affidavit. Investigators followed them to the Hooters restaurant in Channelside, where they observed the crew members "pacing anxiously" and talking on their cell phones until two women pulled up in a rental car. The crew members got into the car, and authorities followed them to a Residence Inn on Boy Scout Boulevard, according to the affidavit. Everyone went inside, and then returned to the car about 20 minutes later. The two women — Semarie Paul and Simone Walters — dropped the crew members off at the Port, then returned to the hotel. They went back inside, investigators said, and then came back out with luggage. Walters and Paul left the hotel and were pulled over by a Pasco County Sheriff's sergeant for a traffic infraction. The women appeared nervous, a K-9 deputy arrived at the scene, and the dog found four packages of cocaine in the car, according to the affidavit. Customs officials searched the crew members as they made their way back to the ship, and found thousands of dollars and Western Union receipts for currency transfers, records show. The men admitted to officials that they had picked up the packages March 3 in Roatan, Honduras, and smuggled them aboard the ship in their Spandex underwear. They were paid $2000 for each package.
|Drug bust
|March 8
|Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines
|From a reader: RE: cruise departing Miami, Florida 2015-03-07 16:00. Sometime in the early morning hours of 2015-03-08, en route to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas the passenger went overboard. Carnival verified passenger was onboard and reviewed ships security tapes (according to passenger). Passenger indicates they DID NOT make port call at Half Moon Cay. They continued to do "circles" along with another Carnival ship, looking for passenger. They are currently en route to St. Thomas, USVI. CNN subsequently reported a 21-year-old male guest was reported missing on Carnival Glory and a review of camera footage confirmed a man overboard. The ship is currently en route to the location where it was at the time the individual was last seen on the camera footage and will commence search and rescue operations upon arrival. Authorities have been notified including U.S. Coast Guard which is launching a search and rescue operation as well. The ship is presently near the Bahamas.
|Passenger overboard - Missed port call
|March 8
Norwegian Cruise Line
|Miami Herald reports a stalled sailboat started a chain of events that kept the ship in port for several extra hours Saturday. It was leaving PortMiami around 6:15 p.m. for a weeklong Caribbean sailing when it had to maneuver around a powerless sailboat in the middle of the channel, according to a statement from the cruise line. It's starboard side pod, which contains a propeller, "may have made contact with the channel bed," the statement said. The U.S. Coast Guard performed an inspection and ultimately cleared the ship to leave around 11 p.m.; it could be seen heading toward the port's turning basin a short time later. Getaway, which launched in 2014, is expected to arrive in St. Maarten on Tuesday as scheduled.
|Contact with channel bed
|March 8
|Rhapsody & Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Critic reports a tropical depression north of Vanuatu and east of the Solomon Islands has caused at both ships to change itineraries in the South Pacific, avoiding Fiji in order to evade the storm. Royal Caribbean did not specify what would replace the calls in Fiji on the ships' new itineraries. However, members posting in the Cruise Critic forums have said Voyager of the Seas had turned back to Australia's east coast after visiting Noumea in New Caledonia, and Rhapsody of the Seas had altered its itinerary from a South Pacific itinerary to a cruise up the east coast of Australia. A warning issued by the Fiji Meteorological Services said the tropical depression was rapidly intensifying and could become a tropical cyclone. The weather system is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Vanuatu and Fiji. Carnival Legend and Silversea's Silver Spirit are also on South Pacific itineraries. UPDATE: CNN reports the storm hit Vanuatu on March 14 - Tropical Cyclone Pam is the strongest storm to make landfall since the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013. Relief workers reported "unbelievable destruction" after Tropical Cyclone Pam smashed the capital of Vanuatu, the Australian Red Cross said Saturday and "humanitarian needs will be enormous. Many people have lost their homes. Shelter, food and water (are) urgent priorities" in Port Vila. Meteorologists said the storm has weakened some, but it was still pounding the islands after hours of fierce winds and torrential rain (gusts to 305km and 9 inches of rain within 36 hours).
|Itinerary changes due to weather
|March 7
|neoRomantica Costa Cruises
|Il Secolo Xix reports the ship was battered by seven meter high seas and wind gusts exceeding 125 km (75 miles) per hour as it saidled from Trapai to Marseille. It was forced to enter the port of Savona because of weather cinditions and damage to the ship and passengers were then tussed to Marseille. In the midst of the storm, the ship was forced to drop its anchor. Cruise Law News reports The Italian Crociere in Diretto blog and Facebook page contains accounts of the storm and photographs of the damage to the ship. Many cabins were flooded with water and there was a loss of power and black-out during the storm. Passengers were frightened and some had to stay in the hallways. You can also read accounts of the storm in La Provence.
|Damaged in encounter with storm - pax bussed to next port
|March 7
|Oceania Cruises
SFGate has a story about a couple asking for assistance from their ombudsman. Theyhad booked a South Pacific cruise on the Oceania Marina and hadn't bought insurance. "My wife was diagnosed with lung cancer, and we had to cancel our trip a few weeks before our departure. I understand from my friends, who went on the cruise and had the room next door, that our room was occupied the whole trip. I know we probably won't get back the $29,000 we spent on the cruise. But we paid an extra $14,000 to upgrade our flight to Australia to business class. Oceania has received a refund from the airline, but the cruise line won't reimburse us for it." The ombudsperson wrote: "It's too bad you didn't buy insurance. It's always a good idea to consider a policy that covers a vacation of a lifetime like the one you planned to take, even if it made it a little more expensive.
|Refusal to refund in case of medical emergency (cancer)
|March 7
Celebrity Cruises
|Seattle Times has a story about a couple that booked an 11-night, air-inclusive Adriatic cruise through the cruise line. "We paid the $6,800 using our Visa card. A few days before our flight from Minneapolis to Venice, Delta Air Lines notified us of a change in flights due to an Air France pilots' strike. The new flights were to be on the same day as our scheduled departure, but left later in the day. However, when we arrived at the Delta counter, there were no reservations in our names. We called Celebrity and were given two reservation numbers to show the Delta agents for our flights the next day. But we would be arriving only 40 minutes before the ship sailed — not enough time to clear customs and make it to the ship. We had no choice but to cancel our cruise. We went home very disappointed. Ever since then, we've been trying to get a full refund from Celebrity. The company's best offer is a 25 percent credit and a voucher for 75 percent toward a future cruise. Our credit card company has worked with us to find a better resolution, but Celebrity refuses to deviate from its "no cash refund" policy." The newspaper's ombudsman said because the couple canceled the vacation rather than taking flights that would miss the ship and leaving it to Celebrity to get them to the next port, and because they hadn't bought insurance, they had little recourse. However, as he writes, his calls to Celebrity went unanswered, "and I suspect I know why: By the time I contacted them, your credit card dispute was already in full swing. A few days later, you reported back that you'd won the dispute. I don't know if I could have gotten you a full refund, but all's well that ends well."
|Refusal to refund after change of airline schedule on air-sea package
|March 6
Celebrity Cruises
|Times of Malta reports the Malta Police have issued a European arrest warrant for a Scottish man wanted for attempted rape after he turned a young student's family holiday on board a Maltese-flagged cruise ship into a nightmare. The incident happened last summer -- on the evening of July 23, the British student who was travelling with her mother, father and younger brother said her drink was spiked by a fellow passenger who then indecently assaulted her and tried to rape her. She recovered consciousness in the cabin and found herself in a compromising position. On returning to the UK, the police interviewed the victim and gathered evidence from her and the cruise liner. Since the incident took place in international waters any criminal proceedings must be instituted in Malta, the country where the cruise ship was registered. Her lawyer, Simon Gallant, got in touch with Times of Malta after he had heard nothing from local law enforcement authorities for six months. The police said that the case was a sensitive one, but the media attention appears to have oushed them to take action. (NOTE: Under US law, the FBI has the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes against U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, but often this authority is not exercised when the crime occurs on a cruise ship.)
|Arrest warrant for sexual assault of pax
|March 5
|Caribbean Cruise Line
|NBC News reports the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ten state attorneys general have charged Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., and its telemarketing partners with making "billions" of illegal robocalls to sell cruises to the Bahamas. These sales calls were disguised as political surveys in violation of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, according to the joint lawsuit. The only way a robocall pitching some good or service is legal is if you've given written permission to receive one and these guys had no permission, however calls for political parties are exempt. Caribbean Cruise Line has agreed to change its business practices and pay a $7.7 million civil penalty to settle this case, although most of that penalty will be suspended after it pays $500,000. As many as 15 million robocalls a day were placed during this massive robocall campaign, which ran from October 2011 through July 2012, the complaint says. People who got the prerecorded call from "John from Political Opinions of America" were told they'd been "carefully selected to participate in a short 30-second research survey." By taking the survey, John said, they'd receive a "free" two day cruise for two people to the Bahamas. Those who completed the survey and tried to get their free cruise were connected to a live telemarketer who tried to sell them add-ons and other travel packages. The FTC claims these calls generated millions of dollars for the cruise line. When contacted for a comment, the company's attorney emailed a statement to NBC News. It said Caribbean had agreed to allow its complimentary cruise promotion to be used by a group of Political Action Committees (PACs) to increase the response to the survey calls the PACs made during the presidential election of 2012. "Unfortunately, the PACs made calls that were not part of the program that Caribbean had approved," the statement said. "Since Caribbean had long before disassociated itself from the PACs and the survey calls being made, Caribbean chose to settle the dispute, and there was no finding of any wrongdoing."
|Charged for illegal robocall marketing
|March 4
|Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
|WPTV reports a diabetic woman said her service dog wasn't allowed on a cruise. Robin Phillips claims the cruise line failed to make it clear what was required to bring the dog on board, and then refused to work with her the day of the cruise. Phillips said she called the cruise line's customer service number several times before the trip and prepared a record of Molly's background. But when she showed up at the Port of Palm Beach Sunday, they wouldn't let the dog on board. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line said it allows service animals aboard, but had nothing on record saying Phillips wanted to bring a dog. It does require a vet to fill out a specific form.
|Service .animal refused boarding
|March 3
Celebrity Cruises
|Several passengers on the February 15th cruise from Buenos Aires have reported a widespread illness outbreak over their first two weeks onboard -- sounds mainly like an influenza or virus that zaps one's energy, attacks the respiratory system, and has other impacts. Estimates are that one-third to one-half of passengers were effected.
|March 3
|Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Cayman News Service reports government officials have now confirmed that talks has resulted in a payment of $100,000 to the Cayman Islands National Trust towards the Magic Reef Restoration Project. Carnival has not, however, admitted any liability regarding the damage that one of its cruise ships caused when it dropped anchor in the wrong place in George Town Harbour last August. Instead they are blaming the pilot and the port authority, but not accepting any blame for their crew or staff. The ship anchor severely damaged the coral reef off Grand Cayman in August 2014. The $100,000 cash donation from Carnival is understood to represent a first payment and there could be much more to come in the near future.
|"Donation" to ameliorate environmental violation (destroying a reef)
|February 27
|Disney Wonder DIsney Cruise Line
|The Tribune reports police are investigating the apparent drowning of an American cruise ship passenger off Castaway Cay in the Abacos on Thursday. According to reports, shortly before 4pm, a 38–year-old New York man drowned while swimming off Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the northern Bahamas. Police said an autopsy would be performed to confirm the cause of death. The man was a passenger on the Disney Wonder on a five-night cruise to The Bahamas that departed from Miami. Disney spokeswoman Angela Bliss said crew members and medical personnel responded immediately to the incident and the company is working with Bahamian authorities in the investigation.
|Pax drowns on private island
|February 27
|Freedom of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|NBC 4 (Los Angeles) reports what was supposed to be a romantic 34th anniversary cruise for a Tarzana couple has turned into a nightmare of sunken dreams and lost cash. This spring, Ken and Pam Brazile planned to spend eight days enjoying the Caribbean sunshine and listening to R & B performers on the "Maxwell & the Seven Seas" concert cruise. They'd reserved $16,000 tickets, which would grant them VIP access, letting them hobnob with singer Maxwell, as well as celebrities like Chef Garvin, Boney James and Brian Culberson. But after paying nearly $12,000 in installments for their tickets, the couple learned the cruise has been canceled, and instead of a refund, they say all they're getting are excuses. That's because the promoter, BTW at Sea, had called off the trip. The company offered no reason, but provided an online form for passengers to fill out. Despite submitting the form, and making repeated phone calls, the couple has not gotten their money back. Ken Brazile said a company spokesperson told him it would be many weeks, perhaps months, before their money is returned.
|Full ship charter canceled -- refund problems
|February 25
Costa Cruises
|Virgin Island News 9 reports the ship is stuck in Tortola's Road Harbour since it arrived on Sunday February 22, 2015 at about 7:30 AM, and it remains unclear when it will depart. The ship was scheduled to depart Sunday at around 6:00pm, but is said to have developed a technical problem while anchored in the harbour. While the ship is stuck in Road Harbour passengers are being allowed off the ship to go for dinner or walk around Road Town. It is unclear if the BVI Ports Authority is collecting fees for the extra days the ship is berthed in Territorial Waters. (Article appeared on February 23 -- no follow-up yet)
|Mechanical problems - stuck port
|February 23
P&O Cruises
|Barbados Today reports a cruise ship visitor appears in court today after being slapped with four drug-related charges on the weekend. Police say Drug Squad personnel discovered 1.5 kilogrammes of cocaine in the cabin occupied by Canadian Clifford Uba Ejimamu on Saturday. The 39-year-old was a passenger on the Oceana. Nation News reports he pleaded guilty to all of the cocaine charges against him. On the charge of trafficking he was fined $75 000 forthwith or two years in prison while he was fined $25 000 forthwith or two years in prison on the charge of importation. The sentences will run concurrently. Ejimamu was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the charges of possession and possession with intent to supply cocaine.
|Drug bust
|February 23
|Brilliance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Hive reports heavy fog is preventing the ship from docking at its home port in Tampa, Florida today (Feb 23rd) It was originally scheduled to arrive into Tampa Port at around 7 am and has up to 2,500 guests onboard. The heavy fog has stopped the ship from entering the port and docking so as a result the ship is delayed. According to My Fox in Tampa Bay the vessel is surrounded by thick fog in the Gulf of Mexico and is awaiting word from local authorities to enter the port. Passengers who are scheduled to board the cruise ship later the same day have been told by Royal Caribbean that they won't be able to board until tomorrow. Instead the cruise line has posted that check in will begin on Tuesday, February 24, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Royal Caribbean has also stated that they will provide each the ship to port, a day and a half beyond its scheduled arrival time. The cruise ship was the only one to get into the port. ABC 7 reports the cruise was canceled. The cruise line will refund passengers the full amount of the ticket, and offer a 25% discount on their next trip, but is offering nothing for nonrefundable costs associated with flight changes and hotel nights -- makes one wonder why the CLIA Passenger Bill of Rights is not being followed in this case.
|Fog delay - Cruise canceled
|February 22
Celebrity Cruises
|The CDC reported 95 of 2896 passengers (3.28%) and 7 of 1209 crew (0.58%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Three Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and one epidemiologist will board the ship in Port Everglades to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 10 day cruise. UPDATE: The CDC now reports 142 of 2896 passengers (4.89%) and 8 of 1209 crew (0.66) have reported ill.
|February 20
|Rhapsody of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Nova 100 (Australia) reports that the ship is right in the middle of the danger zone of a monster form off the coast of Queensland. It is on day four of its 11-night journey from Sydney up the coast of Queensland. The ship has scheduled stops in Cairns and Airlie Beach along its 11 day cruise. But today, loved ones of those on board are holding their breath - the ship has been tracked right in the heart of Cyclone Marcia, which is set to hit Queensland today. Marcia has been classed as a category five cyclone, and has picked up in sped tracking around 20km/h with wind gusts up to 285km/h. Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman Patrick Quirk has told the ABC that ships would be moved from the Gladstone Harbour early this morning, while cruise ships due to arrive at the Port Of Brisbane today and tomorrow have been delayed.
|Encounter with storm?
|February 18
Norwegian Cruise Line
News 5 Belize reports a delivery truck from the Hummingbird Citrus Limited Two- farm collided with a small SUV at mile thirty-one on the George Price Highway. One of three persons travelling in the smaller vehicle, died. She has been identified as a US tourist who was heading to Jaguar Paw for a day trip. A second tourist was injured and is hospitalized and so is the sideman in the eighteen wheeler truck. As for the cargo truck, it ended belly up on the highway which was littered with the thousands of oranges it was transporting. Unable to stop when the SUV was stopped waiting to make a left turn, this loaded truck rammed into it. A woman, Theresa Lyn Meuers, reportedly died at the hospital. She and another cruise ship passenger, Samuel Douglas Schulte, were in the Belize for the day and heading to Jaguar Paw to do day tours. She was travelling in the back seat of the SUV, driven at the time by Tour Guide Leon Garcia of Big John's Tours. Garcia was released from hospital, but he was too shaken up to speak. The tour was not ship sponsored.
|Pax dies on tour
|February 10
|Regal Princess
Princess Cruises
|Miami Herald reports two days after leaving Port Everglades, the Regal Princess was diverted to PortMiami Tuesday due to a medical emergency. The ship was about 80 miles away and sailing to Cozumel when it changed course for Miami so two passengers could disembark due to a medical emergency (2 men). The ship, which left Fort Lauderdale Sunday, already called on Princess Cays in the Bahamas. After it became clear that the passengers needed an emergency medical disembarkation, the onboard medical team and the Coast Guard determined that Miami was the better option. Once the passengers were taken off the ship Tuesday afternoon, Regal Princess was scheduled to head back to sea and visit Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The port calls will be slightly shortened as a result of the stop.
|Diverted for medical emergency
|February 9
|Thomson Dream
Thomson Cruises
|Cayman 27 reports the captain of Thomson Dream requested assistance from local tugboats to hold the ship in position due to shifting winds. This took place around 2:30 p.m. (9 February). A Bodden Shipping representative tells Cayman 27 News no one was injured, but tendering was temporarily stopped. Cayman 27 crews saw the tugboats pushing and turning the ship. "The captain of the cruise ship became worried as the winds started to switch to the other direction," a Bodden Shipping spokesperson said. Weather data shows when the ship arrived, calm southeasterly winds were blowing but when the winds shifted southwest, that forced the ship closer to the shore and the reef. Maritime Authority carried out an inspection and has confirmed that the ship did not run aground.
|Call tugs for help
|February 7
|Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Law News reports there was a small fire and there was no air conditioning for five hours. One person left a comment on my Facebook page: ". . . .The fire was dealt with quickly, took about 9 hours to get all the resulting issues fixed and they arrived Jewel of the Seasin San Juan on time. There was a power outage on the day they left San Juan that lasted about 10 minutes. Said the fire was a result of a blown breaker. Another post from someone on the ship said 30 minutes after leaving Barbados a major breaker blew causing a fire in one of the stacks. The fire was quickly put out, but they had no air conditioning for 5 hours and no toilets for at least two. It was 3am before they started moving again. None of the announcements on board mentioned the fire, that there were enough passengers that witnessed it, and knew about it. They missed both the Thursday and Friday shows because of (the) issue."
|February 6
|Ship Unknown
Carnival Cruise Lines
|News Net 5 Cleveland reports on the case of Trevor Ross of Marblehead Ohio who was all set to surprise his girlfriend Shirley Tomlinson with an engagement ring, but the $2,500 ring was stolen during the final day of the couple's Caribbean cruise. The couple contacted NewsNet5 they reported Carnival Cruise Line refused to replace the ring following a full investigation on-board following the Jan. 24 incident. The item was stolen form the couples room on-board and the ring box was simply thrown in the toilet. "They pretty much accused us that we lost the item, because we keep a wallet and a ring box in the toilet," said Tomlinson. The couple claims they would often see the cleaning crew working on multiple rooms at one time, leaving all the room doors open. We asked Trevor Ross if he thought security on-board was adequate, especially when it comes to the protection of valuables. "No, they're lacking video cameras in the hallway, they're leaving people's luggage in the hallways, leaving doors open to the rooms," said Ross. "There is a lot more they can do to keep people's stuff safe." newsnet5.com examined the contract for the cruise and found no direct policy for the recovery of stolen items on-board. We contacted the company and Carnival Cruise Line responded to the case within an hour. It said "Our guest services department has been in contact with Mr. Ross and Ms. Tomlinson and has agreed to provide a full refund for the missing engagement ring and $100, along with a future credit equal to the amount the couple paid for the cruise." In 2013, the major cruise lines agreed to post crime stats via the U.S. Coast Guard , however newsnet5.com learned thefts under $10,000 are not included in those posted reports. NOTE: In 2011 (the last year data is available), there were 63 thefts on Carnival Cruise Lines' ships; exactly 50% of all thefts reported to the FBI by all cruise lines.
|February 5
|Tuoi Tre News reports twenty-five people, including 16 foreign travelers, on board a cruise ship were rescued safely from a fire that burned a ship in Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site in northern Vietnam, on Tuesday evening, local authorities reported. The blaze occurred aboard the 3-star tourist ship QN-2566 when the vessel was anchored near Ti Top Island in the bay in Quang Ninh Province at about 8:00 pm last night, said Le Duy Phuoc, deputy director of the provincial Inland Waterway Authority (IWA). The island is about 7 km southeast of the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf in Ha Long City, which is the provincial capital. At that time, 16 foreign tourists of various nationalities, seven crewmembers, a tour guide and a steward were on board the ship, Phuoc told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper over the phone last night. As soon as the fire was detected, the ship's captain asked local agencies for help in extinguishing the blaze and evacuating the people on board, Phuoc said.
|February 5
P&O Cruises
|Trinidad Express reports an elderly English woman celebrating her 73rd birthday with a cruise ship visit to Trinidad was robbed and assaulted along with her husband on the streets of Port of Spain yesterday. Betty Pearson, and her husband, Phillip, 77, of Oxfordshire, arrived aboard the cruise ship Adonia which docked at around 9.30 a.m. They were attacked less than three hours later. The tourists were escorted back to the cruise ship by police officers by mid-afternoon. The Express was told that they were taken in wheelchairs as the woman suffered a fracture to her right foot, and her husband was experiencing pains in his face, right shoulder and elbow. According to police, shortly before midday the couple were walking along Charlotte Street when in the vicinity of Chang's Variety Store, a man approached and grabbed Betty Pearson's gold chain valued at £2,000 off her neck. The thief pushed the elderly woman to the ground and when her husband tried to intervene, he was overpowered and also pushed to the ground. The couple's camera valued at £250 fell and was destroyed.
|Pax robbed ashore
|February 4
|Celebration Thomson Cruises
|The Northern Echo reports a date has been set for the trial of a man accused of assaulting a North-East couple on a luxury cruise liner. Graeme Finlay appeared at Teesside Crown Court to deny charges of wounding and grievous bodily harm. He is alleged to have attacked the elderly couple while aboard the Thomson Celebration off the coast of Lanzarote. A woman suffered a fractured spine and shoulder injury and her husband serious injuries to his face in January last year. Mr Finlay, 53, of Meadowside Quay Walk, Glasgow, will appear at the court for a two-day trial from April 20.
|Trial for assault on cruise ship
|February 3
|Breakaway Norwegian Cruise Line
|From a reader: The ship had to skip the port of San Juan Puerto Rico due to winter storm Linus.
|Missed port (weather)
|February 3
Fred Olsen Cruises
|Travel Mole reports a group of passengers whose holidays on Fred Olsen's Boudicca were ruined by gastric illness have received a five-figure settlement from the cruise line. At a trial at Birmingham County Court, His Honour Judge Owen QC ruled there were failings on board the ship which caused 12 out of the 16 holidaymakers to become ill. The decision ended a three-year battle by the passengers who travelled on board the cruise ship between March to April 2011. Fred Olsen had repeatedly denied it was responsible for the problems which affected the sick passengers and their travelling companions. Passengers complained about hygiene procedures on board the ship which included inadequate cleaning of public areas and their cabins. Judge Owen QC found that the fact that there had been repeated outbreaks of illness and incidents of the ship's crew not complying with the outbreak plan and that they should have known that there was a problem. The Judge also concluded that Fred Olsen outbreak plan had been unsatisfactorily implemented.
|Settlement in lawsuit
|February 3
|Grandeur of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|WBAL reports the ship returned to Balitmore one day early from a ten-day cruisebecause of an illness outbreak. Themedia reports 193 guests (9.91%) and 9 crew members (1.15%) experienced the illness. The CDC reported 178 of 1948 passengers (9.14%) and 9 of 786 crew (1.15%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.Two Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers boarded the ship in Falmouth, Jamaica on January 30, 2015 to conduct an epidemiological investigation, an environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.The ship was on a 10 day cruise.
|February 2
Celebrity Cruises
|Keys News reports the Coast Guard suspended its search on Monday night for a Canadian man who went missing from a Celebrity cruise ship bound for Key West. Carol Tremblay, 66, was last seen on a video surveillance camera at about 3 a.m. Sunday, 23 miles south of Summerland Key in the Atlantic Ocean, according to Coast Guard Lt. Peter Bermont. "We don't know the circumstance of how the man fell overboard," Bermont said. "He was not on the vessel once it moored in Key West." Tremblay fell from the 11th floor of the cruise ship, about 110 feet, Bermont said. Tremblay's wife reported him missing after she could not locate him, according to Celebrity cruise line spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. The ship's captain immediately ordered a search for the missing guest.
|Passenger missing
|February 2
|Amorella Viking Line
|The Local reports police in Finland have questioned eight Swedish men following claims a woman was gang raped on a Viking Line ferry in Finnish waters over the weekend. Four of the suspects remained in custody on Monday afternoon. The alleged attack took place on Amorella, an overnight ferry travelling from Stockholm to the Finnish port of Turku on Saturday, a popular route with a reputation for attracting Swedes and tourists who enjoy partying and can enjoy tax-free alcohol for some of the crossing. Five were later arrested in Åbo in Finland, one was tracked down in Mariehamn and two others managed to make their way back to Stockholm before being arrested on Sunday. By Monday afternoon, three of the suspects remained in custody in Finland and one was still being questioned in Stockholm. The other four suspects had been released, but had not been "dismissed" from the case, police spokesperson Kjell Lindgren told The Local. "Right now the big task is gathering video evidence and witness statements," he added. The suspects are accused of gang raping a woman, 45, who says she was approached in her cabin by a group of men.
|Sexual assault (gang rape)
|February 1
|Grand Celebration
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
|Palm Beach Post reports a faulty public address system sank the ship's inaugural excursion to Freeport — three months after the last ship to make this run ran aground leaving the Bahamas. Travelers on Sunday were given the option to reschedule their trips and claim another for free or get a refund. But that was little consolation to Alyssa Charon, who broke into tears after having landed on the cruise as part of a time-share pitch. She was uncertain where she'd be sleeping Sunday night. The next scheduled departure is Tuesday, Febuary 3.
|Canceled cruise
|January 30
|Voyager Voyages of Discovery
|From a reader: The ship is currently at anchor in Table Bay, Cape Town as a result of the port being fog bound. She was due to berth at 06h00 this morning. It is now 07h18. The fog is lifting and the port is expected to re-open soon. This should not affect her schedule as she will be in port overnight brining to an end to her South African cruise programme as she returns to Europe tomorrow evening. Vessel was finally alongside at 09h00 – 3 hours later than scheduled.
|Fog delayed arrival
|January 29
|Carnival Corporation
|Law 360 reports cruise line operator Carnival Corp. & PLC allegedly charged certain customers who booked cruises through a Marriott Vacation Club program inflated government and port fees for its own profit, according to a putative class action removed to Florida federal court on Wednesday. (See Finerman v Carnival, Case #1:15-cv-20311, South District of Florida).
|Lawsuit over charges and fees
|January 29
|Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line
|The Daily Mail reports on a lawsuit from a passenger for gastrointestinal illness on a cruise in February 2014. a British holidaymaker who went on a cruise while recuperating from throat cancer treatment says his trip was ruined after he was struck down with gastric illness. Robert Keywood, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was travelling on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship with his wife, Verena, to get some rest and relaxation after undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. But the 53-year-old said he was forced to remain in his cabin while experiencing stomach cramps, fever, diarrhoea, aches, lack of appetite and severe lethargy. He said: 'This was meant to be a holiday where my wife and I could relax and take it easy. I had been having treatment for throat cancer and we just wanted to get away and enjoy ourselves.' He claimed food was served lukewarm, fruit was not always fresh, the pool water was dirty looking, and public toilets wouldn't flush properly.
|Lawsuit over illness
|January 29
|Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Cruise Law News reports a a 30 year-old man (passenger) sailing with his wife and other couples apparently fell from his cabin's balcony and landed on an exterior deck that runs above the lifeboats (deck 5 I believe). This occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The cruise ship called on Cozumel on Tuesday, Grand Cayman on Wednesday and Montego Bay on Thursday. The FBI was suppose to board on Sunday when the ship returned to New Orleans. There have been no reports we know of foul play. He is from Missouri. Carnival flew his wife home during the cruise.
|Pax dies in fall from balcony to lower deck
|January 28
|Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
|A poster at Cruise Critic reports a young man dived from deck 13 (we think) and the captain announced man overboard on the tanoid. A few people through life jackets to mark the stop. The ship turned and ribs and tenders were deployed and search lights. I thought he must have been killed in the fall and was devastated to have knowledge of it. I couldn't believe that they found him! A miracle in my view and all credit to the Captain and crew who saved his life. He was thrown off at the next port with his family(so we heard)
|Pax overboard - rescued alive
|January 28
|Not named
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Jamaica Observer reports the police are reporting that 43-year-old Shelby Person and 45-year-old Tyrone Rideout, both of Weeping Willow, Maryland in the United States, who were reported missing on Tuesday, January 13 have returned. They are said to be in good health. Person and Rideout disembarked a cruise ship at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier in Trelawny shortly after its arrival in the island about 10:00 am on January 12 and left the pier for an undisclosed destination. OBSERVER ONLINE has learnt that the two were located after officials discovered updated postings on their Facebook accounts. They were allegedly in Ocho Rios, St Ann. The men reportedly turned up at the pier on Monday to board an outgoing ship. They were arrested for breaches of the immigration act.
|Arrest for not boarding ship in port
|January 26
|Horizon Croisieres de France
|El Universal reports reports that three people carrying 20 kilos of cocaine were arrested trying to smuggle the drugs aboard the Horizon cruise ship while in port in Margarita Island in Venezuela. Cruise passengers Andreina López Ramírez (26), Mercedes Salazar Benzaquén (22) and Arnaldo Salazar Rosas (34) reportedly intending to smuggle the drugs but a drug dog sniffed the cocaine out at the port terminal.
|Drug bust
|January 25
Fred Olsen Cruises
|BBC reports the ship was left without power off Morocco after an engine room fire. Holidaymakers on board the Boudicca put on life jackets, according to the son of one passenger. The fire at 04:00 BST left the ship "listing" and "in pitch black", said Dave Tonkin, whose father is onboard. Fred Olsen, the company which owns the ship, said it was now fully stable and had five engines running with two still not working. Spokeswoman Rachael Jackson said Boudicca listed for "a short period" but was now stable and travelling again, although more slowly than normal. "The fire was in the engine room, but has now been extinguished, and no guests or crew have been injured," she said. She said two main engines and three auxiliary engines were running, while two other engines were still being mended. The ship will aim to arrive in Lanzarote, Spain, on Monday as planned, she added. Update Jan 28: Fred Olsen Cruises says repairs to the ship will take time so passengers are being flown home from Tenerife. The cruise line is giving pax a full refund on the current cruise and a 50% discount on a future cruise.
|January 24
|Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Law News and WDSU report the ship suffered a major power loss today. A passenger says that the cruise ship was partially flooded during a heavy rain storm. The Coast Guard says a broken water pipe caused the problem. This reportedly caused a large part of the cruise ship to experience electrical problems. Royal Caribbean sent this message to the passengers scheduled to board the ship today: "Serenade of the Seas "Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International. We would like to provide you an update regarding your sailing today onboard Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently onboard inspecting the ship. We are waiting for authorization from the Coast Guard to begin boarding. Because the cruise terminal in New Orleans is very limited in space, we ask that guest explore the local area until we can begin boarding. We will contact you again once we have received permission to begin the boarding process. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you onboard."
A few hours later, it sent this message: "Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International with an update your sailing today onboard Serenade of the Seas. The U.S. Coast Guard has given us permission to begin the boarding process. Please return to the terminal so that we may check you in for your cruise. Our entire onboard team look forward to welcoming you onboard, and will do their very best to make your sailing as enjoyable as possible."
Serenade of the SeasOne passenger who was apparently on the Serenade when it returned to port in New Orleans said that power was lost to around 175 cabins. Apparently, according to this passenger, 400 passengers will not been to cruise because their cabins have no power. Nonetheless, the Coast Guard cleared the Serenade to be boarded. The ship is staying in New Orleans until it is cleared to sail. Royal Caribbean has not commented on the condition of the vessel or whether some of the passengers will remain in New Orleans.
Update: Media reports say 417 cabins affecting some 800 passengers have been affected.
|Electrical loss to 417 cabins; 800 pax have reservation canceled
|January 22
|Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Courthouse News reports an employee of Carnival Corporation followed a female passenger to her room and raped her in front of her minor children, a federal lawsuit claims. Dana Hastings says she and her family were passengers on a Carnival cruise ship in February 2014, when the incident occurred off the coast of Florida. According to a complaint filed in Miami Federal Court, "On or about February 20, 2014, the Plaintiff was sexually assaulted and/or raped by an employee/crewmember of Defendant, believed to be the pit boss of the casino aboard Defendant's vessel. "The crewmember followed the Plaintiff to her passenger cabin, and he raped and/or sexually assaulted the Plaintiff inside her cabin while the Plaintiff's two minor children, Ramsey Hastings and Trey Hastings, were also inside the cabin," the complaint continues. "The Plaintiff's two minor children heard and/or witnessed their mother ... being raped and/or sexually assault." Hastings says she reported the incident soon after it happened, but "Defendant's security officer(s) attempted to dissuade the Plaintiff from pressing charges and forced the Plaintiff to write a statement stating that she would not press charges against the alleged assailant." Hastings claims that rapes and other sexual assaults occur on Carnival's vessels at an alarming rate, "Yet Defendant failed to take adequate steps or provide adequate security and/or training and/or supervision to prevent such rapes and/or sexual assaults, and failed to warn its passengers of the growing epidemic of rape and sexual assault at sea." She says the reason for this is purely financial -- the cruise line doesn't want to scare potential passengers away. Hastings seeks unspecified damages on claims of vicarious liability for the rape/sexual assault, negligence, and multiple counts of negligent infliction of emotional distress.
|Lawsuit - sexual assaul
|January 20
|Discovery Voyages of Discovery
|From a reader: The ship left Cape Town on Sunday 18th Jan and was due in East London at 08h00 this morning, 20th January. She is currently mid-way between Port Elizabeth and East London, obviously way behind schedule. No explanation has been given for the delay and she is currently cruising at a mere 11 knots.
|Delayed - propulsion problems?
|January 19
MSC Cruises
From a reader: Vessel currently outside the port of Cape Town which is wind bound. Three attempts to dock earlier this morning were unsuccessful. Ship arrived early this morning from Mossel Bay and is due to sail for Walvis Bay at 16h00. As at 13h13, she remains outside the port. Subsequently Posted on MSC Cruises South Africa Website: We regret the unfortunate delay in the departure of the MSC Opera which has been caused by very high winds which have prevented the ship from being able to enter the port of Cape Town. MSC Opera will not be able to enter the port today due to prevailing high winds and all our guests are advised of the below in respect of alternative arrangements. Passengers residing in Cape Town are advised to return home and to return to the port at 09h00 tomorrow the 20th January 2015 when check in will commence for the sailing. UPDATE: Berthed in Cape Town just after 05h00 this morning, 20th January 2015, one day late as a result of high winds. Vessel will sail to Walvis Bay at 14h00 today, 20th Jan and omit Luderitz.
|Delayed arrival/departure
|January 19
|Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line
|Cruise Critic reports weather across the Atlantic will result in the late arrival of Queen Elizabeth into New York today, with the ship's next departure to be delayed by 24 hours. According to a spokesperson from Cunard Line, Queen Elizabeth will arrive at the Manhattan terminal around midday on Sunday instead of its original early morning arrival time. "Embarking passengers will still board the ship on Sunday, albeit slightly delayed, and will be looked after in New York until this time," said Jackie Chase, public relations manager for Cunard Line. Queen Elizabeth will remain in New York overnight to ensure passengers are able to visit the city, Chase said. The cruise line is assisting disembarking passengers with their return travel arrangements and those booked on Cunard air will have their travel arrangements changed. Due to the extended stay in New York, Queen Elizabeth will arrive at Fort Lauderdale on Thursday 22 January, one day later than scheduled.
|Delayed arrival (24 hrs)
|January 14
|Not named
Carnival Cruise Lines
|Jamaica Observer reports 2 American men (aged 42 and 45) went missing Monday after they disembarked a cruise ship at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Terminal in Trelawny. Information received is that both disembarked the vessel shortly after its arrival in the island about 10:00 am and left the pier for an undisclosed destination. Police have conducted checks at various hospitals as well as the surrounding communities but their searches have proved futile.
|Diappearance ashore
|January 9
|Pleasure Cruise in Costa Rica
|NY Daily News reports a catamaran carrying dozens of foreign tourists on a pleasure cruise capsized off Costa Rica on Thursday, killing three people, emergency officials said. The boat, which was on a day trip to the popular Tortuga (Turtle) Island, sank completely about nine miles off the country's central Pacific coast. Firefighters corps director Hector Chavez said initial reports of an explosion and fire were mistaken. Survivors reported that strong waves filled the boat with water and caused it to sink, he said. Chavez said three people died. The public security ministry said in a Twitter posting that the victims were a US citizen, a Canadian and a man from Britain. Vice-president Ana Helena Chacon said at a news conference that 106 people were rescued, meaning all of the cruise's 99 passengers and 10 crew were accounted for.
|January 8
|Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|Cruise Law News reports A Mexican newspaper reports that U.S. cruise passenger from Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas fell overboard as the cruise ship sailed to Cozumel. The Disney Magic, sailing the same route, then rescued the passenger, identified as Frank Jade. The newspaper reports that the Oasis didn't even realize that the passenger had gone overboard. After spotting the Royal Caribbean passenger floating in the sea, the Disney Magic stopped and lowered a rescue boat. The Magic reportedly docked at the dock of Punta Langosta and transferred the passenger to a private clinic for medical care.
|Passeneger overboard (rescued alive)
|January 7
|Empress Pullmantur Cruises
|Fox News reports a protest by Brazilian fishermen in the southern state of Santa Catarina has been preventing the departure for Uruguay and Argentina of a cruise ship with 1,800 tourists on board, the vessel's operating firm reported Tuesday. More than 100 fishing boats since Monday morning have been blocking the Itajai Port Complex canal, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina, and the fisherman are demanding the nullification of a measure implemented by the Environment Ministry prohibiting fishing for certain endangered species. The cruise ship Empress, with capacity for 1,877 passengers and 645 crewmembers, set sail last Sunday from the port of Santos, in Sao Paulo state, and was scheduled to stop in Montevideo and Buenos Aires before returning to Brazil.
|Blocked from departing
|January 6
|Ship unknown DIsney Cruise Line
|Inquisitor dot com reports a large family decided to all take a sailing together aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships right after Christmas. The cruise was heading for the Bahamas, but a few members never made it that far as they were asked to pack up and disembark the ship in Nassau after their baby got sick. According to WPTV, Dave Berg of Naples, Florida, hopped aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship and departed from Miami on December 30. Actually, Berg departed with 31 family members, one of which is his cancer-stricken mother-in-law who was doing the cruise as part of her bucket list. On Thursday morning, Berg's four-month-old granddaughter began spitting up. She was brought to the ship's infirmary by Jennifer Moak, Berg's daughter, and the infant was given medicine for seasickness. Later in the day, the Disney Cruise Line infirmary contacted Moak's husband to advise them that another checkup was needed for the baby. Once arriving downstairs, Moak said the family was told they would have to disembark the ship. "He said because of her age, she wasn't supposed to be on the ship and that they would be — I think the word that he used was 'terminating' our stay on the ship." Per the family, the medical staff aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship said that the age of the baby and safety needs were reasons that the family couldn't stay on board. Early in 2014, Disney Cruise Line had changed the policy for infant travel and pregnant women. Babies used to be able to travel at 12 weeks of age, but Disney did change things. "For reservations made after July 17, 2014, on sailings commencing in 2015 and beyond, the minimum age to sail aboard any Vessel is 6 months of age on most itineraries, and the minimum age for Transatlantic, Hawaii, and Panama Canal itineraries is 1 year of age." The reservation of the Moaks was not to be affected, which would allow them to travel with the baby younger than six months old.
|Family evicted
|January 3
|Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
|10 News reports a child is in critical condition after nearly drowning on board a cruise ship, deputies said. The ship had just left Port Everglades on Saturday when a bystander noticed the child was caught in a wave pool on the 15th deck. Authorities say the child may have been underwater for about five to ten minutes before he was pulled out. Crews administered CPR while the ship was diverted back to port. The Broward Sheriff's Office said the child was revived and taken to Broward Health Medical Center. The child was not identified by deputies. Sun Sentinel gives more detailed information.
|Child near-drowns
|January 3
|Not relevant
|The Press reports Akaroa (New Zealand) police are on the hunt for a possible anti-cruise ship protester who has been vandalising the town's public toilets. Senior Constable Lyle Pryor said toilet door hinges had been removed and toilet bowls filled with gravel on several occasions this summer. The affected toilet block is one of three in the township and was specifically built near the Akaroa Wharf to cater to cruise ship visitors. Pryor said there were some in the town who were against the cruise ships because they changed the character of the isolated community. "These things seem to occur on a cruise ship day or just before," Pryor said.
|Onshore response to cruise tourism
|January 2
Heritage River Journeys
|Big News Network reports a member of the crew suffered slight injury after a fire broke out in a luxury cruise liner in Calcutta on Friday, a day before it was slated to embark on its maiden voyage. Two fire tenders managed to douse the fire within a short time, fire brigade sources said. A short circuit is suspected to have caused the fire in the ship anchored at a jetty on the Ganga in the neighbouring Howrah district.
"One member of the crew was slightly injured. Some furniture damaged. It was a minor fire," said a fire brigade official. The cruise liner is slated to leave for Murshidabad with passengers Saturday.
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