On September 7, 2009, I launched my blog, Cruise Law News (CLN). My goal was to be a leading source of news and legal commentary regarding the cruise industry.
Well, here we are, September 7, 2010, one year later. What a year!
My little blog is far more successful than I ever thought. Yes, it has taken a lot of work – this is my 356th article in the last 365 days! I have written about cruise ship rapes, sexual assaults of .jpg)
children, arrest of peophiles, passenger disappearances, and cruise ship fires, groundings and sinkings. Everything the cruise lines like to keep secret.
From a quantitative perspective (per Alexa rankings), CLN is now ranked as the no. 1 maritime law blog in the U.S., the no. 2 law blog in Florida, the no. 2 personal injury blog in the U.S., and the 50th most popular law blog over-all in the U.S. My websitegrader score is 99 (a grade I never received in school); there are 902 indexed pages of CLN on Google; and there are 48,230 inbound links. I am averaging over 25,000 unique visitors a month, and my traffic is in the top 1.53% of all websites.
And to add some icing to the cake, Cruise Law News is several times more popular that the official blog of the President of one of the major cruise line (Royal Caribbean) who writes from the "Nation Of Why Not?" If you want transparent news, people know to come here to CLN rather than wade through the gobbledygook at the cruise line’s corporate blog.
Cruise Law News has been cited in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bahamas Journal, Italy’s "Chi l’ha Visto?" television show, Germany’s Wunderwelt Wisen magazine, the popular on line cruise community CruiseCritic, South Florida Business Journal, Baltimore Sun, Bahamas Tribune, Sun Sentinel, Washington Post, and MSNBC.
.jpg)
Our real success comes from our everyday readers – crew members, passengers, travel agents, cruise haters and cruise lovers. We have heard from people in Great Britain, France, Mauritania, India, Venezuela, Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Canada and countries throughout the Caribbean islands. Thanks for your questions and the valuable information you provided us!
One big thank you is in order. Kevin O’Keefe and his team at LexBlog created my site a year ago. They are the best in the law blog business. Lexblog designed a nice looking, functional blog.
They provided concise recommendations to me, and encouraged me to blog. Thanks Kevin for creating LexBlog and pointing me in the right direction!
Here are some highlights of the fun we have had over the last year:
Most popular article: Travel Writers and the Ethics of Reporting Cruise News
Most ironic article: Former Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Captain Dies of Legionnaire’s Disease After Sailing on Liberty of the Seas
Why-won’t-the-Miami-Herald-cover-cruise-crimes article: 18 Passengers From Royal Caribbean & Disney Cruise Ships Robbed By Shotgun in the Bahamas
Best article with the word "sex" in the title: Marketing "Sex at Sea" on Cruise Ships
Most comments to an article: Crew Member Overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
Second most comments to an article: Another Overboard From A Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship? – Oasis of the Seas
Most positive reaction to an article: Royal Caribbean "Returns" to its Trademarked, Private Fantasy Island of Labadee® – While Haiti Suffers
Most negative reaction to an article: Royal Caribbean "Returns" to its Trademarked, Private Fantasy Island of Labadee® – While Haiti Suffers
Happiest article: Three Happy Cruise Stories – Salvation, Generosity & Rebirth
Most inspiring article: The Compelling Story of Jamie Barnett – Living Through the Loss
Saddest article: More Caribbean Crime – Carnival Passenger Killed In St. Thomas
Most disturbing article: Neither Dead Nor Alive – The Faliva Family Remains In Limbo
Most bitter article: What Does BP, Al Qaeda and a Cruise Line Have In Common?
Scariest articles: Passenger Indicted for Sexual Abuse of 13 Year Old Girl on Disney Wonder Cruise Ship and Carnival Cruise Ship Bartender Arrested On Charges Of Raping 14 Year Old Passenger
Best social media article: Cruise Lines and Social Media – P & O Cruises Hits A Home Run
Best series of articles: Top 10 Reasons Not To Cruise
Best sports article: Oysters, Dixie Beer & My New Orleans Saints
Best personal article: Switching Sides And Finding Your Soul
Do you have suggestions on topics to cover for the next year? Please let us hear from you in the comments below.