The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a rare no-sail advisory for Celebrity Cruises’ Mercury cruise ship. The CDC has instructed Celebrity not to sail the sick cruise ship until Sunday in order to permit its inspectors to investigate the ongoing outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.
Over the course of the last month, hundreds of passengers have become sick on the Mercury over
Celebrity Cruises’ disastrous string of "diarrhea-cruises" out of South Carolina continues with the cruise line’s decision to return the Mercury to port in Charleston a day early.
USA Today’s Cruise Log reports that sickness has marred three straight voyages in "Celebrity to End Cruise Out of Charleston Early as Outbreak Continues." Royal Caribbean indicates that
The U.S. Department of State has issued a warning of dangers while traveling to the Bahamas, including sexual assaults on cruise ships in the port in Nassau:
"CRIME: The Bahamas has a high crime rate . . . the U.S. Embassy has received reports of assaults, including sexual assaults, in diverse areas such as in casinos, outside hotels
We have been contacted by a number of passengers from Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas about a frightening experience when the cruise ship suddenly listed around four a.m. on February 28th. All of those individuals who contacted us simply wanted an explanation regarding what happened, and they were frustrated regarding the lack of factual
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Today was a beautiful day in Miami – 68 degrees, bright blue skies, and a gentle breeze from the south.
This is the type of weather which reminds me why I live in Miami.
My family decided at the spur of the moment to drive over to South Beach.
All afternoon long, jet – after
BVI Platinum News reports that cruise excursion bus driver Roland Allen is in trouble with the Tortola police again.
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Mr. Allen – known in the community as "Crash Dummy" – was the driver of the green excursion bus which crashed on "Windy Hill Road" on February 24, 2010 while transporting cruise passengers from a Princess Cruises’ cruise
Today we have another guest blog by Caitlin Burke who is a member of the International Cruise Victims organization and is interning at our firm. Caitlin’s blog last week – Better Safe Than Sorry – Spring Break Safety Tips – was named one of Lexblog’s Ten Best Blogs of 3,000 law blogs for the week!
Caitlin’s Cruise Blog:
So it’s
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One of the dangers of cruising is the cruise ship catching on fire. Most families who go on a cruise don’t like to think about it.
But it happens.
A Rash of Fires on Carnival Cruise Ships
One of the most publicized incidents involved Carnival’s Ecstasy (left) in 1998 when it caught fire shortly after
A fascinating article appeared in USA Today’s Cruise Blog by Gene Sloan – "Titans of the Cruise Industry See Their Net Worth Soar."
This is an amazing article reporting on the Forbes 400 richest people in the U.S., which includes Carnival fat cat billionaires Mickey Arison, Royal Caribbean’s Pritzker family, and entrepreneur Leon
BVI News and BVI Platinum News continue their excellent coverage of the tragic and deadly crash of the Princess Cruises’ excursion bus in Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI) with an article entitled "It could Have Been Worse."
PR Nightmare
The BVI Tourist Board is trying to manage the public relations nightmare of the death and multiple injuries of
In the last two weeks, there have been two overboard passengers from U.S.-based cruise ships – Costa’s Serena and Holland America Line’s Rotterdam.
These incidents have been reported – not by the cruise lines or the press – but by Canadian Professor and cruise expert Ross Klein who hosts the informative web site Cruise Junkie.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports numerous outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland American Lines, and Royal Caribbean.
Every time there is an outbreak, the cruise lines blame the passengers who board the cruise ships. The media picks up in this theme and often reports that the problem is
Today Business Week published an article "Cruise Trade Group Spends $400K on 4Q Lobbying" which is re-printed, unedited, as follows:
"Cruise Lines International Association spent almost $400,000 in the fourth quarter to lobby on security and environmental issues along with other matters, according to a recent disclosure report.
The trade group that represents
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that Celebrity Cruises’ Mercury cruise ship has returned to Charleston, South Carolina with 182 ill passengers.
According to its web page "Investigation Update on the Mercury," t’he CDC reports 182 of 1749 passengers (10.41%) are ill with diarrhea and vomiting, and 14 of the 850 crew (1.65%) are sick.
With
From time to time, Cruise Law News has a guest blogger. Caitlin Burke is a recent graduate from the University of Florida. She majored in Recreation, Parks and Sport Management. Ms. Burke wrote a senior honor’s thesis entitled a "Qualitative Study of Victimization and Legal Issues Relevant to Cruise Ships." She is working as a case manager for Walker &
A story in the BVI Platinum’s newspaper indicates that the cruise excursion bus driver Roland Allen, nick-named "Crash Dummy," had been convicted of driving offenses – including reckless driving – before the ill-fated Princess Cruises excursion bus crash.
We suspected this, as we raised this issue in a prior article "How Did Princess Cruises Excursion Bus Driver "Crash Dummy"
When cruise passengers are injured during cruises and require legal representation, the chances are that they will require a lawyer in South Florida. Most cruise lines are based in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. These cruise lines include "forum selection" clauses in the passenger tickets which require that the passenger’s lawsuit must be filed in Florida.
So if the accident occurs on a cruise
A lot of people ask me how I became involved practicing maritime law.
Thirty years ago, I started law school at Tulane School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana. I may be biased, but Tulane has the best law school in the United States involving maritime studies. Tulane has a renowned "Admiralty and Maritime Law" program which is part of the Tulane Maritime Law
