November 2011

A number of readers of our blog have contacted us asking for information about a jet ski mishap where a cruise passenger apparently died in the Bahamas on November 24th.

The incident reportedly occurred after the cruise passenger rented a jet ski at the Atlantis resort in Nassau.  The passenger had sailed to Nassau aboard the Carnival Magic cruise

Sherwood Stevenson - Child Predator - Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Cruise ShipMultiple news sources are reporting that a Federal Judge sentenced a Pittsburgh-area man to nearly five years in federal prison for traveling to Florida in order to take a cruise so he could molest a young boy.

Seventy-three-year-old Sherwood Stevenson pleaded guilty to traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to the Republic newspaper, Stevenson

Scientology - L. Ron Hubbard - Freewinds Cruise ShipThe Australian Broadcasting Network just published a weird and disturbing report that the Scientology organization held a young woman against her will on its cruise ship, the Freewinds, which the Scientologists home port in Curaçao.

The report involves Valeska Paris who was born into a Scientology family.  Her father, once a millionaire, alleged that

The LA Times reports that yesterday the U.S. Coast Guard saved the life of a 77 year old cruise passenger from the Carnival Spirit while the cruise ship was 230 miles southwest of San Diego. 

The cruise passenger reportedly showed signs of a stroke and was medically evacuated from the Carnival cruise ship by a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter dispatched

Its been another exciting week in the world of cruising.

Over 50,000 cruise passengers arrived or departed aboard eight ships at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale yesterday, setting a new world record for most people entering/leaving a port according to the Sun Sentinel.  The newspaper reports that the Oasis of the Seas, Liberty of the

Multiple news sources are reporting that a sixteen year old girl vacationing in the Cayman Islands during a cruise is in a critical condition following a collision between a jet ski and a "banana boat" near Seven Mile Public Beach.

The incident occurred shortly after noon on Thursday.  The local police stated that the jet ski was being ridden by

When the official "investigation" over the disappearance of their daughter by a single policeman in the Bahamas went nowhere, and Disney Cruise Line left them with no explanation, the Coriam family turned to two organizations for help – Victim Support and the International Cruise Victims.

Ann and Michael Coriam will tell you that these two organizations

Reefer madness, Belize style.  So you’re a young  cruise passenger wanting to get high while visiting some of the ports you visit.  Certainly no one in a third world place like Belize will hassle you, right?

Wrong.

Consider the following news reports from Belize regarding the consequences of cruise passengers choosing to either buy pot or bring a few

Celebrity Eclispe Cruise Ship - St. KittsA newspaper in St. Kitts reports today that on Wednesday two U.S. passengers who arrived in St. Kitts aboard a cruise ship were arrested by local police for possessing pot.

The U.S. couple from Los Angeles were sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse when ship security was alerted to the possibility of passengers having marijuana in their cabin.  Ship security searched the couple’s cabin

There has been a very public debate about the safety of cruise passengers while in Mexican ports.  In June of this year, Princess Cruises pulled out of Puerto Vallarta (and Mazatlan) stating "as the safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority, and based on the continued violence in these areas, we’ve

Today was a beautiful sunny 75 degree day in Miami.  Usually we spend Thanksgiving with my parents in Arkansas where the leaves have fallen and its colder. 

Last year was my Dad’s last Thanksgiving.  It was strange not seeing him carve the turkey today.

This year we stayed in Miami.  Lots of family members and friends came

Multiple news sources are reporting that an U.S passenger died aboard Holland America Line’s Veendam cruise ship that arrived in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

HAL’s Veendam is also the same cruise ship on which approximated 80 passengers fell ill, according to the state-run Brazilian news agency, Agencia Brasil.  The agency refers to the cruise passengers as suffering from "gastro-enteritis."  It is

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami announced today that it is charging a Carnival Cruise crewmember with sexually abusing a 14 year old passenger aboard the Liberty cruise ship.  

According to the criminal complaint filed against the cruise ship employee, Carnival crewmember Kert Clyde Jordan, age 35 of Grenada, engaged in unlawful sexual abuse of  a 14-year old

Yesterday, a jury in Miami returned a $1,000,000 verdict against a Miami based cruise line whose ship employee underwent an unnecessary surgery to insert a pacemaker which he did not need.

The case involves a Celebrity Cruises chef, Shalesh Buttoo, who experienced headaches and pain to his face while working on a Celebrity cruise ship.  Although only

Newt Gingrich - Greek Cruise Every time you turn on the TV it seems like young people are being sprayed in the face with pepper for exercising their freedom to speak out about corruption and injustice.  Juxtaposed against these disturbing videos and photographs are images of smiling rich Republican Presidential wannabes approving of the pepper-spraying of our country’s youth.         

Today we watched the spectacle of Republican Presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, initially

Grand Princess Cruise Ship - Princess CruisesThe Bermuda Sun reports this week that three cruise passengers were taken to the hospital in Bermuda after Princess Cruises’ Grand Princess arrived in port.

A female passenger reportedly broke her ankle, a male passenger suffered a heart condition, and another male passenger lost consciousness in the cruise ship’s swimming pool.  

This was the Grand Princess’s only trip to Bermuda this

A news source in the U.S. Virgin Islands reports that two passengers from the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship were involved in a serious parasailing accident on Tuesday in St. Thomas.

The incident occurred late Tuesday afternoon while the passengers were on an excursion.  One of the passengers died, and the other was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.