Last Friday morning, a cruise ship carrying over 3,000 passengers reported to the local police department in Hilo, Hawaii that it was missing a guest as it sailed toward that port. The police department in Hilo received the call at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, stating that 59 year old Kenneth Schwalbe had not been seen
It has been a month since the public learned that the fire-resistant panels used during the construction of the new Explora I cruise ship, owned by MSC Cruises and operated by Europa Journeys, failed safety certification. The Financial Times (“FT”), which broke the story, reported that a total of around forty-five cruise ships had incorporated
The marine insurers for cruise ships which may have the faulty fire-resistant Paroc panels are demanding transparency that cruise lines / ship owners disclose which vessels contain the faulty panels, according to Lloyd’s List. The London-based news website for the shipping industry recently published two articles, focusing on the potentially dangerous Paroc fire-resistant panels. The
According to The Straights Times, sometime in the very early hours of Monday, July 31st, Royal Caribbean cruise passenger Jakesh Sahani, age 70, woke up to find his 64 year-old wife, Reeta Sahani, missing from their cabin on the Spectrum of the Seas as it sailed back to Singapore. The Royal Caribbean ship was
A thirty-year old man reportedly went overboard from the Carnival Elation which was returning to the port in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon from a five day cruise. News reports say that the man’s traveling companion reported him missing from the ship sometime in the “late afternoon” of July 23, 2023. Carnival conducted a search on the
MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys, the owner and operator of the new luxury cruise ship Explorer I, announced the delivery of the ship with great fanfare last week. During the media blitz and hype surrounding the delivery of the new cruise ship on July 20th, both companies carefully avoided any mention of whether the
The recent slaughter of pilot whales witnessed by guests who had sailed aboard the Ambition operated by Ambassador Cruise line earlier this week to the port capital of Torshavn in the Faroe Islands reminded me of the first time I became aware of this repulsive activity. Eight years ago (July 2015), a reader of Cruise
The Financial Times article published last week titled Luxury Cruise Liner’s Launch Delayed as Dozens of Ships Face Potential Safety Hazard raised the issue that as many as forty-five (45) cruise ships may be equipped with faulty fire-resistant panels manufactured by Paroc. This raises important issue of safety for the guests and crew members on
Yesterday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal sent the wrongful death case against Royal Caribbean Cruises by the parents of Chloe Weigand whose grandfather dropped her from an open window on deck 11 of the Freedom of the Seas, back to the trial court. In a comprehensive 21 page order replete with photographs of
Cruise trade organization, Cruise Line International (CLIA), and the parent company of Explora Journeys, MSC Cruises, are rushing to try and minimize the fallout of The Financial Times’ article that the Paroc fire-resistant panels used during the construction of the Explora I failed fire safety certifications. The highly anticipated Explora I was scheduled to be
According to a blockbuster article in the Financial Times titled Luxury Cruise Liner’s Launch Delayed as Dozens of Ships Face Potential Safety Hazard, construction materials used in the building of MSC Cruises’ Explora I reportedly failed their safety certification. Helsinki, Finland-based Paroc (a subsidiary of U.S. Owens Corning), which manufactures the insulated building materials
12.7% of the 838 passengers aboard the Viking Neptune cruise ship are experiencing abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 2% of the crew are also experiencing these symptoms of gastrointestinal illness (GI). Cruise lines are required to report GI cases to the CDC whenever
A cruise ship employee, who describes himself as a music director of Royal Caribbean, was jailed in Australia for obtaining and accessing child abuse photographs and videos. Forty-four year-old Dana Moran reportedly came to the attention of Australian Border Force officers earlier this year when he flew into Brisbane International Airport. Following a baggage search
A small (178 foot) expedition cruise ship sailing in Glacier Bay National Park caught on fire yesterday morning. The engine room fire required the Wilderness Discoverer to evacuate fifty-one guests and sixteen crew members.
UnCruise Adventures, which operates the ship, said there were no injuries from the fire.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Juneau
The Celebrity Summit is the latest cruise ship to experience a gastrointestinal outbreak requiring the involvement of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) this year. The Celebrity operated cruise ship reported 152 of 2,144 (7.09%) passengers and 25 of 963 (2.60%) crew members experienced gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses . A total of 177 people
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (“FBI”) arrested a cruise passenger last week on charges of abusive sexual contact with a young girl on a cruise ship, according to documents filed in federal court for the Southern District of Florida.
The FBI arrested 47 year-old Justin Dale Sigmon on the Carnival Sunshine when the cruise ship
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has indicated that it is involved in the investigation of the disappearance of 35 year-old Ronnie Peale, Jr. from the Carnival Magic last weekend. A local news station in the cruise ship’s home port in Norfolk, Virginia, 13 News Now, reports that according to the FBI’s Norfolk office, the
The United States Coast Guard ended its massive search for the guest who went overboard from the Carnival Magic as the cruise ship was sailing back from the Bahamas to its home port in Norfolk, Virginia last weekend. A press release by the Coast Guard indicated that the agency spent two and one-half days (60
