Working on cruise ships can be tough. Long hours, no days off, cramped crew cabins, and demanding guests. This much stress can place a frown on anyone’s face. But remember, it’s part of your job to always "Deliver the Wow!" So when you feel blue and are afraid that your supervisor may fire you for not acting happy, there is now a solution –
Crew Member Cafes and Calling Stations
Florida Today has a nice article about a topic that most passengers don’t know much about – cafes and "calling stations" which cater to crew members and are operated by former crew members.
"Cruise Crews Find Love, and Everything Else, at ‘Matt-Mart" by reporter Keilani Best focuses on former crew member Zvonimir Matkovic who used to work
Lawsuits Filed In Duck Boat Cruise Disaster
Lawsuits have been filed following the sinking of a "Duck Boat" cruise vessel on Delaware River in Philadelphia in July.
On July 7, a 250 foot barge pushed by a tugboat ran over and sank a disabled "Ride the Ducks" amphibious tour boat with 35 passengers and 2 crew members aboard.
The tugboat either did not hear or ignored multiple warnings that
Cruise West Cancellations and Refund Options
Cruise West has announced that it will cease most of its operations tomorrow September 18th. The statement of the company can be read here.
The Federal Maritime Comission has provided us with the following statement regarding the cancellations of cruises by Cruise West:
Update: According to Cruise West, the September 22 Danube cruise will
Somali Pirates – A Threat To Cruise Ships?
The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. has a amazing article today by Richard Snailham about the Discovery cruise ship, operated by Discover the World cruise line, confronting a Somali speedboat as the ship sailed from Mombasa towards the Seychelles Islands.
The good news is that the pirates decided not to try and board the cruise ship. Mr. Snailham 
attributes this happy ending to "rolls of
Cruising to Canada? Drunk Drivers Beware!
Just when you think you have heard everything . . . along comes a story like this.
Dianna Hilliard, an attorney in Missouri with 25 years of experience handling drunk driving cases, explains that if you are a passenger with a DWI / DUI conviction you may have a problem entering Canada during your cruise. In a blog entitled "On a
Nabbed at Pier 21 – Another Crew Member Busted with Child Porn in Halifax
On September 7th, Canada Border Services Agency officers nabbed crew member Edward Brillantes Mangubat after they searched his laptop computer and found sexually explicit movies featuring children.
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Mangubat worked as a stagehand on Cunard’s cruise ship Queen Mary 2. The Chronicle Herald reports that he had worked on cruise ships for seven years.
Today, Mangubat pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
Today
Today, legal marketing expert Paula Black featured me on her blog Law Marketing Results: A Big Congratulations – talking about Cruise Law News (CLN)’s one year anniversary.
Today, my blog CLN is ranked as the no. 1 blog regarding maritime law and no. 1 blog regarding personal injury law pursuant to the AVVO / Alexa ranking
Cruise Disappearance Case of George Smith IV – Civil Case Settled But Is Justice Done?
The AP is reporting that a final settlement has been reached between Royal Caribbean and the wife and family of George Smith IV. Royal Caribbean has paid the families and their counsel $1,310,000. The cruise line has also turned over copies of certain investigation materials to the families.
The settlement arises out of an incident on July 5, 2005, when
Is Avvo’s “Top Legal Blogs” a Good Indicator of the Best Law Blogs?
Earlier this year, I first learned of Avvo’s "Top Legal Blogs" while reading a solo blogger lamenting that his law blog fell out of Avvo’s top 10 law blog list. I was intrigued by the rankings and began to read the top blogs to try and figure out why they were so popular.
Some of the
Switching Sides And Finding Your Soul
I used to be a cruise line defense lawyer.
In 1996, I tried my last defense case, for Dolphin Cruise Lines. The cruise line was sued by a crew member who slipped and fell on a wet floor of a photography room on the S/S Oceanbreeze. He underwent back surgery and returned to his
The Cruise Industry’s Reputation – A Sinking Image
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The cruise industry has an image problem. Royal Caribbean is the main reason.
This year began with Royal Caribbean’s business-as-usual approach to ferrying passengers back and forth to its "private destination" in Labadee (actually sovereign Haitian land leased from Baby Doc Duvalier). While Haitians tried to dig out of the rubble and bury their dead following the devastating earthquake, Royal
9 Cruise Passengers Killed, 14 Injured in Bus Excursion Accident
A excursion bus carrying cruise passengers plunged into a ravine in northern Morocco (Castillejos) today and killed nine Portuguese tourists. 14 cruise passengers were injured.
44 passengers were aboard the bus when it crashed during foggy and rainy weather. Some news sources are indicating the bus driver may have been speeding.
AFP reports that the passengers were from
Pacific Sun CCTV Rough Weather Video – You Have To See It To Believe It!
The internet has been a buzz today with the release of closed circuit television video (CCTV) of the interior of the P&O Cruises’ Pacific Sun, which ran into a bout of heavy weather in June 2008.
A number of passenger were injured. You can clearly see one young lady smash her face into a column at the 47 second mark in the
Cruise Law News – One Year Anniversary!
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
Passenger Wrongfully Arrested On A Carnival Cruise Ship
A young couple’s cruise over this holiday weekend did not end as planned. When Paola Andrea Londono, her husband Daniel Holanda, and their 9-month-old baby returned to Florida onboard a Carnival cruise ship, law officials came to their cabin and arrested Ms. Londono.
After his wife was led from the cruise ship in handcuffs in
“Uncharted Rocks” and Other Tall Tales – Clipper Adventurer Ran Into A Charted Hazard
The Nunatsiaq News published an interesting article this morning, entitled "Clipper Adventurer Ran Into A Known Expert Says."
You will recall that following the grounding of the Clipper Adventurer cruise ship in the Canadian Arctic on August 27th, the cruise operator issued a press statement claiming that the cruise ship ran aground on an "uncharted rock." The
Caribbean Cruise Line Lies and Steals?
A television station in Louisville, Kentucky reported on an interesting story today entitled "Woman Claims Cruise Company Promising Free Cruise Lied, Stole."
Amy Zetina, a hard working mother of three in Kentucky, responded to an ad which offered a "free cruise."
Ms. Zetina was taken for a ride, but it wasn’t on a cruise ship.
It turns out that "