An article in the Baltimore Sun entitled "Pleasure Cruise Bring Risks, Too" addresses the limited liability of cruise lines when tragedy strikes a family during a cruise. Written by Frank Roylance, the article begins with the sad circumstances of Carnival cruise passenger Carol Olson who died during what appears to be a very lax, unsupervised and negligently
Reason No. 8 Not To Cruise: Blackwater, Blackwater, Blackwater
Preparation for a trial delayed our "Top 10 Reasons Not To Cruise." But here we go again with the reasons why you should think twice before spending your hard earned vacation dollars on a family cruise. Here’s reason no. 8:
BLACKWATER!
That nasty raw sewage which cruise lines can freely dump – completely untreated – just twelve miles from shore. Yes
AOL Travel: “Are Cruises Ruining the World?”
AOL Travel has an interesting article today about the effect of cruising on the quaint city of Charleston, South Carolina. The article is entitled "Are Cruises Ruining the World?" The article is very informative and is worth reading.
We have discussed the effects of cruise pollution on South Carolina in an prior article – "
Crew Member Overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
A member of Cruise Critic sailing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas cruise ship is commenting that a crew member apparently went overboard from the cruise ship last night. There is a suggestion by those on the cruise ship that the crew member is a waiter and may have jumped.
We reported earlier this year
Carnival Cruise Excursion Drowning Death
The Baltimore Sun reports on the death of a 71 year old passenger from Reisterstown, Maryland , Carol Olson, during a snorkeling excursion in the Bahamas. Ms. Olson was a passenger on Carnival’s Pride cruise ship and booked the excursion from the cruise line.
Other passengers described having problems with the current. The excursion was described as poorly managed with
Gullver’s Winning Lacrosse Team
From time to time, I’ll include a “personal story” in Cruise Law News, like this one.
This year my younger son, John, a 7th grader tried out for the 7th and 8th grade lacrosse teams at his school Gulliver Academy. He had never played lacrosse before. Quite frankly, I don ‘t think he had ever
What’s Up With The Water on Carnival’s Liberty Cruise Ship?
Obtaining accurate information from the cruise industry is difficult. Whenever passengers have a complaint, the cruise lines either ignore them or the cruise lines’ customer relations departments send them a nonsensical letter several weeks later dismissing their complaints or offering a 25% on a future cruise. This often infuriates the passengers who have no intention of ever sailing on a
Media and the Reporting of Cruise Crime Cases
In 2003, Mrs. Dianne Brimble (photo below) was smiling and waiving when she boarded P & O’s Pacific Sun cruise ship with her daughter for a vacation of a lifetime. Less than 24 hours later, she lay dead on the cabin floor of fellow 
passenger Mark Wilhelm who had given her the drug GHB. When he was finished with
Cruise Ship Statute of Limitations? – One Year for Adults! Three Years for Minors.
I received an email last week from a passenger who had been severely injured on a Carnival cruise. She had already undergone two surgeries and was facing a third surgery. She asked what’s the statute of limitations for cruise line cases? I had the unpleasant job of telling her that it was too late to consider
Medical Examiner Concudes Passenger Died of Drug Overdose on Carnival Ecstasy
The Galveston County Daily News reports today that the medical examiner concluded that Carnival cruise passenger Kipi Holcomb died of a drug overdose.
As we mentioned in prior articles, on February 15, 2010 Ms. Holcomb was found in her cabin aboard Carnival’s Ecstasy cruise ship after sailing from port in Galveston.
The FBI previously indicated that there was no evidence of foul play. The medical examiner also found no
Carnival Ecstasy Listing Update: Smooth Sailing to Chaos & Confusion
We have been inundated with emails and calls from passengers who were injured or traumatized during the "listing incident" involving the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship on April 21, 2010.
We have received over 30 comments alone on our article "Did Carnival’s Ecstasy Cruise Ship Almost Hit A Sand Bar?" Take a moment and read about
Alaska Reduces Taxes and Relaxes Pollution Standards For Bullying Cruise Lines
The Juneau Empire reports that Alaska just weakened its wastewater regulations at the cruise industry’s request. Cruise ships are now permitted to dump greater amount of ammonia (from fecal matter), copper, nickel and zinc in Alaska’s pristine waters.
The newspaper reports that the cruise industry is "pleased" and and "appreciates" the new wastewater discharge rules.
The cruise
Reason No. 7 Not to Cruise: Cruise Lines Exploit Foreign Crew Members, Like You’d Never Believe
Cruise Critic ran an article a couple of weeks ago about the Top 10 Reasons To Cruise. I responded with my article "Top Ten Reasons Not To Cruise." I previously addressed the first six reasons not to cruise, which are at the bottom of this article.*
The purpose of this series is not to convince you not to cruise, but to educate consumers
YouTube Video of Carnival Ecstasy Listing – “The Rest of the Story”
The video below is from a passenger who was on Carnival’s Ecstasy with his family when the cruise ship listed in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010. "Mattyhiway" writes:
The Ecstasy made a sharp turn at sea to avoid a wayward buoy. The ship listed to port hard causing dozens of injuries and traumatizing many more. What the news
“Deadly Honeymoon” – Lifetime Movie Network – Cruise Disappearance
After endless promotional movie clips, Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) finally premiered "Deadly Honeymoon" tonight. The movie is loosely based (very loosely based) on the tragic death of George Smith IV during his honeymoon cruise with our client, Jennifer Hagel, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship in July 2005.
The movie follows two young newlyweds from Denver, Colorado as
“Danger On The Love Boat: Cruise Ship Crimes, Disappearances & Cover Ups”
For the past three years, I have written several hundreds of pages of stories about the cruise ship cases we have handled. The cruise lines’ skill, in engaging in an endless number of stunts and cover ups before judges and juries, our U.S. Congress and the American people, never ceases to amaze me.
I have written these stories with an eye toward incorporating these experiences into a
Did Carnival’s Ecstasy Cruise Ship Almost Hit A Sand Bar?
We have written a couple of articles about the recent incident when Carnival’s Ecstasy cruise ship heavily listed in the Gulf of Mexico, injuring 60 passengers and frightening many hundreds more.
We received a message from one of the passengers on the cruise, suggesting that the Carnival cruise ship was about to hit a sand bar which
Carnival’s Ecstasy Cruise Ship Back To Sea After 60 Passengers Injured
The Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy returned to sea following an incident where the ship listed heavily to avoid hitting a partially submerged buoy.
Although Carnival initially downplayed the incident, it turns out that 60 passengers reported to the ship infirmary for injuries.
The video is from Houston News – ABC13.com
April 23, 2010 UPDATE: