Allure of the Seas LifeboatThere’s an interesting comment on the popular on line cruise community Cruise Critic that the Allure of the Seas left Nassau 2 hours late yesterday because of an issue with the lift cable of lifeboat number 1. According to this passenger, the cable to the lifeboat apparently snapped and needs repair.

The issue arises whether

Carnival Victory Cruise Ship ABC News reports that a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter (MH-60) and aircraft (C-130) were dispatched from Clearwater Florida in response to an emergency request from the Carnival’s Victory cruise ship this morning.

The cruise ship was reportedly near Cuba at the time of the call.

Cruise passenger Herman Lebron, age 88, was suffering from internal injuries

A reader of this blog from Australia has informed us that Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship is delayed at port in the South Pacific due to unspecified problems with the ship.

AIS tracking systems shows the cruise ship in the port of Port Vila, Efate in the Vanautu islands.

We do not

Sunshine Skyway BridgeI could not believe my eyes when I read the headline in the Bradenton Herald this morning: “Raising Sunshine Skyway Bridge Could Accommodate Jumbo Cruise Ships.”

Is this some type of April Fools joke?

Apparently not. The newspaper reports that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is studying whether to raise the Sunshine

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal published a ruling today which is, in a word, shameful.

The case involved allegations by a passenger who sailed on a cruise that she suffered sepsis, multiple organ failure, and a cerebral hemorrhage due to medical malpractice and misrepresentations by a doctor on a Royal Caribbean ship.

According

Freedom of the Seas - Medical EmergenciesThis evening Cruise Critic reported that Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas altered her itinerary yesterday because three passengers were evacuated from the cruise ship for medical reasons.

The popular online community said that a helicopter airlifted one person from Coco Cay.  Later, the cruise ship was diverted to Nassau, Bahamas to send two other people

Tomorrow the lawyers here at our firm are traveling again to Jamaica.

We’ll be visiting our clients to see how they are doing. I will be meeting friends in Falmouth and will see if there has been any signs of the revitalization of the town after the new Royal Caribbean port destroyed ancient coral reefs

A Greece newspaper reports that the Ocean Countess cruise ship is on fire.

My favorite website, Maritime Matters, reports this evening:

“Majestic International’s MV OCEAN COUNTESS, completed in 1976 as CUNARD COUNTESS, is currently ablaze at Chalkis, where she has been laid up since her most recent charter to U.K.-based Cruise and Maritime Voyages.

The parents of a 30 year-old passenger who disappeared from a ferry sailing between Calais and Dover are petitioning for legislation requiring ships to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Richard Fearnside, son of Marianne and Bob Fearnside, of Whitstable, Kent (U.K.), disappeared from the Pride of Kent ferry last May. He was last seen