Italian newspapers are reporting that a 34 year-old waiter was sentenced to 10 months in jail for assaulting and attempting to rape a 17 year-old girl on the Costa Fascinosa. The Il Gazzettino first reported the incident which occurred three years ago on October 19th during a cruise in the Adriatic Sea, between Istanbul
Cruise Lines Continue to Support Mass Murder of Whales in Faroe Islands
Yesterday, residents in the Faroe Islands brutally slaughtered a pod of 30-50 pilot whales in the Danish island’s annual gruesome, grindadráp (grind).
The Sea Shepherd organization, which is barred by Denmark from the Faroe Islands, wrote yesterday "the ordeal began this morning when locals spotted a pod of between 100-150 pilot whales passing by Svínoy. Several
A Day Late: Filing Delay Causes Royal Caribbean to Reveal Secret Port Documents
The Jamaica Gleaner reports that Royal Caribbean and it’s subsidiary, Falmouth Jamaica Land Company, are required to disclose their contractual arrangements with the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) to build Falmouth Port because they were a day late in filing a notice of appeal.
An environmental watchdog group, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), had previously requested
Jamaican Arrested for Attempted Cocaine Smuggling on Cruise Ship In Falmouth
The Jamaican Observer reports that police arrested a man from Ocho Rios at the cruise port in Falmouth, Jamaica last Tuesday (June 28th) when he attempted to board an unidentified cruise ship.
The newspaper says that the man was arrested with two packages, containing five pounds of cocaine, found in a false compartment of his laptop
Fred Olsen’s Black Watch Catches On Fire
According to the Cruise Capital website in the U.K., "a fire broke out aboard Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch this morning as the ship made its way to Madeira."
The fire, which started in the auxiliary engine room reportedly damaged three engines used to generate power onboard the cruise ship.
Cruise Capital said that the
Eight Year Old Nearly Drowns on Anthem of the Seas
Multiple news sources are reporting that Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas cruise ship turned around after leaving Bayonne, New Jersey because an 8-year-old child was found unresponsive at the bottom of one of the ship’s swimming pools this evening.
ABC-Channel 7 News NY says that the "8-year-old is currently on life-support."
Children drowning or
41 Dead, 239 Injured in Terrorist Attack at Airport in Istanbul
Terrorism hit the Atataturk airport in Istanbul last night as three suicide bombers exploded powerful devices that killed and injured a large number of people. The rising number of victims is currently 42 dead and 239 injured. ISIS is suspected as inspiring or directing the attack.
Cable news repeatedly showed frightening images of massive
Jet Buzzes the Norwegian Breakaway?
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A reader of Cruise Law News sent me a link to a YouTube video which seems to show a jet aircraft flying low and perilously close to the Norwegian Breakaway.
The video was apparently filmed by a passenger on the cruise ship last Friday, June 24th, and was posted to the YouTube page of Richard
Empress of the Seas Experiences Engine Problems
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A number of cruise sites are reporting that Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas is experiencing problems with one of its engines, causing the cruise line to alter the cruise ship’s current itinerary.
The popular Cruise Critic site says that the ship called on Nassau yesterday and visited CocoCay today but did not call on
Ovation of the Seas, Christened in China – Sign of the Times?
It was announced on cruise related websites that Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas was christened in China over this past weekend.
The new 4,650 passenger and 1,500 crew member cruise ship arrived in Tianjin, China a few days ago.
The christening was presided over by the first Chinese godmother, Fan Bingbing, who is a Chinese actress, television
“Vacations in No Man’s Sea,” By Univision & Columbia Journalism School
Today, Univision Noticias and Columbia Journalism School published the results of four months of investigation which resulted in a major multi-media presentation titled Vacations In No Man’s Seas – "The billion-dollar cruise industry operates under the laws of the tax havens where it operates, making it one of the least regulated industries in the United States."
Seven Ways Cruise Lines Are Screwing Crew Members
Yesterday was the "Day of the Seafarer," which is sponsored by the International Maritime Organization ("IMO") on June 25th every year. It was interesting to watch the cruise industry’s trade organization, the Cruise Line International Association ("CLIA"), promote the day on it’s social media pages like Twitter and Facebook.
Crew members on cruise
Passenger Overboard from Spirit of Tasmania
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An Australian newspaper reports that a passenger aboard the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, traveling from Melbourne to Tasmania, went overboard last night when the ship was a little over 40 miles south-east of Victoria’s Port Phillip Heads.
Passengers on the Spirit of Tasmania reportedly saw a 45-year-old man fall into water. The ferry turned around
Shake-Down Port: Nassau’s Tourism Police Arrest U.S. Cruise Passenger for Pot
The Bahamas Weekly reported that two U.S. cruise passengers were arrested at the port in Nassau for possession of marijuana on Wednesday.
The Bahamian newspaper reported:
"Two adult American females from North Carolina are in custody after they was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs on Wednesday 22nd June 2016.
According to reports, shortly after
Four Cruise Passengers Busted for Cocaine Smuggling
WFTV-9 (ABC) reports that four women were arrested on charges of smuggling cocaine weighing a little over 6.5 kilograms at Port Canaveral last month after taking a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas.
The local ABC news station identified Lakisha Abney, Shawnta Aiken, Ciera Bryant and Shenique Milbourne as cruise passengers who
MSC Magnifica Security Guard Inadvertently Discharges Gun in Port in Venice
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According to the Italian newspaper Gazzettino, this past weekend there was "panic" onboard the MSC Magnifica cruise ship docked in Venice after a security guard inadvertently fired a gun while passengers were boarding the ship.
The facts are a bit sketchy. The newspaper says that a security guard left a handgun in a pouch
Mismanagement and Lies Plague Cruise Ship Grounding
The U.K.’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch has concluded that a cruise ship which hit rocks and lost power last year was due to poor planning and "poor bridge team management and navigational practices." The cruise ship sustained major damage to its hull which disabled one or its two propellers. Yet, what makes this grounding particularly
Foreign-Flagged Cruise Industry Spends Millions of Dollars Lobbying U.S. Congress
The cruise lines and the cruise industry’s trade organization, the Cruise Line International Organization ("CLIA"), spend many millions of dollars lobbying our U.S. Congress each year.
In 2015, CLIA spent $1,380,000 lobbying Congress. Carnival Corp. spent an additional $898,710, plus $80,000 on behalf of subsidiary Carnival Cruise Line and another $80,000 for subsidiary Holland America Line. Royal Caribbean