Yesterday was Carnival Cruise Line’s fiftieth (50th) birthday. The internet was filled with celebratory tweets and Facebook postings from Carnival cruise fans and travel agents extolling the cruise line’s “family fun and entertainment.”
There is no question that one thing this cruise line has successfully accomplished over the last 50 years is to market itself
Cruise ships reportedly experienced an “unprecedented crime wave” this summer, with 35 sexual assaults involving 27 passengers. The majority of such sexual crimes occurred on Carnival Cruise Line ships, according to the New York Post which reviewed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest cruise crime statistical compilation published last week.
Carnival Cruise Line has More
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State via the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) issued its annual report regarding the Bahamas. The report (which you can read here) concludes, in part, that:
“There is serious risk from crime in Nassau, and considerable risk in Freeport. Crime represents the country’s primary security threat. Royal Bahamas Police
The International Cruise Victims (ICV) organization just announced that it is expanding in Europe.
The ICV is a grass root non-profit organization operated by victims of crimes and families who have lost loved ones at sea. The ICV and the families have been successful in the scheduling of 8 Congressional hearing in the U.S. Senate and
This week has been a public relations disaster for the cruise lines and the travel industry.
A Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) crew member from the Norwegian Pearl was gunned down in Roatan after he walked off the ship to call his wife and check on his child back in the Philippines (suspect photo below right).
WPTV West Palm Beach aired an interesting program last night indicating that the cruise industry reports only a small percentage of crimes committed on cruise ships.
Last year the cruise lines reported only 78 crimes on cruise ships. However, pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the news station located reports of more
A dispute has erupted in Nassau whether cruise passengers who disembark in the Bahamas should be warned of the risk of violent and often deadly crime.
In response to the widespread violent crimes and high homicide rate in the Bahamas, Carnival Cruise Line finally began warning its passengers of the crime problems ashore before the
A criminologist for the cruise industry, Dr. James Alan Fox, published an article earlier this week which contains a great deal of unsubstantiated and misleading opinions about crime on cruise ships.
The cruise industry routinely hires Dr. Fox when Congress scrutinizes the cruise lines for not honestly reporting crimes. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA)
The following is an editorial / opinion piece by the Miami Herald which was published tonight:
"Crime on the high seas isn’t just about illegal commercial fishing practices, drug-running and Somalian pirates. Unfortunately, it also comes in the form of sexual assault, theft and suspicious disappearances on what are supposed to be pleasure cruises.
Under
Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Washington DC. attending the hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled “Recent Incidents Show Need for Stronger Focus on Consumer Protection.”
I have attended seven Congressional hearings on cruise ship safety issues from December 2005 through March 2012. This is my eight hearing.