On Saturday morning, Holland America Line (HAL)’s M/S Rotterdam arrived at Port Everglades after a six day cruise to Mexico and the Western Caribbean without one of its crew members. HAL didn’t realize that one of its ship employees disappeared during the cruise until, apparently, another crew member noticed that he had not reported to
Dock Workers Strike in San Juan Disrupts Celebrity Summit and Jewel of the Seas
A strike in San Juan today impacted cruise passengers on the Celebrity Summit and Jewel of the Seas. Departing passengers have been unable to retrieve their luggage and take taxis to the airport and arriving passengers have been delayed or unable to travel to the port due to the strikes.
Social media (Twitter and…
Celebrity Constellation Delayed in Barcelona
Celebrity Cruises passengers intending to depart yesterday on the Celebrity Constellation from Barcelona, Spain are stuck in that port for two days due to propulsion issues, even though the cruise ship just came out of dry dock.
During the recent two week dry dock, two new restaurants were constructed and certain suites were refurbished. The software…
Celebrity Reflection Delayed in Civitavecchia Due to Unspecified Mechanical Problems
Over the weekend, we received word from a cruise passenger aboard a Celebrity cruise ship, the Reflection, that the ship was forced to stay overnight in Civitavecchia (Rome) due to unspecified mechanical problems.
The cruise line reportedly refused to disclose the nature of the problem to passengers on the ship.
The Reflection was delayed…
Royal PR #FAIL: Royal Caribbean Keeps Adventure & Navigator Passengers in the Dark
This weekend saw the epic failure of Royal Caribbean’s corporate communications department after two of its cruise ships, the Adventure of the Seas and the Navigator of the Seas, encountered difficulties returning to their respective ports.
The Adventure of the Seas encountered propulsion problems last week and, eventually, a total failure on Saturday night…
Celebrity Constellation Suffers Engine Problems in Key West
Cruise expert Professor Ross Klein’s web site indicates that the Constellation cruise ship was forced to spend an extra day in Key West.
Professor Klein reported yesterday about a passenger’s complaint that the "Constellation scheduled to leave Key West yesterday, Dec. 15 @ 5pm. Repair needed and waiting on part(s). At 8:05am, December 16, still…
Carnival Ecstasy Briefly Loses Engine Power
The popular cruise fan site Cruise Critic is reporting that the Carnival Ecstasy’s return to Port Canaveral this morning was delayed due to a brief power failure last evening.
Cruise Critic states that the Ecstasy lost power for around 12 minutes while sailing back to Port Canaveral at the end of a five-night Bahamas…
Delay, Deny, Deceive & Defend: Royal Caribbean Shows How Not to Respond to an Overboard Passenger
Overboard passengers are hardly unexpected.
All cruise lines have man overboard (MOB) procedures required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The procedures are fundamentally no different that what is taught to the public in United States Coast Guard (USCG) powerboat courses.
My family took such a USCG course many years ago.
One of…
Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas: “Profits Over Passenger Safety?”
Today the Barbados Free Press takes a look at the failure of the captain of the world’s largest cruise ship to timely notify the U.S. Coast Guard that a passenger had been spotted going overboard.
Notwithstanding an eyewitness account, the cruise ship intentionally did not follow its own man overboard protocols and delayed 2 hours…