Atlantis Events advertises its upcoming “Largest Gay Cruise in History” aboard the “incredible Harmony of the Seas” as the “most outrageously fun cruise Atlantis has ever created! . . . a star-studded festival of pure fun and excitement unlike anything you’ve ever imagined.” Scheduled for February 4th to 12th, the cruise promises “8 fabulous
Why the Cruise Industry Will Always Struggle With its Reputation
This week I listened to the multi-millionaire cruise executives praise the cruise industry at the "state of the cruise industry" at the Cruise Shipping Miami (CSM 2014) trade show.
As anticipated, Carnival’s CEO and former Monsanto chemical executive Arnold Donald said cruise ship accidents are "so rare . . . cruising is safe." Royal Caribbean’s…
Is the Media Burned-Out on Stories About Cruise Ship Fires?
Friday evening, a fire broke out on the Dawn Princess. 30 minutes after the first public announcement, the cruise ship’s captain ordered the passengers to their muster stations where they remained for over another hour until the fire was extinguished.
We first learned of the fire when a reader of this blog contacted us…
“No Further Information is Available”
This weekend, KHOU news station reports from Galveston, Texas that the Carnival Triumph returned to port Saturday afternoon "after a passenger had a medical emergency."
KHOE didn’t explain the medical emergency but reported that the U.S. Coast Guard said the medical emergency was not life-threatening, "so they did not fly out to the cruise ship." The cruise ship…
Does Anyone Believe the Cruise Industry Anymore?
The U.S. and international media covered the saga of the stricken poop-filled Triumph cruise ship non-stop last week. CNN led the coverage with its "ceaseless, rigorous reporting" on what some newspapers are characterizing as essentially "inconvenienced cruise passengers without working toilets." CNN enjoyed a 74 percent increase from its recent prime time numbers according…
Miami Herald Continues to Publish Puff Pieces for Its Cruise Line Friends
Let me place my biases front and center.
I am no fan of the Miami Herald. it’s beholden to the cruise industry which pays it for cruise advertising ads. The Herald’s "business" editor, Jane Wooldridge, is the former travel editor for the newspaper. Although she graduated with me from Duke in 1980, she is at…
Disappearance of George Smith – Larry King Live & the “Missing Groom Mystery”
The media’s interest into the "missing groom" story was unparalleled in the history of the cruise industry. Royal Caribbean had been able to dodge bad press about the disappearance of passengers and women and children sexually assaulted on its fleet of cruise ships for decades.
But the case of George Smith was different. Every network was covering the…
The Bermuda Press and the Cruise Industry – See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
Yesterday, the Bermuda Gazette reported on the sentencing of an American tourist who was arrested for possessing pot on a cruise ship which ported in Bermuda.
The Gazette identified the passenger as 43-year-old Edward John Molinari, from New York. The newspaper reported that after the cruise ship arrived in Bermuda, customs officers and police searched Molinari’s cabin with a drug…
Royal Caribbean Calls on “Captain Hollywood” to the Rescue Following the Latest Brilliance of the Seas Debacle
I have been critical of Royal Caribbean’s PR skills over the years, thinking that this particular cruise line’s credibility is at the bottom of the cruise industry. So when RCCL announced after the terrifying storm which rocked the the Brilliance of the Seas and injured its passengers that the cruise ship "had full power and was operating as normal" and that no…
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…