Last week Carnival announced its new brand "fathom" as the first "first voluntourism cruise line." It said that the new cruise line will focus on the "environment" and "sustainability," which seem like ridiculous propositions to me given Carnival’s deplorable record of polluting the air and water. Plus the new brand is going to operate the
Are Jihadists Sailing on Cruise Ships?
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Terrorism
The Associated Press (AP) reports that jihadi fighters are increasingly buying tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq.
The AP states that jihadists are trying to bypass travel restrictions in neighboring Turkey.
According to the AP, Turkey says that it has been deporting hundreds of terrorists caught in airports and…
Carnival Finally Bans Smoking on Balconies
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Fires
Carnival Cruise Lines announced today that smoking will be prohibited on stateroom balconies effective October 9, 2014.
Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson Vance Gulliksen said that the new policy is in response to comments by the majority of its customers.
It’s about time.
In 2007, our client Lynnette Hudson, testified before Congress after her father died…
Venice Bans Monster Cruise Ships
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Pollution
The Gazzetta del Sud newspaper reports that government officials in Rome, Italy ordered a halt to large cruise ships passing through the Venice lagoon, effective November 2014. The outright ban on cruise ships applies to those ships over 96,000 tons. (The Costa Concordia is 114,500 tons).
The legislation comes after years of debate and highly charged…
Wall Street Journal: “Reputation, Regulatory Issues Dog Cruise Industry”
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Social Media
Today the Wall Street Journal published an article about the cruise industry’s efforts to overcome damage to its reputation while battling off criticism by a consumer group and efforts by Congress to regulate the industry.
The WSJ points out that the cruise lines have a lot to be concerned with, including "stranded vessels, fires, people…
Do Cruise Lines Conduct Background Checks of Crew Members?
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Rape
The Florida Today newspaper published two articles today about the issue of sexual assault of passengers and whether cruise lines conduct background checks of their cruise ship employees.
The issue of background checks is a rather interesting topic. But it’s an issue the cruise lines hate to talk about.
Six weeks ago, I attended…
New York Times Takes a Look at Cruise Ship “Mishaps”
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Social Media
The New York Times Travel Section published an article today about the topic of cruise ship "mishaps" such as collisions, fires, evacuations, groundings, and sinkings.
The problem is that there is no centralized agency collecting data about such incidents. Plus the cruise line industry is notoriously secretive about events that are inconsistent with the notion…
Governor Parnell Continues to Advance Dirty Cruise Industry’s Interests
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Cruise Pollution, Pollution
Governor Parnell and the pro-cruise pollution legislators in Alaska have some new talking points in their efforts to weaken the cruise line waste water restrictions. They say that its not the cruise sewage that will harm the state’s image but their opponents’ "hype" that easing the standards will result in "dirty water and terrible discharges."…
Hurricane Sandy Causes Cruise Ships to Scatter
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Rough Weather, Sinking
While some cruise ships have elected to hunker down in port and ride out Hurricane Sandy, other ships such as the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas and Carnival’s Miracle are out at sea trying to skirt the high seas and high winds. ABC News reports:
Monster Cruise Ships Menace Venice
By Jim Walker on
Posted in Pollution
The UK’s Mail Online newspaper has some interesting photographs today regarding the ongoing protests by environmental groups in Italy who are trying to protect the beautiful city of Venice from the effects of water pollution, air emissions and erosion of historical building by traffic from huge cruise ships.
Earlier this week we addressed this issue…