Earlier this week, the cruise ship industry suffered yet another disturbing incident when MSC Cruises’ Magnifica ship, transporting 2,469 passengers and 976 crew members, allided with a pier in Piräus, Greece. Alliding is a term often used in nautical contexts to describe an impact with a stationary object. The Magnifica…
Several months ago, this blog discussed the introduction of new legislation entitled, The Cruise Passenger Protection Act (“Protection Act”), at a hearing in front of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that would require cruise companies to publish statistical information regarding crimes committed on their ships that previously went…
In 1985, the largest cruise ship in the world was the 46,000 ton Carnival Holiday. A decade ago, the largest ship was the Queen Mary 2, was three times as large at 148,528 tons. Today, this distinction is held by Royal Caribbean’s Oasis and Allure of the Seas; each weighing…
According to a recent story by the Huffington Post last week, a crew member of a Carnival cruise ship headed to New Orleans, Louisiana had to be airlifted to a hospital after falling and hitting her head on the ship’s deck. A Coast Guard news release stated that one of…
What would you do if you were injured on a cruise ship and found yourself stranded in a foreign country without adequate medical care? That is exactly the situation Dodge Melkonian faced after breaking his hip on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. ABC News reports that Dodge and his wife,…
A passenger ferry making the regular crossing to the Statue of Liberty made a hard landing, which resulted in a number of injuries to the passengers onboard. As a popular tourist destination that hosts international visitors and Americans from all over the country, it is likely that those involved were…
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released additional inspection reports for its Vessel Sanitation Program (“VSP”), which is designed to assist the cruise ship industry in preventing and controlling introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses, i.e. food poisoning, on cruise ships. The results of one such…
Cruise ships can be a great way to explore foreign lands and see the world, however, a dream vacation can become a nightmare if something goes wrong while traveling abroad. Problems that arise while cruising internationally can be particularly difficult, as travelers often don’t speak the native language or have…
The last thing on a person’s mind when they depart for their dream cruise vacation is the possibility that they will become the victim of a crime while sailing the seas. However, many cruises ships are essentially floating cities, and, as such, often experience incidents of criminal activity. According to…
Almost everyone felt the sting of the financial crash of 2008, but good news: we are coming back. Recreational industries are a great marker of how strong the market is; if consumers feel the pinch they let go of the fun stuff first. It should make you breath a fresh…