Cruise Ship Law

MIAMI — Veterans of the cruise line industry can’t remember an accident more dramatic than the one that captivated the world’s attention this weekend.

An Italian ocean liner capsized onto its side, half the ship submerged in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea. The Costa Concordia had rolled so far over that a steam stack looked nearly eye-level in photos taken from the shores of a rugged Tuscan island where passengers fled after the grounding. Three passengers were confirmed dead, with dozens missing amid reports of people leaping from the ship as it listed toward 80 degrees.

The images from the half-sunken Concordia present a major challenge to South Florida’s cruise-line industry, which attracts millions of tourists to the region and employs thousands of workers. Carnival, Miami-Dade’s eighth largest private employer, owns Costa, making the financial fall-out a direct concern for the world’s largest cruise company and its 3,500 local employees.

But beyond the sinking of a major ship and the deaths of at least three passengers, the unfolding Concordia incident injects a new worry for those considering any vacation at sea.

"Obviously there’s going to be that gut reaction, like after Sept. 11,’’ said Simon Duval, a South Florida-based home agent with Expedia CruiseShipCenters. "I think there’s going to be a short-term hit to the industry…I pray it’s not long-term.’’

The Concordia incident delivered a particularly disturbing narrative. The crew hadn’t held evacuation drills by the time the vessel with 3,200 passengers struck an underwater rock two hours into the voyage along Italy’s western coast. Images showed the ship resting what looked like a stone’s throw from the Isola del Giglio, a lighthouse framing many of the photos.

Passengers described chaos after the ship struck ground around 10 p.m. and began leaning toward the sea. One couple recalled a mother handing them an infant as the boat turned. With the ship listing so severely, some life rafts couldn’t be lowered. By Saturday evening, reports had three passengers dead, 70 missing and the captain under arrest on suspicion of abandoning ship.

Carnival and Costa communicated only in press releases well into Saturday evening. "This is a terrible tragedy and we are deeply saddened," Carnival said in a statement. Costa’s president Gianni Oporto’s statement said in part: "We are not at this time able to answer questions because the authorities are trying, with our cooperation, to understand the reasons for the incident."

Smaller cruise ships have sunk entirely, and capsized ferries have taken far more lives. In 1998, Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas hit a reef off St. Maarten , ripping a 160-foot hole in the hull, forcing the captain to intentionally ground the ship to prevent it from sinking.

But industry veterans couldn’t remember a time when a vessel as large as the 950-foot Concordia came as close to sinking, or came to rest in such an eerie position. "Basically this is everyone’s biggest nightmare,’’ said Carrie Finley-Baja, who used to sell cruise vacations and now runs the website cruisebuzz.com "I heard it all the time. There is this huge fear of being stranded in the water."

Finley-Baja and other industry watchers said they doubted the Concordia incident would cause a noticeable dent in cruise-line bookings. Most voyages are booked months in advance, so the initial fear will have a chance to subside before affecting actual travel plans. While well-known in Europe, the Costa line has a low profile in the United States and so shouldn’t impact Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Celebrity and other major brands sailing domestically.

And given past reactions to transportation calamities, experts and industry executives see travelers as predictably resilient.

"Look, airplanes crash. And that same day, people get on airplanes,’’ said Stuart Chiron, a frequent television commentator on the industry who runs the website cruiseguy.com. "This is a tragic, freak accident. People are boarding cruise ships all around the world today being fully aware of what happened in Italy."

Travel agent Bob Zweig, who runs a Cruise Planners franchise out of his Cooper City home, predicted only a short period of shock. In the 30 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, the company he worked with lost 50 percent of its business. Within three to four months, all of the cancellations had rebooked their vacations, he said.

Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager of franchise travel agent network Cruise One, said the deaths and dramatic photos are bound to scare off some people who considering their first cruise. But he predicted the overall track record of the industry will prevail in most travelers’ minds.

"I don’t want to minimize the situation and the lives that have been lost,’’ said Wall, who Saturday was trying to determine the whereabouts of the eight clients his 1,200-agent company had booked aboard the Costa ship. "But we do have the utmost confidence in the cruise lines...They’re probably the most concerned about safety of anyone.’’

Agents interviewed said they had had no cancellations for future cruise bookings this weekend. Wall said when Cruise One customers booked on future Concordia voyages called his agency Saturday, they were mostly asking how the incident would affect their trips.

"We don’t expect it to have any long-term impact on business,’’ he added. "Educated travelers do understand that in rare situations tragedy happens.’’

The Concordia incident hits during a soft patch for the industry overall. Higher fuel costs and European economic woes have cut into profits, with Carnival and Royal Caribbean lowering their forecasts in recent months. That may have been turning around. In an interview last week, Scott Knutson, head of North American sales for Concordia, said advance bookings were up for 2012.

Costa, Carnival’s third-largest cruise line, maintains a small sales staff in a Hollywood office. Carnival purchased the company in 1997. While primarily based in the Mediterranean, the Italian cruise line does move some ships to Florida for winter Caribbean voyages. On Wednesday, the Costa Atlántico is schedule to set sail from Miami to Mexico on a 10-day voyage.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/14/v-print/2590198/foundering-of-italian-cruise-ship.html#storylink=cpy

Boat Owner: 'This is devastating for me'

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Fire Department contained a two-alarm fire on a boat dock and a boat in the Hyatt marina on Sunday afternoon, at least one of which belongs to Capital Cruises .

"This is just devastating to me," said Shannon Shaddock, owner. Shaddock was out of town when the fire broke out and arrived back in Austin around 9 p.m. to assess damage. Shaddock declined to comment on camera.

AFD Battalion Chief Thayer Smith told KXAN a river cruise boat caught fire around 2 p.m. while docked near the First Avenue Bridge at 280 Barton Springs Road. The flames burned through the boats ropes and moorings, resulting in the boat drifting a quarter mile while still ablaze before docking under the Congress Avenue bridge.

"This made it hard to fight because the fire was moving," explained Smith.

Propane tanks aboard the boat exploded drawing spectators along the lakefront.

"It was like a big firework, a big crack," said Andy McDell, who was walking his dog at the time. "Then, more smoke and flames."

"Initially, I thought it was steam from an air conditioning facility," said Rick Doutel, a hotel guest.

Police did shutdown traffic on the Congress Avenue Bridge for about an hour as a precaution as they had fire trucks battling the blaze on the bridge and below. The bridge re-opened to traffic around 3 p.m.

"We had the bridge covered," Smith explained, noting that crews never thought the bridge was in real danger from the fire.

No one appeared to be on the boat at the time of the but witnesses said they saw people near the boats, which were not scheduled for cruises on Christmas Day. A stretcher was on the scene, but it appears to be a precautionary measure.

A total of 17 fire department units and 60 personnel responded.

An employee of the cruise company, who asked not to be identified, estimates the river cruise boat cost about $250,000. Also lost in the fire were canoes, paddle boats, kayaks and life vests. The employee said the owner does have insurance.

Onlookers did cause somewhat of a problem according to witnesses.

"It was disorganized. People were parking in front of fire trucks," McDell added.

Thayer said the cause of the fire remains under investigation and they are interviewing witnesses to try and rule out arson.

Hazardous material teams did take to the lake in motorized rafts to control any potential hydrocarbon spills.

Smith told KXAN he doubts the lake was contaminated because the party boat was battery powered.

Source: kxan.com

Despite the precautions that cruise lines take, we periodically see news reports about major outbreaks of “stomach flu” onboard. In recent weeks there have been two incidents of these cruise ship illnesses, believed to be caused by noroviruses, even though both of the ships’ previous vessel sanitation scores had been excellent.

On the MS Veendam, owned by Holland America, 79 passengers out of the 1800 onboard were affected during its cruise to Rio de Janeiro during Thanksgiving week. A week later, onboard Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas 7-day cruise to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, over 50 passengers and at least 10 crew members were treated for a similar gastrointestinal infection. Maritime attorney Charles Lipcon discusses these norovirus outbreaks, and what to do if you or your family members are affected, in his book, Unsafe on the High Seas.

The highly contagious gastrointestinal illnesses typically occur in closed and crowded environments and are easily spread through food and water. Cruise ship outbreaks usually make the news due to national interest, but local hospitals, schools, nursing homes and even military bases also experience these waves of illness where dozens of people take ill for several days.

The Baylor College of Medicine in Houston announced last week that a research team led by Dr. Robert Atmar is testing an experimental vaccine could be available in 5 years to protect against these noroviruses. Currently there is only one approved gastrointestinal disease vaccine in the U.S., which protects against the rotaviruses that cause diarrhea in infants and young children.

According to Dr. Atmar, Baylor professor of medicine and molecular virology, "There is still a lot of work to do, but this is a big development. This is the first clinical demonstration that a vaccine can prevent norovirus infection and illness."

Test results indicate that this developmental vaccine can cut the chance of an outbreak by 50%. Progress is slow, however, since the virus can't be grown as a culture and doesn't infect laboratory animals.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - The Coast Guard was called to a cruise ship Monday to medevac a passenger who had gone into shock.

The Norwegian Gem was 75 miles east of Wilmington, N.C. when the call came in to the Coast Guard. The doctor of the ship radioed Coast Guard Sector North Carolina about the 38-year-old man who went into shock onboard.

The Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. responded with a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and took the man to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.

The man is in stable condition.

TIJUANA, Mexico — The US Coast Guard said Tuesday there was a "good chance" of finding more survivors among seven Americans missing after a deadly Mexican tour boat accident, as crews scoured waters off Mexico's northwest coast.

The mishap claimed the life of at least one American passenger, identified by Mexican officials as Leslie Yee. Seven others were still missing and feared dead after their fishing vessel with 43 people on board sank Sunday.

US Coast Guard Lieutenant Bill Burwell told CNN that no one had been found alive since late Monday, but that US crews were continuing the search for survivors along with Mexican teams.

"We've had two crews flown out for our rescue helicopters and there is multiple Mexican -- both airborne and surface -- assets looking for any signs of survivors," Burwell told CNN.

"We have not recovered any survivors in the last 12 hours. We are continuing to search," Burwell said, adding he was hopeful the missing passengers might somehow have found a way to stay alive while adrift in the Sea of Cortez, situated between the Baja California peninsula and the Mexican mainland.

"The water is warm -- about 85 degrees (29 Celsius) -- and if someone is out there, there's a good chance they are still surviving. We will keep looking for them," he said.

The official said rescuers were using a "multitude of sensors" as they searched the waters for signs of life.

The fishing ship "Erik" set sail from San Felipe, on the eastern side of Baja California peninsula, but was caught in a storm early Sunday in the Sea of Cortez and capsized, authorities said.

The Mexican navy on Monday deployed a helicopter, an airplane and three boats to assist the search for survivors.

Seventeen Mexicans on the ship made their way aboard emergency rafts to nearby small islands and are unharmed, the navy said.

Navy vessels, local fishermen and other ships rescued more survivors, the navy said.

One of the passengers, Charles Gibson, told US television Tuesday that he managed to stay alive by clinging to a floating beverage cooler, as did several other passengers, for several hours until he spotted a mass of land.

"We decided to swim for shore and we all got separated, and then for about nine of the 16 hours out, I was alone," he told broadcaster NBC.

"I had to swim the whole time in order to try to fight the current to get to finally what I call the Big Rock," he said.

"It was a big island in the middle of this area, about maybe five miles (eight kilometers) from where I started," Gibson said.

"I asked the Lord to kind of give me a hand to get to the shore," said Gibson.

Originally Posted at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article

JACKSONVILLE, Fla - There were 668 boating accidents in Florida last year, a number which leads the nation.

The good news is it is down from 743 in 2004.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission works to educate and provide resources to help boaters stay safe during their outings.

The FWCC has these tips to prevent a good day on the water from turning tragic.

Pay attention: Most accidents occur because the operator is not paying attention. Focus on what is going on on all sides of the boat.

Wear a life jacket: It doesn't matter if you are a good swimmer, in in an accident that throws you in the water you could be injured or rendered unconscious.

Stay sober: Operating a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs can impair judgment and reaction time.

Check the weather forecast: Bad weather can pop up quickly in Florida and storms can be dangerous.

Carry a charged cell phone: Anything can happen so having a phone makes sense. You can also let folks at home know if you are going to be later than anticipated.

Don't take your maiden voyage on a busy holiday weekend: Those who have never operated a vessel or personal watercraft should not make a holiday weekend their first attempt. Crowded boating areas make the experience more difficult.

File a float plan: Let someone on land know where you are going and when you plan to return. If you're late, officials can be notified and will know where to start looking for you.

Know the rules before you get on the water: Boating has rules like driving. You can learn the rules at MyFWC.com/Boating.

Originally Posted At: First Coast News

A PENSIONER is seeking compensation from a tour operator after suffering food poisoning on a dream holiday cruise.

Cynthia Dimond claims she fell ill after eating fish on the Island Escape ship during a week-long cruise around the Canary Islands and Morocco in March.

She says she suffered sickness and diarrhoea within hours of eating the food and was confined to her cabin with her husband.

Now Mrs Dimond is still suffering from the effects of the illness and is claiming compensation from Thomson Holidays.

Retired Woolworths worker Mrs Dimond, aged 67, said: "We had been looking forward to a dream cruise, but it turned into a nightmare. I still suffer with stomach cramps, diarrhoea and sickness. The holiday was just horrendous."

Mrs Dimond and her husband, David, had booked a £1,200 full-board holiday to give them a break after caring for her 91-year-old mother Agnes Gibson.

Mrs Dimond, of The Covert, Clayton, added: "I'm very particular about what I eat.

"One night I had cod, potatoes and poached cabbage.

"I started to eat it. I thought it was strong and bitter.

"There were three pieces of cod, I'd eaten two, but the minute I put the fork in the third piece the aroma was horrid. I left it and within an hour I was nauseous.

"I kept vomiting. I was going to the toilet constantly."

Mrs Dimond was seen by the ship's doctor, who treated the illness with antibiotics and other medications, and suggested she eat crackers and water.

After the examination Mrs Dimond, and her husband David who was not ill, were confined to their cabin for the remaining two-and-a-half days of the break.

It meant the Dimonds only got off the ship in Tenerife.

Retired entrepreneur Mr Dimond, aged 68, said: "We have been on a cruise before, on the same boat. But when we got to the cabin this time there was a terrible smell of must.

"We felt the bathroom was dirty and I went to complain. But the ship was full so there were no cabins to move to.

"Staff came down and cleaned the cabin and bathroom with bleach and we thought we should make the most of it."

Legal firm Irwin Mitchell has submitted a claim on behalf of Mrs Dimond to Thomson Holidays.

Solicitor Elizabeth Tetzner, said: "It is totally unacceptable that Mrs Dimond got so ill during her cruise, and that she continues to suffer."

Thomson Holidays is investigating Mrs Dimonds's claim.

At says the health and safety of customers is its "primary focus" and it "closely monitors" all ships in its fleet.

A spokesman said: "Island Cruises can confirm that sickness onboard the Island Escape from February to date, which includes when Mr and Mrs Diamond travelled, has been minimal.

"Our legal team has been investigating Mr and Mrs Diamond's complaint and were surprised to learn they had instructed no-win no-fee solicitors who wish to play this out in the press. We do not feel that it is in the best interests of the law firm's clients – our customers. As the couple have decided to pursue legal action we cannot comment further."

Originally Posted at: www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk

A person fell from a cruise ship into the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish Sunday night, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The person fell from Norwegian Cruise Line's "Norwegian Spirit" ship around 8 p.m., a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.

The incident happened around mile marker 65, near Belle Chasse. The rescue boat was jettisoned from the cruise ship, and rescuers were able to pull the person who fell back to the boat.

The gender of the person who fell was not released.

The spokeswoman was unaware if the person was injured. Since the person was rescued using the cruise's boat, the Coast Guard did not handle the incident directly, the spokeswoman said.

Originally Posted at: www.nola.com

Elderly passengers on board a luxury cruise have criticised US immigration officials after they endured a seven-hour security check.

It was billed as a chance to taste the “glitz and glamour” of Hollywood or enjoy VIP treatment in some of the most exclusive shopping areas in the world.

But when a group of 2,000 elderly British cruise ship passengers docked at Los Angeles for a short stop-off during a five-star cruise around America it was, in the words of one of them, more like arriving at Guantanamo Bay.

During their £10,000, two-and-a-half month “Alaska Adventure” tour from the Arctic to the Caribbean, the passengers on the luxury P&O liner Arcadia had become more than accustomed to passing US immigration with little formality.

By the time they docked at Los Angeles on May 26, for a one-day visit it was their 10th stop on US soil.

But when a handful of them questioned whether the lengthy security checks at the port were strictly necessary for a group of largely elderly travellers officials were not amused.

Although they had already been given advance clearance for multiple entries to the country during their trip, all 2,000 passengers were made to go through full security checks in a process which took seven hours to complete.

The fingerprints of both hands were taken as well as retina scans and a detailed check of the passport as well as questioning as to their background.

Passengers claim that the extra checks were carried out in “revenge” for what had been a minor spat over allegedly overzealous security.

They complain that they were “herded like animals” and made to stand for hours in temperatures up to 80F with no food or water or access to lavatories.

Some are said to have passed out in the heat while others were left confused and bewildered.

When one lady asked in desperation whether she could use a bathroom, one immigration official is said to have replied: “Do it over the side, we won’t mind.”

To compound the situation, the officials' computer broke down and further delays resulted.

The immigration delays forced P&O to extend the stay in LA by a day forcing it to cancel a later stop-off at Roatan, Honduras, scheduled for this week.

Setting off from Southampton on April 12, the cruise has taken in stops in Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, crossing the Panama Canal to travel up the west coast of the United States to Alaska.

They were en route back to the canal before stops in Florida and New York when the ship stopped at LA last week and the immigration problems ensued.

With a total of 15 stops scheduled at US ports during the 72-night cruise, the passengers had all completed standard US immigration (ESTA) forms designed for multiple-entry trips.

"A couple of passengers got a bit stroppy about having to go through all the rigmarole again and these petulant officials decided to take revenge,” said John Randall, 60, a retired dentist from Wigan, who bought the cruise as a retirement gift to his wife.

"There were about 2,000 people on the quayside with only eight immigration people.

“They were just doing basic checks to begin with but after the argument we had to do full finger prints on left and right hands and all the biometric stuff.

"Then their computer system broke down but no one was bothered about helping us.

“A couple of people struggled to control their bladders and someone said they'd suffered a prolapsed disc.”

He emphasized that he did not blame the liner for difficulties, but in a letter to the captain he vented his feelings about the immigration procedures adding: “We are holiday makers, here to try and enjoy ourselves - we are not potential inmates of Guantalamo Bay, and should not be treated as such.”

A spokeswoman for the company insisted that passengers were kept on the vessel to prevent them queuing for more than about an hour.

She added: “The delay in immigration procedures was largely to blame on issues with the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) computer systems, not aided by the verbal approach that a minority of our passengers, clearly frustrated by this delay, took with the local immigration officers.

“The US has a record for the most stringent and thorough security and entry requirements in the world, and they felt the need to enhance their security checks further, which they have the power to do.”

Originally Posted at: www.telegraph.co.uk

A 52-year-old female cruise passenger died on a helmet-diving excursion in Bermuda on Tuesday. The woman, whom Bermuda police named as Donna Zapata, was on a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. Royal Caribbean said in a statement that Zapata had been participating in a ship-sponsored shore excursion. Helmet diving is a shallow water activity in which participants wear airtight helmets connected to tubes carrying a steady stream of oxygen.

The statement said that excursion crew provided initial care, including CPR, until Zapata was transported by ambulance to the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, Bermuda, where she was pronounced dead.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Bermuda police said an investigation into Zapata's death is underway. An autopsy will be performed on the deceased during the course of this week.

Bermuda Maritime Operations told The Royal Gazette on Tuesday evening that Zapata had turned blue and had died of a suspected heart attack.

Originally Posted at: www.cruisecritic.co.uk

After a passenger failed to disembark from a Celebrity Cruise ship on Wednesday, a thorough search of the vessel concluded that the woman was not on board. Footage taken aboard the ship showed the 39-year-old woman straddling a railing Monday night and letting go. The Coast Guard suspended its search after reviewing the closed circuit video.

Unlikely Suicide
Celine Rathsbasil, a Bennington Vale mother of five, was traveling to Catalina Island on a three-day work retreat with key members of San Narciso County’s foremost conservative political action committee, the Association of Republican Seniors, Wives, Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (ARSWYPE).

Rathsbasil gained recognition in the community for championing the organization of Bennington Vale’s “Target the Enemy” movement to support Sarah Palin’s vice presidential campaign against the Democratic opposition in 2008. Rathsbasil was wearing one of the group’s t-shirts at the time of her fall, evidenced by the slogans “Let Them Drink Tea,” “Crap Shooters,” and “Jigga Who?” visible in the video footage.

According to the Coast Guard, the search of the ship and Rathsbasil’s cabin turned up no suicide note, proof of foul play, or other explanations for her actions.

Carlisle Olden-Whitely, ARSWYPE’s chairman, said that everyone in the group was confounded and devastated by the loss.

“Celine was a true patriot,” Olden-Whitely told reporters. “She had a beautiful family, a great marriage, and wonderful friends. No one who knew her believes this was a suicide. But it’s also difficult to comprehend how the accident happened. She clearly climbed over the rail, but I’m at a loss to explain why.”

Possible Explanation
The only lead available to investigators has come from the ship’s bartender, Marvin Isaacs.

Isaacs also denied that he thought the cause of death was intentionally self-inflicted.

“No way, man. Like I told the Coast Guard, she was having a good time. But I had to cut her off, you know, because she’d already sucked down a whole bottle of Jim Beam. She really tied one on. Then she started talking about Barack dumping Osama bin Laden’s body in the ocean right after the raid. And she tells me, ‘That’s crap, Marv. They didn’t get Osama. If George Bush and Dick Cheney couldn’t hunt him down, there’s no way that tree-hugging Oreo did. Someone needs to get their ass in the water and pull that body back up. I’m telling you, it was some CIA ass they gunned down by mistake in their botched operation. I’d bet you a Long Slow Screw Against the Wall on it, and I ain’t talking about a drink.’ Then she left. That was the last I saw of her."

Originally Posted at: www.benningtonvalepress.com

A Pinckney man plans to sue Celebrity Cruises and its parent company after staff forced him to disembark in Guadeloupe and return home when they allegedly could not accommodate his special needs.

Celebrity Cruises said James Keskeny, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, required "special assistance above and beyond" what it offers "to our guests with disabilities" during his February cruise. It claims Keskeny required help with feeding and personal hygiene, "which is beyond the scope of what our butler service provides."

In a statement, the cruise line, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., added that it offered Keskeny the chance to hire a private nurse before forcing him off the 10-day cruise to the Caribbean, but he declined.

"While we provide extensive assistance to our disabled guests, such as boarding and departure assistance, and lifts for pools and whirlpools, we do not provide help with feeding, personal hygiene or using the lavatory," the statement said.

Keskeny, 66, said the private nurse was too expensive and he has no problem taking care of himself. The problem, he said, is his stateroom that was listed as handicapped accessible did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act's architectural guidelines.

The guidelines require toilets to be 19 inches high, but Keskeny said his toilet was only 15 inches high and that caused him to slip. He said it also did not have bars that would have provided him assistance.

A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line, requires that all vessels that enter or leave a U.S. port be in compliance with the ADA.

"I served as the U.S. representative to the Multiple Sclerosis Federation for eight years; I've traveled to 25 foreign countries, half by myself. I've proven my independence," Keskeny said. "For the cruise line to imply I needed 24-hour care is a little bovine excrement.

"If they thought I was a danger to myself and to others, and if they felt I needed 24-hour care, how could they put me on a plane, in someone else's care? It was a whole series of insults," he added.

Keskeny said the cruise line's offer of a nurse — at his expense — was forcing him "into a limousine" when all "I needed was a Ford Escort."

In its statement, Celebrity Cruises says it "was unaware of (Keskeny's) additional needs until he was onboard the ship."

Keskeny said he told cruise officials that he was in a wheelchair and that his wife would not accompany him as initially planned. He asked if his cabin was handicapped accessible, and said he was told yes.

Keskeny noted he was not turned away when he boarded the ship in his wheelchair.

However, on the third day of the 10-day trip, Keskeny said he slipped and fell off the commode because it was not handicapped accessible. He said cruise personnel took him to the ship's doctor, who informed him that he was a safety hazard to himself and the personnel — and Keskeny would, therefore, have to disembark.

Keskeny said he was ordered to disembark in Guadeloupe, where the cruise line had arranged for his flight home. Guadeloupe is a small group of islands in the Caribbean. It is governed by France and about 300 miles southeast of Puerto Rico.

"The salt in the wound," he said, "is after that flight, we stopped in Haiti for 30 to 60 minutes and everyone, including me, was forced to disembark from the plane. You're supposed to have vaccinations before visiting Haiti."

The cruise line said it requires all passengers booking a handicapped-accessible cabin to complete a special-needs guest form.

Keskeny said he was not told about any such form.

Keskeny said he gave up his right to sue for personal damages when he signed the ticket contract. However, he would like to be reimbursed for the cost of the trip and the flight home from Guadeloupe.

Originally Posted at: www.livingstondaily.com

Police are investigating a bizarre incident at sea involving a 73-year-old British grandmother who took ill on a cruise ship and was accidentally dropped into the sub-zero North Sea by medics trying to transfer her to a rescue boat.

Janet Richardson, a diabetic from Cumbria in the U.K., was on the Ocean Princess off Norway with her husband, George, 78, when she began bleeding internally. The ship's captain told Norwegian officials to send a rescue boat so they could get her to the closest hospital, British media reported today.

But when medics arrived and attempted to transfer the stretcher-bound Richardson from the cruise ship into a smaller rescue boat, she slipped from their grasp and plunged into the 26-degree sea. Richardson flailed about in the frigid temperatures for between four and eight minutes before she was finally rescued.

"The two vessels were steaming at 10 knots at the time they tried to transfer her, but they didn't lash them together," fellow passenger Colin Prescott said, according to the Mirror.

"There were two people on the search-and-rescue boat and others passing the stretcher across from deck three of the ship on the other side. But the boats suddenly moved apart by several feet and they couldn't keep hold of it."

Prescott said many passengers were watching on deck and one woman fainted when she saw what happened next.

"When they dropped it there was pandemonium," he said. "She went down into the water and within seconds was about half a mile from the ship. ... We couldn't believe they had let her fall -- especially with the water being so cold."

Richardson's husband told reporters: "It was traumatic to see her fall. I thought I was going to lose her."

It was not immediately clear why the accident, which occurred March 29, was not revealed until today. But photos of Richardson's unfortunate icy plunge were plastered on the front page of British newspapers and TV newscasts, and police told The Associated Press they had begun an investigation into what happened.

Richardson was eventually taken to a hospital in Bodo, Norway, which lies north of the Arctic Circle, after being retrieved from the sea. A few days later she was airlifted to Cumberland infirmary in Carlisle, where she is receiving treatment and said to still be in serious condition, the Guardian reported.

"Luckily Janet had a lifebelt on which saved her life. She was fully aware of what happened," Shirley Bottelfsen of the Bodo hospital told the Guardian. "Naturally, from the cold water she became weaker. Janet improved every day she was with us, but it will take some time to be completely recovered."

Originally Posted at: www.aolnews.com

Seven hundred and forty-one passengers and crewmembers were evacuated from the Ocean Star Pacific following a fire in on of the ship's generators.

The fire, which was reportedly small, knocked out power to the ship while it was sailing off the Mexican coast over the weekend. The 515 passengers and 226 crewmembers were taken by catamaran to the port of Huatulco on Mexico’s West Coast.

Representatives for Ocean Star, Carlos Salazar, told the Latin American Herald Tribune that the generator fire "caused a blackout" leaving the engines unable to be "restarted, and the ship was adrift." Salazar also reported that the fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injures to the crew or to passengers.

The Ocean Star Pacific was built in 1971 for Royal Caribbean, and was then named the MV Nordic Prince. The vessel is now owned and operated by, the newly formed Mexican based, Ocean Star Cruises. This cruise marked just the second sailing for Ocean Star. The ship had just finished a multi-million dollar refit in Curacao, which included rebuilding of the Lido buffet, pool area, lounges, a new spa, new nightclub along with additional shops and children’s areas.

In November of last year the Carnival Splendor also experienced a fire onboard in an engine room, causing a loss of power to several areas of the ship. The cruise ship was left disabled off the coast of Mexico with nearly 4,500 passengers and crewmembers onboard. The U.S. Navy had to deliver food and supplies to the ship before she was towed to port in San Diego.

Originally Posted at: www.maritime-executive.com

A dramatic medical evacuation from a cruise ship in the North Sea almost turned to tragedy when the stretcher carrying the passenger plunged into the water.

The incident occurred last week when a woman suffering from internal bleeding was being transferred from the Ocean Countess to a Norwegian rescue vessel.

Fellow passenger Colin Prescott, of Burscough, Lancashire, told his local paper: " The vessels, which hadn't been latched together, suddenly moved apart by several feet just as they were transferring her, which caused the rescue crews to drop the stretcher into the sea.

"We'd been told the sea was about minus three degrees that day. The rescue boat came back round to pick her up and she was taken to hospital, but she was in the water for about eight minutes or so, and I really want to find out whether she's OK."

Ocean Countess, operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages, was on a cruise from Hull to Norway to see the Northern Lights.

A spokesman for the company said: "On Tuesday 29 March a female British passenger on board the cruise ship Ocean Countess became ill and was in need of immediate medical disembarkation.

"The vessel's position was about 20 nautical miles off the coast of the Norwegian and port of Bodo. The vessel contacted the local Norwegian emergency services and a Search and Rescue vessel was sent for the disembarkation of the passenger.

"While the disembarkation was taking place about three miles from the shore the passenger unfortunately fell into the water. The crew of the Search and Rescue vessel picked up the passenger from the water and transferred her to hospital in Bodo. The passenger's condition is currently stable.

The safety and comfort of our passengers is of paramount importance and the circumstances of the incident are under investigation."

Originally Posted at: blogs.mirror.co.uk

The Coast Guard had to rescue a boy from the Carnival Dream cruise ship on Monday.

The cruise was headed to Puerto Rico from Port Canaveral when the captain called for help.

Officials said the boy was bleeding internally and needed immediate medical attention.

The Coast Guard flew the child, his mother, and a cruise ship nurse to a hospital in Puerto Rico.

His name has not been released and his condition is unknown.

Originally Posted at: www.wftv.com

AN unwell 60-year-old woman has been winched by helicopter from a cruise ship off the Queensland coast.

The Sydney woman was aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas liner, which had departed Sydney and was 40 kilometres off the southern Gold Coast, when she began feeling unwell.

The RACQ CareFlight rescue helicopter was deployed to the cruise ship after receiving a call on Saturday afternoon.

A paramedic winched down onto the ship assessed the woman who was raised from the ship and flown to the Gold Coast airport.

She was taken by ambulance to the John Flynn Hospital in a stable condition.

CareFlight spokesman Brian Russell said the woman was "generally unwell" but further details about her illness were not immediately available.

Originally Posted at: www.news.com.au

Tampa Bay - Coast Guard rescuers evacuated a 76-year-old man from the cruise ship Radiance of the Seas early Sunday morning.

Coast Guard officials say the man fell ill onboard the ship that was about 76 miles southwest of Tampa Bay.

The man was hoisted onboard a Coast Guard helicopter just before 3 a.m. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.

Originally Posted at: www.wtsp.com

59-year old taken to Sentara Norfolk General

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - The Coast Guard says it medevaced a 59-year old woman from a cruise ship off the Virginia coast to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Thursday.

The woman, along with a nurse from aboard the ship, were transported via a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Royal Caribbean's "Explorer of the Seas," which was located 230 miles east of Cape Henry.

According to the Coast Guard, watchstanders received a call at 8:50 a.m. from a crewmember aboard the Explorer of the Seas stating that the woman's medical condition necessitated immediate medical attention.

Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. responded by sending the MH-60 rescue crew and a C-130 aircrew.

There is no word on the woman's current condition.

Originally Posted at: www.fox43tv.com

A woman remains in a critical condition in Tasmania's Royal Hobart Hospital after being winched from the deck of a cruise ship anchored in Wineglass Bay on the state's east coast.

Constable Michael Preshaw from Police, Search and Rescue says the woman's medical condition was life threatening.

He says the police rescue helicopter lowered two intensive care paramedics onto the Pacific Princess and circled the ship for half an hour before the woman was winched up.

"She was very sick and the boat was at least 8 hours from port so the ship's doctor decided it was paramount she get transferred to a hospital as soon as she could," he said.

Constable Preshaw says changing weather conditions made the rescue difficult.

"We obviously dropped the paramedics down first and then we had to circle for about half an hour whilst they were seeing the patient and in that half an hour the wind changed direction and then got a fair bit stronger which made winching a bit more difficult and then in the end it was just deemed the risks weren't going to be worth it so we decided to abort the second winch with the second paramedic and left him there."

Originally Posted at: www.abc.net.au

A 68-year-old man experiencing chest pains was airlifted from a cruise ship 140 miles out to sea on Saturday, authorities said.

San Diego Harbor Police received a report of the man's condition just after 2:30 a.m. from the ship, Rotterdam, which was 140 miles offshore, according to Allyson Conroy, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Rotterdam began sailing toward San Diego and at 5:30 a.m. a Coast Guard Jayhawk MH-60T helicopter was sent to meet it, Conroy said.

The man, whose name was not released, was hoisted to the helicopter at 6:30 a.m. and taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital, Conroy said.

His condition was not immediately available.

Originally Posted at: www.10news.com

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Sector San Diego medically evacuated a passenger from a cruise ship 250 miles southwest of San Diego Sunday evening.

Just after noon, the crew of the cruise ship Oosterdam notified the Coast Guard that the 65-year-old man needed immediate medical assistance. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the man be medically evacuated.

At approximately12:30 p.m.,Sunday, a helicopter was launched from Sector San Diego to conduct the medevac. An HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew from Air Station Sacramento supported the medevac by providing long-range visual and communications coverage.

At 4:45 p.m, the helicopter crew hoisted the cruise ship passenger and a nurse, who were then flown to the Sector to be transferred to awaiting emergency medical personnel.

Originally Posted at: www.coastguardnews.com

A 40-year-old Filipino sailor faced charges of sexual assault in Magistrates Court this morning [Feb 4].

The defendant, who is not a resident of Bermuda, is accused of attacking a woman on board a cruise ship in December of 2010.

The defendant, who was accompanied by a female friend in court, was represented by lawyer Kendrick James. He received bail, and his trial is due to start in March of this year.

Originally Posted at: www.bernews.com

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - The crew of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter medically evacuated a woman from cruise ship Westerdam Sunday, approximately 95 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

The 63-year-old woman is a U.S. citizen, who was suffering from a ruptured appendix requiring immediate medical attention ashore.

"This was a complex and time critical medical evacuation," said Cmdr. James Sutton, Sector San Juan Chief of Response. "The crews of the Coast Guard rescue helicopters performed superbly and completed a highly dangerous evolution without incident. The excellent coordination between the Westerdam, the Sector San Juan Command Center, Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico State Emergency Management Agency and the Medical Center Hospital ensured the patient received the emergency medical care she needed by delivering her safely to the hospital."

Coast Guard controllers coordinated with the cruise ship's crew and launched a rescue helicopter from Air Station Borinquen, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to conduct the medical evacuation. Once on scene with the Westerdam, the helicopter crew hoisted the patient and cruise ship nurse onto the aircraft.

The Dolphin helicopter crew transported the patient to Air Station Borinquen, where she was transferred to a second Coast Guard helicopter that completed her transport to the Medical Center Hospital in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, where she was transferred to awaiting Emergency Medical Services personnel.

Originally Posted at: www.wtsp.com

A taxi driver from Scotland who was aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas in December when it was rocked violently by extreme winds and waves says the heavily publicized event led to his wife's death.

John Davey tells the UK's Mirror his wife, Barbara Davey, fell into a coma three days after being thrown about her cabin during the incident. She was taken to a hospital after the 2,100-passenger ship reached Malta and then airlifted back to Britain but never recovered and died on Jan. 7, the news outlet says.

Royal Caribbean said last month that more than 100 passengers were injured during the incident, which it has called serious, but the line said the injuries were mostly minor. The line said the ship unexpectedly experienced extreme conditions as it was approaching Alexandria, Egypt, that caused the vessel to roll sharply. Passenger photos posted online after the incident show toppled furniture, broken glass and other signs of a violent event.

The Mirror says the cause of Davey's death was listed as a brain hemorrhage.

"Barbara lapsed into ­unconsciousness before my eyes, fell into a coma and never woke up," Davey tells the news outlet.

The Mirror says Davey is suing Royal Caribbean, alleging the ship never should have sailed into the stormy weather. "Barbara was tossed around the cabin and was seriously hurt," Davey tells the Mirror. "When the storm calmed and we came out of our ­cabins, it looked like a bomb had gone off inside the ship."

UPDATE, 11: 12 AM ET: Royal Caribbean is disputing the notion that the stormy weather encountered by Brilliance of the Seas had a role in Davey's death, telling USA TODAY that her illness was the result of a pre-existing medical condition. Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Michele Nadeem says the ship's doctor was called to Davey's cabin on the second day the vessel was in Malta, three days after the ship hit rough seas, and the doctor quickly determined she had an acute medical emergency and called an ambulance.

"She was taken to the hospital where she remained in critical condition," Nadeem says, adding that Davey never lost consciousness while on the ship. "The Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Medical Department has determined that Mrs. Davey's acute medical emergency was caused by a preexisting medical condition unrelated to the listing of the ship."

Originally Posted at: www.travel.usatoday.com

The U.S Coast Guard rescued a crewmember from a ship en route to Panama on Sunday, after he was burned by one of the ships boilers three days earlier.

An air station crew medically evacuated the 46-year-old man following a call from the vessel's crew on Jan. 27, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

"The man was doing some routine maintenance to the boiler system on the ship before he was injured," Petty Officer Tony Gonzalez said. "He was burned pretty badly."

Gonzalez said that the ship's medical crew was able to stabilize the man immediately after the accident, but later sent a message to a command center in Alaska requesting additional assistance.

The 960-foot motor vessel, called the YM New Jersey, was located 60 miles off of the coast of San Francisco at the time of the rescue operation.

At approximately 6 p.m., the man was evacuated in an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and taken to St. Francis Memorial Hospital to be treated by emergency medical personnel.

Another C-130 Hercules aircraft from the air station in Sacramento assisted in the long-range rescue, the Coast Guard said.

Gonzalez said that the foreign ship was journeying from Hong Kong to Panama.

Based on the vessel's location at the time of the accident, the Alameda command center took the lead in the rescue effort.

"This type of rescue isn't unusual," Command Duty Officer Drew Molla said in a statement. "We conduct [medical evacuations] from boats in transit all the time."

Originally Posted at: www.sfappeal.com

A cruise passenger died from a brain haemorrhage after her ship was hit by a horrific 80mph storm.

Barbara Davey fell into a coma three days after being thrown about in her cabin when giant waves battered Royal Caribbean cruise liner Brilliance of the Seas in the Mediterranean.

She was taken to hospital when the super-ship finally docked in Malta – but she never recovered and was airlifted back to Britain.

Now her husband John wants answers as to why the ship sailed into the storm – ­despite warnings from weathermen.

“Barbara lapsed into ­uncon- sciousness before my eyes, fell into a coma and never woke up,” said John, who had to make the ­agonising ­decision to switch off her life-­support ­machine earlier this month.

He has instructed specialist maritime solicitors to sue Royal Caribbean over the ­incident on December 12.

The storm had been forecast, with passengers warned during the journey to expect a “bumpy” night. John, of Dunfermline, Fife, says the ship could have avoided the storm if it had stayed docked.

But he claims the ship sailed on because Royal Caribbean didn’t want to disrupt the schedule.

His solicitor Clive Garner, of Irwin Mitchell, said: “We will be investigating a number of issues including the reasonableness of actions taken by the captain when the storms were first forecast.”

The couple had paid £2,700 for their deluxe ocean-view stateroom cabin for the trip around Europe and North Africa. Taxi driver John said: “This was our holiday of a lifetime before our retirement… but it has turned into a nightmare which will never end for me.”

Barbara and John boarded the 90,000-ton liner in Barcelona on December 5. It was carrying 2,500 passengers and 800 crew when it left Rhodes on December 12 under Captain Erik Tengelsen. The ship was bound for ­Alexandria in Egypt... but never got there. The severe storms struck two days later. John said: “On the way from Rhodes, the captain told the crew to empty the pools and shut off some of the deck areas. I can’t understand why we didn’t stay in Rhodes until the storm passed.

Originally Posted at: www.mirror.co.uk

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Police are investigating the drowning of a cruise ship worker at Port Everglades.

Police and fire rescue officials responded to a call about 6:50 p.m. Sunday. The man, whose identity has not been released, apparently drowned. It was not clear whether he fell off the ship.

Port Everglades spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy says the man worked aboard the Costa Altantica cruise ship, which was docked at the port.

Originally Posted at: www.miamiherald.com

Two helicopters were used to rescue a sick 80-year-old man from a cruise ship in the Tasman Sea yesterday.

The helicopters were sent from Te Anau to carry out the medical evacuation from the cruise liner Silver Shadow after the man suffered "some sort of medical event", Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said.

He was flown to Dunedin Hospital for treatment. His condition was not known this morning.

The Silver Shadow was heading from Australia to Milford Sound and was 232km west of Milford Sound.

Ms Hazelhurst said it was usual to use two helicopters for long distance evacuations.

Originally Posted at: www.voxy.co.nz

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medically evacuated a man after receiving a call for assistance from a cruise ship near the entrance to the Cape Fear River, N.C., Sunday.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s 5th District command center in Portsmouth received a call from a crewmember aboard the Norwegian Gem stating that there was a 77 year-old male apparently suffering from acute pulmonary edema.

A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Oak Island, N.C., was dispatched at approximately 5:30 p.m. and arrived on scene at approximately 6:30 p.m.

The man, along with his son, were transferred from the cruise ship to the rescue boat then transported to awaiting Emergency Medical Services at Coast Guard Station Oak Island. From there, the two men were transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C.

Originally Posted at: www.weshallneverforget.com

A British tourist is feared dead after falling overboard on a Caribbean cruise, according to reports.

An unnamed 50 year old woman fell from the balcony of her cabin on the Sea Princess, which was sailing between Curacao and Grand Turk islands. CCTV images showed her falling into the sea.

The ship combed the area and a search plane was launched but the woman was not found.

She was reported missing by her husband on the fifth day of their two week Christmas holiday.

Originally Posted at: www.travelweekly.co.uk

CAPE MAY, N.J. - Officials say a Florida man had just purchased a boat that sank off the southern New Jersey coast, killing him and leaving a second man hospitalized.

New Jersey State Police Sgt. Steve Jones says 62-year-old Gregory Arlotta, of Fort Myers, Fla. is missing and presumed dead after his boat sank early Thursday about seven miles off Cape May.

Officials say Arlotta had bought the 63-foot vessel in New York a few days earlier and was transporting it to New Orleans when it sank.

Coast Guard crews from Atlantic City were able to reach the stricken boat and rescue one man, but Arlotta slipped under the surface along with debris from the boat.

The second man, 42-year-old Steve Hopkins, of Washington, D.C., remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Originally Posted at: www.heraldtribune.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A cruise ship passenger being treated at a Tampa hospital after a fall on the boat is expected to be home for Christmas.

The wife of 46-year-old Andrew Spicer told the St. Petersburg Times Thursday that he's in good condition at Tampa General Hospital. Diane Spice also said her husband apparently suffered an acute tear of his diaphragm while playing basketball on the ship, which led to other complications.

Andrew Spicer of Valrico was injured while on the Holland America cruise ship and had to be airlifted last Saturday from the Gulf of Mexico. The ship was roughly 120 miles southwest of St. Petersburg at the time.

Originally Posted at: www.miamiherald.com

Lucille Eldred’s 80th birthday celebration aboard a cruise ship on the Mediterranean Sea turned out to be more eventful than she and two friends could have ever imagined.

Eldred, Joanne Herendeen and Deborah Urban, all of Leslie, were aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise liner that was tossed around during a heavy storm off the coast of Egypt last week.

The trio clung to their beds and watched the furniture in their fourth-deck state room on the Brilliance of the Seas smash onto the floor and into the walls during a late-night disturbance.

The storm hit about 2 a.m. Dec. 13, and the high seas left the ship in disarray and caused injuries to about 30 of the ship’s 2,100 passengers.

“For about five minutes, the thought was: ‘We are going to sink and we’re going to die,’” said Urban, who hung on to the top bunk, which was attached to the wall, while Herendeen and Eldred slid around the room while still in their beds.

“I was very relieved when the captain came over the PA and said we were OK.”

The captain instructed passengers to stay in their rooms during the disturbance. While in their room, the three women began trying to reorganize the furniture, which had been moved about the room and was blocking their way out.

“It happened very slow so it was surreal,” Herendeen said. “Once it stopped rolling, everything was against the door and we wanted to be able to get out if we had to. It was very scary.”

Herendeen called herself and her travelmates “lucky” in that none was injured nor did any of their personal items sustain damage.

Herendeen felt Royal Caribbean initially attempted to downplay the situation.

“A day later, they were giving everyone a $200 credit. I don’t think people felt that was enough for what we’d been through,” she said. “There was a lot more injury that what they led on. … I think that’s what upset people. We didn’t feel the message going out was really as bad as things were on the ship.”

Royal Caribbean eventually credited the entire cruise back to the passengers.

In spite of the incident, Herendeen was complimentary of her overall experience and said the staff was outstanding.

“They did a wonderful job of trying to keep everyone comfortable and calm,” she said. “Those people (the staff) went two or three days without sleep.”

Herendeen and Urban, who have each been on multiple cruises, feel the ordeal was an isolated incident and said they would be open to going on a cruise in the future.

Originally Posted at: www.mlive.com

A 46-year-old man was evacuated from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter Saturday night, authorities said. Andrew Spicer needed further treatment after he suffered undisclosed injuries after falling from a Holland America cruise ship, the Coast Guard said. Spicer was taken to Tampa General Hospital. His condition was not available Sunday. After being contacted by ship officials, the Coast Guard launched a Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater around 7 p.m. The crew arrived at the ship, which was about 120 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, around 8. Spicer's hometown was not released.

Originally Posted at: www.tampabay.com

Thirty passengers were injured yesterday as a cruise ship carrying more than 300 British and Irish holidaymakers was battered by heavy seas in the Mediterranean.

Passengers described how they were tipped out of bed amid smashing glass and upended chairs and tables as the Brilliance of the Seas was buffeted by high winds and heavy swells on its way to the port of Alexandria in Egypt.

The ship listed several times, sending furniture crashing to the ground and spreading panic among holidaymakers.

A grand piano slammed into a wall and computer screens in the ship’s internet cafe shattered, according to passengers.

"You can't even begin to imagine the damage on the ship, it’s awful. Windows, showers, mirrors, the hairdressing basins have all smashed. The whole ship is wrecked. Grand piano smashed through a window. There were passengers running around with life jackets on, people screaming, all the spa girls were panicking....it’s really horrible!” one crew member wrote on the website cruisecritic.com.

Another woman wrote: “The beds were sliding back and forth!! Broken glass everywhere as everything on it went flying. Tables and chairs upended. The gym is in a shambles - spin bikes everywhere. Casino closed, shops closed. No one allowed out on upper decks."

The cruise ship, which is operated by Royal Caribbean, had to abandon plans to dock in Alexandria and instead made for Valletta in Malta, where it was expected to arrive today.

“People are very, very shaken up,” a spokeswoman for the company told The Daily Telegraph.

“About 30 passengers were treated for cuts and bruising. But the vessel is 100 per cent seaworthy and we have plenty of provisions on board.”

The vessel left Barcelona on Dec 5 at the start of a 12-night cruise that included stops in Palermo, Piraeus and Rhodes.

There are 2,500 passengers on board, 300 of whom were from Britain or Ireland, as well as around 800 crew.

The ship will remain in port in Valletta so that repairs can be carried out. Built in Papenburg, Germany, the 962ft-long vessel’s maiden voyage was in 2002.

It has 12 passenger decks, numerous bars and restaurants, a disco, a cinema, a library, three swimming pools, a rock-climbing wall and a nine-hole miniature golf course.

Originally Posted at: www.telegraph.co.uk

(ALEXANDRIA, Egypt) -- The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas tilted several times in its approach to Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday. The ship entered a storm and listed several times around 2:15 a.m. local time, inflicting minor injuries to about 30 passengers and damaging some of the public areas.

Alexandria closed off its port due to the intensity of the swells, and the ship diverted to Valletta, Malta. The Brilliance of the Seas departed from Barcelona, Spain, for a 12-night journey stopping in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Malta.

Originally Posted at: www.670kboi.com

CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. - The Coast Guard says one of their rescue helicopter crew medevaced a 13-year-old boy off a cruise ship Saturday.

It happened approximately 40 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras.

Watchstanders say they got the call around 8 a.m. from the crew aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel. They reported they had a teenage boy showing symptoms of acute appendicitis and that he needed medical attention.

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. was dispatched to the scene. They hoisted the boy and his mother off the cruise ship at 11:02 a.m.

They were then taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment.

Originally Posted at: www2.wnct.com

In dramatic new video posted by a television show "Russia Today," a cruise ship on a nightmare voyage is shown being battered by waves near Antarctica.

According to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, the ship in question, the MV Clelia II, was sailing on Tuesday with 88 American passengers and 77 crewpersons aboard when it ran into bad weather and was hit by a massive wave, which doused electrical systems and broke the starboard bridge window.

As a result, communications were temporarily lost and engine performance was affected, and the disabled Clelia was tossed about in 30 foot waves. Watch the dramatic video to see the ship encountering the choppy weather!

The ship "is in no danger" according to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, and is expected back at port in Ushuaia, Argentina, by Thursday night. There has been only one minor injury among those onboard.

Originally Posted at: www.etonline.com

BUENOS AIRES – A large wave slammed into an Antarctic cruise ship with 88 American passengers and 77 crew members aboard, but the ship's crew overcame minor damage and was heading safely back to its scheduled port on Wednesday, the vessel's operator said.

The Clelia II declared an emergency on Tuesday, reporting it had suffered engine damage amid heavy seas and 55 mph (90 kph) winds when it was northeast of the South Shetland Islands and about 500 miles (845 kilometers) from Ushuaia, the Argentine Navy said in a statement.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators issued statement saying the wave that hit the Clelia II caused a broken bridge window and some electrical malfunctions that temporarily knocked out some communications and affected engine performance.

"There are no injuries to passengers, although one member of the crew sustained minor injuries," it said.

The ship had 88 passengers, all from the United States, and 77 crew: 44 from the Philippines and the rest from Greece, Bulgaria, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, France, Denmark, Hungary, Indonesia, Ukraine, Romania, Britain and the United States.

It was heading for the port of Ushuia at the extreme south of Argentina at normal speed by midday Wednesday and was in no danger, the association said.

The ship set out from Ushuaia on Nov. 30 and was scheduled to return on Wednesday.

The ship is operated by Travel Dynamics International of New York and owned by Helios Shipping of Piraeus, Greece.

Originally Posted at: news.yahoo.com

Real estate tycoon Steven Posner died Monday in a high-speed boat crash that killed another man and critically injured his cousin.

Steven Posner's daughter, Dr. Kelly Posner-Gerstenhaber, confirmed Monday evening that her father died in a boating accident earlier that day.

Posner-Gerstenhaber was still trying to find out details about the events surrounding the accident.

Just after 1 p.m. the two boats collided a mile or two east of Matheson Hammock Marina.

Stuart Posner, also injured in the crash, was Steven Posner's cousin.

Boating was "something he enjoyed," Posner-Gerstenhaber said about her dad.

"Based on information from witnesses, the vessels were being operated at a high rate of speed and somehow collided with each other," said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The impact tossed some of the men into the water. Nearby boaters spotted them and called for help. Two men died at the scene. Another man was taken to Mercy Hospital with minor injuries.

Rescue crews worked on the critically injured man aboard the Miami--Dade Fire Boat and prepared him to be lifted to a helicopter 75 feet above.

The man was put on a backboard and placed in a basket and raised into the helicopter.

"All the training we do for missions like this, when timing is critical," said Capt. Eric Baum, with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. "Once we got him hoisted up there, it was a matter matter of three minutes to the roof of Ryder [Trauma Center]."

Pino could not say if the dead men had been on the same boat, but said everyone on the two boats had been accounted for. Preliminary information was that each of the boats was at least 30 feet long, Pino said.

"It was a pretty horrific collision," Pino said, adding that autopsies would be performed.

Investigators were still on the scene gathering information.

The boats were to be brought into Matheson Hammock Marina, along with the victims.

Originally Posted at: www.miamiherald.com

ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard has airlifted one man from a cruise ship 100 miles west of Astoria who suffered head and back injuries after a fall in his cabin.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker says the 69-year-old man, whom the Coast Guard did not identify, was in stable condition at Oregon Health and Science University after the Friday evacuation.

Parker says the man was conscious after the fall.

A physician onboard the 781-foot cruise ship Volendam called the Coast Guard at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday to report the man's injuries.

Originally Posted at: www.seattletimes.nwsource.com

A 57-year-old cruise ship passenger had difficulty breathing before he died aboard a cruise ship early yesterday morning, police said.

The ship’s medical staff had tried to revive the man before he died just before 3 a.m. yesterday, police said. Investigators said there were no signs of foul play.

Originally Posted at: www.staradvertiser.com

OVER 50 passengers and crew were rescued from a cruise ship near the Larnaca coast on Thursday night, after a fire broke out on board.

The ship, Memories is thought to have caught alight after an engine battery short circuited around 8pm, while the boat was just 500m from Phinikoudes beach.

On board were six crew and 52 passengers from England, Russia and Cyprus.

A police boat carrying five members of the fire service arrived at the scene within ten minutes of receiving their call, who then extinguished the flames. All of the passengers and crew were then rescued by private boats without harm.

Shortly after 10pm the boat was towed in to Larnaca harbour, where the damage was still being assessed last night.

Police spokesman Michael Katsounotos said yesterday that the ship had a safety certificate that was valid until December 2010, and so was licenced to sail

Asked about the boat-owners complaints that he was not provided with the appropriate equipment to tackle the fire, Larnaca fire service Chief Izekil Papadopoulos said “The fire service does not lend out its specialised equipment to untrained persons under any circumstances. It is an issue of pubic health and safety”

The ship will now be examined by the department of merchant shipping who will assess its seaworthiness.

Katsounotos said "from now on incidents within the field of search and rescue will be handled by the head of the Coordination Centre for Research and Rescue (KSED) under the Ministry of Defence, which has exclusive competence.'

Originally Posted at: www.cyprus-mail.com

A dance club brawl aboard a Carnival Cruise ship last week ended with 10 passengers being kicked off the vessel during a stop in Mexico, officials confirmed today.

The incident happened late last week near the western Caribbean Mexican port of Costa Maya
aboard the Carnival Dream — a 3,600-passenger ship based in Port Canaveral, officials said.

An 11th person traveling with some of passengers who were escorted off the ship also decided to disembark.

No serious injuries were reported aboard the vessel, although some passengers blogged about seeing blood spatter on artwork and several people
wearing bandages after the melee.

The cruise line would not confirm those reports.

Carnival also made travel arrangements for the group and their luggage to get back to the U.S.,
officials said.

“A fight occurred on the vessel. It was broken up by ship’s security and the cause of the fight was investigated which resulted in 10 guests being disembarked in Mexico,” according to a statement released by Carnival today.

“The safety and security of our guests and crew is of utmost importance and we will not tolerate behavior that could put any of them at risk.”

The 130,000-ton vessel returned to Port Canaveral on Saturday and disembarked for another cruise the same day.

Originally Posted at: www.floridatoday.com

A Spanish woman fell to her death Saturday off the gangplank of a cruise ship moored in Genoa, Italy, news reports said.

Maria Mercedes Bonastre, 62, of Barcelona was boarding the ship with her husband and friends when the top step of the plank gave way, the reports said.

Bonastre was killed immediately when her head struck the dock and she fell into the sea, the ANSA news agency reported.

The Splendida, operated by MSC Crociere, was about to set sail for a Mediterranean holiday cruise, ANSA said.

Croatia, SA, Ukraine and Britain all involved - maybe

Lawyers are scratching their heads over the death of a South African cadet, 19-year-old Akhona Geveza.

The teenager died on June 24, while on board Safmarine Kariba. What makes the case so complicated is that the ship is registered in Britain, it was in Croatian waters when Geveza died and, shortly before her body was discovered, she alleged she had been raped by a chief officer on the vessel, who is Ukranian.

South African police are investigating whether Geveza was pushed off the ship, or whether she jumped.

Struan Mundell, a South African maritime lawyer, said although Geveza's case was tricky as it involved nationals from different countries, "the law of the flag is the best solution on this matter".

This meant, he said, that the country of the ship's registration could lead the investigation. "But this law only applies if the ship berthed in one of the ports in the country where it is registered," Mundell said.

If that were the case, Mundell said, the local authority, in this instance the British, could not be forced to investigate the case.

The Sunday Times has established that the Safmarine Kariba operates between Europe and Egypt - but that it does not stop at any ports in the United Kingdom.

Police confirmed that once the South African investigation was concluded, local authorities would consider seeking foreign mutual legal assistance in a bid to discover the cause of Geveza's death.

This may involve Britain, Croatia and the Ukraine.

Lawyer Charles Lipcon, from a US-based maritime law firm, said the South African government should be urged to adopt US maritime law.

This legislation allows the FBI to investigate any crime committed at sea against an American citizen or on a US-registered vessel anywhere in the world.

A number of US citizens and cruise liners have been prosecuted in terms of this law, including, recently:

* A New York man who was fined $5000 after he admitted to sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl on the cruise ship the Norwegian Dawn; and:

* A 71-year-old man who was charged for molesting a six-year-old boy on a cruise ship in December.

Sprite Zungu, a local representative of the UK-based International Transport Workers' Federation, which deals with maritime cases, said: "As a former seaman myself, I can tell you now that it would be a mission to solve this case.

"Generally, people are reluctant to speak about what happened at sea. We will like to encourage cadets to speak out about sexual harassment at sea."

A 14-year-old cruise ship passenger was killed Monday during a visit to St. Thomas when she reportedly was caught in the middle of a shootout between warring gangs.

The Associated Press reports the girl, Lizmarie Perez Chapparro, was struck by a bullet as she rode with her family on a "safari bus" that ferries tourists across the popular island destination.

The girl and her family arrived in St. Thomas aboard the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory, which sails out of San Juan. Another cruise ship passenger sustained a minor injury during the shootout, the Associated Press reports.

Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz called the death an "unfathomable act of senseless violence" and said the line is suspending all excursions that include the St. Thomas neighborhood where the shooting took place until further notice, according to the Associated Press.

A St. Thomas teenager also was killed by the gunfire as he attended the funeral of another man fatally shot on June 29.

The tourist bus was hit by gunfire as it was traveling to Coki Point Beach, one of the island's most popular beaches.

A fire broke out on in the machine room of a German cruise ship at the Norwegian port of Eidfjord on Sunday. 600 people on board had to evacuate.

The fire started on the "MS Deutschland" while it was docked at the port. The fire was soon brought under control.

The passengers were taken to a nearby hotel. Most of the passengers were German, and will be flown back to Germany on Monday.

Eidfjord was the last stop of the six-day cruise. The cruise had been scheduled to leave for Hamburg on Sunday evening and arrive Tuesday.

The ship will later be taken to the Norwegian city of Bergen where specialists will investigate the cause of the fire.

Woman Fell Down Stairs, Medevaced To A.C. Hospital

The U.S. Coast Guard released video Monday of an 88-year-old woman being rescued after she fell down a stairwell on a cruise ship at sea.

The Coast Guard says the incident occurred at 9:15 p.m. Sunday about 50 miles east of Barnegat Light. A call came from a crew member aboard the 570-foot cruise ship Veendam, based out of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, reporting the passenger had suffered a head injury in the fall.

A rescue helicopter was dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., and arrived on scene. The woman was medevaced to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

No additional information on the woman's condition was available Monday.

Andrew and Emily Pidgeon, of Palm Bay, were expecting a sensation of a wedding aboard the Carnival Sensation.

"It was just so exciting, such a happy moment, and all that was just taken away," Emily said.

The Pidgeons had booked a wedding package with Carnival Cruise Lines for March 28. They'd invited family and friends, many of whom had flown in from out of state.

The first sign of trouble, however, came at 7 a.m. on the day of their wedding. The Port Authority informed the couple that a bomb threat had been called into the Sensation and the wedding would be delayed.

Multiple calls to Carnival, however, were met by assurances that the wedding would go on completely as planned.

"I was totally calm, because I had complete trust that Carnival was telling the truth," Emily said.

But despite the cruise line's promises, the wedding turned out to be a not-so-funny comedy of errors. The ceremony was supposed to begin at 1:30 p.m. After being shuttled around to different waiting areas at the port, and after several more delays, the wedding party did not board the ship until 4:30 p.m.

The Pidgeons had paid for a pre-ceremony buffet, but amid the chaos they found non-invited cruise passengers wandering in and out of their dining area. The buffet was not to be.

"As soon as we sit down and I started to eat, the wedding coordinator comes up and said we need to get to the chapel, now, saying the captain wanted us off the ship in half an hour," Andrew explained.

And then things got worse.

Just minutes before Emily walked down the aisle, the ship's wedding coordinator told her that the reception would have to be canceled; there simply wasn't enough time.

"I was just in shock," Emily said. "I didn't know what to say."

Andrew and Emily exchanged their vows in less than six minutes. The cruise staff then swept them into the reception room for a quick cake-cutting and toast. A beautiful reception buffet had been set up, but no one would be able to take a bite.

Emily sister's started to offer a toast, "I just want to say congratulations to my only beautiful sister ..."

But she was interrupted by an announcement on the ship's public address system, "Your attention please. All crew members please report to your stations at this time."

And so the toast ended as the ship's muster drill began. It was the traditional drill where passengers were called to their muster stations for safety instructions.

Unfortunately for the Pidgeons, the cake-cutting and toast was taking place at a muster station. To the couple's shock, in came the passengers donning life jackets.

"And people are coming in," Emily said, "And they're like, 'Look a buffet!' And they're coming in and making up their plates, and they're eating all of our food."

While passengers were picking at the Pidgeons buffet, the cruise staff was warning the wedding guests to leave.

"We're just watching in disbelief as people are just escorting our family off the ship," Emily said.

No first dance. No reception. No wedding photos.

When Emily asked to call Carnival's headquarters in Miami, she was told a per minute charge would apply.

"All you can think of is, 'Oh my gosh, what an awful day,'" she said.

That awful day cost the couple more than $2,500, not including the cost of the cruise.

In a letter to Local 6, Carnival stated, "It is most unfortunate that the cruise line was a victim of (the bomb hoax) and that, in turn, impacted our guests and we certainly recognized the disappointment the shortened time frame for the Pidgeons' wedding activities caused them."

The cruise line offered the couple a reimbursement of $1,093.60.

The couple was not satisfied. They itemized all the services they paid for but never received, including the pre-ceremony brunch, a full ceremony, a full post-ceremony reception, and an open bar that never opened.

With the itemized list, Local 6 contacted Carnival Cruise Lines again, and had a lengthy discussion about the incident. A cruise line spokeswoman told Local 6 that the company would review the matter further.

Pregnant woman hoisted from cruise ship into Coast Guard helicopter off Port Everglades

PORT EVERGLADES — A U.S. Coast Guard crew hoisted a pregnant woman from a cruise ship into a helicopter flying high above after getting a call she needed medical attention, officials said Monday.

The 8:30 p.m. Sunday rescue from the Carnival Glory about 30 miles east of Port Everglades was caught on video aboard the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter.

A 36-year-old U.S. citizen who was about five to six months pregnant was safely hoisted into the helicopter and taken to Broward General Medical Center, according to the Coast Guard.

The woman's name and medical problem were not released.

The Coast Guard in Miami received a 7:15 p.m. call from the Carnival Glory that requested the woman be rushed to a hospital, officials said.

The Carnival Glory departed the Port of Miami at 4 p.m. Sunday and was on the way to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Sixty passengers on a Carnival cruise ship have been treated for minor injuries after the ship listed suddenly to avoid an object in the water, a Carnival spokeswoman said.

The ship listed 12 degrees to the right to avoid hitting a large, adrift buoy at approximately 12:55 p.m. CT Wednesday, Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz told CNN.

The submerged buoy, 200 miles off the Louisiana coast, did not show up on the ship's radar, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Richard Brahm said.

The ship, Carnival Ecstasy, was carrying approximately 2,340 passengers and 900 crew, de la Cruz said.

It was on the final leg of a five-day cruise that left Galveston, Texas, on Saturday, April 17, with stops in Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

De la Cruz said the ship docked in Galveston as scheduled Thursday morning.

Injured passengers were treated in the ship's infirmary and some minor damage to merchandise and unsecured objects was reported, she said.

A Carnival cruise ship was held off the Florida coast for several hours on Sunday while authorities searched the vessel and arrested a drunk passenger on bomb hoax charges, the Coast Guard said.

No explosives or hazardous materials were found and the ship, the Carnival Sensation, was allowed to dock at Port Canaveral on Florida's Atlantic coast Sunday morning, Coast Guard petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Evanson said.

The ship carried 3,470 passengers and crew and was headed back to Port Canaveral after a three-day cruise to the Bahamas when a passenger reported hearing another passenger make a bomb threat, the Coast Guard said.

The man was quoted as saying, "We are jihad. Come to the top deck and watch the bomb. The bomb is going to blow," Evanson said, adding that the Coast Guard was told that the man was "highly intoxicated."

Jihad is the Arabic word for "struggle," though it is sometimes used to describe an Islamic holy war.

Brevard County sheriff's deputies arrested an American passenger, Ibrahim Khalil Zarou, 31, of Leesburg, Virginia, on a state charge of making a false report of a bomb. The felony count carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Two people have been killed and six injured as giant waves slammed into a cruise ship in the Mediterranean.

A spokesman for owner Louis Cruises said three "abnormally high" waves broke windows in the front of the ship.

The Louis Majesty was heading to Genoa on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise but has now returned to Barcelona.

BARCELONA, Spain — The Mediterranean was heaving as the 68-year-old Italian stood in the cruise ship lounge. A moment later a monstrous wave shattered the windows and sent shards into her head, leaving her bleeding on the floor and calling out for her husband.

Torrents of water gushed into the Louis Majesty, pouring through several floors of the ship.

"I thought I would end up in the sea, drowned," said Anna Lita, who had a black eye and bandages on her head and hand Thursday.

The three waves that struck the Cypriot-owned ship Wednesday claimed two lives off the coast of northeast Spain. The vessel was carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew members, from a total of 27 countries.

Lita's husband Carlo, 69, who had been beside her on a sofa, was thrown in the air and ended up with five stitches in the head and a leg injury.

Raw Amateur Video Of The Wave Hitting The Ship

Another Italian, Giovanni Zanoni, said that after the waves blew out the windows of the lounge, the ceiling caved in and pandemonium broke out.

"People were screaming, panicking. They were grabbing life vests," Zanoni said. He said he saw one huge shard of glass hit a man in the face, killing him. It took a while to find the body because he was under the wreckage of the ceiling, Zanoni said.

The ship's owner and operator, Louis Cruise Lines, said the vessel was struck Wednesday by three "abnormally high" waves more than 33 feet (10 meters) high that broke glass windshields in the forward section on deck five, which is one of 10 used by passengers. Two people died and 14 were slightly hurt, the company said.

Large waves are not rare in the Mediterranean, but ones that size occur only once or twice a year, said Marta de Alfonso, an oceanographer with the Spanish government.

This accident happened in an area of the Mediterranean called the Gulf of Leon, which is known for big waves when storms hit.

The ship was on a 12-day cruise from the ports of Genoa and Marseilles in the western Mediterranean, calling at Tangiers, Casablanca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Cadiz, Cartagena, Barcelona and had been due to return to Genoa on Thursday.

Passengers said the weather was terrible as they left Cartagena in eastern Spain Wednesday, and the captain announced he was skipping a planned stop in Barcelona and heading straight for Italy.

"I remember when the wave hit," Lita said. "It broke all the windows and I was rolling and rolling and did not stop calling out for my husband."

Amateur video footage taken by a passenger and aired on Spanish television showed a huge, foamy wave hitting what appeared to be the lounge area, sending water gushing in and people scurrying for safety.

"Suddenly we saw a wave that went up above our level, and I said to my husband, 'tonight we will not have to wash the windows,'" said Claudine Armand of France, who was in her cabin at that point. "Right then we heard we heard a loud noise, and it was the wave that hit us."

"When we came out of the room we saw the wave had flooded everything," she told Associated Press Television News.

Pierre Languillon, also of France, said damage was extensive and he saw many people with superficial injuries.

"They called for doctors, as many doctors as there were. Luckily nothing happened to us, but I think we averted a catastrophe."

Louis Cruise Lines spokesman Michael Maratheftis said 14 passengers who suffered only minor injuries were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Arrangements have been made to fly all passengers home Thursday and the ship will carry on with its normal schedule later this month after repairs are completed, he told the AP from Cyprus. By the end of the day most will have left the ship.

Maratheftis said the two dead passengers – a German and an Italian – suffered fatal injuries from the glass shards and ripped-out window frames and furniture.

"It was three waves, one after the other. The damage was done by the second and the third waves. We are talking about waves that exceeded 10 meters in height. This was unforeseen and unpredicted because the weather was not really that bad," Maratheftis said.

De Alfonso said there was in fact a big storm in the area at the time and the waves might have been stirred up by fierce winds. Waves often come in threes, she said.

Another passenger, Jean Claude Fery, of Marseille, said he was in his cabin looking out the porthole at tremendously turbulent seas. "I have never seen waves so big. It was unbelievable."

A Louis Cruise Lines statement said the waves smashed windows in a public area on deck 5 on the forward part of the vessel.

Louis Cruise Lines' Web site says the ship is 680 feet (207 meters) long, and features 10 passenger decks and 732 staterooms along with various bars, pools, restaurants and shops.

GALVESTON - The Police News learned late Saturday that an investigation is underway into the death of a woman aboard the Carnival ship Ecstasy.

According to our sources a 32-year old Brazoria County woman and her fiancee set sail earlier this week from Galveston and she was dead when the ship docked in Mexico. FBI Agents went to Mexico to conduct an investigation.

It was reported that the woman had been beaten to death and the primary suspect is the man she married aboard the ship.

Although FBI spokesmen have called the investigation routine, it is reported the woman's death was a homicide.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy and issue an official ruling in the death.

Most cruise passengers don't realize that the cruise lines provide medical care as a courtesy only, and they are not required to staff their facilities with qualified American doctors or nurses. You must carefully vet their medical training and certifications before consenting to medical treatment, your life might depend on it.

Under ancient maritime and admiralty law, the captain appoints a ship doctor. They often chose the cook, since they were good with knives.

I have many clients through the Caribbean and over the years I've learned to always ask for a M.D., when I am in need of any medical assistance. I have experienced horrendous care by "doctors" overseas, including one physician who told my wife that her joint inflammation was due to her unforgiven sins, and prescribed that she bath in the blood of Jesus Christ!

I recently had a serious injury on a cruise ship, and I knew that I was going to be in trouble when the cruise ships "doctor" reminded me of the dumb-looking guy who works at my local hippie herbal cure store.

Me: "Are you an M.D.?"

Quack: "I'm a doctor”.

Me: "So was my College History Professor", I replied.

Me: "I'll ask you again: Are you an M.D.? It's a simple question, you are either an M.D. or you aren't."

Quack: No response. . . .

In the cruise ship medical facility, my wife is trying to reach a "real doctor" while I was bombarded with a bunch of half-English babble.

Quack doctor: "Do you take Blutiners?"

Me: “What is Blutiner”? I've never heard of the word.

Quack doctor: "You speak English", he replied in an underserved arrogant tone. "You need to be cooper rahtive".

Me: "Cooper-ah-tive? What the F**k does cooper-rahtive mean"? (The idiot was trying to say cooperative)

In the cruise ship medical facility, my wife is trying to reach a "real doctor" while I was bombarded with a bunch of half-English babble.

Quack doctor: "Do you take Blutiners?"

Me: "What is Blutiner"? I've never heard of the word.

Quack doctor: "You speak English", he replied in an underserved arrogant tone. "You need to be cooper rahtive".

Me: "Cooper-ah-tive? What the F**k does cooper-rahtive mean"? (The idiot was trying to say cooperative)

SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard airlifted an ill passenger from a cruise ship off Point Loma Friday night in stormy sea conditions.

The ship, MS Maasdam, was about 55 miles south of Point Loma when Coast Guard Sector San Diego received a call from the ship’s crew about 11:30 p.m. stating that an 86-year-old woman was suffering from internal bleeding.

A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and determined the woman needed medical attention onshore.

An M60 Jayhawk helicopter was dispatched from San Diego. A rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter to the ship to assist in the hoist of the patient.

At the time, seas were about 14 feet and winds were gusting to 25 knots, said Mark Mutchler, Coast Guard operations controller.

The woman was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and was in stable condition.

Earlier Friday, a Coast Guard helicopter from San Diego flew to Bahia de Gonzaga in Baja California, Mexico, to airlift a 67-year-old U.S. citizen who had an undisclosed life-threatening medical condition. He was taken to a hospital in Yuma, Ariz., and was in stable condition.

RIO DE JANEIRO - The number of deaths in the boat accident in the Amazon River in Brazil's northern Para state reached seven, authorities said on Tuesday.

The rescue teams managed to find five bodies earlier in the day. During the morning, the bodies of a woman and a child had been taken from the water as well. The victims have yet to be identified.

According to the local authorities, the shipwreck took place in late Monday between the municipalities of Prainha and Monte Alegre, when the boat named Almirante Barroso overturned and sank.

It is not known what caused the ship to overturn. One of the possibilities is that the boat may have hit a sandbank and the waters at that point of the Amazon River are muddy, which may have hindered visibility.

Additionally, the fact that the number of passengers had surpassed the ship's maximum capacity may also be the cause of the tragedy. The Almirante Barroso had a maximum capacity of 100 people, but was transporting at least 101.

Teams of divers as well as boats and a helicopter were sent to the area and are currently searching for other victims, who might have gotten trapped in the cabins.

Ninety four of the ship's occupants were rescued by other boats which were passing by. Most are currently staying at a nearby farm, but some injured were taken to hospitals. (PNA/Xinhua) ALM

A cruise liner stranded in Portsmouth last week after 180 passengers were struck down by a sickness bug is set to return again after a second suspected outbreak. The Fred Olsen cruise ship Boudicca, which is based at Portsmouth ferry port, was stranded in Portsmouth on Friday because of a gastro-enteritis outbreak onboard.

But after a deep clean of all the cabins, the ship was sent back out to sea Friday evening. Now 50 passengers aboard the 900 capacity ship are again thought to be showing sickness symptoms and, reportedly, the cruise liner has been forced to turn back. Fred Olsen were due to release a statement later today.

The cruise liner firm has a bad record of passenger sickness - this bug would be the sixth time in the past three years one of its fleet has been hit with illnesses.

A Seattle couple in danger of drowning on the high seas was rescued by a cruise ship over the weekend.

Christopher Miller and Brandy Meissner were about 400 miles from Hawaii when bad weather, high winds and powerful waves all threatened to swamp their 38-foot boat.

They deployed their life rafts -- put on survival suits -- and sent out a distress signal.

As the couple huddled together with their two dogs in the middle of the ocean, the Carnival cruise line's Golden Princess appeared and hauled them on board.

"Average waves were 25-feet up to 40-feet...pretty bad for a 38-foot boat," Miller said.

“I knew the signal would go out. I knew someone would come out. I just didn’t know how long it would take or what it would consist of,” Meissner said.

The couple left the mainland two weeks ago to start a commercial fishing business.

They will now be jobless and homeless unless they can find and rescue the boat.

A man who was a passenger onboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has died following a tragic accident while on a ship-organised catamaran excursion in Cozumel.

According to a statement from Royal Caribbean, "On Friday, September 4, a guest travelling onboard Freedom of the Seas joined a catamaran shore excursion where he was involved in an accident and was fatally injured. The guest's family and friends have remained in Cozumel, where members of our specially trained Guest Care Team met them, and have remained with them to assist."

Reports in the Mexican press say the 50-year-old American man fell from the Island Shuttle -- which is a boat owned by ferry company Ultramar -- as it was docking at the pier in Cozumel. It is believed the man sustained serious injuries from the boat's engine and died of cardiac arrest due to these injuries.

Royal Caribbean has confirmed that the shore excursion has been suspended until further notice. Earlier this summer, 49 Royal Caribbean passengers were involved in a vehicular accident on St. Thomas during a ship-sponsored shore excursion, sales of which were also suspended.

In January, a P&O passenger died on a ship-sponsored SCUBA excursion in Tortola. A tragic bus accident left 12 Celebrity Millennium passengers dead, and two injured, back in 2006.

A passenger on board a Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line ship has died following an accident in the Bahamas.

According to a statement from NCL, a passenger on the Norwegian Sky and his wife were walking on rocks by the shore on Great Stirrup Cay in a remote part of the island when he fell into the water on Thursday.

Following an extensive search, the man's body was recovered Friday morning.

Norwegian Sky's four-day Bahamas cruise departed Miami on August 24th and returned to Miami Friday.

A statement by NCL reads: "We are saddened by this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the guest during this difficult time."

The company did not release the name of the man who died or where he was from.

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted a 62-year-old woman yesterday from a cruise ship and brought her to San Diego for treatment after she suffered a head injury.

A Coast Guard helicopter picked up the woman about 5:15 p.m. from the Carnival Paradise cruise ship, which was 25 miles off Point Loma. The woman was hoisted up to the helicopter in a basket. Information on her condition was not available.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard also airlifted a 73-year-old man from a fishing boat about 88 miles south of San Diego after he experienced symptoms of a heart attack. He was taken to a hospital where he was reported in good condition.

When Mark Jacobs boarded a ship to enjoy a relaxing cruise around Scandinavia this month with his wife, his children and his parents, the last thing he expected was to be escorted off the liner by uniformed officers from the Oslo Police Department.

Jacobs says his only offense was downloading information about an art auction business run onboard the ship that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging unfair business practices, and then passing around a one-page fact sheet about the company to fellow passengers.

Just hours after sharing information on Park West Gallery and its history of litigation, Jacobs said, he heard his name called over the shipboard intercom system. He was notified he was being put off the ship the next day, July 26, in Norway, and port security officers from the Oslo Police Department were on hand to ensure that he left.

"My son's playing pingpong, and the police come to take me off the ship," Jacobs said yesterday in his Cortlandt home. "And all I did was distribute information."

Jacobs said he had to spend several hundred dollars to book a hotel room in Oslo and then buy a ticket back to London to reunite with his family and fly home. He lost the last two nights of his 12-day cruise, and now the former Green Party congressional candidate, activist and director of the Longview School in Cortlandt said he's ready to make some waves of his own.

"It left me feeling outraged," said Jacobs, 41. "People are being duped, and my rights aren't protected when I'm on a cruise ship."

Jacobs said his curiosity was aroused when he heard about an auction involving artworks and prints associated with Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall, among others.

"It sounded like a small art museum, on this cruise ship," he said.

After some research on his laptop, Jacobs said, he came across media and legal reports about Park West. A number of customers have sued the company, claiming the works it sells are significantly overpriced, and in some cases, "little better than a poster," according to one recent lawsuit. The auction company denies any wrongdoing.

A class-action lawsuit against Park West and Royal Caribbean filed in Michigan earlier this month says "the artwork sold at the shipboard auctions is low-value or worthless, often mechanical reproductions ... and is sold at inflated prices." The lawsuit claims that Royal Caribbean gains a roughly 20 percent portion of the sales generated onboard during the auctions. The events are held in international waters, the lawsuit says, to put the auction business beyond the legal reach of U.S. or European consumer protection laws.

Jacobs said he passed around the fact-sheet he compiled to other passengers settling in for an auction where free Champagne was being served. "I was worried for my fellow passengers ... I felt like I had to say something," Jacobs said. He is now considering legal action.

Jacobs' wife, Elena Pousada, took a picture of her husband being escorted off the ship, one that probably won't make it into the family scrapbook. "They destroyed my vacation," Pousada said. "Having lost him for two days, it was certainly less than pleasant."

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez, sent this statement yesterday: "Various guests reported to the ship's staff that Mark Jacobs was disrupting the onboard art auction by distributing a flyer to guests. The ship's Hotel Director and Staff Captain met with Mr. Jacobs and explained that his behavior was inappropriate and in violation of the guest conduct policy. In addition, they explained that failure to act in accordance with the policy could result in removal from the ship at the next port of call. Mr. Jacobs continued to be uncooperative and difficult, which resulted in a decision to disembark him the following day in Oslo, Norway, the next port of call."

A lawyer for Park West, Robert Goldman, said the company operates in a responsible manner and called the civil lawsuits "unfounded."

"Park West has hundreds of clients who were satisfied by what they've purchased over the years," Goldman said. With the recession, he said, "it's not surprising some people decide they want to reverse their purchases."

He said the company has been "viciously attacked on the Internet" and drawn into continued litigation "in hopes of a payday down the road."

Theresa Franks, a critic of Park West and the cruise lines that do business with it, said she found the recent case involving Jacobs "shocking."

Franks, an art collector who runs a business certifying and registering collectibles that is also being sued by Park West, said, "They should be telling passengers that there's a cloud over the artwork. People have a right to know."

Martinez wouldn't comment on the lawsuits but said, "Royal Caribbean denies any allegation or suggestion that it has done anything wrong. We take very seriously the issues that have recently been raised regarding some of Park West's business practices."

When Mark Jacobs boarded a ship to enjoy a relaxing cruise around Scandinavia this month with his wife, his children and his parents, the last thing he expected was to be escorted off the liner by uniformed officers from the Oslo Police Department.

Jacobs says his only offense was downloading information about an art auction business run onboard the ship that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging unfair business practices, and then passing around a one-page fact sheet about the company to fellow passengers.

Just hours after sharing information on Park West Gallery and its history of litigation, Jacobs said, he heard his name called over the shipboard intercom system. He was notified he was being put off the ship the next day, July 26, in Norway, and port security officers from the Oslo Police Department were on hand to ensure that he left.

"My son's playing pingpong, and the police come to take me off the ship," Jacobs said yesterday in his Cortlandt home. "And all I did was distribute information."

Jacobs said he had to spend several hundred dollars to book a hotel room in Oslo and then buy a ticket back to London to reunite with his family and fly home. He lost the last two nights of his 12-day cruise, and now the former Green Party congressional candidate, activist and director of the Longview School in Cortlandt said he's ready to make some waves of his own.

"It left me feeling outraged," said Jacobs, 41. "People are being duped, and my rights aren't protected when I'm on a cruise ship."

Jacobs said his curiosity was aroused when he heard about an auction involving artworks and prints associated with Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall, among others.

"It sounded like a small art museum, on this cruise ship," he said.

After some research on his laptop, Jacobs said, he came across media and legal reports about Park West. A number of customers have sued the company, claiming the works it sells are significantly overpriced, and in some cases, "little better than a poster," according to one recent lawsuit. The auction company denies any wrongdoing.

A class-action lawsuit against Park West and Royal Caribbean filed in Michigan earlier this month says "the artwork sold at the shipboard auctions is low-value or worthless, often mechanical reproductions ... and is sold at inflated prices." The lawsuit claims that Royal Caribbean gains a roughly 20 percent portion of the sales generated onboard during the auctions. The events are held in international waters, the lawsuit says, to put the auction business beyond the legal reach of U.S. or European consumer protection laws.

Jacobs said he passed around the fact-sheet he compiled to other passengers settling in for an auction where free Champagne was being served. "I was worried for my fellow passengers ... I felt like I had to say something," Jacobs said. He is now considering legal action.

Jacobs' wife, Elena Pousada, took a picture of her husband being escorted off the ship, one that probably won't make it into the family scrapbook. "They destroyed my vacation," Pousada said. "Having lost him for two days, it was certainly less than pleasant."

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez, sent this statement yesterday: "Various guests reported to the ship's staff that Mark Jacobs was disrupting the onboard art auction by distributing a flyer to guests. The ship's Hotel Director and Staff Captain met with Mr. Jacobs and explained that his behavior was inappropriate and in violation of the guest conduct policy. In addition, they explained that failure to act in accordance with the policy could result in removal from the ship at the next port of call. Mr. Jacobs continued to be uncooperative and difficult, which resulted in a decision to disembark him the following day in Oslo, Norway, the next port of call."

A lawyer for Park West, Robert Goldman, said the company operates in a responsible manner and called the civil lawsuits "unfounded."

"Park West has hundreds of clients who were satisfied by what they've purchased over the years," Goldman said. With the recession, he said, "it's not surprising some people decide they want to reverse their purchases."

He said the company has been "viciously attacked on the Internet" and drawn into continued litigation "in hopes of a payday down the road."

Theresa Franks, a critic of Park West and the cruise lines that do business with it, said she found the recent case involving Jacobs "shocking."

Franks, an art collector who runs a business certifying and registering collectibles that is also being sued by Park West, said, "They should be telling passengers that there's a cloud over the artwork. People have a right to know."

Martinez wouldn't comment on the lawsuits but said, "Royal Caribbean denies any allegation or suggestion that it has done anything wrong. We take very seriously the issues that have recently been raised regarding some of Park West's business practices."

JUNEAU, Alaska - The U.S. Coast Guard came to the aid of an infant injured in a fall on a cruise ship.

The cruise ship Celebrity Infinity was 80 miles west of Juneau when the call came in.

The Coast Guard says a helicopter launched from Air Station Sitka hoisted the infant and a parent from the ship and took them to Bartlett Regional Hospital on Tuesday. The child's condition was described as stable.

(4:40 PM ET) -- Several news outlets in the United Kingdom are reporting a virulent "vomiting bug" believed to be norovirus has killed one passenger and infected dozens of others on a cruise ship sailing around the British Isles.

The BBC reports more than 150 of about 800 passengers aboard Transocean Tours' Marco Polo have taken ill with norovirus-like symptoms -- an unusually high percentage -- and one passenger has died.

The BBC says the cruise ship currently is berthed at Invergordon in Scotland, and health authorities are conducting tests to confirm the nature of the illness.

Scotland's STV News, also reporting the death, says the man who died was on vacation with his wife. The news outlet says the ship, scheduled to sail to Orkney and Stornoway in the United Kingdom, has remained in Invergordon as medical personnel attend to ill passengers.

Outbreaks of norovirus and other gastrointestinal illness have been on the decline on cruise ships in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta recorded just 15 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships in 2008, down from 21 in 2007 and 34 in 2006.

So far in 2009 the CDC has recorded 10 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on ships.

Sometimes called the "stomach flu," though it has no relation to influenza, norovirus is the most common cause of stomach illness in the United States, accounting for around half of all cases, according to the CDC. Marked by often severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, the illness breaks out regularly in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and other places people congregate. While the CDC says people suffering from norovirus may feel very sick and vomit repeatedly, most get better in just one to two days and deaths are relatively rare.

UPDATE: 5:25 PM ET: London's Telegraph is now also reporting a passenger death from a vomiting illness on the Marco Polo. The news outlet says the ship canceled all shore excursions today due to the outbreak but allowed passengers to disembark to walk around Invergordon, upsetting local officials.

"These people have been in shops and cafes, possibly infecting locals," the Telegraph quotes a town councilor as saying. "Why were they allowed to go around when it was known there was an outbreak?"

UPDATE, 6:05 PM ET: The BBC, in an update to its earlier story, is reporting that the Marco Polo passenger who died today from the news outlet says was a norovirus-like illness was elderly and had serious underlying health conditions, according to health officials.

The BBC also is reporting that two ill passengers from the ship have been admitted to a local hospital in Invergordon, and the ship has been detained in Invergordon "for the time being."

UPDATE, 9:35 PM ET: Several media outlets in the United Kingdom are reporting that Transocean Tours is saying the death of a Marco Polo passenger today was unrelated to the widespread outbreak of a norovirus-like illness on the ship. Scotland's The Herald says a company spokesman has told it the death was the result of a heart attack. The passenger who died was 74 years old and suffered from chronic heart and breathing problems, a company spokesman tells the news outlet.

(7:30 AM) -- More than two dozen passengers from Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas were taken to the hospital Wednesday after the amphibious tour bus in which they were traveling crashed in St. Thomas.

Royal Caribbean says in a statement the passengers were on a "Pirate Duck Adventure" tour organized by the line at the time of the accident. The tour bus, which has a boat-like hull for traveling in water and wheels to move on land, veered off the road at a low rate of speed, the statement says.

Royal Caribbean says 49 passengers were on the tour bus at the time of accident, and 29 were taken to the hospital. Of those, nine sustained non-life threatening injuries, and a spokeswoman tells USA TODAY all but one were able to return to the ship before it set sail late Wednesday.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the Freedom's captain held the ship's departure last night so the injured passengers could make it back on board.

“Our thoughts are with our guests that were involved in this unfortunate accident,” Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein says in the statement. “The safety and well-being of our guests is our highest priority, and we will continue to do our very best to assist them.”

The passengers were traveling on The Duckaneer, a popular tour option for cruisers visiting St. Thomas that is hard to miss when it motors down the roads of St. Thomas' port, Charlotte Amalie.

The Freedom of the Seas is on a seven-night cruise of the Eastern Caribbean out of Port Canaveral, Florida that also includes stops in CocoCay, Bahamas; and Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

Venezuela has quarantined a visiting cruise ship following an outbreak of swine flu on board.

More than 1,200 passengers and crew will be kept on board the Spanish-owned Ocean Dream, which has docked at the Venezuelan island of Margarita.

They were stopped from disembarking at previous stops in Barbados and Grenada after three crew members were diagnosed with the flu virus.

Eleven more crew members are reported to have symptoms.

"The virus was detected in three crew members and the boat must now stay in quarantine until June 24," said Venezuelan health official Jorge Alchaer.

Ocean Dream is managed by the Spanish tour operator Pullmantur. Miami-based Royal Caribbean, which owns Pullmantur, said it could not comment on the situation.

The passengers’ nationalities were not immediately known.

Last week the World Health Organisation declared the virus a global pandemic that has spread to 74 countries. There have been some 30,000 cases diagnosed globally and more than 140 deaths.

MOBILE, Ala. - The Coast Guard sent out ships and aircraft to search the Gulf of Mexico for an Alabama woman who reportedly went overboard from a cruise ship early Tuesday.

Michelle Vilborg, 50, of Bay Minette was reported overboard by the Carnival Holiday at 12:04 a.m. CDT Tuesday, the Coast Guard said. The ship was about 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, Fla., at the time.

Carnival Corp. said a passenger reported hearing a splash in the water about 11 p.m. CDT, prompting a cabin-by-cabin search aboard the Holiday. Crew members lowered lifeboats to look for the woman but found nothing.

The Coast Guard search included two cutters, two airplanes and a helicopter.

The Holiday, with a capacity of 1,452 passengers, is due back in Mobile on Saturday after a five-day trip to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Vilborg's disappearance marked at least the third time in less than a month that a passenger went overboard from a Carnival ship based on the Gulf Coast.

A 46-year-old man who fell off the Carnival Inspiration was recused early Monday as it returned to port in Tampa, Fla. The man, who was found clinging to a buoy, told authorities he slipped after climbing on a railing to get a better view of the pilot boat.

A Louisiana teenager on a high school graduation cruise aboard the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans went over the rails on May 24 about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla. Authorities suspended a search after two days without locating his body.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A man found clinging to a buoy after falling from a cruise ship in coastal Florida has been rescued.

The Coast Guard says 46-year-old Larry Miller told them he went overboard from the Carnival Inspiration early Monday morning while it was returning to the Port of Tampa. He was found a few hours later clinging to a buoy near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the St. Petersburg area.

He was brought to the hospital with minor injuries.

The Coast Guard is investigating, but a spokesman says it isn't clear how Miller went overboard. There was no report of a missing person from the cruise ship.

A Princess cruise ship traveling to Alaska reported a gastrointestinal illness outbreak on Sunday that sickened 108 of its 2,000 passengers and seven crew members.

The ship, the Coral Princess, arrived in Whittier on Monday shortly after noon, state health officials said.

The ship, the terminal area and Princess buses were scrubbed down before the ship began taking on a new load of passengers that evening, a company spokeswoman said.

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that usually sickens millions of people every year in the United States. Symptoms, mostly diarrhea and vomiting, usually last for about two days. Cruise lines, nursing homes and other facilities are required to report large outbreaks to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

One tourist who planned to sail from Whittier on Monday said he decided to abort the trip after hearing about the outbreak, due to concern for his wife's weakened immune system. He said a security officer ordered them off the ship before they were able to make arrangements for a place to stay or a vehicle to pick them up.

A pair of "nice Alaskans" in Whittier gave the couple a ride in their car and helped them find a place to stay that night, said the tourist, John O'Keefe, 60, of San Francisco.

O'Keefe, who flew home Monday, said he was concerned about whether the 108 people who left the Coral Princess were properly quarantined and whether the ship was clean.

California-based Princess Tours spokeswoman Julie Benson said she is sorry that the O'Keefes' vacation was cut off and said she wondered if it had to end that way.

O'Keefe's interaction with ship security "doesn't seem like the way it's supposed to happen," she said, adding that she didn't have any facts about what did happen.

She said the company is also anxious about preventing the spread of a norovirus outbreak from one cruise to another group of passengers taking a separate cruise on the same ship.

"That's why we did an extra cleaning of the ship and all the high-touch areas," she said.

She said that anyone still sick at the end of a cruise is set up with a hotel room where they can ride out the rest of their illness.

"We don't put them in our rail cars (or take them to other tourist destinations) until they are well," Benson said.

While they are on the ship, Princess asks sick passengers to stay in their rooms, but they are not forced to leave the ship, she said.

This is at least the second outbreak on the Coral Princess this year. The ship also had an outbreak in February that sickened 252 passengers traveling in the Caribbean, according to the CDC.

The Pacific Dawn cruise ship will be quarantined for a second time after several crew members began displaying flu-like symptoms.

The ship, which docked in Sydney on Monday with a number of sick passengers, has since taken on more holidaymakers and headed towards the Great Barrier Reef.

It will now bypass a number of planned stops before anchoring at Willis Island, east of Cairns, where it will enter quarantine.

The latest confirmed case comes as news that as many as one in five Australians may contract the rapidly-spreading flu, with a McDonalds franchise the latest to be hit.

A restaurant at Epping Plaza in Melbourne's northeast has closed after one of its staff became ill with the virus, another confirmed case in a national total now exceeding 60.

The fast-food chain said it was informing other employees at the outlet, which would stay closed as a "precautionary measure" while health checks were carried out.

McDonalds regional manager Stephen Shillington told AAP the restaurant would reopen on Thursday while Epping Plaza management confirmed the mall would remain open after receiving the all-clear.

As the national total of confirmed cases doubled in the past 24 hours, Victoria's acting chief medical officer Rosemary Lester said up to 20 percent of the population could contract the potentially deadly virus over the coming year.

"We have seen this pattern in countries such as the US, Canada and Japan, so next year this may well be the predominant virus,'' she said.

"We would expect that this virus will become one of the seasonal circulating viruses."

Victoria is the worst-hit state with 32 confirmed cases after eight more people were diagnosed with the strain overnight, with the infection penetrating Melbourne's eastern suburbs for the first time.

In NSW, the entire state cabinet has been caught up in a swine flu scare after it emerged Tourism Minister Jodi McKay travelled on a flu-affected flight, then met with colleagues.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon appealed for calm over the outbreak, but warned she expected the number of confirmed cases to rise sharply in the coming days.

She said a vaccine was in the early stages of development, a complicated process which would probably take some months.

"It's why every week that we can delay this disease spreading more widely in the community is buying us more time when we'll have this vaccine to treat it," she said.

Professor Terry Nolan, head of population health at the University of Melbourne, said a vaccine would take time because the virus first had to be grown in a laboratory from an existing sample.

"The vaccines take about three months, perhaps a bit longer, depending on testing," he told ninemsn.

"If the virus is in full circulation, authorities may weigh up the risk versus reward of the testing."

Meanwhile, the Australian Tourism Council has attacked politicians and the media for provoking "hysteria" over the swine flu outbreak.

The council's managing director Matthew Hingerty said businesses were already feeling the pinch as overseas tourists expressed reluctance to come to Australia.

Last night anger mounted over the decision to allow passengers aboard the cruise ship Pacific Dawn to disembark in Sydney, despite dozens of them either reporting flu-like symptoms or saying they had been in contact with people with symptoms.

But the public should remember that Australian cases of the virus at this stage appeared to be very mild, former University of Adelaide virology professor Chris Burrell said.

"It's looking at the moment that the virulence is no greater than the seasonal flu viruses we get each winter," he told ninemsn.

"But it's a completely new virus and it's spreading very easily...the whole world is like a virgin population."

BALTIMORE - The Coast Guard medevaced a woman Sunday from a ship in the Chesapeake Bay.

Rescued was Eileen Mummaugh, 76.

The Coast Guard received a call via cellular phone from the Maryland Pilots aboard the Norwegian Majesty, a 680-foot cruise ship, requesting the medevac of Mummaugh, who is reportedly suffering from an eye injury.

A 41-foot utility boat crew from Coast Guard Station Annapolis, Md., arrived on scene and transported Mummaugh from the ship to awaiting Anne Arundel County EMS at Annapolis Harbor. Mummaugh was then taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

The U.S. Coast Guard helped rescue a 57-year-old woman from a cruise ship 30 miles west of Bodega Bay Sunday afternoon, the Coast Guard said.

At about 1:45 p.m., the Coast Guard was notified of a woman who nearly drowned in a pool aboard the Coral Princess.

The woman was medically evacuated by Coast Guard aircrew and then airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

She is believed to be in good condition.

SEATTLE - The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 65-year old woman from the cruise ship Millennium in the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Wash., west of Port Angeles Wash., Thursday.

Coast Guard Group Port Angeles received a call at 8:30 p.m., from the cruise ship Millennium requesting immediate medical evacuation of a woman due to a medical condition.

Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles launched an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter to hoist the woman and transport her to a local hospital in Victoria, Canada

The Millennium is transiting to Vancouver, Canada.

A 3-year-old boy suffering from appendicitis on a cruise ship was transported to a Wilmington hospital by an Elizabeth City-based Coast Guard helicopter early Wednesday.

According to a Coast Guard release, a physician aboard the cruise ship Carnival Miracle requested a medical evacuation for the child Tuesday evening. The Coast Guard relayed the message from Miami to Portsmouth, Va., and on to Elizabeth City.

An HH-60 helicopter was dispatched but later showed signs of engine malfunction during a refueling stop at Cherry Point. A second helicopter was sent, reaching the Carnival Miracle off the coast of Wilmington about 7 a.m., according to the air station’s public affairs officer, Lt. j.g. Jason Gale.

The crew took him to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington for treatment. No further update on his condition was available late Wednesday afternoon, Gale said.

The crew included pilot and aircraft commander Lt. Cmdr. Adam Kerr, co-pilot Ensign Luis Llanes, rescue swimmer Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley Pigage, flight mechanic Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Mangum, and flight surgeon Capt. Albert Exner.

The stricken cruise ship Aurora has arrived back in Britain amid the threat of legal action from passengers.

Engine trouble forced the ship to miss out three ports in New Zealand and two in the Pacific Islands on the £16,000 per passenger round-the-world trip. It meant passengers for 22 days of the 93-day trip, passengers visited just two ports.
P&O said passengers will receive compensation including £500 and a refund of the cost of four days' cruising.

But the protest group - dubbed the Aurora Committee - is threatening to sue the company for compensation. It is just the latest in a history of failings and bad luck for the ship after the naming ceremony bottle failed to smash.

Speaking after disembarking in Southampton, Hants, committee member Jennifer Dunthorne, 63, said: "I have just retired and this cruise is not something that I could afford to do again - it was a once in a lifetime chance to see some amazing places. "We paid a lot of money for this cruise - some people even said they had saved for 20 years. "There were people spending wedding anniversaries onboard and their cruise was ruined." Problems on the 76,000-tonne Aurora began within hours of leaving Sydney Harbour last month when it developed engine problems. The ship limped to Auckland, New Zealand, where the 1,736 passengers were told each day for six days that the ship could not leave port. This meant missing out on stops at Wellington, Napier, Bay of Islands, and Moorea and Tahiti in French Polynesia.

A spokeswoman for P&O said: "In recognition of this we have since offered a compensation package which we believe to be a fair reflection of the disruption to the cruise." On her maiden voyage, passengers were compensated a total of £6 million after the ship broke down in the Bay of Biscay and had to return to port. In 2003 the norovirus bug affected a high number of passengers. And in January 2005 P&O cancelled a much-delayed world cruise because of propulsion system problems on the 200 million pounds ship. Last year hundreds of passengers had to undergo tests on board Aurora to see whether they had contracted a deadly strain of hepatitis.

Passengers on an ill-fated £200m cruise ship staged a revolt claiming they were "imprisoned" on the liner during a round-the-world trip after visiting just two ports in 22 days.

Hundreds of holidaymakers on P&O's Aurora, which had already been dubbed "the jinxed ship", formed a protest committee and demanded to see the captain after engine problems forced P&O Cruises to cut out five stops.

The 76,000-tonne ship has been dogged with misfortune since its launch in 2000 when the champagne bottle swung by Princess Anne failed to break - considered a bad omen.

The Aurora's latest problems resulted in more than 600 passengers on the 93-night cruise attending an emergency meeting and forming a protest committee after missing ports in New Zealand and two Pacific Islands.

P&O said the passengers, who had each paid up to £40,000 for the cruise, will receive compensation including £500 and a refund of the cost of four days' cruising.

But the protest group dubbed the Aurora Committee is now threatening legal action to compensate for the 93-day cruise, which some passengers had saved for 20 years to afford.

Problems on the Aurora, whose home port is Southampton, Hampshire, began within hours of leaving Sydney Harbour when it developed engine problems.

It limped into Auckland, New Zealand, on one engine, where it remained for five days while repairs to the engines were carried out. The delay meant 1736 passengers on board missed stops in Wellington, Napier and the Bay of Islands, Moorea in French Polynesia and Papeete in Tahiti, to keep to schedule.

Passengers on the liner, which is part way through a round the world cruise, will have paid at least £8599 for the three-month trip.

Jennifer Dunthorne, a protest committee member, said: "So many people worked hard for so many years to afford this cruise. It is unforgivable.

"P&O offered some free drinks and derisory payments to compensate for shattered dreams. Passengers are outraged at the company's apparent sole concern to concentrate on driving forward the ailing ship to pick up the next unsuspecting passengers on April 13 in Southampton by abandoning much of the cruise they had contracted to deliver."

A P&O Cruises spokeswoman said: "We greatly value the support and loyalty of our passengers and very much regret the disruption to Aurora's world cruise. In recognition of this we have since offered a compensation package which we believe to be a fair reflection of the disruption to the cruise, the actual amount of which will vary depending upon the fare paid."

The story of misfortune since the launch of Aurora began on her maiden voyage, when the ship broke down in the Bay of Biscay and had to return to port. Passengers were compensated to the tune of £6m.

In 2003 the notoriously contagious vomiting bug norovirus affected passengers.

In January 2005 in one of the most expensive and embarrassing bungles in recent shipping history, P&O cancelled a much-delayed world cruise of the £200m luxury liner because of propulsion system problems.

Last year hundreds of passengers were examined on board Aurora to see whether they had contracted hepatitis.

Shaneeva Yassin, NBC6.net News Editor

MIAMI -- An air ambulance arrived in Miami Tuesday carrying several passengers who were injured in a tour bus crash in the Caribbean island of Dominica.

The injured people, all Americans, were passengers on Celebrity Cruises' "Celebrity Summit", which offered a shore excursion to the island. It was a seven-night cruise out of Puerto Rico. Dominican is an island just east of Puerto Rico.

Sixteen people were injured, including some seriously, when there bus lost control Monday on its way back to the cruise. The driver hit a ditch and the bus slammed into a wall.

All 16 onboard the bus were immediately transported to the local Princess Margaret Hospital for care. The passengers sustained injuries, including broken bones, bumps, bruises and lacerations, however, three guests were more seriously injured. Five of the 16 guests were treated and released from the hospital Monday.

Additional personnel, including specially trained members of Celebrity Cruises' guest care team and an additional nurse arrived in Dominica Tuesday to escort the injured passengers and their traveling companions during flights to South Florida.

Eight passengers were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for further assessment and care and are in critical condition, five are in serious condition and one is in fair condition, NBC 6's Steve Litz reported.

"We do have the physicians that will actually be hands-on with the care of the patient that immediately get called and they've been in total communication since last night," doctor Enida Roldan of JMH said.

Celebrity Cruises' President Dan Hanrahan issued a statement:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our injured guests and their families. We'll continue to do our very best to assist them in the aftermath of this unfortunate accident."

The passengers had participated in a "Caribbean Cooking Adventure" shore excursion, in which they joined local culinary experts to learn how to prepare and present traditional Caribbean dishes. The three-and-a-half hour excursion concludes with a scenic drive through Roseau before returning to the pier.

The report out of Dominica is that the bus driver was experiencing problems with the bus' brakes, Litz reported.

Despite High-Profile Deaths, The Cruise Industry Defends Its Safety Record

The idea of going over the side of a cruise ship is horrifying. One minute a person is safely on deck, and the next the passenger has plunged several stories into inky water, often never to be seen again.

It's a story that's been written more frequently now that cruising has become increasingly affordable with ships built to hold a small city's worth of people. But amid a growing chorus of accusations about security leveled at the cruise industry, insiders say passengers and crew need to take more responsibility for their own safety.

"There's been a lot more binge drinking than I've seen in the past," said Douglas Ward, a cruise expert who has reviewed the industry for 43 years.

Ward, who lives in Southampton, England, and has written more than two dozen editions of the "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships," told ABCNews.com that most people who go overboard do so at night after a bout of heavy drinking.

In the past few weeks, two people have gone overboard on major cruise ships. Jennifer Ellis Seitz, 36, went over the balcony of the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship Christmas night. While her family has said the Florida woman may have jumped, authorities are still investigating.

One week later, on New Year's Day, a man identified as Carnival Sensation employee Antonio Matabang of California went overboard -- fellow crew members who saw him fall off the ship near the coast of Florida reported it. The search for his body has since been suspended.

Because cruise lines do not report crimes and accidents to one central authority, it's difficult to gauge exactly how many people go overboard each year. One informal cruising Web site puts 2008's total at eight, down from 20 in 2007 and 22 in 2006.

"The overboards always seem to me to be from the larger ships," Ward said.

Those would be the "resort ships" that dominate the industry -- those run by mainstream lines such as Holland America, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Lines that can carry thousands of passengers and crew at a time.

While cruises used to be only for the elite, larger ships and cheaper tickets have made them the vacation everyone can afford -- older people living on a fixed incomes, families with young children, college students.

"As the age range goes down, it's more a question of drink and showing off," Ward said.

In 2008, about 16.8 million people took cruises, more than 11 million of them Americans, Ward said. That's up from about 9.4 million cruise passengers in 1999 and 500,000 in 1970.

While each overboard incident typically makes numerous headlines, the number of people who actually go over the side of ship is tiny compared with the number of passengers carried safely.

"It's a very, very small percentage," Ward said. "Of course, we don't want any."

While Carnival hasn't released information on Matabang's disappearance other than to say it was searching the waters for an employee, Ward said he was told that Matabang had been standing on the ship's railing for a photograph, "which is absolutely forbidden" and "stupid on a moving ship."

Keeping an Eye on Passengers

While cruise ship personnel can't watch every guest at every moment, the cruise lines said they have been making security changes to accommodate the growing number of passengers.

Gary Bald is the senior vice president and chief global security officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the parent company of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises among other brands.

Bald, the former head of the FBI's national security branch, said Royal Caribbean has always had security cameras on its ships, though the company has greatly expanded the number of cameras in the last several years, in some cases by hundreds per ship.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, currently the largest cruise ship on the oceans with room for more than 3,600 passengers, has between 700 and 800 cameras, Bald said. And most are motion activated.

While not all cameras are monitored all the time, the cameras switch on when movement is detected and record the 30 seconds before the movement begins and the 30 seconds after the movement stops.

The length of time those files -- now digital instead of the old analog tapes -- are kept varies, Bald said. Tapes of a passenger going overboard are kept indefinitely, while images from an uneventful cruise may be eventually purged.

Like many other of the larger resort-type ships, Royal Caribbean's ships also carry smaller rescue vessels that can be sent out to search if someone is known to go overboard.

Carnival responded by e-mail to questions about its ships' security, saying personnel receive specialized training in preserving evidence that the FBI supervises.

"Additionally, all security personnel receive ongoing training at regular intervals," the e-mail said. "Recurring training includes updates on any new security procedures, as well as training in specialized areas such as terrorism, bomb detection, crisis and crowd management, first aid, firefighting and fire prevention."

Norwegian Cruise Lines declined to answer specific questions but released a statement, saying in part, "We have a number of safety and security measures in place, including a safety and environmental management system that is used by our ships that details specific procedures to take when an incident occurs."

What Happened to Merrian?

But even with improved security and training, accidents happen.

Ken Carver founded International Cruise Victims, an advocacy and support group for cruise crime and accident victims and their families, after his daughter Merrian Carver disappeared during an August 2004 cruise to Alaska aboard the Celebrity Mercury.

Carver, who at 72 has made ICV his new full-time job, said he got a phone call from Merrian's daughter saying her mother hadn't been returning phone calls. Unbeknown to the family -- Carver said his daughter was somewhat of a free spirit -- Merrian, 40, had booked the cruise and boarded on Aug. 27, as noted by credit card receipts and documents from Celebrity.

But cruise officials couldn't tell Carver whether his daughter had ever disembarked. And, he later learned, a cabin attendant reported to a ship supervisor that Merrian ceased using her room after the cruise's second night.

The supervisor never reported the attendant's findings.

"He was told to forget it and do his job," Carver said.

Merrian Carver was never heard from again. Carver said he's heard rumors over the years that his daughter was romantically involved with the supervisor who declined to report the cabin attendant's concerns, but said that would be "impossible to prove."

Carver said he hired a private detective and spent tens of thousands of dollars researching his daughter's last known activities before he sued Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean noted that an FBI investigation had concluded that there was no evidence of foul play regarding Merrian Carver's disappearance.

"During that same time, we learned from her father that Ms. Carver had emotional problems and had attempted suicide before, which she appears to have done on our ship," the statement read.

The cruise company ended up settling with Carver out of court for an undisclosed amount.

"Do I know what happened to Merrian?" he said. "God only knows."

Bald said the Carver incident spurred Royal Caribbean to make procedural changes, including requiring all passengers to swipe ship-issued identification cards not only when they get on the ship but when they get off.

That might have helped in the Carver case, because authorities don't know if she went overboard or if she left the ship on her own at a port of call.

"We learn from every incident," he said.

Still, Bald said, "we made mistakes in this and there's no denying it."

First, he said, there was a mix-up in communication about the surveillance tapes from Merrian Carver's cruise. Ken Carver was erroneously told the tapes had been thrown out just weeks after the cruise ended, which they hadn't.

The tapes, analog at the time, did not show any images of Merrian Carver at all, Bald said, but the tapes were put back on a shelf and eventually lost when they should have been saved.

The supervisor who'd apparently failed to report the cabin attendant's report of Carver's disappearance was terminated, Bald said.

Since Merrian Carver's disappearance, Ken Carver has been a vocal advocate for legislation on cruise industry reform.

Bills have been introduced in the United States in the last couple of years aimed at the cruise industry, including joint House and Senate bills that called for more uniform crime reporting and improved response.

So far, none of the bills have been passed.

'The Perfect Crime'

Former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican who was unseated in November's election, made cruise industry reform a personal project after following the case of George Smith, a Greenwich newlywed, who went overboard on a Royal Caribbean ship during his honeymoon in 2005.

Smith's case received national attention and prompted a congressional hearing and backlash against Royal Caribbean, which was accused at the time of taking a blase approach to the incident.

Shays told ABCNews.com that a cruise ship is "the place to commit the perfect crime."

"You don't need a major weapon, and your evidence disappears," he said. "They say they're a miniature city, but they don't have anyone on board who is capable of investigating a crime."

Shays described the cruise industry as "powerful" and said it has so far succeeded in blocking any attempt at reform.

But Bald scoffed at the notion that his cruise line, at least, doesn't do enough when crimes occur onboard.

"My answer to them is name one we haven't reported," he said. "And nobody can name a single one."

Most cruise lines, Bald said, signed a voluntary international agreement in 1999 that requires that all crimes to be reported to the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction, depending on where the ship is at the time.

Maritime law also requires that all crimes aboard cruise ships to be reported to the country where the ship is flagged -- Greece, Panama and the Bahamas being the three most common flag states. In the United States, cruise lines have an agreement with the FBI and the Coast Guard to report crimes in U.S. waters or involving U.S. citizens.

Other countries, Bald said, have their own laws regarding crimes aboard cruise ships.

Former cruise ship employee Brian David Bruns, who wrote "Cruise Confidential" based on his experience as a member of the Carnival staff, said there are far fewer accidents on cruise ships than people would believe.

"But boy, it makes a great story," he said.

Bruns said he was working the midnight buffet in 2003 when a passenger went overboard near the Gulf Coast. Rumors, he said, immediately began swirling around the ship as it began circling back toward where the woman was last seen.

Rescue boats were let out, but the woman's body wasn't recovered until it washed up on shore sometime later. Bruns said he believed the woman committed suicide.

Bruns said it's easy to sympathize with the family of the person who went overboard and blame the cruise line, but in reality, "there's only so much defense you can set up to prevent people from going over rails."

Ward agreed. He sees room for improvement from both passengers and the cruise industry, though maybe more for the passengers.

"There's always room for improvement," he said. "And I think the industry could do a little bit more, particularly when it's related to safety."

Cruise ships should continue to install more cameras, he said. As far as increasing response time, Ward said ship searches are now immediate. If someone is known to go overboard, rescue procedures are started immediately, though it can take several nautical miles to get a ship completely stopped, and 360-degree turns need to be made gradually so as to not cause the ship to list in the water.

Bartenders, he said, could also be more aware of their customers' intake.

On the flip side, Ward said, passengers "just need to drink sensibly."

"They need to realize that ships are moving objects," he said, "and railings are there for a purpose."

Salon.com

Dec 26th, 2008 | MEXICO CITY -- Three Mexican Navy boats and a helicopter were searching the waters off the Caribbean resort of Cancun on Friday for an American woman who reportedly fell from a cruise ship, authorities said.

A U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew using a Falcon jet halted its efforts to find 36-year-old Jennifer Feitz late Friday, but will resume Saturday morning using a larger C-130 aircraft, said Petty Officer Third Class Nick Ameen.

Feitz's husband reported her missing from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship just before 5 a.m. EST Friday. Her hometown was not available.

Mexico's Fifth Naval Regional Command said in a statement that by late Friday it had found no sign of Feitz and was having to deal with "adverse conditions" and strong waves in the search taking place just over 17 miles (27 kilometers) east of Cancun.

"The search is being carried out for an American woman who fell into the sea from a cruise ship east of Isla Mujeres," an island just off the coast from Cancun, the statement said.

Norwegian Cruise Line says the ship left Sunday from Miami for a seven-day western Caribbean cruise.

Fox News

A cruise ship headed for the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden docked Wednesday in Yemen to let off hundreds of passengers so they could bypass the dangerous waters by plane before rejoining the ship at its next port of call.

The M/S Columbus arrived in the western Yemeni port of Hodeida, where 420 passengers and crew were taking charter flights to Dubai on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. The ship will continue with a limited crew through the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates have targeted commercial ships, cruise liners and yachts.

Meanwhile, Somali pirates freed a Greek cargo ship and its 19 crew members on Monday, nearly three months after it was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.

Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, and Philippines Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos confirmed the release of the M/V Captain Stephanos on Wednesday.

Click here for photos.

Pirates have attacked 32 vessels and hijacked 12 of them since NATO deployed a four-vessel flotilla in the region on Oct. 24. They have netted more than $30 million in ransoms along Africa's longest and most lawless coast.

The EU launched its anti-piracy mission on Tuesday, five days early, before it takes over for the NATO ships on Monday. The EU mission will include six ships and up to three aircraft patrolling at any one time, and will station armed guards aboard some cargo vessels, such as ships transporting food aid to Somalia, according to the British naval commander in charge of the mission.

On Nov. 30, pirates fired upon the M/S Nautica — a cruise liner carrying 650 passengers and 400 crew — but the ship outran its assailants.

The Hamburg, Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd cruise company said Tuesday that it was taking the precaution of removing the Columbus cruise passengers because the German government denied its request for a security escort through the gulf.

Some 115 of the ship's passengers arrived in Dubai Wednesday afternoon.

Few passengers arriving at the airport agreed to speak about the diversion. One, Greinert Burkhard, a retired high school teacher from Hildesheim, Germany, said he thought it was a good idea.

"(The trip) cost a lot of money, (and) it was more secure to do it like this," Burkhard said.

Not every passenger was happy about the diversion.

"Of course it was a good decision for our security, but I will not enjoy my stay in Dubai," said one woman from Dusseldorf who declined to give her name. "I will think of the crew in a dangerous situation."

Passengers will spend three days at a five-star hotel in Dubai waiting to rejoin the 490-foot vessel in Oman's port of Salalah for the remainder of the around-the-world trip, which began in Italy.

The surge in piracy in the busy shipping lane leading to and from the Suez Canal threatens to take a heavy economic toll. Some commercial shipping companies have announced plans to bypass the Gulf of Aden by taking the much longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.

At least two other cruise operators have also altered or canceled routes that would have brought passengers within reach of pirates.

Mohammed Abdel-Moghni, the head of a tour agency in Yemen that was handling the Columbus passengers' onward travel, said a first group has left on a flight for Dubai. Others were staying in Yemen to tour the mountainous villages of Manakha or Yemen's capital, San'a. They will be leaving on a later flight, he said.

Conejos said he was unaware if a ransom had been paid to pirates for the release of the M/V Captain Stephanos, which is Greek-owned by flies a Bahamas flag.

Its 19 crew members — 17 Filipinos, one Chinese and one Ukrainian — were in "good health" and the ship was sailing to Italy before proceeding to Greece, Conejos said, citing a report by ship owners.

Ships still being held by pirates for huge ransoms include a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million in crude and a Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons.

A German official said Wednesday his country's Cabinet has approved a plan to contribute one navy ship and up to 1,400 troops to the EU anti-piracy mission. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Cabinet's decision has not been publicly announced, said the mandate could allow soldiers to pursue, detain and hand over piracy suspects. They will also be authorized to confiscate looted goods.

The German parliament must also approve the deployment.

Fox News

MUSCAT, Oman — Ordered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornberg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner — "Pop! Pop! Pop!" — then felt the ship accelerate to escape.

At this Omani port north of the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, passengers told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the crew of the M/S Nautica warned them of pirate dangers before embarking, then deployed clever and non-lethal defenses to keep the marauders at bay.

Sunday's attack on the nearly 600-foot cruise ship in the dangerous waters between Yemen and Somalia was the latest evidence that pirates have grown more brazen, viewing almost any vessel on the water as a potential target — even a large luxury liner with hundreds of tourists on board.

But the assault lasted only five minutes, and the ship with about 650 passengers and 400 crew members on board sped away quickly and was not seized.

"We didn't think they would be cheeky enough to attack a cruise ship," said Wendy Armitage, of Wellington, New Zealand, shortly after disembarking the ship for a daylong port stop in the Omani capital of Muscat.

During Sunday's assault on the cruise liner, pirates on one of two skiffs fired eight rifle shots at the ship, according to its American operator, Oceania Cruises, Inc. But the captain ordered the ship's passengers inside and accelerated the cruise liner quickly, leaving the pirates far behind in their 20 to 30-foot wooden speedboats, powered with twin outboard motors.

"I couldn't see them shooting, but I heard them hitting the ship, 'Pop! Pop! Pop!"' said Thornberg, of Bend, Oregon. "It wasn't really scary because the captain announced for the safety of everybody to get inside and get down, and by that time he was pouring on the coals to the ship and was outrunning them."

Lynne Pincini, of Australia, said she was heading to a friend's cabin when the ship's captain got on the loud speaker and told people to keep their heads down and stay inside.

"We heard the announcement, and of course we went straight out on the balcony to have a look. It was like a very large speedboat. It was running alongside the boat," she said.

The cruise was on a monthlong trip from Rome to Singapore, a route that took it through the dangerous Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, where pirates have hijacked dozens of boats this year. Cruises and other vessels have to use the route — the only access for the Suez Canal shortcut between East and West — unless they are willing to add weeks to the trip by traveling around the southern tip of Africa.

At the beginning of the journey, the ship's captain briefed the mostly well-traveled passengers on what the vessel could do to ward off pirates.

One passenger, Alica Moorehead, said they were told the cruise ship could outrun the pirates by picking up speed, aiming high-pressure water hoses at them and using a device that blasts painful sound waves at the pirates to distract them. Such devices can blast sounds of up to 150 decibels, focused on targets several hundred yards away — above the normal pain threshold of 120 decibels.

"We had been reassured that they had these ghetto blasters that could go through them. And we could outrun anything that they had," Pincini said.

Moorehead's husband, Pat, said the ship's crew had even laid out the fire hoses before the vessel entered the Gulf of Aden.

"They had laid out the fire hoses for a high pressure repellant. They never did fire them up, but they were ready for them," said Moorehead, a native of Long Beach, California.

"I will say the crew was very calm. They had prepared for this. Every staff member has an assignment in case of an emergency, and every one of them did it calmly and quickly," he added.

It was not clear what devices, if any, the crew used beyond accelerating. Some passengers on the Nautica said the crew used the long-range acoustic device to ward off Sunday's attack, and at least two passengers described hearing two "boom" sounds after the pirates fired their rifles.

But Oceania Cruises would not comment on specific details of the ship's security other than to say the ship's captain and crew used "evasive maneuvers and took all prescribed precautions."

Roger Middleton, author of a recent report on piracy for London-based think-tank Chatham House, said the non-lethal defense are preferable to having armed guards on board — but their effectiveness is limited. For example, simple earplugs can foil the sound device. .

The ship's speed and difficulty in boarding the ship probably were the reasons why the pirates were not successful, he said.

"Lots of pirate attacks fail ... They will go for anything and keep trying until they get on board," Middleton said. "I think they see these things as how much money they get out of them. And lots Western tourists is very valuable."

International warships patrol the Gulf of Aden and have created a security corridor in the area under a U.S.-led initiative, but attacks on shipping have not abated.

In about 100 attacks on ships off the Somali coast this year, 40 vessels have been hijacked. Thirteen ships remain in the hands of pirates, including a Saudi supertanker filled with $100 million worth of crude and a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 battle tanks.

Pirates freed a hijacked Yemeni cargo ship and its eight crew members without receiving any ransom after an appeal by local clan elders and regional officials, Somali official said Wednesday.

The ship, released Tuesday night, was seized last month in the Arabian Sea. A Yemeni security official had said the pirates were initially demanding a $2 million ransom to release the ship and its eight-person crew.

CharlotteObserver.com
By JAY CLARKE
September 15, 2008

You're off on a long-dreamed-of vacation, a cruise to sunny Caribbean islands. You're on a big cruise liner with a couple thousand other passengers. There are doctors and nurses on board, locks on your stateroom door, lots of public spaces, and ship personnel at your beck and call. Safety isn't something to worry about.

Not so, says Miami maritime lawyer Charles R. Lipcon in a new book, "Unsafe on the High Seas."

"The problem is, people don't think anything bad can happen," Lipcon said in an interview. But as on any vacation, things can go wrong even on a cruise ship, he says, and passengers need to keep their guard up.

Most importantly, he says, don't leave your common sense behind.

"Getting on a cruise ship is like traveling to a strange city. Take some precautions," Lipcon said.

You wouldn't walk alone at night in a strange city; don't do it on a cruise ship. You wouldn't go to a stranger's room ashore; don't go to a crew member's room on board.

Those are some of the safety tips that Lipcon gives in his book.

"That's the reason I wrote the book - to tell passengers how to avoid problems," said the Miami attorney, who has filed many lawsuits on behalf of clients who experienced problems aboard ship.

"When you get on a cruise ship, you're not in the United States anymore," he warned. The laws of the ship's country of registry aren't the same as those in America, and you may not get the protections. Medical care is limited and may not be up to U.S. standards.

Passengers having too good a time at a ship bar also may be at risk, Lipcon writes. "Fueled by firewater, people do crazy things." Young women in particular can fall prey to the date rape drug. His advice to them: Only drink beverages you have witnessed being prepared, and ask that bottled drinks come unopened. "That's a must."

Stateroom safety is another area Lipcon touches on. "Never open your door to strangers," he writes. All valuables should be locked in a safe and guard your key card, just as you would your credit card ashore.

That said, the vast majority of passengers never experience any problems aboard, except perhaps for spending more than they intended.

Cruise line representatives say crimes on board are extremely rare. Quoting from testimony at last year's Congressional hearings, Michael Crye, executive vice president of the Cruise Line Industry Association, said that of the 4.4 million passengers who sailed from April to Aug. 24 in 2007, only .01 percent were involved in reported incidents.

While Lipcon's recitation of what can happen aboard ship can sound intimidating, the attorney says the intent of his book is not to scare people away from taking a cruise, but to send them off with their eyes open.

"Have fun, be cool, but be wary," he advises.

SAFETY ABROAD

Here are some precautions Charles Lipcon cites in his book, "Unsafe on the High Seas":

-Before you step aboard, read the fine print in your cruise contract.

-Meet fellow passengers in public areas, not cabins. Remember that a cruise ship is like a small city but with an often inadequate security force, so be alert.

-Set rules for your children, just as you would at home. Think about using walkie-talkies to keep in touch with them.

-Never go alone anywhere on ship where it is isolated, especially in the evening and early morning.

-When you enter your cabin, check the bathroom and closet while the door is still open.

-Use all the locks on the cabin door. Never open your door to a stranger.

-If you drink, do so in moderation. Only drink beverages you have seen prepared.

If you are a victim:

-Take photos of the scene and of your condition.

-Call the FBI (305-944-9101 or 202-324-3000) and Coast Guard (Atlantic, 757-398-6390; Pacific, 510-437-3701) from the ship, get them involved. Don't expect the cruise line to take physical evidence.

-Contact U.S. Embassy or Consulate if you are at a foreign port of call. Notify your family, doctors, lawyers, insurance companies, etc.

-Get names, addresses and phone numbers of possible witnesses. Take statements.

-Sexual assault or rape victims should not eat, drink, shower, bathe, brush teeth or go to the bathroom before a rape exam is done by a physician.

-Blood samples from the victim should be taken immediately.

AVOIDING NOROVIRUS

Ships are breeding grounds for disease-causing viruses, and one of the most common of these is the notorious Norwalk virus, or norovirus.

"You need to be careful on board," says Jean Fleming, a registered nurse who is clinical director of infection prevention for Nice-Pak Products, which makes sanitary wipes. "You can get norovirus and MRSA (a common staph strain) from high-touch surfaces such as handrails, elevator buttons, door knobs and computer keyboards."

Her advice:

-Wash your hands frequently.

-Carry hand sanitizing wipes with you. She says wipes are better than gels.

-Wash your hands before eating.

New book: Passengers shouldn't leave their common sense behind

Sunday, Sep 21, 2008 - 12:01 AM

By JAY CLARKE
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

You're off on a long-dreamed-of vacation, a cruise to sunny Caribbean islands. You're on a big cruise liner with a couple thousand other passengers. There are doctors and nurses on board, locks on your stateroom door, lots of public spaces, and ship personnel at your beck and call. Safety isn't something to worry about.

Not so, says Miami maritime lawyer Charles R. Lipcon in a new book, "Unsafe on the High Seas."

"The problem is, people don't think anything bad can happen," Lipcon said in an interview. But as on any vacation, things can go wrong even on a cruise ship, he said, and passengers need to keep their guard up.

Most importantly, he said, don't leave your common sense behind.

"Getting on a cruise ship is like traveling to a strange city. Take some precautions," Lipcon said.

You wouldn't walk alone at night in a strange city; don't do it on a cruise ship. You wouldn't go to a stranger's room ashore; don't go to a crew member's room on board.

Those are some of the safety tips that Lipcon gives in his book.

"That's the reason I wrote the book - to tell passengers how to avoid problems," said the Miami attorney, who has filed many lawsuits on behalf of clients who experienced problems aboard ship.

"When you get on a cruise ship, you're not in the United States anymore," he warned. The laws of the ship's country of registry aren't the same as those in America, and you might not get the protections. Medical care is limited and may not be up to U.S. standards.

Passengers having too good a time at a ship bar also could be at risk, Lipcon writes. "Fueled by firewater, people do crazy things." Young women in particular can fall prey to the date-rape drug. His advice to them: Only drink beverages you have witnessed being prepared, and ask that bottled drinks come unopened. "That's a must."

Stateroom safety is another area Lipcon touches on. "Never open your door to strangers," he writes. All valuables should be locked in a safe and guard your key card, just as you would your credit card ashore.

That said, the vast majority of passengers never experience any problems aboard, except perhaps for spending more than they intended.

Cruise line representatives say crimes on board are extremely rare. Quoting from testimony at last year's Congressional hearings, Michael Crye, executive vice president of the Cruise Line Industry Association, said that of the 4.4 million passengers who sailed from April to Aug. 24 in 2007, only .01 percent were involved in reported incidents.

While Lipcon's recitation of what can happen aboard ship can sound intimidating, the attorney said the intent of his book is not to scare people away from taking a cruise, but to send them off with their eyes open.

"Have fun, be cool, but be wary," he advises.

Unsafe on the High Seas is available for purchase at Amazon.com or direct through our web site here.

MiamiHerald.com

BY JAY CLARKE

You're off on a long-dreamed-of vacation, a cruise to sunny Caribbean islands. You're on a big cruise liner with a couple thousand other passengers. There are doctors and nurses on board, locks on your stateroom door, lots of public spaces, and ship personnel at your beck and call. Safety isn't something to worry about.

Not so, says Miami maritime lawyer Charles R. Lipcon in a new book, Unsafe on the High Seas.

"The problem is, people don't think anything bad can happen," Lipcon said in an interview. But as on any vacation, things can go wrong even on a cruise ship, he says, and passengers need to keep their guard up.

Most importantly, he says, don't leave your common sense behind.

"Getting on a cruise ship is like traveling to a strange city. Take some precautions," Lipcon said. You wouldn't walk alone at night in a strange city; don't do it on a cruise ship. You wouldn't go to a stranger's room ashore; don't go to a crew member's room on board.

Those are some of the safety tips that Lipcon gives in his book.

"That's the reason I wrote the book -- [to tell passengers] how to avoid problems," said the Miami attorney, who has filed many lawsuits on behalf of clients who experienced problems aboard ship.

"When you get on a cruise ship, you're not in the United States any more," he warned. The laws of the ship's country of registry aren't the same as those in America, and you may not get the protections. Medical care is limited and may not be up to U.S. standards.

Passengers having too good a time at a ship bar also may be at risk, Lipcon writes. "Fueled by firewater, people do crazy things." Young women in particular can fall prey to the date rape drug. His advice to them: Only drink beverages you have witnessed being prepared, and ask that bottled drinks come unopened. "That's a must."

Stateroom safety is another area Lipcon touches on. "Never open your door to strangers," he writes. All valuables should be locked in a safe and guard your key card, just as you would your credit card ashore.

That said, the vast majority of passengers never experience any problems aboard, except perhaps for spending more than they intended.

Cruise line representatives say crimes on board are extremely rare. Quoting from testimony at last year's Congressional hearings, Michael Crye, executive vice president of the Cruise Line Industry Association, said that of the 4.4 million passengers who sailed from April to Aug. 24 in 2007, only .01 percent were involved in reported incidents.

While Lipcon's recitation of what can happen aboard ship can sound intimidating, the attorney says the intent of his book is not to scare people away from taking a cruise, but to send them off with their eyes open.

"Have fun, be cool, but be wary," he advises.

By CARINE ASUTILLA
ABS-CBN Cebu

CEBU CITY - Widows of crewmen of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) on Thursday called out to families of the other crew members to refuse at least in P20,000 death benefits being offered to them.

They said the amount is an insult to their husbands who lost their lives from the tragedy. They said that if the families of passengers got P200,000 in death benefits, they should receive the same.

Elina Edisan, whose husband Efren worked as a tool keeper in the ill-fated ship, said that the company is following the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between SLI and the Sulpicio Employees' Union.

She said that the CBA stated that both licensed and unlicensed crew of the boat only have P20,000 life insurance. The amount will be doubled if the crew met an accident.

"They read to us the CBA [that says] if my husband is still missing we get 20,000 pesos, if the victim is identified, we get 40,000 pesos," said Edisan.

She said that she will not accept the death claim of worth P40,000.

Another widow, Rosabella Cabanganan, whose husband Francisco worked as a watchman, said that she will not process the requirements for the said death claims as she thinks it is an insult to the life of her husband.

"My husband worked there, he lost his life in an accident, and we only get that amount? Why can’t we get the same insurance with the passenger victims?" said Cabanganan.

Appeal to others

Lorena Dizon, wife of 4th Engineer Librado Dizon, said that her husband used earn P20,000 per month as salary. She said she will not accept P40, 000 being offered for death claims.

She said that the amount is not enough to pay the damage. She urged the families of other crewmen not to accept the insurance.

Larry Straus Beduya, industrial relations officer of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said that they are currently negotiating with SLI management to increase the insurance for the crew and level it with the death claims of passengers.

He said that aside from death claims, they are asking the management to give education scholarship to children of crewmen and provide jobs to the next provider for the crew’s family.

He said that SLI is open for negotiation and they are still waiting for their respond to it.

There were 121 crew in the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars, 73 of whom are members of ALU-TUCP.

Ten of the 73 members are licensed crew while the 63 are unlicensed crew or rank and file.

Written by Ken Borsuk, Greenwich-Post.com Staff Reporter

Having learned to love sailing as a child, Greenwich resident Hillary Bercovici never expected that a simple trip from Bermuda would turn into a medical emergency for him, necessitating a rescue at sea.

Mr. Bercovici, an Episcopal priest and pastoral psychotherapist, working as a scholar-in-residence at Trinity Church Greenwich, was part of a crew returning the racing boat Misty, a 40-foot sloop, to Rhode Island from Bermuda two weeks ago, after it had taken part in a race just a few days earlier. An experienced sailor, Mr. Bercovici had made the trip before, but this time bad weather and choppy waters led to his injury.

In an interview with the Post on Tuesday, Mr. Bercovici said they were two days into the trip, which usually takes four to six days depending on conditions, when they encountered some rough seas on June 30.

“It was nothing of great concern,” Mr. Bercovici said when asked about the conditions. “We weren’t in a panic or anything. But when we went to change course we were hit by a wave on the side which swung us around unexpectedly. I got knocked over by the mainsheet, which holds in the mainsail. I don’t really remember what happened, but I’m told I was knocked down and my head hit a winch. I got a concussion and it opened up a two-and-a-half-inch gash over my right eye.”

Despite the blow to the head, Mr. Bercovici never lost consciousness and in fact believed he was fine at first.

“Everyone was around me asking if I was OK, and I kept telling them, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine. What’s the big deal?’” Mr. Bercovici recalled. “They told me I was bleeding and at first I didn’t believe them but then I held my hand up to my head and saw it was covered in blood.”

Mr. Bercovici was immediately taken below deck and treated in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It was then that his condition began to worsen. Since they were more than 200 miles from land, the boat had to use the satellite phone to call the Coast Guard and make contact with a doctor.

“Apparently I got a bit on the incoherent side,” Mr. Bercovici said. “I’m told I was getting very confused and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. I started hallucinating and seeing people that weren’t there. I remember thinking there were all these people there in costume like it was a Halloween party or something. It was definitely a very weird experience for me. I had never gone through anything like that in my life.”

The Coast Guard said it would be able to get assistance to Misty, but it would take six hours. That concerned the doctor with whom the crew was in contact. While the bleeding was not a concern, the hallucinations were, and the doctor was concerned it was a symptom of a far more serious injury than a concussion, and required immediate attention. It was then that an alternate idea was put forth by the Coast Guard.

A cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, was about 32 nautical miles away and was participating in the Amver program with the Coast Guard. That meant the ship was available for assistance if needed, and it was called upon. Despite the bad weather, with rain and wind gusts up to 33 knots and reported 20-foot swells, the ship was able to locate the Misty, lower a rescue boat with three crew members and get Mr. Bercovici on board.

The ship offered all the luxuries vacationers enjoy, but the onboard physician was what Mr. Bercovici needed most. As soon as he was safely on the ship, Mr. Bercovici was able to get the treatment he needed. The doctor stopped the bleeding and diagnosed his hallucinations. Mr. Bercovici had been wearing a scopolamine patch behind his ear to help him combat some seasickness, and the medicine combined with the blow to the head to trigger the hallucinations.

Once the patch was removed the medicine began to wear off, and after almost eight hours, the hallucinations stopped. Once he was given different medication to help him get his balance back, Mr. Bercovici was able to leave the infirmary. But he couldn’t return home just yet. The Norwegian Dawn had been headed to Bermuda when it picked him up, so he returned to where he started.

Mr. Bercovici said he didn’t mind.

“It sure beat a Coast Guard cutter,” he said. “The company was really good to me. Everyone on board was just incredible.” The Norwegian Cruise Line allowed him to stay as a guest for free. Andrew Gigla, who had suffered shock-like symptoms while taking part in a sailboat race off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., was also given lodging.

Mr. Bercovici praised the boat’s captain, Trygve Vorren. In order to get Mr. Bercovici off the Misty and onto the Norwegian Dawn, Mr. Vorren had to maneuver the nearly 1,000-foot-long cruise ship against the considerably smaller Misty, and Mr. Bercovici said he did everything skillfully. Both Mr. Bercovici and Mr. Gigla got to know Capt. Vorren during the trip to Bermuda, as they got the rare privilege of being allowed on the bridge to meet the senior crew, including those who had done the actual rescues.

“It was wonderful to meet these guys,” Mr. Bercovici said. “It was very moving.”

Having left his wallet and passport on the Misty in all the confusion, Mr. Bercovici was able to get a loan from the crew so he could get to the airport, where his wife was waiting for him to get him back to Greenwich.

Mr. Bercovici’s injury proved to be a mild concussion, and he is nearly fuly recovered. Because of the concussion, at first he was sleeping 16 hours a day, but now he’s back to normal sleep patterns.

The accident has done nothing to cool Mr. Bercovici’s love of sailing. He and his wife are planning an August trip in their own boat for some coastal cruising.

“I’m getting stronger every day,” Mr. Bercovici said. “I feel like I’m all the way back, but I’m being told not to just rush back... and ease into it.”

By Otto Smyth, LawFuel.com

According to reports by Princess Cruise Line accident lawyers at Ehline Law, a spokes person for Crown Princess, Julie Benson have released information in the latest cruise passengers to go overboard on one of their ships.

This time it was the Princess Cruise’s Grand Princess that was approximately 150 miles off of the Galveston Coast when two passengers fell from a balcony. According to the statements by Benson the pair, a 22 year old man and a 20 year old woman fell from a balcony at approximately 1:30 a.m. Their friends alerted the captain of the ship who then turned the ship to go in search of the two passengers.

The captain of the Grand Princess and crew used high powered spot lights and rescue boats to search for the man and woman. Each were found and picked up by rescue boats, one at 5:300a.m. and the other at 6:00 p.m.

These passengers are the latest passengers that have fallen overboard on cruise ships, there have also been passengers such as Mike Mankamyer a passenger on the Carnival Glory, who was rescued by the Coast Guard after falling about 60 feet from the ship and later found approximately 30 miles from the Ft. Lauderdale coast.

Then there was the case of Daniel Dipiero who went overboard for his family to find out later that after being turned away at one bar aboard ship he was then served at another. Later he found his way to a deck chair where he slept until waking feeling sick and went to the rail to be ill. The next piece of the tape this was seen on shows the young man slipping over the rail. This incident occurred on a Royal Caribbean ship Mariner of the Seas.

The list goes on with passengers who have gone overboard on cruise ships with names like Mindy Jordan and Lynsey O’Brien.

Islander News

In his new book, Unsafe on the High Seas: Your Guide to a Safer Cruise, veteran maritime lawyer Charles Lipcon exposes the seamy underbelly of the cruise industry, calling attention to the litany of potential problems that may ruin the vacation of a lifetime— sexual assaults, shipboard disappearances, unaccredited doctors, inadequate security and noroviruses, among them.

"There are hazards when taking a cruise," the Key Biscayne resident says, "but what it boils down to is people not using commons sense. For some reason when people get on a ship they feel like they’re totally protected, like they’re in a totally safe cocoon, but that’s not always the case."

Based on his 35 years of experience, Lipcon’s book bristles with shocking true stories of cruise-ship passengers who have been injured, victimized or harmed while at sea.

"It’s sort of premised on problem areas I’ve seen," says Lipcon, who is affiliated with the law firm Lipcon, Margulies and Alsina P.A., located near the Port of Miami.

The son of a U.S. Naval officer, Lipcon traveled extensively when he was a youth. He attended the University of Miami and received his bachelors degree with a dual major in political science and philosophy. He subsequently attended UM’s School of Law and received his Juris Doctor degree.

Lipcon began to practice law in Miami, just as the cruise industry as we know it today was forming. His first case, involving a crewman who’d had an accident aboard a ship, initiated the young attorney into the intricacies of the industry. He learned that a ship may be built in Italy, based in the U.S. and fly a Liberian flag. That led the young lawyer to wonder: "So whose jurisdiction is it under? Whose laws apply?"

In order to sue for reparations for the crewman, Lipcon had to slog through "layers of laws" and international treaties to discover who was responsible and who to file suit against. He won his case for the crewman, and in the more than three decades since, he’s won awards on behalf of both crewmen and passengers while setting precedents in maritime law.

"What I found so interesting about that case is that most of these ships are part of a corporate maze— the employer of the crew is one company, the owner of the ship is a different company, the operator is another company and the shareholders are from another county. So there a lot of overlapping jurisdictions to got through. As a lawyer, you have to work your way through that maze of international laws— it’s like handling a very complex puzzle."

Unsafe on the High Seas is the result of Lipcon’s 35 years of first-hand experience in maritime law. It is an offshoot of his dedicated quest and subsequent success in exposing the secrets the cruise industry does not want passengers to know.

The book’s dedication reads: "For the victims of accidents and crimes on board cruise ships. It is my hope that this book will assist future cruise line passengers from becoming victims. If only one person is helped by this book, I will feel that it has been worth the effort."

In a chapter titled "A Pattern of Cover-ups," Lipcon showcases the variety of tricks the cruise industry uses to smooth over problems and avoid lawsuits and damaging publicity.

"They know how to take advantage of every wrinkle in the law and they are behind a very powerful lobbying group," says Lipcon.

Another chapter in Lipcon’s cruise-ship survival guide details problems involving unaccredited ship physicians. To illustrate the extent of the problem, Lipcon mentions a woman who needed medical attention after injuring her head in a fall. Due to substandard medical equipment and an erroneous diagnosis by the ship doctor, the woman wound up becoming a paraplegic.

"My advice is that if you have a serious medical problem, get off the ship as quickly as possible and get advice from your personal physician," says Lipcon.

Most disturbingly, "the cruise lines disavow any liability for the ship doctor, which I personally think is outrageous," adds Lipcon.

From easy-to-follow rules for staying safe in a cruise ship environment to sensible talk about health and sanitation issues, Lipcon’s brisk 116-page book contains helpful advice for future cruise ship passengers to avoid the risks and hazards that can spoil their experience.

"When people are in a big city, their antennas go up and they’re alert, but when they’re on a cruise ship, they let their guard down," says Lipcon. "The purpose of my book is to make people aware that there are hazards on cruise ships, just like anywhere else."

Lipcon says his book offers sensible advice to guide a passenger from the purchase of the ticket (which is a binding contract) until the end of the voyage.

"My hope is that people will leaf through this book before boarding a cruise ship," says Lipcon, "because I believe many of the horrific things that have happened on ships could’ve been avoided had people read my book."

Unsafe on the High Seas: Your Guide to a Safer Cruise is available on Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. John Kerry today chaired a hearing on cruise ship safety for the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Sub-Committee. Current statute does not require cruise ships to report even the most serious crimes that happen in international waters to U.S. authorities.

Previous hearings in the House were held by Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT).

Senator Kerry was driven to hold companion hearings in the Senate after meeting Ken Carver, whose daughter Merrian disappeared on a cruise in 2004. Merrian was a resident of Cambridge, MA.

"Passenger safety should be the top priority for the cruise line industry, and it's clear that they have work to do," said Sen. Kerry. "It's just plain wrong that disappearances and serious crimes can occur aboard these ships that are not reported, investigated, or prosecuted.
Shifting legal jurisdictions are no excuse for endangering the safety of cruise ship travelers. Ken Carver's tireless commitment to reforming safety regulations sends a crystal clear message -cruise ships need to take care of their passengers. I'll be introducing legislation in the coming weeks to make these ships safer and hold the industry accountable."

"After multiple hearings, it is clear that we must take action to bring sunshine to the cruise industry," said Rep. Matsui. "Cruise companies must ensure the safety and security of their patrons and act responsibly to prevent crimes from happening. Americans taking cruise vacations have a reasonable expectation to be informed of potential risks to their safety, and to have proper reporting and evidence-gathering in the aftermath of a crime. They have a right to be treated with dignity and respect."

"It's important we continue the efforts to improve cruise ship safety which began in the last Congress, when I chaired the National Security Subcommittee," said Rep. Shays. "The bottom line is, the crime statistics provided by the cruise industry are inaccurate and inadequate. This must change."

-----------------------
Whitney Smith
Deputy Press Secretary
Senator John Kerry
(202) 224-4159
kerry.senate.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. John Kerry today chaired a hearing on cruise ship safety for the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Sub-Committee. Current statute does not require cruise ships to report even the most serious crimes that happen in international waters to U.S. authorities.

Previous hearings in the House were held by Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT).

Senator Kerry was driven to hold companion hearings in the Senate after meeting Ken Carver, whose daughter Merrian disappeared on a cruise in 2004. Merrian was a resident of Cambridge, MA.

"Passenger safety should be the top priority for the cruise line industry, and it's clear that they have work to do," said Sen. Kerry. "It's just plain wrong that disappearances and serious crimes can occur aboard these ships that are not reported, investigated, or prosecuted.
Shifting legal jurisdictions are no excuse for endangering the safety of cruise ship travelers. Ken Carver's tireless commitment to reforming safety regulations sends a crystal clear message -cruise ships need to take care of their passengers. I'll be introducing legislation in the coming weeks to make these ships safer and hold the industry accountable."

"After multiple hearings, it is clear that we must take action to bring sunshine to the cruise industry," said Rep. Matsui. "Cruise companies must ensure the safety and security of their patrons and act responsibly to prevent crimes from happening. Americans taking cruise vacations have a reasonable expectation to be informed of potential risks to their safety, and to have proper reporting and evidence-gathering in the aftermath of a crime. They have a right to be treated with dignity and respect."

"It's important we continue the efforts to improve cruise ship safety which began in the last Congress, when I chaired the National Security Subcommittee," said Rep. Shays. "The bottom line is, the crime statistics provided by the cruise industry are inaccurate and inadequate. This must change."

-----------------------
Whitney Smith
Deputy Press Secretary
Senator John Kerry
(202) 224-4159
kerry.senate.gov

Bad steering, improper training caused 2006 Crown Princess' tilting

ORLANDO, Florida - Improper training and bad steering by the second officer on a Princess Cruises ship caused the vessel to tilt suddenly in 2006, injuring almost 300 people, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Thursday.

The NTSB said the Crown Princess' captain and crew failed to realize how fast they were going in shallow water, which threw the ship off course. The second officer disengaged autopilot to correct it, then steered the wrong way, the board determined.

"The errors of the captain and staff captain in operating the integrated navigation system resulted from inadequate training," the board said in a synopsis of the accident.

Princess Cruises apologized to passengers Thursday and said it has already made changes requiring further navigation training for crews and better oversight for deck officers.

"We want to assure our passengers, or those who may be thinking about traveling with Princess, that the highest priority for our company is the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew," the Santa Clarita, California-based company said in a statement.

The Crown Princess was headed from Port Canaveral in Florida to New York City to close a 10-day Caribbean trip on July 18, 2006, when it suddenly tilted up to 24 degrees, hurling passengers and objects about the boat.

The captain was not on the bridge at the time, and should have been, the NTSB determined.

The ship had been in service about a month, and the board said there was nothing wrong with it mechanically. Weather and sea conditions were also uninvolved.

Princess Cruises faces a class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles from about 35 passengers who claim severe injury and distress. Dan Rose, an attorney with Kreindler and Kreindler, which represents the class, said the report was not surprising.

"Since the beginning of our investigation we knew that there had been some obvious misconduct by the crew," Rose said. "What is troubling is the lack of training that this crew was given, and the lack of supervision that the captain provided."

As a result of the investigation, the NTSB will recommend enhanced training on navigation systems for International Maritime Organization certification and members of the Cruise Line International Association.

Three British tourists were seriously injured when ice from a glacier crashed down on to a sightseeing boat in the Arctic Ocean.Fifteen other people, 14 of them British, were also hurt in the accident near the Svalbard islands off the Norwegian coast.

The three British tourists and one crew member were flown to Tromso, on the Norwegian mainland, for emergency treatment while the other 14 were treated at an island hospital.

The hurt tourists, whose injuries were not said to be life-threatening, are believed to be aged between 40 and 70.

The luxury ship with 50 tourists on board was sailing close to the towering Horn glacier when large chunks of ice broke off and fell on to the deck.

“The Russian captain said they were tight into the Horn glacier when it calved [splintered],” a Norwegian police spokesman said. Blocks of ice landing in the water tossed the boat and its passengers around violently, the spokesman said. Sightseeing ships routinely sailed close to the glacier but “not as close as this”, he said.

The captain and crew, who sailed the boat to the islands after the incident, will be interviewed by the governor of the islands, who is also chief of police.

By James J. Kilpatrick

In March 1997, the Carlisle family of Ann Arbor, Mich., embarked upon a Caribbean cruise. Their vacation ended abruptly in Cozumel after daughter Elizabeth, 14, fell seriously ill. Last month the resulting lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court. We will know in October if the high court will take the case.

The facts are not in dispute. The Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy was only two days out of Miami when Elizabeth developed serious abdominal pain. She consulted the ship's physician, Dr. Mauro Neri. According to the record, he repeatedly advised the family that she was suffering only from flu. He saw no persuasive evidence of appendicitis. When the pain grew worse, the family flew home. There her ruptured appendix was removed, but not before the teenager had been rendered sterile.

Elizabeth sued the Carnival line in the lower state courts of Florida. She lost in the trial court on Carnival's motion for summary judgment, but won in a District Court of Appeal -- only to lose again last February in the state Supreme Court. In her petition to the U.S. Supreme Court she challenges a line of cases that appear to immunize cruise lines from responsibility for the malpractice of their doctors.

Was this doctor an independent agent or an employee? Before sailing from Miami, Carnival had entered into a contract with Dr. Neri, a resident of London. At a salary of $1,057 a week he was to serve as ship's doctor. He would be introduced as such at a welcoming embarkation party. He would wear an officer's uniform with four gold stripes. His name and photograph would be used in Carnival's promotional materials. By every outward appearance, he was an officer on an ocean-going ship.

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't. The cruise ticket issued to the Carlisles carried a few lines of fine print: The doctor was aboard solely for the convenience of passengers. "He is not and shall not be considered in any respect whatsoever as the employee, servant or agent of the carrier and the carrier shall not be liable ..." et cetera, et cetera.
Was this disclaimer sufficient to quash the girl's suit against Carnival?

The Supreme Court of Florida ruled reluctantly last February that it was indeed sufficient: Carnival was not responsible for the opinions of its salaried shipboard doctor. Citing cases, the court held that Dr. Neri was "an independent contractor." A long line of precedents supports the view that a shipowner "may not be held vicariously liable for the medical negligence of its shipboard doctor."

This opinion by Justice Peggy Quince was closer to quarter-hearted than half-hearted. Florida's highest court was clearly unconvinced by Carnival's defense: "We find merit in the plaintiffs' argument and the reasoning of the District Court." Nevertheless, "we must adhere to the federal principles of harmony and uniformity."

The effect was to reverse a sound opinion from Joseph Nesbitt, senior judge of Florida's 3rd District Court of Appeal. He agreed that a long line of precedents would militate against the young woman, but times have changed since the long line began: "The practical realities of the competitive cruise industry, and the reasonably anticipated risks of taking a small city of people to sea for days at a time, all but dictate a doctor's presence."

"Because it is foreseeable that some cruise passengers at sea will develop medical problems and the only realistic alternative for such an ill or injured passenger is treatment by the ship's doctor provided by the cruise line, there is an element of control over the doctor-patient relationship. ... We hold that the cruise line's duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances extends to the actions of a ship's doctor placed on board by the cruise line."

After all, said Judge Nesbitt, the ship's doctor is an agent of the cruise line. His negligence, if proved, is also the line's negligence:

"A cruise ship is a city afloat with hundreds of temporary citizens, some of whom are passengers and some of whom are the employees and agents of the cruise line who comprise the ship's crew, each of whom, within their particular sphere, owes a duty of reasonable care to the passengers."

Judge Nesbitt's reasoning in the lower Florida court strikes me as too solid to be set aside by outdated precedent. Today's mammoth cruise liners are floating hotels. Ship doctors are indispensable staff. Maritime law ought to treat them as such.

Read the Carlise opinion. This is one of our maritime firm's landmark cases.

Four people are recovering today from injuries they received in a boating accident on the Alafia River.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said the boat apparently struck a bridge piling near I-75 Saturday night.

One victim received serious injuries and was air lifted to Tampa General Hospital. Three other victims were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The investigation into the cause of the accident will be handled by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Man Rescued About 1 Hour After Going In Water

A Maryland man was examined for injuries after being accused of jumping off a cruise ship that had departed from Fort Lauderdale in Florida hours earlier.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bluefin rescued Scott Durrin, 29, of Rockville, Md., about 50 miles east of Boca Raton, Fla., after he reportedly jumped from the Carnival Liberty Sunday night, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard was notified by the cruise ship captain that Durrin had possibly jumped from the cruise ship around 11:35 p.m. Sunday. Durrin was believed to have fallen about 36 feet into the water.

Officials said the Liberty crew threw life rings and jackets into the water, while the Coast Guard sent out a helicopter and rescue.

The Coast Guard cutter was only nine miles away from the Carnival Liberty when the call came in, so the crew arrived to the search area almost immediately and located Durrin less than an hour later at 12:22 a.m.

Petty Officer James Judge said Durrin appeared to be intoxicated. The Carnival Liberty departed from Fort Lauderdale Sunday about 4 p.m. The Cutter Bluefin is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Many cruise ship accidents, sexual assaults and disappearances are alcohol related. Our firm has more information regarding alcohol on cruise ships.

A 65-year-old man died trying to help out his son, whose boat was disabled in the Carrabelle River Monday.

The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission reported today that Glen Roger Buffkin, 65, of Carrabelle, was trapped and died after his 31-foot shrimp boat overturned around 9 a.m. Monday while entering the river.

Buffkin was on the water to help his son, whose boat had broken down.

An 18-year-old passenger on his boat, Nathan Crum, kicked out a cabin window and escaped.

The boat went down in water approximately 15 feet deep.

Investigator Eric Johnston said Crum repeatedly swam down to the cabin but could not locate Buffkin. A passing boat picked up Crum and notified The Moorings marina in Carrabelle who notified law enforcement.

He said a Labrador retriever that went everywhere Buffkin went apparently died in the mishap.

Johnston said Buffkin had gone out on his vessel Monday when his son's boat broke down on Apalachee Bay. Buffkin was returning to land with the broken starter when the accident occurred.

The cause of the accident is unknown, and the investigation will take months.

Buffkin's death marks the 46th confirmed boating fatality in Florida since Jan. 1. In addition, three other boaters are missing at sea off Lee, Pasco and St. Johns counties and presumed drowned.

A small cruise ship ran aground off Greenland's west coast and more than 50 people were evacuated safely Wednesday, the tour operator said.

The Disko II hit rocks near the island of Qeqertarsuaq, but was not believed to be seriously damaged, said Soeren Rasmussen of the Danish tour operator Albatros Travel.

The 52 passengers — all Danes — and two tour guides were taken ashore as a precaution on the ship's lifeboats and small vessels sent from a village on the island, Rasmussen said. The 18-member crew remained aboard.

"Hitting rocks is always something that has to be taken very seriously but people took it very calmly, there was no danger," Rasmussen said.

"No damage to the ship or its double hull has been found," he said, adding that the Disko II had been built to sail in Arctic waters.

The passengers would remain in Qeqertarsuaq, about 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle, while authorities investigated whether the ship could continue its cruise north to Uummannaq, about 310 miles farther north.

The cruise had started in Kangerlussuaq, the site of a former U.S. Air Force base in southwestern Greenland.

The Disko II was built in 1992 to sail passengers along Greenland's west coast during the ice-free months and was converted into a cruise ship in 2004.

The worst accident off Greenland in recent decades happened in 1959, when all 95 passengers and crew members on the Danish liner Hans Hedtoft were killed when the ship sank on its maiden voyage to Denmark in a storm off the southern tip of Greenland.

A mourning family returned to the Hub last night after a Bermuda cruise turned tragic with the death of a beloved 22-year-old from Malden.

Richard Mulloy III fell more than 40 feet off the ship’s upper deck early Wednesday morning.

“I don’t know how to say this,” said his grandfather, Richard Mulloy of Belmont. “He was very humane. He loved his mother and father and was a good kid.”

The cruise was a family reunion trip that had been planned for years.

“The whole family organized it, figured it out and saved the time to put it aside,” said Richard Mulloy Jr., father of the young man who had returned from a night out on St. George’s Island when he fell from the fifth deck to the first deck of the Norwegian Majesty cruise ship.

“They were waiting for an elevator trying to get to a disco on the ship. He fell over the banister between the sets of stairs and fell on the (lower) deck,” Richard Mulloy Jr. said.

Two onboard nurses tried to save Mulloy III after he fell around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, but he died from his injuries within hours at a local hospital, according to a Bermuda police report.

Bermuda police said yesterday the incident is under investigation.

A law enforcement source told the Herald that police have no reason to believe the fall was anything other than an accident.

The younger Mulloy was a graduate of Malden Catholic High School.He was an independent insurance worker and was on the waiting list to become a Malden firefighter.

“He was the middle child in that family. He’s my only grandson. . . . He was named after me - Richard Sullivan Mulloy. He’s the third, but that’s the end of the line now,” the elder Mulloy said somberly.

Richard Mulloy Jr. returned to Boston last night with his wife and two daughters. His son’s body was flown home separately.

“He was a great kid,” said Mulloy Jr. “He could always make everybody laugh. I was proud of him, and everything is sinking in. I’m just in shock.”

Boston Herald
By Colneth Smiley Jr.

A mourning family returned to the Hub last night after a Bermuda cruise turned tragic with the death of a beloved 22-year-old from Malden.

Richard Mulloy III fell more than 40 feet off the ship’s upper deck early Wednesday morning.

“I don’t know how to say this,” said his grandfather, Richard Mulloy of Belmont. “He was very humane. He loved his mother and father and was a good kid.”

The cruise was a family reunion trip that had been planned for years.

“The whole family organized it, figured it out and saved the time to put it aside,” said Richard Mulloy Jr., father of the young man who had returned from a night out on St. George’s Island when he fell from the fifth deck to the first deck of the Norwegian Majesty cruise ship.

“They were waiting for an elevator trying to get to a disco on the ship. He fell over the banister between the sets of stairs and fell on the (lower) deck,” Richard Mulloy Jr. said.

Two onboard nurses tried to save Mulloy III after he fell around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, but he died from his injuries within hours at a local hospital, according to a Bermuda police report.

Bermuda police said yesterday the incident is under investigation.

A law enforcement source told the Herald that police have no reason to believe the fall was anything other than an accident.

The younger Mulloy was a graduate of Malden Catholic High School.He was an independent insurance worker and was on the waiting list to become a Malden firefighter.

“He was the middle child in that family. He’s my only grandson. . . . He was named after me - Richard Sullivan Mulloy. He’s the third, but that’s the end of the line now,” the elder Mulloy said somberly.

Richard Mulloy Jr. returned to Boston last night with his wife and two daughters. His son’s body was flown home separately.

“He was a great kid,” said Mulloy Jr. “He could always make everybody laugh. I was proud of him, and everything is sinking in. I’m just in shock.”

Boston Herald
By Colneth Smiley Jr.

A Greyhound bus slammed into a group of passengers fresh from a Caribbean cruise as they waited to board a bus at Port Everglades Sunday morning, sheriff's officials said.

Six people were transported to Broward General Medical Center with injuries that were not life threatening.

The accident occurred at around 10:40 a.m. at the port's 19th berth at 2019 Eller Drive.

Lindsay McGrath, 23, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, had just spent eight days traveling with Carnival Cruise Lines to San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortula and the Bahamas with her parents, siblings, cousins, aunt and uncle. The group of ten, tanned and rested from their vacation, disembarked from the cruiseliner Sunday morning. They were waiting by their luggage to board a bus to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when the Greyhound lurched toward them, hitting a concrete post first.

"It was two seconds. If it weren't for that [post], I'd be dead," said McGrath as she sat in a wheel chair, right leg raised, at the emergency room of Broward General Medical Center. She was waiting to be treated and said she had no feeling in her right leg.

South Florida Sun-Sentinal

By Jill Schensul
Record Columnist, NorthJersey.com

"I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that."

"Modern," when Capt. Edward John Smith spoke these words, was 1907, on the maiden voyage of the Adriatic. He would be able to imagine such conditions five years later, at the helm of the Titanic. Famous last words.

Reading them today, we may smile bittersweetly at their bravado and irony. Then again, after the grounding of the Empress of the North in Alaska last Monday -- just a little more than a month after the 1,200-passenger Sea Diamond sank in the Aegean Sea -- these words seem more portentous than not.

I, for one, have held the same trust in modern shipbuilding -- our modern, of course, not Titanic modern -- over the years. You'd hear about the occasional problem with a ship catching fire, one going aground. But these were isolated incidents, I told myself. A 1996 survey by the U.S. Coast Guard found that cruising was the safest form of commercial travel.

But these latest [cruise ship] accidents have to give us at least a little pause.

In fact, when I started digging, I realized that cruise ship accidents may not be as rare as we would like to believe. Ross Klein, a professor at Canada's Memorial University and the man behind the Web site cruisejunkie.com, tracks cruise safety issues and has testified before Congress about them. Klein has counted 21 sinkings of passenger ships around the world since 1980, including cruise liners and major ferry operations; he's also counted 76 incidents of passenger ships that have run aground during that time, including 24 involving big companies such as Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

Surprised? Unless these incidents result in significant numbers of injuries or fatalities, the cruise lines, for the most part, are able to keep them out of the public spotlight. For example, when a Princess cruise ship was hit by a rogue wave July 18, 2006, tilting violently and injuring 93 people after it left Port Canaveral, Fla., it was only the most severe of half a dozen similar incidents in one year.

"You didn't hear about the others because cruise lines aren't required to report such events unless they cause serious injuries or property damage," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson.

After the Empress of the North incident, I wondered about the Nordkapp, which had hit something during a cruise in Antarctica just days before I left on a similar cruise. At the time, the cause of the accident was unknown. Since I returned, I found no follow-up, except for a story from a foreign news service questioning whether oil had leaked into the sea.

There had been a swift conclusion to the investigation of the sinking of the Sea Diamond, however. The ship, carrying 1,156 passengers and 391 crew, hit a well-charted reef near the island of Santorini. The captain had blamed sea currents for the accident, but Greece's merchant marine minister concluded that human error was to blame. The captain and five crew members have been charged with negligence.

For ships calling on U.S. ports, the Coast Guard conducts inspections to assure compliance with safety regulations. The Coast Guard also examines each new cruise vessel when it first enters service at a U.S. port to ensure compliance with the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. After that, vessels calling on U.S. ports are subject to quarterly inspections. The examinations emphasize structural fire safety and proper life-saving equipment.

So why, with all these precautions, are there still accidents, especially when today's passenger ships are some of the newest and most technologically advanced ever on the seas?

In some instances, such as the rogue waves, computers have indeed malfunctioned or been stymied by unusual situations.

And in a great many cases, the cause comes down to human error, specifically crew fatigue.

Labor shortages are making for an "absolute crisis," according to Andrew Linington, spokesman for the British seafarers union Nautilus. The time bomb is the aging maritime workforce, he points out. Officers are retiring and replacements with experience and skills are at a premium. "It's only going to get worse," Linington says.

The International Maritime Organization, which oversees safety on the sea, drew up a series of new regulations at its 2005 meeting. Some of these will be in place by the end of the year, the rest by 2009. These regulations require better reinforcement of ship structure and more thought to passenger evacuation.

For now, remember that the Coast Guard says cruises are the safest form of travel.

And if you're so inclined, check out the Port Exchange Information System, cgmix.uscg.mil/psix, which provides a list of active documents and certificates of all ships that call at U.S. ports. Or go to equasis.com, a public Web site (you need to register first) offering safety information on ships.

BREST, France (AFP) - Thirteen people were injured, several of them seriously, when a massive wave struck a passenger ship on Saturday off the coast of Brittany in western France, maritime authorities said.

One man and one woman were swept off the bridge of the Enez Sun, which was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members, and were washed overboard into the sea near Sein Island. The man broke his arm.

They were fished alive out of the water by a trawler that had been alerted to the accident by the coast guard and were airlifted to a hospital in the Brittany port of Brest.

"We were on the deck, we were looking at the dolphins. We were very close to the island when a huge wave hit us from the side. The seats were ripped loose. I was very afraid," said a 17-year-old female passenger.

The captain of the ship told the maritime authorities that a small child was among those who were seriously injured and receiving medical attention in the nearby port of Audierne.

Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece - An Indonesian sailor was killed and another crew member was seriously injured in an accident Monday when a cruise ship was docking at the island of Mykonos, authorities said.

The man was killed after a mooring line snapped, as the Greek-flagged Orient Queen was preparing to leave the island, the Mykonos port authority said. A second Indonesian sailor was hospitalized in serious condition.

The ship's operator, Cypriot-based Louis Cruise Lines, also operated the Sea Diamond cruise ship, which sank off the island of Santorini after striking well-marked rocks April 5. Nearly 1,600 people had been evacuated from that boat, while two French tourists remain missing, presumed drowned.

Associated Press

When you are at sea you are at the mercy of the Shipping Company without any access to independent information. Cruise ship passengers are no longer under many of the laws and protections of the United States. You are in a foreign county such as Liberia or Panama or whatever foreign flag the vessel is flying.

The Cruise S.O.S. Card contains emergency instructions as well as vital emergency contact information that every cruise passenger should have. With cruise ship crime increasing at an alarming pace you have to protect yourself. Download the free Cruise S.O.S. Card now so you and your family have the information you need to protect yourself in the event you are a victim of cruise ship crime.

TEMECULA -- Cruises are usually memorable experiences in themselves, but when the ship sinks the cruise tends to leave a more lasting impression.

Bob and Diane Munday of Temecula were ready to take in the sights of Greece earlier this month aboard the Sea Diamond cruise ship, which sailed through the Aegean Sea. But the last full day of the four-day cruise was interrupted when the boat hit submerged rocks just off Santorini Island on April 4, causing the ship to take on water and eventually sink.

"You could feel when the boat struck the rocks," said Bob Munday, 79. "I thought for a minute that it was the anchor being dropped, but the boat stopped rather quickly, and we were so close to the rock. And then the ship began to tilt."

Six crew members of the Greek-flagged ship, including the captain and the chief mate, have since been charged with negligence. The captain has told investigators he was caught in a sea current that swept his vessel onto the well-marked and charted rocks just minutes before it was due to dock. Two French tourists are believed to have drowned, though their bodies have yet to be recovered.

The Mundays said one of the most difficult parts of getting off the ship was traversing the stairwells in darkness to get to a deck where rescue boats could reach the passengers.

Diane Munday was separated from her husband for about half an hour as the evacuation call for "women and children first" was given.

"It was like 'Titanic,'" she said. "But we were all pretty cool, though my heart got pounding a bit."

None of the passengers were allowed back to their cabins once the evacuation began, so as the boat sank so did all the passengers' luggage and belongings. But the passports were saved, as each passenger had previously given them to the boat's stewards and were guarded carefully.

The ship had 1,156 passengers and 391 crew members. Only Frenchman Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter Maud were unaccounted for. It is thought by investigators the two were trapped in their flooded cabin.

Bob Munday said the passengers were given 200 lira -- roughly $280 -- by cruise officials to purchase clothing and toiletries. But since the accident occurred on the eve of Easter weekend, the stranded tourists found that stores weren't open.

"We went for more than three days without toothpaste and brushes," Bob Munday said. "Once I was able to purchase new slacks, I think the jeans I had been wearing for days were still able to stand on their own."

The passengers formed a camaraderie and locals began to refer to them as the "survivors" and almost always offered them shots of ouzo, a classic Greek spirit.

While some might have viewed the end of the cruise as a signal to end their trip, the Temecula couple who have been married for 54 years traveled on with the remainder of their two-week vacation. They didn't return to California until April 21, when they discovered a new obstacle -- their car keys had sunk with the boat and were now 230 feet beneath the surface of the sea.

Now at home, the pair have had time to reflect on the trip. Bob Munday said the cruise company has offered to compensate him with approximately $1,900 -- and a free cruise on one of the company's other ships.

"I've always wanted to go to Italy, and they have a cruise there," he said. "We'd be willing to go."

"But maybe we'll wait until next year before we travel again," Diane interjected.

While the experience was unexpected, the couple said it was one of the most memorable trips they've ever taken.

"It was really something," Bob Munday said.

-- Staff writer Nicole Sack
-- The Associated Press

If you were aboard the Sea Diamond when it sank, contact our maritime lawyers for a free consultation.

"I don't want you to worry, but our cruise ship is filling with water and we're sinking," my father said in a voice that could not mask his concern. Scrawling furiously in hasty print, I took down the information they dictated: "Cruise ship" as in the Sea Diamond, Louis Cruises, in Greece at Santorini, an [cruise ship] accident a half hour ago, the ship tilting at 30 degrees - sinking. "Contact the State Department, the U.S. Embassy," my father instructed. "Tell them the ship is sinking. There are U.S. citizens aboard. This is not a drill."

"James, I love you very much," my mother said, taking the cell phone with audible tears. "I want you to know if I don't make it that you need to take care of your brothers." As my mother finished, from the background noise of terror and confusion, it seemed as if evil itself was emerging. It had come to consume my parents. Then came the most haunting sound of all: silence.

Staring at the disconnected call on my phone monitor, I was captured by a singular concentration and visceral need to do everything I could to save my parents. I must contact the State Department. I cannot take "no" for an answer. I have to talk to a supervisor. I have to find the number to the U.S. Embassy in Greece. I have to talk to the diplomat in charge. I need them to get out there. I need them to do something.

When I had done all that I could do, I was left with the terrifying realization that the conversation I had with my parents could be our last. My parents' words seemed wholly reminiscent of the fleeting cell phone goodbyes on Sept. 11. Their emotion seemed to emulate the last notes of severed love discovered over the broken bodies of airplane crash victims. With the terrible combination of imagination and fear taking hold, I saw my parents as a trite punchline to a tragic news segment ready to be aired. It felt so frightening. It felt so wrong. It felt so unfair.

They say you find religion in moments of great difficulty. In truth, you don't just find religion, you find God. You want to believe. All doubt is washed away by the gripping need for a savior. You fall to your knees and beg him in every prayer you can recite. Beg him to use his almighty power. Beg him to save. Beg him to make things right again.

My prayers were answered. My father was able to find a child-sized life jacket for my mother and to fight off a grown man from stealing it. My parents were able to stay aboard the tilting ship. They were to able to brave the darkened corridors of the lower deck, blindly holding the collars of those in front of them. They were able to make it down a rope ladder, onto a boat, and to safety.

My parents are home now, alive and ironically worried that their jetlagged biological clocks will deprive them of their weekly dose of 24. They count themselves among the fortunate. Cherishing their survival, they resolve to say everything they always meant but never had a complete opportunity to express: how much they loved their sons.

The lesson I have taken is not to avoid cruise ships, but remember that we are all mortal. Each of us will all be helpless to escape the shadow of death when our time has come. Out of our vulnerability, we must not stand paralyzed, afraid to experience the world. Instead, we should remember to live in the happiness of the present.

The miracle of life has so much to offer: the wave of a friend, the embrace of a family member, the kiss of a loved one, the joy of dreams achieved.

Ultimately, we must live with the realization that each day is a gift, the understanding of what is genuinely important, and, above all, the intention to ensure that those we love know that they are loved. This is how we experience life. This is how we find happiness.

By: James Ng
The Heights

BBC News

Poor fire training and a failure to carry out engine modifications have been highlighted in an accident report into a blaze on a cruise ship (cruise ship accident).

The Calypso was off the coast of Beachy Head, East Sussex, with 708 passengers and staff on board when the fire broke out on 6 May last year.

A failed low pressure fuel pipe flange on a starboard engine was the cause. It had not had "necessary modifications".

The ship had to be towed to Southampton but no-one was injured in the incident.

The Cypriot-registered Calypso, carrying mainly Dutch passengers, was en-route from Tilbury, Essex, to St Peter Port, in Guernsey, when the engine fire was reported just after 0330 BST.

Coastguard helicopters flew firefighters and ambulance paramedics to the vessel, which was about 20 miles south-west of Beachy Head, while lifeboats and merchant ships also went to its aid.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report said there had been similar incidents of flange bolt failure "in the past and over 10 years previously".

It said frequent changes in the vessel's ownership could have been a reason why technical bulletins from the engine makers in 1995 and 1999 "were not effective in ensuring that the necessary modifications were carried out on The Calypso".

The response to the fire from those in charge of the ship was also highlighted in the MAIB report.

It said there were "flaws in the knowledge, experience and training of some of the senior officers", while their actions "did not appear to follow recognised good practice".

The fire only died down, mainly as a result of fuel starvation, due to the swift response of the watchkeeping engineer officer, the report concluded.

But it added that it was "to the credit of the master and the crew that nobody suffered anything more than discomfort".

The Calypso was operated by Louis Cruise Lines (LCL), whose Sea Diamond vessel sank off the Greek island of Santorini earlier this month. Two French passengers are missing, feared drowned.

A statement from the company said it had taken appropriate action in response to the report, including ensuring all staff within the fleet were well informed of the safety issues that had arisen.

"LCL is pleased to note the action to be taken by engine manufacturers to review its distribution processes to ensure owners and operators receive its technical bulletins," it added.

The company also thanked all the authorities involved in the incident, and praised the "prompt action, professionalism and bravery of the Master, his officers and crew".

SANTORINI, Greece -- Students from Palmetto High School in Miami were among the 1,600 passengers aboard a Greek cruise ship that sank on Friday.

Sources told NBC 6 that the students made it off the ship safely.

The ship's final moments above water were caught on tape.

Two French passengers were missing after the Sea Diamond was evacuated, NBC News reported.

The Merchant Marine Ministry said 1,195 passengers -- most of them from North America -- and 391 crew members were on board. About 20 crew members remained on the ship after the three-hour evacuation.

The ship ran aground on Thursday off the Greek island, forcing everyone on board to abandon ship.

Hours later, the ship sank to the bottom of the Aegean Sea.

No one was injured in the evacuation.

The sinking's cause is still under investigation, authorities said.

"We were in our room and we were expecting an alarm if there was a problem," said passenger Katie Sumner. "We heard a big shudder and then the whole boat started to tilt. All of our glasses were sliding everywhere and our warning that the ship was sinking was some of the staff running down the corridor screaming out 'life jackets' and banging on doors."

"I heard a noise, and it was a loud noise, of course," Tom Gatch, a passenger aboard the ship, said. "Then, I stepped out of my cabin and looked and the water was coming down the hallways, and I thought, 'I have to go back inside to get my life jacket ,' but I had to open the door and I didn't have time because now the water was up over my ankles."

Back in South Florida, the Laguerre family prayed that their daughter Arielle was safe. The 11th grader was part of a group from Palmetto Senior High School that was on that cruise.

"I don't know if there are any words at this point to share exactly what we were going through: fear, anxiety," Clifford Laguerre said. "You just want your children to be safe."

Officials said luckily all the passengers are OK and currently back in Athens waiting to fly home.

"Thank God for cell phones," Laguerre said. "It basically was a lifesaver. She was able to text message home and send some information. That relieved our fears."

NBC6.net, South Florida

MIAMI BEACH – A Coast Guard crew evacuated an injured 13-year-old girl from a cruise liner to a Miami hospital after she fell five stories early Friday, a spokesman said.

In an e-mail news release, the Coast Guard said the unidentified girl suffered mild head trauma from the five-deck plunge aboard the 680-foot-long Majesty, which was returning to its home port in Charleston, S.C. The ship is owned by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines.

A company spokeswoman, AnneMarie Mathews, said the child fell down an interior stairwell, and not over a balcony as was earlier reported.

The incident occurred around 6:50 a.m. on Friday about three miles off Miami Beach.

A Coast Guard rendezvoused with the Majesty offshore and transferred the victim into a small boat. She was then brought to the Miami Beach Coast Guard station and at 7:24 a.m. was taken by ambulance to Jackson Memorial Hospital in nearby Miami. A condition report was not immediately available.

Sun-Sentinel.com

Our maritime lawyers have been handling cruise ship injury cases since 1971. Two of our maritime lawyers are rated AV, the highest rating available for both ability and ethics. If you have been injured at sea, contact us now for a free confidential consultation and let us put our experience to work for you.

Some amazing footage of one of largest and fastest passenger cruisers Voyager, caught in a cyclone in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

The article below is an update to the Cruise Passengers Overboard article from a couple of days ago. Still no comment is made as to why the young woman went overboard. However, the majority of cruise ship crimes and cruise passengers overboard involve alcohol.

Do you know what to do if you or someone you love is victim to a crime or accident on a cruise ship? Download the free Cruise S.O.S. card and bring the wallet sized card with you on your next cruise to keep you and your family safe.

Cruise Ship Diver a Cadet
By Tom Roeder
The Gazette, Colorado Springs

An Air Force Academy cadet who stayed afloat for more than four hours after diving off a cruise ship to help a companion who fell overboard is doing well and will be back this weekend, the academy said Friday.

Cadet Ernesto Guzman was aboard a Princess Cruises vessel in the Gulf of Mexico when he took the plunge last weekend to rescue a female companion, according to a number of news accounts. The pair were rescued from their accidental late-night swim four hours later.

An academy spokesman said officials from the school had talked to Guzman, a junior, by telephone and confirmed that he and his friend are doing well.

According to an account by News Channel 5 Belize, a television outlet in a Latin American nation where the ship made a port call, Guzman leapt into the Gulf of Mexico sometime early Sunday during the first day of a cruise that left from Galveston, Texas.

The television report said that the woman with Guzman, identified only as a 20-yearold college student, fell as many as nine stories into the water from a stateroom balcony aboard the 951-foot Grand Princess and that Guzman followed.

It’s unclear what caused the woman to fall.

Grand Princess is scheduled to dock in Galveston today. Julie Benson, director of public relations for Princess Cruises, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.

An Associated Press report said the ship, which carries 2,600 passengers, immediately maneuvered in a bid to rescue the pair and lit up the water with searchlights, but the two were not found in the darkness. Passengers were asked to be silent while crew members listened for cries from the overboard couple.

The two were located by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, which used its spotlight to guide rescue craft from the cruise ship, the Coast Guard said Friday. Both were fully clothed when rescued.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Thomas Blue at the Coast Guard’s New Orleans headquarters said the service has determined what happened on the ship was an accident and doesn’t require further investigation.

Academy spokesman Meade Warthen said Guzman credited his survival with training he received at the academy.

All cadets are required to take an extensive water survival course, which includes how to leap into the water from a high-dive platform and how to stay afloat by inflating clothing with air.

The rigorous training is designed for pilots who might be forced to ditch an aircraft at sea.
The Belize station reported that Guzman’s companion was trained as a lifeguard.

Guzman and his companion were treated for minor injuries after their rescue, the television station reported, and the woman returned home to Colorado after the ship stopped in Mexico.

Over the Rail
Washington Post

The dramatic rescue at sea last week of two cruise passengers who fell off the balcony of the Grand Princess ocean liner made CoGo wonder: How often do cruisers fall overboard?

There's no official source keeping count, but Canadian professor Ross Klein, a self-described cruise junkie, lists 75 accounts of cruise passengers going overboard since 2003 on his Web site, http://www.cruisejunkie.com. He gathers his information mainly through news clippings. His list includes people who were saved and apparent suicides.

Between 2003 and 2005, 24 people went missing from ships that are members of the Cruise Lines International Association, according to the trade group, whose membership includes most lines operating out of North America. The FBI investigated 12 disappearances of people from cruise ships between January 2002 and February 2007, according to the FBI. That number doesn't reflect all cruise-related missing-persons cases, because the FBI has limited jurisdiction over crimes aboard ships.

It's hard to say what happened in the cases investigated "due to the inability to locate bodies," an FBI official told Congress last week. However, investigators believe alcohol was involved in five cases; foul play was suspected in four.

The 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman who fell overboard last week are very lucky not to be showing up in missing-persons stats. After a four-hour search, the woman was found about 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, Tex. As she was being hoisted aboard, rescuers spotted the man. He decided to continue the cruise; the woman returned home. At the request of the passengers, details about how it happened are not being released, according to a Princess Cruises spokeswoman.

Reporting by Cindy Loose

By Macollvie Jean-Francois of Sun-Sentinel.com
& Sarah Lundy of the Orlando Sentinel

Coast Guard crews found a 35-year-old man alive far offshore in the Atlantic ocean on Friday, hours after he reportedly fell from a cruise ship about 30 miles east of Fort Lauderdale.

Coast Guard rescuers aboard a cutter saw Michael Mankamyer, a hospital technician from Orlando, waving his arms and screaming for help about 8:45, said spokesman Petty Officer 1st Class Dana Warr. He'd been in the water around eight hours after he was reported overboard.

"It's pretty miraculous that he's still alive," Warr said. "It's not that it doesn't happen, but it's few and far between when we're trying to find someone that jumps from a cruise ship."

Warr said Mankamyer had no floatation device or other safety gear on him when he fell 60 feet. They do not know yet how he managed to survive.

Mankamyer, who family and friends said is an imaging technician with Florida Hospital, had drifted 15 miles.

Mankamyer was in good condition, suffering from mild hypothermia and a collapsed lung, when rescuers aboard the Miami cutter Chandeleur airlifted him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Margaret Wega of Orlando, said Mankamyer was on the cruise with her son, Salvie, to celebrate the boy's 16th birthday. She said he has spoken to her son but he wasn't able to talk about what happened.

"I didn't want to think the worst when I heard what happened," she said. "I thank God he's OK."

The cruise ship Carnival Glory, which is based in Port Canaveral, reported the man missing to the Coast Guard about 12:45 a.m. Friday.

The ship reported that Mankamyer had fallen or jumped from the balcony in his room down 60-feet into the water, a Coast Guard statement said.

A witness said Mankamyer was intoxicated, Warr said.

After the cruise ship alerted authorities early Friday, it stayed in the area to assist with the search, Warr said.

``The time that they did spend was appreciated,'' Warr said.

The search was conducted by the cruise ship, another cruise ship called the Disney Magic, the Coast Guard cutters Chandeleur and Vigorous and a helicopter.

In a prepared release, Carnival said the passenger went overboard while the ship was en route to Nassau, The Bahamas, its scheduled port of call. It was on a seven-day cruise that departed Port Canaveral on March 10. Upon learning of the missing passenger, the ship's command notified the Coast Guard, then helped in search and rescue activities until 4:20 a.m. when it was released and continued on its itinerary. The Glory will arrive at Nassau on Friday, slightly behind schedule. After spending the day in port, the vessel will depart for Port Canaveral, arriving on Saturday and loading another group of passengers for another seven-day voyage.

This young man died after a prank, but could he have been rescued?
Mark Russell
March 4, 2007

It is more than two years since Andrew Gready jumped overboard on the P&O cruise ship Pacific Sky and his family are still searching for answers as to why he was not rescued after being spotted treading water 30 metres from the ship.

Andrew's father, Trevor, of Stawell, has vowed never to give up fighting for an inquest to be held into his 24-year-old son's death, which he believes was caused by a prank that went terribly wrong.

Mr Gready claims his son was desperately treading water for almost an hour but the ship bungled the rescue attempt.

He said the family had been trying ever since without success to obtain video footage taken by a passenger showing what happened on the night, as well as a Queensland water police report on Andrew's drowning.

Mr Gready claimed he saw the police report the day after his son went overboard that indicated Andrew had still been in the water calling out for help at 2.47am — 16 minutes after P&O launched a lifeboat to rescue him.

The Gready family, who hired a helicopter to try to find Andrew after he had disappeared, hopes that if they can obtain this crucial information the Victorian coroner will finally agree to hold an inquest into Andrew's death.

They claim one of the lifeboats being lowered to try to rescue Andrew jammed.

P&O denies the claim and says that while two lifeboats were lowered, the 30-knot wind and five-metre swell meant that only the boat on the starboard side — the opposite side from where Andrew had jumped — could be launched.

P&O says the lifeboat was in the water by 2.31am but by the time it reached his position he could not be found.

Andrew had been drinking heavily when he jumped overboard at 2.10am and a spotlight found him treading water at 2.24am about six kilometres off Caloundra in Queensland on Saturday, January 8, 2005.

He had been celebrating the last night of a 10-night cruise with his father, mother Jeanett, and younger siblings Christopher and Rebecca.

Fellow passengers threw lifebuoys and pool furniture into the water in the hope that Andrew could grab hold of them to stay afloat, while the ship's crew used flares and strobe lights to mark the spot where he was last seen.

Search crews scoured the coast for most of the week until police called off the search after six days.

"I'd just like to find out what happened," Mr Gready told The Sunday Age.

"All we're looking for is answers — why they couldn't find him, why the rescue failed that night.

"We believe the rescue systems on these cruise ships are too outdated; they're just laughable."

Mr Gready said he could not understand why P&O did not equip its ships with the more-portable Zodiac liferafts and inflatable boats.

"It's been two years now but it's still very hard on the family; all his brothers and sisters were very close (the Greadys had six children) and Jeanett still can't talk about it.

"I don't blame the crew; they did the best they could with what they had. It was just all too slow. I mean, he was only 30 metres off the side of the ship and to this day I don't understand why someone didn't jump in and swim over to him.

"I'm just hoping an inquest will force P&O to lift their game."

P&O spokesman John Richardson said the cruise ships were equipped with UK Transport Department-approved sea rescue craft that could operate safely in any ocean in the world.

He said "man overboard" drills were conducted regularly and the company did not accept that the attempt to rescue Mr Gready had been carried out in "anything other than an efficient and proper manner".

Andrew's drowning is one of a string of incidents on P&O vessels, including claims by a girl, 16, that she was raped on the Pacific Star (police decided not to lay any charges over the claims because of a lack of evidence) and the death of Brisbane mother Dianne Brimble, who died on the floor of a Pacific Sky cabin after ingesting a mixture of alcohol and the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, dubbed "fantasy", in 2002.

In a statement, P&O said the company acknowledged it had a responsibility to create a safe environment for passengers.

P&O said measures recently introduced to improve safety on its ships included:

■ An increase in the number of trained and licensed security personnel.
■ The installation of CCTV surveillance in public areas.
■ Baggage screening and personal X-ray at embarkation.
■ The use of drug sniffer dogs at the start of all cruises.
■ Random scanning for drugs at overseas ports.
■ Prohibiting passengers taking alcohol on board.
■ The closure of bars from 4am to 10am.
■ An overhaul of responsible service of alcohol policies.
■ Changes to remuneration arrangements for bar staff so they no longer received commission on alcohol sales.
■ A new "excessive behaviour" policy, with passengers engaging in such behaviour ordered off at the next port of call, with no fare refund.

P&O's logbook of trouble
■ September 24, 2002 Mother of two Dianne Brimble, 42, dies on the floor of a cabin on the Pacific Sky after ingesting a mixture of alcohol and the drug fantasy. Eight Adelaide men have been named as "persons of interest" in her death.
■ March 2003 Pacific Sky is forced to abort a cruise from Auckland to Tonga after water floods into the hull.
■ November 2004 Pacific Sky cruise is delayed from Brisbane after a school of jellyfish shuts down the ship's engines.
■ January 2005 Andrew Gready, 24, of Stawell, disappears after jumping overboard from the eighth level of the Pacific Sky off the coast near Caloundra.
■ March 2005 Pacific Sky passengers are flown home from New Caledonia after the ship experiences mechanical problems.
■ April 2006 Australian woman Kathryn Sheppard Irwin, 20, dies after a jet ski accident while on a week-long P&O cruise off the island of Penang in Malaysia.
■ January 2007 Girl, 16, claims she was raped on the Pacific Star (left) after a Hawaiian-themed fancy-dress party as the ship returned from Port Douglas. Police decide not to lay any charges because of a lack of evidence.

Sun-Sentinel.com staff & wires

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- An American senior citizen aboard a tour bus killed an alleged mugger by breaking his neck with his bare hands while his traveling companions fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.

The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the Marines, put the 20-year-old in a head lock and broke his neck after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and .38 caliber gun held up the tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose.

"His neck was completely snapped," Hernandez said.

The suspect, Warner Segura, was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.

The two other men fled when the 12 senior citizens defended themselves during Wednesday's attack.

"One of the tourists was a former Marine and he was probably the one who broke (Segura's) neck," Hernandez said.

The Americans had gotten off their tour bus to take photos in a notoriously rough neighborhood a short drive from Limon.

After the attack, they put Segura's body on their bus and found a police officer in Limon to report the incident. Afterward, the Red Cross treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said Thursday.

The tourists left on the Carnival cruise ship Liberty after the incident and Hernandez said authorities do not plan to press charges against them.

``They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up,'' he said.

Hernandez said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.

In a media statement, Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines said the attack occurred during an outing at a Limon beach which a group of a dozen passengers had arranged on their own.

``According to witnesses, while sightseeing at a local beach, the group of guests were approached by three assailants, one of whom was armed,'' the statement said.

``The victims struggled with the armed perpetrator, and were able to disarm him. During this process, the gunman's two accomplices fled the scene. In the course of disarming and restraining the assailant, he died from apparent asphyxiation.''

Neither the Costa Rican police nor Carnival identified the man involved in the struggle with the mugger.

The cruise line said the guests were questioned by local law enforcement and then returned to the ship. The ship's departure from Limon was slightly delayed.

``All of the guests involved, who had booked the cruise together as a group, have opted to continue with their vacation plans. Carnival is providing full support and assistance to the guests,'' according to the statement.

The ship is on an eight-day western Caribbean cruise that departed Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades on Feb. 17 with scheduled stops in Costa Maya, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama. It is scheduled to return to Fort Lauderdale early Sunday.

Staff Writer Macollvie Jean-Francois contributed to this report as did the Associated Press.

The maritime lawyers of Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A. have significant experience in handling injury and death claims arising from cruise ship shore excursions.

Richard Stopford's first person account of the Antarctic cruise ship that crashed into rocks last week.

A Royal Navy vessel had to come to the rescue of a cruise ship that crashed into rocks last week during a trip to Antarctica.

The MS Nordkapp, carrying 295 passengers, hit the rocks near Deception Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. The passengers, who were midway through a 20-day cruise with the Norwegian line Hurtigruten, feared for their lives after the impact, which left an 80ft hole in the ship's side through which oil poured out and water came in. Critics say the cruise ship accident highlights the vulnerability of cruises in remote waters.

Richard Stopford, 54, from Farnham in Surrey, was one of the 17 Britons on board. Here is his account:

"It was meant to be the trip of a lifetime. Heading to the furthest reaches of the Antarctic by boat had always been on my "do before I die" list. But I didn't expect the prospect of death to come into the equation while doing the £6,000 trip.

We were into our second week at sea when we chugged out of Whalers Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula. I was on the top deck chatting to a wily 80-year-old naval captain when disaster struck at about 2.30pm.

One moment he was saying we were a little too close to the rocks, the next it sounded as though a bomb had exploded as our 12,000-tonne boat careered into the rocks.

Passengers were flung to the floor with the tables, chairs and smashed crockery as the boat juddered to a halt. The woman next to me clutched her badly injured wrist and screams could be heard all around. Then there was total silence.

People staggered to their feet, disorientated and in shock, wondering what had happened. Many passengers - a mix of all nationalities - were elderly and feared for their lives. Many thought about the Titanic: our boat had already tilted by 15 degrees, which suggested we were taking on water, and we were miles from any help.

Press reports that we simply ran aground were wide of the mark. The rocks gashed a hole the length of two double-decker buses in the side and oil was pouring out, causing untold damage to marine life.

We managed to reverse back into the bay, but could not have got much further.

What exactly happened? How had we managed to hit the rocks? Was there no one on the bridge? We passengers were impatient to be told.

Eventually the captain announced that we were not in any danger. He informed us that a sister ship, the MS Nordnorge, had been told to abandon its planned cruise and come to our rescue, though it was still a day's sailing away. A call went out to the Royal Navy. Luckily the HMS Endurance was in the area, although it would take 10 hours to reach us. In the meantime, we were offered free internet access and a satellite phone to tell loved ones we were alive and well.

When the Endurance arrived, divers were sent below to assess the situation and helicopters buzzed overhead. By the next morning, the Nordnorge had arrived and the decision was taken to abandon ship.

I rushed to the cabin to put on my life-jacket as small boats arrived to transfer passengers. Divers were in the water in case anyone fell in - you would last only a matter of minutes in waters of this temperature.

As we boarded the Nordnorge, we realised it was not just our cruise that was ruined. Many of its own passengers and staff were in tears. Some of us volunteered to help the overworked maids get makeshift beds ready.

I was one of the lucky ones who got a bed, but many were forced to spend three nights on mattresses on the floor.

A few sleepless nights later I finally arrived home, exhausted and unnerved by the whole experience. We had been handed a letter from Hurtigruten thanking us for our "good spirits" and promising compensation. I have yet to hear how much, but whatever it amounts to I'm not sure I'll be rushing to take a cruise again."

The story below is really horrifying and re-iterates points we have been bringing up on our maritime law blog since its inception. When you are at sea you are at the mercy of the shipping company. You have to be prepared to protect yourself and your family, under any circumstances and in any situation...and you can not rely on the shipping company to help you.

One resource we believe is helpful for persons about to depart on a cruise is the Cruise SOS web site. The site provides a free card which you can download and keep in your wallet while you are on your cruise. The wallet sized card contains emergency contact information including the FBI, Coast Guard, maritime lawyers and more. As well as steps to take to protect yourself and your rights in case you are injured or are the vicitim of crime on a cruise ship. We highly recommend all cruise passengers carry this card with them. Its a very simple step to take and will provide you with the knowledge you need most if you are forced into a bad situation on a cruise ship.

On a Cruise, Law of the Sea can be Rocky

BY ELLEN CREAGER
FREE PRESS TRAVEL WRITER

One moment, they were enjoying a pleasant 12-day Mediterranean cruise on the Grand Princess. The next moment, they were stranded in Kusadasi, Turkey, unable to call home, $5,800 in debt and afraid.

How did Yvonne Boike of Berkley and her fianci, Nick Panos of St. Clair Shores, go from cruising delight to disaster in just a few short hours?

Their tale is not just a personal travel horror story. It's a wake-up call for anyone who cruises.

As cruise lines add exotic ports of call in distant destinations, passengers may not realize that in an emergency they will likely be dropped off at any port in a personal storm -- even a remote one in a faraway land. When it happens, you'll be on your own. And travel insurance may not protect you.

"I'm still having nightmares," says Boike. It started Sept. 7, when Panos woke up on day six of the cruise, sick to his stomach and coughing up blood. The couple hurried to the ship's clinic. There, a doctor did about $1,000 worth of tests. Concerned that Panos had something more serious or contagious, he told them both would have to disembark and go to the hospital on shore.

Panos asked if they could delay until the cruise reached Greece, where he had friends. No, said the doctor. They asked whether Boike could remain aboard since she wasn't sick. She couldn't.

A ship's nurse called their travel insurer, Travelex, and the couple was whisked off the ship into a Turkish ambulance in Kusadasi, a resort village in the Aegean Sea.

"I was in shock," says Boike. "But I assumed they would call our emergency contacts or the U.S. Embassy for us." She assumed wrong.

Out to sea

Nearly 12 million people cruise worldwide each year. Almost none of them realize one major fact, says Mark Pastronk, a travel attorney in Washington, D.C.: "A cruise ship is not really a floating resort. It is more like a foreign country, and you're pretty much on your own.

"You are at sea, legally. American law doesn't apply to a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. You're nowhere."

Cruise ship passengers can be put off wherever and whenever the staff sees fit. They don't have to take you back. They are also not obligated in an emergency to call your emergency contact.

"Every one of those is an 'it depends' type of thing," says Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, which counts Princess as a member.

"Cruise lines generally have port agents who know the port and facility," he said. "They rely heavily on a port agent to handle medical arrangements and evacuations as necessary."

But what if something goes wrong? How does he suggest passengers protect themselves? "Consider taking out travel insurance."

Isolated in the hospital

Princess contends that Boike and Panos could have called family from the cruise ship, and that the policy is not to make the partner of an ill person disembark. Yet, the couple says they never had a chance to call their families, and Boike was forced off.

The couple were not cruise novices. It was Panos' 17th cruise and Boike's 10th. The two senior citizens were healthy when the cruise boarded in Rome, stopping at Monte Carlo, Florence, Naples and Kusadasi, en route to Greece.

Now, the couple found themselves at Kusadasi Private Hospital, in a room with a bed, folding couch, no working telephone, and no one who spoke English. For two days, they had no contact with the outside world. He lay sick in bed, an IV needle strapped to his hand.

Late the second day, a mysterious man came in and told them he was working with their insurance company. Boike used the man's cell phone to call her surprised daughter, Cindy Cobb, in New Hampshire.

"That's when we found out the cruise line had notified nobody," Boike says. "We disappeared and nobody even knew where we were."

Meanwhile, who was the mysterious man? Princess contends he was a representative of its port agent. Boike doubts it: "If he was from Princess, it was news to me."

By the time the phone in their room was finally fixed on the third day and they called Travelex, the agent told Boike, "We've been looking for you."

Buying travel insurance

Since 9/11, Americans have become more cautious world travelers. Thirty percent now take out trip insurance, and an estimated 1 in 6 of those will file a claim. Among cruise passengers, 70% take out insurance, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. It costs between 4% and 8% of the trip cost, or about $160 for a $3,000 cruise.

"A lot of people get the cheapest thing, which is penny wise and dollar foolish," says Travelex spokeswoman Chris Buggy. Most important are medical coverage and a policy that pays for the unused portion of an interrupted trip.

Insurance is critical for a cruise, say travel attorneys.

Why? Mishaps at sea are governed by 19th-Century maritime law, making it hard to win any lawsuit, even for injury or medical mishaps. Cruise lines' passage contracts limit or deny liability for anything that might go wrong on a ship, whether it's missed ports, personal injury, theft, blunders by doctors, beauticians or gym instructors, injury on a shore excursion, even bad food.

If your ship does not touch a U.S. port, you have even less protection.

Here's what the Princess contract says: "The ship has the right to confine you to your room or disembark you at any time if its personnel decides your presence might be detrimental to your health or someone else's."

You pay first

By the fourth day, Panos was feeling better. A doctor told him he had gotten a gastric infection but was not contagious. He was ready to rejoin the cruise, which had cost the couple $7,000. But the Grand Princess had long departed.

The only option was to find a way to get home.

That's when they found out their $92 bare-bones travel insurance policy wouldn't cover Boike's $1,300 plane ticket from Turkey to Detroit or the cost of the unused portion of their trip.

Also, it wouldn't pay medical costs up front. Panos would have to pay $4,800 to the hospital.

While declining to comment specifically on this case, Buggy of Travelex said that's the way most travel insurance medical plans operate.

You pay first. They pay later.

'Somebody dropped the ball'

Early on Sept. 11, Panos paid Kusadasi Private Hospital $4,800 with his Visa card. They paid another 150 euros ($190) cash for a shuttle to the Izmir Airport 80 kilometers away. They flew to Istanbul, slept 7 hours overnight inside the airport, then flew to Frankfurt, then finally back to Detroit.

The couple has since written to Princess, asking to be reimbursed for Boike's $1,300 flight. They also want credit for the six days of the cruise they missed.

Most of all, they want an apology.

"The question we have is, where was customer care?" Panos says.

More than a month has now gone by. The couple has not heard from Princess, but the Princess statement to the Free Press disputes the couple's claims: "We regret that Mr. Panos is unhappy with the circumstances and events following his disembarkation. ... It is unfortunate that Mr. Panos did not have the proper travel insurance arrangements."

The ICCL's Michael Crye says it sounds like a giant misunderstanding.

Says Florida cruise industry analyst Stuart Chiron: "Somebody definitely dropped the ball."

Last week, Travelex paid up, reimbursing Panos for his $5,800 medical expenses on board and on land.

The Grand Princess left the Mediterranean on Wednesday to spend the winter cruising in the Caribbean out of Galveston, Texas.

Panos and Boike are cruising again. They'll take another one in Hawaii in December, on Celebrity.

But Panos says he has learned something that cruise lines definitely won't want passengers to hear:

"I learned that unless you are on death's door or break a leg, never go to the ship's doctor."

This article follows up on our blog posts regarding the Star Princess fire and death of cruise passenger Richard Liffridge. The family of the deceased cruise passenger are filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the cruise line as well as are lobbying for legislation to make cruise ships safer.

Siblings Take on Cruise Line after Father’s Death

By Jeff Brown
Staff writer
The Dover Post

Richard Liffridge’s children intend to make sure no other family endures the heartbreak they must bear for the rest of their lives.

An Air Force tech sergeant who retired at Dover Air Force Base, Liffridge and his wife Vicky were on a Caribbean cruise March 23 when a fire broke out aboard their ship, the Star Princess. The fire damaged or destroyed 283 cabins – and killed Liffridge.

Shortly thereafter, Phil Liffridge and his sisters, Michele Norris and Doris Henry, all of Dover, and Lynnette Hudson of Bear, set up the non-profit Richard Liffridge Foundation in honor of their father. Their goal is to bring about tougher fire regulations aboard cruise ships and to lobby for legislation to make cruise ships safer.

They also plan a wrongful death lawsuit against Princess Cruises, owners of the Bahamas-registered Star Princess.

The official report on the fire, published Oct. 23 by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), placed the blame on an unknown smoker whose cigarette ignited plastic partitions and furniture on one of the stateroom balconies surrounding the exterior of the ship. While room sprinklers kept the blaze from spreading to the interior, choking black smoke from the burning plastic blocked inboard escape routes.

Awakened by fire alarms shortly after 3 a.m., Liffridge and Vicky struggled out of their stateroom and into a hallway, but failed to reach fresh air. Vicky was one of 13 people later treated for smoke inhalation.

Liffridge succumbed to the toxic fumes, his death at first attributed to a heart attack.

The picture of health
“I said, ‘Yeah, right,” Henry said of the news her father had died of a coronary.

At the age of 72, Liffridge had the look and energy of a man 10 years his junior. He was self-conscious about his weight, so he ate properly and exercised regularly at a basement gym in his Locust Grove, Ga., home, Henry said. Her father enjoyed traveling and he and Vicki rarely missed the chance to socialize with their friends. The cruise was a belated celebration of Liffridge’s birthday, which had taken place March 11.

“He was at the peak of his life,” Henry said.

“Who would have thought he’d be celebrating his birthday and then have so much tragedy?” Norris said.

Although they stop short of accusing the cruise line of deliberate insensitivity, Liffridge’s children feel the Princess Cruise officials were slow to react to the aftermath of the tragedy. Even though Hudson was listed as an emergency contact, no one from the cruise line called to notify her, they said. They found out about their father’s death when their distraught stepmother telephoned from Jamaica, seven hours after the fire was extinguished.

The cruise line also seemed more interested in smoothing things over with survivors whose vacations had been interrupted by the fire than with helping her family, Hudson said.

“They were focused on taking care of people who were inconvenienced, not on the family of the man who died,” Hudson said.

While the cruise line made sure the Star Princess’ passengers got a rebate for the incomplete cruise and a discount on their next excursion, the Liffridge family had to pay to have their father’s remains returned to the United States, Hudson said.

A start, but more needs to be done
Cruise lines, including Princess, started replacing plastic balcony dividers and furniture soon after the Star Princess fire and are acting on additional MAIB recommendations that include posting extra fire watches aboard ship. The United Nations-sponsored International Maritime Organization also is set to discuss new balcony fire safety requirements this December.

But more needs to be done, according to the Liffridge family.

Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., is co-sponsoring legislation in Congress that would require cruise ships calling at U.S. ports to report incidents involving U.S. citizens within four hours. Working through the Liffridge Foundation, the siblings also hope to influence Congress to ban smoking on cruise ships, except within designated areas.

Despite these efforts, Hudson and her sisters and brother know they’re just reacting to an industry that failed to be proactive.

And although they realize their lobbying efforts and the wrongful death lawsuit, if successful, won’t bring their father back, it may help him rest easier.

“Our focus is to make sure this never happens again,” Hudson said.

“No amount of money will replace our loss,” she added. “The main thing for us is that another family does not have to go through this like we did.”

Another cruise ship passenger was reported missing today. A 73 year old British passenger was on a Celebrity Cruise ship off of Portugal and did not disembark in the Medeira, Portugal port.

A crew member reported the cruise passenger disappearance when the man had not used his cabin. He was travelling alone.

Celebrity said that the captain immediately reversed the course and began an search as well as notified British, Portuguese and Bahamian officials, as well as the FBI. The ship continued its 14 night trans-Atlantic cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Miami.

Missing persons at sea require a search and rescue. Once a person is reported missing the shipping company has a duty to do a reasonable search and rescue. If the person is not quickly found on board the vessel, then the vessel should return to the last location at sea when the person was seen. The failure to perform a reasonable search and rescue can render the shipping company liable for the disappearance of the person.

We have extensive experience handling cruise ship passenger disappearance cases. We recommend that anyone about to go on a cruise take the Cruise S.O.S. Card with them. The Cruise S.O.S. Card includes important information including emergency steps to take incase of accident, crime or disappearance of you or your family members when you are on a cruise.

The death of cruise passenger Richard Liffridge, 72, on the Crown Princess last March was caused by a discarded cigarrette butt. Marine reports indicate a cigarette started the cruise ship fire, which then spread rapidly using the plastic balcony partitions as fuel.

In a statement issued by Princess Cruises (a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines) issued on Monday, they apologized to the passengers and crewmembers that were aboard on March 23rd. Princess Cruises also said that they followed every safety recommendation, including the replacement of combustible furniture, flooring and balcony partitions as well as additional training for crew to better respond to cruise ship fires. But cigarette smoking has not been banned.

Read the entire article, Deadly cruise blaze on Star Princess blamed on cigarette, plastic partitions in the Sun-Sentinel .

If you or someone you love has been injured aboard a cruise ship, contact the maritime lawyers of Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A. for a free consultation and let us put our experience to work for you.

Montel Williams is airing a show on Monday (10/16/063) called Dream Trips Turn Tragic. The show will include an interview with one of our maritime law firm's cruise ship sexual assault clients. The show will also interview familty members of passengers that have disappeared on cruise ships.

We will try to get a copy of the show to post on this blog after it has aired. Check your local listings to see what time Montel Williams is on in your area and watch it on Monday.

Here's the summary on the show about cruise ship vacations turning tragic:

When most people get ready to take their dream vacation, they plan what to pack, what to do and where to go, but they rarely plan on how to stay safe. We’ll meet people who say they were on their dream trips when tragedy struck…and their lives will never be the same. We’ll meet Laurie, who says she was raped on a cruise ship while on vacation. We’ll also meet Melinda and Duane, whose relaxing holiday turned into a terrifying adventure when they were targeted by thieves. They were on vacation driving down the coast in Costa Rica, when they ran into a gang of gun-toting bandits on the highway. They were shot at until they were able to finally find safety in a small town restaurant. We’ll talk to Sue, Ron, and Katie, a family left with many unanswered questions after their son (Katie's brother) Daniel went missing from a cruise ship. Daniel was on his first week-long vacation with his friends when he became sick one night while alone on the ship's deck. He was leaning over the railing of the cruise ship and suddenly fell overboard. Kimberly Dean-Edwards, a legislative board member for International Cruise Victims will also join us to talk about her work with Congress to try and get a bill passed that will hold cruise lines more accountable for crimes and missing person cases at sea. We’ll also meet Sandee and her two children, Ryan and Krysta. While on a family vacation in Florida, Sandee’s then 13-year-old son Ryan, got caught up in rough water in the Gulf of Mexico. Her husband Larry and another man on the beach raced into the water to save him. Ryan managed to get to shore safely but Larry was still caught in the riptide. Sandee arrived at the water’s edge to find beachgoers attempting to drag Larry to safety. Unfortunately, Larry drowned trying to save his son’s life.

We've come across a web site we wanted to share with anyone about to go on a cruise. It's called Cruise S.O.S. and offers a wallet sized card with information that every cruise passenger should have with them at all times in case of emergency. You simply print out the card from the web site (it's free) and take it with you on your cruise. Then in case of emergency (such as cruise ship crime or passenger overboard, even a slip and fall) you have all the information and instructions you need to keep you and your family safe. The instructions are very good and we recommend any cruise passengers take this with them on their next cruise. It's almost like cruise insurance, but it's free.

Here's some information from their web site:

When you are at sea you are at the mercy of the Shipping Company without any access to independent information. Cruise ship passengers are no longer under many of the laws and protections of the United States. You are in a foreign county such as Liberia or Panama or whatever foreign flag the vessel is flying.

The Cruise S.O.S. Card contains emergency instructions as well as vital emergency contact information that every cruise passenger should have. With crimes ship crime increasing at an alarming pace you have to protect yourself. Download the free Cruise S.O.S. Card now so you and your family have the information you need to protect yourself in the event you are a victim of cruise ship crime.

Another cruise passenger disappearance to report. It is very important that people realize that they must be careful on a ship and that it is not a totally secure enviorment. More on the latest cruise passenger disappearance to come....

Alcohol on cruise ships has been the topic of a media newsblitz with passengers overboard and cruise ship crimes such as cruise rapes being alcohol involved. According to this article in Seatrade Insider, Australia is taking steps to better manage alcohol on cruise ships.

If someone you know has been the victim of a crime on a cruise ship and alcohol was involved, contact us for a confidential consultation. We have extensive experience in handling these types of cases.

Read the article, from Seatrade Insider, below:

Continue reading "Australia Takes Steps with Respect to Excessive Drinking on Cruises" »

The catastrophe last week with Pricess Cruises newest ship, the Crown Princess, was caused by human error. Pricess Cruises has admitted responsilbility for the accident and personnel changes have been made, but the captain remains and Princess states they have the utmost confidence in him.

In a similar accident last February, also on a Princess cruise ship, the final investigator report concluded human error as well.

As far as the final count for injuries, there was a total of 240 passengers injured, 20 or more of them seriously. One passenger still remains hospitalized with critical injuries. You can read the latest story by CBS here.

Our maritime lawyers have been contacted by many injured Crown Princess passengers. We have over 30 years experience in handling cruise ship injury claims. If there is something we can do to assist please contact us.

Dozens were injured on the Crown Princess yesterday when the cruise ship tilted up to 30 degrees according to some reports. According to local TV news reports last night, up to 90 cruise passengers were transported to the hospital, 2 in critical condition and 9 or 10 in serious condition. This was only the fourth voyage for Princess Cruises new ship, the Crown Princess.

Crown Princess cruise passengers reported that the "list" (tilting of the ship) was so severe that the water in the pool was completely emptied. Passengers were being thrown against the glass railings and parents feared their children going overboard. One passenger said it was the scariest thing she had ever experienced in her life.

Cruise ships are required to be tested extensively before going to sea with passengers, and this testing was supposedly done but early reports show that what could be a stabilizer defect was just not detected. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that Princess Cruises has had injuries caused by defective stabilizers.

Princess Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines.

If you or someone you love was injured on the Crown Princess they should consult an experienced maritime attorney as soon as possible.

With fuel prices on the rise and and an abundance of negative press on the cruise industry, they are looking for ways to cut costs. Slowing the ship can cut fuel prices, thereby bringing the industry hefty savings. Slower ships may mean less ports of call on each trip, meaning less stops for the cruise enthusiast.

Read the article on AOL Business News.

Joseph A Kinney, a leading security and safety expert, has published a report on cruise ship safety issues for Congressman Shays. The report which is titled "The Slippery Slope of Security in the Cruise Industry" makes several recommendations that cruise lines could adopt to increase safety aboard its ships.

We have posted the entire report for you to download here , or you can continue reading this post for the report in its entirety.

Continue reading "Cruise Ship Safety Recommendations" »

If you are interested in hiring an admiralty attorney, you can review their results by going to Lexis or Westlaw and doing a search for that lawyer's results both in the trial court and the appellate court.

Continue reading "Admiralty Attorneys, How to Pick the Right One" »

An Egyptian cruise ship sank off the coast of Egypt yesterday evening. The passenger ship was carrying over 1,300 people, mostly Egyptians. It's yet not known what caused the passenger ship to sink, but speculation causes it to be due to bad weather including a sandstorm that blew through shortly after the ship departed. So far 15 bodies & 12 survivors have been pulled from the Red Sea. It is not known yet whether there are other survivors or not.

If a lawsuit is brought because the ship went down, it possibly could be brought in Egypt or Panama, and the laws of both countries should be explored. Most likely the owners of the vessel will file for a limitation of liabiility, which is successful would greatly limit their liability.

Read the story on AOL.

CruiseJunkie has compiled a detailed list of 53 persons that have gone overboard from cruise ships since 1995. The list was compiled from media sources as well as private correspondence with Ross Klein, the CruiseJunkie author. Overboards include everything from suicide, to possible murder (investigations ongoing) to people that have just disappeared from the cruise ship so are presumed to have gone overboard.

View the detailed list of persons overboard since 1995 on the Cruise Junkie web site.

Free Advice.com, a leading legal advice forum, yields discussion thread on crewmember rape and Charles R. Lipcon's experience in handling these types of cases. Here's an excerpt from the discussion thread:

BelizeBreeze
You might consider having her contact the attorneys at the following site as they are very experienced in cruise line liability cases. http://www.lipcon.com/index.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bhughes2621
Thank you everyone. I contacted Charles Lipcon yesterday, and he has been a termendous help. He is now guiding my daughter through this difficult process.

Read the entire thread on Free Advice.

ABC News brings cruise passenger disappearances to mainstream news. The word is finally getting out that something needs to be done to make cruise ships safer for passengers and crew. Finally a major news station is also catching on to this story bringing into the mainstream.

At LMA we have created a new blog section dedicated to Cruise Passenger Disappearances, as well as a new practice area on our web site dedicated to this area. We will be adding more info to the web site including a listing of people that have gone overboard. Regarding the cruise passenger disappearances blog, check back or sign up for the feed for regular updates on this evolving hot topic. Hopefully within the next year or two we can be dedicating this section to the reforms that the cruise lines will have been forced to make.

Read ABC's story below:

About a dozen people have gone missing on cruises in the last 2 years

Lawmakers are set this morning to investigate the potential dangers to vacationers cruising the high seas.

Two congressional committees will hold a joint hearing focusing on cruise-ship disappearances and crimes. The hearing comes on the heels of another cruise-ship disappearance in recent months, this one aboard Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Sea, which returned to Florida on Sunday with one less passenger than when it departed.

Source: ABC News

Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A. is in the news regarding cruise passenger disappearance. Our firm is hired to represent the family of Annette Mizener. Read the news story below.

The family of a Wisconsin woman who disappeared from a cruise ship sued Carnival Corp. for $15,000 on Monday, claiming the crew's failure to monitor a surveillance camera delayed search-and-rescue efforts.

The surveillance camera in the area where Annette Mizener's purse was found had been covered, preventing the crew from seeing her go overboard, according to the civil lawsuit filed in Miami.

''Had they checked on it immediately when it was covered, they would have known she was overboard,'' said Charles Lipcon, a Miami attorney representing Mizener's family. ``There was a long delay due to a failure to monitor the camera, or check why it didn't show a picture.''

Mizener, 37, disappeared from the Carnival Pride on Dec. 4 during a weeklong cruise in Mexico with her parents and 17-year-old daughter.

Source: The Miami Herald November 22, 2005

USA Today wrote a story about missing cruise passenger Annette Mizener. Charles Lipcon is representing the Miznener family.

An excerpt from the story is below:

The family of a Wisconsin woman who disappeared from a cruise ship sued Carnival Corp. on Monday, claiming the crew's failure to monitor a surveillance camera delayed search and rescue efforts. The surveillance camera in the area where Annette Mizener's purse was found had been covered, preventing the crew from seeing her go overboard, according to the civil lawsuit filed in Miami.

"Had they checked on it immediately when it was covered, they would have known she was overboard," said Charles Lipcon, a Miami attorney representing Mizener's family. "There was a long delay due to a failure to monitor the camera, or check why it didn't show a picture."

Source: USA Today

Read the entire article on the USA Today web site.

Learn more about cruise passenger disappearances and the law regarding search and rescue.

We all remember hearing about missing cruise passenger George Smith, who went on a cruise for his honeymoon, never to be seen again. George Smith was never found and his family it seems may never know what really happened to him. Finally, last month, Congress ordered an investigation into his disappearance and MSNBC has been airing specials on this as well as on other cruise ship crimes.

View the most recent clip from MSNBC's Scarborough Country, which features maritime attorney Charles R. Lipcon discussing the congressional investigations ordered on missing cruise passenger George Smith.

The average person about to embark on a dream cruise ship vacation never thinks about the things that can go wrong. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cruises things go right which is why cruise ship vacations are growing at a phenomenal pace.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

1) The ticket. You will receive a multi-page ticket with extremely small print that virtually no one ever reads. Read it. Some very important rights are affected by this ticket. If you become sick or injured due to the fault of the shipping company a lawsuit must be filed within one year or you are out of luck. Many people, including many lawyers, miss this provision in the ticket. After one year, you are out of luck. There are a few exceptions which only apply in rare instances.

2) Applicable law. On the cruise ship, don't think that you are in the United States. Look at the flag of the vessel. If it is Bahamian, you are in the Bahamas. If it is Panamanian you are in Panama. There are certain exceptions to this, but not many.

3) Medical care. Just because the doctor wears a nice uniform and works in the ship's hospital, don't assume he really knows what he is doing. If you have a medical condition research the standards of the shipping company that you are sailing with. Some are better than others. If you have a heart condition, you don't want to be on a ship that uses psychiatrists, as an example, as a ships doctor.

4) Crimes. These occur on ships just like anywhere else. Be aware that the same crimes that occur on land can occur on a ship. Be tuned into this so that you do not become a victim. The same goes for your children. Make sure that they are never alone and under supervision. Sexual assaults against children occur even at a young age. Both boys and girls. Don't just open your cabin door without knowing who is there. Don't leave your cabin unlocked. Don't take your safety for granted.

5) If something does go wrong, do not think the shipping company is motivated solely to help you. Their first instinct is to protect themselves. They will gather evidence to use against you many times. You can protect yourself by taking photographs. Get the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all possible witnesses. Call your attorney from the high seas if necessary. Ask your attorney to find you an experienced admiralty attorney immediately to get advice on what you should do.

6) Where to file suit. The cruise line ticket can specify where suit has to be filed. Most of the large cruise lines specify Miami, Dade County, Florida. If suit is filed in the wrong location and one year has gone by, you could be thrown out of court and it will be too late to file in the correct location. These are just a few matters to keep in the back of your mind. Hopefully, you will not have to worry about any of these things. However, it is better to be aware of your rights than to stick your head in the sand.

Bon Voyage!

Charles Lipcon has been featured on 6 episodes of A Current Affair. The episodes aired between July 16 and August 19, 2005.

The disappearance of cruise passenger George Smith & cruise ship crimes including rape and sexual assaults on cruise ships were covered. Charles Lipcon believes that it's "open season on the high seas" and has his own ideas about what might have happened to George Smith. Lipcon has handled similar cases, so listen to the clips from A Current Affair to learn more.