Now that Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a tropical depression on its way north, travel operations in the southeast are starting to get people back in the skies and on the seas — though a few snarls remain. [More]
cruises
3 Things You Should Do If Hurricane Irma Cancelled Your Cruise
By 9.7.17
Millions of Florida residents are battening down the hatches and evacuating in advance of the monstrous Hurricane Irma, which has already wrought havoc and devastation across many island nations of the Caribbean. But Florida is also a major travel and tourist destination for millions of visitors every year, whose plans to go to or through the affected areas are obviously going to be disrupted. So what are your rights and responsibilities if your vacation has to give way to the forces of nature? [More]
Jet Skiers Snatched From Path Of Carnival Cruise Ship At The Last Second
By 3.13.17
While there might seem to be plenty of room for everyone out on the open ocean, a marine traffic incident almost led to a group of jet skiers getting run over by a Carnival Cruise Line ship in a Florida harbor. [More]
We Can’t Decide If Carnival Using Facial Recognition To Sell Passengers Photos Is Creepy Or Cool
By 11.17.16
As the world we live in becomes more and more digital, there are definitely some conveniences, but there is also the chance to feel a bit too connected. THat’s why we can’t decide if a cruise line using facial recognition software to identify passengers in photos is a cool bit of tech or is just downright creepy. [More]
Lawsuit: Royal Caribbean Didn’t Try To Save Man Who Died After Falling Overboard On Cruise
By 11.3.16
The husband of a man who died after falling overboard on a Royal Caribbean cruise is now suing, claiming the company didn’t make any efforts to save him or to retrieve his body. [More]
More Than 500 People Evacuated From Cruise Ship Near Puerto Rico After Fire
By 8.17.16
A ship fire aboard a combination ferry/cruise vessel off the coast Puerto Rico on Wednesday found the U.S. Coast Guard evacuating more than 500 passengers and crew from the ship. [More]
Carnival Cruise Ship Hits Gangway, Shoving It Onto Vehicles Parked Near The Dock
By 5.9.16
It’s not always easy being a huge boat when it comes time to head into port, as a Carnival Cruise Lines ship found out while docking in Baltimore on Sunday. No one was hurt in the incident — unless you count the cars parked nearby. [More]
Carnival Cruise Line Hiking Automatic Gratuity Charge By Almost $1
By 5.6.16
If you’re heading out on the high seas with a Carnival cruise starting next fall, expect to see a heftier automatic gratuity charge on your bill than in journeys past. [More]
Cruise Line Tells Man To Pay $853 Re-Booking Fee After Wife Dies
By 3.29.16
When you’re booking a vacation, one of the last things that you want to ask is, “hey, what happens if someone in my party dies between now and the trip?” A man in Colorado decided to follow his wife’s request before she died and go on a Mediterranean cruise that they had scheduled before she became sick. When he contacted the cruise line to tell them that he would still be going on the cruise but that his companion had died, they imposed an $853 fee. Wait, a fee for what? [More]
Carnival Gets The Official Go-Ahead For Cruises From Miami To Cuba
By 3.22.16
After scoring its license last July, Carnival Cruise Line says it’s gotten official approval for cruises from the United States to Cuba starting in May. [More]
Cruise Ship Recently Damaged In Major Storm Turns Around Again Due To Bad Weather, Norovirus Outbreak
By 2.29.16
Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is not having a good year so far: after getting smacked around by a major storm in February, the vessel had to turn around on another journey due to more bad weather, and, to add to the fun for passengers this time, a norovirus outbreak. [More]
Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Damaged In “Extreme” Storm Turning Around, Heading Back To Port
By 2.8.16
A Royal Caribbean cruise ship is turning around and heading back to where it started in New Jersey, after the vessel was damaged in an “extreme” storm that forced passengers to take cover in their cabins overnight. Four passengers were injured during the rough ride, though the cruise line says none of those injuries are serious. [More]
Jury Awards $21.5M To Cruise Passenger Struck In The Head By Ship’s Sliding-Glass Doors
By 11.11.15
While automatic doors can be very useful — especially on a cruise ship where maybe you don’t want to go around touching too many door handles — they’re not only useless when they don’t work right, but they can hurt: a federal jury has ordered cruise line Holland America to fork over $21.5 million in damages to an Illinois man who suffered a minor brain injury when he was struck in the head by a ship’s sliding-glass door. [More]
Carnival Cruise Ship Liberty Stuck In St. Thomas After Engine Fire
By 9.8.15
Are there worse things than not being on schedule? Yes, but at least the more than 3,000 passengers aboard the Carnival cruise ship Liberty have access to working toilets: after an engine fire broke out Monday morning, the 10-year-old vessel has remained docked in St. Thomas instead of continuing on its journey. [More]
Telemarketers Accused Of Using Political Robocalls To Pitch Caribbean Cruise Packages
By 3.4.15
While people at various points on the political spectrum may disagree about many topics, one sentiment many of them share is a distaste for prerecorded phone calls from political organizations. Like them or not, they’re generally legal even if the recipient is on the federal Do Not Call list. But when you use a supposedly political telemarketing call to ultimately shill for a cruise line, you’ve crossed over into the dark side. [More]
Woman Will Spend $164K In 2015 To Continue Living On Cruise Ship That’s Been Her Home For Last 7 Years
By 1.20.15
Perhaps you fancy yourself a regular captain of the high seas due to your yearly cruise trip. Get back to swabbing decks though, folks, because there’s a woman who’s been living on a cruise ship longer than most of the crew, after almost seven years of making her home there. [More]
Cruise Passenger Falls From One Ship, Gets Rescued By Another 5 Hours Later
By 1.13.15
The high seas can be perilous, despite the best efforts of cruise ships to protect passengers from going overboard. So when a passenger on a Royal Caribbean Cruise somehow ended up in the water, he was extremely lucky that a Disney cruise ship happened to come by a few hours later to rescue him. [More]
Norovirus Strikes At Least 200 Passengers On Princess Cruise Ship In New Zealand
By 12.8.14
Another cruise in the news, another batch of passengers clutched in the gross embrace of that scourge of all pleasure vessels on the high seas, norovirus. A Princess Cruises ship in New Zealand has had 200 passengers fall ill recently, struck with the nasty gastrointestinal illness. [More]
