EVENTS AT SEA

"All the Things that Can Go Wrong On A Cruise"


2010

The table below lists "events at sea" occurring after January 1, 2010, including cruise ship accidents.  It is based on media reports, passenger reports posted at on-line boards and discussion groups, and reports sent to Cruise Junkie. In reviewing the information, please keep in mind that some cruise lines are given less scrutiny by the media than others, and it is not uncommon for events to not appear in the media.  This information reflects only that which has made it into the public domain.

Pollution and Environmental Violations and Fines

To go to CRUISE JUNKIE DOT COM Home page, click here

THE Comprehensive list of Persons Overboard, 1995 - 2010

Events at Sea Broken Down by Cruise Line and by Ship


Events at Sea Involving Ferries


Crewz Viewz -- Information for and from crew members
 

Safety Watch -- Passenger-Documented Safety Issues

Reported Cruise Industry Spending on Lobbying the US Congress, 1997-2008 (pdf)

Analysis of Reports of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault on cruise ships: Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises

 My Dream Is Shattered and My Attacker Goes Free -- Sexual Assault on NCL America

NewGetting a Grip on Cruise Ship Pollution - SummaryNew
Getting a Grip On Cruise Ship Pollution - Full Report
(A report by CruiseJunkie from Friends of the Earth)

NewPoorly Cleaned Public Cruise Ship Restrooms May Predict Norovirus OutbreaksNew

Swine Flu and Cruise Ships - Reported Cases and Issues

Legal Issues Relevant to Cruise Ships (A student's honors thesis)



Have you been onboard during an "event" or illness outbreak?
Let me know, and send along photos or video if you have them
.

Date
Ship
Cruise Line
Event
Type of Incident
December 30 Unknown News 7 in Belize reports a deck hand was very seriously inured this morning as one of the tenders bringing cruise passengers ashore was pulling up alongside a cruise ship. His hand was caught and mangled between the tender and the gangway of the cruise ship. He was rushed in and taken to the hospital. Reports are that the young man's hand was crushed from the wrist down and he may lose that hand. This was the busiest day in Belize City for cruise tourism with five ships and over 15,000 passengers visiting the city.
Crew injured
December 30 Aurora
P&O Cruises
Associated Press reports police in St. Maarten say cruise ship crew member from India has been shot in an attempted robbery. His wounds are not life threatening. The attack occurred on Wednesday near two brothels in the former Dutch Caribbean colony. The man told reporters at the hospital that he was walking from one brothel to another to look for a friend when an armed man approached him and demanded his money. He said he told the robber to take his money when the man suddenly shot him and fled with nothing. A search is on for the suspect.
Crew shot ashore
December 29 Enchantment of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Baltimore Sun reports three crew members who worked in the galley attempted to smuggle 700 grams of heroin and 300 grams of cocaine into Baltimore from the Dominican Republic. The three men were were indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiring to import drugs into the country. Customs officials were tipped off by a ship security officer.
Drug bust
December 27 Zuiderdam
Holland America Line
The Eleutheran reports on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, a three year-old female child apparently drowned on Holland America Line's private island (Half Moon Cay, also known as Little San Salvador) off Eleuthera. The child is believed to have been in the care of her father when the tragic incident occurred. She was found lying face down in shallow waters and
subsequently transported via boat to Davis Harbour and then on to Rock Sound Clinic where she was pronounced dead.
Drowning at private island
December 27 Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
A poster at Cruise Critic reports currently on the QM2 Dec 19th sailing, quite an outbreak on board. Many passengers quarantined to their cabins, including our 12 yr old son for xmas eve, xmas and part of next day, and a few passengers expelled from the ship in Curacao for failing to maintain their quarantine. Another poster says there was a large outbreak in October as well. The CDC subsequently reports 167 of 2,483 passengers (6.73%) and 28 of 1,234 crew (2.27%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in New York City on January 2 on a cruise that began December 19. Update: Number were revised to 185 of 2,483 passengers (7.45%) and 29 of 1,234 crew (2.35%)
Illness
December 23 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
Metro News (UK) reports a 50-year-old woman went overboard from the balcony of her cabin while the ship was sailing between Curaçao and Grand Turk islands. The ship turned around to comb the area and a search plane was launched but both drew a blank. The woman was reported missing by her husband on the fifth day of their two-week Christmas trip. Princess Cruises published a statement which said: 'The ship was alerted by her husband, who had discovered her missing from their cabin, and our missing persons routine was immediately begun to account for all passengers onboard. 'A review of CCTV footage confirms that the passenger went over the side of the ship from a balcony cabin.' The ship is currently on a two week cruise from Barbados. The ship was on the fifth day of the sailing, which is scheduled to conclude on December 27.
Pax overboard
December 22 Orchestra
MSC Cruises
Brazilian media report a 19 year old male passenger fell from 14th floor around 4AM today while the ship was anchored at Ilhabela, in the coast of the state of Sao Paulo. Apparently the man was talking with friends near the disco, when he seated on the rail and fell backwards. Friends threw floaters, but he did not answer. After the rescue he was brought
to hospital to be declared dead. The man was the only son of a couple too shocked to give statements (they were not on the ship). He was himself a rescuer and studied biomedicine at an university in Curitiba, the capital of the state of Parana, Brazil.
Fall overboard
December 19 Musica
MSC Cruises
Brazilian media report a fire in the engine room knocked out air conditioning and the water supply. The ship had boarded at Rio de Janeiro and was supposed to leave at 18:00 for an eight-day trip with stopovers in the ports of Recife, Maceió and Salvador. With no airconditioning and no water supply, passengers were angered. Nevertheless, shortly after 18:30 the sound system announced the departure of the ship. Disgusted, a group of about 50 people took to the gangway of the ship, preventing it to be hoisted. The trip was then canceled. The ship is due to re-enter service on Dec. 26 from Rio for its scheduled week-long cruise to Salvador, Buzios, Copacabana and Ilha Grande.

Fire - Canceled cruise

December 17 Prinsendam
Holland America Line
The Sun Sentinel reports the Motor Winch on #7 Lifeboat failed. Flag and Class authorized 4 additional 25 person davit launched liferafts in lieu of lifeboat until parts are received and repairs are made.Temporary PSSC issued until Jan 5, 2011. 05JAN11: Lifeboat #7 hydro-motor repaired by Schatt Harding, and tested satisfactory by attending Lloyd's surveyor and USCG Inspector.
Lifeboat failure
December 13 Inspiration
Carnival Cruise Lines
Fox News in Tampa reports inclement weather has delayed the ship from docking in Tampa. -- it was due to return to Tampa at 8 a.m. Monday.Although the port remains open, Coast Guard Petty Officer Rob Simpson said seven ships, including the Inspiration, have chosen to anchor 13 to 15 miles offshore. Given rough seas and gusty winds, safe passage under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge was of particular concern, The ship departed Thursday on a regularly scheduled four-night voyage. A five-night sailing,was scheduled to commence today at 4 p.m., but at about that time the cruise line announced that the ship would not sail until tomorrow at the earliest.
Delayed arrival
December 12 Brilliance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
KBOI radio reports the ship tilted several times in its approach to Alexandria, Egypt. 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 ship departed from Barcelona, Spain, for a 12-night journey stopping in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Malta. UPDATE: Acknowledging those on board Brilliance of the Seas had been through ‘a frightening experience’ in the freak storm that rocked the Eastern Mediterranean over the weekend, Royal Caribbean International said it will refund fares in addition to giving an on-board credit. Among the 30 passengers who were injured on the 2,100-berth ship, the most seriously hurt were two people who sustained fractures. Three public rooms remain closed following the storm that intensified as Brilliance of the Seas approached Alexandria, Egypt, early Sunday, causing ‘extreme wind and sea conditions including heavy seas and 70-knot winds, nearly double what had been forecasted.’ The heavy motion of the vessel caused aesthetic damages to some areas, and some staterooms lost electricity. The beauty salon, video arcade and disco will remain closed for the rest of the cruise, which ends Friday in Barcelona.
Severe list -- skipped port
December 12 Branson Belle
Showboat Branson Belle
Fox News reports more than 600 passengers and crew were expected to be stuck on a showboat overnight after high winds caused the vessel to run aground Saturday at Poverty Point on Table Rock Lake (Missouri). The cruise began having problems with propulsion around 6 p.m.and a tug boat was called to help, but wind picked up and the boat ran aground. At 11 p.m., officials decided it was best to let winds calm before trying to move the boat to where the passengers could disembark. About 567 passengers and 76 crew members were on board. It was speculated it could be 6 a.m. Sunday before the vessel can be moved. Subsequent reports indicate all were disembarked by noon.
Aground
December 10 Mist Cove
The Boat Company
The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports The state Department of Ecology has fined a cruise ship owner more than $30,000 in penalties, after the ship dumped an estimated 456 gallons of diesel fuel into Sinclair Inlet near Port Orchard earlier this year. The accident occurred in March, when the Mist Cove, owned by a Poulsbo company that does "luxury eco-cruises" in Southeast Alaska, was doing a fuel transfer. The 24-passenger ship had been moored in downtown Port Orchard, when oil overflowed from an open valve, creating a sheen that reached the middle of the inlet. No wildlife was reported killed or injured from spill, but the affected area included eel grass beds, salt marshes and beaches where small fish spawn. State officials said a chief engineer had failed to do a pre-transfer check to ensure proper valve settings. They also said the company -- called The Boat Company -- requires at least two crew members to do a transfer, but only one person was on board at the time. The fine included a $15,500 penalty, plus $15,700 in damages to the environment. The state also charged the company, which has 30 days to appeal, $4,700 in clean-up costs.
Fuel spill
December 9 Clelia II
Travel Dynamics International

TV3 in New Zealand reports a large wave slammed into the ship (chartered to Polar Cruises) with 88 passengers and 77 crew members aboard, but the ship's crew overcame minor damage and is heading safely back to its scheduled port (Ushuaia). The Clelia II declared an emergency yesterday, reporting it had suffered engine damage amid heavy seas and 90 kph winds when it was northeast of the South Shetland Islands and about 845km from Ushuaia. 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 was accompanied by a Navy vessel as it returned to port. For a video, see You Tube. UPDATE and CORRECTION: As happens in such situatipons, accurate information is difficult to come by. It appears there was much misinformation about this event, and there was also some less-than-respectable behaviour. It appears that the footage that is on You Tube was taken by the National Geographer videographer that was on board the NG Explorer, and shows the ship bobbing up and down. Considering that the worst had already passed, we were not concerned. We knew that they had reporters on board and just assumed that they would report the news. What we did not expect is that they would twist facts and cause panic at home... What happened was that the captain of the NG Explorer asked the crew and passengers not to publish anything until the Clelia 2 was back in port, but the videographer must have seen a great opportunity to self promotion and leaked the video to her friend, who got the video all around the world. Not only that, they included a "report from a passenger", that was totally inaccurate, stating that we were without engine, "foundering" (which means sinking), etc. As we were without communications, that was the first news that our friends and family heard. Travel Dynamics office communicated with the emergency contacts numbers - but some were reached only after the original report was on the press. The IAATO also issued their official report, and maybe that is the best and most correct version to post. It is worth noting that the ship never lost engine power during the emergency, and the VDR (Voyage Data Recorder) confirms this. Also the passenger area never lost electricity, and most passengers never noticed that anything went wrong until they heard the captain's announcement. UPDATE: The ship will re-enter service December 26.

A view from onboard: Here is an account from a person "in the know" from onboard the ship: We met rough weather after we left the Antarctic peninsula, and the Captain had already reduced the speed of the ship to increase the comfort of passengers and reduce the beating of the ship. It was around 10:30 am, on December 7th, when a wave broke one of the windows of the bridge. There was water coming into the bridge and sparks were flying everywhere. The captain took immediate control of the situation, and ordered the ship to be turned around, downwind, to minimize water intake and to allow the seamen to work on the forward of the ship and close the window. The passengers were watching a lecture at the time. When the lecture ended we asked them to go their cabins and remain there until further notice. The water that entered the bridge caused damage to the electronic equipment. Most of our communications were down, as well as radar. Steering was transfered to the engine room, and electricity was shut down to some areas of the ship - including the kitchen. The cooks prepared cold sandwiches that were delivered to the passengers in their staterooms. At 15:00, the situation was under control. The captain turned the ship to face the winds, and decided not to advance against them, but to "ride the storm", and wait for it to abate. He called the passengers to the lecture hall, where he informed them of our situation. At this point we had already contact with the National Geographic Explorer, who was approaching our position to offer help. We never lost power, or steering, and the ship was able to reach Ushuaia in its own. What we needed most was communications. The NG Explorer approached us in the late afternoon, and threw us a line via rocket launcher, and attached to it was an Iridium Satelite phone. On the next morning (December 8th), the winds had abated and we the captain ordered the ship to proceed to Ushuaia, where we arrived on the evening of December 9th.

?Disabled at sea?
December 7 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
From a passenger: Today, Tuesday December 7, at approximately 5am the ship started shaking/vibrating violently. We were on our way to Cartagena, Colombia at the time with an arrival time scheduled for 7am. During this shaking I have an inside cabin so I couldn't see out the window to see what was going on. I thought we must be docking though because the speed shown on the ship info TV channel was very low and dropping. The shaking/vibrations stopped after about 15 minutes and then the speed showed increased by a lot. Very strange. Then at 6am sharp the Captain came on over the intercom in every cabin (with no way to lower the volume or silence it) and apologized for waking anyone up. He then announced what had happened. He said we had hit a 100-meter long 2-inch thick piece of plastic piping. Where had this come from??? And that it was across our bulbous bow. By constantly reversing and going forward they were able to shake it off the bulbous bow. So that's what all the shaking was. The Captain said we would arrive about 30 minutes late because of this incident, but that our departure time in Cartagena would be changed from 1pm until 2pm to make up for any lost time. Update: At the "Welcome Back" party last night the Captain said divers inspected the ship in Cartagena and it was fine. The 2 foot wide flexible plastic pipe was indeed a sewage pipe being towed from Cartagena. It was half a KM long. The segment we hit and broke apart hit the front of the ship then wrapped around the starboard side. The Captain doesnt think it ever went under the ship. He said the authorities have been notified to come get this pipe. It was being towed out to sea and came loose. And on the same cruise: A lot of shore excursions were also cancelled in Colon, Panama due to torrential rains and flooding. One bus of people was trapped between 2 mudslides and local people had to use machetes and shovels to clear the road. People on the tour bus were told if they waited for he government to rescue them they would have missed the boat!
Struck debris at sea
November ?? Oriana
P&O Cruises
Cruise Reviews (UK) reports between Sydney and Brisbane the shiphad two engine breakdowns. In Yorkeys Knob the tenders were so late that we were unable to go ashore.
Engine problems
November 29 Ryndam
Holland America Line
The Smoking Gun reports an intoxicated California man early Saturday released the anchor while the vessel was traveling in international waters en route to Florida, investigators allege. The deployment of the stern anchor on the MS Ryndam “could have caused significant damage,” though the 719-foot ship was unharmed, according to an affidavit sworn by FBI Agent John Manning. A review of surveillance video identified Rick Ehlert, 44, as the passenger who released the anchor (as well as a life buoy). Ehlert, who was traveling with his girlfriend, admitted to deploying the ship’s anchor and throwing the life buoy overboard. Ehlert, who owns an RV dealership in Thousand Oaks, was arrested on a felony charge of attempting to “damage, destroy, disable, or wreck a vessel.” The FBI affidavit notes that the MS Ryndam’s captain made an announcement Saturday morning asking any passengers or crew members to come forward with information regarding the tossing of the life buoy overboard. When nobody came forward, “the ship’s emergency alarm was sounded and all passengers and crew were mustered on deck.” After everyone on board was accounted for, “they were released from the deck.”
Anchor released by pax
November 20 Carnival Destiny
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a reader: I’ve been a long time follower of your site. You are doing an outstanding job! I just returned home from a five day cruise on the Carnival Destiny, and I had a very “eventful” cruise. Firstly, on the first night of the cruise (November 15th - en route from Miami to Nassau), there was a drunken man in an inside cabin on deck 2 that apparently tried to jump from the ship. He apparently had been having mental issues and allegedly flew into a rage with some crew members onboard. He had to be restrained and confined to his cabin with a security person to guard the door. According to a crew member, he and his family were removed from the ship the following day while docked in Nassau. Secondly, on the last “Sea Day” of the voyage (from Grand Turk en route back to Miami), an “Operation Brightstar” was called out over the PA system in an “aft storeroom” on deck 0. No further information was given concerning fate of the person. While I personally feel that these incidents are in fact no fault of Carnival, I think that passengers should receive more follow-up information regarding such events that happen. Many passengers that saw the ambulance and/or heard the Brightstar announcement were left puzzled and concerned. After the Brightstar announcement, I had to re-assure an elderly woman that everything was fine, and to remain calm.Carnival should have at least given an “all clear” status update informing pax and crew that the situation was under control. They obviously did not do this. These incidents did not affect my cruise, and I would definitely cruise with Carnival again.
Attempted jump overboard
November 20 Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: I just got off 7 day Liberty trip. It was a blast...but not for everyone. On Tuesday we landed at St. Thomas and found out a 36 yr old woman died "with suspicious bruises on face." I have video of the FBI leaving the ship with evidence. The incident was subsequently reported by 7 News, Miami: A cruise ship has returned to South Florida after a tragedy at sea. The Carnival Liberty ship was headed to St. Thomas when one passenger discovered a 36-year-old woman unconscious in her cabin. The victim received medical attention on the cruise ship, but she was pronounced dead two hours later. The FBI continues to investigate the victim's death and awaits her autopsy report. "It could be a possible homicide. It could be some other factor in the death of this individual, but we're still investigating this case at this time," said Harry Rodriguez of the FBI in San Juan.
Pax death
November 18 Crystal Symphony Crystal Cruises The CDC reports 37 of 814 passengers (4.55%) and 14 of 569 crew (2.46%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in San Pedro, California November 21st on a cruise that began November 2.
Illness
November 18 Blue Ocean Cruises The Times of India reports Blue Ocean Cruises had made its maiden journey to Mumbai on Monday night when trouble commenced around 90 minutes after the ship left Mormugao port. It was on its return leg to Mumbai carrying around 250 passengers. The ship tilted to one side at three degrees and a little while later sea water entered the cabins. However, there was no serious damage to the ship. "There is no cause for panic. The vessel had slight leakage but there is no danger to the vessel or the port. The ship is floating and it's a very good sign because if there was a hole or crack it couldn't float. As Wednesday was a holiday the workers couldn't work on the ship," said MPT deputy chairman PC Parida. Sources said Western India Shipyard workers had on Wednesday tried to find the exact point of leakage but failed to find where the fault lies. However, officials are confident that the leak will be detected and plugged. There have been reports the leak is the result of a crack in the hull.
Severe list - take on water
November 18 Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports there was a discharge of oil from the shaft seal of the forward bow thruster. The thruster was secured to stop the leak and tagged OOC until repairs could be made. Approximately one gallon of hydraulic oil was discharged into the water and dispersed naturally.
Environmental - Oil discharge
November 15 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
SKNVibes reports 17 tourists aboard a coaster tour bus was this morning (Nov. 14) robbed of an undisclosed sum of money, jewellery, cellular phones and other personal items while on their way to visit the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (St. Kitts). The tour bus was travelling along the access road to Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park in the vicinity of Lime Kiln with 17 tourists (including a baby) when the incident occurred. “While the bus was driving up the road to Brimstone Hill, the driver saw a large branch from a tree was in his path; so he stopped the bus and disembarked to remove it. But in the process of removing the branch, two masked gunmen emerged from the bushes and said to the driver, ‘This is a #@+# robbery.’ Two other men were also in the bushes. However, the driver then ran towards a nearby gas station on the Island Main Road, from where he got assistance to call the police. “Officers from the Sandy Point Police Station responded to the call and the driver returned to the scene. However, the gunmen had already robbed the tourists of their valuables and cash and made their escape in thick bushes in the area,” said a taxi operator on the condition of anonymity. According to a release sent this afternoon from the Police Public Relations Office, police received a report of the robbery at approximately 11:15 this morning and investigations revealed that the tourists were robbed but none of them were physically harmed.
Pax robbed ashore
November 8 Carnival Splendor
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Daily Breeze reports a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise was sidelined today when an engine room caught fire in Mexico. The ship left Port of Long Beach on Sunday with 3,299 guests and 1,167 crew members. A fire was detected in the aft engine room at 6 a.m. Guests were told to move from their cabins to the Lido Deck, which is on the upper level and has outdoor space, she said. The ship was operating on emergency generators. The fire was extinguished by 9 a.m. but a reflash occurred. Smoke remains in the area and crew members were working on restarting one of the vessel's main generators in the forward engine room. Two guests and a crew member suffered panic attacks, but no one was physically injured. The ship is located approximately 55 miles west of Punta San Jacinto, Mexico. Sea conditions are calm and skies are clear. UPDATE: John Heald's blog reports: "given the ship’s speed and current position, we have decided to take the vessel to San Diego where it is expected to arrive late Thursday. Additionally, we are in the process of making all the necessary hotel and flight arrangements for our guests. If the ship is unable to maintain sufficient speed under tow, it is possible that we could revert to the previous plan and dock in Ensenada. Last night, the ship’s engineers were able to restore toilet service to most cabins and all public bathrooms, as well as cold running water. Currently several key hotel systems, including air conditioning, hot food service and telephones, are not available. The ship’s crew continues to actively work to restore other services. Guests are able to move about the ship and food and beverage service, along with some shipboard programming, including children’s activities and entertainment, are being provided." Update: The ship arrived in San Diego Friday at 8:30 AM. According to an article in Travel Weekly, "it was surprising that the fire disabled the ship’s electrical systems to such a degree. On most oceangoing large ships — but above all on a cruise ship, which has multiple generators — having one of [the generators] totally destroyed by fire or anything else should not affect its services in the least."There is a lot of redundancy there. This seems like a very poor design ... When just a switchboard is burned or damaged and even the main propulsion cannot work.... It should not happen. Imagine if the weather was really bad, with 100-foot waves and that ship in the middle of the ocean with no propulsive power." NOTE: The ship will return to service January 16, 2011. Make that February 20, 2011
Fire
November 8 Delphin Voyager
Delphin Kreuzfahrten
The Kyiv Post reports the ship has been impounded in Piraeus since October 12. It was sailing from Venice to Istanbul, entered the port of Piraeus in Greece. The Ukrainian Embassy in Greece reported that the operator company had been declared bankrupt and was refusing to fulfill its financial liabilities to the ship's crew, which included Ukrainian citizens.
Impounded
November 6 Nieuw Amsterdam
Holland America Line
The CDC reports 123 of 2027 passengers (6.06%) and 4 of 878 crew (0.46%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale November 7th following a 20 day transatlantic cruise. UPDATE: The final numbers are 134 (6.61%) passengers and 6 (0.69%) crew.
Illness
November 5 Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports the ship's #5 Diesel Generator was stopped due to an increase of exhaust gas on both banks and overload on both TT/CC. Diesel Generator #1was shut down by automation due to oil mist in the crankcase, cooling water was leaking from the turbocharger and cylinder heads on both banks. Diesel Generator #5 was repaired and back in service on 6 November. Diesel Generator #1 was repaired and back in operation 0n 11 November.
Generator problems
November 4 Costa Atlantica
Costa Cruises
The Bermuda Sun reports the ship experienced steering problems minutes after leaving Bermuda this afternoon. It departed Dockyard at 1pm and just a few minutes later, the Bermuda Maritime Operations received a distress call. The duty officer said: “The ship departed Dockyard at 1:10pm. She reported problems with her steering. The pilot immediately stopped the ship and ordered two tugs to come out to assist. The tugs came alongside and took her to an area with more sea room and then the engineers were able to fix the problem. The vessel is under her own power and making her way round to the east end, and is being escorted by two Bermuda Maritime tugs.” The ship arrived in Bermuda yesterday morning and is now on its way to Port Canaveral, Florida.
Steering problems
November 4 Moby Otta
Moby SpA
Safety at Sea reports a young German couple were killed when their vehicle plunged off the ferry in Genoa on 26 September. The 1976-built ferry had just arrived from Sardinia when the accident happened. According to Italian media (see AGI News) the accident was caused by human error causing the ship to move away from the pier while the German tourists' car was leaving the ship.
Pax overboard
November 2 Pacific Sun
P&O Australia
Lloyd's List DCN reports a fault in the propulsion system of P&O cruise liner Pacific Sun caused the vessel to be 10 hours late in its Melbourne Cup voyage from Sydney to Melbourne yesterday. Carnival Australia, P&O's owner, has apologised and offered compensation after the vessel which was to have arrived yesterday morning failed to turn up until evening.
Propulsion problems
November 1 Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Cruise Line
When I boarded the ship on Oct 23 in Boston for a 5 day repo to New Orleans we were advised that the previous cruise had a 3% outbreak of a gastro related illness and the the ship was doing everything to try and get the bug eliminated. We are now more than half way through the cruise and it is still operating on CDC rules - no self service etc. Staff have been doing a great job of serving us and for the most part the cruisers seem to be accepting the tighter controls. The captain continues to assure us that they are getting the problem under control but I doubt we will see any relief on the cruise.
?Illness?
October 29 Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Hispanically Speaking News reports U.S. Customs officials (CBP) are reporting that earlier in the week they seized cocaine and heroin, in separate incidents, aboard the Serenade of the Seas cruise ship as it docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early in the morning, CBP officers conducted a random inspection of ship cabins. During the search, a K-9 sweep alerted positive to the odor of narcotics. CBP officers discovered three brick size packages between the beds which field tested positive to cocaine. In a separate incident an inspection of the luggage exposed a large of amount of shoes that yielded a brown powdery substance. The CBP officers found, wrapped in duct tape inside the shoes, a substance which tested positive for heroin. The estimated street value of the heroin is $324,000 and the estimated value of the seized cocaine is $84,000 and four passengers were arrested on the spot.
Drug bust
October 25 Norwegian Star
Norwegian Cruise Line
On October 22nd (last week) my mother and I were on the Great Stirrup Cay island getting ready to parasail. Our boat headed out when the drivers spotted smoke from another parasail boat and went to investigate. It took us a while to get to the other boat but when we were close we could see it was empty and going in a circle at a high speed. We fished a young girl from our cruise out of the water a few yards away from the circling boat. She was upset and probably in shock repeating she couldn’t find him and he couldn’t swim. Our drivers immediately started trying to stop the boat at some point getting too close and ramming it with our boat hurting the 3rd passenger riding with us. The other boat was still circling even after the collision so they tried throwing ropes at the motor to lock it up without success. At no time did they initiate any type of rescue effort for the driver of the other boat even though the young girl kept asking them to look. At some point during the trip they started shouting at her that he’s dead over and over. They gave up after about an hour and a half and raced us home where several times we almost bounced out of the boat. The girl was not wearing any type of life jacket and had no regard for her safety so my mother and I were holding her down in the boat trying to keep her from jumping overboard while trying to protect ourselves from being thrown from the boat. It was a painful ride back to the shore and once there we found that the accident had not been reported. During the ride we asked her what happened and she said she had just finished parasailing and one of the drivers offered to take her out on a personal tour. It was the two of them when the boat turned too sharp and both of them fell out of the boat. She said he tried to get back in the boat but that looked impossible from the speed the boat was circling. NCL’s medical doctor was very unprofessional and refused to treat the young girl saying she was fine even though she had just lived through a tragic accident. They once again tried to get the doctor to treat her and he replied in an ugly tone that he had already looked at her. There was another parasail boat closer to the accident and should have seen what happened but never rushed over to help even when our boat was attempting to stop the other boat from circling. The NCL staff immediately distanced themselves from the parasail company telling us they were independent. The entire feeling from the accident is that no one was upset that a man died. No one was in a hurry to recover his body only to recover the boat. I would like to find out if it was ever officially reported and did they start a recovery process after the cruise boat left but no one on board would talk to us about the incident.
Crew death
October 26 Norwegian Cruise Line USA Today reports the cruise line has agreed to pay $100,000 to nine cruisers with disabilities who allegedly were discriminated against on one of its ships. The U.S. Justice Department, which announced the settlement on Monday, had sued the line on behalf of the cruisers, five of whom are deaf and four of whom use wheelchairs. The Justice Department says in a statement that the five deaf cruisers did not receive interpreters and other auxiliary aids, or a closed caption TV, while on voyages around Hawaii on a Norwegian ship, and "thus were unable to enjoy the activities on board the ship or the shore excursions because they could not understand what was going on and communicate effectively." The agency says the four cruisers who use wheelchairs did not get accessible buses between the airport, ship and hotel, and on shore excursions; had to wait hours for an accessible bus at times; were unable to go on shore excursions because of the lack of an accessible bus; were charged extra for accessible transportation; and/or were not allowed to get on and off the bus during a shore excursion even though the bus was accessible. The Justice Department sued Norwegian under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Justice Department says that in addition to the cash payment to the nine cruisers, a proposed consent decree with Norwegian includes specific requirements that the line must follow.
Lawsuit
October 26 Oasis of the Seas, Carnival Dream, Carnival Liberty, Norwegian Sun & Emerald Princess The New York Post reports the four ships were delayed on arrival in St. Thomas on Tuesday because some harbor employees did not show up for work. The ships circled outside Charlotte Amalie harbor for as long as two and a half hours while the cruise lines and officials worked out a temporary solution. Missing from duty were crews manning boats used by harbor pilots to guide ships safely to port. Under the temporary agreement, the pilots were taken aboard the cruise ships to do their job instead of using their vessels. Shops and restaurants along Charlotte Amalie's waterfront said the delay cut into their business. "It hurt us quite a bit. There's no people. It definitely hurt our lunch business," said Dean Flowback, a chef at the Shipwreck Tavern. Flowback said on a busy cruise ship day his kitchen typically sells 300 lunches. On Tuesday, he said, they sold less than 100 meals. Subsequent reports indicate the employees not showing up for work was part of a "sick out" -- the day was the first five-ship day of the 2010-11 cruise season in St. Thomas.
Delayed docking
October 25 Silver Whisper
Silversea Cruises
A passenger writes: The ship had to dock at the West end of Bermuda for an over night stay on Oct 16 to Oct 17 instead of Docking at St George Bermuda. This was announced as we were in site of Bermuda The port call at St. Barts was canceled and instead we anchored off of the French side of St Martin on Oct 21. They claimed that the roads were washed out and the small landing for their tenders was damaged from storms. Again short notice about the change.
Skipped ports
October 22 Carnival Destiny
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports while along side in Nassau and during pre-departure tests of the propulsion motors, the starboard propulsion motor (PM2) would not respond to increases of RPM. The fault was followed by a trip of the PM2. During trouble-shooting, it was discovered that the encoder interface board that relays commands to and from the control system for speed measuring during operation became faulty, rendering the motor unresponsive. The encoder interface board was replaced with a backup which was also faulty. The vessel proceeded to Miami using only the port propulsion motor (PM1). While in Miami, a technician came on board and conducted further tests. A repair was unsuccessfully attempted using the two faulty boards to make one working board. A spare was located on a sister ship in Orlando and was dispatched to Miami. Upon the board replacement, the PM2 responded properly to control system commands. Vessel was cleared for departure by USCG and the respective Class Society.
Propulsion problems
October 22 Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines
CBS News reports a 67-year-old woman received a $125,000 settlement in a lawsuit involving an injury sustained while on a cruise. In April, she got on the ship, which sailed to the Grand Cayman Island. Passengers need to board a tender boat to get to the dock. They are operated by another company. As the woman exited the tender, she fell. Her leg was caught between the boat and the dock. As she says, "The boat fell away from the dock and it was an open place, and I could see the water as my leg went down ... It has made me have nightmares about falling into this void that I can't get out of and drowning. When they said, it's just bruised, just walk it off, I thought maybe I could walk it off." But she couldn't. Her lower leg, her tibia, was fractured. She spent the rest of the cruise in a wheelchair. Upon returning home, she required bolts and pins and plates in her leg.
Lawsuit
October 21 Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines
The CDC reports that 113 of 3003 passengers (3.76%) and 20 of 1169 crew (1.71%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrived at New York City on October 16th from a 7 day cruise.
Illness
October 21 Rhapsody of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Media have reported the ship has cancelled its visit to Albany (Western Australia) on November 4. The ship was listed on the recently-published cruise ship schedule. The Albany Port Authority said no reason was given for the cancellation, but it was not uncommon for cancellations and additions to the cruise schedule during the year.
Canceled port call
October 20 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises
CBC reports a ship carrying dozens of passengers, who have been quarantined after contracting a stomach flu, arrived in Saint John Wednesday. Roughly 40 passengers and three crew members aboard the Caribbean Princess have been plagued by an outbreak of the stomach flu. The sick have been barred from leaving the cruise ship while it is in port in Saint John because the virus is easily spread. UPDATE: Boarding in New York City on Saturday (October 23) was delayed while crew sanitized the ship.
Illness
October 19 Legend of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
From a reader: We are on Legend of the seas between Tawain and Hong Kong very rough seas we had a mayday call from a Cargo ship at 10.30 pm monday that was taking on water we turned round and got there at about 12:15 am tuesday morn (today)unfortanatly the ship sunk we saw it go down. we were joined by the Taiwainese coast guard and there helicopter we searched for 12hrs in force 10 seas and wind and we picked up 3 survivors the coastgaurd picked up 15 but there were still 7 missing. but after 12 hrs we were able to continue to Hong Kong where we arrive tomorow wednesday morn which is a day early as we changed itenary because of Typoon Megi. See here for a media account.
Rescue
October 18 Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines
A reader writes: My parents just returned Saturday on the Carnival Glory.  My mom has been telling me stories of all the sick passengers and crew.  I also saw a posting on the Carnival forums.  She said almost everyone they spoke with had family members sick.  Crew staffing was way down.  She said the line at the infirmary was long, and they were giving free iv’s, anti-nausea, and were quarantining people to their rooms. Very interested to see how the cruise headed out this week goes – I am sure the boarding passengers are not aware.
Illness?
October 18 Costa Classica
Costa Cruises
The ship collided with a cargo ship near the deep water channel of the Yangtze River early this morning on its return to Shanghai from Cheju, Korea. The ship is alongside, and today’s cruise has been canceled. Immediately after the incident, several passengers reported to the infirmary with minor injuries, and three were sent ashore for further medical checks. News images show a scrape or gash stretching about 20 meters along the starboard side of Deck 5 midships, one deck above the lowest level of cabins and well above the waterline. The accident occurred at 4:46 a.m. when the ship collided with the Belgian-flag cargo vessel Lowlands Longevity. Passengers were summoned to their emergency muster stations. The ship docked at 10 a.m. The passengers, mainly Asians, and some Americans and Canadians, were disembarked.
Collision
October 18 Costa Classica
Costa Cruises
Arirang reports more than 30 Chinese tourists remain missing in Korea's southern resort island of Jeju after 44 of them who arrived on the ship on Sunday abandoned the tour group en masse. According to the Justice Ministry's Jeju immigration office the group of Chinese tourists entered the country on an Italian cruise ship early Sunday morning went off to visit tourist sites on the island and did not return for the 3 P.M. departure. Eleven of them have been found and are currently being questioned by the local police, but the other 33 remain unaccounted for. Jeju has been a frequent stopover for illegal immigrants from China seeking employment in Korea as the island is permitted for most nationals to enter and stay up to 30 days without a visa.
Pax missing
October 18 Pacific Jewel
P&O Australia
Tomorrow’s 11-night ‘Pacific Sunsets’ round voyage from Sydney to Vanuatu and New Caledonia has been canceled due to a fault in the propulsion system. The 70,310gt former Ocean Village Two, which entered service as Pacific Jewel in Sydney last December, is currently heading back to Sydney from Noumea at reduced cruising speed. As previously reported, the company had cancelled the ship’s November 5 cruise from Sydney for it to go into drydock at Garden Island to repair a stabiliser. Passengers are being offered a full refund plus a 25% credit on a future P&O Cruises Australia voyage before March 31 that is booked by December 31. UPDATE October 26: The ship's departure from Sydney on November 13 on a 14-night ‘Fiji Adventure’ has also been cancelled.
Propulsion problems -- canceled
October 15 Celebrity Century
Celebrity Cruises
The ship left Barcelona on Wednesday on a 12-night holiday in the Mediterranean, but is now stranded in Villefranche on the French Riviera. The ship's rudders have been damaged and the cruise has been cancelled so that dry-dock repairs can be carried out. Repairs should be completed in time for a re-positioning transatlantic crossing to Miami scheduled to depart on October 25. In compensation, passengers will be receiving a complete refund of their fares, plus a 25 per cent discount on any future cruise with Celebrity. A reader sent the following items from Cruise Critic: The Century experienced a broken rudder and in the process of ending the cruise. I am on board and the process in unbelievable! (not in a good way) More to follow. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292197 Century 10/13 cruise cancelled in Nice We left Barcelona on schedule arriving villefranche this morning. two hours after our scheduled departure time, the captain announced that we had two bad rudders, the ship has to go to drydock and our cruise is cancelled. Likely that the 10/25 transatlantic will also be cancelled. We are to stay on the boat until Saturday and then they will apparently let us off in Villefranche (tenders). No idea at this point how they will handle our actually getting home...they have already committed to full refunds for this cruise plus a 25% credit towards our next cruise....but it's not clear about what they will do to get us out of Nice...hotels, flights, change fees....and we were back to back coming to Miami....and have no clue how they will handle this for us. Watch this thread for more when we know more. Ghstudio....now aboard the non moving century in Nice http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292056
Rudder problems -- canceled
October 13 Carnival Splendor
Carnival Cruise Lines
John Heald's Blog reports a crew member was seen jumping overboard at 1AM. A search was undertaken, but he was not found.
Crew member overboard
October 12 Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises
BBC reports a 79-year-old British man was reported missing about 45 miles (72km) south of The Lizard in Cornwall. An air and sea search involving British and French coastguards and warships was called off on Monday evening. Officers from Kent Police boarded the ship when she berthed at Dover. The man was, who has not been named, was on a three-week cruise in the Adriatic.
Passenger missing
October 9 Carnival Sensation
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports while the ship was moored at cruise terminal #27 in Nassau Bahamas, two U.S. citizen passengers intentionally jumped off the SENSATION into the water from the 9th deck. Both passengers were recovered safely and evaluated by the ships medical crew prior to being sent to the local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Both passengers admitted to the ships medical staff that they were drinking alcohol prior to the incident. Both passengers were discharged from the vessel as a result of the incident.
Two pax jump overboard while in port
October 9 Lisco Gloria The Independent reports more than 200 passengers and crew were evacuated after a ferry caught fire near the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea. The Lithuanian passenger and car ferry Lisco Gloria was en route from the northern city of Kiel to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda when an explosion occurred around midnight local time.The ferry MS Deutschland and a police vessel had been nearby at the time at the accident and came to the rescue of passengers either swimming in the water or clinging to liferafts. Several people were injured and three taken to hospital by helicopter. According to a spokesperson, "The vessel is ablaze ... and it is realistic to expect that it will burn the whole day."
Fire
October 7 Swan Hellenic Cruises It has been reported that Lord Sterling, the multimillionaire boss of luxury cruise company Swan Hellenic, was criticized this week for saying that his passengers should be segregated from the lorry drivers at the ferry port in Portsmouth. He said that customers on his 5-star cruises shouldn’t have to mix with lorry drivers who have body odor, nor young people who loiter and wait around for cheaper crossings. The former P&O chairman made these comments as his Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruises companies are getting ready to switch operations in the summer from Southampton to Portsmouth. He said that they want to create a certain atmosphere as soon as people get there, describing it as a 5-star setting. However, he is concerned that their customers will be asked to mix with BO-suffering lorry drivers, who wear shorts and no shirts in the summer, as well as haven’t shaved in days, in some cases. This will upset some of their customers and won’t be their presented offering, he explained, so something has to be done about it.
Controversial comments
October 7 Hebridian Princess Cruises Coach Broker News reports two cruise ship workers have admitted stealing a bus each while off duty on the Isle of Mull this week. Peter Robertson from Dundee and Carl Jordan from Kent were employed as chefs on the 5 star Hebridean Princess cruise ship when the incident occurred. In court the pair admitted stealing a bus each from Bowman’s Coach Yard on the Isle of Mull and also pleaded guilty to charges of driving without a bus licence or insurance. The chefs have been released on bail until November 8th. It is estimated the duo caused £15,000 worth of damage to the buses they stole from the coach yard.
Cruise workers arrested
October 5 Mirage I
Yesh Shipping
Cyprus Mail reports the search for an Israeli cruise ship passenger who fell overboard off the coast of Cyprus has been halted after eighteen hours without a trace of the 26-year-old man. The Israeli, who reportedly suffered from depression, was travelling from Haifa to Limassol. Yesh spokesman Ronan Kaplan said that at 1am on Monday, when the ship was around 180 miles south of Cyprus the crew received a message from the Israeli police that one of the passengers was planning to commit suicide after his father found a suicide note. “From that moment the man was announced as a missing person, the ship’s crew halted all leisure activities, searched the ship and paged the passenger” Kaplan told the Jerusalem post. The ship then retraced its course to search for the man and by 3am a full scale search and rescue operation.
Passenger overboard (suicide)
October 4 Seven Seas Voyager
Regent Seven Seas Cruies
Passengers are being flown home from Athens and will receive full refunds after Sunday’s cruise was canceled due to a podded propulsion malfunction. The ship is remaining in Piraeus until Wednesday, when it will move to Genoa for repairs. It is not known when repairs will be completed. The canceled cruise was a 14-night sailing to Venice. UPDATE October 6: A second cruise has now been canceled. The Oct. 17 voyage from Venice, a 10-night cruise to Athens, will not operate.
Cruise canceled
October 3 Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
The Daily Mail reports an elderly British couple were ordered off the ship after an explosive row with fellow passengers during a black-tie dinner. Frederick Evans, 91, and his Broadway producer wife Gloria Sher, 82, were told by the captain to leave at the next port following what was said to be an expletive-ridden argument over anti-Semitic remarks. The couple faced being dumped in a remote part of Quebec in Canada before fellow passengers came to their defence and asked that they be allowed to stay. The captain agreed - but only on the condition that they spend the remaining six days of their £12,000 cruise in their cabin under house arrest and handed over all their alcohol. The row erupted during dinner when another passenger at the formal dinner was said to have remarked: ‘There are too many Jews on board’. Miss Sher, who is Jewish, was appalled and apparently said back: ‘F*** you!’ and ‘How dare you insult me!’ before storming off to her stateroom. The next morning Commodore Warner knocked on their door and, citing regulations, told them: ‘You insulted a fellow passenger. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the ship’. The passenger making the antisemestic comment was not similarly sanctioned.
Pax evicted
October 1 Sun & Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: Both vessels got away late from Sydney. Sun departed over an hour late owing to late arrival of the fuel tender for bunkering from Darling Harbour. Meanwhile round the corner at the International Passenger Terminal  Dawn got away several hours late owing to a reported external security threat .
Late departures
September 30 Carnival Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Orlando Sentinel reports a bartender charged with having sex with a 14-year-old girl who was vacationing with her parents was sentenced to just over three years in federal prison Thursday. The 30 year old man pleaded guilty in June to one count of sexual abuse. In addition to the prison time, he was ordered to pay about $4,360 in restitution. Court records said the teenager, identified as "T.W.," was aboard the Carnival Freedom, which left from the Port of Fort Lauderdale in April 2009. While on the cruise, T.W. and her parents became acquainted with Krispiyanto. T.W. told investigators she was alone on the upper deck of the ship one night when Krispiyanto walked up behind her, grabbed her arm and pulled her into a nearby employee-only room and closed the door, court records said. Krispiyanto had sex with the girl, and then told her to leave, his plea agreement said. T.W. reported the incident to her mother in August, and it was then reported to the FBI. He was indicted in Orlando federal court in May.
Sentenced for sexual assault of minor
September 30 Lyubov Orlova CBC reports dozens of Russian and Ukrainian crewmembers are stranded in St. John's because the owner of the ship owes $250,000 to the Canadian company (Cruise North) that chartered it. Canadian officials placed the vessel under arrest when it arrived in St. John's five days ago. Crewmembers, who have been living on the ship in St. John's, told CBC News they haven't been paid for five months. "I am a little angry because I have a credit on my house and most of the crew have credits on houses in our country," said Russian Anton Fyederovski, the ship's third mate. "There will be a lot of trouble with banks at home, yes." The Lyubov Orlova was used during the summer for adventure tourism trips to northern Labrador and Northwest passage. No passengers were on the ship when it was arrested. There are 49 Russians and two Ukrainians working on the vessel.UPDATE: The ship was subsequently sold to a Norwegian investor in early November.
Impounded
September 27 Disney Wonder
Disney Cruise Line
The Democrat and Chronicle reports a 25 year old Rochester man has pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on the ship. He pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact on the high seas, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. He admitted engaging in sexual conduct with the girl on Jan. 1, 2007, on board the Disney Cruise Line ship “Disney Wonder” after it left Port Canaveral, Fla. for a cruise in the Caribbean. A criminal complaint alleged that he encountered the girl as she left a teen club on ship and ordered her to accompany him. The girl, who said she believed he was a security officer, followed him to the rear of the ship, where she was assaulted. He admitted to federal agents that he had sexual contact with the girl but said it was consensual and said he believed the girl was 17.
Pleads guilty to sexual assault of minor
September 27 Pacific Dawn
P&O Australia
Radio New Zealand reports Kava farmers from Pentecost island in Vanuatu have taken issue with a newsletter issued by the cruise ship operator, P&O, which they say warned visitors that Vanuatu kava is spiked. The farmers have called for a ban on the importation of Australian wine in retaliation. Vanuatu’s Independent news paper says the warning on kava is in the "Pacific Daily", the newsletter for the passengers on the P&O Pacific Dawn cruise ship, which is a regular visitor to Port Vila. It says kava is spiked and may cause unpleasant side effects. But Pentecost farmer, Jean Baptiste Buleben, says that claim is an insult. He says kava use is a sign of respect and peace, which until recently was the preserve of high ranked chiefs.
Local insult
September 27 Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises
The Mercury reports wild weather prevented the ship from docking at Burnie wharf this morning. This was the first cruise ship of the season, scheduled to dock at 6.30AM. The ship is now on its way to Hobart – the next scheduled stop on the ship's 28-day tour. Burnie Mayor Alvwyn Boyd was upset the cruise ship had been unable to berth so its passengers could explore the city and surrounds. "Many volunteers, tour operators and businesses spend a lot of time planning out activities for the visitors and it is disappointing for all involved," Ald Boyd said.
Canceled port call
September 27 Moby Otta
Moby Line
Le Repubblica Genova reports two German tourists, aged 28 and 29, died when their car plunged into the sea as cars were offloading from the ro-ro ferry. Apparently the gate over which cars passed from the ship to the terminal moved away from the shore. Human error has not been eliminated as the cause of the accident.
Freak accident
September 26 Macau Success
Success Cruises
Agence France Presse reports a 47-year-old man from mainland China will appear in a Hong Kong court Monday on a charge of murder over the death of a woman who last week fell from a cruise ship. The man was arrested Friday after the 43-year-old woman fell into the sea off Waglan Island, near the eastern edge of Hong Kong's territory, a special autonomous region in southern China. A Hong Kong newspaper reported Saturday that the woman was pulled unconscious from the water 50 minutes after she was pushed overboard from the casino ship. The woman was pronounced dead by rescuers and marine police arrested her 47-year-old husband on board the Macau Success for questioning, the South China Morning Post reported. The ship is one of several passenger ships that ferry gamblers from Hong Kong into international waters, beyond the jurisdiction of city's strict controls on gambling.
Passenger pushed overboard
September 23 Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
A report from the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch indicates at 0426 (UTC+1), the ship was approaching Barcelona when one of 12 capacitors in a harmonic filter1 failed, accompanied by a loud explosion. The explosion resulted in extensive damage to the surrounding electric panels and caused the vessel to black out. There were no navigational hazards nearby, main power was restored at 0455 and the ship was able to get back underway at 0523. Fortunately, there were no staff near the equipment at the time of the explosion.
Dead in the water
September 21 SuperStar Aquarius
Star Cruises
AOL Travel reports A 51-year-old Chinese man jumped to his death after apparently losing more than $386,000 in the casino. The 1,500-passenger ship was on its way back to Hong Kong after a two-day party cruise when the incident occurred, according to local news reports. Xu was seen betting at a gaming table after dinner, and remained at the table until 8 a.m., according to other passengers. After the big losses, he reportedly wandered around the top deck of the 13-deck ship for about an hour before taking his fatal leap. A spokesman for Star Cruises says the captain was alerted someone had fallen into the sea, stopped the ship and called in rescue teams. The man's body was retrieved. Police ruled out foul play.
Passenger overboard - body recovered
September 21 Arcadia
P&O Cruises
BBC reports a coroners inquest heard that A 22-year-old junior waiter working on board the cruise hanged himself after being caught stealing tips from a restaurant. Sumith Gawas, from Collem, Goa, in India, killed himself in his cabin on the P&O Cruise ship Arcadia while it was docked in Southampton. Mr Gawas was caught emptying the tips box by his colleagues in a self-service restaurant on 16 July this year. Deputy Southampton Coroner Gordon Denson recorded a verdict of suicide. The coroner said the shame of the theft had clearly led to him taking his life.
Crew member suicide
September 18 Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Cruises

From a reader: The story on the cruise that I was on goes like this: On early Friday morning around 130 am a person fell overboard from the 5th floor. It took them about an hour to locate and rescue the person who was alive(amazing). He was fighting and very belligerent when he was rescued. They put the person in handcuffs and he was taking off the ship in the next port of sail which was Roatan Honduras. The gentleman of approximately 65 years of age had an arguement with his wife at an 80's party being held in the Sky Lounge near the bow. At about 1:30am on deck 5 starboard he removed most of his clothing and dove off the deck. Fast acting crew members threw a flashing buoy overboard immediately to mark his location and the man-overboard call was made. The Captain was summoned and many of us heard the code "Oscar, Oscar" Apparently 2-zodiacs were launched the second after some issues with the first....of this I am not certain. Upon reaching the very lucking gentleman he did not wish to be rescued and when pulled on board the zodiac became beligerant and hence was cuffed. We were told he was removed from the ship in Roatan. Yesterday in the afternoon, on our last day at sea, the Captain came on the loudspeaker and thanked his hard working crew for their efforts for the rescue. My husband recorded a You Tube video of him being rescued. There are photos here.

Person overboard rescued alive
September 16 Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
Metro News reports a crewmember who was found in possession of child pornography while his ship was docked in Halifax has been sentenced to 120 days in jail. Edward Mangubat, age 40 from the Philippines, was arrested on Sept. 7 and pleaded guilty on Thursday at Halifax provincial court.
Child pornography siezed
September 15 Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line
The ship was cited for two violations of Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 15 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of fecal coliform bacteria. For the month of September, the ship's monthly geometric mean exceeded the allowable level of fecal coliform bacteria.
Water pollution
September 11 Prinsendam
Holland America Line
Received from a reader - from Cruise Critic: Received a note from a friend who's aboard the Prinsendam: "Seems that the high winds that kept us from anchoring at Portree, Isle of Skye and Scrabster had a few more surprises in store for us last night. Things started getting a little rough during the 7 PM cocktail hour but really not too bad. Dinner was another story entirely. Gale force winds stated to buffet the ship at about 8:15 PM. We were seated at a table for 4 towards the back of the Pinnacle Grill. Next thing you know, we were holding on to the glassware and the table for dear life. The large window next to my seat made a sound like a shotgun and shattered but didn’t break as it is safety glass. It scared the hell out of us. We could hear all hell breaking loose in the kitchen. I shudder to think of what happened to all of that lovely Bulgari china. The Captain came on to the P.A. system to tell all passengers to remain seated, if possible, or to get down on the floor as we were in for some really rough seas. What an understatement. A window was blown out in the showroom and water started pouring in there during the entertainment. One of my table-mates was the Event Manager for the Prinsendam. She had to leave and see to passenger safety and help move people out of harm’s way. We sat and held on to our wine and water glasses and ate bread. Best way to avoid mal de mer is to keep something on your stomach. All around us we could hear pots, pans, dishes, glassware flying in the kitchen while the staff was trying to secure all flying objects. One waiter was stationed at a marble topped cart to keep it from sliding all over the dining room. The worst part of the rocking and rolling went on for about 1.5 hours. As all of the craziness was going on the staff of the Prinsendam remained calm and did an outstanding job of protecting the passengers and securing the ship. I can’t say enough about their skill and calm demeanor throughout this unexpected event. The Captain kept us all informed of what to expect and was a calming and professional voice. The Pinnacle staff was superb. Picking up where they left off as if this was just a little glitch in an otherwise normal day. When we got back to our cabin, we found that anything that wasn’t secured was on the floor. Good thing we’re neat. It didn’t take too long to put things back in order. One of our neighbors couldn’t get back into their cabin until the winds died down as their balcony door had opened and the wind kept them from opening their cabin door." And later:"Update to the adventure. It turns out we unexpectedly hit a force 12 storm. That's hurricane force. We lost about 50 windows and there is a dent in the prow of the ship. What a 'fun' ride."
Major storm damage
September 9 Atlantic Star
Pullmantur Cruises
Spanish media (here and here) report the ship lacked air conditioning (causing stifling heat in cabins) and problems with overflowing or leaking toilets.This was caused by an electrical problem. The cruise began on Sunday from Málaga; on Wednesday it made a stop at the Port of Arrecife and, by decision of the tour operator to the situation that existed on board because of a problem in the power supply,the cruise was suspended. Passengers were flown back to either Malaga or Lisbon. The ship was on the "Jewels of the Atlantic," replacing Pacific Dream which suffered engine failure last August (see August 17). (Covered in the English press here.)
Cruise suspended
September 9 Crown Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: The ship missed Belfast on Monday 6th sept due to bad weather in Irish Sea causing a delayed departure from Dublin. Also missed Reykjavik on Wednesday 8th due to high winds preventing entry to Harbour. NOTE: The next ports are Greenland and then St. John's, Newfoundland.
Missed ports
September 9 Spirit of Oceanus
Cruise West
The Telegram reports the cruise scheduled to begin this week in St. Pierre et Miquelon, following a stop in St. John's, Newfoundland as part of its world cruise, has been canceled. Those on the ship for the world cruise must debark at St. John's. The company has reportedly sold the ship and is in the process of restructuring as regards its otgher operations. At this point, they are not takling reservations and they have no cruises scheduled beyond October. UPDATE: Except for its Danube cruise, the company will cease all operations September 22. Booked passengers will be notified by the company. See here for details.
Cruise canceled
September 8 Funchal
Classic International Cruises
AFP reports nine Portuguese tourists were killed and 14 injured when their tour bus plunged into a ravine in northern Morocco. Eight of the dead in the accident near the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were female, including a teenager, and one of the injured was a Moroccan guide, medical sources added. "It was very foggy and drizzling," a witness said. "The coach skidded and fell into a ravine." Classic International Cruises said that 44 tourists were aboard the bus when it crashed at 0645 GMT.
Deaths ashore
September 5 Zaandam
Holland America Line
Zaandam, Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 5 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
September 4 Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines

The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 4 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of zinc.

Water pollution
September 1 Clelia II
Great Lakes Cruise Co.
From a passenger: On approximately 8/31/2010, departing Manitoulin Island, Ontario, the ship lost power.  Total darkness.  Public address system advised passengers to stabilize themselves...power back on...Public Address announced "Electircal engineer to bridge NOW" Power off again.  Slight bump.  Lights back on.   The Tour Director, Jonathan Green, Travel Dynamics International , later appeared before the passengers on behalf of the Captian, explained it was due to human error, that US and Canadian officials had been contacted to ascertain if it was safe to proceed with the planned itinerary.  From passengers conversation, the ship dropped anchor as soon as the first power outage occurred; that it had been determined only the paint on the hull was affected.
Loss of power
September 1 Carnival Glory
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Chronicle Herald reports a crewman today was arrested and charged with smuggling child pornography into the country when he debarked in Halifax. The assistant room steward allegedly had child pornography on a laptop computer. Canada Border Services Agency officers were inspecting crew members getting off the ship at Pier 22 when they nabbed the 26-year-old. He was arraigned in Halifax provincial court late in the afternoon on a Customs Act charge. Judge Bill Digby remanded Putra to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth until Friday, when he'll back in court. This is the second cruise ship employee to be charged with having child pornography so far this year in Halifax. In May, a Filipino who was an assistant waiter on the Costa Atlantica was sentenced to four months in jail for possession and importation (see May 13 below).
Child pornography siezed
August 30 Pacific Sun
P&O Australia
From a passenger: WE DID NOT ENJOY OUR 4 DAY SAMLPER CRUISE SYDNEY TO SYDNEY ON 22ND AUGUST – 26TH AUGUST 2010. MY SISTER CONTRACTED THE NOROVIRUS. PREVIOUS CRUISE HAD AT LEAST 60 NOROVIRUS PATIENTS AND WE WERE PUT IN A CABIN WHERE PEOPLE WERE SICK BEFORE US. THE CABIN WAS NOT CLEANED ON ARRIVAL AND WE COMPLAINED, THEN FELL SICK STRAIGHT AWAY. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY ALTHOUHJ WWE WER PROMISED THAT MEDICAL CENTRE DOES NOT BILL NOROVIRUS PATIENTS, WE STILL GOT IN LATER. NO WAY WILL WE PAY THE BILL.
Illness
August 29 Clipper Adventurer
Adventure Canada
The National Post reports evacuation efforts are underway in the Canadian Arctic after the ship ran aground in three metres of water on Friday evening about 55 nautical miles from Coppermine, Nunavut, near the border with the Northwest Territories. A Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker is en route to the scene to transport passengers to Coppermine where the ship was headed. The cruise began in Greenland. There were no reports of injuries and authorities said they were not concerned about environmental damage. Update September 1: With the ship still stuck on the uncharted rock where it grounded, Adventure Canada has canceled the remainder of the ship’s season. A technical team is on board doing evaluations and they expect it will take some days before a refloating attempt will take place.
Ran aground
August 27 Thomson Celebration
Thomson Cruises
A passenger wrote, regarding the August 16-23 cruise: The ship's itinerary was significantly changed because of engine problems. The ship left Marmaris, Turkey (port of embarkation) more than 24 hours late, and two ports (Santorini and Cannakale) were dropped. In addition, port call times were changed. The reader also writes: On Day 7 after departure from Rhodes, the ship lost electrical power, the passenger areas plunged into darkness, the engines appeared to stop, I observed one officer with his head in his hands and the ship appeared to drift for 10 minutes. One passenger was complaining of black water everyday and there were frequent airconditioning problems. On the transfer coach back to the airport the wheel broke and we ended up stranded on the side of the road - but that's another story!
Engine problems
August 27 Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line

The Bermuda Sun reports the ship had its stay in Bermuda cut short due to engine problems. The ship today left Bermuda about 11 hours early as extra time was needed for the ship’s return journey to NYC. The ship had to travel at a reduced speed due to technical difficulties with one of the ship’s engines. The ship was due to leave King’s Wharf, Dockyard, at 6:30am this morning instead of 5pm as originally scheduled and is due to arrive in New York at 9am on Saturday, an hour later than planned. Each stateroom received $50 on-board credit for the change of plan.

Propulsion problems
August 27 Pacific Sun
P&O Australia
News 3 in New Zealand reports a woman injured when the ship struck bad weather off the Northland coast in 2008 is taking P&O to court. She argues her enjoyment was ruined by what happened after she was hit by a trolley and wants damages for the injuries she suffered. The woman was one of 77 passengers and crew injured when the boat rolled. She suffered a cut foot, broken ribs and a ruptured kidney. She had a week in hospital and six weeks off work, and she's angry. She says P&O ought to have had heavy items secured. She is taking legal action against the company in Australia, wanting it to admit it made a mistake and pay her damages. A British maritime safety report confirmed there was a problem. "It was pure good fortune that some passengers and crew were not more seriously injured or killed by the unexpected movement of supposedly fixed heavy items," it found. P&O says it has now secured heavy objects on the Pacific Sun and checked the rest of its fleet. The woman says the accident was made worse by what happened afterwards. When the ship docked in Auckland she and other injured passengers were kept on board until journalists and their cameras left. "It should be injured passengers before the media," she says. "You need to get injured people to hospital."
Lawsuit
August 24 Artemis
P&O Cruises
The Western Telegraph reports the ship, which was scheduled to visit Milford Haven (Wales) tomorrow will be unable to make the call due to weather conditions. It was to be the first P&O cruise liner to visit the port and the first time the company had docked in any Welsh Port.
Skipped port call
August 24 Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line
The Royal Gazette reports a New Yorker caught with cannabis on a cruise ship was fined $1,500 in Magistrates' Court yesterday. The woman, a 44-year-old registered nurse, pleaded guilty to importing cannabis to the Island. Crown counsel Larissa Burgess said the woman arrived in Dockyard from New York last Wednesday. At around 10.22 a.m., Customs officers at the entrance to the ship saw Powers moving towards the exit. When she saw the officers she appeared to panic, turning around and walking away. Cruise ship security officers searched her room and found a hand-rolled cigarette, a grinder and a plastic bag containing plant material, later revealed to be 6.19 grams of cannabis. Questioned by the officers, she said: "The drugs are mine. I accept full responsibility for everything." Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner ordered the fine to be paid immediately.
Drug arrest
August 23 Crown Princess, Saga Ruby, & Black Watch The Guernsey Press reports that due to forecast weather conditions and rough seas, the three ships all decided to move on after being in Guernsey waters for just a few hours. The ships arrived early in the morning but after discussions with the harbour authorities the Saga Ruby and Black Watch decided to leave straight away. ‘The Crown Princess wanted to wait and see if the weather was going to clear up and to speak to its head office. But at 8.07am it decided to cancel.
Skipped port call
August 22 Zaandam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 22 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
August 21 Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines
The ship was cited for two violations of Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 21 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia and copper..
Water pollution
August 20 Ryndam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 20 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
August 20 Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: I just wanted to let you know of an accident that happened on the Carnival Dream on 8/20/2010. When we woke up in the morning everyone had received a letter stating that the ship had to change course toward Puerto Rico to medevac a passenger on the ship. None of the crew members were willing to give any reason for the passenger being air lifted off of the ship, but people who were there when it happened (approximately 2 AM) said that the passenger was quite intoxicated after leaving the night club and fell from Deck 11 to the Lido deck.
Over-intoxicated passenger
August 19 Bahamas Celebration
Celebration Cruise Line
CBS12 reports Miami FBI is investigating an alleged rape on the ship. Investigators responded to the ship when it docked Monday morning. Reports say passengers were delayed upon arrival at the port until the FBI was able to gather a list of names for everyone onboard. At this moment no arrests have been made.
Alleged sexual assault
August 18 Sergei Kirov (Russian ship) Associated Press reports the cruise ship, carrying hundreds of U.S. and German tourists, collided Wednesday with a barge on the Volga River, but no one was hurt. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's branch in the Yaroslavl region said the collision occurred early Wednesday in the Rybinsk reservoir on the Volga River. The barge carrying sand hit the cruise liner Sergei Kirov, piercing a 5-meter hole in its starboard side. The ministry said that none of the 202 tourists and 91 crew aboard had suffered any injuries and the crew quickly patched the hole. Passengers were moved to other boats and then returned to Moscow by bus, about 300 miles away.
Collision
August 17 Pacific Dream
Pullmantur Cruises
Media in Spain and Portugal report the ship has experienced engine failure and forced to cancel its current cruise and several subsequent cruises. The ship will undergo repairs in Morocco. It had been sailing a seven-day intinerary from Malaga with stops at Gibraltar, Lisbon, Agadir, Casablanca and Lanzarote. UPDATE August 25: The company annnounced that Atlantic Star, which was laid up last year, will be reactivated and will assume the itineraries previously planned for Pacific Dream. The ship will begin operations on August 27th.
Engine failure - cruises cancelled
August 17 Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
From a passenger: The famed Aqua theatre floor had a hydraulic challenge that forced all performances to be cancelled for the week (Aug 7 - 14). All staterooms received a 100 US $ OB credit. I had heard later in the week that even this week’s cruise may be inconvienced as well,  as a shore side crane would need to be brought in to lift the hydraulic floor to make the repair after parts could be delivered from Finland,
Cancel shows
August 15 Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: We were on the Carnival Dream sailing 08/07 to 08/14 and heard that a brawl broke out in the dance club around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of the 12th. We heard from passengers and a bartender that the brawl started over a song. It involved so many young people (men and women) that the security on board was unable to handle everyone and had to call in assistance from wait staff and other crew members. The fight spilled over into the art gallery located next door and apparently a $10K painting was ruined with blood spatter. Flat screen tvs were smashed and there was a lot of damage done. We heard that people on the ground were getting kicked in the head by men and women and that one person needed to be revived because he was hurt so badly. We also heard that the crowd spilled out of the dance club and that innocent people were getting punched in the face as they were walking by. The next morning in Costa Maya there were a bunch of people (10 people) sitting by the side of the ship with all of their luggage as they were kicked off the ship and their relatives were shipped off to Mexican jails. Carnival needs to learn a lesson here and not serve alcohol after a certain time and perhaps shut down the 18+ dance club before 3:00 a.m. Nothing good can come of drunk teenagers at 3:00 in the morning. (See Florida Today for the media report of the incident.)
Brawl
August 15 Norwegian Epic
Norwegian Cruise Line
Miami Herald reports a 21-year-old man hours into a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean with his family suffered an apparent severe allergic reaction to food and died onboard, forcing a return to the Port of Miami early Sunday. The death of the unidentified man -- ultimately of a heart attack -- cast a pall on the start of a seven-day Caribbean cruise. After having sailed out with its joyful passengers at about 4 p.m. Saturday, the cruise ship was back in port at 1 a.m. as the young man's body was taken off the ship.
Onboard death
August 13 Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Sun Sentinel reports the ship discharged approx 1 pint of fuel oil into Port of Miami Government Cut a tributary of the Atlantic Ocean. The oil was discharged from the rescue boat when it collapsed during launch. The discharge created a sheen and was immediately cleaned by the responsible party. The rescue boat was then removed from the water and place on land for repairs to be made. The ship was in the prcoess of lowering the port side rescue boat to the water when there was a failure of one of the two of the aft bolts that secure the cage to the rescue boat's hull. The increased strain caused the failure of the second bolt on the aft portion of the cage, which lead to the rescue boat tipping nose up vertically in the air. The crewmember in the rescue boat fell from the stern of the rescue boat to the water, a distance of approximately 3 stories. The crewmember was retreived from the water, taken to the ship's hospital and found to have sustained a few minor scratches to his lower leg. The ship received consent from Class to transit without the port rescue boat.
Failure of lifeboat; crew member injured; envivronmental discharge of oil
August 12 Black Watch
Fred Olsen Cruises
From a passenger: The ship was progressing at slow speed along the fjord tracks about 10Nm from Narsarsuaq (Greenland) and encountering significant ice flows. Shortly after 11pm local time the ship’s port bow collided with an iceberg resulting in a significant impact. Sleeping passengers were woken by the impact and those around the ship moved to the open decks.  There were no reported injuries. The ship’s Master ordered that an inspection be carried out and crew members carried out an overdeck inspection of the bow area. The ship continued safely to Narsarsuaq, its next scheduled port of call.  After a more complete inspection in port the following day where the damage was found to be superficial the ship continued with its cruise itinerary although abandoned attempts to reach its next scheduled destination of Nanortalik or to sail through the fjords around Cape Farewell as planned.  
Collision with iceberg
August 11 Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Gazette reports a passenger was fined after ship security staff smelled burned marijuana outside his room. Patrick Gallo, 27, from New York, pleaded guilty to importing cannabis to the Island and possessing the drug and paid a $1500 fine. According to Crown counsel, security officers were walking outside the cabin on Saturday when they smelt cannabis and decided to initiate a search. Inside the room, they found the man holding a partially burned hand-rolled cigarette. A further search of the room found a second partially smoked cigarette and another bag with plant like material. A total of 2.5 grams of cannabis were found in his cabin.
Drug arrest
August 11 Zaandam
Holland America Line
The US Coast Guard reports the shp suffered a problem with "material failure." Material failure
August 8 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises
The US Coast Guard reports the ship suffered a problem with "material failure." Material failure
August 8 Scottish Viking
DFDS Seaways
BBC reports an investigation is under way into a collision between a ferry and a trawler which has left a teenage fisherman lost in the North Sea. The North Shields-based Homeland prawn boat was in collision with the Scottish Viking off the Berwickshire coast just before 2000 BST on Thursday. Two fishermen, who are brothers, were on board the trawler. One, aged 20, was pulled to safety by another boat. The search for the other brother, thought to be 16, has been called off. Fred Caygill from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) told the BBC a crewman from another vessel had seen the missing boy in the water at 2025 BST on Thursday, but he then slipped from view. The MCA confirmed the search was terminated at 1400 BST on Friday, a decision which had followed 17 hours of searching, when expected survivability had been exceeded.The Marine Accident Investigation Branch will examine how the collision happened. A spokesman said: "We are conducting a preliminary examination at the moment."
Collision
August 8 Zaandam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 8 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
August 7 Carnival Spirit
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports that at around 1620, the ship was underway at 105 revolutions per minute when the port azipod automatically made an unexpected 50 degree attack angle change. The commanded rudder angle was 10 degrees. This was while the ship was in auto pilot. The pod was taken offline by the Chief Engineer and then operated by manual steering thereafter with a different steering pump. The ship will take on a service tech in Seattle to correct the issue.
Propulsion problem
August 7 Oriana
P&O Cruises
From a passenger: On 5 August the ship was delayed 4 hours sailing away from Dubrovnik as the computers operating the steering system crashed. This resulted in a mid day rather than early morning arrival in Venice. On 7th August there was a small fire aboard one of the tender ships carrying passengers to and from Split. No report of damage or casualties.
Delayed departure/ arrival
August 3 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
USA Today reports the shipis experiencing a mechanical problem that is forcing it to sail at a reduced speed, resulting in changes to its itinerary. One of four hydraulic motors isn't working properly. The speed reduction is relatively minor, and the problem is expected to be fixed within a matter of days. The ship currently is sailing in the Baltic. "We carried out preliminary repairs in Harwich (England) on Saturday," RCCL says. "However, we are awaiting a replacement hydraulic motor and will conduct (further) repairs while the ship is in St. Petersburg, Russia." The ship is scheduled to be in St. Petersburg on Thursday and Friday. Today's call on Visby, Sweden is from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. instead of Stockholm. Wednesday's port call to Helsinki, Finland will remain from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Thursday the ship will arrive in St. Petersburg at 7:30 a.m. and depart on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Repairs are expected to be completed while in St. Petersburg.
Propulsion problems
July 28 Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line
AOL News reports a 37-year-old financial analyst from Maryland was yanked off the ship in Bermuda and charged with importing marijuana. He was nabbed with 7.66 grams of pot. He had traveled to Bermuda last week on a weeklong cruise from New York. The Royal Gazette quotes a prosecutor as saying other passengers had complained they smelled cannabis smoke coming from the cabin Koumoulis shared with his brother. Ship crew went in and found Koumoulis alone. They also found two Ziploc bags containing an "unknown substance" and three packages of cigarette papers. Police came onboard, and when questioned the man admitted the drugs were his, the Gazette says. Appearing this week in Magistrates' Court, he said he had made a "very, very stupid mistake." In addition to being held on the island nation (and missing the rest of his cruise), he was fined $1,500.
Drug arrest
July 28 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
Anchorage Daily News reports federal authorities are investigating the cause of death of a whale found stuck on the bow of the ship near Juneau this morning. The Coast Guard says the adult humpback whale was discovered on top of the bulbous bow of the Sapphire Princess about 8 a.m. as the ship was south of Juneau near Tracy Arm. The ship waited south of Juneau following the discovery while a tugboat crew worked to dislodge the carcass. The vessel was cleared to proceed to port after 3 p.m. The tugboat was hauling the carcass to an undisclosed location where authorities could conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death of the whale. UPDATE: A necropsy indicated the whale likely was dead before it was impaled by the ship. The ship had a similar strike in 2009 -- See July 25, 2009.
Whale impaled
July 28 Zaandam
Holland America Line
The US Coast Guard reports the ship suffered loss of electrical power. Loss of electrical power
July 26 Celebrity Eclipse
Celebrity Cruises
From a passenger: We just returned from the 10 July sailing from Southampton to the Baltic. We received a letter of a chickenpox outbreak on day 2. Also had someone removed from the ship which delayed sailing in Warnemunde, Germany... medical emergency of some sort, looked like a young person taken away in an ambulance.
Chicken pox
July 26 Oceanic Discoverer
Coral Princess Cruises
New Zealand Herald reports two separate investigations have been launched into an accident on the ship at the Port of Napier yesterday which has left a seaman fighting for his life. The 34-year-old Australian man, of Sri Lankan descent, was in a critical condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital this morning after he was crushed between a fire door and a bulkhead during a safety drill. The man was trapped for five minutes before being freed by crew and resuscitated. He has had surgery for crush injuries to his chest, abdomen and pelvis. Theship, which arrived in Napier yesterday, did not leave for the Marlborough Sounds last night as scheduled. It is being held in port while the investigations take place and there is also a manning issue now.
Crew seriously injured
July 26 Emerald Princess
Princess Cruises
CBS4 News reports the ship left Port Everglades bound for an island in the Bahamas, apparently developing problems at around 6:30 PM, shortly after leaving the port, causing it to operate on half of its power and leaving passengers without air conditioning. Passengers onboard reported that conditions onboard are rough because the air conditioning is not working. The Coast Guard said a computer glitch is to blame. The ship's engines were knocked out momentarily. But the ship's chief engineer has been able to get at least two of those engines up and running, according to the Coast Guard's report. The engineer is working on getting the third engine powered up, officials said. UPDATE: CBS4 reports the problems was resolved by 11:00 PM. The ship skipped its port call at Princess Cays. The Sun Sentinel reports suffered an electrical failure out bound from Port Everglades which consequently led to propulsion failure.
Engine problems - No A/C; Propulsion failure
July 25 Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
A poster at Cruise Critic reports while pulling into Half Moon Cay a man went overboard. Speculation there was a couple fighting badly in the casino last night and he jumped. Felt like forever to get him but we think we saw movement after they got him on the lifeboat. A subsequent post gives more details: So here is what I know. I was walking down the hall to my room when I heard "bravo bravo starboard side". Within seconds I got to my door and could here the other people in our party out on the deck with raised voices. I ran outside to find that they saw the man actually fall below. They had heard people start to scream and they looked over the balcony to see him falling from what they could tell right around the lifeboats. He stayed submerged for what felt like was 30 seconds or so. Someone did manage to throw out a ring and it appeared he had it but we later realized he didn't. I think he tried swimming and fighting the ocean for awhile...and he completely went out of sight...he then reappeared floating on his back. The crew did an excellent job...but it was very scary. When the lifeboat finally reached him they struggled to get him on the lifeboat but they got him in. When the lifeboat came around and we could see inside they were not performing CPR so we assumed he was awake. We have heard around the ship that he is alive. Somebody on the ship said it was a band member who got into an argument in the casino....not sure about all the details. The whole ordeal probably took about five to ten minutes. Whatever the reason ..I hope he is okay.
Crew member overboard - Rescued alive
July 25 Thomson Dream
Thomson Cruises
Wales News reports two Welsh friends are threatening legal action after their dream cruise turned into a nightmare. They claim they found fleas in their beds and smelly sewage on the carpets. They also say they were struck down with sickness and diarrhoea, and had to stay on board when the ship docked at Tunisia, Barcelona, Sardinia and Egypt. One woman, in her 50s, said the toilets in her cabin were so bad she had to climb several decks to reach a good one. The pair travelled on the cruise ship between May 25 and June 2 this year. They boarded in Palma, Majorca, and immediately had to hold their noses because of the strong smell of sewage. Carmen said: “We just couldn’t believe it and obviously imagined it would be temporary. “But throughout the whole trip a number of the toilets were overflowing. “Men were running around with spanners trying to fix things but that should have been done before anyone stepped on board.” A spokeswoman for Thomson Cruises has confirmed there were plumbing-related issues during the friends’ cruise. But the firm has assured that this problem had now been completely resolved. NOTE: The ship was previously Costa Europa (see February 26 below).
Sewage problems
July 24 Splendida
MSC Cruises
Italian News reports two Spanish tourists fell about ten meters from the ship during landing operations in Genoa, falling first on the dock and then into the sea. The accident occurred around 13:10. The woman died; the man who has sixty years was taken "code red" (the most severe) to San Martino hospital emergency room with a concussion and a broken leg. It appears from news reports there were other passengers who also fell. The cause is that the gangway from the ship to the quay collapsed as passengers were disembarking. According to Spanish News, the 62-year-old from Barcelona was boarding the ship with her husband and friends when the top step of the gangplank gave way. Sixty-year-old Fausto del Charro, also from Barcelona, also fell from the gangplank and hit the quay but is out of danger, suffering only some bruises. "We were just about to step onto the ship when my husband literally disappeared in front of me, falling into the void," said the man's wife.
Fall from gangway- death
July 22 Independence
American Cruise Lines
Bangor Daily News reports the 100 passenger cruise ship allegedly released waste into the harbor as it was tied up to the town pier on Monday. The incident happened around 10:30 Monday morning and involved gray water. It isn't known how much was released, it was enough to discolor the water around the ship and had some odor to it. Jane Disney, a town councilor who is also director of the community lab, said Wednesday that the lab tested the water next to the ship about two hours after the discharge was detected. She said the lab found levels of the bacteria enterococcus at 228 parts per 100 million, slightly more than twice the concentration level of the bacteria that correlates to illness in humans. UPDATE: WCSH News reports tests completed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection were unable to prove whether or not the ship discharged its waste while at the town pier last month, but they do say that tests indicated there was definitely a presence of sewage in the water not long after the cruise ship docked in Bar Harbor on July 19. A test conducted hours after the ship was seen discharging showed an elevated level of the bacteria "enterococcus." The D.E.P. says while the ship appears to be the only apparent source of the plume, the department can not be 100 percent certain. Authorities say this is partially because the D.E.P. is not allowed to board ships to check the necessary valves. The captain of the ship says his crew might have discharged "grey water" while the ship was at the town dock, but he added that type of waste could not have produced the size or odor of the plume reported by witnesses. "Grey water" comes from sinks and showers onboard a vessel and investigators with the D.E.P. say it could not have raised the bacteria level of the water to the extent it was on July 19. The case will be referred to the Environmental Protection Agency and the coast guard.
Environmental
July 20 Statendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 20 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
July 16 Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises
A poster at Princess Chatter reports on the ship's 104 day World Cruise, Sydney to Sydney, The ship missed Safaga a while ago due to engine problems. Ship left Southampton on 14 July and yesterday tried to berth at Dublin, Captain decided not to because of operational problems, high winds, so she missed Dublin. Now has 7 sea days to Boston USA. Lot of unhappy cruisers on board, such is life.
Missed port
July 13 Imagination
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports as the Vessel was at sea transiting from Key West to Cozumel when they had an electrical fire in the Elevator Machinery Room. The fire was extinguished immediately using 10 CO2 portable extinguishers. The origin of the fire was the Harmonic Filter of elevator #17. The result of the fire was damage to the elevator control equipment including all wires, fire detection, and Satellite TV cables. Two passenger elevators and one crew elevator were left inoperable.
Fire
July 13 Fantasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: On July 9, 2010 in the afternoon while still docked in freeport, bahamas, my husband and I heard a frantic voice over the intercom system announce "Bright star sports deck" ... later on that night the captain announced there had been an unfortunate accident and a crew member died. The captain said his name was Adam but i could not understand his last name. I tried to ask the our waiter and a few other crew members but they wouldn't tell us what happened... wish i knew more information!!
Crew death
July 13 Carnival Victory
Carnival Cruise Lines
CBS News reports a 14-year-old girl was killed late Monday morning at a stop in St Thomas, Virgin Islands, when the tourist-packed safari bus on which she was riding was caught in the crossfire between what is believed to be warring gangs. One of the gunmen was also was killed, and another is on the loose. The shooting has caused the cruise line to cancel all tours to the popular Coki Beach area. Carnival said a second unidentified passenger was also sustained "minor injuries".
Pax killed ashore
July 13 Zaandam
Holland America Line
The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a fire. Fire
July 12 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: We just returned from our Alaska cruise leaving Seattle July 4th, 2010 and returning July 11th, 2010. One night my family and I were in the dining room when all of the sudden the boat felt like it was sinking. Glasses flew off the water station. A lot of items were thrown off into the ground. The water level rose to the dining room windows. I saw one man who had been sitting and eating completely fall out of his chair the list was so severe. I was thrown on the other side of the dining room. About a minute later the ship right sided. About 3 to 5 minutes later an announcement was made that a hump back whale had traversed in front of the ship and the crew took evasive actions to avoid hitting the whale. I find this incident to be suspicious as I have to ask why the crew would risk passenger safety for a whale ? I am not sure the extent of the injuries (if any at all). I just know the incident had scared the heck out of us.
Severe list
July 11 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports the ship lost of propulsion on port azipod while the vessel was inbound to Port of Tampa. Crew determined cause of azipod failure was a faulty circuit breaker that tripped. Circuit breaker was replaced, vessel attended and cleared by classification society.
Propulsion problems
July 9 Volendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 9 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of zinc.
Water pollution
July 8 Zuiderdam
Holland America Line
The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a problem with "material failure." Material failure
July 6 Norwegian Star
Norwegian Cruise Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in July. On July 6 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of fecal coliform bacteria.
Water pollution
July 3 Island Princess
Princess Cruises
The Sun Sentinel reports temporary loss of maneuverability/stbd rudder related to Nacos/Imac system failure. Crew conducted test of interface controller of the starboard rudder. Once the system was reset, it began operating satisfactorily. The US Coast Guard labeled this "material failure."
Loss of maneuverability
July 1 Fascination
Carnival Cruise Lines
USA Today reports lost power Wednesday for several hours and was adrift at sea. Carnival says the ship, which sails out of Jacksonville, Fla., had a "technical malfunction" while on the last leg of a five-day voyage that began on Saturday. Power was restored after several hours and the ship resumed travel to Jacksonville. The ship will arrive at Jacksonville today around 10 a.m., roughly three hours behind schedule. The line says the delay would have been shorter if not for tidal conditions. Embarkation for the ship's next voyage, a four-day cruise to the Bahamas, will be delayed until 1:30 p.m. today, the line says. The voyage is expected to depart on time at approximately 4 p.m., the line says.
Engine porblems
June 29 Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line
The Royal Gazette reports a 53-year-old man yesterday admitted sexually assaulting a teenage girl on the cruise ship while he was at dinner with his wife and son. He was fined $5,000 after he was accused of inappropriately touching the 18-year-old with his foot under a dinner table. He pleaded guilty to sexual assault when he appeared at Magistrates' Court, but insisted he was only resting his foot on the girl's knee and had no idea it was making her uncomfortable. According top crown counsel, the man met the victim and her family at Tobacco Bay on June 23 and after returning to the cruise ship, the families agreed to have dinner together. During the meal, his foot started to touch the victim's leg. "At that point, she thought it was an accident. When it happened again, she apologised. It happened again, and so she said she gave him a look. The defendant then slid down his chair, and began to feel her legs with his foot. She crossed her legs to discourage him, but he tried to use his feet to pry open her legs." The victim left the table during dessert and told Police that she returned to her room feeling violated and cried. The man was fine $5,000, the jundge saying: "It can't be put down to just an accidental rubbing of the foot. It was not just resting, it was deliberate and prolonged."
Sexual assault
June 27 Norwegian Jade
Norwegian Cruise Line
From a reader: On June 24, 2010, I was in port in Naples, Italy while travelling on the Celebrity Equinox.  At a pizzeria, I met two separate couples who were passengers on the NCL Jade.  Each told of a murder that had just occurred on their ship.  One even spoke of a cabin on their floor being sealed off with crime scene tape.  It was their understanding that a husband had murdered his wife and that he was taken into custody in Naples by Italian police.  I have not been able to independently verify this information and out of pure curiosity wondered if you have any information? The couples also spoke of returning to Barcelona shortly after initial departure due to the death of a crew member.  A female bartender had apparently died of a heart attack.  Sounded like a pretty morbid cruise! Another reader writes: I believe my wife and I were one of the couples the preceding post is referencing.  On the morning of Wednesday, June 23, 2010 were docked in Civitavecchia/Rome.  Upon meeting for our shore excursion in the Stardust Theatre we were told of a delay in being "cleared" to proceed off the ship and that we would be notified when the "officials" would give this clearance.  About one and a half hours later we were allowed to get off the ship and proceed with our day.  We toured Rome with about thirty other cruise mates throughout the day.  At the very end of our tour our guide asked us if we wanted to know why we were so late with the officials clearing us to get off the ship.  Of course we were curious so we all said yes.  She, a local guide from the Rome area, stated very admittedly that "a man had strangled his wife."  We were like, whoa!  She said we were only allowed off the ship after "the man confessed."  She didn't want to get us any more details and said we could find our more info from the ship.  Of course, none of the staff on the ship appeared to have a clue.  Everything was hush hush.  We were at a corner pizzeria in Naples on June 24th when we were talking with a group traveling on the Equinox.  Another couple at the pizzeria from our ship spoke of the same incident and the crime scene tape.  As a side note, I'm a police officer and noticed uniformed police and investigators (suits) from the Italian police at the ship when we returned from Rome as well as board the ship in morning when we docked in Naples.  Yes, this all left a strange feeling on the ship for the duration of the cruise.  I wish the staff of the ship, particularly the captain, would have set the record straight to those who were concerned.   Commenting on the last part of the previous post about the heart attack victim on Sunday, June 20, 2010: we were only told a person was very sick and that we were turning around to head back to Barcelona, which was less than two hours from when we set sail to Monaco.And another writes: We too were delayed onboard in port for over 2 hours without a clear explanation from the cruise staff. Later that day we witnessed the removal of a body and the gut-wrenching scene as the children cried and screamed for their mother's body to be left alone. We heard a crew member say it was a pregnant woman who committed suicide. (This makes more sense, as the entire ship would have been held on-board until it was deemed suicide and not murder.) NCL definately handled it in a callous manner. People gossip and talk, and by providing no information NCL only served to create more rumours and speculation.
??Muder onboard??
June 26 Infinity
Celebrity Cruises
From a passenger: During our June 18th to June 25 cruise to Alaska  There were two major problems. The first in Ketchecan on June 20.  We were unable to depart for 5 or 6 hours due to the bridge not able to control the engines.  This forced them to skip the Tracy Arm fiords the main reason we took this trip.  They gave us a $200.00 credit per stateroom which was an insult.  Problem 2 on June 23rd in Skagway an electrical fire caused the power to go out for a few hours during the early seating dinner. They did not keep us informed and we left for the second time. They offered no compensation. This was our 10th cruise and the first bad one. Won't recommend Celebrity.
Fire, Engine problems
June 25 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Daily Gazette reports passengers have been struck by norovirus for the second time in a month. More than 80 people were said to be suffering symptoms of the norovirus when it docked yesterday. Earlier this month, 292 guests and 16 crew contracted the illness. Passengers due to join the ship this week were told it would be sailing later than planned to allow the vessel to be thoroughly cleaned.
Illness
June 23 Opera
MSC Cruises
From a passenger: RE: June 4-14 cruise - norovirus was confirmed on the ship with over 400 passengers taken ill; passengers were vomiting in the reception area.  Doctors visits were free and tours were being refunded.
Illness
June 23 Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
KDKA-TV reports a 71 year old man has been charged with traveling across state lines intending to molest a child. According to the FBI, he boarded the ship for a week-long voyage. The lead agent in this case testified in federal court what allegedly happened on the morning of Dec. 18. 2009. "Based on the testimony in court today, he was alleged to have attempted to fondle a boy in a hot tub on a cruise ship," FBI agent Julie Halferty said. ABC Action News reports the man admitted he got onto a Florida cruise ship to have a sexual encounter with a child. Investigators say he went into the children's area during a December cruise and fondled a 6-year-old boy in a hot tub. The FBI says surveillance footage shows him putting his arm around the boy and pull him onto his lap. NOTE: Analysis of crime reports to the FBI reveal that a minor is the victim in more than 18% (perhaps as high as 30%) of sex related incidents on cruise ships.
Child molestation
June 23 The Detroit Free Press reports more than two dozen unhappy customers sued Park West Gallery on Tuesday, saying the Southfield-based company sold them fake, forged or overpriced artwork. The suit, filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, is the latest in a flurry of litigation against Park West, which once billed itself as the world's largest privately owned art gallery. At least seven other state and federal suits are pending in Pontiac and Seattle. Park West Park West operates the art auctions on a number of lines including Norwegian Cruise Line and, until this year, Royal Caribbean. "Park West said it's the victim of predatory lawyers.
Art auctioneer sued
June 22 Infinity
Celebrity Cruises
The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a problem with "material failure." Material failure
June 21 Norwegian Epic
Norwegian Cruise Line
It has been reported that the ship's arrival into Southampton on Tuesday will be delayed more than seven hours due to a technical issue. The ship is now expected at 5:30 p.m. instead of at 10 a.m. A Norwegian Cruise Line said the problem is a minor technical issue with the propeller shaft. The problem should be repaired in Southampton. The ship was further delayed because the security card system broke down and passengers had to be signed in by hand.Guests on Norwegian Epic’s two-night inaugural cruise on Tuesday from Southampton are now expected to embark at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Propulsion problems
June 16 Carnival Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a reader: The ship has missed her port callis in Victoria BC for 3 weeks in a row.  The "official" cause is high winds.  Odd, in that Oosterdam an identical Holland America vessel has been are able to handle the winds and dock, as do all the other vessels calling into Victoria.  64 port calls this year, 3 misses and all Carnival Spirit.  Local press coverage is very bad, and may discourage locals from sailing Carnival if they are that poor at ship handling. Editors note: Given the stop in Victoria is in order to comply with US cabotage laws, it is curious whether the cruise line has been able to have the US waive the $300 per passenger fine for not stopping at a foreign port.
Skipped port calls
June 16 Statendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. On June 16 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
June 15 Maasdam
Holland America Line
The Guardian reports the ship is taking a pass on Charlottetown today because of gusty winds which are expected to strengthen as the day progresses. The vessel, with almost 2,000 passengers and crew aboard, was scheduled to dock at 8 a.m. and depart at 5 p.m. But winds are forecast to approach 80 km/h in gusts this afternoon which might make docking treacherous for the Maasdam which sailed past the P.E.I. capital this morning towards its next port of call.
Skipped port call
June 15 Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: We are on our World Cruise on the Dawn Princess. The ship has suffered  a total propulsion break down, at 5;25PM Dubai time. Currently the ship is drifting helplessly in the Gulf of Aden on the way to the Port of Safaga Egypt. The Captain made two announcements stating that the problem was a soft problem and that they were in touch with the technical division head office. Power propulsion was fully restored at 7:44pm but I will keep you fully informed of further developments. Another person writes that the ship can only do 14 knots and will be going into Port Said for repairs.
Propulsion problems
June 11 Royal Caribbean International NBC News and CBS News report an employee of Royal Caribbean in Miami with access to customer information, was arrested Thursday and charged with a host of burglary counts. Investigators say she would use the Royal Caribbean access get information about customers and when they were sailing, and give it to her boyfriend, John Lopez. Police believe Lopez then sold that information to burglars in Palm Beach county. Because the burglars knew when their victims would be in the middle of the ocean, it was a simple thing to strike when convenient. There are reports of as many as 2 dozen victims in Palm Beach County and police are investigating the possibility other victims could live in Miami-Dade and Broward county. All victims are believed to have sailed from cruise ships leaving the Port of Miami or Port Everglades.
Burglaries
June 8 Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line
From a reader: The second night of our trans Atlantic crossing, I was struck with severe vomiting and diarrhea.  We notified our room steward who inturn run called medical.  They were very nice, gave me a good exam and then gave medication to take for the vomiting and diarrhea.  I was quarantined in my cabin, for 3 full days to be sure I was better, but as I chatted with the people that took care of cleaning my room twice a day.  Was informed that it had first started during the world cruise and some people continued to get sick.  I was #2 or 3, then the numbers went up each day, by the third day they just told me a lot more were sick.  While I was sick, It was noted that my waiter at dinner was also sick for a few days and not serving.  Now I wonder if I got it from him????
Illness
June 7 Hjatland
Northlink Ferries
STV News reports the ferry, which operates between Aberdeen and Shetland, has been withdrawn following an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea and is currently docked at Aberdeen harbour where it will remain for the next 48 hours. Northlink Ferries say the decision was taken after a bus party from Hereford became ill within an hour of boarding the vessel on Friday in Lerwick. It is understood 14, mainly elderly people, reported feeling unwell during the course of the journey. The ship was then subjected to a ten hour chemical deep clean prior to sailing north on Saturday evening but Northlink Ferries decided to withdraw it from service after three members of the Hjaltland crew became ill with similar symptoms on Sunday. The ferry is now being cleaned again and is expected to operate as normal on Wednesday.
Illness
June 7 Superstar Aquarius
Genting Hong Kong Ltd
Health and Community News reports the Department of Health (Hong Kong) has received reports of three chickenpox cases on the ship. Pregnant women and immuno-compromised people should avoid boarding the ship over the next four weeks. The first case involved a 29-year-old male deck utility worker who came down with a fever and rash on May 20. The second case involved another male deck utility worker, 31, who shared a cabin with the first patient before isolation. He developed skin eruptions on his face, scalp, chest and back on June 5. A 22-year-old female card dealer in the casino on board was the third case. She developed eruptions on her face, chest and back on June 6. Passengers who boarded the ship on or after May 15 should seek medical advice if they develop any signs or symptoms of chickenpox or have any concerns about contracting the disease.
Illness
June 5 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: The ship will dock at Pier 91 in Seattle on Sunday June 6 with reports that a number of passangers have the symptoms associated with norovirus.Passengers and luggage will be removed from the ship separately and the luggage will be stored and handled separately. June 6: King 5 News reports the cruise line confirmed that 96 passengers had contracted gastrointestinal illness caused by norovirus.
Illness
June 2 Vistamar
Plantours & Partner
BYM Marine and Maritime News reports the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors today detained the ship at Belfast Docks after numerous faults were identified on board including broken or missing fire doors and failure to maintain the vessel in line with International Safety Management (ISM) code. The passenger vessel had been en route from Invergordon when it docked in Belfast this morning and surveyors boarded the vessel to perform an inspection. In addition to detainable deficiencies there were several further deficiencies including PA systems and emergency lights for liferafts not working. The inspection has now been suspended pending an audit by an ISM auditor. Once this has been satisfactorily completed, MCA Surveyors will once again board the ship and continue their inspection. If they feel that the deficiencies have been rectified the vessel will be allowed to carry on its passage. UPDATE June 5: The BBC reports the ship is expected to set sail on Saturday but the majority of more than 200 passengers, mainly elderly Germans, have already left. The coastguard had said that 10 of the ship's 100 fire doors were faulty. It also said that one of the lifeboat engines would not start. Repairs are continuing on the ship and a further inspection is due on Saturday morning.
Detained in port
June 2 Statendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in June. On June 2 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
May 31 Carnival Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Orlando Sentinel reportsa bartender accused of raping a 14-year-old girl who was vacationing with her parents will make an appearance in Orlando federal court this week. Hery Krispiyanto, 30, will be arraigned Wednesday on a count of sex abuse of a minor. He was indicted last week. Court records said the teenager was aboard the ship, which left from the Port of Fort Lauderdale in April 2009. While on the cruise, the girl and her parents became acquainted with Krispiyanto. She said Krispiyanto was nice to her and commented that she did not look 1; she told investigators she was alone on the upper deck of the ship one night when Krispiyanto walked up behind her, grabbed her arm and pulled her into a nearby employee-only room and closed the door. He began to touch her inappropriately, and she repeatedly told him to stop; she tried to fight him, but Krispiyanto raped her, the criminal complaint said. The girl reported the incident to her mother in August, and it was then reported to the FBI. When an FBI agent questioned Krispiyanto in April, he first denied the incident, records said. But he subsequently confessed to having sex with the mionor aboard the cruise ship in a pantry area. NOTE: From October 2007 through October 2008 Carnival Cruise Lines reported to the FBI 93 sex related incidents -- in a significant proportion of these incidents the victim was a minor.
Sexual Assault of Minor
May 28 Statendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May. On May 28 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia.
Water pollution
May 27 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
The ship was cited for five violations of Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May . On May 27 the ship did not conduct sampling of discharges in accordance with the current Quality Assurance/Quality Control Plan. The NOV cites: incorrect entries on cooler receipt forms, use of unapproved pH testing methods, sample volume reporting issues, DMR reporting with no ID of sample results and reflection of deviation from QA/QC plan.
Water pollution
May 26 Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Cruise Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May. On May 26 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of fecal coliform bacteria.
Water pollution
May 26 Constellation
Celebrity Cruises
A passenger writes: We took a Baltic Sea cruise on May16 out of Amsterdam and at some point, there were anywhere from 80 to 200 cases of Norovirus in crew and passengers.  The ship went into their mode for containing infection, etc. The ship had been in dry dock for refurbishing with much new equipment, etc, and I'm very curious about the cruise that began the day we disembarked.  Apparently they were about 4 hours late departing while the ship was sanitized (if that can truly be done). June 6: King 5 News reports the cruise line confirmed that 96 passengers had contracted gastrointestinal illness caused by norovirus.
Illness
May 26 Indpendence of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Dagbladet.no and VG Nett have both reported that 134 passengers have reported ill with norovirus on the current cruise. The ship returns to Southampton May 29th from a 14-day cruise that included Spain and Portugal. Roundtownnews reports the captain decided to dock the ship at Cádiz, after setting off from Southampton on 15th May. An official team of cleaners entered the ship and disinfected it while the passengers were away. The ship continued on its voyage to Lisbon.
Illness
May 26 Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
VG Nett reports for the fourth cruise in a row passengers are reporting ill with gastrointestinal illness. So far 22 passengers are known to have become ill. The ship has been referred to as "Vision of Disease" and the head of Oslo School of Management is quoted as saying that the numerous outbreaks and massive media coverage is a serious blow for Royal Caribbean's reputation in Norway.
Illness
May 26 Seabourn Pride
Seabourn Cruises
Cruise Week reports the ship is replacing its port call at Bangkok to Singapore on its July 17th embarkation/debarkation. The change is due to the street violence in Bangkok. The company notes neither the airport nor the alternative seaport at Laem Chabang (Thailand) has been affected. "However, the State Department warning for all of  Thailand made our guests nervous, so we substituted Kuantan, Malaysia, for Ko Kood.
Change homeport
May 26 Maasdam
Holland America Line
The Charleston Post and Courier reports Federal, state and local authorities are looking for an Indonesian man who deserted a cruise ship while it was docked in Charleston. The 25 year old crew member owent ashore May 16 some time after 7:30 a.m. and failed to return before the ship departed at 5 p.m. He left his passport with the ship, as is protocol when crew members take shore leave. The only identification he would have is a ship ID photo and an I-95 card issued by U.S. Customs.
Crew member abandons ship
May 25 Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Fox News reports the U.S. Coast Guard was searching today for a crewmember who went overboard. Dillon Roache, 45, of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was reported missing Monday and was later confirmed to have gone overboard as the ship made its way from Nassau, Bahamas, to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The ship retraced the ship’s route to search for Roache but were unable to find him. The ship handed over the search efforts Tuesday morning and continued with a modified itinerary.
Crew member overboard
May 24 Star Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: For the second cruise in a row the Star was unable to dock at Stockholm. This time it was because of 35 knot winds. The Star again anchored off of Nynashamn and passengers were tendered onshore. The operation was faultless due to experience ten days earlier.
Change of port
May 24 Opera
MSC Cruises
Kent Online reports border officers seized 35 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated £1.4 million when it arrived in Dover. Eight Latvian and Lithuanians were arrested and have appeared in court charged with drug smuggling. All eight pleaded not guilty and have been remanded in custody. The ship had arrived in Dover on May 21 on its way to Amsterdam from Brazil.
Drug bust
May 23 Deutschland
Peter Deilmann Cruises
Dagbladet.no reports a fire broke out in the engine room while the ship was docked in Eidfjord, Hordalan (Norway). All passengers have been evacuated. The fire, which broke out around 12:30 P.M., was reportedly put out by 4 p.m. Oslo daily paper Aftenposten said the fire flared again half an hour later but was out by 5 p.m. Emergency personnel report the affected engine compartment was isolated by fire doors and crew began fighting the blaze before shoreside firefighters arrived. The ship arrived from Flam and was scheduled to continue to Hamburg at 19:00 tonight. UPDATE: The ship will be towed to Bergen for an assessment of damage. The seven day cruise scheduled for June 25th has been canceled.
Fire
May 21 Volendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May. On May 21 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of copper.
Water pollution
May 20 Ryndam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for two violations of Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May. On May 20 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of ammonia and fecal coliform bacteria.
Water pollution
May 18 Oceanic Discoverer
Coral Princess Cruises
From a passenger: Regarding the cruise running 7 - 17 May: 1) the ship departed 6 hours late from Darwin as it awaited delivery of a spare part; 2) the excursion to the King Cascades was canceled after the crew member driving the zodiac fell into the water trying to retrieve his hat and was severely injured by the propeller; 3) the trip to the Red Cone Creek swimming hole was good, except passengers were stranded there from 3:30 - 11:00 PM (without food and water) because the ship had miscalculated tides and couldn't get to the creek as originally schedued. Passengers on the cruise were compensated with 20% off their next cruise with the company, which wasn't adequate given that this cruise did not make one likely to use the cruise line again.
Multiple problems
May 18 Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Dagbladet.no reports 40 people have reported ill on the currect cruise. This is the third cruise in a row with an outbreak of gastrointentinal illness. UPDATE May 19: Dagbladet.no reports the number reporting ill is now 75.
Illness
May 18 Navigator of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
A passenger writes: My wife and I were on the ship from 5-6-10 to 5-18-10 and we both became ill after our stop in Cairo. I am upset because we were told by a crew member that "Oh, when we heard we were going to stop in Cairo again we knew we were going to be busy." S/he also said that most of the people who went on the "Pyramids and Nile Cruise" excursion (which we did) became ill from eating at the restaurant they (RCCL) chose. It upsets me that we relied on them to bring us to a safe place to eat and  they did not warn us that people got sick on the last excursion to Cairo.
Is it standard compensation for them to just give a credit for the day(s) you are quarantined? They are offering to give my wife a credit for the one day she was officially quarantined. (We were both sick for at least 4-5 days, but only my wife filled out the forms in the infirmary).  
Food-based illness??
May 16 Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
CBS News reports someone called the company's reservation center in Wichita, Kansas around 5 p.m. Saturday to saythere were explosives on the ship. The ship's security conducted interior security sweeps of the vessel but were unable to find anything. The ship continued it journey and docked in the Port of Miami Sunday around 6:00 a.m. FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents conducted a pier-side boarding of the vessel and no explosive material was found. The ship has been permitted to resume operations.
Bomb threat
May 16 Grand Princess
Princess Cruises
The Daily Mirror reports dozens of passengers on a Mediterranean cruise were yesterday confined to their cabins as a result of norovirus. More than 2,500 people are on board - and the number of people becoming ill was said to be growing by the hour. Passengers David and Jackie Greenslade have been confined to cabin since Wednesday.David: "It was supposed to be a dream holiday but it's turned into a nightmare. People are dropping like flies." A spokesman for the cruise line said: "Out of 2,468 passengers only 30 have been affected so far." The Daily Echo subsequently reported that Princess said 57 people had reported ill, and that there had been an outbreak on the precceding cruise. According the the newspaper, the cruise line had notified passengers when they boarded the cruise that there had been an illness outbreak on the cruise that had just ended.
Illness
May 14 Volendam
Holland America Line
The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in May. On May 14 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of copper. Water pollution
May 14 Star Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: The ship was unable to dock in Stockholm, Sweden due to heavy fog.  The ship anchored at Nynashamn, Sweden some 40 miles from Stockholm and began tendering service to Nynashamn.
Change of port
May 13 Costa Atlantica
Costa Cruises
The Chronicle Herald reports a 23-year-old assistant waiter was arrested Tuesday as he was getting off the ship in Halifax. He pleaded guilty Thursday in Halifax provincial court to charges of possessing and importing child pornography and was sentenced to four months in jail on each count, to be served concurrently. Canada Border Services Agency officers were inspecting crew members leaving the Italian-registered ship when Trilles admitted having child pornography consisting of two sexually explicit videos of children on both a USB flash drive and a laptop computer. The crew member had worked with Costa Cruises for three years. Last year, border agents on the Halifax waterfront charged two cruise ship employees for having child pornography.
Child pornography siezed
May 12 Prince Albert II
Silversea Cruises
The BBC reports the ship was impounded for several hours in Portsmouth amid safety fears. One concern was that it was overloaded. The other concern was that senior officers had not had enough rest. V.Ships, which manages the vessel, said although officers had rested, records had been incorrectly recorded. The excess load was also removed. The vessel left for Scotland shortly after 0000 BST on Tuesday, four hours later than it was scheduled to leave. UPDATE June 22: The Portsmouth News reports the ship was overloaded by 100 tonnes and the ship was held for 24 hours. A report released yesterday said investigators found 18 deficiencies, four of which gave grounds for detention. These included the vessel being overloaded to the point the port and starboard 'load line' marks were submerged. The report also says the ship's lifeboats were 'not ready for use'. Other problems found included infrequent staff breaks, three unsafe emergency routes in case of fire, and an air bubble in the ship's magnetic compass.
Impounded
May 10 Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Dagbladet.no reports at least 80 passengers have reported ill on the current cruise. The ship left Oslo last Thursday and yesterday was in Dublin. It returns to Oslo Saturday. UPDATE MAY 19: Dagbladet.no reports the number of people reporting ill on the cruise was 296.
Illness
May 9 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passsenger: The ship hit the gangway structure and was delayed several hours in departure. I asked why we were were behind schedule and that is what I was told.
Collision with gangway
May 8 Artemis
P&O Cruises

The Daily Mail reports passengers on a Mediterranean cruise are 'in revolt' after engine problems caused them to miss out on several stops of their voyage. The itinerary originally included ten ports in six countries, featuring Barcelona, Cannes, Rome, Naples, Athens, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Majorca, Valencia, and Gibraltar during a 20-night journey. But technical difficulties forced the ship to abandon the original itinerary and instead call at Rome, Cannes, Barcelona and Palma, Majorca. Passengers have been left furious by the unscheduled changes to the itinerary and have now set up a committee to represent the 1,200 passengers in urgent talks over the disruption of the holiday cruise. One passenger said: 'People are extremely angry and it is not stretching the point too far to say they are in revolt over the way this cruise has been handled. 'Before we left Southampton we received a letter from P&O Cruises advising us we would be missing out Valencia and each passenger would receive £150 to spend on board during the voyage. 'Then, while we were at sea, the bombshell was dropped that due to continuing problems with the ship's fourth engine we would now not be calling at Naples or Gibraltar. 'Some people have paid £2,000 each for this cruise, others made arrangements to meet friends at ports we are not now visiting, and the advertised itinerary has been drastically changed. 'According to a letter we received in our cabins from the captain we will each be receiving a refund of £200 when we are back home.' The P&O Cruises' spokesman said the company has now doubled each passenger's on-board credit from £150 to £300. In a brief statement the company said: 'Due to a technical issue Artemis is operating at reduced speed therefore it has been necessary to make changes to the current itinerary. The ship returns to Southampton on May 16. See April 7 below for a similar incident.

Engine problems - missed ports
May 7 Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Sun Sentinel reports an emergency generator suffered damage. While doing weekly checks the engine was making noises and it was discovered that Cylinder A1 crankshaft was loose and hitting the crankcase cover. After DNV survey, there was a class condition issued to have machinery repaired prior to 08/08/2010.
Generator problems
May 7 Oceanic
Peace Boat
The Croatia Times reports the ship repelled pirates after being attacked en route between Yemen and Somalia last night (Thurs). The crew managed to fend off the marauding pirates - who had attacked the ship with grenades - by blasting them with water hoses. The pirates were later picked up by a NATO patrol boat.
Pirate attack
May 6 Zuiderdam
Holland America Line
The CDC reports that 73 of 1846 passengers (3.95%) and 5 of 793 crew (0.63%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives at Vancouver May 8th from a 19 day cruise.
Illness
May 5 Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International

From a reader: A family member on the ship told me last evening (5/5)that the ship's captain informed all passengers through an announcement that a crew member had climbed over a railing and jumped at 8:15 PM (local time). They circled for approximately 2 hours with all available ship personnel assisting in search. No passengers were allowed outside during this time. At approximately 12:23 AM this morning (eastern standard time) the ship headed back to its last port of call (San Juan) in an effort to locate missing crew person. A passenger wrote: Eight hours after we left Puerto Rico the bridge came on announcement and asked if anyone has seen a man named Santiago and if they knew anything about him; then about 30mins later they came on again and said a crew member had lowered himself in the water from deck 5 at 8:13pm then around 8:30 we turned around and went to the spot where he had jumped from and searched til 7AM when the Coast Guard finally got there and gave us the ok to leave which caused a 7 hour delay to return back to Cape Liberty, NJ. The missing crew member is 27 years old. The ship will apparently return to Bayonne, NJ more than eight hours late on Saturday. Passengers on the next sailing are advised to not arrive at the cruise terminal earlier than 7:30PM.

Crew member overboard
May 5 Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Times of India reports 94 people were stricken with vomiting and diarrhea while on a five-day voyage around northern Europe. It was the third outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in three months aboard the ship. Dagbladet.no reports the number ill by the end of the cruise was more than 300 people.
Illness
May 5 Norwegian Epic
Norwegian Cruise Line
USA Today reports a fire broke out earlier this week on the 150,000-ton Norwegian Epic at STX France's shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, where the vessel is under construction. The fire broke out just after 11:00 p.m. Monday on the rear of Deck 4, causing damage mostly to the ship's wiring. A full investigation is currently in process to determine the cause and extent of damage, and that the ship's June 24th maiden cruise is still on track.
Fire
May 3 Pride of America
Norwegian Cruise Line America
The Honolulu Advertiser reports a crewman fell overboard yesterday morning about 13 hours after the cruise ship left Honolulu Harbor and was quickly picked up by crew members in a rescue boat.
Crew overboard (rescued alive)
May 1 Carnival Pride
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Freeport Tribune reports police in Grand Bahama are investigating the apparent drowning of a 71 year old woman who was snorkeling at Deadman's Reef yesterday. According to reports, the victim - a woman from Baltimore, Maryland - arrived in Grand Bahama onboard the Carnival Pride cruise ship.She was among a group of visitors who went on a snorkeling trip at Deadman's Reef. A passenger writes: I'm not sure if Carnival will release this to the press ... several details of the Carnival-recommended excursion were outstanding in the lack of safety or precaution. Carol (the 71 year old woman) and her husband Harry, were on a snorkeling excursion with us. This was to be a 2.5 hour 'moderate activity' snorkeling excursion. In the Carnival description of moderate activity, it describes walking for periods of time or stairs, etc. We drove out (around 9:15) on a boat ~ 45 minutes from the ship with 50-75 people (very rough estimate). We later found out that some of the people there were from another excursion that was supposed to go out an hour before ours, which had been canceled due to ocean conditions (Carnival confirmed that there were excursions canceled due to weather conditions). When we went in the water (off-shore in an exposed area of the sea over a coral reef), we were quickly swept up away from the boat in a strong current, and the waves were extremely rough ---- even we (strong swimmers in our 20's) were struggling to swim against the current and keep from getting cut on the coral. ' Even for us, this quickly exceeded 'moderate activity', and we found ourselves exhausted from the short time we were in the ocean. After we got back to the boat (after only a few minutes), we noticed several other people were coming on board cut and bleeding (no medical attention or bandages were given). Within a few minutes of getting back on board, Carol was pulled from the water, unconscious and not breathing (we were told that it was a fellow passenger that first noticed her floating in the water, although others said she may have been yelling for help before). When the crew (5 or 6 young men) pulled her on board, they yelled for anyone with CPR training, and fellow passengers lept to try an revive her. The crew did not touch her for CPR or any other rescue breathing during the whole time. When Carol was not immediately revived, they hurriedly called for everyone left in the water to come back in - this took over a half of an hour to get everyone in from so far out - at one time all but one of the crew members had to go in the water to pull the last few out so that we could leave for shore. When we finally were able to move, we continued to shore. By now, alternate breathers had to be used, and at no time, even when we were moving, and no one else knew CPR, did the crew help try to revive Carol. There was also no working ship to shore radio or communication at all. About an hour into the ordeal, a fellow passenger was able to get cell reception and alerted the ship. My estimate is that CPR was done on her for an hour and a half to two hours. We did not reach shore until ~12:30, at which time medics were able to give her oxygen and compression. She was taken to a local hospital. Later that afternoon, we learned that she was not revived. We feel that, although Carnival makes no guarantee on the safety of these excursions, that they have an obligation to offer a certain level of screening and oversight, as they are directly recommending them. We were outraged at several obvious points that are taken for granted, but were in obvious deficiency in this case: 1) That the excursion is described accurately (level of activity, value, quality); 2) That the crew is adequately trained to deal with common emergency issues (cuts, loss of consciousness, heart attacks, breathing, etc) - IE - be CPR trained, offer basic lifeguard services (water activities), etc; 3) That the transportation is safe and equipped to handle emergencies (shore radio, life vests, adequate crew-to-passenger ratio, etc); 4) That the excursion will be canceled when conditions are unsafe - the safety of the passengers should ALWAYS come before the bottom line. Carnival should be responsible for ensuring this! See news story here.
Death om shore excursion
April 29 Sovereign
Pullmantur Cruises
From a reader: A Russian man, 54 years old, went overboard from the ship Sovereign after it left from Civitavecchia harbour. A search was immediatly undertaken with 11 patrol boats and airplanes. The man was found dead from a patrol boat out of Livorno sea. From Italian paper "Il Tirreno".
Person overboard
April 28 Oosterdam
Holland America Line
From a passenger: During the week of 3/17-3/24/2010, my husband and I cruised the Mexican Riviera Cruise on the ship. We were in Cabin 7046 (Port-side, Penthouse Suite). From day one of the cruise, and throughout the cruise, we had a smell of sewage throughout the suite, but worse in both the master & the guest bathroom. The smell seemed to be coming from the deck drains. We immediately informed the Cabin Steward who sprayed both bathrooms but this did not help at all. On day two, we complained to the Front Desk and a supervisor came to the room with a ship's plumber. The supervisor acknowledged the smell, the plumber said there was nothing wrong with the plumbing, he said we should pour hot water in the drains/toilet to clean it out. The front desk supervisor suggested we use hot coffee because she had used this on another ship and it kept the smell away longer. My husband said to her, "You want me to pour hot coffee in the drains?" She replied "Oh no, we will do it". They never did. The next day we informed the Hotel Manager (Marcella). She and another Supervisor, (Eddie), came to the room. Marcella said she did not smell anything, but they would try to do something, not sure what. We asked about alternate accommodations, but the only thing they "may" have to offer was a lower deck, inside stateroom. Our Penthouse Suite cost $7,000. We wanted to fly home but were advised against it as there was no guarantee that we would be compensated. The HAL home office offered us a $750 on board credit as compensation which we refused. We asked that they not put any credit on our account, but they went ahead, and did so anyway. We asked, again, that this offer be removed. Marcella and Eddie said they had never had a prior problem with this suite but we were told otherwise by crew. After many discussions with Eddie, nothing was ever resolved. On the final day of the cruise, the problem continued. We never heard from the Hotel Manager after that one encounter. The smell of sewage never disipated. I think the gas from sewage is methane, and we were exposed to it for the entire cruise. We kept the doors open to the balcony whenever we were in the room to keep it aired out. We had a guest in the suite, (an authority on ships), who complained of the smell, and said it was most definitely toxic. I am concerned about any long term outcome of being exposed for the week to toxic fumes. We e-mailed Walter, Guest Relations, at HAL, on 4/23/10. We never recieved a reply. Our travel agent has been working diligently to try to resolve this matter, but even she is encountering apathy, and road blocks.
Sewage smell in room
April 28 Minerva
Swan Hellenic
A reader writes that the May 1st cruise has been canceled. Here is what he writes: A representative of Swan Hellenic has called back, but would not give any details behind the reasons for the cancellation, saying that having cancelled the last cruise due to the ash problems, they took the opportunity to carry out some maintenance on the ship, and yesterday they discovered a minor issue. They are offering a full refund, to be in the post in the next couple of weeks, and 10% off a future cruise as long as it is taken by the end of this year. Another source reports: the May 1 ‘Classical Civilizations’ cruise from Aqaba to Istanbul, citing ‘essential and extended technical repairs,’ The next scheduled sailing is a May 15 ‘Gods & Tsars’ cruise, 16 days, from Istanbul to Malta.
Canceled cruise
April 26 Zenith
Pullmantur Cruises
According to Reuters, striking dockers and protesters at Greece's largest ports blocked hundreds of tourists from returning to their ship on Monday in a protest against reforms that negatively impact Greek ship workers. The Coast Guard said around 400 dockers and protesters prevented around 1,000 mostly Spanish passengers from returning to the ship. They were taken to hotels; the company hopes to be able to have the ship leave later today or early tomorrow morning. The ship earlier in the day wasn't allowed to dock at Piraeus and instead dropped anchor and tendered passengers to the port.
Stuck ashore
April 26 Elation
Carnival Cruise Lines
According to 760 AM radio, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines said an unidentified man died on board the ship during a three-day excursion to Ensenada. The man reportedly died of natural causes. The Elation pulled into San Diego at about 7 a.m. Monday, but passengers were not allowed to leave the ship for about three hours during an investigation. Another cruise set to disembark Monday was expected to leave on schedule.
Delayed disembarkation
April 26 Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines
Froma reader: On January 9, 2010 my wife and I began a cruise on the Carnival Liberty from Miami. On the first morning at sea we were notified that the plumbing on our deck required that the water be shut off that day for an eight hour period. This was repeated two days later. I contacted Customer Service and supervisor Creg Szabo expressing concern for possible toxicity once water was restored because of my immune system as a cancer survivor and our ages in the late sixties. I showed him the attached photos we took of the water in our sink and toilet. He offered no solutions. I have written Carnival Cruise Lines asking why this problem couldn't have been fixed in port or during the night hours. I also asked why bottled water was not offered for personal hygiene and why qualified personnel did not ascertain the origin of the problem and communicate such to passengers. My request was denied. On February 22 Susan Cohn of their Guest Care office sent a nonsensical letter beginning with "Designing memorable trips is the heart of our business...Great food and service...will create wonderful memories..." She apologized "...that you felt let down." I have since contacted Affordable Tours through whom we booked the cruise, The Florida Division of Consumer Services, The US Public Health Service, and The Federal Maritime Commission. None has any regulatory authority over the cruise line industry. My advice: avoid Carnival Cruise Lines and understand that once at sea you're on your own. In retrospect, I think I should have screamed like hell at the Customer Service counter as some passengers were doing to get attention for their problems.
Sanitary water issues
April 22 Ecstasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
KBTX reports earlier today (April 21), at approximately 12.55 pm U.S. central time, the ship was forced to perform a maneuver to avoid an object in the water which resulted in the ship briefly listing to the port side. The object was a large buoy which was adrift and mostly submerged thereby preventing it from being detected by the ship's radar. The Carnival Ecstasy was on the final leg of a five-day cruise that departed Galveston on Saturday, April 17 with stops in Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. According to a passenger, "The ship was shuddering. Just shake shake shake and that's when all the dishes were coming out. It was a mess, it looked like a food fight and that's when everybody jumped up screaming and running trying to get outside ... We thought we were going over. We really thought the whole ship was going to be tipped over ... They had to close down stores, all the glass went flying and it broke the glass on the outside of the liquor store." She said the ship was tilted for 10 minutes, enough to empty the pool. "People were crawled all over everybody and screaming and it was horrible and we finally got out to hang on the side of the balcony railing because it was tipped so much, if you didn't, you'd be sliding back into the restaurant." Subsequent reports indicate 60 passengers were treated for minor injuries after the ship listed 12 degrees.
Severe list
April 22 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises
London Free Press reports a 41 year old man was killed and his 37 year old wife was seriously injured in a head-on accident involving the ATV they were riding and a truck. The crash occurred on the main road that connects the port city of Oranjestad, where cruise ships dock, with resorts that line beaches to the north. A newspaper account says the truck may have swerved into the ATV and police reportedly found drugs in the cab. The ATV rental was not one sanctioned by Princess Cruise Lines.
Death ashore
April 21 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a reader: On Wednesday the 21st when we were just about to leave Cozumel, a man jumped overboard. He was rescued and then taken into custody by the Mexican police. This was observed by many and I have a picture of the police boat. Later in the week we were told by a crew member that the man's new bride (the couple were on their honeymoon) was found in their stateroom beaten and unconcious. We were all very startled by the events.
Pax overboard (rescued)
April 21 Pacific Sun
P&O Australia
The New Zealand Herald reports the ship will be tied up in Auckland for at least another week while a faulty engine is repaired. The ship, which should have left last Thursday, has had to stay at Wynyard Wharf after a fault was found in one of its two engines. Work to repair the engine has been going on since then and it will be up to 10 more days before it can leave. Several cruises have had to be cancelled, and all passengers who were to sail on those trips are to get a full refund. A spokesman for P&O Cruises said a decision was made to keep the ship in Auckland after it looked as if any continued travelling would have long-term and potentially dangerous effects on the ship.
Canceled cruises - Engine problems
April 20 Minerva
Swan Hellenic
From a reader: Just heard that Swan Hellenic's Minerva has broken down in the Mediterranean. The ship had been taken for emergency dry dock in Syros in Greece for engine repair. No a/c or lighting.
Propulsion problems
April 19 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
Cruises.co.uk reports the ship's current cruise has been cut short after a yet another case of Norovirus. According to Fred Olsen Cruises the current cruise will be shortened by two days. The ship is on a 23 night cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean and sailed from Liverpool on 6th April. It will now arrive back on 27th April, calling at Izmir, Santorini, Ibiza and Almeria en route to Liverpool. As a gesture of good will, Fred. Olsen has given all passengers a £100 credit to their cabin accounts owing to the situation’s impact on the cruise as a whole. The Daily Mail reports 600 passengers (70% of those onboard) reported coming down with the gastrointestinal illness. NOTE: I have received the following message from Fred Olsen Cruises - It is correct that on the current cruise, a number of passengers did succumb to a norovirus-type illness, a situation which was made worse by two bouts of bad weather causing sea-sickness as well. The percentage of passengers affected throughout the entire cruise was 38%, and at the present time there are only two people who have been requested to remain in their cabins for two days.According to the Daily Mail, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines admitted ... 305 have been affected, but those travelling on the vessel claim as many as 650 of the 900 people on board have been affected by the norovirus.
Illness
April 14 Kong Harald
Hurtigruten
The Press and Journal reports a small outbreak of norovirus has been confirms on the ship. Accoridng to the paper, A Moray couple on a cruise around Norway have been confined to their cabin for four days after catching a highly contagious stomach bug. They set sail on a 12-day voyage around the Scandinavian country last week but have only been able to see the views along its coastline from the window of their cabin after an outbreak of norovirus on the ship. The couple have been on the ship since last Wednesday, but have been under quarantine since Friday. The cruise confirmed it was dealing with an outbreak of norovirus on the ship, but said only 11 of the 410 passengers and crew members on board were either confirmed cases or showing symptoms.
Illness
April 10 Aurora & Arcadia
P&O Cruises
The Daily Mail reports passengers on both ships have been told to keep their cabin lights off and not venture out onto the promenade deck between the hours of 6.30pm and 7am while sailing through the Gulf of Aden. Despite the blackout, they were permitted to leave their cabins. The policy comes in the wake of increased concern about threat from Somali pirates in the area.
Lights out
April 10 Pacific Dawn
P&O Australia
The Herald Sun reports a pilot averted a possible disaster by bringing the out-of-control ship to a stop before she reached Brisbane's busy Gateway Bridge. The ship lost all power and steering just 70m away from the six-lane bridge over the Brisbane River. Two tugboats got the Pacific Dawn under control, bringing her to a complete standstill 70m shy of the bridge. The ship's captain is investigating what caused the fault, saying he believed a fuse had been affected by a saltwater leak. A spokesman for Carnival Australia, which operates the Pacific Dawn, said the ship had suffered power problems but it was not a major fault and it would set sail again on Saturday afternoon. NOTE: This is not the first time there have been engine problems. See February 15th below.
Near miss - Engine problems
April 9 Royal Princess
Princess Cruises
A poster at Cruise Critic writes: Early this morning the Royal experienced a significant water leak in the Sabitini's on the 10th deck. Water leaked all the way down to the crew quarters. The panorama buffet, sabitini's are all closed. Food service this am so far consisted of luke warm instant coffee put out near the hamburger site on the pool deck. Crew is scrambling to set up deck five main dining room for breakfast. No announcements yet. So early risers are stumbling to figure out what is going on. no access to deck 10 whatsoever - crewmen posted at all stairs and elevators. A bit later the some p[erson writes: Announcement from ships's officer. Water break was a fire hose fitting in Sterling steak house. All closed UFN. Elite breakfast cancelled, English Pub lunch cancelled. All activities on deck 10 aft cancelled UFN. Only dining is in main dinning room. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen but these things sometimes happen." We heared a loud bang at around 0500 in our cabin. Sounded like someone had dropped something heavy onto the deck above.
Significant water leak / damage
April 8 Prestige Cruise Holdings Travel Weekly reports the parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises was fined $75,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for not disclosing applicable taxes and fees in its "free air" advertisements. The DOT said in a consent order that ads for air-cruise packages did not include government taxes or air-related fuel surcharges and service fees. The DOT considers the failure to disclose such charges an unfair and deceptive trade practice. "The 'free' air fares, as advertised, do not provide adequate notice that certain taxes and fees, which properly may be stated separately from the advertised fare, must be paid by the traveler in order to obtain the 'free' air fare, nor of the amount of such taxes and fees," the DOT order said. The DOT said that Prestige had immediately revised pricing on its websites and informed printing vendors to discontinue its 2009 and 2010 advertisements. Prestige also told the DOT it had contacted some 31,000 travel agents to inform them of the change, and that it informed marketing, sales and field staff about the new advertising policy. In addition, Prestige told the DOT that "in the interest of offering customers a more simple pricing structure," Regent and Oceania have now implemented an all-inclusive pricing model in which all airline-imposed fuel surcharges and government taxes are now included within the advertised fare.
Fine for deceptive advertising
April 7 Solstice
Celebrity Cruises
A reader reports a fellow passenger on the ship was robbed while in St. Kitts. This occured not far from the port and there were several men together that were involved.

Robbery ashore
April 7 Artemis
P&O Cruises
A poster at Cruises.co.uk writes, We have just returned from a Caribbean cruise on Saturday which had to leave out St Barts Island, but gave us £150 spending extra spending money each due to an engine problem. The ship needed the time in getting back to Southamton. Good cruise - old but very good ship and a good size with 1200 guests and easy to meet people.
Engine problems - missed port
April 5 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises

From a reader: I was a passenger on the Mar 28-Apr 4 sailing. On April 1 (yes April Fool's Day) the ship listed severely as we approached our next port. I was on deck taking a walk when I noticed the side of the ship I was on appeared much higher than the other side. I then noticed water draining from the pools and told my partner to grab his towel and run inside. Bridge called crew to passenger assist stations. Several minutes later the ship righted itself. The Captain later came on the intercom and said there was a steering malfunction and the ship listed 5-9 degrees. Crew accounts say it was much worse. The incident delayed our arrival into port by as much as an hour. There are passenger accounts of dishes falling in the buffet and a wine barrel snapping loose in the wine bar and careening into the Piazza Court on Deck 5.

Severe list
April 5 Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
A reader reports the ship was effected by the same fog that delayed Carnival's ship (see item below). The ship didn't get in to Galveston until the afternoon and left at a little after 11:30pm. They too faced long lines upon disembarkation, although not as long as the Conquest's, resulting in the ship's earlier departure.
Delayed embarkation & debarkation
April 5 Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Galveston Daily News reports passengers waited more than five hours Easter Sunday to get off the ship that already had been delayed making port by eight hours because of fog. Passengers blamed a lack of customs and immigration screeners at the terminal for the massive delay. The Conquest was due back in the Port of Galveston on Sunday morning after a seven-day cruise to Key West and the Bahamas. A thick fog bank delayed the ship’s arrival, and it didn’t make port until about 4 p.m. Once at the dock, though, the delays continued, One passenger said it was about 8:45 p.m. she and her family were able to get off the ship, only to stand in one of seven lines set up for customs and immigration screening. Port of Galveston police said that instead of letting everyone off the ship in groups, as is the normal procedure, Carnival cruise officials let everyone off at the same time. That overwhelmed the system. Meanwhile, passengers who were supposed to board the ship at 1 p.m. for a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean also were forced to wait, with little information as to when, or if, they would leave Galveston for their vacations. The ship finally departed at 1:30 AM on April 6.
Delayed embarkation & debarkation
April 3 Summit
Celebrity Cruises
According to Wikipedia and several other sources a passenger named Bob Gvicious fell off the ship. He swam for 19 hours to Cayo Lobos, 3 miles off the coast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Pax overboard (swam ashore)
April 2 Oceana
P&O Cruises
The Southern Daily Echo reports 120 passengers who were struck down with a vomiting bug while on board a Southampton cruise ship, arrived back in the city this morning. Passengers reported contracting the norovirus bug while on a 14-night cruise around the Caribbean. Passengers were left furious after they discovered they had to pay for treatment on board. A spokesman for the cruise company said the fees should be reclaimed through travel insurance policies as they were no longer free on board following a change of policy. Despite the outbreak P&O said the ship was scheduled to leave on time for a two night cruise at 5pm today.
Illness
March 31 Sensation
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Nassau Guardian reports the ship canceled its port call to Grand Bahama island yesterday because of weather conditions. A deadly tornado reportly set down on the island.
Canceled port call
March 30 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
Charleston Regional Business Journal reports the ship departed two hours late (at 7PM) on Monday in order to accommodate extra cleaning given the norovirus outbreaks on the four previous cruises. While more than 22% of passengers reported ill on the cruise before the last one, on the most recent cruise only 0.5% reported ill.
Delayed departure
March 29 Black Watch
Fred Olsen Cruises
The Southern Daily Echo reports two Spanish men have today admitted charges of attempting to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.4m through Southampton docks. They were arrested with 30 kilogrammes of the class A drug as they disembarked the ship at berth 106 on Saturday morning (March 27). Both pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this morning with being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion or attempted evasion of the prohibition on importation imposed by section 3(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. They will next appear on April 29 at Southampton Crown Court. UPDATE: The passengers were subsequently sentenced to 12 years in jail for possession of almost £8 million in cocaine
Drug bust
March 28 Sensation
Carnival Cruise Lines
Florida Today reports the ship has been detained four miles offshore while authorities investigate a bomb threat. The bomb threat was reported about 4 or 4:30 this morning. The Coast Guard is prohibiting the cruise liner from entering Port Canaveral until security searches and assessments are conducted. WESH-TV subsequently reported that shortly before 10AM the FBI confirmed there was no evidence of anything criminal at that time and that the situation was probably a miscommunication between two people (the bomb threat was reported to the ship by a guest who claims another guest made the threat). The ship arrived in port at approximately 11AM.
Bomb scare
March 23 Enchantment of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Sun Sentinel reports during departure from Cartagena, Colombia there was a load sharing problem between engines 2, 3, and 4. When the bridge reduced the load on the propulsion, engine 2 and 3 load went down and engine 4 started to increase the load to take the power from engines 2 and 3 which caused engine 4 to overload and shut down.
Engine problems
March 23 Europa Hapag Lloyd It has been reported that the ship has developed a problem in one of her four engines and three cruises that were part of her world cruise have had to be cancelled. The ship will now offer a non-stop liner voyage from Singapore to Nice, between May 4 and 21. The 17-night voyage with no stops is being offered from Euros 7,990 per person, with flight out to Singapore from Frankfurt. The passenger load will be limited to about 275 so everyone will get a veranda and there will be no single supplements. The voyage will also be all-inclusive. This special trip has been planned to bring the ship back to Europe after her defective engine has been replaced in Singapore.
Cruises canceled - new itinerary
March 23 Maasdam
Holland America Line
From a reader: Me, my friend and his service dog recently took a 14-day Panama Canal cruise that turned out to be 3-day. First off, when we embarked in San Diego on 03/19/10, we were not aware that the ship was in Code Red with the Norovirus on board. Nor were we informed until I demanded notification on 03/22/10 when we disembarked. My friend got seriously ill which caused us to disembark in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; I had to take him to the hospital emergency when we returned to Long Beach, Ca. from Mexico. For 3 days during the cruise we called each day complaining about the air-conditioner dirt, our sinus problems as a result, and requested a cabin change. We were told several times that a cabin was available and that we would be moved or upgraded to a different cabin, but later we were told there were no cabins available. Even though, we took our service dog on board with Holland America twice in the past 18 months, and we left the dog in the cabin at times unattended when we go to dinner, this time the ship had a problem with our service dog being left unattended in the cabin -- even though a front desk employees told us that it was okay. So now they have banned us and our dog from all future cruises owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. NOTE: The company says it has a policy that service dogs must never be left unattanded in a passenger cabin and that in this case the passengers violated the policy. I am not in a position to judge whether the cruise line's policy is reasonable or whether it poses a problem for others who use a service dog.
?Service dog unfriendly?
March 22 Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
According to the cruise community site Cruise Line Fans, a "man overboard" was  reported at 8:00 p.m. last night from the ship. Here is the account:"At about 8pm last night the call was heard OSCAR! OSCAR! OSCAR! PORT SIDE!  The ship shook as it slowed done and turned around.  Flashing buoy rings could be seen in the distance.  The rescue boats was quickly launched. Within 20 minutes CPR was being conducted on a man being brought back onboard."According to the website, the man was pronounced dead an hour later; he was a crew member who the website says "apparently purposely went overboard," however this is conjecture and may not be the case.
Person (crew) overboard
March 18

Alta
Quasar Expeditions

The Monreal Gazette reports sixteen Canadian tourists had to be rescued after the yacht they were travelling on struck a reef in the Galapagos Islands Wednesday evening. "The boat was coming into harbour at 8:30 p.m. in Puerto Ayora and it struck a reef and couldn't free itself," said Fernando Diez of Quasar Expeditions in Quito. The passengers were brought to shore and "no injuries were reported, and they were set up in a waterfront hotel," he added. "We're aware of the sinking of the ALTA cruise ship off the shore of Santa Cruz Island and all affected Canadians are safe and accounted for," said Dana Cryderman of the Foreign Affairs Department.
Ship sinks
March 16 Volendam
Holland America Line
ABC in New South Wales reports the ship cancelled its visit to Batemans Bay on the New South Wales far south coast. The ship was expected to arrive this morning, but has announced that it will stop at Eden instead for operational reasons. The ship was expected to bring around 1,500 passengers and crew to Batemans Bay.
Itinerary change
March 15 Queen Victoria
Cunard Line
It has been reported the ship left Shanghai yesterday evening 36 hours behind schedule dur to thick fog. She is dropping Halong Bay and going straight to Phu My.
Delayed departure - itinerary change
March 15 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
USA Today reports the ship is ending the current cruise a day early, on Thursday (March 18), in order to allow for a deep cleaning. This is the third successive cruises with a gastrointestinal illness outbreak -- numbers of ill have not yet been reported. The Miami Herald reports the port call at British Virgin Islands was cancelled and that the number reporting ill was 350 of 1,829 passengers. CNN reports the CDC is making a no-sail recommendation for at least four full days for the Celebrity Mercury cruise ship to investigate recurring outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness, a CDC spokesman said Monday. "The CDC and the cruise line corporate staff have not yet determined why the controls that they were following have not been effective," said CDC spokesman Ricardo Beato. Celebrity Cruises has been notified of the no-sail recommendation, Beato said. CNN reports the ship will depart two day late for its next cruise, alotting three days for a deep cleaning. The CDC's no-sail recommendation was for four full days. Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the cruise line worked with the CDC on a sanitation plan "that was agreeable to both parties." UPDATE March 17: The CDC reports that 369 of 1829 passengers (20.17%) and 13 of 857 crew (1.52%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Update March 18: The CDC now reports that 406 of 1829 passengers (22.1%) and 13 of 857 crew (1.52%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.
Illness
March 14 Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines
The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced problems with "vessel maneuverability." Vessel maneuverability
March 14 Navigator of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
From a reader: It has been reported elsewhere that a young student has been critically injured in an incident aboard Navigator o/t Seas during a Spring Break cruise. Apparently the student was egged on by his friends to jump onto the net strung across the empty swimming pool. The net gave way and he fell face first into the bottom of the pool sustaining serious head injuries. He was removed from the ship in Cozumel where his family have joined him. It is not known who he is or what his current condition is.
Pax serious injury
March 14 Emerald Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: Embarkation at Fort Lauderdale was delayed due to ship “inspections,” and Horizon (buffet) has mandatory servers. You know what that means.
Delayed embarkation - ?Illness?
March 14 Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International

From a passenger (re: 26 Feb sailing): We have been triggered in writing this as a result of the the cruise line not coming forward themselves. When it occurred we were informed that this was a freak incident. We have subsequently found out that this is totally untrue. It was due partially due to human error that on 2/28 at 4am the ship tilted 45 degrees - Guest lodging on level 3 were under water, the Promenade was a titantic disaster, crew quickly left stations to report to lifeboat staions, tvs crashing, objects in cabins flying around. At 4:30am the Captain addresses the passengers and admitted to "losing control of the ship- but they were back in control" The tilt lasted a good two and a half minutes. Passengers were brought for care while in Puerto Rico. From another passenger: The info on your site about the serious damage and injured pax due to a 45 degree list for 2 minutes is false. I was actually there.....it was a 10 - 12 degree list for several seconds. NO DAMAGE to the ship...NO ONE evacuated in San Juan. The list was due to a 100 MPH wind gust and the wind switched from forward to starboard in seconds. It wasn't a Titanic disaster; just lots of broken booze bottles in the store. The problem was caused by the auto piloy (a computer) which was knocked out for a minute when the wind changed. And another passenger writes: The truth is in the first comment. At the Captains Q&A on 3/3 he and the crew admitted to partial human error (Pilot over compnesated when trying to starighten boat out). Elderly passengers and others were taken to the hospital in San Juan due to this incident. I was there as they were being removed from ship. It did last over 2 minutes (the tilt) -- enough time for me to get clothes/shoes on and to report to lifeboat station. Onboard staff did head to life stations for asistance. The promenade did not "only have broken liquor bottles" -- everything was all over. The staff reacted to emergency response so quickly- they left the vacuum cleaners they were running on and in place. I am not sure what the last comment was - but it leads me to believe they were not quite awake for the whole ordeal. No one mentioned damage to the ship, but friends on Deck 3 outside window cabin knew they were underwater. As per a ship employee- they were told to keep all quiet. That is not fair to the cruising community. Hopefully this is not someone trying to cover up the situation. Did they hear the exasperated Captain making his announcement? Were they at the Q&A where passengers were relentless for the truth of the matter? Editorial comment: You have to decide for yourself which account is correct -- I know which I believe.

Extreme list - damage
March 13 Pacific Sun
P&O Australia
Fiji Times reports the ship's scheduled for arrival in Suva on Sunday and Denarau on Monday has been cancelled. ATS Pacific's destination management company manager Sally Cooper said the trip had been cancelled because of mechanical problems on the ship. The cruise is ending early and passengers are being given full refunds plus 25% off a future cruise.
Port call canceled

March 12

Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Associated Press reports nearly 50 passengers have been stricken with vomiting and diarrhea, a health official said Friday. "At least 47 passengers on the Vision of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International, were stricken by what we believe are noroviruses that cause gastroenteritis," a spokesman for the Brazilian National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance said. The ship, docked in the port of Santos, was not placed under quarantine and the nearly 2,000 passengers aboard were allowed to leave since "no one was seriously ill and there was no danger of the disease spreading." It was the ship's first cruise since last week when 310 people came down with gastroenteritis caused by noroviruses, the spokesman said. The ship will be cleansed again "but now that we are pretty sure that noroviruses are again to blame, we know what kind of cleaning agents to use," the spokesman said.
Media
March 12 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: We sailed from Bonaire at midday on Wednesday 10th March 2010 as planned and spent the next day at sea as planned sailing towards Grand Cayman. We experienced force 6 winds on the day at sea and they were still force 6 on arrival at Grand Cayman. The Captain announced that the Port Authorities would not allow them to disembark pasengers so the ship sailed around Grand Cayman without stopping and sailed slowly on towards the final port of call in Jamaica. We not only missed our main reason for the cruise but it meant we spent a full 2 1/2 days at sea non stop.
Missed port call
March 11 Ecstasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Galveston Daily News reports the ship was unable to dock today because of dense fog, The four day cruise is likely to be delayed until 12:30 PM tomorrow and will become a cruise to nowhere (dropping the scheduled port call at Cozumel).
Cruise delayed by fog
March 11 Columbus Hapag Lloyd ABS-CBN News reports the ship accidentally bumped a cargo vessel and hit a steel bar while docking at the Iloilo International Port in Loboc, La Paz (Philippines) today. A Filipino crew said their captain did not anticipate the rough current and strong winds, making the ship bump the MV DaeJoo Ace, a Korean vessel that was unloading some National Food Authority (NFA) Rice. After hitting the cargo vessel, it also bumped a steel bar on the docking area. The front part of the cruise ship was damaged. The ship was scheduled to leave Iloilo and proceed to Hong Kong at 7 p.m. Thursday night, but it was delayed because it had to be fixed before it can sail again. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Collision with ship & pier
March 11 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
Euro Weekly News reports three crew-members off the ship which stopped off in Malaga Port last week had to be rushed to Carlos Haya Hospital after suffering severe burns from a water leak in the ship’s boiler-room. The ship left Southampton on March 3. Malaga was its first stop and it was due to leave at 6pm after the passengers had spent the day in the city. However, at approximately 5pm, a small explosion caused boiling water to leak from a boiler and three Filipino men aged between 30 and 33 who were working on it at the time were burned. The captain called the emergency services and a private company sent a mobile ICU with a doctor and two ambulances. The youngest of the three men is in critical condition with second degree burns to 30 per cent of his body. The ship left Malaga on its way to Cartagena just after 6pm.
Severe injury of crew members
March 10

Crown Princess
Princess Cruises Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines

From a reader: Bothships made multiple attempts at docking in Roatan, Honduras on March 9th. Both ships were unable to dock due to high winds and ultimately left the harbor to spend a day at sea.
Skipped port call
March 10 Brilliance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
A reader writes:IEven though we are rather late with our comments, we hope it still might be of interest. We have been triggered in doing this as a result of the most recent accidents (last week). This accident was very similar to the one we had on Royal Caribbean and when it occurred we were informed that this was a freak incident. We have subsequently found out that this is totally untrue and the cruise companies have deliberately suppressed any information regarding this type of accident. We now know better! We sailed from Barcelona (1 Oct-13 October 2009) and through the Mediterranean. Our cruise was fine until the last night (12/13 October 2009). At about 23.30 hrs our cabin window was smashed and the cabin filled with water (as did the cabins either side of us). Our cabin was filled with water within seconds destroying the cabin interior including the ceiling falling down on the bed. We were lucky to escape and could save our lives. All six passengers were of course injured including my wife and myself. We want to warn any potential passengers booking a cruise - especially with Royal Caribbean - based on our experience: (1) This type of accident is far more common than reported by either the cruise companies or media; (2) The medical treatment and help after the accident on the ship was atrocious and totally inadequate. The behavior of the crew was incredible!; (3) Despite our lawyer's attempts to contact the company and my wife and myself sending registered letters to the President and Managing Director of Royal Caribbean we have received no reply or acknowledgement that the "accident" even occurred; (4) So far we have received absolutely no compensation for all our losses and injuries. This also applies to the other 4 passengers. Final comment: freak waves are common, the company we booked with, refuses to recognize their responsibility or to pay any compensation. We have just set up our own website and have no choice but to take Royal Caribbean to court. See the website for more details.
Broken out windows - how common?
March 10 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
BBC reports 13 passengers are currently keeping to their rooms after becoming ill on a Mediterranean cruise. Up to 30 people at any time have experienced symptoms on the three-week trip. The situation has been worsened by "very stormy" conditions in the eastern Mediterranean, causing many people to suffer from sea-sickness. One passenger said the passengers are going down like flies. The ship should arrive in Southampton on 22 March and is due to set off on another cruise from Liverpool the next day.
Illness
March 9 Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
San DIego News Network reports the ship is experiencing a norovirus outbreak. It does not indicate the number person effected.
Illness
March 8 Paradise
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Press Telegram reports A 30-year-old cruise ship passenger who allegedly broke into the vessel's medical center and stole morphine and other drugs is set to be arraigned before a Los Angeles federal magistrate this morning. The manis charged with burglary involving controlled substances and possession of a controlled substance. He was held in the brig until the ship docked in Long Beach where he was interviewed and arrested by FBI agents, court records show. According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent in support of the federal felony charges, a search of his cabin hours after the Valentine's Day break-in uncovered numerous syringes of the highly controlled painkillers morphine and Dilaudid, and hundreds of Percocet tablets.
Theft of drugs from infirmary
March 7 Rotterdam
Holland America Line
From a passenger: The ship is currently "Code Red" suspected to be the norovirus. Embarkation today will be delayed approximately 2 hours while the ship is being cleaned by crew and contracted union janitoial personnel. Complimentary shuttle busses have been chartered to take guests to nearby Seaport Village.
Illness
March 5 Grandeur of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Sun Sentinel reports a female passenger onboard the ship fell from her stateroom balcony (8th deck port stern) onto a cleaning cart landing on the 5th deck in the middle of the night while ship was at sea. Victim was pronounced dead by the Ship's Doctor. Subject was seen entering her stateroom earlier in the evening with her husband and mother in law. Subject was carrying a bottle of alcohol.
Passenger death
March 5 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
The Charleston Post and Courier reports since the ship set sail from Charleston on Saturday, 55 of the 1,880 passengers have fallen ill with norovirus. The ship's most recent departure was delayed a day as a cleaning crew sanitized it, and three officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went aboard to test for the virus.UPDATE: The CDC reports that 182 of 1749 passengers (10.41%) and 14 of 850 crew (1.65%) reported ill on the cruise ending March 8 in Charleston.
Illness
March 5 Golden Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: I was on the Golden Princess mid Jan to end of Jan to Hawai and was sick from a norovirus type of illness. Forced to keep cabin for 2 days, no air with broken air condition ... What a way to vacation. There was a rumor about 400 people sick and few escorted by ambulance to the hospital. Of course Princess denies responsibility and does not want to reveal the CDC report.
Illness
March 5

Amorella
Viking LineVia Mare
Viamare Ferry Service

Sky News reports more than 1,000 people have been trapped on four ships stuck in ice in the Baltic Sea off Sweden's east coast. The vessels, which were among about 50 ships stuck firm - some for several days - in the thick Baltic ice, have now been freed. The Swedish Maritime Administration and ice-breaking vessels mounted a rescue but were unable to reach the vessels immediately because of gale-force winds around the Stockholm archipelago and the Finnish island of Aland. Speaking before the ships were freed from the ice, a spokesman for the rescuers said: "As soon as they break the ice, it freezes over again." The cruise ships involved have been named as the Amorella, a passenger ferry with 943 people on board, the smaller Via Mare ferry carrying 66 people, the roll-on-roll-off ferry Sea Wind with 32 people and the Regal Star, a cargo ship with 56 people on board.
Stuck in ice
March 3 Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The CDC reports that 102 of 2158 passengers (4.7%) and 14 of 848 crew (1.6%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives at Miami March 5th from an 11 day cruise.
Illness
March 3 Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean Internationa
Globo.com (Brazil) reports the ship was held today in Buzios, in the Lake District, after 195 people showed signs of vomiting and diarrhea. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) prevented all passengers and crew from leaving the vessel until the authorities discover the reason for the outbreak. The ship has 1987 passengers and 765 crew on board. The ship began its its seven day cruise in Santos on March 1, with stops scheduled in Buzios and Ilhabela. UPDATE: Associated Press reports the ship has been quarantined by Brazilian authories. Brazil's National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance says at least 310 people have been suffering symptoms from some kind of food poisoning. The ships is expected to leave Buzios later today.
Illness
March 3 Millennium
Celebrity Cruises
The CDC reports that 157 of 2020 passengers (7.76%) and 23 of 938 crew (2.45%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives at San Juan March 5th from an 11 day cruise. From a passenger: I was onboard the Feb 22 - Mar 5 cruise. I, my daughter and sister-in-law that stayed in the same cabin all came down with the Norovirus. I have been on 27 cruises, and never before have I experienced anything like this. It was horrible, and the medical staff handled the situation poorly. We were so sick, called down to the medical and they stated they would be up to our cabin in 30 minutes. 3 hours later, we called back and were then told we would have to come down. Let me tell you, you are so sick and weak, this would have been impossible. We finally made it down hours later, and were treated. It isn't pleasant to go and sit in such a small area with more sick people who have this illness. We have been given a credit for only one day, which was the length we were in isolation, which in my opinion is a joke....You are so sick and weak after this that is took us three days to feel up to anything and then for the rest of the cruise we didn't do any excursions, with the fear of being out on a catamaran and having a flare up. It really limited the rest of the cruise. I might add, that while having been on other cruises, RC for example, you always see them cleaning the public areas. We never saw this on the Millennium, until after several days of the captain coming on and announcing that the virus was going around did they really start to try to clean the public areas. After we came down with the virus, on about the fifth day of the cruise, they took away anyone being able to serve themselves in the buffet or dining room. So sorry it took them so long, even after knowing people were coming down ill, did they start the process that should have been enforced since the first day of anyone coming down with the illness.
Illness
March 3 Maasdam
Holland America Line
The CDC reports that 168 of 1211 passengers (13.87%) and 19 of 559 crew (3.40%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives at Fort Lauderdale March 5th from a 14 day cruise.
Illness
March 3 Louis Majesty
Louis Cruises
The Associated Press reports 26-foot waves have crashed into the ship off France, smashing glass windshields and killing two passengers. Another fourteen people suffered light injuries, according to USA Today. It says the accident occurred near the French Mediterranean port of Marseilles as the ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa with 1,350 passengers and 580 crew. The victims were only identified as a German and an Italian man. A Louis Cruise Lines spokesman said the ship was hit by three "abnormally high" waves up to 26 feet (8 meters) high that broke glass windshields in the forward section. It is heading back to Barcelona. UPDATE: CNN reports the cruise has been terminated and that the next cruise has been cancelled. The ship is expected to return to service March 14th. The ship is in Barcelona for repairs to be completed.
Massive wave - 2 pax killed
March 3 Rosella
Viking Line
YLE (Finland) reports the Finnish cruise ship Rosella, run by Viking Line, is one of two cruise ships that got caught in sea ice in Stockholm's archipelago. The ship was unable to reach its destination Kapellskär, and was forced to turn back to Mariehamn at around 10 p.m. Tuesday night. The Swedish cruise ship Birger Jarl was also stopped by ice as it was on its way to Stockholm. It was stuck for around a day before it managed to turn around and also return to Mariehamn.
Stuck in ice
March 2 Costa Serena
Costa Cruises
A reader reports there was a person overboard on the ship on Saturday while in the Atlantic between the Canary Islands and Malaga. The news was confirmed by the Company; the man overboard is a 34 year old French man.
Person overboard
March 2 Star Princess
Princess Cruises
Because of the earthquake and tsunami in Chile, the ship has spent a couple of extra days in Valparaiso (Chile) to allow passengers to join and leave the ship. As a consequence, the itinerary for the March 2 cruise has dropped port calls at Stanley (Falkland Islands) and Punta Arenas (Chile),
Itinerary change
March 2

Island Escape
Thomson Cruises

The Leicester Mercury reports a family are among more than 70 angry British holidaymakers seeking to take legal action after their cruise turned into a Christmas nightmare. They say endured a fortnight of broken toilets and leaking ceilings, while fellow passengers were struck down by diarrhoea, fever and the contagious vomiting bug, norovirus. They spent days on the ship when a series of ports refused to let the vessel dock. The passenger said things started to go wrong on the third day when the ship was refused entry to Madeira and again the next day at Cadiz. Both times, guests were told the ports were closed and were forced to stay on board where broken toilets meant a foul smell filled the air. She said: "For three full days we were at sea, it was difficult to find a toilet that was working. "There were awful smells coming through the air-conditioning. If you went into a public toilet they were filled up with stuff that had not been flushed. "There was water coming in through the ceilings everywhere. I've never experienced a holiday like it in my life."
Lawsuit - illness, missed ports, and more
March 2 Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
A passenger writes that a man died while in port in St. Thomas. He choked in the dining room during the early seating for dinner. Apparently he suffered a heart attack while choking and died on board the ship. The captain announced that we would have a delayed departure from St. Thomas as there has been a "serious medical emergency" and the man and his family were removed from the ship.
Delayed departure
March 1 N/A From a reader: I have been a travel agent for 24 years and have cruised dozens of times.  It seems that our Caribbean ports of call are getting more and more dangerous. When our ship (Holland America's Eurodam) was docked in San Juan last week (Feb 23, 2010) my daughter and I ran into an American man who was badly beaten, bloody-faced and in shock.  He told us that he and his 73-yr-old father had taken a tour to the Old San Juan Fort and had wandered into the adjacent neighborhood.  They were jumped by a group of men who punched his father in the face, stole their wallets and beat them repeatedly.  It was a desperate situation, being badly hurt with no identification or money, and no one who spoke English.  His father had to be hospitalized, and he says the San Juan police were of no help. UPDATE: Two readers have responded to this posting and warned that the man is a scam artist. One rader says: This guy has been approaching cruise passengers for years. He catches two people alone near the port and tells a well rehearsed story about wondering in the wrong neighborhood and getting mugged. He reports that his father is in the hospital. Isn’t it funny that his father is in the hospital but he still has blood on his face? When asked about going to the police, he says that he did and they are of no help. Another writes: We encountered the EXACT same man with the EXACT same story when we were in San Juan in November.  He only wanted $12 for a taxi to the hospital to get his father.  We of course felt bad and gave him more.  He is dressed in a suit and speaks English without an accent.  His story sounds believable. The next day we told the story to our taxi driver.  He told us that the man is out all the time asking for money.  He has a skin condition that makes him look like he was beat up. It's just a scam to make money. Advice: One needs to be senstive to the risk of street crime, but also aware of the scams played on cruise passengers.
Scam artist in San Juan - beware
March 1 Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
From a reader: We were aboard the ship last week (Feb 20th sailing). Serenade was turned away from the port in Roseau, Dominica for high long swells. The captain did a slow sail past the west coast of the island and we got a day at sea. Only the port taxes were refunded. Many were disappointed but no massive protests occurred.
Missed port
February 27 Summit
Celebrity Cruises
The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a problem with "material failure." Material failure
February 27 Island Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: Because of strong underwater currents at Huatulco, MX, the ship docked and then less than 10 minutes later left the dock. The forward and aft ropes broke. Many little boats in Huatulco sank as well as unmanned boats went out to sea. You saw no wave (tsunami) but you could see like an underwater flash flood/current moving the opposite direction from the waves. It was cool to see. We were looking forward to Huatulco, but I have not found anyone aboard who is upset. I am sure everyone is glad just to have another day at sea before we end on Sunday.
Aborted port call
February 26 Rotterdam
Holland America Line
A reader provided the following report: Around 10 A.M. this morning, morning while breakfast was going on, one guest, supposedly of cabin 1905, jumped from the outside deck. The jump was apparently witnessed as there was an immediate man overboard call and the ship manouvered quickly and then anchored and a search happened. The ship staff searched for hours, and then about 5 pm, they recovered the nan's body. The ship has been under code red for 6 days for norovirus and the staff was already under huge stress. Another passenger writes: The GI illness was all over the ship -  I was diagnosed  with the illness a day after the passenger jumped.  All self-serve areas were completely shut down to passenger access and were administered by the crew – this was in place for the remainder of the journey.  I am a 46 year old male and this illness was one of the worst I ever had  I experienced diarrhea for a solid 36 hours, going to restroom every 15 minutes (literally) coupled with vomiting.  I was given 6 Imodium tablets to take, which didn’t stop it – I started running fever and was very weak. Then I was given antibiotics with a stronger anti-diarrheal medication.  It finally subsided and was able to keep food down.  Please take caution if you hear of an outbreak on a cruise line.  
Passenger overboard

Illness

February 26 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
The ship's departure from Charleston has been delayed for one day in order to permit deep cleaning. The Post and Courier reports Ppssengers who live more than a two-hour drive from Charleston were being put up in area hotels, compliments of the cruise line. All guests were being credited $50 for any extra expenses incurred, plus a $20 credit. To accommodate the delay, the cruise's itinerary was shortened by a day, with a planned call in Key West, Fla., being canceled. Passengers who sail today were to be given on on-board credit for two-days worth of their fare and a 25 percent discount on future Celebrity cruise bookings,
Delayed embarkation
February 26 Costa Europa
Costa Cruises
Alarabiya reports the ship crashed into a pier in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing three crew members (from India, Honduras, and Brazil -- all worked in the galley and were asleep in their beds at the time of the accident) and injuring four tourists. The four tourists, three British women (passengers) and an Italian man (crew), were taken to hospital in stable condition. The ship had arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh from the Red Sea port town of Safaga when it smashed into the pier. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. The Sun (UK) includes pictures of the damage with its story. It was subsequently announced that the cruise, which began at Dubai and was scheduled to end at Savona was terminated; passengers were disembarked and will be flown back to their destinations. UPDATE: The cruises scheduled for March 4 and 22 have been canceled.
Collision with pier - 3 Deaths and 4 injured
February 23 Maasdam
Holland America Line
From a passenger: Maasdam has just gone into code red with a few cases of GI on board. So far don't know the numbers but to prevent spreading it further and developing into a major outbreak food and water is being served to us, no salt and pepper shakers on tables etc. Only 2 days into it but hopefully it will be over with soon!
Illness
February 23 Caribbean Princess
Princess Cruises
Cruise Critic reports a tour bus carrying passengers to a "Tropical Forest Hike and Beach" ship-sponsored shore excursion in Tortola went off the road and flipped earlier today. Of the 20 passengers onboard, one person was killed and two others were seriously injured. According to a statement issued by the cruise line, Princess is still investigating the details of this morning's accident. The injured passengers have been taken to a local hospital, while the other tour participants are back on the ship, being checked out by the ship's medical staff. The passenger who died was a 24-year-old man from Rochester, New York, on vacation with his parents, who were also on the tour. The ship is on the second day of its seven-night Southern Caribbean itinerary. It was in St. Thomas yesterday, and is scheduled to visit Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados before returning to its embarkation port of San Juan on Sunday. UPDATE: The crash occurred as the bright green tour bus was descending a steep hill on Tortola when it reportedly veered off the road, crashed into a rocky embankment and flipped on its side. There is some suggestion the brakes failed. The driver has been charged with dangerous driving.
Passenger death on shore excursion; others injured
February 23 Black Watch
Fred Olsen Cruises
Cruise Business Review reports a woman from the UK has been awarded a £70,000 settlement after her husband died from Legionnaire’s Disease, contracted on board a Fred Olsen cruise. She and her husband were on the ship in July 2007, when it was announced there had been an outbreak of Legionnaire's on the ship. As a result, a number of passengers were affected by the illness, the cruise ended early and the couple returned home on 30th July. The 77 year old man died a couple of days later. An inquest ruled the cruise line exposed the man to Legionnaire’s Disease and found that the two doctors he saw (off ship) failed to prescribe adequate medication, respond to his worsening condition or arrange for his admission to hospital.
Lawsuit settled
February 22 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
Associated Press reports 326 guests and 27 crew members have fallen ill with a stomach ailment -- passengers began complaining Sunday of upset stomachs, vomiting and diarrhea. A company spokesperson said the ship's medical facilities were overwhelmed and another doctor and nurse came aboard in St. Kitts in the British Virgin Islands. The ship made four other stops in the Caribbean. It's not clear what pathogen was involved, but samples were being dropped off in Puerto Rico for testing. The ship left Charleston on Feb. 15 and is scheduled to return Feb. 26. UPDATE: WIBW reports the numberofill passengers is now 419. UPDATE Feb 25: CDC reports the numbers ill were 411 of 1833 passengers (22.43%) and 32 of 843 crew (3.8%) Disembarking passengers spoke of a rumor that the outbreak stemmed to a Caribbean excursion that included punch and cookies, but this is unconfirmed.
Illness
February 22 Costa Marina
Costa Cruises
It has been reported that because of mudslides & floods in Madeira, the ship has cancelled her call into Funchal tomorrow. She is to remain at sea and make her way to Tangiers for Wednesday.
Canceled port call
February 21 Pacific Venus
Japan Cruise Line
The Honolulu Advertiser reports the U.S. Coast Guard will resume searching for a crew member who went overboard Saturday when the ship was south of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The ship, on its way back to Japan, reported the 24-year-old crew member went overboard at 2 p.m. Saturday. The cruise ship was about 300 miles southwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands when it first reported the crew member missing.
Crew member overboard
February 20 Concordia
Class Afloat
The Vancouver Sun reports 64 passengers and crew were rescued in lifeboats in the Atlantic Ocean after the sailing ship sank Thursday in rough waters about 550 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro. The crew and passengers (high school students) spent 16 to 18 hours huddled in life rafts until rescuers found them in the dark.
Sank
February 19 Ecstasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
Fox News Houston reports the FBI is investigating what they call a mysterious death on the high seas. A 32-year-old woman was found dead in her stateroom - she was on the cruise with her boyfriend. The cause of death is unknown. Her body will be turned over to the medical examiner when the ship docks in Galveston tomorrow (Saturday). UPDATE: Police News reports February 20th that the death has been ruled a homicide; that the woman was beaten to death and the prime suspect is the man she married while onboard the ship. However the Galveston Daily News reports February 22nd that here was no evidence of trauma and that the cause of death will be determined pending a toxicology report, which can take from two to three weeks. UPDATE: The Galveston Daily News reports on April 28th that the woman died of a drug overdose. A toxicology report released Wednesday revealed the woman's blood-alcohol level was .27, more than three times the driving legal limit of .08. The report also said she had cocaine, promethazine and THC in her system.
Death onboard
February 19 Statendam
Holland America Line
CTV (Canada) reports a crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is bring treated for leprosy. Leprosy is typically characterized by skin rashes and nerve damage. It is easily treated with antibiotics. The crew member visited a doctor aboard the ship, who in turn referred the case to a dermatologist in Vancouver. Samples were sent to a lab and came back positive. The crew member was immediately treated. Leprosy is not highly contagious to begin with, and there is no risk of the disease spreading 24 hours after treatment. The crew member worked in the engine room so had no contact with passengers and there is no indication that it spread to any other crew members.
Leprosy
February 19 Voyager of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The Jamaica Gleaner reports the ship skipped its call at Montego Bay yesterday because of weather. According to the Meteorological Service, winds over 27 knots were present in the Montego Bay area sometime after 6:30 yesterday morning.
Skipped port call
February 19 Unknown WHEC TV reports a Rochester, NY man has been indicted by a grand jury for sexual assault of a 13 year old girl on a cruise ship. According to a criminal complaint on December 31, 2006, a 13-year-old female boarded a cruise ship in Florida to embark upon a cruise with her family. In the early morning hours of January 1, 2007, the teen was walking around the decks of the ship with friends when they were approached by a 24-year-old male passenger. According to the complaint, the man told the teen and her friends that they should return to their cabin. The girl followed the manwho took her to another deck where the sexual assault allegedly took place. The complaint states that she was told if she screamed, she would be thrown overboard. NOTE: Between 17.5 and 30 percent of sexual assaults on cruise ships are perpetrated against minors.
Sexual assault
February 18 Carnival Splendor
Carnival Cruise Lines
At around 7:00 AM, ship's time, as we were coming into Mazatlan, and I was in the shower, the ship made a hard turn that caused the ship to list sharply.  The Splendor turned so hard that I had to hold on to the shower walls to stay upright and our cabin's cabinet drawers fell open and the closet doors slammed open and shut. Shortly after the event, I ventured into the hallways and found the forward elevators flooded with water running down the shafts.  The Aft Lido Dining area under the Rotisserie also had several inches of water flooding the area.  We turned so hard the pools and hot tubs had spilled thousands of gallons of water into the ship. That evening after we departed port the Captain came on the P.A. system and explained that we were going through heavy rain and rough seas that morning and that the ship's radar had missed some small yachts in front of the Splendor, and that last minute they spotted the boats by eye and had turned sharply to avoid a collision.  He said he made the announcement because many passenger thought the heavy rains had flooded the ship and that they felt the Splendor was not seaworthy.
Sharp turn causes flooding
February 16 Melody
MSC Cruises
Brazilian media reports about 150 people were unable to embark on a cruise that left earlier than expected from the port of Fortaleza. The cruise docked in Fortaleza at 10am and was scheduled to board between noon and 16:00. However, due to strong winds the ship left ahead of schedule. Even crew members were left behind. The ship was beginning a seven day cruise.
Pax left behind
February 15 Pacific Dawn
P&O Australia

From a passenger: I was a passenger on the ship,when it left Brisbane on the 30th January 2010. We encountered several problems with the ship. There were divers in Hobart when we arrived to undertake ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. We were meant to leave Hobart at 12am and when we awoke the next morning we were still in Hobart. Lack of communication from the Captain as to what was happening was very frustrating. We missed the scenic tour of Coles Bay, Wineglass Bay, due to our very late departure. There was never an apology for that. We had an all day tour booked to Cradle Mountain which we had never been to before. Awoke early had breakfast then an announcement was made that due to our late departure from Hobart we would be arriving late at Burnie. All day tours were cancelled. Very disappointing, but we were fortunate to purchase tickets on another tour. We left Burnie to cross Bass Straight and we were looking forward to our Puffing Billy Train Ride to the Dandenong Ranges the next day. Once again we awoke early, had breakfast and surprise surprise, the Captain made another announcement that during the night there had been an electrical fault in the propeller and the ship had to slow down dramatically. Once again our tour was cancelled, we then had to line up for ages to get a ticket to disembark the ship, what a joke, we were in dock with gang planks. Can you imagine 1700 people all trying to catch a tram into Melbourne to find something to do. Passengers were very angry whilst lining up for their ticket and lots of stories were floating around as to what had actually gone wrong with the ship, they all told me not to be put off by this experience, but to try other Cruise Liners in future. We came back to our cabin one night to find a letter from the Captain, informing us that a $25 credit had been made to our accounts for the inconvenience. Why bother. I had been to Tasmania when I was 19, the 3 places I had not visited were Wineglass Bay, Cradle Mountain and I had never been to the Dandenong Ranges, so I missed out on all 3. I was not impressed. This was my first cruise, I loved the entertainment at night, the food and service was good but the lack of communication from the Captain was disgusting. If he kept us informed of what was happening I think the passengers would not have been so angry. Friends had their toilet overflow, how disgusting, our toilet stopped flushing, and throughout the ship at nightime there were out of service signs on doors all over the place. I don't know if this is normal or not, but hygiene is imperative on a cruise ship. We were told by room stewards that routine maintenance was being performed on our floor that was the reason the toilets were not working. No message was placed in our mail slot to notify us of this. Common sense doesn't seem to be used by those in charge. With reference to the breakdown in Hobart, we were told by staff, SAME PROBLEM AS LAST MONTH IN NOUMEA. A friend has recently been out to the Islands, the ship couldn't come into the dock, the passengers were bused out to Fishermans Island to board, they were told that it was because the steering was broken.

Propulsion and maintenance problems
February 15 Disney Magic
Disney Cruise Line
The Daily Herald reports the ship's port call at Sint Maarten on Tuesday has been cancelled because of sea conditions. That may be the case, however it is also not unlikely that the ship's delayed departure from Port Canaaveral (see February 13 below) is responsible for the change in itinerary.
Cancelled port call
February 15 Carnival Victory
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Daily Herald reports the ship cancelled its call at Sint Maarten on February 13th because of sea conditions. It attempted to berth alongside the pier but the ground swells proved to be too strong to allow safe berthing. Cruise passengers had to spend another day at sea.
Cancelled port call
February 14 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
USA Today reports the ship experienced mechanical probelms causing a seven hour delayed arrival (and disembarkation/embarkation) at Tampa. While the cruise line allowed passengers to make free phone calls to change travel arrangements from Tampa, it did not permit free access to computers, charging sign on fees of $3.95 and pay-as-you-go minute charges of 75 cents - no exceptions. Guests speculated whether an unusual incident that happened as the ship left its last port in Roatan, Honduras on Friday might have contributed to the problem. As the Legend pulled away from the island, it suddenly and momentarily listed to starboard. The ship recovered quickly, and no one thought much about it at the time, though some speculated the sudden pitch of the Legend while leaving Roatan may actually have been caused by the ship touching the channel wall as she made her way to the open sea. February 16: The ship is in Cozumel today (rather than tomorrow; Grand Cayman appears to have been dropped from the itinerary), a port call not on the original itinerary. The change is a conseqeunce of propulsion problems emerging on the last cruise. According to USA Today, the problems only effect the ship's speed -- all other system are functioning properly.
Mechanical problems
February 14 Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line
The following was received from a reader -- there has been no independent confirmation about the accuracy of this report: My wife and I recently took a cruise aboard the Norwegian Gem, leaving New York on February 3, 2010, returning February 13, 2010.  As we approached the New York harbor, I noticed we were being followed by two police boats and a police helicopter was circling overhead.  We've been on many cruises out of New York as my wife doesn't fly and this is the first time we've had such an escort.  The crew would only tell us that there was a slight delay.  An announcement to the crew earlier mentioned a "code alpha".  When we asked about it, we were told it was nothing.  As we left the terminal, we asked our porter what was going on and he responded that there was a double suicide on our ship.  I don't know if this is true or not, there was nothing in the news but the police presence was considerable, both offshore and on. A discussion on Cruise Critic gives additional insight into the story.
?Suicide?
February 13 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports during transit from Roatan to Tampa, the ship experienced failure of the port cycloconverter leaving the port azipod non-functioning. The US Coast Guard labeled this as "material failure"
Propulsion problems
February 13 Mercury
Celebrity Cruises
WBAL-TV (Baltimore) reports six people onboard the ship are being treated for exposure to carbon monoxide. Baltimore City fire officials said six crew members have been taken to local hospitals. Crew members were performing a welding operation on board the ship inside the engine room Friday and after the work was done the members began to report respiratory problems and other medical issues, and reported to the ship's medical facility. The 6 crew members were transported to local hospitals upon arrival in Baltimore. Baltimore City hazmat crews are trying to determine where the leak was coming from.
Carbon monoxide poisoning (crew)
February 13 Disney Magic
Disney Cruise Line
Florida Today reports gale force winds have prevented the ship from returning home from the Bahamas this morning, leaving other anxious travelers stranded at Port Canaveral. The ship was due for docking early this morning, but now won't be back at port at least until late this evening or Sunday morning. WInds and high seas prevented the ship from leaving Castaway Cay (the ship's private island). The ship will have to cruise into the northwesterly wind on its journey back to the U.S. It is expected to take 13 hours to reach Port Canaveral. The delay impacts thousands of people, including those already on the ship, and the thousands more who were set to head out Saturday afternoon on the ship's next seven-day cruise.
Delayed disembarkation / embarkation
February 12 Volendam
Holland America Line
The Howich and Pakuranga Times reports a New Zealand couple were evicted from the ship last summer in Juneau after a passenger who asked for a room upgrade was turned down and jokingly commented that if he threatened to jump overboard they'd probably give him a balcony cabin. The article reports, he was sent immediately to the ship’s doctor and “I was told I was a nut case”. Adding insult to injury they were confined to their cabin, except for being escorted to meals, until the ship docked in Juneau, Alaska. To their astonishment an ambulance was waiting to take them to nearby Bartlett Hospital. “They made us take all our gear with us,” says the passenger. “They had no right to put my wife off the ship as well.” A day of tests followed, including a brain scan for a possible tumour which the medics felt could explain his “erratic behaviour”. After they racked up about $3330 in fees, the hospital gave him a three-page letter saying he was fit and healthy, and was no danger to himself or to anyone else. But when they returned to the ship, they were refused permission to re-board it.
Passengers evicted
February 8 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
A poster at Cruise Critic (message #20) reports, "As of Friday 5th Feb Fred Olsen says about eighty people infected on the present cruise. The ship will again be "deep cleansed" on its return. FO will write to all next group passengers setting out the position and presumably the options. My partner and I have strong recommendations from our GPs not to risk it and I am cancelling and requesting refunds".
Illness
February 7 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports the ship was conducting manuevering drills prior to docking at the berth when it experienced problems with its port azipod. The Azipod would not work correctly and required repair upon berthing in port. The US Coast Guard labeled this "material failure".
Propulsion problems
February 7 Costa Victoria
Costa Cruises
Terra reports an Argentine tourist liner passenger died on Saturday during a tour of the schooner in Ilha Grande, Angra dos Reis, south coast of Rio de Janeiro. The woman was found by other passengers floating in a place known as Blue Lagoon. The passenger was removed by the Fire Brigade and sent to the Forensic Institute. Will open an administrative inquiry to investigate the causes and circumstances of death. The name and age of the woman was not disclosed.
Death on shore
February 7 Isle of Arran
Caledonia MacBrayne Ferry
BBC reports fourteen passengers were brought to shore safely after the ferry crashed into a pier on the Kintyre Peninsula while reversing into the harbour at Kennacraig at about 0930 GMT, after sailing from Islay . The ferry, which was also carrying a few commercial vehicles, hit the pier but no-one was hurt in the incident. A spokesman for the ferry company said early indications were that a mechanical fault was to blame. Engineers are now assessing damage to the pier, which is not thought to be too severe.
Collision with pier
February 6 Carnival Freedom
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports the USCG Sector Miami received report that a fire was started in crew cabin 2-505. The fire did not spread to any other cabin and was contained to a rain jacket on the deck inside the cabin. Watch personnel responded to a smoke detector alarm and extinguished the fire using a wet towel. Sector Miami's Investigating Officer responded and found that the fire was caused by two intoxicated crew members celebrating the birth of a child in which a rain jacket was accidentally caught on fire. Neither of the crewmember involved remember the incident or the fire The vessel sustained no smoke or structural damage to the cabin or surrounding spaces nor was the structural fire protection damaged impeding its effectiveness. The vessel has an Alcohol policy in place in which the Master, Staff Captain and Security Officer followed. Alcohol testing was conducted per the policy and both crewmembers were over the limit for "off-duty". The off-duty limit is blood alcohol level, one crewmember blew on the 1st test and on second test and the second crewmember blew a blood alcohol level. Both members were removed from their cabin and relieved of all duties. Both members work under the Shore Excursion department and are not involved in the direct safety of the passengers onboard the vessel. The master of the vessel is recommending to the company that both members be terminated due to the nature of the incident.
Fire
February 3 Imagination
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: a passenger from our ship died while parasailing in Cozumel.  We got no details other than the statement that a passenger had been in an 'unfortunate accident' while in Cozumel.  The ship pulled out of port about an hour late in order to complete paperwork related to the accident, according to the cruise announcement. Another reader sent a URL for a story about the victim. He also said the victim's harness failed and he dropped approx 250 ft. to the water and died.
Death on shore
February 3 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
The Antigua Sun reports a British couple was attacked and robbed yesterday while on an outing in the Villa area. It is reported that the couple arrived in Antigua earlier yesterday, journeyed to the Villa area, and while walking along Bay Street, they were approached by three young men, who suddenly appeared from out of some nearby bushes. The youths were armed with a piece of stick. The couple was then robbed of a digital camera. During the incident, the female visitor received a blow to her head with the stick while the man sustained an injury to his hand, after being struck by the piece of stick. They were taken to the Mount St. John Medical Centre (MSJMC) where they were treated and discharged.
Robbery ashore
February 2 Bahamas Celebration
Celebration Cruise Line
A reader writes: Illness hit many of the passengers on the Jan 29 sailing to Nassau (including my wife). Saturday night it seems at least 1/3 third of the passengers became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Ship crew would not confirm norovirus or food poisoning, but the illness did not seem to pass on to others, suggesting food poisoning. Returned to Fort Lauderdale Monday morning. We had booked in the specialty restaurant for the Sunday night. My wife was too sick to leave her stateroom, but I went on my own. Another group was there: was supposed to be a group of 16. Only 7 were there, as the rest were too ill. Other groups came in later. One was to be 8 people; only 5 could come. Most everyone I talked to had a partner or friends ill. It all seemed to begin from 6 pm Saturday to Sunday morning.
Illness
January 30 Mariner of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Posting at Cruise Criitc: Greetings from the still intact Mariner of the Seas. Yes, there was a bomb threat yesterday and for a while the entire port was closed. Could not use the elevators and anything below deck 4 was off limits. Kinda tough climbing the 3 decks of stairs for lunch, but we made it Divers made numerous swims under the ship and the local law enforcement was searching the lower decks. Around 5:00 pm Captain Per came on and gave us the REAL story. We had received many announcements throughout the day, but finally got the rest of the story.
Bomb scare
January 28 Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Lines
John Heald's blog says the ship missed its port call at Costa Maya because of high winds. Those same winds were responsible for Carnival Glory cancelling her call at Mahogany Bay and going to the old pier at Isla Roatan instead.
Missed port call
January 28 Ecstasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
Posters at Cruise Critic indicate that as the ship was docking at Galveston it hit the elevated gangway used to embark & disembark guests. There wasn't much damage to the ship other than scraped paint, but several window panels fell out of gangway. The $1.8 million structure is out of commission for 30 days or more for repairs. The Galveston County Daily News subsequently carried a story.
Collision with pier
January 28 Carnival Miracle
Carnival Cruise Lines
SKN Vibes reports the ship collided with the pier at Port Zante (St. Kitts) around 11:00 a.m. Upon arriving on the scene, there was no permitted entry into the arrival hall, but the cruise ship had a visible blackened dent on the right side. It was confirmed that both the cruise ship and the port facility were damaged during this morning’s berthing. “According to information received, while the ship was berthing a gust of wind thrust the ship to hit one of the dolphins and it subsequently hit a one of the fenders on the pier. The dolphin and fender were damaged and the ship also sustained damages.” The ship will remain in St. Kitts overnight for repairs and depart for Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. It will arrive Sunday in Fort Lauderdale four hours later than usual, arriving at noon.
Collision with pier
January 27 Queen Victoria
Cunard Line
The CDC reports 19 of 983 crew (1.93%) and 168 of 1854 passengers (9.06) reported ill on the cruise running 12 - 27 January. The cruise began in New York City; CDC performed an operational inspection on January 15th in Fort Lauderdale; the cruise ended in San Francisco. This is the second illness outbreak in a row.
Illness
January 27 Clelia II
Travel Dynamics International
Thought to have sustained only minor damage to its starboard propeller when a strong current pushed the ship against rocks in Antarctica in late December (see December 27, 2009), the ship's Antarctica season has now been canceled. When taken out of the water in drydock, it was determined the propeller would need to be replaced. The ship remains in drydock, awaiting the delivery of a propeller being manufactured in Denmark. The propeller is expected to be installed by the beginning of March. The ship is scheduled to sail the Amazon River starting March 20.
Cancelations
January 27 Norwegian Sky
Norwegian Cruise Line
Bahama Islands Info reports two cruise passengers were struck by a car at 10am Tuesday, January 26th, when the motorcycle they were on attempted to negotiate a U-turn on Queens Highway. The rider and passenger were knocked from the motorcycle, receiving injuries for which they were transported to the Accident and Emergency Section of the Rand Memorial Hospital. At 1:40pm, the female, age 64 years, succombed to her injuries and the male, age 63 years, was treated and detained. Investigations are being continued by officers at the Police Traffic Department.
Death ashore
January 26 Carnival Destiny
Carnival Cruise Lines
Cruise Critic reports the canceling of two of the ship's sailings -- and will modify three others -- to allow the ship to dry-dock for repairs to its propulsion system. The dry-dock will take place February 13 through 20. Canceled: A five-night sailing, departing on February 13 and a four-night sailing, departing on February 18, will be canceled. Note: A brand-new, two-night cruise to Nassau has been created, departing on February 20. Modified: A five-night cruise on January 30 will now visit Cozumel and Costa Maya instead of Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman, a four-night cruise on February 4 will visit Cozumel and skip a scheduled call in Key West, and a five-night sailing, departing February 8, will include stops in Freeport (rather than Grand Turk), Nassau and Half Moon Cay.
Itinerary changes & cancelations
January 22 Boudicca
Fred Olsen Cruises
The Portsmouth News reports 150 passengers became ill from norovirus on the Canary Island cruise beginning January 4 and ending January 18.
Illness
January 22 Royal Clipper
Star Clippers
USA Today reports a 30-year old New Mexico woman was found dead in Antigua after she strayed from a barbecue near Pigeon Point Beach. The woman was stabbed to death; her body was found at around 5 p.m. Tuesday on a secluded trail at Windward Bay. A statement provided by Star Clippers said authorities have a description of the alleged assailant, but have not made an arrest. UPDATE: Star Clippers have pulled out of Antigua til at least next winter. They will be monitoring the port security over the summer and make a decision about next winter nearer the time. They are replacing Antigua with Nevis on the remaining cruises til they sail back to Europe in April.
Murder ashore
January 22 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises
From a passenger: The ship cancelled our stop at Cabo San Lucas yesterday, January 21, 2010, due to high seas because of storms that had passed through north of Cabo, which would have slowed us down and possibly made people miss their flights home from Los Angeles on Saturday. Good thing they did, we think--pretty rough seas today.
Canceled port call
January 21 Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Cayman News Service reports the body of a 37-year-old man has been discovered in a cabin on board the ship. A spokesperson said that officers were investigating the situation but were unable to give any more details about how the man may have died. Police said they received a report that the body had been found just before lunchtime today (Thursday 21 January). The cruise had already caused controversy in some quarters of the community as the ship had been chartered by a tour operator catering to gay tourism.
Death onboard
January 21 Fantasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Press Register reports today's departure was delayed because of heavy fog in the Port of Mobile and surrounding areas. The ship will get under way as soon as fog lifts sufficiently to tow the ship to the Gulf of Mexico -- it could be later tonight, and it could be in the morning. Update from Passenger: We were able to get undeway about 11 PM as the fog broke somewhat. Arrived three hours late in Cozumel two days later, but extended stay by two hours to make up. On the way back, 200 miles from Mobile, passenger with illness along with family members evacuated by helicopter from ship to hospital in Mobile. The previous cruise by the way was two-three hours late arriving back in Mobile and this caused a massive traffice jam for miles at the terminal parking, and delayed the attempted departure by two hours, which was then further delayed due to fog as previously mentioned. The City of Mobile (who handles the parking deck/terminal) is not well equipped to handle traffice at the cruise terminal when situations such as this occur, as the parking garage can only barely hold one ship's worth of vehicles. Returning cruise did arrive back in Mobile on time.
Fog delay
January 17 Carnival Victory
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel reports the failure of the UPS battery charger for emergency lighting. While performing a monthly emergency test for the battery charger, which services the emergency lights, the vessel's crew noticed that the UPS battery charger did not work properly. This condition will prevent the battery pack from lasting 30 minutes as required by SOLAS regulations. Contracted technician attended subject vessel, replaced two damaged Printed Circuit Boards from the back panel of the UPS battery charger and satisfactorily tested the equipment. Material failure
January 17 Expedition
GAP Expeditions
I have been informed that GAP's new ship (Expedition) didn't sail from Ushuaia on it most recent cruise. There is no word about what is wrong. Passenegrs were accommodated on other ships sailing to Antarctica. From a reader: The ship has been laid up in Las Palmas with engine trouble since at least November.
Cancellation - engine trouble
January 16 Volendam
Holland America Line
Fiji Times reports the ship cancelled its visit to Levuka after an assessment by the ship's master that showed that the passage and the currents were unsafe for passengers to go ashore from the vessel. The ship had to leave for Suva early in the morning. The vessel started its journey on January 6 from Sydney, Australia heading to New Caledonia, on to Vanuatu, then to Fiji yesterday.
Cancelled port call
January 14 Noordam
Holland America Line
A passenger wrote to say the 10 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to  the Caribbean (January 04-14 2010) had a norovirus outbreak on the  3rd day of the 10 day cruise and it ended on the last full day of the cruise. It was subsequently learned that the number of people infected was 36-38, so below the 3% threshold to be considered an outbreak.  The cruise left Fort Lauderdale 01/04/10 and the outbreak started 01/07/10 and ended 01/13/10.  My cynical self became very suspicious when there was no additional disinfecting practices observed.
Illness
January 14 Amsterdam
Holland America Line
The CDC today reported the following illness outbreak last month: The ship reported 8 of 610 (1.31%) crew and 56 of 1317 (4.25%) passengers had reported ill with gastrointestinal illness on a 21 day cruise ending December 23.
Illness
January 14 Seven Seas Mariner
Regent Seven Seas Cruies
The CDC today reported the following illness outbreak last month: The ship reported 28 of 621 (4.51%) passengers had reported ill with gastrointestinal illness on an 18 day cruise ending December 20.
Illness
January 14 Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line
From a reader: Just got off the ship. Had broken azipod propusion system when we left new york.. ship was constantly listing and bouncing for five days until fixed in St. Thomas.
Propulsion problems
January 14 Sapphire Princess
Princess Cruises

The following was received today from a reader - I include it here because it is (in my mind) outrageous -- children throwing food overboard are expelled from the ship, but the ship itself regularly discharges liquified food waste as part of normal operations. Make up your own mind on who is "right." For Christmas, my husband and I gave our two grown sons and their families a cruise to Mexico on the Sapphire Princess departing and returning to Los Angeles. We were spending Christmas on the ship. It would have been the first time I had managed to get both families together in 20 years for the holiday. On Dec. 23, at sea between Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, my two grandsons, age 13 ands 15, were in a cabin of another boy they had met on the ship and they had thrown some articles of food overboard including a fork. Apparently, they were spotted on camera by security. The next day in Cabo San Lucas (Christmas Eve day), my son, his wife and the two boys were ordered off the ship by Captain Tony Herriott and had to pay their own way back to Los Angeles. Three other families whose sons were also involved were ordered off the ship. The Captain's actions devastated us all. Needless to say, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were very depressing days for the seven of us that remained on board. There is now a new Christmas Grinch out there and he is the Captain of a Princess cruise ship!

Expulsion from ship
January 14 Musica
MSC Cruises

Police reportedly suspect that a crew member found dead on the ship off Brazil was strangled. The woman’s body was discovered inside her cabin by a man believed to be her partner, the O Globo newspaper reported. She worked as a bartender on the ship, which was about to complete a seven-day, trans-Atlantic cruise. The man who found the woman told police she hanged herself with a bedsheet, but officers said they believed she was strangled, the newspaper said.

Murder
January 14 Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises
I have received an email from a passenger on the current world cruise saying that 80 people have been confined to their cabin because of norovirus. More information will be posted as it becomes available. UPDATE February 3: The CDC reports 293 of 1163 passengers (25.19%) and 17 of 519 crew (3.28%) reported ill on the cruise running 5 January to 4 February (time in US waters on world cruise).
Illness
January 14 Seadream II Seadream Yacht Club The US Coast Guard reports the ship suffered problems with "material failure." Material failure
January 13 Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
RCI issued a statement that the ship's departure from dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas was delayed. Because of this, it is expected to arrive in Bayonne, New Jersey on Thursday, January 14 later than originally scheduled. Guests are asked to not arrive at the port before 3:00 p.m., but no later than 7:00 p.m. The delayed departure is not expected to have an impact on the scheduled itinerary.
Delayed departure
January 12 Aurora
P&O Cruises
Cruises.co.uk has a posting about an illness outbreak on the early stages of a world cruise. As stated, Already the buffet restaurant has been closed for four days and the Captains party has been postponed twice. It is unclear the extent of the illness.
Illness
January 12 Dawn Princess
Princess Cruises
Sydney Morning Herald reports more than 240 Australian passengers on a cruise to New Zealand were struck down by a gastro virus. Health officials boarded the ship when it docked at Station Pier in Melbourne early yesterday to examine infection-control procedures after the outbreak caused vomiting and diarrhoea among passengers. All passengers were allowed to leave the ship which was ending its 13-night cruise in Melbourne. "The infection control officer will be checking that cleaning procedures have been carried out to prevent any further spread," said Victorian health department spokesman Graeme Walker. Carnival Australia, the company that operates the ship, confirmed the outbreak happened three days after it left Melbourne on December 29 with about 2000 passengers.
Illness
January 11 Disney Wonder
Disney Cruise Line
A poster at Cruise Critic writes: Me, the hubby and three kids set sail 1-7-10 for a three day Bahamas on Disney Wonder. By midnight the second night, our 13 year old was sick and about 16 hours later it hit the 11 year old. Ship doctor said "GI" infection and gave us anti-nausea meds, he was cranky and rude (which is unacceptable when dealing with sick children). In his defense, however, I quickly discovered why. I'll bet he and his staff were up all night dealing with sick people. By the second morning, after the first kid got sick, all buffet stations were no longer self-serve. Even the beverage stations on deck were roped off and crew members were handing drinks to people.
Illness
January 10 Norwegian Jade
Norwegian Cruise Line
A reader reports: there were reports on our sailing (Jan 3rd) that 300 pax were sick with GI. One passenger who came down sick was a close friend of mine. I can tell you that after the first day, all buffet areas were no longer "self serve" and remained that way for the entire cruise. NCL appeared to be very diligent in battling the outbreak. Crew was sanitizing constantly, and did seem to get it under control. From another reader: According to one ship announcement the illness involved up to 8% of the passengers. The Jade went into extensive prevention measures including hand santisers in every elevator, crew with hand spray at the entrance to each restaurant and the major shop, removal of all brochures about trips which normally are available for passenger reading, and substituting crew for all self-service including bread at dinner, coffee and tea in the cafe. When we returned to Barcelona at the end of the cruise continuing passengers were obliged to leave the ship for several hours in the morning as the entire ship was being sanitized. Sorry to say it didn't work for me - I came down with a virus of short duration at the second Moroccan port with complications that lasted several days. Medical attention was prompt, and free, and, fortunately, effective.
Illness
January 10 Carnival Miracle
Carnival Cruise Lines
The US Coast Guard reports the ship suffered a problem with "material failure." The Sun Sentinel reports while in the port of St. Marteen, the tender Boat #1 was brought to the embarkation deck for training purposes with the technical crew onboard. While vertical position and ready to be lowered into the water, the winch mechanical brake could not be operated; it failed. Material failure / life boat
January 9 Queen Victoria
Cunard Line
The Daily Mail erroneously reports the ship could be refused entry into the U.S. after an outbreak of a winter vomiting bug. The paper said the Queen Victoria will not be allowed to dock if the virus reaches an epidemic rate, where 15 per cent of those onboard are affected, authorities warn. So far, 30 people have been confined to their cabins. The ship's captain has ordered a major cleaning operation of handrails, dining rooms and other public areas in a bid to protect the remaining 2,000 or so passengers and crew. Self-service of food and beverages has been stopped and receptions have been canceled. The ship is due to arrive at New York on Monday and on Tuesday will leave for the Caribbean for a two-week tour. Update: South Florida Business Review and the CDC reports 9.55% of passengers (179) reported ill as did eight (0.981%) of ther crew.
Illness
January 8 Poesia
MSC Cruises
The Sun Sentinel reports Authorities evacuated hundreds of people from a Port Everglades terminal after a customs agent stopped a man with a suspicious liquid that may have sickened the agent. The 25-year-old man accused of having the liquid was held on a charge of marijuana possession because he also was found with the drug. The customs agent, as well as the Broward Sheriff's Office, was on the lookout for subjects of arrest warrants, as passengers were disembarking from a cruise ship about 10:30 a.m. at Terminal 4. The ship had returned to Port Everglades after a five-night cruise. About 300 people, including cruise ship passengers, were in the terminal during the incident and were evacuated. Meanwhile, passengers still on the ship were required to remain aboard while hazardous materials technicians investigated. Officials reopened the terminal about three hours after the incident.
Terminal evacuated
January 7 Norwegian Jade
Norwegian Cruise Line
A reader reports a man went overboard. Discussions with crew indicated he was wearing a life jacket. He was apparently rescued and then put off the ship in Turkey. I personally heard the operation bright star called out about 30 minutes before sunset, and saw the ship come to a stop. I then saw rescue boats in the water. It was announced by the cruise director at the show that night that the man was "rescued and re-united with his family". From another reader: I will confirm that there was a passenger overboard, off the coast of Egypt. The ship changed course to locate and rescue him, and lucky for him they were quick about it, as darkness was falling. We heard unofficially that he jumped with a life jacket, and officially that he was rescued alive. From the jumper: This is seriously from the man overboard that day. I'm writing to you cuz some of what was posted isn't correct. January 9th 2010 close to sunset shortly after awaking from a nap I jumped from the 11th floor with my life vest on. Reason for jumping..... well that's between me and my family. I was told the rescue took 30min. I was then deported off the ship in Egypt to another hospital. Only injuries i had where bruised legs and a cramped neck for a week. Thankful for being alive. Although i now owe ncl 5,565,000 for jumping not even including the 1,300.00 stay at the ic on ship.
Overboard - Rescued alive
January 7 Hannah Glover and Rockmmore
Rockmore Co.
The Boston Herald reports the company has agreed to pay more than $300,000 in fines and other costs for dumping raw sewage directly from its vessels into coastal waters and the Charles River. Prosecutors allege that Marblehead-based Rockmore Co. Inc., which operates the vessels Hannah Glover and Rockmore, from 1990 until 2006 knowingly discharged untreated sewage from the boats toilets into North Shore waters. The Hannah Glover offers dinner cruises, sightseeing trips, and ferry service. The Rockmore is a restaurant boat moored in Salem Harbor. Under an agreement reached with federal prosecutors, the company agreed to plead guilty to two counts of violating federal law, and pay a $225,000 fine as well as a $75,000 payment to the state environmental trust.
Environmental
January 7 Black Watch
Fred Olsen Cruises
The BVI Beacon reports a second cruise passenger died this month while swimming off Tortola (see January 5 below). The latest incident involved an 86 year old man swimming at Nanny Cay Beach who was pulled from the water at 2:30 PM and transported to Peebles Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 3:30 PM, and an autopsy is pending.
Death ashore
January 6

Star Clipper
Star Clippers Cruises

Travel Pulse reports the company announced that its tall ship in Asia will relocate to the Caribbean for the 2010 winter season due to increased piracy in the Far East. Following its summer sailings in the Eastern Mediterranean, Star Clipper will reposition to St. Maarten in November for seven-night roundtrip cruises. The company has deployed a ship to the Far East during the winter for more than a decade. The Far East itineraries, featuring Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, have been well received, but owner Mikael Krafft said geopolitical conditions, not related directly to the destinations themselves, dictated this decision.
Piracy concerns
January 5 Carnival Fantasy
Carnival Cruise Lines
The Sun Sentinel at approximately 1700 on December 26th, the Cruise Ship CARNIVAL FANTASY was hoisting one of its life boats in preparation to leave its port call in Cozumel, Mexico. The crew had been having problems with the winch, but finally got it working. As the life boat reached the davit stoppers, the limit switch failed and the winch continued to put tension on the davit. The tension caused a failure of 2 pulleys and the sheave shaft as well as causing the life boat to fall about 2 feet. The life boat was raised using chain falls and the CARNIVAL FANTASY was cleared to leave after reassigning passengers to different life boats. The US Coast Guard lists this as "material failure." Material failure / Lifeboat failure
January 5 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
Virgin Islands Platinum News reports a cruise passenger from a ship docked at Tortola died after he was pulled out of the sea in the area of Cane Garden Bay (CGB) beach. The man, in his 50´s, was unconscious but relentless CPR work assisted him in regaining some level of consciousness. At one point, he was not breathing on his own and information suggests that he had a weak pulse. Rescuers were able to get a substantial amount of food and liquid out of him during rescuing measures at the beach, however one and a half hours later he was pronounced dead at the hospital. BVI lifeguard officials have been warning persons not to go into areas where there are red flags and a bulletin issued for Tuesday had clearly stated the dangerous areas on Tortola included Apple Bay, Josiah´s Bay, Lambert Beach and with Cane Garden Bay being the most dangerous for Tuesday. All these areas have red flags as warning signs.
Death ashore
January 5 Star Princess
Princess Cruises
Cruise Critic and Princess Cruises reported the ship arrived in Valparaiso late (at around 11:30 AM rather than 6:00 AM), likely the result of rough seas enroute to the port. Many passengers needed assistance changing flight arrangements given the late arrival. The report was removed from both websites later in the day, so a URL cannot be given.
Late arrival
January 5 Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line
From a reader: It has been reported that Norwegian Gem is experiencing propulsion trouble on her current cruise. This has caused at least one session of drifting without power and missing the call into San Juan. Currently there are no further details as to what the cause is or if it will impact future cruises.
Propulsion problems
January 5 Monarch of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
Times Now reports forty eight hours after the suicide of a 23-year old woman (see December 31, 2009), her husband who is an onboard manager has gone missing. A subseqeunt report in Indian Express indicates he went missing after the ship docked in Miami.
Crew member missing
January 5 Balmoral
Fred Olsen Cruises
Kent Online reports the ship is undergoing a thorough clean and disinfection at Dover today after more than 350 passengers and crew were taken ill during a Christmas and New Year cruise. The ship leaves tonight on a 106-night world cruise.
Illness
January 4 Georich
Phillipine ferry
Manilla Bulletin reports a Cebu-bound (Phillipines) passenger vessel conked out off Apo Island Saturday night, leaving the fate of 465 passengers to strong winds and waves for nearly an hour before it was towed to safety. The vessel left the port of Dapitan at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday on its way to Cebu. It was set to make a stopover in Dumaguete City but about two hours into the voyage, it experienced a malfunction in its main engine. It was subsequently determined that some parts of the engine were damaged beyond repair. The ship was towed to the Dumaguete port. The ship was scheduled to arrive in Dumaguete at 8 PM but the incident delayed its arrival to 2 AM the following day, Sunday.
Engine failure
January 3 Summit
Celebrity Cruises
From a passenger: At St. Thomas Celebrity Summit had a bomb scare clearing passengers and providing food at a restaurant on the pier Jan 3 about 2:00pm local time
Bomb scare
January 3 Indian ferry AFP reports at least 27 people were missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized in a river in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The small vessel, with 38 passengers on board, sank while crossing the Runarayan river in Kolaghat, about 50 kilometres southwest of the state capital Kolkata. It was overcrowded and leaking, and overturned in the middle of the river. Local fishermen had managed to rescue nine men and two children after the incident.
Sunk
January 2 Palm Beach Princess Casino CBS 12 News reports the ship arrived back at the dock three and a half hours late after being stalled five miles off shore. Passengers finally disembarked at 3:45am. An officer aboard the ship says high winds prevented the gambling boat from making a safe return. Passengers tell CBS 12 they were concerned the delay could have been a result of a malfunctioning engine. A tug boat brought the Palm Beach Princess back to the dock. All passengers received a voucher for a free cruise.
Delayed arrival

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