In the latest sign of an industywide crackdown on safety, another cruiser has been kicked off a ship for not attending a safety drill.Industry watcher Cruise Week today reports that an 84-year-old woman and her 90-year-old husband were escorted off the Seabourn Sojourn this week after the woman refused to attend the mandatory safety briefing that is held at the start of every voyage.The subscription-only newsletter says the couple were on the second leg of a three-leg trip on the 450-passenger luxury vessel, suggesting that they already had attended a safety drill on the earlier leg of the trip. The husband attended the drill, but his wife said she didn't feel well and had done it before, Cruise Week says.RELATED: Cruiser removed from Holland America ... Continue reading →
ABOARD THE RIVIERA -- At first glance, Oceania Cruises' new ship, Riviera, looks the same as its award-winning, one-year-old sister, Marina. But identical twins, they aren't.Frank Del Rio, who oversees Oceania as chairman and CEO of parent company Prestige Cruise Holdings, tells USA TODAY that the company made 727 changes to Riviera's design after Marina debuted."Riviera is a superior ship in many ways," Del Rio says in a sit-down interview aboard the vessel, which was named last week in a ceremony in Barcelona. "If any ship is going to dethrone Marina, it is Riviera."Among the biggest changes to Riviera was the reworking of the Spa Terrace, an outdoor sunning deck for spa-goers at the front of vessel. It now boasts a large thalassotherapy pool that ... Continue reading →
In the latest sign of an industywide crackdown on safety, another cruiser has been kicked off a ship for not attending a safety drill.Industry watcher Cruise Week today reports that an 84-year-old woman and her 90-year-old husband were escorted off the Seabourn Sojourn this week after the woman refused to attend the mandatory safety briefing that is held at the start of every voyage.The subscription-only newsletter says the couple were on the second leg of a three-leg trip on the 450-passenger luxury vessel, suggesting that they already had attended a safety drill on the earlier leg of the trip. The husband attended the drill, but his wife said she didn't feel well and had done it before, Cruise Week says.RELATED: Cruiser removed from Holland America ... Continue reading →
In the latest sign of an industywide crackdown on safety, another cruiser has been kicked off a ship for not attending a safety drill.Industry watcher Cruise Week today reports that an 84-year-old woman and her 90-year-old husband were escorted off the Seabourn Sojourn this week after the woman refused to attend the mandatory safety briefing that is held at the start of every voyage.The subscription-only newsletter says the couple were on the second leg of a three-leg trip on the 450-passenger luxury vessel, suggesting that they already had attended a safety drill on the earlier leg of the trip. The husband attended the drill, but his wife said she didn't feel well and had done it before, Cruise Week says.RELATED: Cruiser removed from Holland America ... Continue reading →
Fast-growing river line Avalon Waterways has two more vessels in Europe this week after unveiling its second and third "suite ships" -- a new design that it started rolling out last year.Named on Friday at a dual ceremony in the Netherlands, the 166-passenger Avalon Vista and 135-passenger Avalon Visionary are the company's 12th and 13th new ships in Europe since 2004.Avalon's suite ships feature two full decks of suites with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows that, when open wide, create a balcony effect in the room. The first vessel in the series, the 166-passenger Avalon Panorama, debuted in early 2011. Take our photo tour of the Avalon Panorama.Two notable cruise marketers, Cruise Strategies' Vanessa Lee and Travelsavers' Nicole Mazza, served as godmothers of the new ships ... Continue reading →
In the latest sign of an industywide crackdown on safety, another cruiser has been kicked off a ship for not attending a safety drill.Industry watcher Cruise Week today reports that an 84-year-old woman and her 90-year-old husband were escorted off the Seabourn Sojourn this week after the woman refused to attend the mandatory safety briefing that is held at the start of every voyage.The subscription-only newsletter says the couple were on the second leg of a three-leg trip on the 450-passenger luxury vessel, suggesting that they already had attended a safety drill on the earlier leg of the trip. The husband attended the drill, but his wife said she didn't feel well and had done it before, Cruise Week says.RELATED: Cruiser removed from Holland America ... Continue reading →
A 34-year-old British man who admitted to abusing children while working as a children's area supervisor on several cruise ships is heading to prison for four years.USA TODAY sister paper The Daily Echo of Southampton, England reports that Paul Trotter of Pontefract, England also will be placed on the UK's sex offenders' register for life and banned from working with children.The punishments, handed out by a UK judge on Friday, come after Trotter admitted to a string of sexual assaults on 13 boys while working on Southampton-based Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth between 2007 and 2011, the Daily Echo says. Trotter also admitted to the taking, making and possession of indecent images of the children, who were between the ages ... Continue reading →
Nashville neurosurgeon Jack Kruse says he's the victim of cyber sabotage.Kruse was scheduled as a guest speaker Monday for Jimmy Moore's 5th Annual Low-Carb Cruise on the Carnival Magic out of Galveston, Texas.But before the ship departed Sunday afternoon, the cruise line learned of a Twitter message from an account containing quotes allegedly from Kruse.The account — @s…krusesays, which contains an expletive — contained messages claiming Kruse had a "vial of Legionnaires for epic biohack." The Twitter account has since been disabled.When Carnival learned of the tweet, it contacted authorities, and Galveston police, the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard boarded the ship to investigate.Authorities searched Kruse's bags, questioned him and asked him to disembark the ship while they investigated. Kruse said authorities quickly learned he ... Continue reading →
