TITANIC ACCIDENT

TITANIC ACCIDENT

       

  On April 10, 1912, the Titanic, largest ship afloat, left Southampton, England on her maiden voyage to New York City. The White Star Line had spared no expense in assuring her luxury. A legend even before she sailed, her passengers were a mixture of the world's wealthiest basking in the elegance of first class accommodations and immigrants packed into steerage.

She was touted as the safest ship ever built, so safe that she carried only 20 lifeboats - enough to provide accommodation for only half her 2,200 passengers and crew. This discrepancy rested on the belief that since the ship's construction made her "unsinkable," her lifeboats were necessary only to rescue survivors of other sinking ships. Additionally, lifeboats took up valuable deck space.

Four days into her journey, at 11:40 P.M. on the night of April 14, she struck an iceberg. Her fireman compared the sound of the impact to "the tearing of calico, nothing more." However, the collision was fatal and the icy water soon poured through the ship.

It became obvious that many would not find safety in a lifeboat. Each passenger was issued a life jacket but life expectancy would be short when exposed to water four degrees below freezing. As the forward portion of the ship sank deeper, passengers scrambled to the stern. John Thayer witnessed the sinking from a lifeboat. "We could see groups of the almost fifteen hundred people still aboard, clinging in clusters or bunches, like swarming bees; only to fall in masses, pairs or singly, as the great after part of the ship, two hundred and fifty feet of it, rose into the sky, till it reached a sixty-five or seventy degree angle." The great ship slowly slid beneath the waters two hours and forty minutes after the collision

The next morning, the liner Carpathia rescued 705 survivors. One thousand five hundred twenty-two passengers and crew were lost.


RECENT REPORTS


   Some researches were carried out in the place where titanic sank.They first noticed the front part of the ship where it was a mere impression which was thought for sinkage of titanic. Later they came with idea that surprises every people. At the time of construction of titanic there was a demand for the riveters. Rivets were done in poor quality. Welding was not found at that time.Captain was aware of those things , so he refused to go fast during the titanic first voyage to the newyork. But owners compelled him to go fast to reach the New york one day before.Finally the captain accepted after they warned him that he will be downgraded. Ship speed was raised to full speed. It led to the vibrations. The vibration was severe so , the rivets given up and plates were damaged and water came in , that led to the sinkage of ship.

COSTA CONCORDIA ACCIDENT

                                             COSTA CONCORDIA ACCIDENT


              The cruise ship Costa Concordia^{[p 1]} partially sank on the night of 13 January 2012 after hitting a reef off the Italian coast and running aground at Isola del Giglio,^{[p 2]} Tuscany, requiring the evacuation of the 4,252 people on board. Thirty two people are known to have died;^[3] 64 others were injured^[5] (at least two seriously)^[6] and two are still missing.^[3] Two passengers and a crewmember trapped inside were rescued in the days after the incident.^[5][7]

Captain Francesco Schettino^{[p 3]} had deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route to treat people on Isola del Giglio to the spectacle of a close sail-past or near-shore salute. The ship was on the first leg of a planned 6-port cruise from Civitavecchia when she hit a reef off Isola del Giglio and started to take in water, flooding the engine room and generators, causing the ship to drift for more than an hour off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio before aground and being evacuated. Ship's officers at first told passengers that the problem was a reparable "electrical fault" and told inquiring maritime officials that the event was merely a "black out". The captain delayed preparations to abandon ship, and the ship developed a list, both of which hindered eventual evacuation attempts. Soon after grounding, the ship listed more extremely, trapping people inside. Meanwhile, the captain left the ship during the evacuation and did not reboard despite orders by maritime officials.

CAPTAINS POINT OF VIEW;

Captain Schettino stated that, before approaching the island, he had turned off the alarm system for the ship's computer navigation system.^[35] "I was navigating by sight, because I knew those seabeds well. I had done the move three, four times."^[36] He told investigators that he saw waves breaking on the reef and turned abruptly, swinging the side of the hull into the reef.^[37] "I have to take responsibility for the fact that I made a judgment error." "This time I ordered the turn too late."^[38] The captain had initially stated that the ship had been about 300 metres (980 ft) from the shore (about the length of the vessel) and hit an uncharted rock.^[39]

The captain said that Costa Cruises managers told him to perform the 13 January sail-past.^[40] On 14 August 2011, the ship had taken a similar sail-past route, but not as close to Le Scole.^[41] The 14 August sail-past was approved by Costa Cruises and was done in daylight during an island festival.^[36] The normal shipping route passes about 5 miles (8.0 km) offshore.^[42][43] In August 2011, Giglio Porto's mayor, Sergio Ortelli, had thanked Captain Schettino for the "incredible spectacle" of a sail-past. Mayor Ortelli has now said, "It's a very nice show to see, the ship all lit up when you see it from the land. This time round it went wrong".^[44] In August and September 2010, Costa Pacifica and Costa Allegra, sister ships of Costa Concordia, came within a mile of the island.^[45] Costa Cruises confirmed that the course taken was "not a defined [computer programmed] route for passing Giglio."^[46] Costa Cruises CEO Pier Luigi Foschi explained that the company's ships have computer-programmed routes and "alarms, both visual and sound, if the ship deviates by any reason from the stated route as stored in the computer and as controlled by the GPS", but that these alarms could be "manually" overridden.^[47]

In addition to claiming that he was told by Costa Cruises to perform the 13 January sail-past near Giglio, the captain is said to have had indicated other, perhaps all consistent, reasons. At the time of impact, Captain Schettino was on the telephone with retired Captain Mario Palombo, telling Palombo, "Seeing as we're passing the island, we'll sound the siren for you".^[15] In addition, at the captain's invitation, the maître d'hôtel of the ship, who is from the island, came to the ship's bridge to view the island during the sail-past.^[48]

Passengers' point of view

Passengers were in the dining hall when there was a sudden, loud bang, which a crew member (speaking over the intercom) ascribed to an "electrical failure".^[49] "We told the guests everything was [okay] and under control and we tried to stop them panicking", a cabin steward recalled.^[50] The ship lost cabin electrical power shortly after the initial collision.^[51] "The boat started shaking. The noise—there was panic, like in a film, dishes crashing to the floor, people running, people falling down the stairs," said a survivor. Those on board said the ship suddenly tilted to the port side.^[30] Passengers were later advised to put on their life jackets.^[52] One half-hour before the abandon ship order, one crew member was videoed telling passengers at a muster station, "We have solved the problems we had and invite everyone to return to their cabins."^[53] When the ship later turned around, it began^{[citation needed]} to list approximately 20° to the starboard side, creating problems in launching the lifeboats. The president of Costa Cruises, Gianni Onorato, said normal lifeboat evacuation became "almost impossible" because the ship had listed so quickly.^[54]

Costa Cruises safety history

Like all passenger ships, the Costa Concordia was subject to two major International Maritime Organization requirements: to perform "musters of the passengers (...) within 24 hours after their embarkation" and to be able to launch "survival craft" sufficient for "the total number of persons aboard ... within a period of 30 minutes from the time the abandon-ship signal is given".^[202] Passenger ships must be equipped with lifeboats for 125% of the ship's passenger and crew maximum capacity, among which at least 37% of that capacity must consist of hard lifeboats as opposed to inflatable ones.^[203] Launching systems must enable the lowering of the lifeboats under 20° of list and 10° of pitch.^[Costa Cruises reportedly has experienced significant safety violations, collisions and other incidents. In addition, Costa's accidents and "near misses" are under-reported in public databases.[205] Although International Maritime Organization rules require Italy to report serious accidents by its flag ships, Italian authorities have refused to submit the government's findings in the fatal Costa Europa 2010 incident and Costa has refused to release its own internal report.^[206] 

^{REVIEW OF SOLAS} 

        ^{The solas is reviewed by the IMO after the costa concordia accident . The ship sank after it was grounded. So the ship integrity and bulkhead standards and hull strength are reviewed by the IMO.}

EXXON VALDEZ ACCIDENT

EXXON VALDEZ ACCIDENT
OPA 90 INTRODUCTION
Shoreline impacted	Exxon Valdez oil spill 3 days after Exxon Valdez ran aground Location Prince William Sound, Alaska Coordinates 60.83333°N 146.86667°WCoordinates: 60.83333°N 146.86667°W Date 24 March 1989 Cause Cause Grounding of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker Operator Exxon Spill characteristics Volume 260,000 barrels (41,000 m3) - 750,000 barrels (119,000 m3) Area 11,000 sq mi (28,000 km2) Shoreline impacted 1,300 mi (2,100 km) The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels (41,000 to 119,000 m3) of crude oil.[1][2] It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters.[3] The Valdez spill was the largest ever in U.S. waters until the 2010 Deep-water Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.[4 The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline,[5] and 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of ocean.[6] Then Exxon CEO, Lawrence G. Rawl, shaped the company's response.[7] Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the master and provide a rested and sufficient crew for Exxon Valdez. The NTSB found this was widespread throughout the industry, prompting a safety recommendation to Exxon and to the industry.[13] The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue or excessive workload.[13] Exxon Shipping Company failed to properly maintain the Raytheon Collision Avoidance System (RAYCAS) radar, which, if functional, would have indicated to the third mate an impending collision with the Bligh Reef by detecting the "radar reflector", placed on the next rock inland from Bligh Reef for the purpose of keeping boats on course via radar.[14]Other factors, according to an MIT course entitled "Software System Safety" by Professor Nancy G. Leveson,[16] included: Tanker crews were not told that the previous practice of the Coast Guard tracking ships out to Bligh reef had ceased.[17] The oil industry promised, but never installed, state-of-the-art iceberg monitoring equipment.[18] Exxon Valdez was sailing outside the normal sea lane to avoid small icebergs thought to be in the area.[18] The 1989 tanker crew was half the size of the 1977 crew, worked 12−14 hour shifts, plus overtime. The crew was rushing to leave Valdez with a load of oil.[19] Coast Guard tankThere was use of a dispersant, a surfactant and solvent mixture. A private company applied dispersant on March 24 with a helicopter and dispersant bucket. Because there was not enough wave action to mix the dispersant with the oil in the water, the use of the dispersant was discontinued. One trial explosion was also conducted during the early stages of the spill to burn the oil, in a region of the spill isolated from the rest by another explosion. The test was relatively successful, reducing 113,400 liters of oil to 1,134 liters of removable residue, but because of unfavorable weather no additional burning was attempted. The dispersant Corexit 9580 was tried as part of the cleanup Corexit has been found to be toxic to cleanup workers and wildlife while breaking down oil Mechanical cleanup was started shortly afterwards using booms and skimmers, but the skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the spill, and thick oil and kelp tended to clog the equipment. er inspections in Valdez were not done, and the number of staff was reduced. Lack of available equipment and personnel hampered the spill cleanup. This disaster resulted in International Maritime Organization introducing comprehensive Marine pollution prevention rules (MARPOL AND IOPP) through various conventions. The rules were ratified by MEMBER countries and after International Ship Management rules the Ships are being operated whith a common objective of "SAFER SHIPS AND CLEANER OCEANS" Oil Pollution Act of 1990 In response to the spill, the United States Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA The Oil Pollution Act (101 H.R.1465, P.L. 101-380]) was passed by the 101st United States Congress, and signed by President George H. W. Bush, to mitigate and prevent civil liability from the future oil spills off the coast of the United States. The law stated that companies must have a "plan to prevent spills that may occur" and have a "detailed containment and cleanup plan" for oil spills. The law also includes a clause that prohibits any vessel that, after March 22, 1989, has caused an oil spill of more than one million U.S. gallons (3,800 m³) in any marine area, from operating in Prince William Sound ). The legislation included a clause that prohibits any vessel that, after March 22, 1989, has caused an oil spill of more than 1 million US gallons (3,800 m3) in any marine area, from operating in Prince William Soun. OPA also set a schedule for the gradual phase in of a double hull design, providing an additional layer between the oil tanks and the ocean. While a double hull would likely not have prevented the Valdez disaster, a Coast Guard study estimated that it would have cut the amount of oil spilled by 60 percent Enforcement Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, numerous U.S. Senators attempted to pass a bill to raise the $75 million cap limit to $10 billion, retroactive to before the spill occurred. Senators of both Republican Party and Democratic Party blocked efforts for new legislation on multiple occasions, arguing that the new law could have unintended consequences.[5] Democratic Party senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was quoted in saying “We want to be careful before we change any of these laws that we don’t jeopardize the operations of an ongoing industry,

TORREY CANYON ACCIDENT

TORREY CANYON ACCIDENT

Torrey Canyon is one of the milestones in the history of oil tanker accidents because all the things that could go wrong did go wrong.

En route from Kuwait to England, it ran aground at the Western entrance to the English Canal. The captain was held responsible for the accident because he had kept the ship on automatic steering at its top speed of nearly sixteen knots. Furthermore, the captain had been advised to change course both by his third officer and by signals from a lightship, but had refused. When he finally decided to change the steering system to manual, it was too late.

The entire cargo, approximately 136 million liters of oil, was released into the sea. English authorities decided to respond prompt and effectively and four hours after the grounding, Royal Navy ships arrived, carrying over 10,000 tons of detergents, which were sprayed on the floating oil to emulsify and disperse it.

Minimal concentrations of these detergents were acutely toxic to many marine mammals and plants and caused a prodigious growth in green weed. The seashores were sprayed with toxic detergents as well.

Efforts to border the ship turned out to be a failure, as one crew member died during the operation and the ship broke in two.This was the first major accident in the history that led to the major changes in the marine environment.

The operations had a devastating effect on environment. An estimated 15,000 birds died, as well as untold numbers of fish and shellfish, and hundreds of kilometres of seashore in both England and France were contaminated.

    This led to the establishment of MARPOL.

ship accidents in 2011

Date	Ship Cruise Line	Event	Type of Incident
April 12	Plancius Oceanwide Expeditions	The Australian reports 70 tourists are stranded on board a Dutch polar exploration ship at South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic after the ship experienced a partial engine failure, its owner said today. The ship was lying under anchor off a pier in a bay outside South Georgia's small port of Grytviken - a former whaling station and now a popular stop-off spot for cruise ships visiting Antarctica, Mark van der Hulst said. "The ship is anchored off a pier in South Georgia after suffering partial loss of her engine. She is safe and sound and there is no danger for passengers," he said. "She is waiting for another passenger ship to pick them up and bring them to Montevideo, from where they will be flown home." The 291-foot (89-meter) Plancius was then expected to make her way under her own steam to Montevideo for an inspection, Van der Hulst said. Dutch tour operator Inezia, which organizes the Atlantic Odyssey tours mainly as a bird-watching expedition, said the ship experienced engine trouble Tuesday afternoon. "It had visited Antarctica and was on its way through the Atlantic to the Cape Verdean islands," Inezia's owner Pieter van der Luit said.	Engine failure
April 9	Carnival Pride Carnival Cruise Lines	From a passenger: We were in Grand Turk on Wednesday April 4, 2012. There was a diving accident. Rumor was that a 17 year old drowned. Ship was delayed an hour as cruise medical staff was onsite. At least one family member stayed behind on the island with the injured diver.	?Death ashore?
April 6	Celebrity Equinox Celebrity Cruises	WSB Radio reports a 49-year-old woman is missing while on shore excursion in Mexico. She and her husband were on a diving trip along the Santa Rosa wall on March 28th, when she disappeared. Scott Turco says his wife gave him a signal that she wanted to come back up to the surface. "I turned to let the dive master know that were going up and when I turned back I didn't see her, so I assumed that had started to go up without me," said Turco. Her daughter says her mother has been on nearly a dozen dives before. "They think she might've gotten just a little too far away from the wall and got pulled in the down current," the daughter said.	Death on Shore Excursion
April 6	Lirica MSC Cruises	From a passenger: On 25 March the ship was overtaken by a container ship, the MSC LAUREN, in a very close quarter situation. Weather conditions were fine and seas were open. The ship was sailing south of Sicily at about 17  kts on a voyagefrom Kuwait to Hamburg. As we know since the sinking of the Costa Concordia and the claims of Capt. Schettino, that his company and others like to pass extremely close certain geographical co-ordinates, the same seems to be the philosophy of  another cruise ship company too - to meet company ships as well as in a close-up situation of less than 100 meters. The MSC LAUREN approached the MSC LIRICA from starboard aft - she came closer and closer and once the LAUREN was abeam the distance was less than one cable. See the photos. Whistles were blowing, passengers waving and none of them was aware about the high risk in case of a blackout or engine or rudder-failure on one of the ships. This practice is inconsistent good bridge management practices.	Close pass
April 4	Carnival Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines	Huffington Post reports a teenage girl is suing Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami's federal court, accusing employees of having conducted an aggressive strip and cavity search when she was an underaged passenger on board a cruise last year. "J.G.", then 17, says security staff forced her to strip, urinate, remove a tampon, and have her genitals examined last April while under suspicion of marijuana possession. The incident occurred after the Carnival Sensation out of Cape Canaveral made a stop in the Bahamas on April 27. When J.G., her mother, and a 15-year-old friend returned to the boat, a security employee sharing their elevator claimed to have found a small baggie filled with "green leaves" in the group's wake. Mayank Thapa and two other Carnival employees approached J.G. in her cabin and began interrogating her. The suit states that J.G. was not informed of her rights, nor told that her mother could be present. [Read the court complaint at Courthouse News, via Miami New Times.] With an employee blocking the door, the girls said they feared for their safety. Thapa and the agents reportedly threatened J.G. repeatedly, saying if she confessed, her interrogation would stop and she could continue her cruise. J.G. then admitted the bag was hers. But even after confessing, she says, the agents continued demanding to know "where the rest of it was," searching her cabin and purse. The guards then told J.G., to remove her underwear and lift her dress, forcing her into the restroom and watching while she urinated. She was then told to remove a tampon and her "genital cavity was inspected visually" by a female Carnival employee, though the two male employees were present to watch. With nothing found in or on her person, J.G. was then turned over to the Bahamian police, who placed her in an adult holding cell until the next day. There, J.G. alleges, she was assaulted. Seeking unspecified damages over $75,000, the lawsuit filed in March alleges counts of negligence, fraud and misrepresentation, assault, sexual harassment, battery, emotional distress, breach of contract, and punitive damages. Carnival Corporation PR Manager Vance Gulliksen told HuffPost Miami in an emailed statement that the teen's allegation are "patently false," "obviously" made in retaliation for Carnival having removed the girl and her mother from the cruise before the voyage in Nassau was over. Guilliksen said Carnival does not normally comment on pending litigation, but felt "compelled to do so given the far-fetched claims."	Sexual assault
April 1	Condor Rapide Condor Ferries	The BBC reports the search for a woman missing from a ferry in the English Channel will not resume. The ship was en route from the Channel Island of Guernsey to Poole in Dorset when the alarm was raised at about 17:30 BST on Sunday. A major air and sea search of the routes was suspended after five hours. Coastguard rescue helicopters from Portland and La Hague, lifeboats from Weymouth and Alderney, Channel Islands Air Search and the French Coastguard were all involved in the search. An MCA spokesman said the temperature of the water had been the deciding factor in the decision to call off the search on Sunday night.	Passenger missing
March 31	Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines	Bloomberg News reports cruise line officials are meeting with attorneys this morning and scrambling to ensure the ship can sail from Galveston as planned today. On Friday, a U.S. judge ordered the cruise ship held in Galveston as part a $10 million lawsuit filed by the family of a German tourist who died aboard the Costa Concordia. “The court finds that the conditions for an attachment of defendants’ joint and collective property within this district, mainly the MS Carnival Triumph, appear to exist upon an admiralty and maritime claim,” U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner of Galveston said in the warrant. The ship would be allowed to unload passengers and cargo and move between berths within the port until a “prompt hearing” can be scheduled, at which “the plaintiff shall be required to show why the attachment and garnishment should not be vacated,” according to the order. The ship was scheduled to sail today for a five-day cruise to Yucatan and Cozumel. The case is Kai Stumpf v. Carnival plc, 3:12-cv-00099, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Galveston). Update: The ship was subsequently released following an agreement between the two parties.	Ship detained
March 30	Azamara Quest Azamara Club Cruises	Travel Weekly UK reports passengers were called to muster stations after a fire broke out on the ship in Asia today. The blaze in the engine room was put out and there were no reported injuries to passengers, however Associated Press reports five crew members were injured, one seriously. The 716-passenger ship, on a 17-night cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore which departed on Monday, is running on back up power. The vessel is currently between Manila in the Philippines and Borneo. The ship is currently running on generator power until full power can be restored to the engine room. The remainder of the cruise will be canceled. Associated Press subsequently reports that after being adrift for 24 hours, the ship informed the coast guard late Saturday that its power and propulsion had been restored and it was moving slowly toward Sandakan, its next destination after it left Manila Thursday,	Fire
March 29	Sea Diamond Louis Cruises	Greek Reporter reports 13 people are set to stand trial in connection with the sinking of the ship off Santorini in 2007, after a prosecutor recommended to a Naxos court that they face a series of charges for their part in the accident, which caused two people to drown. Prosecutor Evi Salma recommended to the court that the 13 suspects be tried for breaching the safety of sea transport, manslaughter through negligence, causing sea pollution and breaching international safety regulations. The ship hit a reef off Santorini following a series of mistakes and oversights by the crew. The vessel was only 50 meters from the coast when the accident occurred but should have been at least 285 meters away. Salma said that the reef did not appear on sea charts but the collision could have been avoided if the ship’s sonar and one of its three radars had been working.	13 charged in sinking
March 26	Freedom of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: The ship was scheduled to stop at Coco Cay, Bahamas, but was unable to due to the wave height and dangers with tendering operations. The ship dropped anchor and then immediately left Coco Kay and continued on to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and arrived on time.	Missed port call
March 26	Island Princess Princess Cruises	The Sun-Sentinel reports a number of passengers aboard the ship are experiencing symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. The ship is set to return to Port Everglades tomorrow morning after completing a 10-night Panama Canal itinerary. Officers from the CDCs Vessel Sanitation Program are working with Princess on the issue and will be assisting the cruise line to sanitize the ship when it arrives in Fort Lauderdale. Two VSP public health officers will meet the ship and take samples back for testing to help determine the cause of the illness, CDC spokesman Jay Dempsey said. At present, the reported illnesses are not at “outbreak status,” Dempsey said. That status is typically achieved when three percent or more of passengers have reported symptoms of the illness, which include vomiting and diarrhea.	Illness
March 26	Carnival Glory Carnival Cruise Lines	From a passenger: The ship's Western Carribean cruise that left Miami on March 18th had a missed port at Costa Maya on March 21st. They blamed it on high winds and waves. We were given a $10.50 credit for missing a port.	Missed port
March 25	Century Celebrity Cruises	From a passenger: Scheduled to leave Honolulu at 12 midnight. Left after 3am due to engine trouble. Crew scrambled to get excursions adjusted but canceled several as a delay in arrival. Almost 3 hours late arriving to Kauai.	Late departure & arrival
March 23	Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: March 10 Enchantment of the Seas, out of Baltimore MD: Still had motor issues, with it's trouble, I guess they didn't put stabilizer's out, was the worst trip down eastern coast, was sick first two days of trip. Altered itinerary, spent 27 hours in port Canaveral where they fixed ship on our dime, had to share Coco Key with another ship, line for lunch was so long we had to miss it or our excursion, last stop in Key West had to go through customs, we were to dock at 2pm and leave at 9pm, some people got a customs time of 5pm, needless to say they had to call security on three people that I heard of. They refunded some people's excursion costs from Coco Key, and rushed customs through, stayed one hour longer in Key West to try and calm everyone down. This was my second cruise, worst ever, don't plan on ever going again thanks to this one. From another passenger: I don’t know if that other writer was on the same ship as us, but the cruise down the coast was very smooth for us and the entire cruise was very nice. We did have a slightly extended stay in Canaveral, but this let us spend a whole day at beautiful Coco Beach, walking the beach, swimming in the surf, watching the surfers, visiting Ron Jon and finding “Marlins” on the pier for some nice coconut shrimp and cold beer. Key West was a late arrival, a slight disappointment, but the time change did allow us to be there for the famous sunset and it was worth it. We also enjoyed Coco Cay very much, we didn’t hit the barbecue line till a little later so maybe that was why we found no great problems with any lines. There were some brief showers that drove most to the dock for tenders back, but we rode it out and in a few minutes the sun returned and we practically had the beach to ourselves, while those who’d fled reportedly had to wait for tenders because another ship was scheduled to leave earlier than us so they took all those passengers first. Makes sense to me, but apparently not to all. And another passenger writes in response to the second person's account: I just had to write after we read that hilarious "review" of the 3/23 sailing of the Enchantment. We were rolling on the floor laughing at this writer's version of the cruise. It was great, perhaps just a tad too much BS but it was very funny! Must have been a travel agent trying to make gold out of crap. Thanks for the laughs.	Propulsion & itinerary problems
March 21	Summit Celebrity Cruises	Associated Press reports two California men on a gay cruise of the Caribbean were arrested Wednesday in Dominica, where sex between two men is illegal. Police Constable John George said the men were seen having sex on the cruise ship by someone on the dock. The two were later charged with indecent exposure and are scheduled to appear before a magistrate Thursday morning. If found guilty, they could be fined $370 each and face up to six months in jail. The ship carrying about 2,000 passengers departed Puerto Rico on Saturday and arrived in Dominica on Wednesday. It departed for St. Barts without the men, who are being held in a cell at police headquarters in the capital of Roseau. The cruise was organized by Atlantis Events, a Southern California company that specializes in gay travel. President Rich Campbell, who is aboard the cruise, said in a phone interview earlier that he thought the two men would be released. He said he expects the two men to be released on Thursday and that they only face misdemeanor charges. "The guests actions were unfortunate but minor in this case and have no bearing on our overall guest experience," he said via email.UPDATE: The LA Times reports the men pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and said in an interview that the entire experience was "horrible." Retired police officer Dennis Jay Mayer, 43, and his partner, John Robert Hart, 41 both of Palm Springs, were ordered to pay a fine of $4,000. They were arrested Wednesday after someone reportedly saw them naked on the balcony of a cruise ship off the coast of the Caribbean island and called police. "They paid the fine to a judge, who called them rogues and vagabonds. "Me and my partner have been together for 17 years," Mayer said. "We weren't trying to put on a show for people." Mayer said authorities even wanted to have them medically evaluated. "They were going to transport us to a medical facility and have us medically examined to determine if we had engaged in sexual activity," he said. The men were held in jail for 19 hours, and Mayer said the small cement cell they were stuck in was inhumane. "No light, no water, no toilet," he said. "We were taunted all night long. They paraded us around like we were some oddity."	Gay men arrested
March 19	Silver Shadow Silverseas Cruises	CNN reports the ship collided in deep fog with a container ship off Vietnam, punching a hole in the container ship and knocking passengers off their feet, a passenger told CNN Monday. "No one was hurt on our ship; everyone was certainly shaken up," said passenger Andrew Lock about the incident, which occurred Friday. "When the ship appeared out of the fog, we knew five seconds before to brace for impact," he said. "We hit full force into the side of this container ship." He said a "gaping hole" was punched in the other vessel. The ships scraped against each other after the impact, he said. "It was surreal, to see this very large ship appear literally right in front of us. It was as if we were perfectly lined up to hit it. It was surreal. Bizarre." After the impact, he said, passengers gathered a few of their possessions and headed to the muster stations. "The crew was calm, but the passengers -- some were scared, or even frantic," Lock said. But after about 10 minutes, the captain announced that there was no imminent danger, he said. The ship went on to anchor in Ha Long Bay, as had been planned. "The next day, we went to a nearby port and once we were off the ship we could see how extensive the damage was," Lock said. Silversea Cruises downplayed the incident in its official statement. Here is a YouTube video of the damage. UPDATE: A subsequent CNN story reports "The Vietnamese ship rolled over -- at a 90-degree angle. In fact, we thought it was going to capsize. It then righted itself. And with the forward momentum of our ship, it pushed the Vietnamese ship around, so that it actually came down the side, the length of our ship, scraping along the side as it went. And from that viewpoint, we could see just how much damage had been done to THAT ship, and it was substantial." Cruise liner in collision off Vietnam He said he wasn't aware of any injuries aboard the luxury vessel, which had a hole dug in its bow, but said the other vessel was badly damaged. "We struck the other ship in several places that we could see -- we struck it at the bridge, where they would operate from. We literally crushed the ship inwards. And we also struck the sides of the ship, causing a tear along the side, a vertical tear, quite substantial. And as we passed by the other ship, I personally saw several of their crew members just lying on the deck."	Collision with container ship
March 17	Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line	Saipan News reports anticipation and excitement over the arrival of the ship on Saipan (U.S. Commonwealth of the Northen Mariana Islands - CNMI)) turned to anxiety and disappointment Thursday after it called off its planned passenger landing at the Smiling Cove Marina due to high winds and rough seas. CNMI Homeland Security special assistant Marvin K. Seman said their team planned for all contingencies, except for this situation where they had no control over. “I know everybody was looking forward to it but it's just sad that the weather was not in our favor. I just wish Mother Nature was nicer this year,” said Seman. The ship arrived on Saipan waters at 4:45am, anchoring about a mile and a half from the shore at 5:15am but left at 10am, seven hours ahead of schedule. Seman said that Queen Mary 2's visit required 19 months of planning and preparation, including the last and most eventful three to four days needed for site preparations done by over 50 key members of the task force created especially for the ship's visit. He said the Queen Mary 2 task force stayed up until 10pm the night before to secure the Smiling Cove Marina, not only for the ship's passengers and crew members but also for the 18 food and arts and crafts vendors that set up shop in the area as early as 5am yesterday. About 13 local performing groups were also on standby at the marina but they, too, were dismayed at the cancellation. Around 9am, only task force members and one or two vendor staffers were seen at the site to put away their stuff. A food vendor manager who wished to remain anonymous said their staff prepared breakfast menu for 200 persons and brought it to the site as early as 6am. “It's disappointing because it would mean income loss for us,” said the manager. “But it was nature that caused it and nobody could have predicted that. We just have to charge it to experience.”	Canceled prot call
March 15	Statendam Holland America Line	A reader just reported from San Diego that the Statendam is still under a "code red" situation and as a result embarkation will begin at 2PM.	Code Red
March 14	Norwegian Dawn Norwegian Cruise Line	Global News reports a Canadian tourist from Quebec has died after a snorkeling outing from a cruise ship visiting Dominica. The 61-year-old woman was with friends when she apparently started struggling in the water and then collapsed back on shore. CPR was administered on the scene but she was declared dead Tuesday after arriving at Princess Margaret Hospital.	Pax death ashore
March 12	Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises	From a reader: The ship left out of San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 11th, 2012. I heard from family on the ship that they are having electrical issues causing the ship to slow drastically. The ship is already over 7 hours off schedule from its "planned" docking time for St. Maarten. The cruise go-ers have already been told that this will adjust the rest of the cruise schedule for the week. UPDATE March 13:Cruise Critic confirms this report: An issue with the propulsion motor will likely impact the remainder of the ship's current itinerary, according to a statement from Princess Cruises. As a result of reduced speeds caused by the problem, the ship arrived more than four hours late for its scheduled call on St. Maarten on Monday, and it will stay there until the situation is fully evaluated by the line's technical team. Princess has not yet released an updated schedule for the seven-night Southern Caribbean voyage. Update March 13: We are presently at sea en route back to San Juan. Here is the transcript of an announcement and written statement delivered to passengers after setting sail from St. Maarten this evening around 745pm - "As you are aware, we have a technical problem and technicians have been onboard reviewing our port propulsion motor. Late this afternoon they advised that the damage will take a significant amount of time to repair. After careful review and consideration, it has been decided that we will return tonight to San Juan to wait for additional parts and make the necessary repairs. We will arrive tomorrow midday in San Juan and all passengers will be able to stay onboard through Sunday and then resume your plans to return home. For those passengers continuing on through March 18 we will provide you with an update late tomorrow as to the full impact on our next voyage." Passengers were given a full refund. UPDATE: The next two cruises (3/18 and 3/25) have been cancelled. Passengers to receive full refund and 25% discount on next cruises.	Propulsion problems / Cruise terminated
March 11	Ocean Princess Princess Cruises	TVNZ reports the ship was delayed 2 hours in docking at Auckland because of labour unrest between wharf workers and the Port of Auckland.	Delayed docking
March 11	Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: This afternoon my wife and I are starting a 7 night Caribbean cruise. As we were boarding at Galveston Texas, we were told that we had to wait and there may be some delay due to a fault on the ship. So we were transferred onto a coach and took a ride into Galveston; after 6 hours doing nothing but waiting in Galveston we were taken back to the ship and then told that a minor fire had broken out in the Windjammer Cafe, which we knew because there was acrid smell of smoke and smoke staining near the pool. This was a big upset but we finally set sail after 7 hour ! With free complementary drinks for the night but the windjammer remained closed. From a different passenger: Bad report --we sailed on time and ate in the windjammer mid afternoon. No fire as we knew the capt. Need to check out your reports. Only fault of a great cruise was one piece of luggage was delivered to the room two hours after the others that arrived before we cruised. NOTE: I wasn't there ... I only report what I am told...	Fire / Delay
March 7	Ruby Princess Princess Cruises	The CDC reports 129 of 3147 passengers (4.10%) and 9 of 1179 crew (0.76%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Ft. Lauderdale on March 4, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. The ship was on a 7 day cruise that began February 26 and ended March 4, 2012. UPDATE: The Miami Herald reports there were illnesses on the cruise that followed this one. Followup: St. Helens Reporter reports a couple’s dream holiday turned into a nightmare when they were both struck down with illness while on a week-long luxury cruise. Mr Southworth, 73, who had organised the extra-special trip to mark his wife’s 70th birthday, has since described it as the “holiday from hell”. He said: “Everything was alright until the Wednesday afternoon, when I fell ill and had to skip the evening meal. I was then very ill during the night. “Although I perked up a bit the following afternoon there was no way I could eat and then, on the Friday, I was just staggering around trying to enjoy myself - but all I could do was drink water. “Then, on the Saturday, my wife fell ill, we called the medical centre and were sent tablets and confined to our cabin. “They made special arrangements for us to depart and in the middle of Sunday morning I took ill again. I was so dizzy and disorientated that they offered me a wheelchair.” Mr and Mrs Southworth, who were joined on the cruise last month by six friends, say only two of their group made it through the week unscathed. Mr Southworth: “It was such a shame - it should have been a lovely cruise. We’d saved up for this holiday for quite and it cost us about £1,400. We could have had two good holidays somewhere else for that. “All they said was ‘sorry you didn’t have a good time’, which wasn’t much of a consolation. “My wife was still too ill to go into work on the Tuesday after we got back and I was in no fit state to do anything.”	Illness
March 7	Balmoral Fred Olsen Cruises	Globo.com reports more than 50 passengers and crew were ill with diarrhea and flu symptoms (likely norovirus) when the ship docked in Santos, Brazil.	Illness
March 8	Stena Line	The UK Press reports a passenger ferry has been involved in a collision with a vessel at the entrance to Belfast Lough. A Stena ferry has docked at its terminal in Belfast. There are no reports of injuries. Police said the collision took place close to the Fairway buoy near Bangor, Co Down. The second vessel remains close to the buoy under the instructions of Belfast Harbour while damage is being assessed. The ferry left Birkenhead on Wednesday morning and was on the final stretch of its sailing to Belfast when the collision took place. There were 51 passengers and 47 crew on board. A spokesman said there were no reports of injuries and everyone on the ferry had safely disembarked in Belfast. Passengers on the ferry recounted the force of the collision and initial fears they might have to abandon the vessel before it was confirmed the ferry could safely complete its journey.	Collision
March 6	Norwegian Star Norwegian Cruise Line	Tampa Bay Times reports a 29-year-old Croatian assistant cruise director was arrested Sunday at the Port of Tampa after tfor allegedly having sexual contact with a 16-year-old female passenger on a cruise and later saving sexually explicit photographs of her on his computer.The man met the 16-year-old victim on a trip that departed Tampa on Jan. 29 and returned Feb. 5, according to an FBI affidavit. The Minnesota resident was traveling with her parents. The ship's internal security team obtained a signed statement in which the crew member admitted to having sexual contact with the victim on a staircase on the ship, right after the cruise stopped at Costa Maya, Mexico. AFter the cruise, he and the victim had email corrspondence. Investigators say he stored about 20 photos of the victim from multiple emails that appear to have been sent from Minnesota while he was at sea. She wore clothes in some but was naked in most. In return, he sent the victim graphic photos of himself and a video of him masturbating in front of her photo. In an interview with FBI agents last week, the victim confirmed the sexual encounter on the ship and admitted to sending photos of herself. She introduced the man to her parents at the beginning of the cruise, the affidavit said, and her father specifically told him that his daughter was 16. A search of the man's hard drive found what appeared to be videos of minors engaging in sexual activity downloaded from the Internet. He has worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines since 2006.	Sexual assault of minor
March 6	Independence of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: We have just returned today 06.03.12 from an 11 day cruise on Independence of the Seas. We were asked to check in late (15.30), by email. We were left standing in corridors, the check in lounge and even outside for about three hours.They kept apologizing for the delay over and over again. While we were on the ship the staff were constantly sanitizing all handrails chairs and tables, the shops were sprayed every night.Each time someone entered the toilet a voice would say"Stop don't forget to wash your hands".When you sat down to dinner then someone would announce that we were on a high state of alert for Norovirus and to please wash your hands.We were handed wipes each time you entered a venue.We were not allowed to put condiments on our food the waiters etc had to do it for you.They even had to put the milk in you coffee and handed you sugar packets with tongs. We felt like lepers and it spoiled the whole holiday. I must say that the crew had to work extra hard but they always had a smile for us, but they must all be shattered.	?Illness?
March 4	Balmoral Fred Olsen Cruises Adonia P&O Cruises Silver Explorer Silverseas Cruises	I Love Chile reports all three ships have canceled port calls to Puerto Chacabuco, Chile (Patagonia region) because of protests by the Aysen "Tu Problema Es Mi Problema" Civil Movement.	Port call canceled
February 29	Bahamas Celebration Celebration Cruise Lines	WPTV reports a woman aboard the Bahamas Celebration ship was reported missing early Wednesday morning after the ship returned from a two-night trip, Celebration Cruise Lines spokesman Glen Ryerson said. The woman was reported missing at 8 a.m. after the ship docked at 7 a.m., according to Ryerson. Ryerson said there are confirmed documents that show the woman boarded in the Bahamas. Her boyfriend shared a cabin with her on board. According to Celebration President Charlie Kinnear, the boyfriend claims he last saw his girlfriend at 1 a.m. in the gift shop before he headed to the inboard casino. The ship was just off the coast of Grand Bahama Island at the time. When he woke up she still hadn't returned. Investigators are not releasing her identity but she's a Canadian resident in her 40s. Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/riviera_beach/passenger-vanishes-from-celebration-cruise-lines-bahamas-celebration-ship#ixzz1nouAqFFX	Passenger missing
February 28	Independence of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Cruise Ship News reports "we can break some exclusive news that has come to us thanks to a few reports, which were received by email and pointed us to a Norovirus outbreak on Independence of the Seas this month. It’s alleged that the Norovirus outbreak happened during the last week, and some cruise passengers that got back to Southampton yesterday state there was an “outbreak of Norovirus during the second week” of the cruise ... While yet to be officially verified it’s alleged that the crew “pulled out all the stops cleaning everything down“, and officers made sure crew cleaned the lifts, hand rails, tables, chairs, and more with “disinfectant packs on their backs“ ... Other rumors point to a deep clean taking place after they were in port; again this has not been confirmed. Update: We’ve had an email from someone who has family currently on Independence of the Seas and they state that the sail away was delayed, which adds to the possibility of a deep clean yesterday to stop the virus from remaining onboard. From a passenger: We sailed on the Independence voyage 2 Feb 2012 and 3 days into the cruise there was a norovirus outbreak. Letter was issued to cabin to take care. The Windjammer staff wore rubber gloves and carried bottles of disinfectant about, as soon as someone left a table they wiped down all the chairs and table immediately. Also were handing out wipes at the pier when reboarding and at the main dining rooms. Still people do manage to bypass these precautions. Sounds like the Indy has an ongoing problem at the moment.	?Illness?
February 27	Star Princess Princess Cruises and Adonia P&O Cruises	The Buenos Aires Herald reports provincial authorities stopped a cruise ship flying under the Bermudan flag from docking in Tierra del Fuego on Monday, upping the ante in Argentina's spat with Britain over the Malvinas. The Star Princess was prohibited from docking in the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego province, because Bermuda is an overseas territory of Britain, Argentina's state news agency Telam said on Monday. Britain hopes to share in any Malvinas Islands windfall when oil starts flowing there later this decade. Other media also report P&O's Adonia was also denied docking priveleges (see The Sun).	Refused port entry
February 27	Costa Allegra Costa Cruises	The BBC reports the ship is adrift in the dark more than 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles, near Alphonse Island. Costa Cruises said in a statement that the fire broke out in the electric generators' room. It did not spread and there were no injuries or casualties. Inspections of the state of the engine room are on-going, the company says. Tugs and "other naval and aerial units" will reach the ship, which has sent out a distress signal, Costa Cruises says. It took the crew a few hours to extinguish the fire. The ship probably needs to be towed to a Seychelles port. There are no electric lights on board the ship as the batteries are being used to keep essential machinery going. The Italian authorities have directed three merchant ships and two fishing vessels towards the stricken liner; authorities in the Seychelles say they have sent two tug boats, a coastguard ship and an aircraft to the scene. There are 636 passengers and 413 crew on board the Costa Allegra, which left Madagascar on Saturday. It was due to arrive in the Seychelles on Tuesday. UPDATE: France 24 reports passengers on a stricken Italian liner used mineral water to wash and fight sweltering heat Wednesday as the ship was slowly towed to port in the Seychelles.Towed by a French tuna fishing boat and accompanied by coast guard vessel, passengers are spending a third night on the vessel since an engine fire knocked out power on Monday. With no electricity and no air conditioning, the passengers are crowded on decks in baking temperatures. "The bathrooms on the ship have not been working since the fire," Italian coast guard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro told AFP. Emergency supplies, food and electric torches have been airlifted by helicopter onto the vessel. The liner was expected to arrive into port in Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago, by 0500 GMT on Thursday depending on weather conditions.	Fire - Power loss
February 27	Carnival Magic Carnival Cruise Lines	MSNBC reports from Galveston that a crew member fell off the ship Saturday night. The ship was off the coast of Galveston when the accident happened at about 10:35 p.m. The U.S. Coast Guard were called to rescue the man from the water. But before USCG could arrive the cruise ship's crew had already launched a rescue boat and pulled the man from the water. He was in the water for less than 45 minutes. The cruise line says the man was working on the deck when he slipped over the railing. The Coast Guard said the man is OK.	Passenger Overboard - rescued (work accident)
February 24	Carnival Splendor Carnival Cruise Lines	Gadling reports twenty two cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint yesterday on a ship-sponsored shore excursion. The incident happened in Puerto Vallarta, when passengers who came ashore were held at gunpoint and were "stripped of cameras, watches and other valuables they had with them," reports Informador. No one was harmed, but calls for increased security went out and the shore excursion, a seemingly harmless nature walk, was canceled pending investigation. "Carnival also apologized to the passengers for the "unfortunate and disturbing event" and said it is working with passengers to reimburse them for lost valuables and assist with lost passports or other forms of identification," said CruiseCritic.	Pax robbed ashore
February 22	Costa Concordia Costa Cruises	The Telegraph reports a five-year-old girl was among eight bodies found inside the crippled cruise ship. The bodies were found by Italian fire service divers on the fourth deck of the giant ship. The first four bodies were found in the morning, with another four located in the flooded hull later in the day. Aside from the little girl, rescue officials said the dead included a man and a woman. It was not known whether they were passengers or crew members.	8 more bodies found
February 22	Aurora P&O Cruises	The Australian reports a British cruise ship passenger has been arrested in Sydney after he allegedly tried to smuggle 30kg of cocaine into Australia. He was stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers last Friday at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, after a sniffer dog detected the scent of drugs. He was found to be hiding several silver packages inside a wetsuit he was wearing under his clothes, and another 25 packages concealed in three suitcases. Officers from the Australian Federal Police estimate the man was carrying a total of 30kg of cocaine. He has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border protected drug and is due to appear in Sydney Central Local Court on Wednesday. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $825,000. The arrest follows an international investigation during which US authorities arrested an Australian man and two New Zealanders on board the same ship when it docked in San Francisco on January 25. Around 13kg of cocaine was seized and all three people were charged with offences relating to its possession.	Drug bust
February 20	Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Cruise Line	From a passenger: The ship sped back to NYC on February 18th 2012 and arrived at NYC at 3:00AM due to a medical emergency causing the ship services (casino and duty free shop included) to close early at approximately 12:30AM when I came out of the Quest show late Friday night I got on the elevator and a guy pushing that woman got on heading to the medical unit. She is probably in her mid 20's and in good shape but she was way short of breath and in a lot of pain around her heart area. Not good for a young person. I heard thru the grapevine that she was a little better by the time they took her off the ship. Don't know for sure. I hope so.	Arrival early because of medical emergency
February 19	Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	An onboard source reports ship the is stuck in Balitmore - no propulsion - 8 hours after sailing time still there - seems to be propeller problems - it may be a dry dock job - the casino was opened to allow passengers to learn games and was mobbed and 8 hours later was still mobbed! An assessment team was supposed to arrive at 9:30PM and it would take at least 3 hours for them to deterimine the outcome. Passengers could wakeup in the morning in Baltimore or at sea. This is confirmed on Cruise Critic. UPDATE: It appears the ship left about 24 hours late and is sailing at half speed. The itinerary has been changed (dropped Key West) and it is unclear whether the ship will return to Baltimore or is heading to drydock. It appears it may be the former...UPDATE FROM A READER: WBAL TV, Ch 11 Baltimore, carried a report last night that the ship that left Baltimore late is still having problems operating on one propeller (?). Reports from a couple on board report hitting a storm off of the Carolinas the next day and experiencing heavy rolling to the point where one thought the ship might upset. The ship was running very slowly. The couple disembarked at the first port and took a plane back to Baltimore, fearing for their safety. The pair said that they were “veteran cruisers” but this may be their last.	Delayed by engine problems
February 18	Armonia MSC Cruises	Globo News and Ultimo Segundo report a 30 year old female crew member (waitress) has died after been hospitalized in serious conndition for a fever and cough -- she was breathing with the help of a ventilator when she died. She had been diagnosed with pneumonia. Five other crew members remain in hospital under observation with the same symptoms. The ship docked at the Port of Santos today. Officials of the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance met the ship and it took six hours for the 2,000 passengers to be cleared to disembark. The company says the next cruise will proceed as normal. UPDATE: The Buenos Aires Herald reports Health Minister Juan Manzur confirmed this morning that the situation on the ship, which lost a crew member last Friday to Influenza B, “was under control” and in a “normal state” after it arrived to Buenos Aires port to be inspected by customs and health authorities today. After speaking with doctors on board the cruise and carrying out a series of controls, the health minister told the press that both passengers and crew members on board the ship were “all clear of risk and that there aren’t any complications.”	Illness - Crew death
February 16	Elation Carnival Cruise Lines	From a reader: My sister is on this ship. As of this moment (6:10 PM) departure is delayed. A tanker spilled oil on a great deal of passengers luggage. My sister has yet to receive her luggage. They still haven't done the muster drill. Picture attached. Update: The ship left port about 1:45 am. Some passengers that were notified in the early stages of the evening were given luggage to cover them for the trip. Others were sent to their rooms with their belongings in plastic yellow bags. Passengers had to declare values on what was lost. They are to report to Guest Services today to see what the cruise line will do.    Carnival Statement: Feb. 17, 2012 – 9:30 am EST: Yesterday afternoon at the Port of New Orleans, an oil collection truck that was removing discarded oil from the Carnival Elation experienced a spill on the pier which resulted in the soiling of several pieces of luggage that were in cages waiting to be loaded onto the ship.  The spill was limited to the pier and none went into the water. Impacted guests were notified and Carnival will be providing reimbursement for damaged luggage and belongings. The ship departed New Orleans this morning at 1:40 a.m. and is en route to Cozumel where it is scheduled to call on Saturday	Delayed departure / fuel spill
February 16	Unknown	Cayman Compass News reports a cruise ship passenger was found dead Wednesday afternoon in the Coral Gardens area of North Sound near Stingray City. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service officers reported that the 56-year-old man was reported unconscious and unresponsive in the water. He was found by people in a boat who were travelling nearby. The boaters lifted the man into their vessel and tried to revive him with no luck. The Marine Unit craft ‘Tornado’ transported the man to the Yacht Club where paramedics transported him to hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival. It was not immediately clear how the man came to be in the waters off Coral Gardens and police said they were still investigating the incident.	Death ashore
February 16	Norwegian Cruise Line	Pacific Business News reports that Norwegian Cruise Line (America) agreed to pay $526,602 in back wages to 2,059 employees in Hawaii after a federal labor investigation found that the company had violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions for employees on the Pride of America. The investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor ’s Wage and Hour Division, which covered the period between July 2009 and November 2011, found that NCL paid its employees straight time for its mandatory weekly emergency drills, even if they had worked more than 40 hours in the week. The investigation also found that because NCL took large meal and lodging credits that some employees were paid less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and that the cruise line failed to record and pay the housekeeping staff for cleaning the cabins between cruises. The cpompany has agreed to bring its pay practices into compliance with the law, the Labor Department said. The company has more than 900 employees on the U.S.-flagged Pride of America at any given time.	Illegal labour practices
February 14	Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line	The Daily Echo reports a former Cunard cruise ship worker has been charged with a sex attack on a child, police said today. Paul Trotter, 34, is accused of possessing indecent images of children and sexual assault of a child aged under 13 between December 20, 2010 and January 5, 2011. The assault was alleged to have been committed while Trotter was working for Cunard as a supervisor for a children's activity area, Wiltshire Police said. The former Cunard employee was initially arrested on suspicion of making, possessing and distributing of indecent images on August 12 last year. A force spokeswoman said: ''Wiltshire Police are contacting all of the parents they need to speak to in relation to the investigation.	Child sexual abuse (under age 13)
February 14	Aurora P&O Cruises	San Francisco Weekly reports federal agents announced today that they seized 13 kilograms, or close to 29 pounds, of cocaine from a cruise ship docked in San Francisco last month. According to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a joint operation among federal agencies and local law-enforcement led to two separate discoveries of a large amount of coke on a cruise liner at Pier 35 on Jan. 25. The ship had arrived from Curacao, according to CBP. The search of the ship was said to be a routine inspection similar to those conducted on all vessels that arrive in San Francisco from foreign countries. Federal agents discovered seven kilos of cocaine in the cabin of Ahmed Rachid, an Australian national, according to CBP. An additional five kilos were discovered in the cabin of New Zealand citizens Tony Wilkinson and Kirstie Harris. All three were arrested.	Drug bust
February 14	Fantasy Carnival Cruise Lines	The Royal Gazette reports in spite of pleas for leniency, two female cruise passengers women were each sentenced to six years in jail yesterday after trying to smuggle drugs into Bermuda. In both cases, lawyers had argued that financial desperation alone drove the pair to try and bring in 2.7kg of cannabis resin aboard the the ship on October 8. Justice Greaves retorted that “crybaby stories should not get them off easy”. The pair were apprehended after US Customs, acting on information received, detained two other women from the ship before it left port at Charleston, South Carolina. The other would-be smugglers had a total of 2.7kg of cannabis resin. US officers determined they were part of a smuggling ring but by the time the two arrested in Bermudal were identified by their associates, the vessel had sailed. According to Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Cindy Clarke, Bermuda law enforcement apprehended the pair in their shared cabin shortly after the ship arrived at King’s Wharf, Dockyard. They had a total of nine packages containing just over four kg of cannabis resin, or hashish, which is normally sold locally in half-gram twists at $50 each. The drugs had a total street value of $406,550. The women had each been offered $5,000 to bring the drugs to Bermuda.	Drug bust
February 14	Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines	From a passenger: On Monday the 6th of February around 9:15 AM or so, we were docked at Progresso, Mexico.  The onboard PA speaker blared “Bravo,Bravo Starboard” 2 times in succession.  We didn’t have a clue.  A few minutes later, we heard an electric motor whine from coming from below our balcony.  I went out to our balcony and looked down and it was lowering a lifeboat to the water.  I thought that odd and started looking around.  At that point, I saw a body floating in the water lifeless.  The boat went out and picked up the body.  I don’t know if it was lifeless or unconscious but it was a good 5-10 minutes before they got to the body.  Nothing was ever said by any of the crew if it was a practice or what but the body looked real.  When we left for our excursion a short time later, there were about 12 crew hanging around the medical area close to where we got off of the ship. Attached is the only picture I took of this event. I have zoomed in very close on the pic to determine if it is a real person or dummy. It looks to me like it is a real person. From a reader: It looks like the rescue dummies we use in the fire service. Note  the uniform color of the legs and the fact both legs are straight out, floating.  A real person’s leg if unresponsive, would likely hang down into the water. It also looks like the life jacket is strapped to the back, thereby allowing the manikin or dummy to float like it is.	Not a person overboard -- just a dummy as part of a drill
February 13	Seven Seas Voyager Regent Seven Seas Cruises	CargoLaw reports the ship was enroute from Sydney to Auckland was caught in a Tasman Low off the Southeast end of the South Island of NZ on Jan 31. Reports claim she was hit by 10 - 11 metre waves and storm force winds that broke glass and balcony dividers and some deck furniture broke their lashings breaking electrical fittings which caused a fire that was put out. No casualties reported.	Severe weather, fire, broken windows
February 10	Pacific Dawn P&O Australia	ABC News Australia reports Queensland police are investigating a brawl involving more than a dozen people. Sixteen men were taken off the ship at Gladstone in central Queensland on Friday morning. About 2,000 passengers were on the second last night of a week-long Pacific cruise when police say a disturbance broke out. It is believed the brawlers were aged in their 20s or 30s and some had been arguing over a female passenger. One passenger suffered minor injuries in the fight which was brought under control by the ship's security. No charges have been laid and Customs officers are also looking into the incident.	Brawl - Pax kicked off
February 10	Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Cruises	The CDC reports 174 of 2809 passengers (6.19%) and 11 of 1236 crew (0.89%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer amd an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in Newark on February 10, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 12 day cruise that began January 28 and ends February 10, 2012.	CDC
February 10	Celebrity Constellation Celebrity Cruises	The CDC reports 95 of 1992 passengers (4.77%) and 12 of 946 crew (1.27%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship on arrival in Ft. Lauderdale on February 11, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 14 day cruise that began January 28 and ends February 11, 2012	CDC
February 10	Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line	Perth Now reports the ship was travelling from Port Louis, Mauritius, to Fremantle, Western Australia when power outages struck on Saturday and again on Tuesday. A spokesman for Carnival - the ship's owner - said the outages were part of routine maintenance. A passenger said he was stuck in a lift for approximately 10 minutes and had to be rescued during the first incident. He said electricity was lost to the ship for about 25 minutes with lights going out briefly and the engine stopping. He added fellow passengers peered over the side of the ship wondering what was going on when the engines turned off. “We were stuck in the middle of the ocean without any power,” he said. He said the second incident occurred at 2am on Tuesday during moderately rough seas and strong winds. The vessel “stopped dead” in the water for up to 10 minutes with the lights and TV going off momentarily and the engine failed to kick back in for up to eight minutes, according to the passenger.	Dead in the water / Power failure
February 9	Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines	ABC in Orlando reports the ship set sail late after 10 - 20 cabins were flooded while it was docked in Port Canaveral. One account is that a water pipe break Thursday afternoon at the port caused the flooding. However, several passengerse refused to sail because the cleanup crew told them it was raw sewage and they had to bathe immediately after they cleaned the rooms -- those passengers were given a full refund. A Carnival spokesperson said it was not sewage but just water from a swimming pool that was overfilled and caused the burst pipe problem. Passengers who had their cabins flooded and who agreed to continue were moved to other cabins. The problem has since been resolved and the ship left for the Bahamas. The ship was supposed to leave in the afternoon, but didn't set sail until 9:25 p.m. due to the break, which required officials to load additional provisions and fresh water. The ship is sailing on a three-day cruise to Nassau and is scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Sunday.	Delayed departure - burst pipes
February 9	Zuiderdam Holland America Line	From a passenger: I was on the ship Jan 11-27. There was a fire in the engine room. The captain screamed on the intercom that he ran up and down 9 floors. He scared us all but didn't tell us what to do. After an hour at 6AM he finally said fire was out and all was well.	Fire
February 7	Crown Princess Princess Cruises	The Sun Sentinel reports the increased incidence of gastrointestinal illness that occurred during the previous cruise of Crown Princess has reappeared on the current voyage which departed Saturday, February 4, Princess Cruises said in a statement Tuesday. The ship is now returning to Fort Lauderdale where the cruise will end on Thursday, Feb. 9. The ship was scheduled to return on Saturday, Feb. 11. On the current sailing 55 passengers (1.79% out of 3,078) and 56 crew (4.75% of 1,178) have reported gastrointestinal illness. CNN reports the numbers of are 114 passengers and 60 crew members. The Chronicle Telegram reports the shortened cruise stopped at no ports. The company is offerring full refunds to all passengers, assist in arrangements with airline flights and cover any change-flight fees and hotel accommodations if needed. Passengers are also to receive a 25 percent credit good for a future cruise. The CDC reports 288 of 3078 passengers (9.36%) and 68 of 1178 crew (5.77%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.	Illness / Cruise cut short
February 6	Rotterdam Holland America Line	From a passenger: We returned Feb 3 from a 30 day Hawaii and S. Pacific Cruise on the Rotterdam. We had a code red situation because of GI for 8 of the 30 days and nearly everyone else came down with the respiratory colds and or severe cough.  Luckily my wife and I did not get GI but we both got the severe respiratory illness and my wife is still undergoing medical care.  Everyone aboard referred to it as the Rotterdam cough.  Have no idea how many passengers and cruise had the GI problem but the last day of the cruise I spoke with 4 people I had not met previously and half had the problem earlier.  One said she developed the illness on Day 2 of the cruise. We were not notified of the illness until many many days later.  Passengers did not cooperate with the health instructions given by the officers and strolled into the food areas refusing to use the sanitizers.  HAL needs to station people of authority at the entrance to these areas and deny admission to people how refuse to sanitize.	Illness
February 5	Liberty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: I was on a cruise on the ship in late 2011. On the next to the last night of the cruise I woke up to find a strange man standing over my bed at 3:40AM. I screamed for him to get out and he made pretend he thought our suite was his room. I called security immediatly and they came up to have me fill out a report. They told me he could not get into the room unless the door was left unlocked. Although I asked for more information they never told me anything more. They didn't even try to apologizeconscierge would help, but he never even mentioned it on the last day. I guess he was too wrapped up in making sure everyone got a tip envelope with his name on it. It would have been nice if he asked if I was feeling OK the next day. Security never even asked if I was OK they just wanted their report filled out.	Intruder in my room
February 5	DIsney Dream Disney Cruise Line	There were multiple reports that that shortly after the ship pulled out of Port Canaveral and was halfway down the channel it turned around and went back to the pier. It was met by ambulances and firetrucks. It appears there was some sort of medical emergency.	Delayed
February 4	Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises	A poster at Princess Chatter reports someone posted on my Facebook group that the Caribbean has been getting into ports late and is running slowly. Has there been any official report as to what the issue is?	?Propulsion problems?
February 4	Shardon (Italian ferry)	Inquirer News reports more than 260 people were rescued early today when the ferry ran aground off Italy in a snow storm. The ferry ran aground shortly after setting off from Civitavecchia nirth of Rome.
February 4	Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line	From a reader: So I'm lounging by the pavilion pool on deck 12 when the Commodore comes on the tannoy to announce that the Queen Mary 2 pride of Cunard is dead in the ocean having lost all power. We're on emergency generators so hopefully the vacuum toilets will work. Probably a temporary situation but if not you'll see us on the nightly news. We are situated halfway between South Africa and western Australia near nothing. Update one generator is now back up with three more to come on line. Brief thoughts of another Carnival nightmare at sea. Update: all are now up and running . . . And the vacuum toilets are fully functional.	Dead in the water / Power failure
February 3	Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The CDC reports reports 203 of 3139 passengers (6.47%) and 9 of 1192 crew (0.76%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship on arrival in New Orleans on February 4, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing. The cruise began January 28. The next cruise will embark late given the need for disinfection protocols. UPDATE: 248 of 3139 pax (7.90%); 11 of 1192 crew (0.92%).	Illness / Late embarkation
February 3	Crown Princess Princess Cruises	Local 10 News reports 140 of 3,013 passengers (4.51%) and 16 of 1,186 crew members (1.54%) have been affected by gastrointestinal illness suspected to be norovirus. The ship is on a seven day cruise that left Ft. Lauderdale 28 January.Update from CDC: 364 pax (11.73%) and 32 crew (2.74%) have reported ill. The CDC reports there were an unknown, but significant number of passenger cases who reported their illness by phone to the medical facility onboard, but were not seen in a timely manner and disembarked the ship.	Illness
February 3	Ruby Princess Princess Cruises	Local 10 News reports 81 passengers (2.59%) and nine crew members (0.76%) have been affected by gastrointestinal illness suspected to be norovirus. The ship is on a seven day cruise that left Ft. Lauderdale 29 January. Update from MSNBC: 92 pax and 13 crew have reported ill.	Illness
February 3	Allure of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Associated Press reports a search is under way in waters near Mexico for a British cruise ship passenger who apparently went overboard. The Royal Caribbean International cruise line said Friday that another passenger saw the 30-year-old man go over the railing from his stateroom on the Allure of the Seas. That was backed up by footage from an onboard video camera. The man’s name was not immediately released. The man went overboard as the ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico. The Mexican Navy and Coast Guard are assisting in the search. The Allure of the Seas departed Sunday on a seven-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale. The ship was under charter by Atlantis Events, which specializes in all-gay cruises.	Passenger overboard
February 3	Rotterdam Holland America Line	From a passenger: I've been told to expect a late embarkation today in San Diego. Apparently there has been a Norovirus outbreak, and the ship and pier will be sanitized between debark and embark. Shuttle busses will take guests to Seaport Village from the pier and back from 11 - 3pm.	Delayed embarkation / Illness
February 2	Rabaul Queen (ferry)	The New York Times reports rescuers pulled more than 200 survivors from the ocean on Thursday as ships and aircraft searched for more after a ferry sank off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The fate of scores of others aboard the ferry was unknown as evening approached. Media reports estimated that 300 to 350 people were aboard the ferry when it sank early on Thursday about 10 miles off the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Nearby commercial ships rescued 238 people from the sea. The ferry sank between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time, Captain Rahman said, as it was traveling from Kimbe on the island of New Britain to the town of Lae on the main island. The ferry sent a distress signal that was received in Australia and relayed to the maritime authority in Papua New Guinea. The ship has a capacity of 300 passengers, but Captain Rahman said he did not know how many were aboard. The cause of the accident was not known, he said.	Sunk
January 30	Liberty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	CBS News reports crime scene techs were sent to Port Everglades to investigate the death of woman on the ship. Since the woman died in international waters, the investigation will be in the jurisdiction of federal authorities. The 47-year old woman died Monday night when she missed a step and fell down a flight of stairs, a cruise line spokeswoman said. The ship was returning from a four night cruise. Foul play is not suspected.	Pax death
January 30	Legend of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: On Friday, 20 January 2012: Just as a parade was due to begin in the Royal Promenade, the alarm was sounded and a voice came over the ships tannoy giving a code then explaining "Cafe Promenade, the bar is on fire". After a moment or two everything seemed to carry on as normal and the ship docked in Southampton two days later.	Fire
January 30	Costa Concordia Costa Cruises	See here for a video of the ship's AIS tracking. The "uncharted rock" is clearly charted.	Ship tracking video
January 29	Carnival Legend Carnival Cruise Lines	A poster at Cruise Critic writes: Received an e-mail posted at 8:55am from Carnival. The message stated that she "experienced a technical overnight with the starboard Azipod" and would arrive at 11:00am. We are at a hotel that provides shuttle service to the port. The shuttle driver reported that the Legend was arriving as he pulled up to the port at 10:05am. Carnival is moving check-in to 2:30 to 6:00pm with estimated departure at 8:00pm. They are also posting a $15 per person OBC to cover lunch expenses.	Late arrival / departure
January 29	Costa Deliziosa Costa Cruises	ABC News reports there is an ongoing strike aboard the ship, which is docked in San Francisco this weekend. Some 40 waiters walked off their jobs; they were angry at being paid in dollars instead of the Euros they were promised in their contracts, and other working conditions aboard the ship. "Sue this company, because they are taking lots of money from us, not only for the salary, even the food they give us is for a pig or dog," waiter Eduardo Garcia told ABC7. Costa North America, says it is trying to resolve the issue.	Workers strike
January 29	Allure of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	From a passenger: Just got off the ship this morning and there was a reported minor incident over the loudspeaker that there had been a small fire in the incinerator area...	Fire
January 28	Fantasy Carnival Cruise Lines	MSNBC reports authorities are investigating the death of a passenger who fell from an upper deck to a lower deck while the cruise ship was docked in the Bahamas. The 26-year-old victim, whose identity was not released, fell from one of the upper levels of the ship's atrium to the lobby level late Friday night. Because of the delay due to the investigation a scheduled visit to Freeport was canceled. The ship was sailing on a five-day Bahamas cruise that departed Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Charleston on Monday.	Pax death
January 27	Norwegian Dawn Norwegian Cruise Line	A pssenger reports: My wife and I just returned from a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Dawn and due to one or more kitchen staff falling ill, the buffet lines were no longer “self serve.” This led to some very interesting exchanges between dining guests and the staff. Also, when we disembarked on January 25th, a passenger was taken away by ambulance.	Illness
January 27	Norwegian Spirit Norwegian Cruise Line	A passenger reports: The ship missed Roatan yesterday, Thursday Jan 26, 2012 due to choppy seas and high wind preventing the tenders from operating.	Missed port call
January 27	Serenade of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	ABC News reports a tourist bus collided with a parked vehicle in the U.S. Virgin Islands, injuring 13 cruise ship passengers after it went down an embankment. One female passenger was hospitalized for a hip fracture while 12 others were released after being treated for minor injuries. The tourists had been participating in the "Best of St. Thomas and Shopping" excursion. Police spokeswoman Melody Rames said the group was aboard an open-air "safari bus" when the accident occurred on a steep road near the island's scenic Beacon Point. She said it was not yet clear what caused the accident. The ship had had docked in St. Thomas Friday as part of a seven-night cruise.	Pax injured in shore excursion accident
January 27	Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line	The Daily News (South Africa) reports the ship, expected to arrive in Durban on Saturday morning, would now only arrive on Sunday at about 6AM. The delay is the result of “terrible” high winds in Cape Town. And it is not known how long the ship will be in Durban because that too will depend on weather conditions and Cyclone Funso presently off Mozambique.	Delayed arrival &departure
January 27	Explorer of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Travel Blackboard reports the ship has been forced to extend its current cruise as a result of a medical emergency, which has lead to the delayed departureof the ship's next sailing. The ship will now arrive in its Bayonne, New Jersey, homeport on Saturday, 28 January, one day after its originally scheduled date. The ship, which is equipped with a helipad, has re-charted a course for San Juan, Puerto Rico, the closest port of call, A helicopter will meet the ship when it gets within 70 miles of San Juan. Additional information on the revised itinerary will be provided to passengers on Saturday at embarkation. Passengers scheduled to depart Friday are being asked not arrive at the port until 2pm Saturday.	Delayed arrival &departure
January 26	Aurora P&O Cruises	The CDC reports reports 142 of 1742 passengers (8.24%) and 8 of 824 crew (0.97%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in San Francisco on January 25, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing. The cruise began January 4 and ends January 26.	Illness
January 25	Riviera Oceania Cruises	Cruise Critic reportsShipyard delays caused by striking workers have scuttled the April 24 maiden voyage of Oceania's new Riviera. Instead, the 1,250-passenger ship will launch on May 16. Genoa-based Fincantieri notified the line last week about the delays. "We know that ... travelers are anxious to welcome Riviera and we regret that labor strikes have caused this delay," Giuseppe Bono, the shipyard's CEO, said in a statement. Two cruises are affected -- a 12-night Athens-to-Istanbul run and a 10-night Istanbul-to-Venice sojourn. Passengers on those voyages can rebook on another cruise and receive a future cruise credit that will range from $250 to $1,000 per guest, depending on the cabin category. Full refunds will be offered to those who don't want to rebook. An Oceania spokesman told Cruise Critic that the line is also assisting travelers with airline change fees. The new inaugural is a 10-night "Pearls of the Aegean" cruise, which includes an overnight aboard ship in Venice before visiting Dubrovnik, Corfu and Crete, among other ports.	Construction delay - cruises canceled
January 22	Carnival Magic & Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines	Cruise Critic reports dense fog in the port of Galveston has caused delays for two Carnival cruise ships this weekend. Carnival Triumph's departure from the Texas port was delayed by several hours on Saturday, however the ship is still sailing its five-night Western Caribbean cruise as scheduled and no itinerary changes were necessary. Because the fog has not yet lifted, the port is now closed and will remain so until conditions improve. Carnival has informed us that Carnival Magic's arrival will be delayed until the port is reopened. (Update: 1:10 p.m. EST, Galveston's port has reopened and Carnival Magic has arrived. The ship is expected to depart later this afternoon. No itinerary changes have been made.) From a passenger: The Carnival Magic's departure scheduled for 4pm Jan 22nd was postponed to 8pm, but dense fog prevented the departure at that time. At 3am on the 23rd the ship was able to leave. Captain made up about 9 hours of the 11 hour delay so the first stop in Montego bay Jamaica was from 11-7 instead of the originally planned 9-6.	Delays as a result of fog
January 22	Queen Mary 2 & Queen Elizabeth Cunard Line	The Daily Mail reports A man who has worked on two of the world’s most luxurious cruise liners is being investigated by police over allegations he indecently assaulted child passengers. It is claimed the crew member carried out the sexual assaults over the past five years on Cunard’s flagship the Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel Queen Elizabeth. Detectives started the investigation after a tip-off thought to be from the parents of one of the children involved, all of whom live in the UK. Police in Wiltshire, where the unnamed man lives, have contacted parents in various parts of the UK whom they want to interview. Nobody has been arrested or charged over the allegations. But police sources confirmed that the ex-cruise worker – who left the company before the police probe began six months ago – has been interviewed by Wiltshire CID. Detectives are understood to have examined photographic and computer equipment at the man’s home. The investigation, which began last summer, has taken so long because of the delicate nature of the allegations and the fact they involve young children.	Multiple sexual assaults of children
January 16	Pacific Jewel P&O Australia	The Herald Sun reports an Australian cruise liner has turned back during a Pacific Islands cruise after a passenger went missing. A spokesman for P&O Cruises confirmed the Pacific Jewel had turned back after leaving Lifou, New Caledonia after an elderly woman was reported missing last night. “I can confirm the Pacific Jewel is currently searching for a female passenger reported missing last night,” the spokesman said. “A complete search of the ship was conducted but she was not found. “A review of all CCTV footage was conducted including footage of a balcony area and it became apparent a passenger had gone overboard,” he said. The spokesman said the ship was on day eight of a Pacific Islands cruise and was currently searching for the woman in the water between Lifou and Noumea. He confirmed the woman’s family was on board the ship.	Passenger missing
January 16	Star Princess Princess Cruises	MSNBC reports Princess Cruises said Monday that it is surprised and disappointed that the Falkland Islands government turned away the ship because a small number of people on board have stomach flu. Falklands government spokesman Darren Christie said it had to deny entry to the ship Saturday because some passengers had contagious norovirus, which the islands are ill-equipped to handle. The decision was made by the Falklands' chief medical officer in consultation with a microbiologist in Britain, Christie said. "An outbreak in the Falkland Islands would put enormous pressure on our limited medical resources, and jeopardize other scheduled cruise visits," his statement said. The cruise line reports 74 passengers and crew were reportedly ill. The ship had planned to dock in Port Stanley in the middle of its 14-day South America cruise from Valparaiso, Chile, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ship's next port of call is Tuesday in Buenos Aires, followed by Montevideo, Uruguay. The cruise ends Jan. 21.	Illness
January 15	Carnival Liberty Carnival Cruise Lines	From a passenger: On Sunday, January 8th I was suddenly awaken by the ship listing to the port side, in the middle of the Carribean Ocean, with no land to be seen. The cruise director came over the loud speaker and said they were having a technical issue and not to worry. I have been on many cruises, all Carnival, and when your belongings start sliding off higher ground and glasses and dishes start smashing on the floor, there is definitely something wrong. I have never been so scared in my life thinking the ship was going over. From another passenger: We (14 of us) just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Liberty.  First day at sea at approximately 8:25 am we had an "incident' in which the boat took a sharp turn and listed enough that items, such as glasses, flew off the desk in the rooms shattering,  plates and glasses slid off the tables in the dining room breaking and spilling and the pools lost lots of water.  That water flooded the stairwells and flowed into the hallways.  Very scary.  However, does not even compare to what happened to the Costa Concordia!  Liberty's comments:  We had a technical problem.  Rumor has it that a problem with the computer told the ship to "avoid a crash" causing it to turn sharply which caused the tipping. And from another: I was on the third floor outside of the dining room when the ship severely listed. Water poured over the windows, glasses and dishes slid off tables in the dining room, the waiter said we'd have to wait longer for our food as what they were cooking was now on the floor and the engineer workers came out of a maintenance door and stood in the hall by us with puzzled looks. When I returned to my room the closet door was open, life jackets from the top shelf were on the floor and everything on the desk...wine bottle and glasses were on the floor...amazingly not broken. There were people who fell out of the shower and one person said she was in bed with her feet higher than her head. It was frightening and for the rest of the cruise you were on edge Everytime the ship rocked.	Severe list
January 13	Costa Concordia Costa Cruises	There are many media reports, details still emerging that the ship struck a rock, took on water, listed 20 degrees, and subsequently went on its side and partially submerged off the Italian Tuscan coast in the Mediterranean. As of January 15th, six people (5 pax, 1 crew) were confirmed dead from among the 4200 passengers and crew. The ship had embarked on a seven day cruise, leaving from Civitavecchia several hours before the accident occured. Evacuation of the ship was disorganized; the Captain has been charged with manslaughter, in part because he had left the ship before all passengers and crew had been cleared from the vessel. As of January 16th, 15 persons remain missing and details continue to be released. Links to accurate information will be posted in due time.UPDATE January 17: The death toll is now 11 and 28 people remain missing (24 pax, 4 crew). January 28: The death toll has been raised to 17; 16 passengers and crew remain missing. The final death toll is put at 32.	Grounded - Partially Sunk
January 12	Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The Baltimore Sun reports a 25-year-old Royal Caribbean employee has been indicted on charges of sex abuse of a minor after authorities say he had sex with a teenage girl aboard a cruise ship out of Baltimore, records show. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Fabian Palmer befriended the 14-year-old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Maryland on Dec. 17. On Dec. 23, the victim told authorities, she was alone on the deck of the ship and encountered Palmer, who took her into a men's locker room and began having sex with her. He stopped when another employee knocked on the door, she said. Video cameras captured "the likeness of Palmer," the victim, and the second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, records show. Palmer was interviewed by Royal Caribbean employees and admitted having sex with the girl, but said he believed she was 16, records show. He was indicted on one count of sex abuse of a minor on Jan. 11. See also the Daily Mail. According to the Jamaica Star it is reported that Palmer first befriended the girl and her family before allegedly raping her and only stopped when another employee knocked on the locker room door. The girl was reportedly on holiday with her family at the time, and the incident happened just days before Christmas. She told authorities that the encounter with Palmer started when she was alone on the deck. He took her inside a men's locker room and started having sex with her. She added that another employee knocked on the door and he stopped.	Sexual Assault of teen
January 12	Dream Thomson Cruises	The Examiner reports more than 200 persons have filed a 'class action type' lawsuit against a cruise line because of problems with odors and poor hygiene when they sailed two years ago. British based Thomson Cruises experienced problems on their flagship, the Dream, and passengers that sailed between May and October, 2010 have filed the suit. The Dream is a 55,000 ton, 1,506 passenger ship that Thomson purchased from Costa Cruises. There were reports of numerous problems on board the ship in it's early days of operation, including plumbing problems. According to a British newspaper, 'This is Staffordshire', complaints included 'toilets blocked and overflowing, food was undercooked and reused, and air conditioning units were often broken'. Another couple claimed they might have become sick because of the trip.	Lawsuit
January 11	Monarch of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Cruise News Daily reports a crew member witnessed a 25-year-old male crew member jumping overboard this morning at 5:45am when the ship was sailing in the Bahamas toward its scheduled call at Nassau. Video surveillance recordings later confirmed the man going overboard. The incident was immediately reported, and the ship turned and began a search. All appropriate authorities were notified, including the Bahamian government. Three other cruise ships in the area joined the search. They were Carnival Sensation, Disney Dream and Norwegian Jewel. A US Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter was also dispatched from a US Navy base in the Bahamas to assist at the request of Bahamian authorities. At 9am, the Bahamian Coast Guard released the cruise ships from the search and they continued on their way. The Bahamian Coast Guard and US Coast Guard are continuing their search.	Person overboard
January 7	Poesia MSC Cruises	The Bahamas Weekly reports that the ship ran aground at Port Lucaya near Freeport, Bahamas. The ship waited for the tide to get high at 18:00, she was pulled off with 4 tugs and a 5th tug standing by. At 20:00hrs she was free and continued on her journey at 19.5 kts to little Salvador.	Aground
January 7	Adonia P&O Cruises	BBC reports workers at a Cornish shipyard have been given four days to complete emergency repairs on the ship. The Southampton-based Adonia is due to arrive at Falmouth Docks over the weekend but needs to sail next Friday on a an 87-night world cruise on 13 January. One of the directors for A&P Falmouth, Peter Childs, said it would be a 24-hour-a-day job to complete the work. Though the ship is the newest in the P&O fleet, it was built in 2001 as Renaissance Cruises' R8. After Renaissance ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in late 2001, the vessel was seized by creditors and laid up in Marseille, France. In 2003, the vessel re-entered operation, this time as the sole cruise ship in Swan Hellenic's fleet. The vessel was named Minerva II. On 7 April 2007, the Minerva II completed her final voyage with Swan Hellenic and was transferred by the parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, to Princess Cruises. She was renamed Royal Princess and entered into service for Princess in April 2007. On 18 June 2009, fire broke out in her engine room, disabling the ship, while on a 12-day Holy Land voyage and just left Port Said, Egypt. She waited to dock in Port Said for an assessment of the damage. On 9 December 2009, it was announced that Royal Princess was to transfer to the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship entered service with the company on 21 May 2011, and was renamed Adonia.	Emergency repairs
January 7	Independence American Cruise Line	From a passenger: At 3AM (5th) the starboard  engine drive shaft broke on leaving Savanah. Returned to port where the problem was determined. Left port on the 5th with blessing of the CG to  cruise with all passengers on board. On one engine cruised to Brunswick, GA  where the CG withdrew its approval to continue with the passengers. Spent  the 6th in port terminating the cruise. On the 7th hauled everyone to the  airport. Ship  supposedly left at 8:01 for dry dock in Jacksonville.  No one hurt, just required to accept a different schedule than  planned. Lesson: when cruising think flexible. Further: I believe that it was the last cruise of the season as there were several  passengers that had boarded at Fernandino for the run to Charleston where we boarded. I heard that it was headed for dry dock in Jacksonville for 'rountine' maintenance. The propellor shaft break down gave them more reason. The consequence was that several stops were eliminated, some shore trips became free and we were taken to Jacksonville airport free of charge (had been told that was a $35.00 fee per person). The CG took an active part in the crisis management and were very present during the inspection while tied up in Savanah. They apparently called the shots after we reached Brunswick.	Propulsion problems - Cruise canceled
January 4	Maasdam Holland America Line	The CDC reports reports 56 of 1255 passengers (4.46%) and 6 of 573 crew (1.05%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 2, 2012 to conduct targeted environmental health and epidemiologic assessments and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Ship crew conducted intensified cleaning and disinfection of staterooms occupied by those who reported their GI illness to the infirmary. Stool specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing. The ship is on a 10 day cruise ending January 2nd. From a passenger: Two or three days into the voyage, the Captain came on the PA to announce the problem.  He said it came from European passengers.  They closed buffet lines and the crew had to serve you; they removed salt/pepper shakers from the dining room; they took rolls away and served bread at dinner with tongs, and closed the hot tub.  In addition, in the evenings, we saw our cabin steward and assistant washing down all of the cabin corridors (even the ceiling) with disinfectant.  In addition, when passengers became ill, they were confined to their cabin and the stewards were not allowed to clean.  When "quarantine" was over, crew members with masks went to the "contaminated" cabins and cleaned under supervision.  The Captain announced the numbers ill and daily progress against the illness.  The largest number announced was about 25.  We had friends on the next voyage and learned that embarkation was delayed as they continued to try to rid the ship of the GI virus.  HAL also had people stationed at each entrance to the dining areas providing hand sanitizer to all passengers to try to control the outbreak.	Illness
January 4	Allure of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The Orlando Sentinel reports a teenager said she was raped by two passengers while aboard, lured from a teen dance club to a private room in the wee hours of the morning. A teenage boy and a young man were arrested at Port Everglades on Tuesday. Both live in Brazil, but are being held in Broward. The teen and her family, who live in Iowa, set sail from Fort Lauderdale on Christmas for a 10-day cruise. The teen told authorities that on the last night aboard she'd gone to a teen club called Fuel, and at about 1:45 a.m. was invited to a party by a 15-year-old boy. She said she thought she'd be meeting friends in his private room, but said that when she got inside, another man was present, and the two would not allow her to leave. The 15-year-old said she told them she had a curfew and tried to leave, but said both males raped her. She reported it immediately to ship officials, according to arrest documents.	Sexual Assault of teen
January 3	Marco Polo Cruise and Maritime Voyages	The Daily Mirror reports -wenty nine passengers along with eight members of staff, have been isolated in their cabins and treated by medical staff. The ship, carrying 738 holidaymakers and 360 crew, is due to return to Tilbury docks, London, this morning after the cruise to Tenerife, which left on December 20. One passenger on board, who did not want to be named, said the festive trip had turned into a nightmare. She said: “There are bags marked human waste everywhere and staff are wearing masks. “It is like something out of a film. They have closed the coffee stations but the bar is still open. But all the public toilets have been shut and we have been told to use our own in our cabins. "But our cabin is miles away from anywhere. The trip has been a complete disaster.” Tour operator Cruise & Maritime confirmed that a small number of passengers had fallen ill with the norovirus. The ship will be disinfected today before setting off on another cruise tonight and passengers on the new trip will be told what has happened.	Illness
January 3	Sun Princess Princess Cruises	The Otago Daily Times reports poor weather across the Tasman resulted in ship arriving at Port Chalmers shortly before 4pm- more than eight hours after its expected arrival. Taieri Gorge Railway chief executive Murray Bond said while the tourism operator had received updated reports of a possible late arrival, the late start resulted in the cancellation of the cruise ship service. "We have lost 400 customers and a considerable amount of money. We lose tens of thousands of dollars every time this happens." In addition to changing staffing numbers on a statutory holiday, "we also chucked 280 meals into the skip". "We are not very happy, but the weather has beaten us." Mr Bond said it was the 13th time in two years where cruise ships into Dunedin had been late or cancelled, and "it is getting to be an epidemic". "Dunedin has really suffered over the last two seasons with cancellations or late arrivals and has suffered more than any other city in New Zealand." Mr Bond acknowledged the city was often the first port of call for cruise ships, but questioned why other cities were not dropped off the itinerary if time needed to be made up.The ship lect at 8PM for Christchurch	Late arrival
January 1	Amadea Phoenix Reisen Cruises	Anguilla News reports the cruise ship's planned arrival to Sandy Ground Anguilla on "Old Year's Day" - New Year's Eve, 2011 would have added to what appears to have been a very successful holiday season for the tourism industry on the island. The anticipated visit however did not materialise, due, according to tourism officials, to heavy swells. Hopes are now for a successful port stop at the end of January.