Headline: Costa settles for $1.31 million The first reaction to this was something like "Who bought off the Italian judge?" However, on digging deeper (it's called reading further), the settlement over the Costa Concordia accident last year is really a fine that means no criminal charges against the cruise line, ending potential liability with the… Continue reading Cruise Suits, Sickness and Singapore
Category: Ports
Grand Turk Terminal Trouble
We had an email last week from a sommelier we met on a cruise ship. He is from the Philippines and, in our exchanges over a few days, five words from his email were perhaps most meaningful. "Without you is without us." He wasn't referring to "us" in particular, but to all cruise passengers. He… Continue reading Grand Turk Terminal Trouble
Two Tastes of River Cruising
This isn't a commercial (like "Like Milk?")… Like jazz? Like lobster? If — like us — your answer is "yes" then American Cruise Lines has an inviting dilemma for you. Actually, one of the "invitings" is the Queen of the Mississippi, and don't take that the wrong way. She's a river cruise ship and in… Continue reading Two Tastes of River Cruising
Miami, Carnival Relationship Tight
As a cruise entity goes, Carnival's name regularly gets dragged through the mud, as it is once again because of the troublesome Triumph. But it seldom happens in Miami. There, hometown of the cruise line's offices and the basketball team that belongs to the Carnival owner, this good corporate citizen is a great corporate citizen.… Continue reading Miami, Carnival Relationship Tight
European 'oasis' for The Oasis
If you're like us (not that we'd wish that on anybody), you were probably wondering when the biggest cruise ship in the world would be on the move. Oasis of the Seas is going to Europe. It's only temporary…a prop in the water, if you will. It's going to happen in 2014, for a couple… Continue reading European 'oasis' for The Oasis