Read Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Ship Industry Online
Authors: Ross A. Klein
Tags: #General, #Industries, #Transportation, #Hospitality; Travel & Tourism, #Travel, #Nature, #Essays & Travelogues, #Environmental Conservation & Protection, #Ships & Shipbuilding, #Business & Economics
Apr 00
Rotterdam
May 00
Nieuw
Amsterdam
Oct 00
Veendam
Jun 01
Zaandam
Details of Mishap
Hit by rogue wave. Damage to any thing not bolted down; rough seas for Pacific crossing
Fire in crew quarters while in Glacier Bay. Cruise delayed 12 hours awaiting Coast Guard clearance
1
Electrical generator failure — no power for 3 hours
Discovered that sprinkler heads in some rooms not connected to water supply
Norwegian Cruise Line
Date Ship
May 01
Norway
May 01
Norwegian Sky
Sep 01
Norway
Details of Mishap
Cruise canceled due to safety violations — 106 leaks in fire sprinkler system
Autopilot malfunction causes roll. 70+ pas sengers injured, 16 hospitalized
Grounded; collides with pier at New York City. No damage to ship
Premier Cruises
Date Ship
Jan 00
Island Breeze
Mar 00
Seabreeze
May 00
Big Red Boat III
Jun 00
Big Red Boat II
Jun 00
Big Red Boat II
Jun 00
Island Breeze
July 00
Rembrandt
July 00
Seabreeze
Aug 00
Big Red Boat II
Dec 00
Sea Breeze
P&O Princess
Date Ship
May 00
Aurora
Sep 00
Oriana
Dec 00
Crown Princess
Mar 01
Regal Princess
Apr 01
Dawn Princess
Apr 01
Royal Princess
Jun 01
Crown Princess
Details of Mishap
Problems with boilers. Cruise delayed 2 days
Engine boiler breakdown. Cruise canceled
Leaves port with anchor down; strikes under water power lines. Power out for 17 hours at Newport, RI. Cruise continues
Maiden voyage canceled at last minute due to unfinished renovations
Problems with air conditioning, plumbing, and propulsion. 2 cruises canceled
Collision with tugboat — damaged propeller, tug sinks. 2 cruises canceled
Air-conditioning problems on multiple cruises
Engine problems. Ship adrift for 14 hours
Elevator malfunction at end of cruise. Passengers kept onboard for several hours at port
Sunk in 30-foot seas in the Atlantic. No passengers aboard at the time; no injuries
Details of Mishap
Problem with overheated propeller shaft 18 hours into maiden voyage. Cruise canceled
Hit by 40-foot wave — smashed windows in 6 cabins; 20 cabins flooded. 6 people injured; cruise delayed
Loss of generator power. Sails at reduced speed
Grounded at Cairns. Ship freed and continues
Engine problems. 5 hours late in arriving at Barbados
Breaks loose from mooring at Port Said, Egypt; drifts into path of cargo ship. Minor damage
Mechanical breakdown; towed to Copenhagen. Delayed at Stockholm for 3 days
Others
Date Ship
July 01
Pacific Sky
Hits major storm. Cuts and bruises to passen
gers; docks 36 hours late
Royal Caribbean International
Date | Ship | Details of Mishap |
Oct 00 | Grandeur of the Seas | Loss of electrical power — towed to port. Delayed 12 hours |
Dec 00 | Sovereign of the Seas | Partial loss of electrical power. Cruise ends at Port Canaveral and passengers bused to Port Everglades; next cruise canceled |
Apr 01 | Radiance of the Seas | Hits heavy seas — balcony cabins, Seaview and Windjammer cafes flooded |
Jun 01 | Nordic Prince | Engine room fire, loss of power. Passengers return to Bermuda and fly home |
Oct 01 | Nordic Empress | Damaged at pier during storm. Departure delayed; next cruise canceled |
Sun Cruises (Airtours) | ||
Date | Ship | Details of Mishap |
Feb 00 | Carousel | Runs over rocks; propeller damage and oil leak — a 50-ton spill. Abandon ship |
Feb 00 | Sundream | Failing generators; no air conditioning and limited power for 2 days. Similar problems the previous week |
Jan 00
Olympic Countess
Feb 00
Clipper
Adventurer
Apr 00
Ocean Explorer
May 00
Riviera I
May 00
World Discoverer
July 00
Funchal
Details of Mishap
Engine problems. Passengers transferred to the Triton and continue
Trapped in ice jam off Antarctica; freed by icebreaker. No damage; 24-hour delay
Engine failure. World cruise ended
Ship seized for failure to pay fuel bills. Passengers stranded in Tahiti
Hits rock or a reef and holed — forced to beach. 100 passengers rescued from Solomon Islands
Loss of power. Cruise canceled
Collides in 3-ship incident at New York harbor; scrapes and dents only
Mechanical failure. Anchored for a few hours to make repairs
July 00 | Q 2 |
Oct 00 | Regal Empress |
Oct 00 | Universe |
Explorer | |
Dec 00 | Seabourn Sun |
Dec 00 | Stella Solaris |
Feb 01 | Bremen |
Feb 01 | Patriot |
Mar 01
Collides with container vessel; repairs made without delay
Propeller damaged. Several cruises canceled
Engine problems. Ship pulled from service for 3 months
Hit by rogue wave — wheelhouse windows break and water enters bridge. Detour to Montevideo for repairs
Engine problems. Cruise canceled
Caledonian Star
Damaged by large wave in storm; guided to port by Argentinean Navy
Grounded in Alaska
Wilderness
Explorer
May 01 Jun 01
Costa Tropicale
Grounded at Venice; towed free by tugboats.
2 weeks later, grounded again at Mykonos; towed free by Costa Atlantica
Sheltered Seas
Engine problems. Passengers evacuated
Jun 01 Jun 01
Unnamed Swiss-
Collision with freighter in Germany
registered riverboat
Oct 01
Regal Empress
Nov 01
Arkona
Nov 01
Asuka
Detained in port for 1% days by Coast Guard midway through cruise for safety deficiencies. 1 port of call canceled; cruise ends 6 hours late
Runs into dock after engine room fire causes loss of power. Passengers flown home
Collision with cargo ship off coast of Kobe. No injuries
ENDNOTES
The Inaugural Sail: An Introduction to the Cruise Industry
1 “Global Cruise Industry Tops 12M Passengers for First Time,”
Lloyd’s List
(May 4, 2001), <
www.lloydslist.com
>.
2 “Newbuildings League,”
Seatrade Insider News
(February 26, 2002).
3 See Bernard D. Nossiter, “Cunard Cancels Ads after Unfavorable News Story,”
Washington Post
(February 17, 1978), p. A31. The
Sunday Times
story reported the
Queen Elizabeth 2
had been serving mixed drinks with ice cubes that had previously been used to chill raw fish, carrying ice cubes in dirty drums, and running up a fecal coliform count in the ice that was too high to count. it also reported that a spring 1977 cruise on the
QE 2
had left 216 passengers with diarrhea.
4 Carnival Corporation’s view is clearly expressed by Tim Gallagher (vicepresident of public relations) in Ted B. Kissel, “The Deep Blue Greed,”
Miami New Times
(February 3-9, 2000), <
www.miaminewtimes.com
>.
Chapter 1: Onboard the Floating Resort
1 Mike Beirne, “Renaissance Cruises Close to Naming New Agency,”
Adweek News Wire
(July 17, 2001).
2 These amounts were provided to me by onboard managers. Figures cited by Bob Dickinson and Andy Vladimir in
Selling the Sea: An Inside Look at the Cruise Industry
(John Wiley and Sons, 1997) are a bit different. They suggest per diems of $8 to $11 on mass-market lines, $8 to $18 on premium lines, and $25 to $30 on ultraluxury lines. They estimate a restaurant or hotel would have to charge between $33 and $40 to provide what a cruise line provides at $10 a day.
3 Nancy Huie, “F&B Spending on the Rise,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Fall 1995), p. 94.
4 Nancy Huie, “How to Control Food Costs,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Winter 1995-96), pp. 92-93.
5 Michael Grossman, “The Cruise Industry in Retrospect,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Summer 1995), p. 61.
6 A company press release dated April 24, 2001, stated that the “fine wines” on Seabourn Cruise Line’s complimentary list included R.H. Phillips Chardonnay (California), Caliterra Chardonnay (Chile), Loraine Valley Pinot Noir (California), Merlot Aresti (Chile), and Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon Banrock Station (Australia).
Chapter 2: The Myth of the All-Inclusive Vacation
1 This story appeared in several newspapers. The original source is: Marc Lacey, “Cost of Cruise’s Extras Could Leave You High and Dry,”
Los Angeles Times
(September 14, 1997), p. L2.
2 Carnival Corporation press release, “Proposed Combination of Carnival and P&O Princess,”
PR Newswire
(January 24, 2002).
3 Jon Ashworth, “A Ship That Thinks It’s a Conference Centre,”
London Times
(July 14, 2001), <
www.thetimes.co.uk
>.
4 See Michael Connor, “Norwegian Line Would Fit Nicely with Carnival,”
Reuters
(December 2, 1999).
5 Ashworth, “A Ship That Thinks It’s a Conference Centre.”
6 Nancy Huie, “The Business of Shopping,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Summer 1995), p. 50.
7 Rob Marjerison, “Maximizing Onboard Revenue,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Winter 1995-96), p. 82.
8 Nancy Huie, “F&B Spending on the Rise,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Fall 1995), p. 95.
9 Christopher Reynolds, “A Toast to Your Cruise! Now Hand over That Booze,”
Los Angeles Times
(October 19, 1997), p. L2.
10 Christopher Reynolds, “Minor’s Death Raises Issues of Drinking on Cruise Ships,”
Los Angeles Times
(August 7, 1994), p. L2.
11 See Arline Bleeker, “Cruise Lines Adjust Rules on Booze Use,”
Seattle Times
(January 20, 2002),