Ken Rossignol's Blog

Allure of The Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, at dry dock at Grand Bahamas. Tribune242.com courtesy photo

From Tribune242.com

THE world’s largest cruise ship – the Allure of the Seas – has docked at the Grand Bahama Shipyard for repair work on propulsion motors.

#The work will continue around the clock on for the expected seven days of its stay at the yard.

“To perform this technically challenging work in such a timeframe involves detailed planning and teamwork from the owners, the propulsion motor manufacturers and the yard,” stated Carl Gustaf Rotkirch, chairman and CEO at the yard.

He said “the facilities and skills we have readily available …MORE

The massive Allure of the Seas prepares for its first cruise from Fort Lauderdale in 2010. The Privateer Clause photo

The Emerald Princess leaving port at Antiqua. Privateer Clause photo

From Culture Map Houston:

Galveston, the fourth busiest cruise terminal in the nation, is looking to add a third cruise ship terminal to try and ensure its port stays busy.

The addition of a new terminal would mean a significant capacity increase and could lead to even more cruise line business, particularly important for Galveston now with the added competition from the Port of Houston‘s recently opened Bayport terminal.

The Port of Galveston authorized up to $100,000 for Los Angeles-based architecture firm McTigue to develop a design for the new terminal.

Port Director Mike Mierzwa told the Business Journal that while the port has not designated a size for the new terminal, the building will have to be about 150,000 square feet in order to serve the types of cruise ships the port is looking to attract. Because the port already has two large cruise terminals, Mierzwa said they are considering “out-of-the-box ideas” that would allow for a smaller terminal that could still operate as effectively and efficiently as a larger one.

The board of trustees’ intention for the Galveston port is to establish a third terminal on the “Galveston Island side” and “not on the Pelican Island” side, where there is underdeveloped property, Mierzwa noted.

At the moment, there is no official timeline for the third terminal. The Port of Galveston is currently focusing on the $10 million expansion of its second cruise terminal.

Allure of the Seas at Port Everglades. The Privateer Clause photo

From WKRG

MOBILE, Alabama -  Carnival’s relationship with the City of Mobile continues to grow according to Mayor Sandy Stimpson who just wrapped up a trip to Miami. While in Florida he met with cruise executives, hoping to lure another ship to the Port City.

“So, what’s the promise for the future? There is no short-term good news to say that there will be a cruise ship coming back in the next year or 18 months, at least we weren’t led to believe there was,” said Mayor Stimpson.

While there may not be a ship moving to Mobile in the near future, it’s not completely out of the question to see a ship docked at the vacant terminal sooner than later.

Mayor Stimpson says we could see a couple of test cruises coming to the Port City over the next few months.

“Mobile is very much in their mind as an opportunity and a place to relocate another ship at some point, but the economics need to be in place to do that,” he says.

Stimpsons says the State of Alabama and the City of Mobile are in much better shape now than when Carnival was here a few years ago.

Royal Carribean, Norwegian and Carnival are all keeping that line of communication open with Mayor Stimpson, so nothing can be ruled out just yet.

“It will take some reanalyzing of the situation in Mobile before I think they’re willing to make that move. I think that we have two possibilities, but then again it’s not going to happen immediately,” said Stimpson.

Holland America Maasdam leaves port at St. Kitts

Royal Caribbean has this surfing instruction on many of its largest ships, this one on the Independence of the Seas. The Privateer Clause photo

Fortunately the great majority of our law enforcement officers are honest and hard-working folks.  The reality is that almost all of them are far superior in character to the general population as strict hiring practices forbidding dedicated drug users and criminal records preclude hiring as officers. The police agencies have to draw from the same labor pool at the rest of America. But bad apples exist and sometimes officers “cross over” to the other side, such as takes place in COKE AIR, now in eBook and soon in paperback and audiobook.

This arrest of a New York state deputy sheriff reflects how good cops work to catch a bad cop:

ALBANY, NY—Charles E. Fuller, 46, of Corinth, New York, a Saratoga County Deputy Sheriff, was charged today by criminal complaint with attempting to aid and abet the possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Albany Division. Fuller was arrested earlier today at the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel at 3:00 p.m. A detention hearing is scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge Randolph F. Treece on March 3, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. If convicted, Fuller faces a maximum of 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum period of imprisonment of five years, and a maximum fine of $5,000,000.

The complaint alleges that on or about February 27, 2014, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of a FBI confidential source, arranged for a controlled delivery by Charles E. Fuller of what was purported to be one kilogram of cocaine. After Fuller transported the confidential source and one kilogram of a substance the confidential source claimed was cocaine from a location in Albany County to a location in Warren County, the FBI confidential source paid Fuller $4,000 in prerecorded currency. Fuller is alleged to have engaged in this conduct while he was off-duty.

U.S. Attorney Hartunian said, “This is a difficult day for law enforcement in Saratoga County and beyond. The conduct by Deputy Sheriff Fuller alleged in the complaint constitutes a betrayal of both the citizens in the community that he is sworn to protect but also the countless honest and dedicated law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. We will continue to work with the FBI and our state and local law enforcement officers to root out this conduct wherever it lies.”

Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale stated, “Corrupt law enforcement officers insult the many honorable officers who serve with integrity. Any law enforcement officer who violates his oath to protect the community and instead takes part in criminal activity should expect the same outcome as a criminal. The public has the right to be assured of the integrity of its public servants, in particular those charged with enforcing the law. Today’s arrest serves as a reminder that no one is above the law and that the FBI is committed to working with the law enforcement community to prevent the erosion of public trust that accompanies such incidents. I would like to extend my appreciation to Saratoga County Sheriff Zurlo for his cooperation throughout this investigation.”

Saratoga County Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo stated, “The allegations against Fuller are an affront to and undermine the integrity of the hardworking men and women of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. We will not tolerate corruption among our ranks. Our promise to the people of Saratoga County is that we will continue to work diligently to ensure that every member of this office deserves the respect and trust of our community.”

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

Holland America Maasdam. Privateer Clause photo

From CNN

The inability of those who board ships to use better hygiene or to stay at home continues to infect cruse ships. The latest ship to have passengers board with more than wine hidden in their bags is the Holland America ship Veendam.

Federal health officials are investigating another possible norovirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship that just ended a Caribbean voyage.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 114 passengers and 10 crew members on the Holland America cruise ship ms Veendam suffered vomiting and diarrhea during a week-long voyage that ended Saturday.

A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship when it arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, the agency said. The investigators will “conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.”

The CDC is also testing stool samples from the sickened passengers and crew, the agency said.

Holland America officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Veendam carried 1,273 passengers and a crew of 575, the CDC said.

Hundreds of people aboard two cruise ships in the Caribbean fell ill with norovirus last month. The CDC reported that norovirus hit more than 600 passengers and crew on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas in January, making it one of the biggest such outbreaks on any cruise ship in the past two decades.  …..MORE

MS Veendam

Ship Facts

Ship’s Registry:  The Netherlands

Passenger capacity:  1,498

Crew members:  580

Gross Tonnage:  57,092 grt.

Length:  630 feet

Beam:  101 feet

Maximum speed:  22 knots

Dedicated:  January 1996, by actress Debbie Reynolds

Old San Juan awaits cruise passengers from New Jersey as the Explorer of The Seas approaches the port. Privateer Clause photo

From the New York Times:

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Alexis Sotomayor has many reasons to stay in Puerto Rico: his two children; his mother and their gossip sessions over plates of fried rice; and the balm of salt and sun that leavens his life on the island.

But the artisanal soap business that Mr. Sotomayor built is barely hanging on amid rising costs and taxes, and sales that have sunk by 40 percent in five years. Crime is rampant; his girlfriend was nearly carjacked at gunpoint recently. So last month he boarded a flight to Orlando, Fla., to interview for a job at a rum distillery in the hope of joining the ever-growing Puerto Rican diaspora.

“I don’t see it improving,” said Mr. Sotomayor, a 47-year-old chemical engineer. “I see it getting worse. It’s the uncertainty. What am I going to do — wait until it gets worse?”

Puerto Rico’s slow-motion economic crisis skidded to a new low last week when both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s downgraded its debt to junk status, brushing aside a series of austerity measures taken by the new governor, including increasing taxes and rebalancing pensions. But that is only the latest in a sharp decline leading to widespread fears about Puerto Rico’s future. In the past eight years, Puerto Rico’s ticker tape of woes has stretched unabated: $70 billion in debt, a 15.4 percent unemployment rate, a soaring cost of living, pervasive crime, crumbling schools and a worrisome exodus of professionals and middle-class Puerto Ricans who have moved to places like Florida and Texas.  ….MORE

This article from the New York Times points out that while visitors are arriving at San Juan in droves, residents are leaving.  Travelers to Puerto Rico should stay with their group, avoid side streets, book tours with reputable tour companies or through the ship. There are plenty of uniformed police in the downtown port area, but those few blocks may be the only safe place to walk around and shop.  Caution is advised.

The newspapers in Nassau continue to report the high rate of armed robberies and murder.

If you are thinking of taking a cruise to Nassau, don’t trust the U.S. based cruise lines or U.S. travel agents to be transparent with you. That would be a mistake. There are hundreds of millions of dollars to be made in cruise fares, cruise excursions and cruise commissions from people sailing into Nassau.

The local newspapers in Nassau are straight forward in reporting crime. The crime problem mostly affects the local Bahamians but it also involved crimes against cruise passengers and tourists. Check out these local newspapers in Nassau: Tribune; Guardian; Bahamas B2B, Bahamas Press, and Nassau Punch. And check out the Bahamas Police Depatrment. Bookmark them and read the news articles and information for a couple of weeks before you book a cruise.

Here are a few highlights over the last month:

United States Issues Another Crime Warning For The Bahamas: 2 days ago the U.S. Embassy issued yet another crime warning. The new advisory warns US citizens traveling in the Bahamas of a “crime spike” in the country. “The Embassy said that a number of US citizens had fallen victim to armed robbery and two had been murdered in the last eight months.” Read the chilling advisory here.

Two tourists were robbed of their belongings and a rental car at gunpoint: ”The man and woman were on Jaws Beach in western New Providence when they were approached by two men who produced a weapon, took a backpack containing cash and other items.” The U.S. Embassy says that the robbers carried an “assault rifle.”

“Nassau is Bloodier Than New York“ From the Tribune in Nassau: “New York City is much, much safer than small New Providence, despite that US city’s massive size. Of every 25,035 New York City resident, only one was murdered in 2013. Conversely, of every 2,100 Nassauvian, one was murdered in 2013.”

Tourism Conference To Debate Issue Of Crime: ”US Embassy officials issued a crime warning to Americans living in and travelling to New Providence and Grand Bahama. In the advisory, the murders of two Americans over the past eight months and numerous armed robberies were pinpointed.”

Challenging the Status Quo of Crime in the Caribbean:  ”2014 began with crimes rates soaring ridiculously high in the Caribbean.”

Are Bahamian officials safe?  In December, the Acting Prime Minister Philip Davis was robbed at gunpoint. A few days ago, a police officer assigned to guard a residence of the Prime Minister Christie was arrested on suspicion of stealing a television at the residence. The latter is a petty crime I know, but you have to shake your head when the bad guys are bold enought to stick up the Acting Prime Minister and the police are stealing from the Prime Minister.

“Two men armed with guns robbed a pre-school while more than 100 students attended classes.” From pre-schools full of children to the highest governmental officials, no one seems safe in this beautiful island.

READ MORE

Privateer Clause photo

By Ken Rossignol

As a veteran of some two dozen cruises on ships around the world, and in the case of the Explorer of The Seas, which this week returned from a cruise to the Caribbean in which more than 800 people took ill, I believe it is important to keep in focus the entire picture of booking a cruise.

As a speaker on this ship two weeks before this fire, I enjoyed the improvements which had been made prior to the fire. As an author examining the cause of the fire, I am sure that Royal Caribbean knows why this fire burned out of control for two hours but I doubt they will reveal why or explain why the fire suppression systems did not work. Royal did a wonderful job of compensating passengers on this cruise, as on the recent Explorer debacle, unlike Carnival’s awkward corporate dumbness.

I have a series of cruise thrillers which explore the issue of safety at sea with a heavy emphasis of terror attacks on cruise ships. The Marsha & Danny Jones Thrillers begin with The Privateer Clause and there are now five books in the series. In addition, FIRE CRUISE was just released in January of 2014 and explores the dangers posed to travelers by drugs, crime and fire on ships and the dangers of crime ashore at popular ports.

All in all, the individual needs to take more acts to protect themselves while on vacation. The prudent citizen has a gun at home but one surrenders their Second Amendment rights when boarding a cruise ship (we hope) thus when entering the high crime area of St. Thomas or San Juan, one must be careful to stay off of side streets, stay with a group or an organized tour. At some islands, even busloads of tourists have been robbed, but such incidents, as explained in FIRE CRUISE are rare but still, they take place. The island governments need to be more aggressive in dealing with their home-grown criminals, as little in the way of crime is committed by tourists. Some of them are looking at increasing the use of execution for the crime of murder, which would be a positive step at controlling their growing criminal element in the Caribbean.

As for the Vomit and Diarrhea Cruise to hell…I have been a maritime history speaker on the Explorer on seven cruises in the past two years. I have seen the extraordinary steps this ship has instituted by Royal Caribbean as well as on other RCCL ships, and I am convinced that they will do anything to keep their customers from getting sick. There are plenty of hand sanitizing stations positioned everywhere throughout the ship and at least fifty percent of the passengers waltz right by them without partaking.

The Windjammer: passengers handle salt and pepper shakers and utensils handled by others, except when there is an outbreak and then the staff serve everything at every eating venue.  This should probably take place all the time to prevent an outbreak.

The one success story on the Explorer is where a crew member is stationed at the entrance to the Windjammer and hollers out a sing-song “Washy-Washy” to passengers and says “no washy, no eaty”.  Just about everyone does stop and use the cleaning agent at that point. But it only takes one sick one to pass by and pick up utensils and leave germs on the utensil to pass on Norovirus.

The Norovirus lives in hotels at ports and is brought to ships by passengers who fear losing their payments for their cruise and mask their symptoms with medication as they board.

Perhaps the cruise industry should set up a “Clean Health Honesty Station” where passengers who are boarding sick, can line up and get a full-refund for their cruise. The cost to the cruise line to refund what this passenger and the people traveling in his or her’s cabin would be a lot cheaper than the public relations nightmare posed by this most recent sick ship story.

Will we ever see a sign that says: Line up here for Refund if You Are Sick.

Here is a view from the travel industry about the scare stories about cruising, this one is from TRAVEL WEEKLY: 

FROM TRAVEL WEEKLY — Ever since the Concordia incident, the consumer media have been full of warnings that the cruise industry needs to shape up or its products might be shipped out by a Congress ready and willing to impose sanctions. The industry has been fighting back against an onslaught of accusations about the lack of safety at sea, and ports around the world seem to be re-examining the premise that ships are beneficial to the local economy, if not to the local environment.

The Explorer of The Seas docked at the Royal Dockyard, Bermuda. Privateer Clause photo

You read the same things that I do. There are increasing numbers of articles on the Internet with the theme “Why I will never cruise,” and public relations execs are all over the Web telling cruise line execs what they need to do to change their image.

An hour ago, I ruined my breakfast trying to digest an online article called “10 Things You Don’t Know About All-Inclusive Cruises.” The first warning was about those annoying onboard photographers who, it asserted, follow you into restrooms trying to snap candid photos for sale.

Explorer of the Seas docked at Bermuda with the Norwegian Dawn. Privateer Clause photo

The second had to do with all those extra fees charged by onboard restaurants. Clearly, neither the author nor his editors had any idea that all-inclusive cruises are normally five-star vacations that feature none of the experiences described in the article.

Then there’s the story of the young boy who drowned onboard a Carnival ship in full view of his parents. CBS News led this story with the admonition that it was “the latest blow to the cruise industry.”

No, it wasn’t. It was a heartbreaking tragedy that could have been avoided had a family member been in the pool supervising the boy directly in the absence of a lifeguard.

I am reaching the point of disgust at the lousy journalism that seems to permeate any negative cruise event. The great thing about reporting negative cruise news in a 24-hour cycle is that you always have this exciting visual, since ships at sea or resting in harbor are engineering marvels, lovely to behold, the ultimate travel fantasy.

One story churned out by the popular media is that passengers are lining up to jump off cruise ships to disappear in the murky waters below. The Miami Herald speculated that the actual number of overboard passengers is about four times what is officially reported.

One of the sources for the anti-cruise mania sweeping the media is a fellow named Ross Klein, who teaches sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He regularly testifies before Congress, where he throws up factoids like, “In one 15-month period the FBI reports a single case of sexual assault [on one of the major lines]. However, records disclosed in discovery indicate the number was actually 23.” For more of Professor Klein, it might be worthwhile to check out his website, Cruise-Junkie.com.

I don’t doubt that people are disappearing off cruise ships. But they are also disappearing off bridges and high buildings. In certain urban areas of the U.S., falling television sets are one of the leading causes of death, as they are launched from rooftops with some regularity. Perhaps we ought to ban TVs.

The majority of cruise lines have highly trained professional security teams on-board. Cruise lines do not like to discuss specifics, but I can tell you that I worked for a cruise line that tested our security procedures by hiring Israeli commandos to try to board our ships with explosives. This was years before 9/11. READ MORE

from BaliDiscovery.com

(1/19/2014)

A 21-year-old Balinese man working as a crew member on board the Carnival Splendor cruise ship has died, just days after joining the ship.

I Wayan Barsiana died on December 23, 2013 after joining the ship’s crew in Florida (USA) on December 6, 2013.

Due to requirements for post mortem examination and administrative requirements, the young man’s body was only turned over to his family in Bali on Monday, January 13, 2014, nearly three week’s after Barsiana’s demise.

Wayan Barsiana was born in Banjar Intaran, Pejeng in Gianyar and attended High School in Tampaksiring. Prior to joining Carnival Cruise Wayan worked at The Villas in Seminyak.

The young man was said to be diligent in calling or texting his family and girlfriend on a daily basis, contact that suddenly stopped on December 21, 2013, when he told his family he had developed a cough. Two days later on December 23, 2104 a manager from Carnival Cruise Lines telephoned the Barsiana’s mother to advise her son had died in his crew cabin.

According to NusaBali, the crewman’s family has received no further details in connection with the circumstances or cause of their son’s death.

Wayan Barisana’s body was buried in his home village several hours after it arrived back in Bali on January 13, 2013.

The 3,000-passenger Carnival Splendor was launched in 2008. It’s history as a cruise ship includes a dramatic fire on November 8, 2010 that left it dead in the water. No injuries resulted from that fire. The ship – without power – was towed into San Diego with 4,500 passengers and crew 3 days later.

From Cruise Critic

(2:37 p.m.) — Just days after the U.S. State Department issued a Honduras travel warning, a family of five were robbed at gunpoint during their Roatan port of call. No one was hurt, but the incident highlights the dangers many Caribbean port calls can present.

Carnival Conquest passenger Jeff Smith, his wife and three daughters were in Roatan on January 2 when a masked gunman jumped out of the bushes on a beach access road on the northeast side of the island and began shooting at the rental car Smith was driving.

“My immediate reaction was to put the car in reverse and try to back down the gravel/dirt access road to distance my family from the gunman,” Smith told Cruise Critic.

Instead, he wrecked the car, and the gunman who had pursued the family on foot robbed them of their cash, iPhones and a camera, all while pointing his gun at either Smith or his daughters, ages 15, 14 and 8.

The encounter lasted three minutes, but Smith said it is not easily forgotten, nor should it be.

“This was a very dangerous encounter for my family,” Smith said. “Having a masked gunman fire directly at your from a relatively close range with no warning and no regard to whom he is firing at… We learned a valuable lesson from this.”

Though Smith, who told Cruise Critic he travels to Central and South America several times a month for work, had researched Honduras in general and seen the State Department’s warning, he said he let his guard down and did not do any Roatan-specific research. “I knew Honduras was dangerous, but I did not realize Roatan had such a violent side also. I took it for granted the fact that if Carnival and other cruise lines invest so much money and effort to establish Roatan as a cruise destination, it must be safe.”

Local police are investigating the incident, Smith said, adding Carnival was very helpful after the fact, providing comfort to his family.

“The security officers on board Conquest interviewed me and took a written statement. … The following day they informed me that word of our encounter had made it to the Carnival executive V.P. level. The staff offered medical treatment or counseling for my family, but we declined. They allowed us unlimited telephone and Internet access so we could make arrangements (cancel the stolen credit card, work with AT&T to report the lost phones, etc.). The captain bought us a bottle of wine and invited our family for a bridge tour.”

Smith and his family were not on a ship-sponsored excursion but had rented a car, something he said might have made him a target.

“Use extreme caution when off the main path, especially when in a highly noticeable rental car,” he advised on Cruise Critic’s message boards.

He also said he doesn’t necessarily believe a cruise-sponsored excursion would be any safer. “I’m not sure if being on a cruise-provided excursion would provide adequate safety or actually shielded us from an encounter like this.”

But Mario Aguirre, a spokesman for the Honduras Tourist Board, said cruise-sponsored excursions are safer because they visit the most popular sites on the island, all of which have beefed up security.

Most of the 800,000 cruise tourists that visit Roatan stick to the West side of the island or join organized dolphin encounter tours or canopy adventures.

The encounter with the masked gunman, he said, was on the north side of the island, on an unpaved road on the way to a beach that is not commonly visited by tourists and therefore has no extra security. Smith told Cruise Critic the beach was on the property of the Palm Beach Resort.

“There is enhanced security in areas where tourists normally visit, on the West end of the island where there’s more traffic,” he said, adding the roads to those areas also have an increased police presence.

He added that the Honduras Tourist Board regularly tells island-based tour operators which areas to avoid and has contacted the operators, cruise lines and car rental companies to alert them to the incident so they can advise their customers to stay away from the area.

A representative from Carnival said cruise directors integrate general warnings about port calls into their shore talks but does not print the warning on shore excursion documentation.

This is not the first time passengers have been robbed at gunpoint during a port of call. In April 2013, 55 passengersoff of Celebrity Eclipse were robbed during a ship-sponsored tour in St. Lucia. And, in February 2012, 22 passengersfrom Carnival Splendor were robbed during a ship-sponsored tour in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Choosing how to spend a vacation has been leading more than twenty million people annually to decide that taking a cruise is the best travel value available.  While making a decision on how to choose a cruise usually hinges on such elements as destination, cost, amenities and attractions on a cruise ship, there are far more important factors, chiefly those involving safety.

Danger lurks on ships at sea in ways that most travelers wouldn’t imagine, though piracy off the coast of Africa has been a real danger, for most who take a cruise, the actual pirates in the Caribbean are generally those who run jewelry stores and sell watered-down tropical drinks.

The real dangers may be criminals who landed jobs on your cruise ship, drug couriers in the cabin next to you, and armed robbers waiting for your excursion on a sparkling tropical island.

Not all dangers originate with criminals, some lay in wait as a result of management decisions on the part of the cruise lines.

Sloppy maintenance or dangerous ship design on your luxury cruise liner may lead to tragic fires and, in some cases, injury and death.

This book is the first non-fiction book I have written involving present day cruises, though I have written several about the Titanic and actual pirate trials conducted after various cruises of two centuries ago.

My experience in modern cruise ships dates to first taking a cruise from Miami in 1984 on the old Home Lines Oceanic which became the Big Red Boat ended life as the Peace Boat. It was a classic liner built in 1965 for trans-Atlantic service and could really handle rough seas.

In the past few years my travels have included many Caribbean and two trans-Atlantic voyages, which were on the fine new Celebrity ships, Celebrity Eclipse and Celebrity Equinox. Several trips on the wonderful Celebrity Mercury along with voyages on the Carnival Miracle and Royal Caribbean Grandeur of The Seas gave me an opportunity to experience various degrees of popularly priced cruises as well as a bit upscale. All of them were wonderful ships with great crews and views.

In the past two years, speaking on a dozen ships about maritime history has been invigorating and great fun, enabling my wife and me to travel the world and meet thousands of people.

Doing so has also taken me aboard the Holland-America ships Zaandam and Amsterdam of Holland America, the beautiful Royal Caribbean ships Independence of The Seas, Explorer of The Seas and again on the Grandeur of The Seas, two weeks before its tragic fire in May of 2013.

From England to the Canary Islands, France and Portugal, the Mediterranean from Rome to Spain, Hawaii to Canada, Costa Rica and through the Panama Canal to Aruba and Curacao, and many times to most every island in the Caribbean, these voyages have been a great insight into the world and of life on cruise ships.

As a long-time newspaper reporter, freelancer for a Washington TV station and editor, I have brought my background in news coverage to play in examining top news stories of one hundred years ago in explaining three of the most important stories of that era: the Ku Klux Klan, the opening of the Panama Canal and the RMS Titanic disaster.

Now, for the benefit of the reader, I am presenting news and views on several aspects of what dangers lurk for one on every cruise, all in the hope that one can make good decisions about what ship to book a cruise and how to be safe when you disembark on a great vacation.

The areas examined in this book are:

Cruise ship crew, passenger and shore excursion crime.

Cruise ship fires.

Drug use and dealing among crewmembers and fellow passengers and how those activities can affect your safety.

As for terrorism and piracy, another book is in the works dealing with this subject. Terror attacks on cruise ships are nothing new and not the purview of fictional thrillers.

Leon Klinghoffer’s family can still testify about the horror that struck the Achille Lauro in 1985 when PLA terrorists murdered him and dumped him and his wheelchair into the sea from the ship.

Statistically, there is no safer way on the planet to travel than on a cruise ship. More than one thousand ships ply the waters of the seven seas each year and millions enjoy themselves as they embark on new adventures.  The cruise lines provide reward for investors and good jobs for those who need and seek them.

There is no doubt that the companies who operate these ships do not want illegal and criminal acts or conspiracies conducted on their vessels.

The cruise lines do not, as a matter of policy or mission, want to torture or endanger their customers and ninety-nine percent of the crew members are law-abiding and work diligently to perform their duties.  Carnival’s lack of any coherent plans to deal with a ship disabled by fire was extraordinary in the most recent Triumph fire in February of 2013. Carnival elected to have the ship towed to Mobile, Alabama instead of a closer port in Mexico. That decision brought the media descending upon their embarrassing disaster like flies to a hog pen, for much of the same reasons.

There is no doubt that many around the world would cheer to see several top executives in the industry be made to walk the plank for some of the stupid and dangerous decisions that they have made which have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of loss for their investors, death for some of their customers and a horrible experience lingering in the sun on sewage-drenched ships for days at a time after engine fires which disabled the ships.

Carnival, a few months after one of the world’s most well publicized public relations disasters – that of the Triumph -announced a plan to spend three quarters of a billion dollars on adding redundancy to their ships to power them back to port after an engine fire.

This disaster came just 13 months after the Friday the 13th capsizing and sinking of the Costa Concordia, in 2012, another ship under the Carnival Corporation umbrella. That spectacular black eye for Carnival killed 32 people, simply because the bone-headed captain directed that the ship take a perilous course that caused it to hit an underwater reef. That captain’s incompetence has set the bar very high for sea captains who wish to join Capt. E. J. Smith of the RMS Titanic for sheer and incomprehensible negligence while in command of a vessel.

While some cruise lines operate with arrogance and incompetence, most work hard to provide a great experience for their customers and a favorable return for their investors while providing great jobs for their employees.

What is inexcusable, is when prior incidents point to fixable problems and nothing is done to correct them, resulting in injury and death – again.

Therefore, since knowledge is power, this book endeavors to explain how to pick a cruise on a ship that is among the latter.

It will also reveal a few things the glossy brochures and sparkling websites will not.

More importantly, this information may enhance your vacation by getting you and your family home safely and at the same time result in me being placed on the “no-float list.” If so, it will be worth it, knowing that what I have learned may save the lives of others.

Thank you for your interest and please contact me with any remarks or information you may have about this book.

Ken Rossignol

ken@mdinternet.net