Top Stories
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Sen. Schumer reacts to the cruise lines’ self-imposed cruisers’ bill of rights
TransportSenator Chuck Schumer calls the cruise industry’s new passenger bill of rights “a step in the right direction,” but he will be querying the cruise lines on how it will be enforced. “While I believe that this passenger bill of rights is a step in the right direction towards increased accountability for the cruise industry [...]
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Cruise passenger bill of rights effective immediately for all major U.S. lines
TransportThe cruise industry said Wednesday that it’s adopting a passenger bill of rights that guarantees the “safety, comfort and care” of guests. The bill of rights promises, among other things, full refunds for trips that are canceled due to mechanical failure, and a backup power source on every ship to keep systems running in the [...]
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Disgraced Costa Concordia captain will stand trial for manslaughter
TransportAn Italian judge has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship to stand trial for manslaughter in the vessel’s shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany, which killed 32 people. Judge Pietro Molino, at a closed-door hearing Wednesday in the town of Grosseto, agreed to prosecutors’ request that Capt. Francesco Schettino of Italy be [...]
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Carnival’s profits fall short as battered line drops fares to woo back cruisers
TransportThe news just keeps getting worse for Carnival Corp. Late Monday afternoon, the Miami-based cruise giant lowered its earnings forecast for the year, citing the low ticket prices that have been needed to drive cruise demand while the company had endured months of negative publicity. The 24-ship Carnival Cruise Lines and its parent company, Carnival [...]
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Royal Caribbean gets new CFO as veteran departs
TransportThe top finance job at Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises is in new hands. The world’s second-largest cruise ship company announced Thursday that Brian Rice, who is retiring in spring of 2014, would no longer serve as chief financial officer, a job he has held since 2006. With 24 years at the company, Rice will remain [...]
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Best travel ads this week: Holland argues it’s cooler than Brooklyn
TransportTrave ads seek to inspire and excite viewers into booking a trip. The methods used to elicit such sentiments include fast-paced music, flashy images, and emotional voiceovers; and ultimately they aim to convince viewers that a better time is just a plane ride away. This week Holland defends its traditional way of life as the [...]
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River cruise line Viking adds first ocean voyages with two new ships
TransportViking Cruises Ltd. ordered two vessels to start an ocean cruise business, a first for the company, which has focused on river voyages, Chairman Torstein Hagen said. The 928-passenger ships are being built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani Spa and will sail beginning in 2015 and 2016, respectively, on European itineraries, Hagen, who leads Woodland [...]
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Royal Caribbean and TUI drum up cruise interest with heavy metal voyage
TransportMiland Petrozza, the front man of German thrash metal veterans Kreator, is more used to his fans wading through mud and sleeping in tents than coming to his concerts from an afternoon of shuffle board. Yet when he shrieked the lyrics “let there be darkness, let there be blood tonight” across the decks of luxury [...]
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Court rejects Costa Concordia captain’s manslaughter plea bargain
TransportProsecutors rejected a plea bargain offer by the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which capsized off Italy’s west coast last year with the loss of 32 lives, lawyers said on Tuesday. Captain Francesco Schettino is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. He has admitted making mistakes but says he should [...]
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Carnival Cruise Lines won’t have ships in Europe in 2014
TransportCarnival Cruise Lines is to send a letter to the UK trade today telling them it will have no ships in Europe next year. The iconic U.S. cruise line which had two ships in Europe this year - one sailing from Dover, the other from Barcelona and Venice - said it could not risk having ships in [...]
