Avoiding your parole officer? Don't try to escape on a cruise.

Larry Moore, jailed for resisting arrest and assault in 2002, was paroled in 2004 but failed to meet with his parole officer, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued. We know criminals are rarely accused of being the sharpest tacks in the shed, but still, what did Mr. Moore think would happen after he provided the details of his identity as required prior to boarding Voyager of the Seas last week in New Jersey?

In the post-9/11 era, the authorities do indeed screen for outstanding warrants, and Mr. Moore was arrested prior to boarding. We feel it's a safe guess that Royal Caribbean didn't provide a refund, either, adding insult to injury.

The Jersey Journal: Wanted man nabbed at cruise ship

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Some cruise passengers left unhappy by Katrina charters

The number of cruisers who had their trips cancelled due to Carnival's 3-ship, 6-month charter to FEMA likely numbers around 100,000, so it was inevitable that somebody would be mad about it.

Indeed, due to the fact that the alternate cruises have tended to be more expensive, many of these displaced passengers will have to fork over more dough, even taking into account Carnival's addition of a $100 per person shipboard credit.

Why are replacement cruises more expensive? First, some of the ships offering similar itineraries, like Carnival Conquest, are much newer and feature-filled than the chartered ships. Second, cruise pricing had been gradually increasing over time anyway, so those who booked a year ago would naturally find prices higher when rebooking today on an identical cruise. Third, the removal of the chartered ships' inventory from the marketplace impacts supply and demand.

Galveston County Daily News: Cruisers steaming over higher ship rates

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Galveston officials call FEMA clueless in making Katrina refugee cruise ship plans

Not that this should come as a shock to anybody, but when the now-cancelled FEMA plan to house up to 5,000 of Katrina's homeless onboard ships docked in Galveston was originally announced, FEMA officials were useless, say Galveston officials.

The city was left on its own to organize the massive logistics of schooling, transport, policing, trash, and everything else.

The Galveston County Daily News: City: FEMA clueless in cruise ship planning

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Cruise ship shelter plan up in the air

The plan for Hurricane Katrina refugees to be housed onboard three Carnival cruise ships is in flux, as folks quite reasonably want to stay close to home and minimize re-relocation, while others aren't keen to live near the water.

Plans for relocation elsewhere in the country have run into similar resistance. Here in our backyard, Massachusetts' offer to house up to 2,500 people is being taken up by only 250 so far, and New Hampshire's 500-person welcome mat remains unused. So, it's not just a cruise ship thing.

Yesterday morning the plan to house the homeless on the ships, Carnival's Ecstacy, Holiday and Sensation, was officially called off. Instead, they may be used to house workers involved in rescue or reconstruction.

Carnival's price for the FEMA ship charter was revealed as $192 million for six months for the three ships, plus as much as $44 million for fuel and other expense reimbursements.

Galveston County Daily News: Plan for shelters on cruise ships dropped

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Hurricane Ophelia annoys Port Canaveral

Having graduated to hurricane status, today Ophelia has forced ships away from their turnaround stop in Port Canaveral and instead to more-southern Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale), such as Carnival's Fantasy and Disney's Wonder. Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas is skipping a call at Port Canaveral that had been scheduled for Friday.

The storm is predicted to remain more-or-less stationary off the coast and gradually pick up steam and head off in one of several directions...including the possibility of a US landfall.

Meanwhile the National Hurricane Center may run out of pre-planned names for hurricanes this year, having picked 21 and already used 15 of them, with lots of hurricane season remaining through November.

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Carnival ships joining Katrina relief efforts for six months

Carnival Cruise Lines has stepped forward to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina by chartering its cruise ships Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday to the Military Sealift Command on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for six months.

The Ecstasy, normally home ported at Galveston, Texas, operating four- and five-day cruises, and Sensation, normally home ported in New Orleans operating four- and five-day voyages, will be pulled from service effective Monday, Sept. 5. Initial plans are for both vessels to be docked in Galveston.

The Holiday, which is home ported at Mobile, Ala., operating four and five- day Mexico cruises, will be pulled from service effective Thursday, Sept. 8. Initial plans are for the vessel to remain docked in Mobile.

The Elation, which currently operates seven-day cruises from Galveston, will offer a one-time six-day voyage departing Sept. 4, then take over the Ecstasy's four and five-day Galveston program effective Saturday, Sept. 10. Guests on the Elation's six-day voyage will receive a 15 percent refund and a $50 per person shipboard credit. The Ecstasy's five-day cruise of Sept. 5 has been cancelled. Carnival told us this morning that as a result of this re-deployment, Elation's previously scheduled sailings are cancelled.

"We sincerely apologize to those guests whose vacations have been impacted by these voyage cancellations," said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO. "However, given that Hurricane Katrina is the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, we trust our guests will understand that the decision to enter into these charters was the right one. This inconvenience to our guests will provide desperately needed housing for thousands of individuals affected by this tragedy," he added.

All guests whose bookings have been cancelled will be offered full refunds and will have the opportunity to re-book their cruise on any Carnival ship. Guests who re-book on any Carnival ship will receive a $100 per person shipboard credit.

All guests originally scheduled to sail on the Ecstasy during the affected six-month period will be automatically moved to the Elation. The Ecstasy and Elation are sister ships with identical layouts. Guests will be assigned to the same cabins on Elation that they had booked on the Ecstasy.

The Ecstasy, Sensation, and the Elation are sister ships with a double-occcupancy passenger capacity of 2,052 and a total passenger capacity of 2,606. The Holidayhas a double-occcupancy passenger capacity of 1,452 and a total passenger capacity of 1,800.

Carnival shipboard employees will be staffing the three chartered ships. The Ecstasy and Sensation each have approximately 920 crew and the Holiday has approximately 660.

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Three crew members die aboard Monarch of the Seas after being overcome by methane

Three crew members died aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas from methane gas exposure during onboard maintenance this morning while the ship was docked at the Port of Los Angeles, and five to ten other crew members needed medical treatment. The accident happened in a non-public area, so no passengers were effected, and by all accounts the end-of-cruise disemebarkation of the ship proceeded normally.

Royal Caribbean sources tell us that it is not currently known whether the ship will sail later today as planned to the Mexican Riviera.

DailyBreeze.com (AP): Cruise ship gas leak kills 3 workers at Port of L.A.

Update 9/3/05: The gas was apparently hydrogen sulfide, which occurs in sewage, not methane as originally reported. The ship was released and sailed yesterday evening for its next departure, although Royal Caribbean informed us the sailing was later in the day than scheduled.

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Seabourn Pride detained in Ireland over safety problems

Luxury ship Seabourn Pride has been detained in Port of Waterford, Ireland, after government inspectors discovered what has been reported as a messy and unsafe environment in the engine room. As of this moment, sources at Seabourn tell us that the ship will be undergoing repairs but a firm completion time is not available right now. Seabourn is owned by Carnival Corporation.

Online.ie: Cruise ship detained over safety breaches

Update 9/9/05: The ship was repaired and cleared to leave Friday night, September 2, and sailed at the next favorable tide on Saturday morning September 3, causing the cancellation of a port visit in Dublin.

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Cruise ships for Katrina disaster relief?

Reports this morning indicate the federal government has asked several cruise lines whether their ships could assist the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in some way, from evacuation to long-term housing of victims. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have indicated they are all looking at how to help, and the International Council of Cruise Lines says that all of its members -- including virtually every major cruise line -- are doing the same.

Miami Herald: Government asks cruise lines to house Katrina victims
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Cruise lines debate use of ships to house Katrina victims

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