Fuel surcharge intrigue continues

Back in November when Carnival Corporation announced the retroactive addition of fuel surcharges to existing bookings, we knew, first, that the rest of the industry would follow, and second, that there would be eventual pushback from customers or regulators. Nobody likes making a reservation, paying a deposit, and then being told sometime later that more money is due.

Sure enough, other brands owned by Carnival (like Cunard, Holland America, and Princess) added the fuel surcharge retroactively to existing bookings and, shortly thereafter, so did Royal Caribbean (and its siblings Celebrity and Azamara).

Meantime one cruise line, Norwegian, stands out as taking the most consumer-friendly approach to skyrocketing fuel prices. They added a fuel surcharge only for new bookings. Good for them!

Which brings us to earlier this month, and the regulatory pushback from Florida's attorney general Bill McCollum. The cruise lines had gotten themselves in hot water in Florida in 1997 over the issue of "port charges," since when ports were skipped (say, due to inclement weather), the "port charges" weren't reliably refunded. This resulted in an agreement between the cruise lines and the state requiring clear explanation of charges that make up the fare.

Apparently when Royal Caribbean was approached by Attorney General McCollum about whether, by adding retroactive charges now, they had run afoul of that 1997 agreement, the cruise line thought his argument was persuasive enough to cave in. So last week Royal Caribbean announced they're going to give back the retroactive charges, and clearly disclose the charges on new bookings.

Carnival, though, is resisting the idea of a rebate. Yesterday, Carnival Corp. dug in its heels on its quarterly conference call with financial analysts, falling back on its fine print which it said had mentioned for some time the possibility of future fuel surcharges. The attorney general disagrees that this constituted adequate disclosure, and it will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. We're thinking that kicking sand at their home-state attorney general will probably not serve them well in the long term.

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How to fall overboard from a cruise ship

Mainstream media has been agog the past few weeks about two bizarre man-overboard incidents, with some breathless coverage insinuating that taking a wrong turn on the way to dinner could land you in the drink. But in fact, getting over high cruise-ship railings takes work, frequently in combination with booze and imprudence.

The first of these oddball cases involved Michael Mankamyer, 35, who, following a an argument with his godson onboard Carnival Glory March 16, decided in an apparent fit of pique to disembark via a flying leap off a 60-foot-high ship’s balcony 30 miles from the coast of Florida.

Mankamyer turned up on Good Morning America last week and said he had been "ready to let loose and party," combined unspecified medicine and lots of alcohol, and didn't remember going overboard. Once in the water, he said he looked for dolphins to save him, but instead needed to wait eight hours, after drifting 20 miles, for the Coast Guard cutter Chandeleur. A Coast Guard helicopter dropped a rescue swimmer to assist Mankamyer into a basket for hoisting into the chopper. This guy should be playing the lottery with luck like that.

Wondering how the Coast Guard stumbled across this needle in a haystack 20 miles from the jump site? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that a new computer system called SAROPS helped the Coast Guard successfully predict where the winds and tides had taken Mankamyer to narrow their search.

Some wags have theorized that Mankamyer, not a skinny guy, was protected from hypothermia, and helped to float, by his girth.

The second incident unfolded last weekend when a 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman went over a Grand Princess balcony railing 150 miles off Galveston, Texas, in circumstances they've asked Princess not to publicize. The pair, who reportedly didn't know each other prior to the cruise, were fished out of the water naked over four hours later by the ship's rescue craft. After onboard medical treatment, the man continued on with his cruise, but the woman decided to cut her vacation short at the next port of call.

The happy endings of these cases are a testament to the sophisticated man-overboard procedures followed by cruise lines, and the search-and-rescue techniques implemented by the Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, what should somebody considering a cruise take away from all this ridiculousness? The answer is simple. Treat railings on a ship with the same care as a hotel balcony, and don't goof around near them. Maybe consider not overindulging in booze... or stay inside if you do. It takes work to fall overboard.

In the unlikely event you see somebody go overboard while on a cruise ship, notify a crew member or dial the emergency phone number noted on every phone so the bridge officers can mark the location, and toss some lifejackets or liferings overboard, since they dramatically increase an individual's visibility in the water.

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Travel light with Princess luggage valet

Any service reducing the hassle-factor of air travel is a welcome one, so we're happy to hear about Princess Cruises' new luggage valet service where you can ship your bags from your home to your stateroom aboard ship. No more schlepping your stuff through long airport and customs lines. And no risk of needing to pay the ever-increasing array of luggage charges being tacked on by airlines world-wide.

The service will only be available for European cruises at first, beginning aboard Grand Princess on May 14, Emerald Princess on May 17, Star Princess on May 22, and Royal Princess on June 1. The program will be expanded to other destinations later in the year. Shipping is provided by DHL.

"Luggage valet represents the ultimate luxury for travelers who hate lugging their own suitcases through airport congestion and customs," explained Jan Swartz, Princess senior vice president. "And it's a great option for passengers who're extending their pre- or post-voyage travels so they won't have to carry their cruise luggage with them on land."

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Regal Princess cruise cancelled after "touching bottom"

Princess Cruises is paying to fly 1,500 passengers home, and granting full refunds plus future cruise credit, after cancelling a 12-night Panama Canal cruise from Acapulco due to damage to one of the ship's ballast tanks. Sunday, sailing from the Mexican port of Huatulco, the damage was caused when the vessel "touched bottom," said Princess, which we guess is polite terminology for, "kind of ran aground, just a little."

It's not yet known whether the next sailing of Regal Princess, scheduled for March 1, will be affected as well.

Although less important in calm seas, ballast tanks are critical to the ship's stability in heavy weather. The bridge crew can rapidly pump huge quantities of water from one side of the ship to the other as needed to counterweight the force of wind or waves.

Not that this relates to the story at all, but even though it's one of the oldest vessels in the Princess fleet, Regal Princess is also one of the most beautiful. Her distinctively sleek and gorgeous lines were designed by Italian (of course) architect Renzo Piano.

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So how big an extension cord do you need for an entire cruise ship, anyway?

Everybody who's ever been on an interstate behind a tractor-trailer knows that diesel engines create visible, stinky pollution. And cruise ships, when docked, rely on diesel engines to generate power for the ship. So it's welcome news that both Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line will instead be plugging into shore-side electrical power in pollution-prone Los Angeles.

They'll shut off their diesel engines when docked, starting in 2008 when the required equipment is installed in LA. Ship upgrades are also required.

The technical term for the process is cold-ironing, but fancy terminology aside, it does simply amount to plugging the ship into a shore-side outlet with a massive electrical cord. This same technique has been used successfully in the port of Juneau, Alaska for several years by Princess.

If anyone out there has an actual photo of the connection, we'd love to see it!

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Princess dual-ship Christening in Santorini only a few months away

Only a few months remain until a ship Christening ceremony with two firsts. The May 12, 2007 event marks the first time that Princess Cruises has ever held a dual-ship Christening, and the first time a Christening has been conducted at the picturesque Greek Isle of Santorini.

The ships Emerald Princess and Royal Princess carry 3,100 and 710 passengers, respectively, illustrating the wide range of vessels owned by the line. Emerald Princess is a newbuild from the Fincantieri shipyard in Montfalcone, Italy, while Royal Princess was originally built in 2001 as the popular R8 from now-defunct Renaissance Cruises, and most recently was in the fleet of Swan Hellenic.

Both the Royal Princess and the Emerald Princess will cruise the Mediterranean for the 2007 season, and sail to ports in the Greek Isles, the Crimean Coast, Egypt and the Holy Land, and to selected ports on the Adriatic Sea. For more information, contact SureCruise.com.

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Princess pays $750,000 for likely collision with whale

Princess Cruises has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle federal charges that Dawn Princess killed a whale near Glacier Bay in 2001 -- without admitting that the ship actually hit the animal.

Princess' statement explained, "A few days after this encounter, a dead humpback whale was discovered in the Glacier Bay area. Although we are not certain that the Dawn Princess hit the whale, based on the circumstances, we have agreed to pay."

Since the event, Princess has implemented speed regulations for its ships in the area and also began "whale avoidance training" for its captains.

The cruise line did plead guilty for failing to operate the ship at a slow, safe speed near the marine mammals on July 12, 2001. At the time, the federal regulation on speed was a new one.

Witness statements suggest that two whales were first spotted about 700 yards away, headed straight toward the vessel, which maintained its course. While one whale dove prior to reaching the ship, the other did not, and some passengers below deck were reported to have heard a loud thud. A humpback whale, killed by massive skull fractures according to a necropsy, was found four days later.

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Cruise ship Webcams and Bridgecams: cruise live from your desk!

The ongoing Internet-enabling of cruise ships now brings live cruising to your computer. Many ships offer near-real-time Webcams and Bridgecams with views from their ships' bridges and elsewhere onboard.

Admittedly, port areas aren't always the most scenic part of cruising, but every once in a while you'll get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, or the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, or picturesque Villefranche on the French Rivera. It's a fun diversion for any cruise lover.

Among cruise lines offering Webcams are:

• Princess Webcams
• Crystal Webcams
• CostaWebcams
• Carnival Webcams (Liberty and Valor only)
• Norwegian Webcams (select ship of interest, then Webcam option)
• Cunard for the QE2 Webcams and QM2 Webcams
  
• Royal Caribbean only on Voyager of the Seas Webcams
• Celebrity Webcams
  

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Princess purser pleads guilty to stealing $400K from the ship's safe

In a follow-up to our earlier cruise blog entry, former Sapphire Princess Chief Purser Elisha Cuffe has pled guilty to theft in Ketchikan (Alaska) District Court and been sentenced to four months in jail.

The 32-year-old Australian was arrested in August after being found with over $400,000 money from the ship's vault in her cabin, in a cardboard box at the end of her bed. Cuffe, whose Australian passport had expired, will be deported back to Australia following her stay in Ketchikan jail. She could have faced up to five years in prison.

Princess Cruises is one of the leaders in Alaska cruising. The 2760-passenger Sapphire Princess is one of nine Princess ships that sail Alaskan waters each year from May to September.

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Unnecessary security evacuation on Star Princess in Canada

Those sailing on the 2500-passenger Star Princess were forced to evacuate the cruise ship on October 4 while the crew and security officials searched the ship. The evacuation, which took place in the port of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, was called for after three suspicious packages and an unidentified man were seen aboard the vessel. But, nothing harmful was found on board and the ship departed after a three-hour delay.

The officials in St. John's do have past events to make them suspicious, though. In 2005, six Chinese citizens were found hidden oboard Star Princess when it docked at St. John's. In that case, the ringleader, Lin Zhou Zhang was sentenced to a year in jail for smuggling himself and the others into Canada with fake passports.

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Loser cruise on Princess: "The Biggest Loser," that is

When "The Biggest Loser" was first announced for TV, we feared it would be an ugly reality program using overweight people as punchlines. But to the contrary, it's a positive show, encouraging participants and viewers to embrace healthy lifestyles and celebrate their successes. So we were delighted to hear an episode aboard a Princess cruise will air on October 4, 2006.

Today's cruise ships offer the full gamut of eating choices, from not-so-healthy comfort foods to tasty-and-wholesome spa cuisine. So in this new season three episode, the series' contestants sail aboard Sapphire Princess to test their ability to make healthy eating choices away from their homebase ranch.

As part of the show, contestants work out in the Lotus Spa gym, use the ship's pools and running track, and dine in the various Sapphire Princess restaurants. They even face off against the midnight buffet.

We'll all have to watch the show to see how they fared, but my guess is they did just fine.

Princess Cruises operates a fleet of 15 vessels, which sail to the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, and throughout the world. The 2670-passenger Sapphire Princess sails to Alaska, Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific. The "Biggest Loser" segment was filmed during the spring of 2006 aboard a Pacific coastal cruise.

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Princess launches cruise eTickets

Some cruise lines have dipped a toe into the water of e-ticketing in the past, for example allowing last-minute buyers to have a version of their cruise tickets electronically delivered. But Princess Cruises just announced that they're the first to make a complete switch to e-ticketing, and doing away with the thick, expensive-to-mail, easy-to-lose document booklets so familiar to cruise passengers.

The whole concept of a "cruise ticket" seems antiquated, anyway. Especially with today's security requirements, the cruise lines know exactly who's supposed to be on board, they check your ID when you arrive at the pier, so who needs tickets? Many people may have already forgotten the concept of a "real" travel ticket, like an old-style printed airline ticket, where the actual paper document had value: it could be traded for refunds, and, if lost, you were out the purchase price. Those are 99% long-gone.

Princess "eTickets" will give cruise passengers round-the-clock access to their cruise details as well as the capability to print their own boarding passes. Princess claims that their new program will provide the earliest cruise documents in the industry, with documents available up to 75 days prior to sailing.

The "eTicket" program will begin fleetwide for most sailing departing on or after November 17, 2006. Initially, the program will apply to North American passengers only. Travelers without Internet access can receive their documents from their travel agent, who presumably will just go online and print them.

Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, operates 17 ships, which cruise the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Europe, and around the world.

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Cruise line cash targeted by two allegedly light-fingered employees

From the "what were they thinking" file, two cruise line employees stand accused of brazen thefts at Royal Caribbean and Princess.

In the first case, Maggie Moya, a fifteen-year veteran of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises was arrested on charges of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars she collected from her family, friends, and acquaintances for cruises she obtained from the cruise line for free. Moya admitted to selling the cruises for profit over the past two years, but witness statements indicate that she has been committing the fraud for over ten years.

The other case involves the former chief purser of the Sapphire Princess, Elisha Cuffe, who is accused of taking over $500,000 from the ship's safe, while it was cruising in Alaska, and hiding it in a cardboard box in her cabin. Ms. Cuffe, an Australian citizen and ten-year veteran with Princess Cruises, was arrested when the ship made port in Ketchikan. She was unable to raise the $39,000 bail and remains in jail. She says she had no intention of removing the money from the ship.

In the years we've been involved with the cruise industry, stories like these have been few and far between, so two in the same week were quite a surprise. Both cruise lines have issued official statements stating that they do not tolerate any form of criminal activity in their workforce or operations.

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Star Princess fire update

Initial speculation on the cause of the March 23 fire oboard Star Princess centered around a cigarette discarded onto a balcony. Princess has confirmed half of that theory, announcing that the fire indeed started on a passenger balcony. But a "definitive cause" awaits further investigation.

The consensus in the cruise industry has been surprise that a major fire could ignite on the outside of a ship, and spread there. Our observation is that it stands to reason that saltwater-resistant marine paint, of which most ships have many coats, could burn. Princess announced that going forward it will maintain a 24-hour fire watch of balconies, among other procedural changes meant to minimize risks, but did not forbid smoking on balconies.

In the wake of this fire, Oceania Cruises tightened their already-strict onboard smoking policies, not only forbidding smoking in staterooms and on balconies, but also promising that under "zero tolerance" passengers who flout the rule will be put ashore at the next port.

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Brooklyn's new cruise ship terminal inaugurated by Queen Mary 2

You couldn't ask for a showier guest at your housewarming party. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 arrived regally yesterday morning as the first visitor to Brooklyn's new Red Hook passenger cruise terminal, ending a 38-day South America cruise.

Brooklyn will be the Queen Mary 2's permanent home during her summer-long trans-Atlantic cruise season, in addition to ships from Cunard sister company Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Cunard and Norwegian contracted with the city in 2004 to build out the Red Hook terminal space, and conduct the channel dredging and widening necessary to accommodate today's breed of mega-liner. The new terminal was sorely needed to relieve the crush of new cruise traffic that has descended on the threadbare and aging west side passenger cruise terminal over the past few years.

We'll be visiting the new terminal in late April and will report back with more details then!

New York Daily News: Boro of kings greets a queen

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Star Princess fire: one dead, eleven injured

Fire broke out aboard Star Princess at about 3 a.m. local time as the ship sailed between Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, Jamaica. According to Princess, one passenger died from cardiac arrest, two suffered serious smoke inhalation, and nine had minor smoke inhalation symptoms.

The fire is out, its cause remains unknown for now, and the ship is docked safely in Jamaica where a full damage assessment is being done. The fire started in a passenger stateroom, which points to smoking as a likely suspect, and the blaze spread to adjoining cabins before the ship's crew brought it under control.

Passengers had been awakened by the ship's public address system and called to muster stations as a precaution during the emergency.

The ship had onboard 2,690 passengers and 1,123 crew members. It remains unclear at this moment whether the ship can sail or not without repair, whether all passengers onboard have been accounted for, and one unconfirmed report suggests a plan is underway to accommodate passengers in local hotels.

Immediate family members of passengers can call a special hotline set up by Princess at 800-693-7222.

UPDATE 3/23/06 1:45 PM: This was a major fire. Having seen photos of the ship at MSNBC.COM it is clear that about 100 staterooms were seriously damaged, and the ship will need time out of service to be repaired.

UPDATE 3/23/06 5:45 PM: One of our Blackberry-toting passengers onboard Star Princess reports that the crew is doing a great job taking care of everybody. Meanwhile, Princess has announced that the current cruise is being terminated, with the passengers being flown home over the next couple of days at Princess' expense. Most people will remain onboard the ship, while those in the damaged staterooms will be accommodated in hotels. The passengers will receive full refunds plus discount toward a future cruise. Star Princess' next cruise, March 26, is cancelled, with the status of cruises beyond that time to be announced later.

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Goldie Hawn declines to re-christen Sea Princess

We don't know what's odder: that Princess Cruises decided to re-christen the Sea Princess when they swapped the ship back into their fleet this weekend in Southampton England, or that the christener, Goldie Hawn, declined to perform her appointed task.

The Sea Princess was built and introduced to the Princess Cruises fleet in 1998, to be swapped out to sister company P&O Cruises in 2003 to serve the Australia market and renamed Adonia, to be swapped back now and re-renamed Sea Princess.

The re-renaming ceremony over the weekend hit a snag when Goldie Hawn, flown in especially to release the traditional bottle of champagne to break over the bow, claimed she felt unwell and couldn't fulfill her commitment. Princess substituted British actress Joanna Lumley.

Screen stars were featured at the re-inaugural ceremony to emphasize the addition of the popular Movies Under the Stars outdoor movie screen high atop the ship. The Sea Princess will be cruising Europe and the Caribbean. Sea Princess is substantially identical to sister ships Dawn Princess and Sun Princess (and Ocean Princess which is currently sailing in the P&O fleet as Oceana).

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Carnival swipes outdoor movie screen concept from Princess

We were amused that Carnival Cruise Line's announcement last week of the addition of a huge outdoor movie screen on its newest ship omitted mention of having stolen the concept from Princess Cruises. Especially since Princess was bought by Carnival in 2003! Ah well, perhaps Princess consoles itself about the theft of one of its brand differentiators by its corporate parent with the thought imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

This week's announcement disclosed that Carnival Liberty, whose inaugural cruises launch Carnival's Mediterranean program this summer, will feature a 270-square-foot outdoor LED movie screen poolside on the Lido deck. Sounds exactly like the screen, pictured here, already onboard Caribbean Princess (which started the trend), Grand Princess, and Sea Princess. As does Princess, Carnival plans to use the screen for movies, sporting and special events, and concerts.

Having sailed on one of Caribbean Princess' inaugural cruises, we can report that the screens and their sound systems do a spectacular job. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean (appropriately) in the brightest mid-day sun. It looked crystal clear and the sound quality rocked. It's a lot of fun!

Caribbean Princess Inaugural Photo Gallery

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