The 3,006-passenger ship will sail on eight-day Caribbean cruises with three uniquely different itineraries that showcase the brilliant diversity of destinations throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida. The eight-day itineraries include Bahamas/Florida cruises with port calls to Port Canaveral (Orlando), Fla., Nassau and Freeport, The Bahamas; Eastern Caribbean departures with visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. and Grand Turk; and Exotic Eastern Caribbean cruises to the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau.  There will also be a special seven-day Bermuda cruise departing April 16, 2013.

An 18-day “Brazilian & Caribbean Splendor” voyage sailing from Buenos Aires to New York March 5-23, 2013, visits Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife, and Fortaleza, Brazil; Bridgetown, Barbados; and Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands.

For additional information visit Carnival’s website.

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New Alaska reservations made through February 19, 2012, will receive a mini-suite for the price of a balcony; balcony staterooms for the price of an oceanview, and oceanview staterooms for the price of inside staterooms. Cruise deposits during this time for Alaska sailings are reduced by 50 percent. In addition, the line is offering same category upgrades and e-coupons worth up to $400 in on-board savings (for sailings taking place before December 31, 2012).

Norwegian Jewel’s weekly Sawyer Glacier cruises will depart on Saturdays from May 26, 2012 to September 8, 2012 with ports of call including: Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, Alaska; and Victoria, British Columbia. Norwegian Jewel will also sail a seven-day Sawyer Glacier cruise from Vancouver to Seattle on May 19, 2012 and a seven-day Sawyer Glacier from Seattle to Vancouver on September 15, 2012.

Aboard Norwegian Jewel, one of the most popular family activities is Nickelodeon programming. Activities include breakfast with the characters, where kids – and adults – can eat, sing and play with SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Patrick, Diego and more; Dora’s Dance Party, where kids can join Dora and the Nickelodeon cast to dance and sing along; meet and greets with popular Nickelodeon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and many more. There are also other family activities offered, including Nick Jr. story time, family trivia and special arts and crafts sessions.

Also offered in Alaska in 2012 is a new youth program that includes enhanced curriculum and creative themes, such as circus day, theater/technology/sports and port of call day. The new youth program will be offered on Norwegian Jewel for the Alaska season and on Norwegian Pearl beginning June 18, 2012.

The 2,394-passenger Norwegian Pearl will return to Seattle sailing weekly seven-day Glacier Bay cruises departing on Sundays from May 13, 2012 to September 9, 2012 with ports of call including: Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, Alaska; and Victoria, British Columbia. Norwegian Pearl will also sail a seven-day Glacier Bay cruise from Vancouver to Seattle on May 6, 2012 and a Seattle to Vancouver cruise on September 16, 2012.

To take advantage of “Norwegian’s Take it to the Next Level” upgrade promotion in Alaska now through February 19, 2012, contact a travel professional. Additional information may be found at NCL’s website.

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I can’t imagine how awful it is to get violently sick on my vacation and wondered why cruise ships seem to be associated with Norovirus most often, at least in the media.

So I asked Brian Rosenthal, MD, MPH (Master of Public Health), who teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York.  He’s also an avid cruiser who has sailed the world aboard all types of cruise ships.

As a public health physician who has sailed aboard dozens of cruise ship,  Dr. Rosenthal’s advice is timely.

AC:  Who is responsible when passengers get sick aboard ship?

DR: There are times when an infectious agent has been isolated on a ship and the cruise line is responsible.  An example is Legionnaires Disease, which is rare.

And, there is always the potential for bacterial food contamination such as e-coli but due to the CDC’s stringent inspections, it hasn’t been reported in many years.  Cruise Lines have become very vigilant about waterborne and shipborne diseases so the reported incidences is rare.   People used to get sick on ships all the time but we just didn’t know what the organisms were.  Now that we know, the media has a heyday with it.

But in the instance of Norovirus, passengers bear the brunt of passing the disease along.

AC: Why Do Outbreaks of Norovirus Happen Aboard Ship So Often?

DR. I don’t think this is a new illness but that we’re hearing about it more often.  I’m sure the outbreaks aboard ship aren’t any higher than they are on land.   There just hasn’t been much coverage of the disease on land.

The thing about ships is that because you’re in a confined space the rate of exposure is statistically greater.  Contrast Disney World.  People aren’t staying in the same hotels or eating in the same restaurants as they are aboard a cruise ship.

AC:  How Can We Avoid Getting a shipborne illness?

DR: There are certain universal precautions that are even more important when you’re aboard a ship.  As important as washing your hands, you have to learn to KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH. This is a normal human condition.  If you sit at a restaurant and watch people eat for five minutes you’ll see what I mean.  Most viruses are not spread by hand to hand contact alone.  They are spread by hand  to hand to mouth (or eyes or nose).  If you had it just on your hands, you wouldn’t get sick.

Shaking hands with the Captain or anyone else won’t get you sick assuming you have no cuts on your hands.  Of course one must be careful about where one puts one’s hands.   If you’re able-bodied, don’t use the banisters or railings if you don’t need to.   This is true in any public space, not just ships …. Train stations, malls. 

If you have children it’s an entirely different matter.  All kids put their hands in their mouth — that’s what children do.  And when they play in groups beit a nursely school or a ship, it’s problemmatic.  If your child does become sick, take a lot of precautions that he or she is the only patient in the family.

And, it is as important that you wash BEFORE you eat as it is after you go to the bathroom which is why the hand sanitizers in food lines are a great idea.

AC: Does the Fear of a Shipborne Illness stop you from Cruising?

DR: Absolutely not!  Everytime out go outside your home is a rish.  You must weigh this against the benefits of having a wonderful time and sharing experiences with family and friends.

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Earlier this week industry giant Carnival Corporation (which owns Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Cunard Line, Ibero Cruises and P&O Cruises) reported a falloff in cruise bookings in both the U.S. and Europe.  Yesterday Royal Caribbean (parent company of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises) also says bookings have fallen to the “low to mid-teen percentages” as compared with a year ago.

Royal Caribbean Chairman/CEO said, “Overall, booking volumes from North America have fallen by low to mid-teen percentages versus same time last year for the last few weeks. In Europe, where media coverage has been more extensive, the decline has been higher, though results vary significantly by country. In aggregate, the company’s other markets, including Asia/Pacific and Latin America, are down slightly.”

Forbes Magazine says that Carnival Corp. CEO Micky Arison’s personal fortune has fallen by a half billion dollars after a year of  political and economic problems capped off by the Costa catastrophe.  According to Forbes, Arison owns roughly 29% of the shipping conglomerate, which includes 101 cruise ships.

While Concordia is the main contributor to the slowed bookings there are other contributing factors:  cruise lines and travel agents ceased advertising during “Wave Season” (when roughly 30% of all cruise reservations are made) and warm winter temperatures in the United States result in fewer people dashing off to warm weather vacations.

Another incident shows that the Costa Concordia accident has a major effect on the cruise industry.   According to USA Today’s Cruise Log, “Seattle-based cruise line Holland America kicked a passenger off a ship this week for “non-compliance” during a mandatory muster drill — an unusual incident that suggests a renewed focus on safety in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster.  The unnamed passenger was put off the line’s Westerdam on Sunday in Ft. Lauderdale (for non-compliance) just before the ship set sail for the Caribbean.”

Typically the cruise industry lures passengers by offering steep discounts and some of these have been rolled out.   And since the cruise industry weathered 9/11, a disastrous economy, political upheaval in Egypt and the middle East, sky-high airfares, Norwalk virus and inaccurate reports of missing passengers I’ll place my money on Arison getting his half billion back. The Love Boats and Fun Ships will continue to chart an international course.

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The sale includes a variety of cruises to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia & Russia and Northern Europe, plus Princess’ Alaska itineraries. Also included are the cruise line’s Europe and Alaska cruisetours, with savings on these land and sea cruise vacations that travel to the heart of the Alaska wilderness to see the majesty of Denali or that take in some of Europe’s most spectacular inland destinations, including classic Italy, ancient Petra or the Swiss Alps.

Examples of sale fares include:

• 12-day Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruises from $1,690
• 11-day Scandinavia and Russia cruises from $1,740
• 7-day Northern Europe cruises from $999
• 7-day Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers from $799
• 10-day Denali Explorer cruisetours from $1,273

All cruise prices are per person. The Sizzlin’ Summer Sale runs through February 28, 2012, and is available to residents of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Additional sale information and pricing is available at princess.com/summersale.page.

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*  The death toll is 17 people and another 15 are still missing.  Heavy seas hamper divers from locating bodies and salvage teams from siphoning oil to prevent a major environmental disaster.

*  Uninjured passengers who were aboard the ship the evening it capsized have been offered settlements of $14,400 as class action suits form on both sides of the Atlantic.  According to Bloomberg, it will take up to ten months for cleanup.

* Carnival Corporation (parent company of Costa Cruises, Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Seabourn, Cunard Line, P&O cruises and Aida cruises) said the accident has negatively impacted cruise sales.”  After the incident,” says Carnival “we significantly reduced our marketing activities. Excluding Costa, our fleetwide booking volumes, subsequent to the incident through January 25, 2012, declined in the mid-teens compared to the prior year, after bottoming out on January 16, 2012.

“Costa’s booking activity is difficult to interpret because of the significant re-booking activity stemming from the loss of the ship’s use and related re-deployments, however we believe it to be down significantly. Despite these recent trends, we believe the incident will not have a significant long-term impact on our business.”

Carnival says that “as a result of Costa Concordia’s incident, we anticipate other financial impacts to our business, including lower net revenue yields, that are not possible to reasonably determine at this time.”

Regarding the cost of the accident, Carnival said:  “We self-insure for loss of use of the ship, which we expect to impact the 2012 full year net income by approximately $85 million to $95 million. Furthermore, we anticipate approximately $30 million to $40 million of other incident related costs.”

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“This tragedy has called into question our company’s safety and emergency response procedures and practices,” said Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.

At least 11 people are known to have died in the disaster, and 21 are still missing, according to the Italian Crisis Unit.  Poor weather and movement of the vessel hamper retrieval of bodies.  And, salvage operators are trying to prevent a half million gallons of fuel from escaping the ship and causing a major environmental disaster.

There are several remaining mysteries.

** A major criticism of rescued passengers was that they were not told what to do and the crew was noticeably absent during the crisis.  While a few crew members helped evacuate people, most passengers report that they didn’t see crew or the crew didn’t know what to do.   Seven bodies were found at muster stations (where passengers meet to board lifeboats) in life jackets.  This is the procedure passengers are told to follow during lifeboat drills, although crew weren’t present to tell them how to proceed.

** Costa Cruises CEO said Concordia made a close pass of Giglio Island last August although not closer than 500 meters.  However several days ago the British shipping journal Lloyd’s List Intelligence said that its satellite tracking information indicated that Costa Concordia sailed within 230 meters in August, even closer than it did last Friday.

** Costa Concordia is on a fixed itinerary, sailing each week to ports in France, Spain and Italy and passengers embark and disembark in each port.  The ship’s lifeboat drill was scheduled the following morning and roughly 600 passengers who boarded that day in Rome didn’t know how to proceed in an emergency.  At present maritime law stipulates cruise ships must schedule lifeboat drills within 24 hours of leaving home port.  Should laws be changed so than drill must take place before the ship leaves the port of embarkation?

** When Costa Concordia listed and sank into the water, most lifeboats — which hang out from the side — couldn’t be launched..  Should cruise lines be required to build ships with lifeboats sitting on deck instead of hanging over the side on davits?

** Why did the crew tell passengers to return to their cabins or walk in the hall, that it was an electrical problem — after water began pouring into the vessel?

** There was a 45 minute wait between the accident, when passengers were told it was an electrical problem, and the order to abandon ship was given.    During that time the situation deteriorated rapidly.  Why weren’t passengers immediately told to return to their cabins, get life vests and proceed to muster stations?

** Perhaps the most important question:  Can cruise ships be evacuated in 30 minutes (from the time when the abandon ship signal is given) which stipulated by international maritime law.   Costa Concordia’s passengers were stuck on board for five hours and longer.  It was 14 hours before the last person stepped off the ship.

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* According to a transcript of a telephone conversation between an irate Italian Coast Guard officer and Costa Concordia who Captain Francesco Schettinohad left the ship, the captain was ordered to return to the ship by the Coast Guard, which was in charge of the situation once the vessel crashed. On a recording of the conversation the Coast Guard officer sounds not only angry but also incredulous. After all, the international maritime law stipulates that the master of a stricken vessel should be the last person to disembark. To listen to a recording of the phone conversation, visit CNN

Gregorio De Falco: “Hello. Hello.”

Francesco Schettino: “Good evening, captain.”

De Falco: “Hello, I’m de Falco, from Livorno. I am speaking with the commander?”

Schettino: “I’m Commander Schettino.”

De Falco: “Listen Schettino, there are people trapped aboard, you go with your lifeboat under the prow of the ship on the port side and you go aboard the ship using the rope ladder. You go aboard and you tell me how many people there are. Is it clear? I’m recording this conversation, Commander Schettino.”

Schettino: “So, I’ll tell you something…”

De Falco: “Speak louder.”

Schettino: “Now, I’m in front of…”

De Falco: “Commander, speak louder, take the microphone and speak loud. Is that clear?”

Schettino: “Commander, right now the ship is skewed.”

De Falco: “Understood. Listen there are people going down from the prow using the rope ladder; you take that rope ladder on the opposite side, you go aboard and you tell me the number of people and what they have on board. Is that clear? You tell me whether there are children, women or people needing assistance. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Schettino, maybe you saved yourself from the sea, but I’ll make you pay for sure. Go aboard.”

Schettino: “Commander, please?”

De Falco: “Please, now you go aboard.”

Schettino: “I am on the life boat, under the ship, I haven’t gone anywhere, I’m here.”

De Falco: “What are you doing, commander?”

Schettino: “I’m here to coordinate rescues.”

De Falco: “What are you coordinating there? Go on board and coordinate rescues from on board. Do you refuse?”

Schettino: “No, no I’m not refusing.”

De Falco: “You’re refusing to go aboard, commander, tell me why you’re not going.”

Schettino: “I’m not going because there is another lifeboat stopped there.”

De Falco: “Go aboard: it’s an order. You have no evaluation to make, you declared abandon ship, now I give orders: go aboard. Is it clear?”

Schettino: “Commander I’m going aboard.”

De Falco: “Call me from aboard, my rescuer is there at the prow of the ship. There are already dead bodies, Schettino.”

Schettino: “How many dead bodies?”

De Falco: “I do not know. One for sure. You have to tell me how many.”

Schettino: “Do you realise that it’s dark here and we can’t see a thing?”

De Falco: “And what, do you want to go home, Schettino? It’s dark, so you want to go home…? Go on the prow of the ship, using the rope ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what are their needs. Do it now.”

Schettino: “Here there is also the vice commander. I’m together with him.”

De Falco: “Then go aboard together. Together. What’s his name?”

Schettino: “Dimitri.”

De Falco: “Dimitri what? You and your vice go aboard. Now, is it clear?”

Schettino: “Commander, I want to go aboard, but here there is the other lifeboat, there are other rescuers who stopped. Now I called other rescuers.”

De Falco: “You’ve been telling me this for one hour. Go aboard. Go aboard. And you tell me right away how many people there are.”

Schettino: “Ok commander.”

De Falco: “Go, quickly.”

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*What is also curious is that local residents have told reporters that Costa has a history of bringing ships very close. According to the Washington Post, “Costa captains have occasionally steered the ship near port and sounded the siren in a special salute, Arienti said. Such a nautical “fly-by” was staged last August, prompting the town’s mayor to send a note of thanks to the commander for the treat it provided tourists who flock to the island, local news portal”

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It was astonishing to see photos of a five year old 115,000 -ton cruise ship lying on its side roughly 600 feet from shore, hearing the harrowing tales of passengers swimming to shore, the utter pandemonium and panic of abandoning a dark listing ship.   Not only is it the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic but some of the details are scarily similar: a 160-foot gash in the ship’s hull that looks like someone tried to open it with a can opener coupled with people jumping in the water, the crew unable to launch many of the ship’s lifeboats and utter panic.

I attended this ship’s splashy Italian christening in 2006, toured half-built ships in dozens of visits to European shipyard,  spent a great deal of time over the years interviewing ship builders and cruise line execs about cruise ship safety.  I’ve written that the only threat to a modern cruise ship is fire.

So, how could this happen to cruise ship in the 21st century?

(Update: Costa Cruises publicly blames Captain Schettino saying he made  “unapproved, unauthorized maneuver” to divert from its programmed course.)

The answer is that we won’t know for sure until Costa Concordia’s little black box reveals moment-by-moment sequence of events that resulted in the 4,000-passenger vessel crashing on rocks of Isola del Giglio on the Italian Riviera.  At present the ship’s master, Captain Francesco Schettino, has been arrested, charged with multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.   In an interview, the visibly distraught Captain said the “rocks not detected” on the navigational chart. Three people trapped inside the ship have been rescued as the search for 17 missing people continues.

Shipbuilding, even in this advanced age, remains an imperfect science and proves that even with the most advanced technology, things can and will go wrong. We also know that no amount of planning, drilling, detailed evacuation studies and preparation can predict how people will react during a disaster when facing their own mortality.

The Details

On January 13, Costa Concordia had set sail from Civitavecchia (port of Rome) on a seven day cruise at 4:00 p.m. with scheduled port calls in Savonna, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo. Seas were calm and the Italian officers certainly knew this itinerary well since Concordia sails on this fixed itinerary each week.   On board the vessels were 3200 passengers and a crew of 1000.  International maritime laws stipulate that a mandatory lifeboat drill must take place within 24 hours of departing the port of embarkation and, as is quite common in this industry, Concordia’s was scheduled the following morning.

Shortly before 10:00 p.m. there was a sudden “boom and crash” followed by loss of electricity as water began spilling into the ship.  Costa Concordia immediately started to list and passengers in the main dining room report that dishes and glasses crashed to the floor.  An announcement from the bridge told passengers not to panic, that everything was under control.

But passengers and crew did panic   There are reports of people being shoved down stairways as people raced to their staterooms to don life jackets.  After 45 minutes the order to abandon ship created more chaos since passengers didn’t know where to go.  In an interview one passenger said he was unable to board a lifeboat and swam to shore while a video taken on board a lifeboat illustrates how terrified its passengers were.   Because the ship was listing many lifeboats couldn’t be launched.

While it may be true that the only real threat to a cruise ship is fire, there are clearly two other factors which can turn a cruise into a disaster:  technical problems and human error.  An example of the first is Carnival Splendor, which lost power in 2010 off the coast of Mexico.   While the ship sat in the ocean for days there was nothing remotely frightening or dangerous about the experience.   As for human error, we’ve seen that since the first human went to sea.

Again, nobody knows what caused this terrible accident.  But several maritime experts interviewed about Costa Concordia expressed the a concern — ships carrying thousands of people have become too large to evacuate everyone safely.We must also remember that despite all of the reported panic and chaos, many, if not most of the ship’s crew did act valiantly and more than 4,000 people’s lives were saved.

While there has been an abundance of speculation, armchair quarterbacking and tabloid sensationalism, three things remain certain:

1)     This was most certainly a preventable disaster

2)     It will be some time before we know all the facts and circumstances surrounding it

3)     The cruise industry is already busy examining and re-examining every facet of its safety planning, procedures and protocols

For further information……….

BBC has the most comprehensive information and video interviews.

I was very dismayed to read that ships in Costa Cruises (headquartered in Rome) fleet have had a larger than normal number of mishaps.   See the report in the Daily Mirror (UK)

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