Deja Vu — Covid Outbreaks on Cruise Ships Docking in Australia, Mask & Vaccination Mandates Return

In the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s like deja vu all over again.” Masks and vaccination mandates are returning to the cruise industry, at least for many cruise ships calling in Australia.  In March of 2020 at the beginning of … Continue reading

CDC : Avoid Cruise Ship Travel Due to COVID-19 Omicron Variant

Late last week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised its COVID-19 travel health notice level for cruise ships to its highest warning level and said people should avoid traveling on cruise ships regardless of their vaccination status, … Continue reading

Under Pressure, Italy Bans Large Cruise Ships from Venice Lagoon

The Italian government is banning large cruise ships from calling on the Venice lagoon after declaring the lagoon a national monument. Italy had come under pressure from Unesco, the UN’s heritage agency, that threatened to put Venice on its endangered … Continue reading

More Than 100,000 Crew Still Trapped Aboard Cruise Ships

The Miami Herald recently helped to quantify the scale of the crew repatriation crisis aboard cruise ships around the world. They report that “two months after the cruise industry shut down amid repeated COVID-19 outbreaks on ships, more than 100,000 … Continue reading

CDC Modifies & Extends “No Sail Order” for All Cruise Ships

Last Thursday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) extended its “No Sail Order” for cruise ships calling on the United States. The CDC announced that “this Order shall continue in operation until the earliest of three situations. First, the expiration … Continue reading

Cruise Ship Contagions — From COVID-19 to Norovirus

Are cruise ships giant incubators for spreading viruses and other microorganisms?  While the coronavirus has dominated the news recently, two cruise ships were turned away from ports after passengers and crew were stricken by the common norovirus. We have been … Continue reading

How Dirty are Cruise Ships? Scrubbing Sulfur and Particulates

How dirty are cruise ships? How much pollution do they really create? It is hard to tell. Several years ago we posted about a claim by the Friends of the Earth which asserted that cruise ships “flushed more than a … Continue reading

Cruise Ships vs Gondolas — the Continuing Battle of Venice Lagoon

Over the weekend, protesters, in a flotilla of small boats, including Venetian gondolas, attempted to block the passage of cruise ships, including one owned by Thomson, through the Venice lagoon.  The battle between local residents and environmentalists and the cruise industry … Continue reading

Cruise Ships Silver Cloud and Norwegian Getaway at the Rio Olympics

The accommodations in the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, where most of the Summer Olympics athletes are staying during the games, have received mixed reviews. Australian athletes refused to move into the buildings because of significant plumbing and electrical … Continue reading

Cruise Ships & Sewage — FOE Misses the Point

Here is yet another case of the media taking a wildly inaccurate sets of claims about ships at face value.  The news media has been touting a new study by the environmental group Friends of the Earth. The title of the … Continue reading

Cruise Industry Changes – Boston Sets Record, Philly Pulling Out, and Cruises Returning to Cuba

The cruise industry continues to change.  While Boston reported a record number of cruise passengers traveling through its cruise terminal in 2010, the city of Philadelphia is planning on turning its cruise terminal into an an Urban Outfitters retail store, having only two cruise ships scheduled to call … Continue reading