Monthly Archives: January 2012

Divers have finally abandoned their search for remaining bodies in the flooded section of cruise ship Costa Concordia, which capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13. The Civil Protection agency said it was too dangerous to continue. Relatives and diplomatic officials representing the countries of the 15 passengers and crew still listed as missing have been informed of the decision. The agency says emergency crews continue to inspect the part of the ship that still above the water line and will use specialist equipment to check whether there are any bodies on the sea bed. Meanwhile, Costa Corporation, [...]

Residents on the island of Giglio, where cruise chip Costa Concordia ran aground more than two weeks ago, are growing concerned that the wreckage may not be removed until the end of the year. The start of work to remove more than 2,000 tons of fuel from the vessel was delayed by rough weather this weekend. Only when most of the tanks have been emptied of diesel and heavy fuel oil can salvage experts take the next step - either to refloat the ship and tow it away, or to start cutting it up where it lies. The population of [...]

Striking shipyard workers in Genoa have forced Oceania Cruises to delay the maiden voyage of their newest ship, the 1,250-passenger Riviera. The debut, scheduled for April 24, has been pushed back to May 14. Plans for the elaborate naming ceremony, originally scheduled to take place in Monte Carlo, are still unclear. Two cruises have been cancelled; a 12-night sailing from Athens to Istanbul, and a 10-nighter from Istanbul to Venice. The new maiden voyage is a 10-night Pearls of the Adriatic cruise beginning in Venice and visiting Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Monemvasia, Crete, Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos and Athens. "We sincerely regret [...]

Jim Walker is an American attorney specialising in representing passengers and crew members in legal actions against cruise lines. It's his job to think the worst of those cruise lines. We don't agree on much, and his opinions have been known to leave me almost speechless with rage. However, I have a begrudging admiration for his Cruise Law News blog which is well-written and informative, though in my view frequently biased and prejudiced. A few weeks ago, in a completely impartial moment, he included me in a list of his Top 12 cruise blogs for 2012. He surprised me a [...]