Warnings continue to disrupt travel, cancel plans of many

by Chris Owen on

The State Department today advised Americans not to travel to Yemen and said those in the country should consider leaving today as warnings continue to disrupt travel world-wide.

“The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest. Piracy in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean is also a security threat to maritime activities in the region.” the Department of State said in today’s travel warning.

A Sunday incident where suspected al-Qaida ambushed and killed four Yemeni soldiers distributing food to other troops in a remote, mountainous region of Yemen is blamed for the warning.

Travel organizations are modifying vacation plans of clients booked everywhere from Bahrain to Mexico. Yesterday, Costa Cruises dropped Bahrain from the itinerary of its two ships operating cruises from Dubai as European governments implemented travel advisories against Bahrain. Several cruise lines also have dropped Matzatlan Mexico from itineraries based in part on similar security warnings.

The U.S. Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Egypt as the U.S. Embassy in Cairo remains on ordered departure status, with only emergency personnel remaining. All family members and non-emergency personnel have evacuated. Last week they warned U.S. citizens of the risk of travel to Mali, and continued to recommend against travel to the north of the country due to the kidnapping threats against Westerners.

Last month Gadling reported a travel warning addressing the ongoing struggle in Libya, advising Americans to steer clear of the country, and especially of “gatherings” there. The Wall Street Journal reported at the time:

“‘U.S. citizens in Libya should minimize overall travel in-country, exercise extreme caution when traveling, and limit all travel after dark,’ the US said in a travel advisory. It said demonstrations, violence and looting were all possible over the next several days, and urged US citizens to stay away from any gatherings.

‘Even peaceful ones can quickly become unruly and a foreigner could become a target of harassment, or worse,’ according to the State Department advisory.”

Today, negotiations between senior British officials and senior opposition leaders continued in an effort to free eight British special forces troops detained in eastern Libya reports CNN. Keep up with all current travel warnings at the U.S. Department of State website.

Flickr photo by Al@ce

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Love Boat captain cruises to 80th birthday, at sea of course

by Chris Owen on

On one of television’s longest running shows he was Captain Merrill Stubing of The Love Boat, cruising through 10 seasons from 1977 to 1986. Gavin MacLeod celebrated his 80th birthday this week along with friends, family and crew members aboard Princess Cruises Golden Princess in Los Angeles.

While the show stopped production in 1986, MacLeod has been “at sea” as Princess Cruises spokesperson. This year marks his 25th anniversary with the line and fans still gather wherever he may be appearing. Still in syndication in 92 countries worldwide, The Love Boat has generated what one expert estimates at over $3 billion in sales for the cruise industry.But my how far things have come since kindly Captain Stubing and the gang rode the high seas on national television. The 20,636 ton Pacific Princess that sailed for Princess Cruises between 1975 and 2002 carried 646 passengers and was seen as seen as one of the latest and greatest of ships, setting the table for a feast of unprecedented growth in the cruise industry.

Today’s latest and greatest ships are easily ten times larger carrying close to ten times more passengers. You can bet that if Captain Merril Stubing was in command, he would know every one of their names too. Happy Birthday Gavin.

Richest man in the world opens art museum in Mexico City

by Justin Delaney on

Carlos Slim is the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of over fifty billion U.S. dollars. He recently unveiled his new Soumaya Art Museum in Mexico City. The anchor shaped structure houses Slim’s personal art collection and includes works by Diego Rivera, Auguste Rodin, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Salvador Dali.

According to the AP, the Soumaya is named after Slim’s late wife and designed by his son-in-law, architect Fernando Romero. The curvy structure’s exterior is covered with over 16,000 hexagon shaped aluminum panels that glimmer radically in the Mexican sun. The massive interior is 183,000 square feet, providing plenty of space to peruse Slim’s collection. The art housed within the Soumaya will be a rotation of the billionaire’s personal art collection, which includes over 66,000 (!) pieces. The Soumaya opens to the public on March 29.Carlos Slim is the son of a Lebanese merchant and accumulated his wealth in the telecom industry. He owns the leading Internet service and cell phone providers in Mexico as well as over 80% of Mexican land lines. His wealth is about 4% of Mexico’s gross domestic product. The opening of the Soumaya to the Mexican public underlies his philosophy that culture and art should be accessible to all:

“I believe that we have to find means for all desirable things to be universally accessible. Culture. Entertainment. Sport. Communication. Health. Food. Housing. The fundamental things.”

The avant-garde Soumaya is located in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. Tuesday night was a soft opening media event and included guests such as Larry King, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Nobel Laureate Garcia Marquez.

flickr image via vladimix

Cruise sailed from fog to “nightmare” say vocal passengers

by Chris Owen on

Always choosing safety first, cruise lines pay close attention to the weather and modify itineraries when conditions dictate. Such was the case this time last week at the Port of Galveston when ships were late departing due to heavy fog. Passengers were angry at the time and it seems that anger went along with them to sea.

Two Carnival Cruise Line ships were affected. Carnival Ecstasy was a day late both arriving and departing so the four day cruise itinerary was shortened to three. Guests on that sailing were given options that included cancellation and a full refund among others.

Carnival Conquest was also a day late leaving on it’s seven-night itinerary when the port was closed. That one proceeded on a modified itinerary. Since Montego Bay, Jamaica was too far, the cruise line substituted Progresso, Mexico as an alternative port.

While the situation was obviously out of the control of cruise lines, guests less than understanding.

A passenger on Carnival Ecstasy did not care for the options.

“Carnival has not treated us good. The refund is not acceptable. More needs to be done for everyone on that Ecstasy ship,” a passenger told Click2Houston.

On the Carnival Conquest, sailaway was even further delayed when a fuel barge hit the side of the ship, keeping the ship in port even longer. Ivory Stafford, one of the vocal passengers on Carnival Conquest, told KHOU.com of an announcement over the ship’s PA system

“He said we had a bump by a barge and they’re waiting for the Coast Guard to investigate it,” said Stafford.

Now, a group of passengers are demanding better service and are circulating a petition among fellow travelers on the ship. 300 have signed at last count.

“I would say it was a nightmare. We want the corporate office to either refund our money or take us to Jamaica,” said passenger Thuy Kau. “Progreso (Mexico) is not a consolation.”

 The ship’s itinerary which would have taken them to Montego Bay, Jamaica, instead took them to Progresso, Mexico making a total of three Mexico stops. Carnival issued a statement about the ship’s modified itinerary and the weather-related delays that affected it.

“Due to the delayed departure from Galveston, the ship operated a modified six-day itinerary that included its normal stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel with the scheduled visit to Montego Bay replaced by Progreso, Mexico. With the delayed departure, there would not have been enough time for the ship to travel to Jamaica and make it back to Galveston on its scheduled return date of Feb. 27.

Carnival sincerely apologizes for this disruption to our guests’ vacation plans. We hope guests understand that this weather-related itinerary change was beyond our control as the ship was not able to safely navigate the Port of Galveston channel due to severe fog”

On one hand, it’s always a shame when travel plans don’t go just as we anticipated on a cruise vacation. Guest are not paying for off-the-wall adventures of unknown origin. The nature of a cruise vacation is predictable for the most part.

On the other hand, like the all-inclusive nature of a cruise vacation which really does not include everything, cruise vacations are have a predictable nature. Nothing is set in stone where safety of the ship, passengers and crew are concerned.

Carnival made the right move by modifying the existing itinerary to include a total of three ports that they had the time to visit. Had they not substituted Progresso, the same people might very well have moaned that they got shorted a port.

They did have options. They could have taken advantage of Carnival’s unique Vacation Guarantee which states

“If you are not completely satisfied with your cruise vacation experience, all you need to do is notify us before arrival at the first port of call and you must debark at your ship’s first non-U.S. port of call. Carnival will refund the unused portion of your cruise fare and pay your flight back.“

It sounds like some of the passengers would have been prime candidates for that plan.

Flickr photo by dkastner

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More cruise lines cancel calls to Mazatlan after shooting

by Chris Owen on

Carnival Splendor is back after months of repairs after the disabling fire of last November. There will be no call in Mazatlan though as Carnival Cruise Lines, along with Norwegian Cruise Lines canceled calls to Mazatlan last week. The shooting of two men in the parking lot of a hotel is to blame.

The two men shot were not tourists or cruise ship passengers but the hotel is one frequented by tourists on a regular basis and that was good enough reason to divert ships.

Carnival Splendor spent an extra day in Cabo San Lucas on it’s seven-day Mexican Riviera itinerary that returns today. Carnival will decide on future calls after a full assessment of the situation.

Norwegian Cruise Lines decision was much more final, canceling all future calls for the rest of the season.

Right at a month ago, Mazatlan and Mexico government officials were doing all they could to get more cruise lines back after a series of violent acts forced them to cancel calls.

“We highly value our long-standing relationships within the cruise industry, and are dedicated to ensuring that Mazatlan remains among the top cruise destinations on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Mazatlan has hosted nearly 1.5 million cruise passengers since 2008 and is widely regarded as one of the safest destinations in Mexico.” said Julio Birrueta, spokesperson for the Mazatlan Tourism Trust at the time.

On future calls to the area, Carnival said “Until we are able to obtain all of the facts and fully assess the situation, no decision has been made regarding future calls” in a statement.

Flickr photo by ccharmon

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