Digging deep into Carnival Corporation pockets to address the safety concerns of cruise travelers worldwide, Carnival Cruise Lines is looking to put the past behind them. Today announcing a multi-million comprehensive safety program, the cruise line that just can’t seem to get ahead of the game is taking a different approach: changing it.
“This review is very comprehensive; it will take us a little bit of time to complete it,” said Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill. “But you can rest assured that it is our highest priority throughout the entire organization.”
Today, the fruits of those efforts were revealed, with Cahill noting, “by applying lessons learned through our fleet-wide operational review after the Carnival Triumph fire and by taking advantage of new technologies, we have identified areas for enhancement across our operations.”Called the Operating Reliability and Guest Comfort program, the focus is deep, promising to tackle three major areas of concerns to travelers:
Enhance emergency power capabilities- Each ship will have a new, emergency generator that will provide 100 percent of stateroom and public toilets, fresh water and elevators in the event of a loss of main power.
Improve the level of operating redundancies– All ships already have two separate, redundant engine rooms. But new modifications will include a reconfiguration of certain engine-related electrical components.
Introduce new fire safety technology– Fleet-wide, Carnival will invest in the newest and most technically advanced fire prevention, detection and suppression systems, upgrading the existing water mist systems.
On the guest comfort front, Carnival will expand the availability of hotel services for the comfort of its guests if a shipboard event involves the loss of main power.
Looking beyond Carnival Cruise Lines, the program will be applied to all 101 ships in the Carnival Corporation Fleet, which also includes Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard Line and Seabourn.
“The overall program of enhancements across the fleet, including Carnival Cruise Lines’ ships, is expected to cost between $600 and $700 million,” said Carnival Corporation spokesperson Lanie Morgenstern in an email.
Included in the announcement was a new video featuring Cahill and Carnival Corporation chairman, Mickey Arison. Accused by the Boston Globe of paying more attention to his Miami Heat than the heat passengers on the Carnival Triumph endured without air-conditioning, Arison goes on the record, describing where safety fits into Carnival’s plans.
Traveling to seven continents in seven days is grueling enough. Throw in a daily match against a former professional squash player and that makes for some pretty exhausting travel.
Two former pro squash players, Peter Nicol and Tim Garner, are in the midst of a week-long, 40,000-mile world tour in an effort to get squash into the 2020 summer Olympics. Their whirlwind competition ends in New York City this Saturday after successive matches in cities on each of the other continents: London, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Santiago and the Falkland Islands.
Wait… the Falkland Islands? That’s not quite Antarctica Geographically; it’s South America. And politically, well, it’s still in Europe. Perhaps they are going by the ecozone or floristic kingdom definition of Antarctica? Perhaps.
This type of trip flies in the face of all the principles espoused by slow travel, but it’s an impressive feat all the same. It still kind of blows my mind that we can access every edge of the planet in but a week (at least nominally or floristic kingdom-ly).
For those wondering, they’re currently tied at two games a piece. The ultimate winner is likely to be the one who doesn’t collapse from jet lag in New York.
Besides being able to snag early bird specials and senior discounts at museums, there isn’t exactly a laundry list of tangible perks when it comes to aging. But one benefit – the ability to purchase a lifetime access pass to all U.S. national parks for just $10 – might soon go away.
CNN is reporting Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, questioned whether or not aging Americans could afford upping the economical, one-time fee during a House Oversight hearing on forced cuts at parks, museums and archives. According to the news outlet, the National Park Service is currently facing a $153 million budget gap, and simply doubling the price of a senior pass could potentially gain the agency $10 million per year. It’s only a fraction of the amount of money needed, but it’s a start.
Currently, adults under the age of 62 can purchase a multiple-park pass for $80, but it only lasts a year. At $10 for life, the senior pass gets older people into all 391 national parks, monuments, battlefields, military or historical parks, seashores, recreation areas, rivers and trails. So what do you think? Will hiking up the fee really cause dissension amongst retirees, or could it be a simple, affordable way to get more money flowing into national parks? Weigh in below.
In the hospitality industry, it’s becoming increasingly common for hotels to remain open while they’re undergoing renovations, or to open their doors to guests while they’re still under construction. Known as a “soft opening,” it’s a way for hotels to recoup costs and train staff while they finish up the building. Usually, a soft opening means the hotel bar is still being completed or the pool is out of order, but occasionally you come across a hotel that has taken the concept to a whole new level.
Reddit user zxphoenix was shocked at what he found when he turned up at the Red Roof Inn in Brentwood, Tenn., this week. The first sign of trouble was the construction scaffolding, which enveloped the building on all sides. Despite the dubious appearance, a “now open” sign can be seen hanging from the metal framework. Handwritten cardboard posters direct guests from the boarded-up lobby to the “front desk,” which is little more than a table wedged in a doorway. The hotel guest said of the three floors in the hotel, only one side of the first floor could be considered “livable.” That’s something of a relative term given that his room door wouldn’t fully close, bits of construction debris blew out of the air conditioning unit, and the plumbing sounded like “a pig is being butchered in the pipes.”
Take a look at the pictures below and you’ll see the exposed floors, the walls ripped down to the studs, the plastic sheeting covering windows and plenty more that would have any rational traveler running the other way.
Have you ever seen such a crazy “soft opening” before?
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Update: The folks from Red Roof Inn reached out for comment:
This hotel location is no longer a Red Roof Inn, hence the construction and changes,and has been closed from our brand as of 3/15/13, we appreciate the authors relaying of the story she picked up from a reddit user but in this case the location is not ours and in the story is not correctly identifying the location.
If you’ve never been to Chicago, or you’ve only visited during the winter, which tends to last roughly from early fall through late spring, you have to see the place in the summer. As soon as the weather gets warm, the city’s residents flock to the lakefront and the place buzzes with live music, street festivals and places to dine al fresco.
The typical tourist itinerary includes stops at the Art Institute, Navy Pier, a boat ride on the lake or the river, Wrigley Field, the Magnificent Mile, and the Willis (Sears) Tower, among other places. If you’ve already been to these places, or you’d rather dig deeper and go further off the beaten track, here are ten more under the radar things to do in America’s Second City.
10. Jam Sessions at the Old Town School of Folk Music
Chicago is loaded with great places to hear live music but I have a soft spot for the city’s free jam sessions and this place is one of my favorites. They have two locations – one in Lincoln Park and one in Lincoln Square – that host live shows and classes. The Lincoln Square location has jams on Wednesdays from 12 – 2 p.m. and Thursdays from 7 – 10:30 p.m. and the Lincoln Park location hosts jams on Saturdays from 12 – 1 p.m. You never know who’s going to show up but it’s a great place to listen to live music and to meet locals. (Or if Bluegrass is your thing, head to the Montrose Saloon on the second Wednesday of each month for their open jam.)
Chicago has plenty of atmospheric old churches but I’m partial to this baroque beauty in the city’s hip Bucktown neighborhood. The church was built around the turn of the 20th Century by Polish immigrants and it has some incredibly beautiful stained glass. And if you love to visit historic churches, get on 90/94 West a couple miles north to check out the Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, another turn of the century beauty which still hosts masses in Polish on Sunday mornings.
I dig this museum, located in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood, because the works of art tend to be colorful and accessible rather than abstract. It’s free and they have a terrific gift shop that is filled with great gifts that are handmade in Mexico, including loads of Day of the Dead themed items.
My wife refuses to step foot in this fire hazard of a bookshop but I’m addicted to the place. John Chandler, who has been selling used books “rare, medium and well done” at this Lakeview shop since 1984, is a character. It’s worth a trip to this place just to listen to him shoot the breeze with some of his regulars who stop in to buy and sell books on Saturdays. There are books everywhere, so watch where you step. I’ve had books come crashing down on my head here and if you pull something out of a big stack, the whole pile might come crashing down on you like an avalanche. But I always leave with something unexpected and the prices are unbeatable. Just don’t ask John if he has a specific book because trust me, he’s not sure.
6. Traditional Irish Music Sessions
I spent a summer in Galway in college and have been hooked on traditional Irish music ever since. Chicago is a great place to take in a free Sunday “session” where you’ll hear some great music and meet plenty of colorful Guinness quaffing locals as well as visitors and expats from Ireland and Scotland. My favorite Sunday sessions are at Tommy Nevin’s Pub in Evanston, a great little town just north of the city (3-6 p.m.), the Abbey Pub (4 p.m.), the Grafton (5-8 p.m.) and the Galway Arms (8 p.m.) (If you prefer classical music, try the free weekend concerts at the Julius Meinl Cafe on Southport.)
5. Neighborhood Beaches
On a sunny day, you can’t go wrong with any of Chicago’s beaches, but the Ohio Street and North Avenue beaches can be ridiculously crowded on warm summer weekends, so head further north along the bike path to carve out a little more space in the sand. If you’re a dog owner or a dog lover, you’ve got to check out the Montrose Dog Beach; if you’re looking for a gay beach, Kathy Osterman Beach is a good call; and if you want a beach with plenty of sports and recreation opportunities, check out Foster Avenue Beach. If you just want to photograph the city skyline, go south of the city to Promontory Point in Hyde Park. I like to cap off a summer day at the beach with dinner or drinks on the rooftop deck at Pegasus in Greektown, which has great food and views of the skyline.
Inside Chicago’s Federal Reserve Bank you’ll find this interesting little museum, where you can see and have your picture taken with old and rare coins and bills, including $5,000 and $10,000 bills. They have a free 45 minute guided tour at 1 p.m., Monday-Friday and on your way out you can pick up a bag of “Fed Shreds,” which is $300 worth of shredded, uncirculated money. (Good luck trying to piece your bag of money back together again.)
3. A Taste of Arabia in Albany Park
Take the Brown Line train up to Kedzie to get a flavor of this fascinating neighborhood, which has some of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in the city. I love walking on Kedzie between Montrose and Lawrence to check out the Arab shops, bakeries and restaurants. My favorite places to eat on this strip are Al Khyam (Lebanese),Noon O Kabab (Persian), and Salam (hole-in-the-wall pan Arab). For after dinner sweets try Jaafer Sweets.
A visit to Chicago’s old Nickerson Mansion will transport you back to the Gilded Age. I took a tour of the place with my family in March and was floored by the ornate stained glass, the Moorish inspired décor and all of the amazing period furniture. There is no better place to get a feel for how the city’s elite lived at the turn of the 20th Century.
1. Devon Avenue
You don’t have to leave the Midwest to travel to the Indian subcontinent. Just make your way to Devon Avenue near Western and you’ll be in a place where saris, turbans, and shalwar kameezes are the order of the day. This is often referred to as an Indian neighborhood but it’s both Indian and Pakistani. You’ll find Gandhi Electronics right across the street from an Islamic Finance Bank and both communities- Hindu and Muslim- seem to coexist nicely here.
Most visitors come here to eat. My favorite restaurants are Annapurna – a hole-in-the-wall spot which has a $3.49 lunch special – Hema’s Kitchen, which has a killer vindaloo, and Urban India, which has the best garlic naan in the city. While in this hood, I also like to walk down to the Georgian Bakery, which has great bread and Georgian specialties like khachapuri (a cheese pastry) and khin-kali (meat dumplings).
I also like to pop into the sari shops, the Indian video stores, the House of 220 Volt Appliances, which has suitcases big enough to store baby elephants, and the food shops, were you’ll find some treats that might make Andrew Zimmern blush. On Michigan Avenue, you’ll be tripping over other tourists, but on Devon Avenue, you’ll be tripping over 50 pound sacks of basmati rice and flowing saris. The choice is yours.
