Cruise ship worker arrested for online porn charges not the first

by Chris Owen on

Celebrity Cruises audio-visual manager Amado Hernandez won’t be sailing on a scheduled Panama Canal cruise this week after being arrested by the FBI on child-pornography charges in San Diego Tuesday.

The investigation began when a computer technician was given what he thought was a broken computer at an estate sale last summer. The technician repaired the machine and discovered 450 still images and 250 video files of child pornography which he turned over to law enforcement authorities who then linked 31 year-old Hernandez to the machine.

According to the federal complaint reported by Signon San Diego, Hernandez had provided “onboard guest-entertainment services” on Celebrity Constellation since August and was due to ship out again on Monday before being arrested by the FBI. In evidence from documented online chats, Hernandez told of “buying young boys for sex in Mexico” and had “almost offed one once.”

In the online conversation evidence, Hernandez allegedly asked a man who said he was from Arkansas if he liked young boys, then suggested, “It would be hot to tag team one, go buy one in Mexico.”

Hernandez is not the first cruise ship worker arrested on child porn charges either. Maritime attorney Jim Walker reports crew members from Carnival and Costa Cruise Lines were also arrested recently saying “It’s not an isolated problem.”

Flickr photo by naxin

Carnival sailing to Times Square for New Years Eve

by Chris Owen on

Carnival Cruise Lines today threw its signature “Fun” hat in the ring as official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Years Eve 2011 celebration. The sponsorship includes multiple opportunities for the line to infuse its version of fun into the festivities including a free-cruise giveaway, sure to be popular with frigid party-goers.

“Carnival is thrilled to be part of New York City‘s New Year’s Eve celebration and add our brand of participatory fun to the festivities,” said Jim Berra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Lines. “We’ll also be sending warm thoughts of Caribbean climes and tropical breezes to the revelers braving the cold by giving away a Carnival cruise vacation to one lucky person.”

Before midnight, popular senior cruise director/blogger John Heald will lead a practice countdown releasing 500 pounds of Carnival signature red, white and blue confetti onto the crowd. At the stroke of midnight, a ton of the Carnival confetti will be hand-tossed by about 100 Carnival “confetti dispersal engineers” to fill the sky.

Carnival invites everyone to get in on the fun by visiting the Times Square Visitors Center where the line has a Carnival Confetti New Years Eve Wishing Wall. Visitors can share their hopes and dreams for 2011 on slips of red, white and blue paper that will be added to the confetti used on New Years Eve.

Photo: Carnival Cruise Line

Cruises from Baltimore sailing year-round

by Chris Owen on

Royal Caribbean, the cruise line that brought us the largest cruise ships in the world is sailing from Baltimore sailing year-round.

Offering a series of five and nine-night sailings, 2,252 passenger Enchantment of the Seas replaced 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas. Initial five-night sailings to Bermuda will featured an overnight stay at Kings Wharf. Nine-night sailings to the Eastern Caribbean will call in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Samana, Dominican Republic and Labadee, Haiti; the line’s private beach destination.

Sailing year-round from Baltimore since 2009, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Pride offers a seven-night itinerary to Florida and the Bahamas with stops at Port Canaveral, Florida then Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas with three days at sea.

That’s more good news for the Port of Baltimore who recently set a new cruise passenger record for the port for the second year in a row. The future looks bright too with an anticipated 112 sailings scheduled in 2011, up from 91 in 2010.

Flickr photo by timmenzies

Should Splendor passengers sue Carnival after their ship broke down?

by Scott Carmichael on

After the Carnival Splendor incident last week, the logical follow-up is of course whether passengers will sue the cruiseline. Despite being reimbursed for their inconvenience and receiving a free credit towards a future cruise, chances are some of the passengers will only settle for more.

So, online prediction site Predicto Mobile asked the question – will Carnival be sued by angry passengers before December?

Of the 824 votes, 69% suspect they will. Sadly for those passengers expecting a big payout, Maritime cruise lawyer Jim Walker tells passengers that they’d be wasting their time.

In his article, Jim Walker makes some excellent points about why suing Carnival won’t get them anywhere, and how it could end up costing them more and making them lose out on the current offer of a refund and a free future trip.

So, what do you think? Should the passengers from the Carnival Splendor consider suing the cruise line, or just be happy nobody was hurt and accept the current offer?

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After another incident: Is the Carnival Splendor cursed?

by Melanie Nayer on

The unfortunate fire that disabled the engine operating systems on board the Carnival Splendor is just one more notch in the cruise lines bad karma bedpost. Seems this ship has been sailing against some pretty spooky seas over the past few years, causing some to wonder: Is the Carnival Splendor cursed?

The Carnival Splendor, which was on its way to the Mexican Riviera, has been drifting off the coast of Mexico since Monday. The Coast Guard has dropped food and supplies to the ship and news reports from this morning say the ship is being pulled toward San Diego today. However, this isn’t the first time Carnival has run into trouble.

Back in October, a cruise staffer jumped overboard and has yet to be found. On October 31, a crew member was so ill he apparently needed an airlift to a hospital in San Diego. Seems this vessel – which is said to be twice the size of the Titanic – has had its share of bad luck.

So what’s next? Gawker.com wants to know: Could the cruise ship be cursed? Carnival isn’t taking any chances right now. The company announced it is canceling the next voyage of the Carnival Splendor, which had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 14 in Long Beach, California. Certainly a safe bet, but we’d also suggest maybe burning a little sage and placing rosemary leaves under the pillows of all guest rooms… just to be safe.

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