Get the right cabin for you – Cruise tip

by Gadling Staff on

Not all berths are created equal.

Keep in mind the following tips when choosing a room on a cruise ship:

  1. The quietest rooms are in the middle of the ship and – if you really want to sleep later – you won’t see any signs of a sunrise in an inside cabin.
  2. Unless you like to climb stairs, choose a floor that’s close to the main deck.
  3. Elevators on cruises are slow so you don’t want to rely too much on them. Also, rooms near elevators can be noisy.
  4. Finally, call right before your cruise to see if upgrades are available. If the ship isn’t full, the cruise line may give you a better cabin for little or no extra money.

Happy cruising.

Incontinent and impotent after fall in cruise ship spa is worth $9.5 million

by Scott Carmichael on

In 2006, British Fitness instructor Danny Simpson slipped on the wet floor of the spa on board the Norwegian Cruise line’s “Norwegian Crown”. Mr. Simpson was employed by Steiner Transocean, responsible for operating the spa facilities on the cruise line.

When he fell, he suffered a back injury that made him impotent and incontinent. And apparently, that kind of suffering is worth $9.5 million. The defendant is obviously not content with the ruling, and has already filed papers seeking a new trial, or a reduction of the award.

Sadly, not much is known about the incident itself – whether the floor was not supposed to be wet, or whether the spa operator failed to ensure wet floors were made slip free. But if a court is willing to award just under ten million Dollars, I suspect someone screwed up enough to warrant that kind of cash.

The damages were awarded to cover his economic losses, medical expenses and future pain and suffering. Nine and a half million Dollars gets you heck of a lot of Viagra and adult diapers.

Hot travel trend for 2010 — naked cruises?

by Scott Carmichael on

The UK association of travel agents (ABTA) has just released its predictions for 2010 – and they are mostly in line with what everyone else expects.

They see Dubai becoming a hot destination, thanks to massive drops in prices. They also predict that charity and volunteer vacations (voluntourism) will be big.

So far, so good. Then we get to the one that really stands out – naked cruising. Apparently, the tourist industry is going to actively target naturists, and cruise companies will play an important role in attracting new naked customers.

I really don’t know what to make of this, but I’m also not a naturist myself. I can imagine that walking around naked on a cruise ship could be a relaxing thing to do. I just hope they use plastic covers on the seats, as the idea of sitting down for dinner on a dining room seat that was previously used by a fat nude bloke just doesn’t thrill me too much.

A quick Google search shows that none of the major cruise lines have jumped on this naked trend just yet, and I have not heard from any of my cruise PR contacts that they plan to introduce nude cruises. Still, 2010 isn’t here yet, so we may be in for a surprise.

How about you — Would you like to take a naked cruise?

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Mystery at sea: Italian Chef missing from cruise ship

by Scott Carmichael on

Colombian maritime authorities are searching the seas for Italian chef Angelo Faliva. Mr. Faliva was working in the galley on the Princess Cruises “Coral Princess” two weeks ago, when he walked out. He was last seen on a deck at 8:30 am the next morning, but that is the last they have seen of him.

A life preserver was also missing, and its nighttime flares were torn off and left on the ship. His family has been notified, and unless he’s hiding on the ship somewhere, chances are something pretty tragic has happened.

The ship was heading to Cartagena, Colombia from Aruba on a two day voyage.The Coral Princess is due in LA today, and the current investigation is being conducted by the FBI and Italian foreign ministry.

British couple awarded over $35,000 for “loss of enjoyment” on cruise

by Katie Hammel on

When Terence and Cynthia Milner booked a 15-week, $100,000 round-the-world cruise on Cunard’s Queen Victoria, they were expecting the trip of a lifetime. Instead, they claim the experience was so horrible that they had to get off the ship early in Hawaii, at which point they were “in a terrible state.”

The problem: apparently the first night they heard unbearable noise in their cabin. They were moved, and moved again and again but continued to find each successive cabin equally unsatisfactory until they could take it no more. Cunard refunded the couple nearly $80,000 for the portion of the cruise they missed, but the Milners wanted more. The took Cunard to court, and were awarded an additional 22,000 pounds (about $36,600) with the majority of the money awarded for “distress and disappointment.” Another portion of the settlement was awarded to cover the £4,300 worth of formal dresses Mrs. Milner bought, which she is now unable to wear because they are an “unwelcome reminder of the cruise.”

According to the BBC, the Milners claim they were first moved to a cabin fitted for the disabled, which was located near the engine and was very noisy. They were then moved to another cabin, but were concerned that they wouldn’t have it the whole time because it was booked by another couple joining the cruise later. By this time, Milners were terribly afflicted with mouth ulcers and breathing difficulties, so they jumped ship in Hawaii, where they vacationed for six weeks, all the while “exhausted and inconsolable.”

Exhausted and inconsolable in Hawaii? I suppose that could be true….if they Milners couldn’t find contentment on a $100,000 round-the-world luxury cruise, I doubt they could find it anywhere.

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