AN OFFICER ON
THE CROWN PRINCESS caused the ship to list during a cruise
in July 2006 by turning the ship's wheel in the wrong direction,
the National Transportation Safety Board determined. The NTSB said
that the probable cause of the accident, which resulted in 14
serious and 284 minor injuries to passengers and crewmembers, was
the officer's attempt to correct a problem with the ship's
automatic navigation system that had caused the ship to go off
course. That officer turned the wheel the wrong way and "aggravated
the situation, resulting in a very large angle of heel," the NTSB
said. Princess said in a statement that "this isolated incident was
the unfortunate result of human error" and that since the incident
it had introduced measures designed to keep a similar situation
from occurring.
CARNIVAL
CRUISE LINES implemented eligibility requirements in order
for travel agents to qualify for reduced rate agent cabins on the
line's 22 ships. An agent must have made a minimum of five Carnival
bookings within a 12-month period to qualify for the rate. The move
came after Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it was terminating its
relationships with travel-related companies that sell "ordinary
consumers access to benefits designed for actual travel agents,"
specifically companies that offer members the ability to "travel
like a travel agent." Vicki Freed, Carnival's senior vice president
of sales and guest services, said that with "so many different
business models out there in the travel distribution system... it
is becoming increasingly important to ensure that only professional
travel agents who are actively promoting and selling cruises are
receiving travel agent discounts."
PETER
UEBERROTH will be the keynote speaker at the opening of
Cruise Lines International Association's 2008 Cruise3Sixty
conference in Fort Lauderdale on March 7. Ueberroth founded the
First Travel Corp. in 1962; he also was the president of the Los
Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee and from 1984 to 1989 he was
commissioner of Major League Baseball. He is currently managing
director of Contrarian Group, an investment and management company,
and owner of the Pebble Beach Co. His son, Joe Ueberroth, is the
Chairman and CEO of cruise and travel company Ambassadors
International. "When it comes to success stories in the travel
industry, few top that of Peter Ueberroth," said Terry Dale, CLIA
president and CEO.
AZAMARA
CRUISES will send the Azamara Journey to the Caribbean
next winter, switching from an originally scheduled series of
sailings in South America. Azamara President Dan Hanrahan said that
demand for the line's Asia and exotic Caribbean cruises led the
brand to "focus on these markets in lieu of South America and a
world cruise." The Journey will reposition to Miami from Europe and
operate two 16-day Panama Canal sailings, followed by a series of
12-day Caribbean cruises. The ship will return to Europe in March
2009.
ROYAL
CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL will allow its guests to dance
onstage as part of "Invitation to Dance," the line's newest
production show. As part of the show, put on by the creator of the
ABC hit "Dancing with the Stars," four couples on the Explorer of
the Seas will be chosen during a ballroom dancing event at the
beginning of each cruise to participate in the show later that
week. Professional dancers, stylists and makeup artists will prep
them for the event. The couples will then join the Royal Caribbean
cast on stage and compete against each other for the applause of
fellow guests in the audience.
Cruise
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