AN
INVESTIGATION CONTINUED this week into the fire on the
Star Princess. One passenger died following cardiac arrest and
several others suffered smoke inhalation injuries; 100 cabins were
damaged before the blaze was extinguished. The U.K.s Marine
Accident Investigation Branch said March 27 that it is leading a
team of investigators that includes members of the U.S. Coast
Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI. The
fire broke out around 3 a.m. on March 23 as the ship was sailing to
Jamaica from Grand Cayman.
PRINCESS on March 27 cancelled the April 2
voyage of the ship; the March 26 cruise had already been cancelled.
Passengers will receive a full refund and a future cruise
credit.
TWELVE
PASSENGERS from Celebrity Cruises Millennium were killed
after their tour bus plunged 300 feet down a mountain in Chile
after swerving to avoid a truck. The passengers were part of a
64-person Bnai Brith group onboard the Millennium, which is en
route to Fort Lauderdale from Santiago, Chile, on a 14-day sailing.
Celebrity President Dan Hanrahan said last week that the line was
devastated and would do whatever we can to help find all the
answers. The tour bus was independently operated and not affiliated
with the cruise line, Celebrity said.
EUROPEAN
MARKET EXPANSION: Disney Cruise Lines said the Disney
Magic will sail a series of Mediterranean itineraries during summer
2007. The line will offer 10- and 11-day cruises from Barcelona,
Spain. Carnival Cruise Lines, meanwhile, will make its first foray
into the Greek Islands and Turkey, sailing 12-day itineraries on
the Carnival Freedom starting in March 2007.
CORRECTION: Crystal has three new cruises
departing from New York this autumn, not three ships. The line will
offer a total of five sailings from New York to Canada and New
England on the Crystal Symphony. Incorrect information appeared in
the March 21 edition of the Cruise E-letter.