Cruise Injury Blog

Anyone who has been paying attention to this blog knows that there are many risks associated with going on a cruise – from typically minor issues, like getting sunburned, to far bigger ones, like missing the departure time when you’re at port and getting stranded in a foreign land.

 

But even though most passengers decide to take a cruise knowing full well there are things that could go wrong, it doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of issues cruise ships shouldn’t be able to better control. Case in point: the recent wave of norovirus outbreaks.

 

This is something that has been a huge issue across the entire industry, but the Carnival Crown Princess has been the poster child for norovirus over the past year. Back in April, more than 100 people ultimately came down with the virus on a Crown Princess cruise.

Colorful waterslides. Dancing cartoon characters. All-you-can-eat-pizza and ice-cream. What may sound like a description of kid’s wildest dream is actually a list of the amenities featured on common cruise lines like Carnival, Disney, and Norwegian. With oodles of kid-friendly features offered alongside luxurious spa facilities, fine dining, and interesting activities, cruises are an attractive choice when vacationing with kids.

 

Colorful waterslides. Dancing cartoon characters. All-you-can-eat-pizza and ice-cream. What may sound like a description of kid’s wildest dream is actually a list of the amenities featured on common cruise lines like Carnival, Disney, and Norwegian. With oodles of kid-friendly features offered alongside luxurious spa facilities, fine dining, and interesting activities, cruises are an attractive choice when vacationing with kids.

 

Here are ten tips for ensuring your family cruise is safe and worry-free as well as fun and memorable.

 

Involve your kids in

There’s a certain thrill in being amongst the first few to enjoy a new experience, so it’s no surprise that many vacationers jump at the opportunity to be on a new cruise ship’s maiden voyage. But does that mean it’s actually a good idea? While it can be exciting to set sail on an inaugural cruise, you may also have to contend with a few kinks in the service, entertainment, and maintenance departments.

 

For some cruise passengers, a few setbacks are a small price to pay for being able to experience a brand new cruise ship, but for others, it may be much more relaxing to book a trip on a seasoned cruise ship. It ultimately comes down to an individual preference.

We’ve outlined a few of the disadvantages and advantages of going on a cruise’s maiden voyage to help you decide for

Following the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first US Ebola patient, and the hospitalization of two nurses who had been treating Duncan, health care workers who had any kind of contact with the patient were warned not to travel. Unfortunately, this warning came after a lab worker who had handled Duncan’s samples embarked on a Carnival cruise to Belize and Mexico.

CNN reported that the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital worker never came into direct contact with Duncan, but did handle samples that contained Ebola. She exhibited no symptoms of Ebola on the cruise, but elected to quarantine herself in her cabin as a precaution. She was on the cruise during the 21-day stretch of time that could have been the incubating period for Ebola if she had contracted the virus from Duncan.

 

The more than 4,000 passengers who were on the Carnival

If you’re going on a cruise to the Caribbean this October, you may be seeing some itinerary changes. That’s because Tropical Storm Gonzalo has swept into the region, and several major cruise lines have already changed course in order to keep passengers safe.

 

Cruise Fever reported on October 12^th that Royal Caribbean was the first cruise line to change one of their ship’s itineraries. The Explorer of the Seas bypassed St. Marteen, where there was a scheduled stop, and went straight to San Juan. Disney and Carnival have also made changes on several of their cruises, with Disney rearranging the order of stops for the Disney Magic, and Carnival outright cancelling a port stop in the Dominican Republic for the Carnival Breeze. The Carnival Liberty and Carnival Conquest, meanwhile, were rerouted from eastern Caribbean to western Caribbean itineraries.

 

As of this

The appeal of going on a cruise, for many passengers, is the opportunity to travel to a number of different ports and visit parts of the world that they might not otherwise have seen. Unfortunately, while cruise lines play up their various destinations as tropical paradises, the reality is that many of the countries and cities they visit have high rates of violent crimes, and passengers are sometimes the victims of these crimes.

 

Last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime released a ranking of the most dangerous countries based on homicide rates, and over half of the top ten countries—including Colombia, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Honduras—are also popular cruise stops. Knowing this, should cruise lines be liable for taking tourists to potentially dangerous ports and failing to warn them about the risks?

 

Lawsuit against Carnival Highlights Unexpected Dangers at Port