The Swedish Migration Board has inked its first deal for cruise ship housing for migrants, on schedule with its previously announced timeline. The Swedish Migration Board told media in November that it is running out of refugee housing on land and is considering both cruise ships and offshore accommodations facilities (flotels) as alternatives.

The first vessel, an unnamed cruise ship owned by firm Accumul8or Invest, will be able to accommodate as many as 1,260 refugees.

The Board has not yet announced where the ship will be berthed, but accommodations manager Willis Åberg told Swedish media that harbors could include Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Oskarshamn, Uddevalla and Gävle. Following contracts, site surveys and local approvals from harbor authorities, the vessel could be in place and accepting migrants as early as the summer of 2016.

“It's a bit unusual,” Åberg told regional media. “It's nothing we're used to.”

It is not unprecedented, though: in August a cruise ship was contracted to provide refugee processing space for authorities on the Greek island of Kos, a major migration arrival point, and as recently as the 1980s passenger vessels have been repurposed from leisure travel to troop transport in time of war.

As it struggles to find living quarters for thousands of permitted migrants, the board has taken other unusual steps to find shelter capacity, including housing at a luxury ski resort some 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Åberg previously told media that a plan for temporary housing on public and private lands faces difficulty due to a shortage of tents.

The refugee problem appears to be easing for Sweden as border restrictions and reductions in residency permits take effect. The nation had an influx of 10,000 migrants per week in October, but the number has recently fallen to about 3,000 per week.

By The Maritime Executive

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A number of cruise ships are to be hastily converted for migrant use over the next month, as massive demand for housing continues unabated.

Despite government efforts to introduce a semblance of control at the national borders, Sweden continues to receive thousands of migrants a week, but has long ago run out of beds and shelters. Having exhausted every government building, school gymnasium, and army barracks the Swedish government is now looking to pay out as of yet undisclosed sums to charter vast cruise liners outright to house migrants.

The government contract to provide floating hotels is potentially a lucrative one for the cruise trade. Despite additional additional wear to the ship’s living spaces, the charters will require minimal crewing, low usage of fuel oil and no stress on the expensive marine diesel engines. So far several shipping companies have been in touch with the Swedish government to offer their ships, reports Afton Bladet.

Migrants could live on-board for a year or more while they are assessed for refugee and asylum status.

Speaking to the paper, Migration Bureau spokesman Willis Atkins said they expected to hire ships with up to 1,500 beds each, and they would be moored in the harbours of some of Sweden’s largest cities including the capital Stockholm, multicultural melting pot Malmö, and Gothenburg. The first ships are expected to be ready before Christmas.

As if being stuck on a luxury ocean liner over winter with only occasional ship to shore boats wasn’t bad enough for the thousands of migrants demanding accommodation in Sweden, the Migration Bureau is also looking to chartering oil rig platform accommodation, placing migrants even further from the shore. Mr. Atkins believes the first such craft could be ready for migrants before July.

The move to place the migrants in effective lock-down aboard ships moored off shore recalls the British prison hulks of the 19th century, when surplus or outdated warships were stripped of their sailing and fighting gear and used to house thousands in Spartan accommodation.

Cruise ships are just the latest luxury housing to be doled out to migrants in Sweden. As reported by Breitbart London last month, the Swedish state had leased the world’s most northerly ski resort to house 600 migrants. Although a dream holiday for some, the resort may now be proving unpopular with those more acclimatised to warmer places, as it sits some 125 miles north of the Arctic circle and consequently receives zero hours of sunlight a day for much of the year.

By Oliver Lane, Breitbart.com

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A growing number of upscale cruise lines are beginning to include free unlimited Wi-Fi in the price of a ticket as lines lure customers with the promise of faster, more affordable Internet access.

Luxury line Regent Seven Seas Cruises Wednesday announced on its official blog that it will offer free unlimited Wi-Fi access for every passenger fleetwide starting in late 2016. The new service provides Internet access from any location on the ship via laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Currently, unlimited Internet is free in top suite categories, while other guests get a package of 200 free minutes or more based on voyage length. The luxury line already offers many inclusions such as alcohol, gratuities and round trip airfare.

Most cruise companies are improving Wi-Fi technology to enable passengers to stay connected while on the high seas and to be able share their vacation photos and comments on social media sites. Currently, most lines offer pay-as-you-go packages for Wi-Fi usage, and passengers can easily get caught with a bill for $50 to $100 a day just on Wi-Fi.

But that paradigm is shifting.

In August, luxury line Crystal began offering all passengers a limited amount of free Wi-Fi access per day. USA Today notes that Viking Ocean Cruises, the river cruise company’s new ocean ship that promises "no nickel-and-diming" mantra includes free unlimited Wi-Fi for every passenger.

And Silversea and Oceania say they’ll soon offer free unlimited Wi-Fi for passengers in top suites, while offering free, limited Internet access for lesser cabins.

But these lines are not the only lines looking to meet the growing demand for faster connectivity at a cheaper price.

Last month, Carnival Corp. announced it is expanding Wi-Fi options with its WiFi@Sea, an Internet access system that charges clients based on how they use the service rather than by the traditional per-minute fees that have dominated the industry for years.

The plans cost from $5 per day for basic social media only access, to $16 per day with access to the web for emailing, social media, and browsing, to the premium service at $25 per day that gives customers full web access, including calling sites like Skype.

The line says the service will be available across most of the company's fleet by the end of 2016.

“We know that each of our guests is looking for something different, whether that is being completely or partially unplugged from the Internet or staying plugged in,” said Reza Rasoulian, Carnival Corp.’s vice president of global connectivity and shipboard technology operations.

Last year Skift reported that Royal Caribbean tested free Wi-Fi among 5,000 passengers on voyages aboard Oasis of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas and is looking at offering Wi-Fi while in port.

By Grace E. Cutler, FOXNews.com

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The refugee crisis in Europe is having an impact on cruise-ship travel in the region, according to Arnold Donald, chief executive officer of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise-line operator.

Images of bodies washing ashore and refugees packed in rafts are having a psychological impact on customer behavior, Donald said in an interview Tuesday. Would-be guests are sharing their concerns in Carnival’s customer research and in questions posed to its call-center operators.

“They’re asking, ‘Do I want to go to sea and have my vacation disrupted?,’” Donald said. “‘What if the ship has to stop to pick up refugees? I don’t know who they are, what am I exposing myself to?’ There is a consternation.”

Carnival got 36 percent of its $15.8 billion in revenue from Europe last year. On Tuesday its shares fell fell after the company issued fourth-quarter guidance that missed analysts’ projections.

The refugee crisis, coupled with an overall economic malaise, is affecting the entire tourism industry in Europe, but the cruise industry is hurt disproportionately because it involves ocean travel, Donald said.

Carnival has had to stop its ships twice this year to pick up refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. That’s a fraction of the voyages the company’s ships have made, Donald said.

In July, a Carnival ship, the Island Princess, rescued 117 refugees off the coast of Greece, according to the Migrant Report.

The Miami-based company reported third-quarter profit on Tuesday that beat analysts’ estimates. The stock fell 5.5 percent to $49.79 at the close in New York, after Carnival forecast fourth-quarter profit, excluding some items, of 36 cents to 40 cents a share. Analysts projected 46 cents, the average of projections compiled by Bloomberg.

Donald said the business is still strong and he can’t control what analysts anticipate. “We feel pretty good,” he said. “We feel like we deliver results.”

The refugee crisis could have a negative impact on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world’s second-largest cruise-line operator, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and closely held MSC Cruises Ltd., Patrick Scholes, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., said in an e-mail. Royal Caribbean and MSC declined to comment.

Two Norwegian lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises, have altered itineraries that call on Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, a Greek island where thousands of Syrian refugees have landed.

Seven Seas Mariner’s scheduled call on Sept. Sept. 29 will be replaced with a stop in Kavala, Greece, according to Vanessa Picariello, a spokeswoman for Norwegian. Kavala will also replace Seven Seas Voyager’s scheduled call to Mytilene on Oct. 29, and one by Oceania Cruises’ ship Nautica’s on Oct. 6.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make future itinerary adjustments should the need warrant,” Picariello said in an e-mail.

All ships are bound by international law to assist those in distress at sea, the Cruise Lines International Assocation said in a statement Tuesday. The group said it supports efforts by the international community to address the crisis.

One advantage cruise-ship operators have over other leisure businesses is the ability to move vessels, according to Jaime Katz, an analyst with Morningstar Inc.

“If any particular coastal cities become worrisome, or if violence were to rise in a specific location, the cruise operators would alter their itineraries to visit other, more calm port locations in response,” Katz said in an e-mail.

By Christopher Palmeri, Bloomberg

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In early 2014, the cruise industry was steaming ahead with few surprises. New ships were on the horizon, including Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas, which was headed where most new ships from North American companies sail: the Caribbean.

But seven months before the ship’s launch, the Miami-based cruise line revealed a twist: After an initial season sailing to the islands from New Jersey, the 4,180-passenger “smart ship” would cross the globe for its new year-round home.

In Shanghai.

“I think that surprised a lot of people in the industry,” said UBS Investment Research analyst Robin Farley. “Because the growth in China had really ratcheted up in the last few years. I think it’s a decision they might not have made a year earlier.”

Royal Caribbean’s move was just the first of a flurry of new deployment decisions that will send a parade of ships to China and its more than 1.3 billion residents in the next couple of years. Industry leaders are seeking to capitalize on a growing and affluent middle class, increased demand for outbound leisure travel and a government eager to build cruise infrastructure.

Between 2012 and 2014, the number of passengers from mainland China grew 79 percent a year, from 216,700 to 697,000, according to a report released by Cruise Lines International Association. Globally, 22.1 million people took a cruise last year, the trade group says, up from 20.9 million in 2012.

Estimates call for the Chinese cruise market to grow to more than 4 million passengers over the next several years. By comparison, in 2014, 11.3 million passengers from the United States took an ocean cruise, followed by nearly 1.8 million Germans, 1.6 million people from the UK and Ireland, and about a million from Australia and New Zealand.

International cruise lines only ventured into China as a home base for ships in 2006, when Costa Cruises, Carnival Corporation’s Italian line, first deployed a vessel there catering to Chinese travelers. Royal Caribbean followed in late 2007, sailing itineraries from Shanghai and Hong Kong.

But those lines typically tested the waters with older, smaller vessels that might not have commanded top fares elsewhere.

With the Quantum move — and several since — that strategy is clearly changing. Royal Caribbean surprised observers yet again in March with the news that Ovation of the Seas, a Quantum sister, will sail from Tianjin, near Beijing in northern China, starting in the summer of 2016.

Just last month, Doral-based Carnival Corp. revealed that its 2016 China deployment would include two vessels from Princess Cruises as well as four from Costa. Princess started serving the market last year with Sapphire Princess deployed seasonally in Shanghai; that vessel, which carries 2,670 passengers, returned this June. Next year, it will sail full-time from Shanghai, while the 2,636-passenger Golden Princess will be based seasonally in Tianjin.

July’s announcement followed news in May that the next new ship from Princess Cruises would be designed specifically for Chinese guests. The 3,600-passenger vessel, which is under construction, will be based in Shanghai when it launches in summer of 2017.

Analysts are expecting even more announcements in the near future, especially from major players that don’t yet have capacity based in China, such as Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line and European brand MSC Cruises.

“You now have completely changed the formula for what’s going to happen in China,” said Mitchell Schlesinger, a longtime industry sales and marketing executive who runs MJS Consultants in Miami.

Schlesinger, who last year spoke to students in Shanghai Maritime University’s executive MBA program aimed at cruise industry development, said he expects that Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC will both earmark an upcoming ship for the China market.

“You want to get there in the throes of the excitement of all of these new ships going to China and be part of this incredible growth,” he said.

Norwegian hasn’t yet committed, but executives have suggested that a decision on whether and how to move forward in China is near.

During an earnings call with analysts earlier this month, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Frank Del Rio said the company had expected to announce plans by spring of 2016, but now believes a decision will come sooner. He said the company has had “the benefit of learning from the industry’s initial entry into the market.”

“Other lines mention how their highest yielding ships are based in China,” Del Rio said. “Everything we have seen indicates that is correct. We want in on that action.”

NEW WEALTH

Why all the fuss over the new frontier?

Cruise industry leaders point to China’s long period of sustained growth that has rapidly expanded the middle class, even with a recent slowdown and shaky stock market performance.

“There’s a massive emerging middle-class [of] Chinese consumers who like American stuff,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “They like American brands, they like the American way of life.”

An analysis by Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggested that 174 million Chinese tourists would spend $264 billion by 2019, up from 109 million travelers who dropped $164 billion last year, Bloomberg reported in March.

Looking to benefit from anticipated growth in tourism, the Chinese government has made growth in cruising a priority, industry players say.

After meeting with management from Carnival Corp., William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia wrote last month that officials in China have “ambitious plans for coastal port development” over 15 years, which include eight ports being built currently.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean both say China’s interest in expanding cruising has fostered their companies’ growth there.

“As we were interacting with the various government authorities, they had really clear vision about how they wanted to grow what effectively for them was a small, tiny piece of their tourism business,” said Bayley, who formerly oversaw international business development for parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises. “They were remarkably cooperative and collaborative and encouraged development of the cruise economy.”

Much of the appeal also lies in China’s potential, executives said.

“First of all, today it is a sizable market unto itself, but it’s a very small percentage of what it can be,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corp. “Because China can be the largest cruise market in the world.”

But to appeal to Chinese vacationers, cruise lines have had to adapt.

Aside from practical changes such as hiring crew members that speak Mandarin and translating signs, Western cruise companies seeking to attract Chinese passengers are tweaking their onboard offering while holding on to their distinguishing characteristics.

The new Princess vessel, for example, will boast the glass-bottomed walkway called SeaWalk found on two sister ships and outdoor movies, a brand favorite. But the ship will also feature market-specific offerings such as a traditional English afternoon tea, hot pot dinner with an ocean view and a focus on “an unparalleled duty-free shopping experience.”

Alan Buckelew, the Shanghai-based chief operations officer at Carnival Corp., said breakfast was an especially important meal to get right. Chinese passengers typically want traditional dishes such as congee, a savory rice porridge that can come with fish, meat or poultry. “It’s not just bacon and eggs and pancakes,” he said.

Donald said traditional wide-open casinos packed with slot machines are not as popular in China, where the gambling offerings are changed to smaller, more private setups and table games. And public spaces — especially outdoors — are important to include for group tai chi, he said.

Also key: high-end retail featuring Western brands and activities that parents can take part in with their children.

Royal Caribbean sent Quantum in part because the company sensed that status-conscious consumers would be drawn to a new, technologically advanced class of ship with simulated skydiving, robotic bartenders and an enclosed lift that stretches high into the sky.

“Chinese cruisers, they take cruises not only because it’s holiday making, but also because they pursue this as a lifestyle; they see cruises are important concepts and symbolize the western civilization,” said Zinan Liu, Royal Caribbean International’s president for the China and North Asian Pacific region. “And they expect the best, the newest, the fanciest and often the most expensive thing.”

And, Liu said, they are often willing to pay for it. Yields — or the amount a passenger pays per day — in China are higher than the average fleet, and guests are big spenders on board.

Farley, the analyst, said that in some cases, yields in China have grown at a double-digit rate for a couple years in a row.

“I think the potential for demand is very high,” she said. “If the industry grew yields last year at a double-digit rate despite very high capacity increases, you should be sending supply all day long.”

YOUNG TRAVELERS

Unlike in the United States, where the average cruise traveler is 49 — and lines have worked hard to attract the key millennial demographic — young Chinese travelers are flocking to cruises. More than four out of 10 passengers there were under 40, according to a CLIA study released earlier this year.

Buckelew said that 25- to 45-year-olds in China tend to have more money. “Unlike most developed counties where the wealth tends to be concentrated in the retired or nearly retired, because of China’s history, most of the people who fall into that category lived through the cultural revolution and don’t really have a lot of savings to show for it,” he said.

But younger passengers, especially those with a child, often travel with their own parents, making it common to see seven-member family groups taking a cruise together, he said.

Because vacation time is limited in China and often scheduled around holidays, the standard cruise offering is much shorter than the weeklong voyages most Americans are accustomed to.

Liu said that while three-night cruises were initially popular on Royal Caribbean, the average is moving closer to five nights.

“I believe that cruises will get longer as [the market] gets more mature,” he said.

Traveling abroad is is also regulated in China, where only some of the country’s travel agents are authorized to sell outbound travel. And while visa requirements for frequently visited cruise destinations such as Japan and South Korea are being eased, travelers most often obtain required documents through an agent.

Typically, large travel agencies have chartered a block of cabins — or an entire ship — that they then re-sell to passengers. Cruise lines like the arrangement because it shifts the burden of filling staterooms to travel sellers.

But insiders believe the charter approach is already shifting.

“It’s evolving very quickly,” said Dwain Wall, a former vice president at CLIA and online cruise travel agencies CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “It’s going to become much more of an FIT [free independent traveler] market over the next 5 years or so as the cruise lines build out their distribution systems and travel agents become more familiar.”

Wall moved to Beijing last year to serve as co-president of WorldCruise.cn, which is working to be “the leader in online cruise distribution for all the major cruise lines” in China.

He said digital outreach is much more important in China for reaching potential passengers who are accustomed to buying everything from electronics to even groceries on their phones.

“It’s hard to imagine buying a cruise on a smartphone, but people are doing it,” said wall, who is also president and CEO of consulting company AmChin.

Even as Western cruise lines work to make their product more accessible, they are partnering with homegrown travel companies in China to foster industry growth there.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced a joint venture last year with Chinese travel company Ctrip to form SkySea Cruises, which the companies described as “a national cruise line for China.” The line, in which Royal Caribbean and Ctrip each own a 35 percent share, launched this year using the former Celebrity Century, now renovated for the Chinese market.

And Carnival Corp. is exploring several joint ventures in China, including a possible agreement with Italian shipyard Fincantieri and China State Shipbuilding Corporation to build ships for the market. Other potential collaborations touch on port and destination development and the creation of a domestic Chinese cruise line.

“Our feeling is it’s going to happen either with us or without us,” Buckelew said. “And so if we’re part of it, we can ensure that it’s successful.”

OBSTACLES

Since the industry started venturing into China, plenty of roadblocks have emerged. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, political tensions between Japan and China and the recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in South Korea have all forced cruise lines to be flexible with itineraries.

The June disaster involving the Eastern Star in the Yangtze River, which killed more than 430 passengers when the ship capsized during a storm, does not seem to have scared cruisers away from ocean cruising, executives said.

“In no year do we have no challenges,” Liu said. “Every year. But despite challenges, despite obstacles, we grow rapidly.”

He said port infrastructure within China and in other countries is a major challenge, as development has not kept up with demand and new ports are not always as functional as they could be.

Donald, Carnival Corp.’s CEO, said the industry’s penetration rate in China is so low at this point that external factors have little impact.

“You have to look at it over time,” he said. “When you look at it that way, you only see upside.”

Eventually, cruise lines are hoping their work cultivating new cruisers within China will translate to increased travel outside Asia.

While only 9 percent of Asian cruise passengers venture outside the region — predominantly to Europe, trailed by Alaska and the Caribbean — cruise lines are looking forward to someday welcoming more on ships across the globe.

“We think that’s one of the opportunities. It’s not of particular focus at the moment, but we certainly recognize it’s a significant opportunity over time,” Bayley told an analyst during Royal Caribbean’s earnings call last month.

“That outbound market is significant and we do see an increase in outbound to products certainly into Europe and to the West Coast.

“So, yes, we think that's a good opportunity,” Bayley said.

ASIAN CRUISE MARKET

The North Asia branch of Cruise Lines International Association released results of a study of the Asian cruise market earlier this year. These are some key findings:

▪ Since 2013, passenger capacity grew at a 20 percent compound annual growth rate and is expected to reach almost 2.2 million in 2015 in Asia.

▪ Almost 1.4 million Asian travelers took a cruise in 2014, a 34 percent compound annual growth rate since 2012.

▪ The number of Chinese passengers alone grew 79 percent a year between 2012 and 2014, when 697,000 passengers from mainland China took a cruise.

▪ Travelers in Asia are young: In China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, more than four out of 10 cruise passengers were under 40.

▪ In 2015, 52 cruise ships will operate in Asia, with a total of 1,065 sailings scheduled this year.

▪ The vast majority of Asian cruise passengers — 91 percent — visit destinations within Asia.

▪ There are more than 168 destinations for cruise ships to visit in 18 countries across Asia.

▪ Short trips are the way to go for Asian passengers, whose vacation time is limited. Last year, 48 percent of Asian cruisegoers took a trip that lasted four to six days, 38 percent sailed for two or three nights and 12 percent went on a longer cruise between seven and 13 nights.

Source: Cruise Lines International Association’s Asia Cruise Trends study

By Hannah Sampson, Miami Herald

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During a cruise, shaking hands with the captain is a small honor — the shipboard equivalent of shaking hands with the President of the United States.

Funny thing is, there may come a day when it’s easier to get a handshake from a U.S. President than a cruise ship captain. That’s because on some cruise ships, passengers have been banned from shaking the captain’s hand at formal events.

Writing in Spectator magazine, Charles Moore — the official biographer of the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — recounts his trip aboard Crystal Cruises’ Serenity. Moore writes that a cruise bulletin informed passengers that shaking hands with the captain at an upcoming passenger/crew meet-and-greet was a big no-no.

“While the captain is pleased to meet you,“ read the notice, according to Moore, "he and the other staff receiving you refrain from shaking hands in order to provide the most effective preventative sanitary measure.”

This wasn’t the policy of an overly germaphobic captain. Crystal Cruises confirms to Yahoo Travel, it’s the cruise line’s official policy.

"The safety and health of our guests and crew is paramount at Crystal Cruises,” says Crystal spokesman Paul Garcia. He points out the cruise line maintains extensive sanitation measures in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations. “While the captain is very pleased to meet all our guests,” Garcia says, “he refrains from shaking hands as an additional preventive measure.”

So why all hand-wringing over hand-shaking? You can thank the hysteria over norovirus, that nasty gastrointestinal illness that’s created a nauseauting image problem for cruise lines. Norovirus cases on cruise ships are relatively rare; according to the CDC, there were nine cruise ship outbreaks last year that sickened roughly 1,600 passengers. That’s less than 1 percent of North America’s 11 million cruise ship passengers in 2014, and an even smaller fraction of the 20 million norovirus cases recorded in the U.S. each year.

Still, whenever norovirus does strike a cruise, it makes international headlines, reignites health fears about the safety of cruising and scares past and potential future passengers from stepping foot aboard a ship. As a result, cruise lines spend millions per year to prevent norovirus and the adverse effects the illness has on their bottom lines. In this environment, some cruise lines see anti-handshaking policies as yet another ounce of norovirus prevention that could help avert a ton of negative coverage.

“Approximately 80 percent of infections diseases, including norovirus, can be spread via traditional palm-to-palm handshake,” says Atlanta-area physician John Bradberry, former medical director for Carnival Cruise Lines and supporter of Crystal’s handshake ban. “It’s a sound policy that makes good practical sense from a public health standpoint,” he says. “Policy will not prevent noro, but will significantly reduce the risk.”

Dr. Bradberry points out that a ship’s captain can shake hands with hundreds of passengers at a given formal night or receiving line. If a passenger with norovirus shakes that captain’s hand, Dr. Bradberry says, that risks contaminating not only the captain, but every guest with whom the captain shakes hands — and, subsequently, anyone else those guests touch — throughout the evening.

“The end result is the equivalent of hundreds or more passengers indirectly touching the contaminated hands of hundreds or more fellow passengers,” says Dr. Bradberry. “Avoiding the mass handshakes with the captain is not only for the protection and well-being of the captain, but for the passenger as well.”

Crystal’s not alone in its hand-shaking policy. U.K.-based Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines reportedly also discourages captains from shaking hands during Formal Nights. As for the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival, a spokesperson tells Yahoo Travel it doesn’t ban hand-shaking outright. But “we will instruct our officers to cease hand-shaking at special events (during which they would normally be shaking multiple guests’ hands) if the medical team advises that we are seeing an elevated number of guests with gastrointestinal illness symptoms.”

But there may be some good news for habitual handshakers: other cruise lines don’t seem quite ready to embrace such draconian hands-off policies. A spokesperson for another cruise line tells Yahoo Travel her line has no such policy. She then added, “That’s one I’ve never been asked before.”

Regardless of whether your chosen cruise line bans passenger-captain handshakes outright, when there are outbreak fears, or not at all, experts recommend a better-safe-than sorry approach while on cruise ships — and, yes, that includes handshakes. Dr. Bradberry suggests replacing handshakes with fist bumps. “A fist-to-fist ‘handshake’ is less risky,” he says.

If you’re really afraid of norovirus, you’re probably better off not obsessing over things like handshakes and, instead, paying more attention to the most effective way to stay healthy on a cruise: frequently washing your hands with soap and water (hand sanitizers are less effective but better than nothing). Especially if you plan on shaking the hands of the captain, or anyone else, on the cruise.

“If all people washed their hands promptly after completing a handshake, and especially after a series of handshakes, there would be little to no infectious illness transmission issues,” says Dr. Bradberry. But he adds, “100 percent compliance is simply not going to happen.”

That’s why cruise line are looking at all possible ways to prevent norovirus outbreaks, handshake bans. We can probably expect other eyebrow-raising measures, too, as cruise lines find that media-driven norovirus hysteria is very hard to shake.

By Sid Lipsey, FOX News

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Say good-bye to cruises-to-nowhere from U.S. homeports.

Starting in 2016, foreign-flagged cruise ships can no longer operate voyages that do not stop at a foreign port. What isn’t immediately clear, however, is why.

The Cruise Lines International Association issued this statement: “While itinerary decisions are made by individual cruise lines, beginning in 2016, in compliance with U.S laws and regulations, foreign-flagged cruise lines operating out of U.S. ports are not to offer cruises for sale that do not include a call in a foreign port. Ships are cleared into and out of the United States by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”

When asked the reason for the change, CLIA’s spokeswoman said the statement is all she could provide at this time.

Carnival Cruise Line has apparently already started to notify passengers booked on cruises-to-nowhere. Senior Cruise Director John Heald announced what he called “disappointing news” on Facebook.

“Due to recent changes in how ships are cleared into and out of the United States by U.S. officials, certain short duration cruises without a foreign port of call are subject to itinerary changes beginning in 2016. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be permitted to operate cruises-to-nowhere. This does include the Carnival Vista’s 3 day cruise-to-nowhere from New York. Those who are booked on our cruises-to-nowhere will receive a letter very soon explaining this. So sorry.”

He added that it applies to all cruise lines. The short cruises that don't visit any ports often are sold as getaways and are booked by people who like the sea. It was unclear how the cruise-to-nowhere itineraries would be adjusted.

Meanwhile, in Norfolk, Va., Newschannel 3 WTKR reported that Carnival issued a statement that it could no longer operate a cruise-to-nowhere departing Oct. 30, 2016, on Carnival Sunshine. The story said the company offered to rebook passengers on another voyage with a $50 onboard credit. Or, refunds would be processed.

According to the news station, Carnival issued a statement that said it will continue to operate cruises from Norfolk in 2015-16, but will adjust itineraries to 2016 departures “since we are no longer permitted to operate cruises-to-nowhere.”

Source: Theresa Norton Masek (Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), June 11, 2015, "Say Farewell to Cruises-to-Nowhere")

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Featured photo credit: Royal Caribbean

Carnival Corporation is launching a new brand, promising to create a new travel category. Called fathom (lower case), the new company will offer what it calls “social impact travel.”

According to Carnival, fathom will cater to a “vastly underserved market of consumers” who want to have a positive impact on people’s lives by offering meaningful experiences working alongside locals helping them tackle community needs. Thus, the new company will give travelers an opportunity to work directly with people in unique, scalable ways to improve their lives.

In practical terms this means that starting in April 2016 these consumers will be able book seven-day cruises with fathom’s ship, the 710-passenger Adonia, and sail to the company’s port in the Dominican Republic, Amber Cove, where they will have the opportunity to choose from a range of activities and experiences both onboard and ashore.

Leading this effort will be Tara Russell, founder and chairman of Create Common Good, a food production social enterprise. She has been named president of fathom. The plan calls for bringing hundreds of travelers to the destination on a regular basis and tens of thousands a year.

According to Carnival, fathom has identified a sizeable and growing market of potential social impact travelers -- approximately 1 million North Americans, in addition to global travelers seeking a service-oriented experience. And nearly 40 percent of these individuals who are expected to book have never taken a cruise before.

Fathom has initially identified two impact partners in the Dominican Republic – Entrena and the Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral -- and will work alongside these organizations across the northern region.

A portion of every ticket purchased will go directly to partner organizations to cover on-the-ground activities, including travel, supplies, personnel to assist with the activities and funding to support the organizations’ overall mission.

For passengers, impact activities ashore will vary from a few hours to multiple days for a wide range of ages, skill levels and amount of physical activity.

Sample activities may include economic development, such as helping to cultivate cacao plants at a nursery and assist a local women’s cooperative producing artisan chocolates. Other activities are educational, working alongside Dominican teachers in classrooms to teach English skills or participating in adult learning programs to teach conversational English to help improve their ability to quality for jobs and provide a higher level of income.

There is also an environmental aspect providing hands-on support to craft and build water filters, using clay – a local resource – and deliver those filters to families to provide healthy drinking water. In addition will be participation in reforestation projects, from cultivating seedlings to planting trees in protected areas.

When not participating in social impact activities, travelers can enjoy exploring the region and participate in any of the different recreational activities available to all the Carnival brands visiting Amber Cove.

Fathom will accept reservations staring starting this month and prices begin at $1,540 per person for an exterior cabin with a window, all meals onboard, social impact immersion experiences onboard, three on-shore social impact activities and related supplies, taxes, fees and port expenses.

The 2001-built Adonia will be transferred from Carnival’s P&O Cruises brand in the UK for the start-up of the operation.

Carnival said that the root of the fathom word refers to a pair out outstretched arms, symbolizing the company’s fundamental premise that travel can create good in the world.

Source: Cruise Industry News ("Carnival Corp. Launches New Brand: fathom"), June 4, 2015

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Featured photo credit: Carnival Corp. and PLC

For Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert popularly known as The Cruise Guy, the news that Royal Caribbean will be leaving the Port of New Orleans in 2015 came as a shock.

"I know about everything in the cruise world," Chiron said by phone. "But I did not know that Royal Caribbean planned to leave New Orleans."

The news came as a surprise to many media outlets as well. Shortly after a story on the decision ran in NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, USA Today and other news sites rushed to cover it.

And yet, anyone with access to the Internet could have discovered Royal Caribbean's plans five months ago, when the cruise line posted its schedules for the 2015 - 2016 season online.

Websites that offer cruise line bookings show that Serenade of the Seas, which has docked at the Port of New Orleans since December 2013, will depart from New Orleans for Boston on April 11.

From there, it will sail to Europe and begin offering seven-day cruises to Russia and Scandinavia from ports in Copenhagen and Stockholm. In November 2015, the ship will then relocate to Ft. Lauderdale and start running 10- and 11-day itineraries to the Caribbean.

In an email, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Janet Diaz called the move "part of our ongoing global expansion." But she did not disclose whether relocating the Serenade of the Seas was intended to expand the cruise line's existing European fleet or to replace a departing ship.

By examining global cruise ship itineraries, however, Chiron surmised that the Serenade of the Seas will be replacing the Legend of the Seas, a 2,074-passenger ship launched in 1994.

The Legend of the Seas, which is covering Scandinavian, Russian and Norwegian cruise routes this summer, will relocate to Australia next spring before moving on to Southeast Asia.

Chiron said Royal Caribbean's decision to reposition the Serenade of the Seas is the result of not having enough cruise ships to meet an increasing global demand.

"With so many ships being sent to China and Australia, other ships were moved around to compensate," he said. "It's like a game of musical chairs and seasonal ports like New Orleans are sometimes left without a chair when the music stops."

Asia currently holds a 5 percent share of the world's cruise market, according to Cruise Lines International Association, the official trade organization of the cruise industry in North America. But that number is expected to grow substantially as cruising becomes a more popular activity for China's rising middle class.

"Three-hundred million Chinese are projected as potential cruise passengers in the near future -- the equivalent of adding another North America or Western Europe to the cruise market," CLIA said in a recent report on the Asian cruise industry.

Chiron acknowledged that the loss of Royal Caribbean was an unexpected blow to the Port of New Orleans, where the number of cruise ship passengers has risen in recent years. But he stressed that the Port of New Orleans and the city itself were not at fault.

"The cruise industry loves New Orleans," he said. "By no means does this personify a sour relationship between the industry and the port."

"It comes down to how many ships a cruise line has and where they can put them," Chiron continued. "It's easy to imagine Royal Caribbean coming back in 2017."

By Jed Lipinski, NOLA.com

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MSC denied allegations that staff were forced to work for up to 16 hours a day, after its ship, the Magnifica, was boarded by officials from the Brazilian Labour Ministry in Salvador, where it had docked for a day.

Some staff had also reported allegations of sexual harassment, according to a report by the BBC.

But MSC Cruises rejected the labour ministry’s claims and said its four ships operating in Brazil had passed intensive and repeated inspections by the ministry. It said it is fully complying with Brazilian and international labour regulations.

Further criticism of the cruise industry however came in the form of a report published this month by academics at Leeds Metropolitan University. It referred to evidence from 2010 that found that the rights of disadvantaged groups were being frequently violated in terms of the work they were given and the salary they were paid, based on their to nationality and cultural background.

It also said that cruise companies had provided little information as to how they were going to implement new regulations brought in by the Maritime Labour Convention last year, which cover the management of recruitment agencies, hours of work and rest and the written confirmation of contractual conditions – aspects of working life that many outside the cruising industry take for granted.

Cruise companies could be doing more to assess environmental issues too, the report suggested, by reporting on their impact on the coastal water and marine ecosystems of the destinations they visit.

But a spokeswoman for CLIA UK defended the industry and said the report was “deeply disappointing” and “seriously flawed”, with “inaccuracies and subjective commentary which fly in the face of the facts of the achievements that the cruise industry delivers throughout the world.”

“The cruise industry is highly regulated on an international basis to exacting standards towards both the environment and labour welfare,” she said. "In both areas we go above and beyond those high thresholds to enable our 21 million annual global customers to enjoy the seas in which they cruise and be cared and looked after by a motivated and content workforce.

"We put great store into our social responsibilities and we make an enormously positive impact on national economies all around the world, to the tune of £31billion a year in Europe. A recent study also shows cruising contributes £60 billion to the global economy, supports more than 775,000 jobs, and pays £20 billion in wages."

A Dispatches news programme attacked the cruise industry over the employment rights of staff in 2012. The documentary focused on the working conditions of staff on board the chip Celebrity Eclipse. It revealed that many of the ship’s staff receive less than half the UK national minimum wage, with some of the lowest-paid workers earning just $600 (£375) per month, the equivalent of around £1.30 an hour, and received no gratuities.

Members of staff claimed they were required to work seven days a week for months on end without rest days, while others alleged that they were forced to pay expensive fees to recruitment agencies to obtain their jobs.

A Celebrity Cruises spokesman said that the Channel 4 programme had been “biased and unbalanced”, however. He added that the cruise line was “committed to our employees, both shipboard and shoreside”, adding that it operated “within the letter of the law”.

By Natalie Paris, The Daily Telegraph

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The Coast Guard has begun unannounced inspections of cruise ships at U.S. ports, targeting those with patterns of safety problems, officials told the National Transportation Safety Board at its first-ever forum on safety on board the vessels.

Capt. Eric Christensen, who oversees ship inspection policy for the Coast Guard, also said that regular twice-a-year inspections of 140 cruise ships based at U.S. ports in 2013 found 351 deficiencies, most frequently problems with fire doors and lifeboats.

The inspection program began this month.

"There was a population of cruise ships that had the lion's share of deficiency. You want to focus your efforts on those vessels," Christensen told the board, without identifying which ships or cruise lines were involved.

"They don't know you are coming, but this is how you can summarize they would normally operate," he added. "The bottom line is, we hold substandard vessels accountable."

Cruise ships must address any safety problems identified by the Coast Guard before they can allow passengers to board at U.S. ports.

The NTSB hearing, held in Washington and webcast around the world, follows last year's fire aboard the Carnival Triumph that left the ship adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico, subjecting some 3,000 passengers to squalid conditions. A fire also knocked out power in 2010 to the Carnival Splendor at sea in the Pacific Ocean, also stranding passengers at sea and requiring that it be towed to port.

In 2012, the Costa Concordia ship capsized off Italy, killing 32 people.

NTSB chairwoman Debbie Hersman cited those recent accidents and others aboard increasingly gigantic ships — some of which can carry 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew members — to underscore the need to ensure the safety of every voyage. She said more than 22 million people will take a cruise worldwide this year.

By Associated Press

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Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire British serial entrepreneur, is drawing up plans for a secret assault on the international cruises sector which will involve raising hundreds of millions of pounds in funding from external investors, Sky News reports on its website.

"Sky News can reveal that Virgin Group has appointed the US-based corporate advisory firm Allen & Co to oversee the development of a cruise operation that would eventually aim to compete with industry giants including Carnival Corporation," the satellite broadcaster said on its news website.

"The development of Virgin Cruises, which is expected to be the name of the new venture, is at an early stage, people close to the project cautioned on Friday. However, Virgin executives and their advisers have already held detailed talks with banks about raising an estimated $1bn (£598m) of debt to finance the acquisition of the company's first vessels," the report said, adding that they also want to raise in the region of $700m (£418m) of equity by selling stakes in Virgin Cruises to outside investors.

Sir Richard and Josh Bayliss, chief executive of Virgin Management, are understood to believe the global cruises sector possesses many of the same characteristics which have led Virgin to build a significant presence in sectors such as aviation, rail and mobile telecoms.

The cruise market is dominated by three listed majors, Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Norwegian Cruise Line. Between them, the three companies have a global market share of close to 80%.

Sir Richard is involved in a number of businesses that include aviation, telecoms, railways and financial services.

By Kari Reinikainen, Cruise Business Review

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The National Transportation Safety Board today announced it will hold a public forum on cruise ship safety and oversight on March 25-26 in Washington, DC.

The forum, Cruise Ships: Examining Safety, Operations and Oversight, will review the regulatory framework, ship design and fire protection, operations and corporate oversight of cruise ships. It will also explore some recent high-profile incidents. The forum’s goal is to encourage dialogue among industry stakeholders, regulators, and the general public to better understand cruise ship safety and oversight.

Participants will include regulators such as the U.S. Coast Guard, vessel owners and operators, researchers and industry groups.

"Cruising is a rapidly growing segment of leisure travel and carried a record 20-million-plus passengers in 2012," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "We are convening this forum to learn more about the international cruise ship industry - from vessel construction to vessel evacuation - and all of the significant operational and oversight activities in between."

By Travel Agent Central Newswire

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No one wants to spend their vacation in the bathroom.

Reports of an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea at sea have some imminent cruisers worried.

"My mother, who is a first time cruiser, is seriously reconsidering our choice for our family vacation," wrote CNN reader Monica Mancera in an e-mail. The University of Texas at Austin student is booked on a Carnival cruise with her family in March.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating an outbreak this week of gastrointestinal illness on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas; the cause has not yet been determined. More than 650 passengers and crew have become ill, according to the cruise line. The outbreak is the second so far this year aboard a cruise ship.

Just the thought of wasting precious vacation time has worker-bee bystanders riled up: So glad it's not me! Poor suckers!

And cruise skeptics have another opportunity to ask: What were they thinking?

"I feel bad for sick people, but I don't understand the desire to be on the petri dish in the first place," wrote one CNN reader.

Cruising represents one of travel's deeper divides. Love it or hate it, most of the keenest objections are only half true -- or false, depending on how you look at it.

Floating petri dishes?

Cruise ships are ripe for spreading illness. Outbreaks of norovirus, the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States, occur most frequently in close quarters, according to the CDC. Nursing homes, dormitories and cruise ships are common transmission grounds.

In 2013, the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program logged nine gastroenteritis outbreaks aboard ships, seven of which had a confirmed cause of norovirus. About 1,200 cruise passengers were affected by those norovirus cases.

To put those figures in perspective, the industry's Cruise Lines International Association says more than 10 million passengers embarked on CLIA member cruise ships from a U.S. port in 2012, and norovirus sickens an estimated 21 million people in the United States every year, according to the CDC.

More outbreaks of gastroenteritis have been reported aboard cruise ships since 2001, according to CDC statistics. The government agency says the spike is tied to an increase in both passengers and ships sailing the seas as well as an overall increase in norovirus outbreaks.

"There are attempts to control these types of outbreaks, but it's hard to guarantee that it's not going to happen for any particular cruise," said Dr. Lin Chen, director of the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

So yes, the threat of illness is real. Yet the number of reported outbreaks among thousands of annual sailings has ranged in recent years from less than a dozen affected sailings to about three dozen.

Bottom line: More people are getting sick on land. (Granted, that's little comfort if you're vomiting violently at sea).

Are ships or passengers unsanitary?

Norovirus, the most common cruise ship outbreak offender, spreads quickly from person to person but can also be transmitted through contaminated food or water or from contaminated surfaces.

The CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program conducts regular unannounced inspections of cruise ships. Explorer of the Seas, the Royal Caribbean ship currently experiencing an outbreak, scored a 98 out of 100 on its last inspection in July 2013.

Unlikely, but not unheard of: Princess Cruises' Crown Princess had norovirus outbreaks on two consecutive sailings in 2012. In 2010, the CDC issued a four-day no-sail recommendation for a Celebrity Cruises ship after three consecutive outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.

The deep cleaning upon Explorer of the Seas' return to port "will be the third aggressive sanitizing procedure the ship has undertaken since we became aware of the issue," Royal Caribbean said.

Cruise lines activate CDC-monitored response plans when outbreaks are detected. Measures include increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfection, isolating ill people, distributing information about proper hand-washing and hygiene as well as illness updates and regular reporting to CDC Vessel Sanitation Program officials.

Hygiene is extremely important when outbreaks occur. Proper hand-washing, avoiding contact with ill passengers and direct contact with public surfaces such as restroom door handles can help stem the spread of highly contagious illness. The CDC offers health tips for cruisers on its website.

Avid cruiser Marcy Webster and her husband won't be changing their plans for an upcoming sailing on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.

"It is not the cruise line's fault. It is a passenger who came onboard sick and spread the virus everywhere. On every cruise I have been on, the crew is diligent in keeping things clean and making passengers use hand sanitizer," Webster, of Keller, Texas, wrote in an e-mail.

"Bad things happen. If you stop your life for fear of what could be, you never experience anything."

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

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Cruise lines and river cruise companies will be commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day on and around June 6 this year, with special activities and excursions to World War II battlegrounds on the coast of Normandy.

Visiting Honfleur and the Caen Canal, Cherbourg and/or Le Havre, ocean ships will transport passengers to such places as the D-Day Museum at Arromanches, Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-Eglise — where the 82nd U.S. Airborne Division troops landed — and the American Cemetery and Memorial above Omaha Beach. River ships on Seine itineraries will offer tours of landing sites and other significant places from Rouen.

Explore these D-Day memorial cruise options.

Holland America Line: On a 12-day Rome to Copenhagen sailing, embarking April 29, the 2,104-passenger Eurodam will spend a day in Cherbourg. Tour options include Arromanches with a stop at the American Cemetery, or Sainte-Mère-Eglise and Utah Beach.

Uniworld: Passengers cruising the Seine on the 118-passenger River Baroness all season will find excursion choices including Arromanches and Gold Beach; Juno Beach and the Canadian Center; or the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach. Passengers will have the opportunity to participate in a special memorial ceremony involving laying a wreath, singing the Star Spangled Banner and a moment of silence.

AmaWaterways: Two D-Day excursions available on the weeklong Paris & Normandy itinerary of the 150-passenger AmaLegrowill visit the U.S. Sector and American landing sites or the British and Canadian Sectors, focusing on Gold Beach and Juno Beach. The line is offering a $200 additional savings per person for active and retired military personnel. As an added feature, WWII movies will be shown shipboard on in-cabin TVs.

Silversea: The National WWII Museum is hosting a 10-day D-Day cruise onboard the 296-passenger Silver Cloud. Embarking May 30, from Lisbon to Hamburg, the ship will spend five nights on the Caen Canal, serving as a base for daily tours to the landing beaches and other D-Day sites — where veterans and French civilians will give first-hand accounts. Passengers will take part in 70th Anniversary ceremonies at the American Cemetery and attend after-hours receptions at the Utah Beach Museum and the Memorial de Caen. Joining the sailing will be historians and such notable figures as former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation.

Tauck River Cruises: Visit D-Day landing sites on new 10- and 14-day itineraries on the Seine, onboard the 118-passenger Swiss Sapphire. On the two-week cruise and land tour, exploration will include Arromanches, the American Cemetery and the Normandy beaches. During a two-night stay in London, passengers will also hear a lecture by Winston Churchill's biographer and granddaughter, Celia Sandys.

Azamara: An 11-day "Memories of WW II Voyage" on the 694-passenger Azamara Journey embarks June 3 from Lisbon to Hamburg and visits Cherbourg on June 6. Tour choices included the landing beaches and other key sites. In the evening, in the Cherbourg Terminal, passengers will partake in a complimentary D-Day Liberation Party, complete with big band and 1940s period dress.

Swan Hellenic: The 350-passenger Minerva, on a 13-day cruise embarking Portsmouth, UK on June 4, will put a British perspective on the war, with a visit to Dunkirk, a special memorial service off Normandy on June 6, sailing under the new Pegasus Bridge and a call at Cherbourg. Lecturers include Canon Andrew Evans, Chaplain for the Royal British Legion and Royal Naval Association.

Fred Olsen Cruises: This British line's 930-passenger Braemar embarks Harwich, UK on June 1 on a seven-day D-Day Anniversary Cruise visiting Dunkirk, Portsmouth, UK, and Cherbourg, as well as Le Havre, for an overnight and tour of the Allied landing areas on June 6.

Cruise & Maritime: Passengers on this British line's 700-passenger Discovery, embarking Bristol, UK on a six-day cruise on June 1, will visit Honfleur, with an excursion to the Pegasus Bridge; Guernsey, to see the Occupation Museum; and Cherbourg, for views of the Allied landing areas. On June 6, off the Normandy coast, a memorial service will be held shipboard.

By Fran Golden, Special for USA TODAY

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Cruise ships have become a lot safer since the Costa Concordia crash two years ago, which killed 32 people. Federal laws designed to regulate the cruise industry have since taken effect. The laws cover everything from better evacuation training to where to stow life jackets.

There are several areas, however, that a government report finds are still lacking.

CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg told the hosts of "CBS This Morning" that cruise lines are still not effectively reporting crimes on the high seas -- sometimes not reporting them quickly enough, or disseminating the information properly. Greenberg explained: "Because in the old days, it got down to where the cruise ships were registered -- what foreign countries and which jurisdiction."

Greenberg said assaults, including sexual assaults, now must be reported by law. Meanwhile, other crimes, like theft, are often not being reported because the cruise ships are not obligated to do so.

"There's a dollar limit that is placed on that," Greenberg said. "Which is silly, if you think of the dollar limit -- $10,000. What about $5,000 thefts?"

Greenberg said passengers looking to book a cruise are entitled to this kind of information, and they are not getting it.

"How do you make an informed choice about what ship you want to go on?" he asked.

The question remains, Greenberg said, whether the government will step in to further regulate the cruise lines, or whether the cruise industry will be allowed to self regulate.

By Aliah Git, CBS News

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A new year means new ships, so we've scoured the roster of 2014's most anticipated debuts to give you a sneak peek at next year’s five biggest wave-makers. From an innovative megaship complete with wow-factor amenities (bumper cars! skydiving!) to a brand-new, close-to-home cruise line's smaller but shiny new vessel, these five cruise ships are sure to grab headlines.

Quantum of the Seas

Royal Caribbean's much-anticipated Quantum of the Seas will mark the first in a new class of "quantum" ships for the cruise line when it rolls out in November 2014. The 4,180 passengers aboard can expect tricked-out cabins (even windowless inside cabins will be outfitted with "virtual balconies," courtesy of floor-to-ceiling LCD screens projecting ocean views). It will also feature plenty of first-at-sea diversions like bumper cars, a skydiving simulator and even a "North Star" observation pod that reaches over the ship's side for bird's-eye views over ports and the sea.

The Quantum of the Seas will cruise from Bayonne, New Jersey, on 7- to 12-night itineraries to the Bahamas and Caribbean. Rates from $1,049/person.

Norwegian Getaway

Come January, the 4,028-passenger Norwegian Getaway—sister ship to 2013's buzziest newcomer, the Norwegian Breakaway—will pull into its year-round Miami homeport for a series of Eastern Caribbean itineraries. Among the ship's standout attractions: a whimsical hull designed by Miami pop artist David "LEBO" Le Batard; a staggering 27 dining options, including a magic-themed dinner-show venue complete with special effects; an ice bar; a pirate-themed Nickelodeon Kids’ Aqua Park; and entertainment options including two Broadway shows and the first-ever Grammy experience at sea, featuring performances by Grammy winners and nominees.

The Getaway will sail 7-night Caribbean itineraries from Miami. Rates from $679/person.

Regal Princess

Princess Cruises' new Regal Princess will debut in May as the sister ship to the Royal Princess, which was famously christened by Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, back in June. Its 3,560 passengers can expect innovative features like the cantilevered "SeaWalk" (a top-deck, glass-bottomed platform extending over the vessel's edge); a Princess Live! Television studio; and a special chef's-table dining experience. Plus, all outside staterooms come trimmed with balconies.

Regal Princess will sail 12-night Mediterranean cruises between Venice and Athens (rates from $1,999/person) from May through October, then move to Fort Lauderdale for 7-night Caribbean sailings for the winter season (from $799/person).

Costa Diadema

Italy-based Costa Cruises is prepping for the October launch of what will be the cruise line's largest vessel to date and its new flagship: the 3,724-passenger, 132,500-ton Costa Diadema. Look for onboard highlights like split-level, beachfront resort-inspired public rooms touting ocean views; a large cabana-speckled open-air promenade; an expanded spa; and new palate-pleasing venues highlighting Bavarian-style beers, wine-tasting, Japanese cuisine, and more.

The Costa Diadema will sail 7-night Mediterranean itineraries from Barcelona, Rome and Savona, Italy. Rates from $799/person.

Pearl Mist

Soon-to-debut Pearl Sea Cruises—a long-delayed cruise line that is set to ply close-to-home waterways—is slated to roll out its flagship 210-passenger Pearl Mist this June. The intimate, upscale vessel will feature private balconies in every stateroom, a sports deck with a putting green, and a glass-enclosed dining room, along with a selection of exclusive shore excursions in destinations like the Great Lakes, New England and Canadian Maritimes.

Choose from a dozen scheduled 7- to 14-night itineraries including Great Lakes, Canadian Maritimes, St. Lawrence Seaway, New England and Caribbean, sailing between June and October. Rates from $3,955/person.

By Elissa Richard, Yahoo Travel (Nov. 27, 2013)

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Shops on cruise ships make money for cruise lines but that doesn't mean you won't find bargains. Items from liquor to makeup to designer sunglasses and jewelry are sold without sales tax and are duty-free. That means automatic reductions.

From there, the lines (and Starboard Cruise Services, which runs the shops for most major cruise companies) sweeten the pot with omnipresent sales and promotions, such as two-for-one pricing on T-shirts and the like.

Most large ships have several shops and some have shopping malls with designer boutiques — Coach shops on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, for instance.

Before you go too crazy, you should familiarize yourself with U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules on what you can bring back into the U.S. duty-free. Also, make sure you understand the cruise line's return policy and any applicable warranty information.

Here are the best deals at cruise ship shops:

Booze

Liquor is a top-seller, says William Butler, vice president of retail services for Carnival Cruise Lines. It's easy to see why when you compare prices. Pay $21.99, for instance, for a 1 liter bottle of Crown Royal (U.S. retail price $36.99) or $30 for Grey Goose (retail price $42.99). There are also duty-free exclusives you can't find on land such as Johnny Walker, The Gold Route ($94.99). Note: Your duty-free liquor will be delivered at the end of the cruise. If you're flying home, the bottles have to go in your checked luggage, not your carry-on.

Cigarettes

Cigarette prices vary by state so how much of a bargain you get will depend on where you live, but you will save. Cruise ship shops sell only cartons, starting with 10 packs. We've seen Marlboros priced from $21.00.

Fine jewelry

Carnival's Butler says savvy shoppers will find bargains on gold and diamonds (Carnival advertises up to 40% off wedding and engagement rings). One of the best times to buy is when manufacturers' representatives are onboard doing trunk shows from such companies as EFFY. Of course, it helps to know what you're buying. We suggest you do some price research before you leave home (or even get online from the ship and compare prices).

Costume jewelry

You may find yourself going crazy here. Cruise ships are a great place to shop for trinkets. There are sidewalk sales where glamorous cocktail rings are all priced under $50, gold-by-the-inch promotions (it's actually gold-filled or silver chain) and everything-for-$10 offers.

Designer watches

Just as with fine jewelry, you'll want to do some research but you will find deals. Carnival in its shipboard catalog (delivered to each cabin) advertises Citizen and Bulova watches reduced by up to 40%, and even better deals on the Invicta collection. There are some price-matching guarantees, says Butler. Look, too, for deals on cheap watches (just don't expect the watch to last forever).

Apple products

This one is exclusive to Celebrity Cruises. As the first Authorized Apple Reseller at Sea, on most of the ships you can buy Apple products, such as MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Quantities are likely to be limited; if you have your heart set on a purchase, you'll want to do it early in the cruise. You save sales tax.

Perfume

Expect to save about 25% whether you prefer Chanel No. 5. Obsession, Tommy Girl or Pure Poison — a great buy if they carry what you like.

Makeup

You'll find lotions and other products by Lancôme, Estée Lauder and other manufacturers, including items packaged exclusively for sale at duty-free shops. There are decent prices and savings to be had. What you won't find is the same sorts of bonus-added giveaways you see in department stores.

Sunglasses

We've seen prices reduced about 10% for Oakley, Ray-Ban and other brands (plus you don't pay sales tax). Cruise line shops also stock a good variety of cheaper options — including in the $30 range.

Logo merchandise

If you're looking for souvenir T-shirts, sweatshirts, magnets and other logo items, watch for sales, which will be held throughout the cruise. You always save sales tax — even on Disney merchandise on Disney Cruise Line ships. If your ship is wrapping up a season — say repositioning from Alaska to the Caribbean — look for additional bargains.

By Fran Golden, USA Today

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In the last week, there have been several articles about the cruise industry's refusal to comply with the requirements of the Cruise Vessel Safety & Security Act to install automatic man-overboard systems.

The spirit and intent of Congress in enacting the legislation, as expressed in several hearings in Washington D.C. which I attended over the years, was to require all cruise ships to implement system to alert the bridge when a passenger went overboard so that prompt rescue efforts could be undertaken.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of cruise lines have not invested in the available systems.

A week ago the Miami Herald first published an article entitled "Overboard Cases on Cruise Lines Often Under-Reported to Public."

The Huffington Post followed up with an article after a woman went overboard from a Princess Cruises ship, the Grand Princess, which apparently does not have an automatic man overboard system. The security personnel on the cruise ship were required to look through images on the cruise ship's CCTV system to look for the incident in order to confirm that the passenger went over the rail.

Yesterday, a local South Florida NBC television station, WPTV, published an article entitled "Cruise Lines Are Slow to Implement a Man Overboard Detection System for Passengers." It also aired the video segment below.

Our firm was mentioned in all of the articles.

Today Time magazine published an article "Cruise Industry’s Mysterious ‘Man Overboard’ Problem."

The cruise lines' refusal to comply with the law results in the U.S. Coast Guard having to deploy aircraft, helicopters and cutters over a wide search grid with the expensive and often million-dollar searches being paid for by U.S. taxpayers rather than the foreign-flagged cruise ships which pay no U.S. taxes in the first place.

Cruise expert Professor Ross Klein has documented over 200 person going overboard from cruise ships since 2000. There is no question that the technology exists to automatically and instantly detect persons going overboard.

Supporters of the cruise industry say that the percentage of overboard passengers is small compared to the total number of people going overboard. That may be true. But the cruise industry's non-compliance with the cruise safety law ensures that the prospects of saving those overboard passengers are slim and their deaths are likely.

By Jim Walker, Cruise Law News

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Just a few years ago, if you wanted to take a short cruise, you didn’t have many choices of ships or destinations.

However, the trend now is for people to take shorter vacations of all kinds — by land, sea or air — or to combine a short land vacation with a short cruise. Cruise lines are responding by directing more of their resources toward cruises of three to five nights, especially in South Florida, the capital of the short cruise.

This season, six lines — more than ever before — will offer short cruises out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. And unlike the days when there were few options other than a three-night cruise to Nassau, ships are also sailing to Key West, Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, Grand Turk, private islands in the Bahamas, and sometimes as far as Jamaica.

“What we found is that short cruises are very convenient, they’re affordable because of the shorter itineraries, and there is a real variety,” said Terry Thornton, a senior vice president with Carnival Cruise Lines, ticking off the islands where short-cruise ships out of South Florida call. “So you’re not sacrificing destinations for the shorter cruise. It’s a good, convenient, affordable cruise that takes you great places.”

This year, for the first time, a Princess ship will sail a full season of four- and five-night cruises out of Fort Lauderdale, starting in mid-December. Carnival, which for several years has had two ships doing short cruises out of Miami, has added a ship doing occasional four- and five-night cruises interspersed with longer cruises out of Fort Lauderdale. And Disney, which last year dipped its rudder into Miami waters for the first time, this year extends its Miami short-cruise season from four months to six, sailing its first cruise out of PortMiami on Sunday.

For consumers, short cruises are cheaper, give them another option for a short getaway, and offer a chance for first-timers to sample cruising or a new cruise line at less cost than a week-long cruise. For cruise lines, they are a way to introduce themselves to new customers and maybe win them over for a longer cruise.

“For a lot of people, there is a money issue and there is a time issue,” said Stewart Chiron, CEO of CruiseGuy.com. “If they only have two weeks [vacation per year], they are breaking their vacation time into smaller increments. … The four- and five-night cruises play into that very well.”

Ships assigned to short cruises usually are smaller, older vessels without amenities like surf pools and alternative restaurants, Chiron said, but they offer bargain rates. Currently some short cruises are going for less than $200 a person, he said, and plenty of four-night cruises start at $299. “It’s a great entree into what cruising is all about.”

Jan Swartz, an executive vice president at Princess Cruises, said the company surveyed its customers and learned that many of them — in addition to cruises of a week or longer — take short vacations, such as a long weekend in New York or Las Vegas, and are open to taking those shorter getaways aboard a ship.

The purpose of adding short cruises “is to offer a short vacation break, not just for our regular customers but also for people who have not tried our premium offerings,” Swartz said. Unlike other cruise lines, however, Princess assigned its second youngest ship, Ruby Princess, which debuted in 2008, to the Fort Lauderdale short cruises. The response has been so good that Princess has scheduled short cruises again for the 2014-15 season, she said. For the most part, so have the other cruise lines.

“We’ve certainly found that shorter cruises will appeal to families that are cruising Disney for the first time,” said Lauren Falcone, a spokeswoman, “and they are often eager to go with us again. … The family will get a taste of everything Disney has to offer.”

While South Florida is the biggest market for short cruises, it’s not the only market that’s growing. Princess added short cruises out of Los Angeles in September, and Carnival is adding a ship at Port Canaveral in 2014 for five-night cruises, interspersed with longer sailings.

Even one of the luxury lines, Crystal, is selectively breaking some of its 10- to 12-night cruises into smaller segments to fill empty staterooms on some European cruises and has been surprised by the enthusiastic response.

“In the fall of 2012, we were looking at a number of sailings in the Mediterranean that had some space. We thought, let’s just carve out some shorter segments,” said Mimi Weisband, Crystal’s spokeswoman. The line expected the shorter sailings would be filled with Europeans who didn’t have to travel far to the ship, but “to our surprise, it was so successful, we had people flying from the U.S., South America, Asia.

“More than 70 percent of them were new-to-Crystal guests, and they were an average of 10 years younger. They were affluent but time-strapped. …We started a whole new market.”

Crystal has since started offering shorter cruises in other regions, although unlike other cruise lines, it first waits to see if longer cruises are filled. If not, Crystal opens shorter segments closer to the sailing date. “We’ve got short cruises available till April,” Weisband said, “but we have others standing by, and I expect we’ll be announcing more this fall.”

The king of short cruises is Carnival, which offers cruises of three to five nights out of nine U.S. ports — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Canaveral, Jacksonville, Charleston, New York, New Orleans, Galveston and Los Angeles. Almost half of its just under 4.5 million passengers will sail short cruises this year, Thornton said.

“We’ve been following this trend for a long time,” Thornton said. “We’ve worked very hard to attract first-time cruisers. We know once we get a shot at that, we’ve got a good chance to keep them as customers. It’s a good way for them to try cruising, to get their foot in the door.

“As you’ve seen, some of our competitors are increasing short cruises. I think what they’re seeing is the same trends. They are looking for any way to create more interest in their cruises.”

By Marjie Lambert, Miami Herald

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