Princess Cruises ship gets banned from entering Caribbean port
The cruise ship will be able to visit the port on future voyages, but passengers on its latest sailing were not allowed to enter the destination.
If you’ve sailed on multiple Caribbean cruises, it’s pretty likely that on one of your voyages, you’ve received the dreaded news that your ship will miss one of its planned ports of call.
It happens most often when poor weather conditions prevent a cruise ship from entering a port. For example, on my very first cruise many years ago, rough seas led our captain to divert from the Cayman Islands toward better weather in Costa Maya, Mexico.
Related: Celebrity Cruises passengers sound alarm on industry-wide issue
Occasionally, however, a different kind of reason prevents a cruise ship from visiting one of the destinations on its itinerary.
Passengers sailing on Princess Cruises’ Enchanted Princess just found out what that’s like, as their ship was turned away from the highly anticipated final port of call on its Caribbean itinerary on May 22.
Doug Parker shared details on why the Princess Cruises ship wasn’t permitted to visit the destination, and other cruise news, on the May 23rd edition of Cruise News Today.
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Grand Turk denies entry to Princess Cruises ship
Transcript:
Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Friday, May 23rd.
A cruise ship was turned away from the Grand Turk cruise port yesterday after dozens of passengers were sick. The Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess reported 50 cases of respiratory illnesses, flu, and stomach issues.
Health officials reviewed the ship's medical report and decided the risk was just too high for the island. Because Grand Turk is so small and easy to get around, sick passengers could quickly spread the illnesses.
Health Minister Kyle Knowles said that protecting residents and visitors comes first. Enchanted Princess is on a seven-night cruise from Port Everglades and returns tomorrow.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line warns passengers about sleazy onboard scam
And Carnival Cruise Line is warning guests not to try sneaking into its exclusive Havana pool area using counterfeit or resold wristbands. Yeah, this is a story.
Brand Ambassador John Heald says some passengers have been buying Havana access bands online and attempted to pass them off as premium guests. Carnival uses random wristband colors that change each cruise, and the crew are trained to spot intruders. Carnival says violators risk being removed from the area or even the ship. I'm sorry.
Carnival cruise ship rescues people and dogs from disabled vessel
And Carnival Splendor's crew rescued four sailors and three dogs from a disabled catamaran in the South Pacific on Thursday morning. The ship was sailing just south of New Caledonia when it received a distress call and diverted course, reaching the vessel five hours later.
The catamaran had suffered engine failure and a broken mast in bad weather. All four people and three dogs were safely brought on board and given food, water, and medical care.
Carnival says the rescue won't impact the ship's itinerary. Way to go.
Related: Video: Carnival cruise ship rescues refugees in distress
And the photo of the week comes from Connie: Carnival Luminosa here in Skagway, Alaska. Beautiful picture here. Got a nice rainbow, too. Love this.
Send yours in. Photos@cruiseradio.net. All photos are subject to broadcast.
And cruise stocks were up on Thursday. Carnival Corporation: up 1.7%, 22.43. Royal Caribbean: up slightly, 238.40. Norwegian: up 1.3%, 17.44. And Viking: up slightly, 43.17.
If you have a lead on a story, let us know. Tips@cruiseradio.net.
Have yourself a great weekend. I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
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