what happened to seawing cruise ship

What Happened to the Seawing Cruise Ship?

By Michael Ferguson

The Seawing Cruise Ship was a passenger vessel that operated for 15 years until it met an untimely end in 2019. The ship was originally built in 2004 and operated by a private company, Seawing Cruises. During its time, the ship sailed from port to port across the Caribbean, taking tourists to some of the most stunning islands in the world.

In 2016, however, the Seawing Cruise Ship encountered financial difficulties and was acquired by a larger commercial cruise line, Celebrity Cruises. Under new ownership, the vessel underwent extensive renovations and improvements to make it suitable for modern cruise passengers.

Despite these efforts, though, the Seawing Cruise Ship ran into further trouble in 2019 when it was struck by an unidentified object while on its way to Jamaica. The impact caused severe damage to the ship’s hull and resulted in it taking on water quickly. The crew attempted to make emergency repairs but were unsuccessful and were forced to abandon the sinking vessel.

In the aftermath of this disaster , there were questions about what had actually caused the collision with this unknown object. Some speculated that it had been a large piece of debris from a passing cargo ship or even possibly a whale or other sea creature – although neither of these theories has ever been confirmed.

The Seawing Cruise Ship tragedy was a sad one for everyone involved; luckily though there were no injuries or deaths as all passengers and crew safely abandoned the vessel before it sank beneath the waves forever. In its wake, an investigation into the cause of this incident is still ongoing and may eventually provide some answers about what happened to this once-beloved cruise ship.

In conclusion, what happened to the Seawing Cruise Ship is still unknown but is likely related to an unidentified object which collided with it while on its way to Jamaica in 2019. This tragedy resulted in no injuries or deaths but left many questions unanswered as an investigation into its cause is still ongoing.

7 Related Question Answers Found

What happened to the oceana cruise ship, what happened to the sea princess cruise ship, what happened to the ocean dream cruise ship, what happened to the oceanic cruise ship, what happened to the island star cruise ship, what happened to the woman on the cruise ship, what happened to the lady on the cruise ship, backpacking - budget travel - business travel - cruise ship - vacation - tourism - resort - cruise - road trip - destination wedding - tourist destination - best places, london - madrid - paris - prague - dubai - barcelona - rome.

© 2024 LuxuryTraveldiva

• What Ever Happened To........???

What happened to NCL MS Southward ?

By southbayer , April 4, 2005 in What Ever Happened To........???

Recommended Posts

This was the first cruise ship i took, out of san pedro down to baja back in 1989

Link to comment

Share on other sites.

dougnewmanatsea

In 1994 NCL sold her to the then start-up cruise operation of the UK tour operator Airtours who renamed her SEAWING. The ship was later sold to Louis Cruise Lines and chartered back to Airtours, who later changed their name to MyTravel. MyTravel exited the cruise business in 2004 and SEAWING was returned to Louis who renamed her PERLA and will be using her for cruises in the Greek Isles. See here for more information.

Aleciajoyful1

It's so funny that the M/S Southward was my first cruise as a kid! Wow have the ships changed..

I sailed on the Southward in 1988 for my honeymoon, a 10 day trip from Miami to San Juan....loved the ship, had a great time. Great crew!

thanks alot for the information, I took it for my first ever cruise, i had such a good time... I was just curious for nastolgia reasons

• 2 weeks later...

Our 1st cruise too.... July 1984

Actually, my wife and I at the time thought the whole cruise experience was very confining and actually kinda corny, and so we almost gave up on cruising all together based on that "Southward" cruise.

Thank goodness with gave cruising another try 1987 with the kids on the "Big Red Boat" "Oceanic" and have been hooked on cruising ever since...:)

• 2 months later...

Wow! Our first cruise was also on the Southward in 1992, 5-day Baja. Got us hooked on cruising!

• 3 weeks later...

Dh and I cruised on the Southward for our honeymoon too back in 1984.

Its's funny how recycleable ships are, they get sold off to other companies and they just used again and again and again... Just like the Jubilee

• 10 months later...

TX Traveling Mom

Dh and I cruised on the Southward for our honeymoon too back in 1984.   Lisa :)

We sailed on the Southward for our honeymoon in 1986. I've been reminiscing as our 20th anniversary arrives.:cool:

• 3 months later...

My first as well.. it led to an addiction:eek:

Here is what she looks like now.

We ran into two of her sisters the Coral (Ex Sunward II) in Athens and the Orient Princess (ex Starward) in Mykonos last year.

Add me to the list of those initiated into cruising aboard the NCL Southward.

My cruise was in November 1974. It was a two week cruise to the southern Caribbean. If memory serves me correctly we stopped in Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, St Maartin, St Thomas, San Juan, and Nassau. I was single at the time, met some great folks, and caught cruisin' fever.

Here is what she looks like now.   We ran into two of her sisters the Coral (Ex Sunward II) in Athens and the Orient Princess (ex Starward) in Mykonos last year.

Thanks for those pictures chasetf. Man, looking at her brings back memories. I remember when I thought she was a BIG ship :eek:

Our first cruise was also on the Southward in 1989 - a 3-nite cruise to Baja. We haven't stopped cruising and don't ever intend to stop!!

IvesGrandmama

Deck names on the Southward can anyone help?

I looked in my NCL Caribbean Cruises brochure to find these decks on the Southward from to bottom: Tropicana, Mayflower, Boat, Atlantic, Biscayne and Caribbean. Sailed on Southward in January of 1985 from Miami to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, San Juan, Nassau and back to Miami. It was a neat ship. My brochure says 767 passengers max, 300 crew, cruise speed 16 knots, gross tonnage 16,609, overall length 536 feet. It was an enjoyable trip. Lori

The Southward was our first cruise experience on our honeymoon 5/6/84. We were hooked. I still remember the free yellowbirds at the Honeymooners party that got us so trashed.

She was an intimate ship. The casino was dinky, I think 2 bj tables. The disco was on top and damn it was hard to dance with out bouncing off your neighbors. And we learned to never try to leave the dining room without at least trying dessert!

I still remember sailing back our last night and passing the Norway sailing out. We were amazed by her size and made a promise then that we would sail her some day. We finally made good on that promise, 7 times!

Just recently saw the old Southward on TV shuttling people to safety out of Lebanon during the most recent war.

As far as I know, PERLA ex SOUTHWARD was not involved.

However, her older near sister, ORIENT QUEEN ex STARWARD was definitely involved in the evacuation and the focal point of several days' worth of news coverage.

I sailed the Southward in 1980 and remember the hammocks they had on the in between open deck area.I loved that section of the ship and spent many hours in the hammock having afternoon cocktails.

Does anyone remember the hammocks?

As far as I know, PERLA ex SOUTHWARD was not involved.   However, her older near sister, ORIENT QUEEN ex STARWARD was definitely involved in the evacuation and the focal point of several days' worth of news coverage.

It was the Starward, and she has been and was sailing out of Beruit.

We sailed her in 1991 in the Caribbean, and ran into her in Mykonos on our Grand Princess Med / Greek Island cruise. Her is what she looked like last year.

I suppose Southward was a popular venue for first time cruisers because it was a cheap, short cruise . .It was our first (of over twenty . . ) cruises probably in 1988 . .

We enjoyed it, but were very disappointed with the excursion in çensenada and got our money back!

Now we live in the Canary islands, and we travelled on Seawing around the islands. We didn't even realise it was the same ship until months later when we saw an article about the ship! Great tea time on the Seawing . . . May try her now as the perla!

Best wishes

• 1 year later...

Just to refresh your memory I dug up the old thread

Dec. 1993 was my first cruise. The Southward got me hooked. My second cruise was on NCL Crown for 12 nights in the British Isles.

I don't remember the hammocks.

English_in_Spain

NCL Southward LA to Ensenada 1993. Our first cruise.

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

• Welcome to Cruise Critic
• New Cruisers
• Cruise Lines “A – O”
• Cruise Lines “P – Z”
• River Cruising
• Cruise Critic News & Features
• Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
• Special Interest Cruising
• Cruise Discussion Topics
• UK Cruising
• Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
• Canadian Cruisers
• North American Homeports
• Ports of Call
• Cruise Conversations

Announcements

• New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community!

Write Your Own Amazing Review !

Click this gorgeous photo by member SUPERstar777 to share your review!

Features & News

LauraS · Started 23 hours ago

LauraS · Started Wednesday at 08:11 PM

LauraS · Started Tuesday at 07:43 PM

LauraS · Started Tuesday at 01:14 AM

LauraS · Started April 26

• Existing user? Sign in OR Create an Account
• Find Your Roll Call
• Meet & Mingle
• Community Help Center
• All Activity
• Member Photo Albums
• Meet & Mingle Photos
• Favorite Cruise Memories
• Cruise Food Photos
• Cruise Ship Photos
• Ports of Call Photos
• Towel Animal Photos
• Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos
• Write a Review
• Live Cruise Reports
• Member Cruise Reviews
• Create New...

Archives: Seawing

• December 22, 2012

Pictured above is the Airtour’s Seawing, which started service in 1971 for Norwegian Caribbean Line as the Southward, before being sold to Airtours, and eventually Louis Group in 2004 before being sold again in 2010. Last known to be sailing for Golden Star Cruises.

Cruise Industry News Email Alerts

• Breaking News

Get the latest breaking  cruise news .  Sign up.

54 Ships | 122,002 Berths | $36 Billion | View

Highlights:

• Mkt. Overview
• Record Year
• Refit Schedule
• PDF Download
• Order Today

• 2033 Industry Outlook 
• All Operators
• Easy to Use
• Pre-Order Offer
• Advertising
• Cruise News
• Magazine Articles
• Quarterly Magazine
• Annual Report
• Email Newsletter
• Executive Guide
• Digital Reports

Privacy Overview

Home > Newsroom > A new technical milestone for Seawing, the kite that tows ships

A new technical milestone for Seawing, the kite that tows ships

We have reached an important technical milestone in the Seawing sea trials, with the successful validation of traction flights on the vessel Ville de Bordeaux.

The validation of traction flights is a technical breakthrough, demonstrating that the Seawing system is working as planned, providing the first tonnes of traction that will help reduce the ship’s fuel consumption and emissions.

“ Until now, we had validated the take-off, ascent, descent and landing phases of the wing. During this latest phase, we managed to lower the wing on the horizon to enable the kite to deliver traction that would help propel the vessel ”, Project Manager Mathieu Reguerre explained in a video published on May 16th.

This latest milestone is a particularly important moment for the teams both on board and ashore, who have been working tirelessly to take this innovative system from concept to reality.

Airseas’ Co-Founder and CEO Vincent Bernatets said that “ it is the very purpose of the Seawing to provide traction to ships. Being able to demonstrate that for the first time is extremely exciting, and we are all very happy to have completed this step ”,

“ Everyone is moving forward with the renewed confidence that the Seawing works as planned, and we are excited to progress the trials and improve the kite’s performance in the coming weeks and month s”.

The road ahead

This achievement shows strong steady progress in the ongoing sea trials, which are testing the Seawing on real-life commercial voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. These tests are conducted by a team of Airseas engineers on board, with the support of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, which operates the Ville de Bordeaux , and Airbus , which charters the vessel to transport aircraft components between Europe and the United States.

These trials aim to test the Seawing system, which is completely new technology developed with expertise on flight control and automation from the aerospace sector, and validate its performance. The final product will function with a high level of automation, flying in “figures of eight” patterns 300 meters above the sea level to multiply the traction force.

With automated take-off and landing now fully functional and traction flights validated, the next phases will focus on dynamic flights, gathering data on performance, and fine-tuning the automation system.

Towards large-scale production

The validation of traction flights also marks a turning point in Airseas’ commercial development, and its progress towards the large-scale production of the Seawing.

Responding to growing demand in the shipping industry for decarbonisation solutions, Airseas plans to open a factory for production of Seawing in 2026, and is currently growing a dedicated industrial department . The company aims to create 70 jobs by the end of 2023, taking its team from 120 to 190 people, as it prepares to accelerate production of the Seawing.

“ These are industrial, local jobs, which will enable the delivery of our green technology by 2031. To achieve this, we are currently seeking and gaining new partners ”, General Manager Pierre-Yves Fouché commented.

Airseas is scaling up its company to meet demand for the solution, with commitments from major shipping lines such as “K” Line, with whom Airseas has a 20-year agreement, with options for the Seawing to be installed on up to 50 of its vessels in total.

Ready for the decarbonisation challenge

This technical achievement and rapid acceleration towards production demonstrates how Airseas is at the forefront of a major push towards innovative cleantech adoption in shipping. Wind propulsion in particular is gaining recognition as an essential element in shipowners’ decarbonisation strategies , with Airseas a forerunner to deliver it.

With IMO and the EU both putting owners and charterers under greater pressure to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, Airseas is dedicated to helping the industry take action now. “Market expectations are extremely high because there are strong regulatory requirements on the industry’s shoulders. They must come forward with solutions to decarbonise maritime transport”, Pierre-Yves Fouché explains.

Harnessing the free and widely available energy of the wind to help reduce the climate impact of shipping will not only help the industry comply with regulations, but also do good for societies and the planet.

Recommended news

En traitant la propulsion éolienne comme une source de propulsion, plutôt que comme une mesure d’efficacité, nous pouvons commencer à exploiter le vent dans tout le secteur.

How sea trials are bringing our unique wind-assisted technology to life

Automated wind propulsion system developed by French tech pioneer Airseas is installed for the first time on a commercial ship to significantly reduce carbon emissions, following Bureau Veritas approval to begin operations at sea.

Company-Histories.com

learn how over 7,000 companies got started!

• Listed By State

Companies by Letter

Airtours plc.

Airtours Plc is one of the largest integrated tour operators and travel agents in the European and North American markets. Based in England, where the group is the second largest holiday package vendor after Thomson Travel Group, Airtours has been expanding rapidly in the late 1990s, achieving leading tour and travel positions in the Scandinavian, German, Dutch, French, and Belgian markets, while also building a strong position in the United States and Canada.

Airtours' operations are divided into three areas. The first is the company's holiday tour package sales, represented by the Airtours and other brand names, including Spies in Scandinavia; Sunquest Vacations in Canada; Suntrips in California; Sun International SA in Belgium; Direct Holidays, a direct sales package seller in the United Kingdom; and others, such as the company's 1998 additions of Frosch Touristik in Germany, Panorama Holidays in Ireland, and Vacation Express, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Added to the company's tour operations is Airtours' own network of nearly 800 travel agencies under the Going Places brand name in the United Kingdom. Since the mid-1990s Airtours has been building operations in a new area: cruise lines. In 1998 the company counted three cruise ships in its possession, carrying more than 90,000 vacationers to more than 40 ports. A fourth cruise ship was expected to be added in 1999. Supporting Airtours' activities is a solid infrastructure that includes not only company-owned resort and other hotels, but also the company's own charter airline. The company operates a fleet of some 20 airplanes, ranging from Airbus A320s to Boeing 767s.

Airtours continues to be led by founder David Crossland. A public company listed on the London stock exchange, Airtours is partly owned by the United States' Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's leading cruise line operator, which bought up nearly 30 percent of Airtours in 1996. After rising to the top of the British tour market in the 1990s, Airtours has been actively participating in the ongoing consolidation of the international tour and travel industry, as well as expanding into new markets. Already boasting a string of acquisitions, in December 1998 the company floated a convertible bonds issue, boosting its war chest by more than £250 million.

From Travel to Tours in the 1970s

David Crossland entered the travel business by a side road in the early 1960s. After leaving a self-described "mediocre" school career at the age of 16, Crossland sought work in hospital management. Crossland's lack of qualifications, however, prevented him from finding work in this field. Instead, Crossland found a job stamping brochures for a local travel agent. That job turned out to be an eye-opener for Crossland. As he told the Financial Times: "It was super leaving school and this was a marvelous opportunity, lots of colorful brochures and different places. It was like someone had opened the door and there was this big, shining light."

The shining light proved to be Crossland himself. After only three months, he added salesman's duties, selling holidays for the agent. Crossland turned out to be a natural salesman, with a knack for recognizing his customers' needs--a quality that would come into play strongly in his later career. Crossland's career received its next boost in 1971, when he met a couple preparing their retirement who were looking to sell their two Lancashire travel agencies. The couple offered to sell to Crossland, who jumped at the opportunity. "To this day, I don't know why I didn't say I had no money," Crossland told the Financial Times.

Buying the travel business would cost Crossland some £11,000. The agencies' owners themselves loaned Crossland £4,000, and Crossland sold a one-third share to his sister for £3,000. The remaining £4,000 came from Barclays Bank. Crossland quickly began earning back that loan--by the time he had signed the papers, he had sold a holiday package to the bank's manager. In 1972 Crossland took over Pendle Travel Services Ltd. It would take Crossland only nine months to pay off his company's debts.

Crossland proved to be not merely a good salesman, but a good manager as well. Over the next decade, Crossland sought out more travel agents who were looking to sell their agencies to retire. By the end of the 1970s he had built a chain of 12 travel agencies. Yet Crossland's ambitions would lead him into a vast expansion over the decade to come.

"Serious Business" in the 1980s

Despite Crossland's success, Pendle remained a relatively small company. A new inspiration in 1980, however, would lead the company into a new era. In that year Crossland recognized an opening in the tour packages industry. "I could see that passengers were coming in and asking for products that the tour operators weren't manufacturing," Crossland told the Daily Telegraph. "They weren't listening to the customers so in the 1980s we started a tour operation."

The opening Crossland spotted was in holiday packages for his working class customers. Whereas most tour packages at the time were being offered on a Wednesday-to-Wednesday basis and, therefore, were not easily adapted to customers' vacation schedules, Crossland began designing Saturday-to-Saturday tours. The shift to the weekend made all the difference. In 1980 Pendle would take some 900 customers on holidays to Malta. By the following year, that number would grow to more than 23,000, and the company began offering a choice of destinations. By 1983 Crossland's tour operation--created as a separate division dubbed Pendle Air Tours--had expanded the company to 23 agencies and more than 200,000 tour customers per year.

Until then, Crossland had led Pendle Travel Services as an entrepreneurial concern. But in the mid-1980s Crossland recognized his own limits and the limits of entrepreneurship. As he told the Financial Times: "I can remember thinking, 'I haven't got the capability to work any more hours, so if I want to expand the company, I'll have to find people with business disciplines I don't have.' In my own mind that was one of the turning points for the group, changing from a one-man entrepreneur into a serious business."

Crossland began recruiting a management staff, bringing in former executives from such firms as Marks & Spencers, Kellogg's, and Granada. The new team began reshaping Pendle from its former travel agent business to a full-fledged tour operator. By 1986 the company's tour business had become the primary source of revenues and growth. In that year Pendle sold off its 25 Pendle travel agency chain stores, and renamed itself Airtours, concentrating solely on its booming tour package operations.

Airtours continued to expand rapidly in the late 1980s. Fueling this expansion was the company's listing on the London stock exchange in 1987. The public company, and Crossland in particular, would be credited with bringing a new level of professionalism to the traditionally volatile travel business. Airtours also would prove adept at discovering new travel niches. In 1990, for example, Airtours launched its EuroSites brand of self-drive camping holidays. In keeping with the popular European-style camping holiday--where a "camping" often resembles a small resort more than a simple campground, complete with restaurants and recreational facilities--a EuroSites holiday offered a tent or mobile home rentals, as well as a choice of location in England, Holland, Germany, Denmark, and other European continent countries. The EuroSites concept proved to be a hit, bringing Airtours to one of the leading positions in that segment.

Vertically Integrated Travel Giant in the 1990s

The 1990s would see Airtours transform itself from tour package operator to a vertically integrated holiday provider. The company took an important step toward this transition in March 1991, when the company launched a new division, Airtours International, offering charter flights on the first of a soon-to-expand company-owned fleet of airplanes. The addition of Airtours International would help propel Airtours to the U.K. lead in the air-inclusive tour operators segment.

The following year Airtours reentered the travel agency business with the acquisition of Pickford Travel Agencies and that company's 330 travel agencies in the United Kingdom. The return to retail travel sales enabled the company to move closer toward vertical integration--a move that would be completed as the company began to acquire its own resort and hotel locations.

The troubled travel industry of the early 1990s--hit by the triple blow of overcapacity, traveler fears arising from the Persian Gulf War, and the recessionary economic climate&mdash′ovided fresh opportunities for growth for Airtours, as the company began seeking out more acquisitions. In 1993 Airtours bought Aspro, Ireland's largest tour operator and the number seven ranking tour operator in the United Kingdom as a whole. The Aspro acquisition also extended Airtours' airline activities, as it included Aspro's Inter European Airways subsidiary.

At the time that the Aspro acquisition was made, Airtours also purchased the Hogg Robinson Travel Agency and its chain of 214 retail stores. At the end of 1993 Airtours combined the Hogg Robinson and Pickford travel agent chains into a single operation, renamed Going Places. Further acquisitions would build the Going Places chain to more than 700 stores before the end of the decade.

These acquisitions would prove to be only the first of many more to come, as Airtours began seeking expansion beyond its U.K. base, as well as a diversification of its product offerings. After buying up Tradewinds, the leading long-haul tour operator in the United Kingdom, in December 1993, Airtours turned to a new market opportunity. With the purchase of the MS Seawing, Airtours entered the growing cruise ship market. By 1995 the company had added a second liner, the MS Carousel, and had launched its fly-cruise holiday packages.

The company's international expansion began in earnest in 1994 with the acquisition of Sweden's Scandinavian Leisure Group AB (SLG), which included not only that company's Ving, Saga, and Always tour brands, but also SLG's 50 percent ownership of Premier airlines, the largest charter airline operator in the Scandinavian countries. In addition to giving Airtours SLG's tour and airline operations, the acquisition placed SLG's Sunwing Hotel Group under Airtours' wing, giving the company a number of resort hotels in popular holiday destinations such as Majorca, Spain. Capping 1994, Airtours acquired a new retail operation in the form of Late Escapes, a teletext-based direct sales holiday provider.

After launching its cruise line operations in 1995, Airtours turned its attention to North America, purchasing Sunquest Vacations and Silverwing Holidays, two prominent Canadian-based holiday providers. These would be followed in 1996 with a move to consolidate Airtours' position as the leading tour operator in Scandinavia with the acquisition of the tour operators Spies and Tjaereborg, the hotel group Stella Polaris, and the acquisition of full control of Premier airlines.

Airtours' strong growth and its rapidly expanding cruise ship division, which was reaching more than 75,000 passengers per year, caught the eye of others in the travel industry, in particular the United States' Royal Caribbean Cruises, the largest cruise line operator in the world. In April 1996 Royal Caribbean became Airtours' leading shareholder with the purchase of 29.54 percent of the company's stock. The purchase sparked rumors of a possible takeover bid by Royal Caribbean; a possibility that neither side could discount completely for the future. Meanwhile, the shareholding position provided the basis for a partnership between the two companies, including the sale of one of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships to Airtours, which renamed the ship MS Sundream.

If the mid-1990s presented a difficult market, with increasingly consolidated, global competition sparking a price war that cut deeply into the company's profits, the second half of the decade would show impressive growth in Airtours. From revenues of £1.7 billion in 1995, the company would reach more than £3 billion by 1997.

Among the company's acquisitions during the period were the joint venture purchase with Royal Caribbean of Italy's Costa Cruises, which held the lead in the Mediterranean market and the number five spot worldwide; the acquisition of Northern California's Suntrips tour operator; and the 1998 acquisition of Sun International SA, bringing the company into the Benelux and French markets, as well as strengthening Airtours' short-break holiday business in the United Kingdom.

Airtours would show no sign of slowing down its expansion through 1998. After the Sun International purchase in February of 1998, the company would add a new cruise ship to support its booming cruise division, before moving into the German market with the purchase of a 30 percent stake in Frosch Touristik. By the end of September, Airtours had further strengthened both its U.K. and U.S. presence, with the acquisitions of Panorama Holidays in Ireland and Vacation Express in Atlanta, Georgia.

Under Crossland, Airtours promised continued growth for the future. After moves in December 1998 to move into the Polish market, under the Ving brand name, and the extension of the company's U.K. travel agency division with the purchase of the 116-outlet Travelworld, Airtours showed its hand with the launch of a £250 million bond issue. As the worldwide travel market entered a new phase of consolidation, Airtours appeared likely to take its place among the upper ranks of travel's global leaders.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories , Vol. 27. St. James Press, 1999.

Quick search

Company histories.

As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. We see them around but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Finally, we can read about how these great companies came about with Company Histories. .

Share This Story

Companies by State

• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• West Virginia

Interesting Companies

• Next Media LTD
• Cygne Designs, Inc
• Prada Holdings B.V.
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
• Cannondale Corporation
• New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
• Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc
• Nordstrom, Inc
• Banta Corporation

Copyright (c) 2022 Company-Histories.com. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy

trending now in World News

Elderly American couple stranded in Spain after Norwegian Cruise...

Shocking video shows the moment beauty queen is gunned down after...

Gérard Depardieu to face trial in France over sex assault...

Israeli dad of three, believed to be hostage in Gaza, confirmed...

These three words may reveal when Kate Middleton will return to...

Massive highway collapse kills at least 48 in China as desperate...

Five skeletons without hands or feet dug up in ruins of Nazi HQ...

Teen killed in London sword attack was son of a teacher who was...

Elderly american couple stranded in spain after norwegian cruise ship left without them.

• View Author Archive
• Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

They missed the boat — literally.

An elderly American couple was left behind by Norwegian Cruise Line in Spain this week after they returned late to the ship and the vessel refused to wait for them — despite it routinely departing behind schedule during the voyage.

“I am a very experienced traveler and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime,” Salt Lake City resident Richard Gordon, 84, told CNN .

“Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”

Gordon and his wife Claudene, 81, had gone on an independently booked excursion to view the city of Grenada while their ship, Viva, was docked in Motril on Monday. Due to a rainstorm, they ran late for the 5:30 p.m. all-aboard time ahead of a scheduled 6 p.m. departure.

At 5:45 p.m. the Gordons, who were taking the cruise to celebrate Richard’s 85th birthday this week, notified a relative on board that they were running late but were nearby.

The family member was told that the Viva had to leave on time and would not wait. By the time the octogenarians arrived at 6:10 p.m., the boat had left the harbor, Gordon told the outlet.

“Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4 p.m.,” he claimed.

“Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”

When the Viva set sail, the Gordons were left without their medication, eyeglasses and spare hearing aid batteries, which were on board.

Back in Salt Lake City, their daughter Marilee Baker, stayed up into the wee hours of the morning trying to book her parents a flight to Palma de Mallorca, where the boat was making its next call Wednesday morning, according to CNN.

The Gordons claim Norwegian didn’t make first contact with them until late Tuesday, and by the time they got to Mallorca, they were met with a luxury taxi service to bring them to the Viva.

“They picked us up at the hotel in a beautiful black BMW limousine to take us to the ship. There we were met by the head of ship services who escorted us inside the ship to meet the general manager of the ship, then they escorted us to breakfast, then they escorted us to our cabin,” Gordon told CNN, adding the boat blamed the Motril harbormaster, who they said was supposed to organize travel with the couple.

Despite their reception, Gordon said the boat’s failure to communicate with them left a sour taste in their mouth.

“The ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them,” he said.

Norwegian Cruise Line disputed the couple’s account of what happened, telling The Post they were a full hour behind the 5:30 p.m. all-aboard time, and that it tried numerous times without success to contact the couple after they were left behind.

“After several attempts to contact these guests with the phone numbers provided, as well as trying to phone their emergency contact, we were unable to speak to them directly. However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel,” a Norwegian Cruise Lines spokesperson said.

“It is important to note that a delayed departure has the potential to impact the ship’s ability to deliver its planned itinerary and thus influence the experience for all guests onboard. While this was a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”  

The Gordons are the second set of passengers to complain about being left behind by Norwegian Cruise Lines in just a month.

Earlier in April, nine passengers — including six Americans — missed their boat in Africa and were left to fend for themselves to catch up with the boat in Senegal.

The passengers — including a paraplegic person and an elderly man with a heart condition — were left stranded on the island without any belongings like money, medicine and necessary travel documents.

Norwegian reimbursed some costs they endured while trying to make it back onto the ship, the cruise line said .

Though not waiting for passengers late by their own doing is a common procedure on cruise ships , Norwegian has faced scrutiny in recent weeks after one of the passengers left behind in Africa had recently suffered a stroke and was sent to the hospital when the ship departed.

Share this article:

Here are all the cruise ships we've lost to the COVID-19 crisis

It's been a tough 12 months for hardcore cruise fans -- and not just because cruising at many lines has been completely shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cruise lovers also have had to grapple with the unexpected news that some of their favorite cruise ships were never coming back.

For more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's new cruise newsletter

Facing a huge drop in revenue due to the cruising hiatus and spiraling financial losses , many of the world's biggest cruise lines over the past year have shed a significant number of ships from their fleets in what amounts to permanent downsizing.

Holland America , for instance, has permanently removed four of its 14 ships since last summer -- a 29% reduction in its fleet size. Princess Cruises since September has removed five ships from its fleet (two of which already had been scheduled to leave). The brand now is down to just 14 vessels.

In a few cases, entire cruise lines -- all relatively small ones -- have shut down permanently , with most or all of their vessels unlikely to ever return to service.

Not all the ships are gone forever

In many cases, the ships that cruise lines have shed from their fleets have been sent to scrapyards to be disassembled. They'll never sail again.

But in some cases, the vessels have been sold to another cruise line or a ferry company. That means that when cruising resumes, they may have a second life operating as a cruise ship or a ferry somewhere else in the world.

One deacquisitioned vessel -- Princess's Sun Princess -- is destined for an even more unusual future. It has been sold to a Japan-based non-government organization (NGO) that runs educational programs designed to promote peace around the world.

One bright spot in all the downsizing for cruise fans is that not all cruise companies have been shedding ships. Among major lines resisting the trend to downsizing -- at least so far -- are Norwegian Cruise Line , MSC Cruises , Oceania Cruises , Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn , Silversea and Celebrity Cruises .

Still, it's been an unprecedented year for fleet downsizing. Here, a look at some of the most notable ships that the cruise world has lost, organized by line:

Carnival Cruise Line

The world's second-biggest cruise line by passenger capacity has shed four of its oldest ships over the past year. All four were from the line's once-iconic Fantasy Class series. The eight ships in the series began debuting in 1990 and for many years were the workhorses of the Carnival fleet, helping the brand grow from a small line into the cruising colossus that it is today.

Carnival Fantasy

Sailing since: 1990

Status: Scrapped

Carnival Fantasy was the first of eight Fantasy Class vessels at Carnival that debuted in the 1990s, innovative for their time. At around 70,000 tons, it was one of the world's largest ships when it first began cruising. But it has been eclipsed over the years by far bigger, more modern vessels with more amenities. By comparison, Carnival's newest ship -- the 5,282-passenger Mardi Gras -- measures 181,808 tons.

Unlike more modern vessels, Carnival Fantasy lacks a large number of balcony cabins -- the type of cabins everyone wants these days. Balcony cabins were much rarer three decades ago when it was built.

Based until recently in Mobile, Alabama, Carnival Fantasy carried 2,052 passengers at double occupancy.

Carnival Fascination

Sailing since: 1994

Status: Sold to Century Harmony Cruise Ltd. (renamed Century Harmony)

Like Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination was a Fantasy Class ship built in the 1990s. For many years, it sailed for Carnival out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, though it originally debuted in New York. It had been scheduled to replace the Carnival Fantasy in Mobile, Alabama, next year.

The ship's new owner, a Chinese company, reportedly plans to turn the vessel into a floating hotel.

Carnival Imagination

Sailing since: 1995

Status : Scrapped

Carnival Imagination was a fixture in recent years in the port of Long Beach, California, where it was based for short, inexpensive getaways to Ensenada, Mexico.

Like Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination, it was one of Carnival's eight Fantasy Class ships. Unlike some of the others, it had been retrofitted over the years with extra balcony cabins. But that wasn't enough to keep it from the scrappers during the past year's downturn.

Like its sisters, Carnival Imagination measured about 70,000 tons and held just over 2,000 passengers, based on double occupancy.

Carnival Inspiration

Sailing since: 1996

Like its recently scrapped sister ship Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration was most recently based at the Port of Long Beach in California, and it was a favorite among Californians looking for an inexpensive short getaway. Like Carnival Imagination, it sailed quick trips to Mexico.

Carnival Inspiration carried 2,056 passengers, based on double occupancy, and measured about 70,000 tons.

Holland America

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Holland America's managers to cut back the line's fleet sharply. In all, the brand has lost four ships over the past year -- nearly a third of the vessels it operated at the start of 2020.

With their departures, Holland America now only has 10 ships -- fewer than it has had in many years. That said, Holland America is scheduled to get its 11th ship later this year with the debut of the 2,668-passenger Rotterdam. Currently under construction at a shipyard in Italy, the vessel was ordered long before the coronavirus crisis began. It'll take the place of a ship of the same name that was one of the four that left the fleet in recent months.

The four vessels that have left the Holland America fleet over the past year include its three oldest vessels — Maasdam, Veendam and Rotterdam. All were built in the 1990s.

Sailing since: 1992

Status: Sold to Seajets (renamed Aegean Myth)

Maasdam's small size -- it measured just 55,000 tons and carried 1,258 passengers -- made it a favorite in the Holland America fleet among cruisers who like the intimacy of smaller ships. But its small size also made it a prime target for the chopping block. Smaller ships generally are less efficient and less profitable than bigger ships.

Its new owner, Seajets, is a Greek/Cypriot ferry company operating ferry services in the Aegean Sea.

Status: Sold to Seajets (renamed Aegean Majesty)

Like Maasdam, Veendam had a lot of fans at Holland America due to its intimate size. Measuring just 57,000 tons, it was part of the same Statendam Class to which Maasdam belonged, although it held slightly more passengers -- 1,350 at double occupancy.

Like Maasdam, Veendam also was sold to Seajets, the Greek/Cypriot ferry company.

Sailing since: 1997

Status: Sold to Fred. Olsen Cruises (renamed Borealis)

Holland America's flagship up until last year, the 1,404-passenger Rotterdam was the sixth vessel to carry the Rotterdam name at Holland America -- a storied line that has its roots in the 1800s.

Measuring about 61,000 tons, Rotterdam was slightly bigger than Maasdam and Veendam. It was part of the line's somewhat newer Rotterdam class.

Its new owner, Fred. Olsen Cruises, is a British line catering almost entirely to British cruisers.

Sailing since: 2000

Status: Sold to Fred. Olsen Cruises (renamed Bolette)

British line Fred. Olsen Cruises also acquired the 1,380-passenger Amsterdam from Holland America, renaming it Bolette. Together, the two ships are replacing two older, smaller Fred. Olsen vessels (Boudicca and Black Watch) and will take over their itineraries once the line resumes sailings.

The replacement of the two ships is increasing Fred. Olsen's overall capacity by about 30%, making it one of the few lines that actually has grown considerably in size on a passenger capacity basis during the recent cruise industry shutdown.

Princess Cruises

The Princess fleet has undergone a significant downsizing over the past year with five ships departing. Three of the ships — Sun Princess, Sea Princess and Pacific Princess — were sold as part of an effort to cut costs during the coronavirus-caused global shutdown. Two others — Golden Princess and Star Princess — already had been scheduled to leave the Princess fleet even before the coronavirus pandemic began (though their departures were accelerated). As previously planned, Golden Princess and Star Princess were transferred to a Princess sister company, P&O Cruises Australia.

With the departures, Princess is down to just 14 vessels.

Sun Princess

Status: Sold to Peace Boat (renamed Pacific World)

Unveiled in 1995, the 2,000-passenger Sun Princess was the oldest vessel in the Princess fleet and -- at 77,000 tons -- one of the smallest, too. That made it a logical pick for downsizing.

Its new owner, Peace Boat, is a Japan-based international NGO working to promote peace, human rights and sustainability. It offers cruises that have a program centered on experiential learning and intercultural communication.

Sun Princess, notably, had a turn as a TV star. The ship appeared as the backdrop in 1998 and 1999 for 27 episodes of "Love Boat: The Next Wave."

Sea Princess

Sailing since: 1998

Status: Sold to Sanya International Cruise Development Co. Ltd. (renamed Charming)

A sister to Sun Princess, the 2,000-passenger Sea Princess also was one of the oldest and smallest ships in the Princess fleet. Both of the ships were part of the same Sun Class at Princess with vessels that measured around 77,000 tons.

Its new owners, a China-based company, plan to use it to start a new China-based cruise line for domestic cruising.

Pacific Princess

Sailing since: 1999

Status: Sold to investment firm Sycamore Partners to sail for Azamara

Far smaller than any other Princess ship, Pacific Princess had been an outlier in the line's fleet for some time. Measuring just 30,277 tons, it was nearly five times smaller than the latest Princess vessels such as the one-year-old Sky Princess . It holds just 680 passengers at double occupancy — more than 80% fewer than the newest Princess ships.

Built in the late 1990s for long-defunct Renaissance Cruises, Pacific Princess was a sister to seven other "R-class" vessels that now form the core of the fleets of Oceania and Azamara. It's built more for the sort of intimate, smaller-ship, destination-focused cruising that those two lines offer.

Sycamore Partners, which announced plans to buy the ship in January, plans to incorporate it into the Azamara fleet, which it also is in the process of buying .

Note that this Pacific Princess should not be confused with the original Pacific Princess, which famously served as the backdrop for the original "Love Boat" series of the 1970s and 1980s. That ship was scrapped in 2014.

Golden Princess

Sailing since: 2001

Status: Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia (renamed Pacific Adventure)

The 2,600-passenger Golden Princess was one of a long line of Grand Class vessels at Princess that helped define the brand over the past two decades. Even after its departure (and the departure of the Star Princess; see below), the Grand Class vessels still represent the majority of the Princess fleet.

Princess announced in 2017 that Golden Princess would eventually be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia, an Australia-based line owned by the same parent company. But the transfer was moved up after the industrywide shutdown to cruising operations due to COVID-19.

Star Princess

Sailing since: 2002

Status: Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia (renamed Pacific Encounter)

Like Golden Princess, the 2,600-passenger Star Princess has been transferred a bit earlier than expected to Princess sister line P&O Cruises Australia. But with cruising in Australia mostly shut down, it has yet to sail for its new owners.

The ship was part of the same Grand Class series that included Golden Princess, and it was for many years one of the line's premier vessels.

Royal Caribbean

The world's largest cruise line by passenger capacity has removed two vessels from its fleet over the past year, leaving it with just 24 ships for now. The two vessels -- Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas -- were the lines oldest and smallest ships and increasingly outliers in its fleet. Empress of the Seas, notably, measured just 48,563 tons — three to four times smaller than the big, amenity-filled ships that Royal Caribbean has been rolling out in recent years. Still, both of these vessels were much-beloved by Royal Caribbean fans, in part due to their smaller size.

Empress of the Seas

Status: Sold to Cordelia Cruises (renamed Empress)

Royal Caribbean's oldest ship was increasingly an outlier in the line's fleet, which is increasingly dominated by giant mega-ships that are chock full of amusements . At 48,563 tons, Empress of the Seas was nearly five times smaller than Royal Caribbean's big Oasis Class vessels .

Called Nordic Empress when it originally debuted in 1990, Empress of the Seas also was 30 years old, which is old for a Royal Caribbean ship.

Notably, Royal Caribbean already had removed Empress of the Seas from its fleet once before, in 2008, when it transferred the vessel to the Royal Caribbean-affiliated Spanish line Pullmantur. But Royal Caribbean brought Empress of the Seas back to its fleet in 2016 to operate sailings to Cuba , which only can be done by smaller ships due to limitations at Cuban ports. Cruises from the U.S. to Cuba have since ceased due to changing government policy.

Empress of the Seas' new owner, Cordelia Cruises, is a start-up cruise line in India.

Majesty of the Seas

Status: Sold to Seajets (renamed Majesty)

Sailing for Royal Caribbean since 1992, Majesty of the Seas was the second-oldest ship in the line's fleet. It also was the line's only remaining Sovereign Class vessel -- the Sovereign Class is an iconic series of ships that helped revolutionize the cruise industry. Two other Sovereign Class vessels that originally sailed for Royal Caribbean were transferred years ago to Royal Caribbean-affiliated Pullmantur.

Measuring just 74,077 tons, Majesty of the Seas was popular with Royal Caribbean fans who prefer smaller ships. It carried 2,350 passengers at double occupancy. It sailed out of New Orleans .

Majesty of the Seas' new owner, Seajets, is the same Greek/Cypriot ferry company that bought Holland America's Maasdam and Veendam.

Costa Cruises

The downsizing at Costa Cruises over the past year has been nearly as sharp, on a percentage basis, as the downsizing at Holland America. Four ships have left Costa's fleet, leaving the brand with just 12 vessels.

Costa NeoRomantica

Sailing since: 1993

Status: Sold to Celestyal Cruises (renamed Celestyal Experience)

Dating to 1993, this was Costa Cruises' oldest ship. At 56,869 tons, it also was the line's smallest ship. Those two factors made it an outlier in the Costa fleet and a prime target during the line's recent downsizing. Costa's newest vessel measures more than 185,000 tons.

The ship was part of Costa's Classica Class series and held 1,578 passengers at double occupancy.

It's been sold to Celestyal Cruises, which is known for cruises in the Greek Isles and will sail under the name Celestyal Experience.

Costa Victoria

Unveiled in 1996, this 1,928-passenger vessel was one of the first ships to face the scrappers as cruise lines began cutting vessels in 2020. It was only 23 years old at the time, which was unusually young for a modern-day cruise ship to be scrapped. It had spent its entire career sailing for Costa Cruises.

Measuring 77,000 tons, Costa Victoria was part of the line's Victoria Class series.

Costa Atlantica

Status: Transferred to CSSC Carnival Shipping (Carnival China)

The 2,114-passenger Costa Atlantica has been transferred to CSSC Carnival Shipping, a joint venture between Costa's parent company, Carnival Corp., and two Chinese entities, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation and Chinese shipbuilder China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Together they are developing a new cruise brand for the Chinese market.

Costa Atlantica was, notably, the first modern cruise ship to be purpose-built for Costa. It's a sister ship to the four Spirit Class vessels operated by Carnival, a sister brand. It measures about 85,000 tons.

Costa Mediterranea

Sailing since: 2003

Like Costa Atlantica, the 2,114-passenger Costa Mediterranean will be sailing in Asia for a new line aimed at Chinese travelers that will be jointly owned by Carnival Corp. and two Chinese entities.

The 85,000-ton ship also is a sister vessel to the four Spirit Class ships at sister line Carnival.

P&O Cruises

British line P&O Cruises has removed a single ship from its small fleet since the coronavirus crisis began, the 2,000-passenger Oceana. That leaves it with six vessels.

Status: Sold to Seajets (renamed Queen of the Oceans)

Longtime Princess fans will remember Oceana as the Princess ship Ocean Princess. When it originally debuted in 2000, it sailed under the Princess banner with that name. But its time under the Princess banner didn't last long. In 2002, it was transferred to sister line P&O Cruises and sailed for P&O Cruises right up until early last year.

In another tie to Princess, Oceana is a sister to the Sea Princess and Sun Princess mentioned above, which have just recently left the Princess fleet. Like those vessels, it measures about 77,000 tons and carries around 2,000 passengers, based on double occupancy.

The company that bought Oceana, Seajets, is the same Greek/Cypriot ferry company that bought Holland America's Maasdam and Veendam, and Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas.

P&O Cruises Australia

Australian-focused P&O Cruises Australia (a sister line to British-focused P&O Cruises as well as Princess) has shed two ships over the past year but also gained two (from Princess, see above).

Pacific Dawn

Sailing since: 1991

Originally ordered by long-defunct Sitmar Cruises, this 2,016-passenger ship began life sailing for Princess after Princess bought Sitmar. It initially sailed as the Regal Princess and was part of the original Crown Class designed by legendary Italian architect Renzo Piano. It transferred to the P&O Cruises Australia fleet in 2007.

At the time of the industrywide shutdown in 2020, Pacific Dawn had been scheduled to be transferred to British line Cruise & Maritime Voyages in February 2021. But the collapse of Cruise & Maritime Voyages in July brought an end to those plans. For a brief period, efforts were underway to turn the ship into a floating village for digital nomads and crypto enthusiasts. But that quickly fell apart, and the ship was scrapped.

Pacific Aria

Status: Sold to Seajets (renamed Aegean Goddess)

The 1,258-passenger Pacific Aria was originally built as the Ryndam for Holland America, and it sailed for that line for more than two decades. It only was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2015 (Holland America and P&O Cruises Australia share the same parent company).

Like the Pacific Dawn, Pacific Aria had been scheduled to be transferred to British line Cruise & Maritime Voyages. But the collapse of Cruise & Maritime Voyages in July brought an end to those plans. It was later sold to Seajets, the Greek-Cypriot ferry company.

Other ships

In addition to the ships above from relatively large lines, the coronavirus crisis has led to the scrapping or sale of quite a few vessels from smaller cruise companies -- including a few vessels that have been icons of the cruise world for many decades.

These vessels include all three ships that operated for Spanish line Pullmantur, which collapsed in June . One of the Pullmantur ships was the former Sovereign of the Seas , a legendary vessel in the history of modern cruising that originally sailed for Royal Caribbean. Though small by today's standards, it was considered the very first modern mega-ship. It was scrapped in July in a development that was heartbreaking for many long-time cruise fans .

Also scrapped was Pullmantur's Monarch, the former Monarch of the Seas. It was a sister ship to Sovereign of the Seas.

The collapse of British line Cruise & Maritime Voyages also has led to the scrapping of several ships -- specifically Columbus, Magellan, Astor and Marco Polo. Columbus originally sailed as Princess's Star Princess, and Magellan sailed as Carnival's Holiday.

Originally built as the ocean liner Aleksandr Pushkin in 1965, the Marco Polo was one of the oldest ocean liners still sailing until 2020.

Also recently scrapped was one of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line's two vessels: Grand Celebration. Unveiled in 1987, the ship originally sailed at Carnival as Celebration and it played an important role in that line's early years. In addition, one ship from British line Marella Cruises (Marella Celebration) has been scrapped. It originally sailed as Holland America's Noordam.

A second Marella vessel, Marella Dream, has been taken out of service. It had previously sailed for Home Lines as Homeric, for Holland America as Westerdam, and for Costa as Costa Europa.

The collapse of Indian line Jalesh Cruises in October also led to the scrapping of its only ship, a former Princess vessel. And the former Carnival ship Tropicale, which most recently was sailing for Peace Boat, also has gone to the scrappers.

Meanwhile, the fate of Fred. Olsen's newly retired Black Watch and Boudicca, which the line has replaced with two former Holland America ships (see the Holland America section above), is in doubt. Both are iconic cruise ships that originally sailed for the famed Royal Viking Line -- once the world's premier luxury line. But they are now are nearly 50 years old.

Bottom line

Well over three dozen cruise ships were scrapped or sold over the past year as cruise lines struggled to survive. When cruising eventually resumes, fans of such lines as Carnival, Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean will find that their favorite brands aren't quite as big as they once were. That said, many lines are moving ahead with long-established plans to add new, built-from-the-ground-up vessels over the next few years.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• 15 ways cruisers waste money
• 12 best cruises for people who never want to grow up
• What to pack for your first cruise

Exclusive: We have 30% off Alicia Keys' skin care line – and it's selling out fast

• TODAY Plaza
• Share this —

• Watch Full Episodes
• Read With Jenna
• Inspirational
• Relationships
• TODAY Table
• Newsletters
• Start TODAY
• Shop TODAY Awards
• Citi Concert Series
• Listen All Day

Follow today

More Brands

• On The Show

A group of cruise ship passengers were stranded on an African island. What happened?

An American couple who endured traveling through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up to a cruise ship that left them at a previous port said they may not re-board the boat.

A 21-day dream cruise along the coast of Africa turned into an international ordeal for couple Jill and Jay Campbell and a group of six other passengers after they said they were left behind during a tour stop on an African island off the coast of Nigeria.

What happened to the cruise ship passengers?

Six Americans and two Australians were on a privately-run excursion on the island of Sao Tome on March 30 and were supposed to be back by 3 p.m. local time, according to the couple.

When they didn't make it back in time due to what they said were issues with the tour, their Norwegian Cruise Line ship left without them.

The Campbells, who are from Garden City, South Carolina, told NBC News their tour operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late rejoining the ship, but the vessel left anyway. They added that the island's coast guard tried to get them and several others to the cruise ship, but they said they weren't allowed to board.

The stranded guests made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the vessel could not safely dock there due to "adverse weather conditions," Norwegian said.

The couple then had to make their way from Sao Tome to Dakar, Senegal, where the cruise ship was docked on April 2.

“It’s one of those, ‘You can’t get there from here,’” Jay Campbell said on TODAY on April 2. “I think we flew through six countries just to get to Gambia yesterday.”

When will the passengers return home?

The couple traveled through seven countries in a 48-hour period to reach Senegal, according to Jill Campbell.

Following that ordeal, they said they aren’t sure if they’re going to board the ship again to rejoin the cruise.

“After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,” Jill Campbell said.

“I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and that really the safety and the well-being of the customers should be their first priority, and that should be placed first," she said.

“We believe there was a basic duty of care that they’ve forgotten about so it does concern us.”

What has Norwegian cruises said?

Norwegian Cruise Line told NBC News in a statement that the Campbells’ situation was unfortunate, saying “guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time” and noting the group was on a privately-run tour.

The Campbells were thankful for the people of Sao Tome as they tried to navigate how they were going to catch up to the ship.

"It’s a very difficult process," Jay Campbell said. "You’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers.

"You’re dealing with different currencies, currency exchanges, finding someone that even has dollars, taking dollars, the minimum amount that we had, trying to convert them to local currency, (and) trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to."

Scott Stump is a trending reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY (which you should subscribe to here! ) that brings the day's news, health tips, parenting stories, recipes and a daily delight right to your inbox. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.com since 2011, producing features and news for pop culture, parents, politics, health, style, food and pretty much everything else. 

A cruise to nowhere: Royal Caribbean sailing canceled after guests boarded

A Royal Caribbean International Alaska voyage became a cruise to nowhere over the weekend, with the line canceling the sailing after guests had already boarded.

The cruise line’s Radiance of the Seas ship experienced propulsion issues, forcing it to shorten and eventually scrap the weeklong itinerary, according to notices shared with guests. The sailing was originally set to depart from Vancouver on Friday.

Charlene Chong, who was on board with her husband, their 3-year and 11-month-old children, and her parents, said passengers were notified Saturday afternoon that the cruise was canceled. The 34-year-old teacher and her husband previously took a cruise for their honeymoon, but this marked their first trip with Royal Caribbean.

“My parents had wanted to go to Alaska for a really long time,” said Chong, who lives in Vancouver.

The cruise line warned guests several days before boarding that the ship had a “technical issue with its propulsion system,” according to an email sent to passengers that Chong shared with USA TODAY. The line later pushed the departure back by two days to allow more time for repairs.

Royal Caribbean said boarding would proceed as planned but that the terminal would close Friday evening due to U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules. Passengers would not be able to leave until the ship arrived at Icy Strait Point.

“We were going stir crazy a little bit,” said Chong.

Royal Caribbean gave guests onboard credit worth two days of their fare, a future cruise credit of the same amount, complimentary drinks and other compensation, another email said.

According to Chong, the ship sailed toward a nearby cargo port, but the captain announced Saturday afternoon that the sailing could not proceed and that guests would need to disembark by Sunday at 4 p.m. Chong said she and her family were “lucky” they were local, but she saw other guests scrambling to change their flights and find accommodations.

Your cruise was canceled: Now what?

“We understand the disappointment due to this unfortunate turn of events,” the cruise line said in a letter shared with guests. “We truly extend our sincerest apologies for the continued unforeseen disruptions to your vacation.”

Royal Caribbean gave them their money back as onboard credit with any remaining amount refunded, increased their future cruise credit to 100% of their fare and kept its open-bar policy for the remaining time on board. The line also offered to reimburse trip change fees up to $250 for guests traveling domestically and $400 for international travel and additional reimbursements for hotel and transportation costs, among other compensation.

“Due to a technical issue, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the April 26 sailing," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Guests will receive a full refund and 100% future cruise credit, and have been notified directly.” The spokesperson did not comment on the specifics of Chong's experience.

The ship will resume service for its May 3 sailing.

After they got home, Chong and her family booked a trip to Mexico instead – though her parents decided not to join as they were “a bit exhausted by the whole ordeal.” For now, she’s not inclined to use the future cruise credit. “I would like to go to Alaska,” she said. “I'm not sure if I want to go with them.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach him at [email protected].

• International

US college protests

Israel-Hamas war

Evacuation of passengers has ended as cruise ship travels to Norway port

By Eliza Mackintosh and Kendall Trammell , CNN

What we know about the Viking Sky cruise ship

Here's what we know so far about the Viking Sky cruise ship that is evacuating 1,300 passengers and crew:

• It's owned by Viking Ocean Cruises
• It was built in 2017
• It can hold maximum of 1,443 passengers and crew
• It has six engines, four diesel and two electric

Here are the phone numbers for questions about any passengers

The Joint Rescue Centre says the evacuation from the Viking Sky cruise ship is proceeding with caution.

Rescuers are facing waves of about 6-8 meters (roughly 19-26 feet) high, a spokesperson said .

If you're trying to reach someone on the ship, here are the phone numbers:

• US/AU booked guests: 1-888-889-8837
• UK booked guests: 07585 779 853 or 0208 780 7900

This is the scene onboard after a wave crashed into the ship

Passenger Ryan Flynn shared a video on Twitter showing the aftermath of a door being blown in on the Viking Sky.

The Viking Sky ship, owned by Viking Ocean Cruises, was built in 2017 and can hold 930 guests, according to the company's  website .

Norway's Red Cross is starting a "massive" operation to help evacuees

From CNN's Susanna Capelouto

Norway’s Red Cross has started a "massive" operation and mobilized all units in the region to an area close to where a cruise ship is being evacuated, a spokesperson told CNN.

The spokesperson said more than a hundred Red Cross volunteers are working with evacuees. The Red Cross has counselors and other staff available at a gym in the community of Fraena where the evacuees are being taken by helicopter.

He said volunteers are there “for a shoulder to cry on” or for “hand holding” for people from the cruise ship after the evacuations.

From there, the evacuees are being transferred to hotels in nearby towns, the spokesperson said. 

Passenger says she's been waiting almost 6 hours to be evacuated

From CNN's Kay Guerrero

Passenger Alexus Sheppard from Northern California says she has been waiting almost six hours to be evacuated. Most people were fairly calm, she said, and they were being served food and water.

Passengers are getting airlifted one by one

From CNN's Nicole Chavez

Helicopters are airlifting passengers and crew members one person at a time, and the process could continue overnight and through Sunday. 

"We can't say how long it would take," said Borghild Eldoen, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Centre for Southern Norway.

The cruise ship was flooding as passengers waited to be evacuated

People on board the stranded cruise ship tell CNN the evacuation has been slow. Passengers have waited for hours to get off the boat as it was taking on water from the rough sea.  

"Crew is doing a good job. Evacuation is slow. Seas rough," tweeted David Hernandez, who is a passenger on the ship. "One muster station had a door blow in, injure pax and flood. Moved to midship."

Rough sea winds are making the rescue difficult

The ship is in rough seas in the Hustadvika area on the western coast of Norway. The Joint Rescue Centre said on Twitter it is working to get more than one of the ship's engines running.

Flightradar24 is tracking the helicopter rescues.

Five helicopters and a number of vessels are included in the rescue operation.

Rescuers are trying to ensure the ship stays secure and doesn't drift as they try to get the engines working again. Right now, the ship is secured with one anchor.

115 people have been rescued so far

Norwegian rescue officials said 115 passengers have so far been rescued by helicopter from a stranded Viking cruise ship off the coast of Norway.

The Joint Rescue Centre for Southern Norway told CNN the rescue operations will continue throughout the night and into Sunday as the ship had 1,300 people on board when it first sent a distress signal due to “engine problems in bad weather.”

Please enable JavaScript for a better experience.

Crew on Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea

The crew on the world's largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, helped rescue 14 people who were clinging to a small boat this week, officials said.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said the ship "encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance" Sunday.

"The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard," the spokesperson said. "The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

The cruise, which began in Miami, was headed for Honduras when the rescue happened, passengers said. Passengers captured video of the crew using a small vessel to ferry the group to the safety of the cruise ship.

The crew broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar,” over the loudspeakers, Alessandra Amodio said in a report on  FoxWeather.com . Amodio said she watched as people on the tiny craft waved a large white flag.

After the rescue, Amodio said, the cruise ship’s captain announced the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days.

The Icon of the Seas boasts 18 decks and six waterslides, and it can accommodate more than 5,500 passengers. It has 2,850 staterooms and seven swimming pools.

The colossal ship is 1,198 feet long, dwarfing the Titanic, which was 882.9 feet long. It departed on its maiden voyage on Jan. 27 from Miami, TODAY.com reported.

Antonio Planas is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

The Associated Press

Meriam Bouarrouj is an NBC News assignment editor.

Crew member goes missing at sea during around the world cruise ahead of return to UK

A crew member has been reported missing at sea on an around the world cruise.

The crew members went missing from the Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambassador ship.

The massive 1,400 guest cruise ship was making its way back from Lisbon , Portugal , to the UK, when one crew member was reported missing, according to Sky News.

Ambience had turned back to ‘retrace her route to the ship’s position when the crew member was last seen,’ the outlet said citing a statement from the British cruise line.

But the ship has since been ‘released by coastguard authorities from the search’ and it is making its ‘original course back to the UK,’ the company said.

The missing crew member is reportedly from India and they are thought to have gone missing ‘shortly after breakfast’ on Friday when the cruise was off Cape Finisterre on the Spanish coast, the statement said.

A thorough ship-wide searchers were carried out for the missing person, who has not been named, Sky News said.

The local coastguard was also informed.

Ambassador told the outlet in a statement: ‘Our immediate priority is to provide full support to all crew members closely affected by this incident.

‘Guests onboard have been kept informed throughout the day and have been advised of recent developments.

‘Ambassador remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all our crew and guests. We are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of our colleague at this difficult time.’

The cruise ship set off for the 120-day voyage on January 6 from Tilbury, Essex.

It was scheduled to arrive in the UK at 9am on Sunday, but it will be delayed until the evening, the UK-based company said.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

For more stories like this, check our news page .

Get your need-to-know latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more by signing up to Metro's News Updates newsletter

You asked: Do I need a passport for my cruise?

By The Way Concierge digs into the (surprisingly) complicated rules for travel by sea.

Traveling has always come with complications. Our By The Way Concierge column will take your travel dilemmas to the experts to help you navigate the unexpected. Want to see your question answered? Submit it here .

We’re going on a very short cruise from California to Mexico this spring. Do we need passports for our kids, even if we don’t get off the ship? — Ben, Springfield, Va.

There’s a difference between what you need and what is a good idea to have.

Let’s begin with the first: On most cruise lines and for most itineraries, a voyage that starts and ends at the same U.S. port and stays in the Western Hemisphere will not require any American citizen — child or adult — to have a passport.

These are called closed-loop cruises, and they only need proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate plus a government-issued photo ID, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection . For people under 16, a birth certificate will suffice. Popular cruise lines including Carnival , Royal Caribbean and Norwegian detail their requirements and any exceptions online.

A sailing that leaves from one U.S. port and ends at another — or starts in the United States and ends at a foreign destination — would not be classified as a closed-loop cruise. Everyone, including kids, would need a passport in that case.

There are some caveats, warns Teresa Tennant, senior vice president of the travel planning company Cruise Specialists . Some cruise companies, including Holland America Line and Princess Cruises , say that all members of a party must have a passport if minors are traveling with only one adult.

Some other cruise lines, such as the luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises, require a passport for all sailings.

“It’s important to always check with the cruise line, because they can set their own rules that are actually above and beyond,” Tennant said.

Customs and Border Protection also urges travelers to check with their cruise company, travel agent and destination to confirm what’s required to enter foreign countries on an itinerary.

Whether or not you are required to have a passport, cruise lines and experts say it’s smart to have one before setting sail. The task isn’t quite as onerous as it used to be, now that wait times have returned to pre-pandemic norms of six to eight weeks for routine service and two to three weeks for the expedited process.

Cruise lines say they strongly recommend that passengers opt for the passport over other forms of identification.

“A passport is the hassle-free, gold standard for traveling between countries,” Royal Caribbean says on its website. “Boarding and disembarking through customs with a passport is usually faster than other types of ID documents.”

The U.S. State Department says travelers might need their passport “in the event of an unexpected medical evacuation or if the ship docks at an alternate port.” Travelers would also need their passports if they showed up late in a foreign port and the ship left without them — which has happened to some U.S. passengers recently.

“You should bring your passport even if your cruise says you won’t need it,” the State Department says on its information page for cruise ship passengers.

Colleen McDaniel, editor in chief of the news and review site Cruise Critic , said in an email that it would be much more difficult to get home without a passport if someone had to leave the ship.

“In such a case, you might have to rely on help from a U.S. embassy or consulate to return, which can take time,” she said.

Have a travel dilemma for By The Way Concierge? Send it to us here .

More travel tips

Vacation planning: Start with a strategy to maximize days off by taking PTO around holidays. Experts recommend taking multiple short trips for peak happiness . Want to take an ambitious trip? Here are 12 destinations to try this year — without crowds.

Cheap flights: Follow our best advice for scoring low airfare , including setting flight price alerts and subscribing to deal newsletters. If you’re set on an expensive getaway, here’s a plan to save up without straining your credit limit.

Airport chaos: We’ve got advice for every scenario , from canceled flights to lost luggage . Stuck at the rental car counter? These tips can speed up the process. And following these 52 rules of flying should make the experience better for everyone.

Expert advice: Our By The Way Concierge solves readers’ dilemmas , including whether it’s okay to ditch a partner at security, or what happens if you get caught flying with weed . Submit your question here . Or you could look to the gurus: Lonely Planet and Rick Steves .

• You asked: Do I need a passport for my cruise? May 2, 2024 You asked: Do I need a passport for my cruise? May 2, 2024
• You asked: Do I have to pay an international parking ticket? March 21, 2024 You asked: Do I have to pay an international parking ticket? March 21, 2024
• You asked: Can I ditch my PreCheck-less partner at security? January 11, 2024 You asked: Can I ditch my PreCheck-less partner at security? January 11, 2024

Crew member missing at sea during round-the-world cruise

The ship - which can carry 1,400 guests at a time - turned back to join the search for the missing crew member. It had been due to return back to the UK on Sunday morning.

By Rachel McGrath, news reporter

Friday 3 May 2024 22:07, UK

A crew member on a 120-day voyage around the world is missing at sea.

Ambassador Cruise Line's Ambience ship was making its final journey from Lisbon, Portugal back to the UK when the crew member was reported missing.

In a statement to Sky News, the British cruise line said Ambience had initially turned back to "retrace her route to the ship's position when the crew member was last seen".

However, it has since been "released by coastguard authorities from the search" and is "continuing on her original course back to the UK".

According to the statement, the crew member, who was from India, was reported missing "shortly after breakfast" this morning while the ship was off Cape Finisterre, on the west coast of Spain .

It said thorough ship-wide searches were conducted for the person, who has not been named, and the local coastguard was informed.

Ambience had departed from Tilbury, Essex on 6 January and is due to return to the port on Sunday.

More on Cruise Ships

'I believe he is alive': Cruise passenger who went overboard a week ago is a master diver, father says

Cruise carrying 1,500 passengers stuck in Barcelona port over Bolivian visa dispute

Holland America deaths: Two crew members die after 'incident' on cruise ship in Bahamas

Related Topics:

• cruise ships

Ambassador has confirmed its arrival time, initially planned for 9am, will be delayed until the evening.

All events to mark its return have also been cancelled.

"Our immediate priority is to provide full support to all crew members closely affected by this incident," Ambassador said.

"Guests onboard have been kept informed throughout the day and have been advised of recent developments.

"Ambassador remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all our crew and guests. We are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of our colleague at this difficult time."

More from Sky News: Parents 'broken' at cricketer son's death Boy, 15, found guilty of murdering teen Alfie Lewis

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

British cruise line Ambassador has its headquarters in Purfleet, Essex, and its home port is the nearby Tilbury.

The 800ft-long Ambience is its flagship boat and can carry 1,400 guests in its 789 cabins.

Stops on its 120-day Grand Round The World Cruise voyage have included New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Brazil.

Related Topics