Royal Caribbean: A floating nation where you are free to do whatever you want

The Nation of Why Not launched by Royal Caribbean
Described as a floating nation where you are free to do whatever you want, Royal Caribbean has pushed the boundaries of imagination and innovation with there latest ad campaign. With the launch of the new brand concept - Nation of Why Not, the statement from Royal Caribbean is ‘anything is possible’. The new brand poses questions such as why not climb mountains at sea, ice-skate on the Equator or sunbathe past glaciers?
WHY NOT commit sexual assault on a cruise ship and never worry about being prosecuted. (Even though there have been hundreds of sexual assualts on cruise lines, there has been no convictions over the last forty years)
WHY NOT fall off a cruise ship and never have your death investigated.
WHY NOT take a cruise and be exposed to the Nova virus or the novel H1N1 virus and watch the ship be quarantined.
WHY NOT provide the foreign cruise companies with untaxed profits and help them pollute the deep blue sea at the same time.

Travel Attorney and former general counsel for cruise line reveals massive cover-ups: cruise lines protect their reputation not passengers

eturbonews.com

They are powerful because it is this multi-multi-billion dollar industry and, like the aviation industry...So they are trying to be protective, and the consumer doesn’t have the rights that he or she needs...

just tell these ships: if you take the millions of US passengers that you do, you better collect evidence if there’s a crime. You better not try to cover it up, and you better report to the Coast Guard, the FBI, Homeland Security...We have such a need for the security. And, again, using this as an area I testify to sometimes as an expert witness, the security is more engaged in keeping the outside duty-free liquor off the ship so the passengers are forced to buy the cutsie little drinks with the umbrellas, than sometimes concentrating on security while on board. That’s a different need. There are thieves on board. You’ve got close surroundings on board. You have a lot of drinking on board. You have a lot of assaults and a lot of rapes. And, people can’t do much, especially if they’re part of the crew. And, this is wrong. This has got to be protected as a basic human right; protect those people that are working for you or are paying good money to be passengers...We’ve got to be able to make the cruise lines keep this information, not engage in cover ups. Turn it over and cooperate. That’s the biggest part of the legislation. And, what legislator could disagree with that? That tells somebody, if there is some incident happening on your ship, you’re not to cover up, you’re to assist with the authorities...

Some Things Oprah should know about deaths on cruise ships & the evil cruise companies‏

Oprah Winfrey treating her staff to Mediterranean cruise
www.suntimes.com
June 19, 2009
BY MARK BIEGANSKI Staff Reporter
Oprah Winfrey : the world's greatest boss?
For the second time in recent years, she's making a strong case for that title by taking her entire staff and their families on vacation. This time they're going on a lavish Mediterranean cruise.Winfrey and her staff will leave Chicago on Saturday. The cruise ship will stop in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece and Malta. She is covering transportation, food, drinks and activities at port stops.
In 2005, Winfrey celebrated the end of her "Wildest Dreams" season by surprising her staff with an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
According to Chicago-based Best Travel, a cruise like the one Winfrey is taking her staff on costs about $5,400 a person. The billionaire employs more than 100 people at her Chicago based TV production company which recently featured an interview with the parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann.

Speaking of missing persons:
Since the year 2000, 116 cruise ship passengers have gone overboard.
http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

I hope her staff did some research before planning the cruise. The cruise lines are some of the greediest, unethical, profit grabbing corporations on earth. They employ individuals from third world countries under sweat shop conditions which are just a step away from slavery. With the help of John McCain and the millions of dollars they spend on lobbying each year, they have prevented the passage of any meaningful legislation to improve safety and security on cruise ships. Royal Carribean is still incorporated in Liberia so they can avoid regulations, taxes, and corporate responsibility. The also flagged their ships for years there for the same reason. The millions of dollars they paid in fees helped finance Charles Tayor when he murdered close to 400,000 humans in Africa.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberia) . Winfrey had her DNA tested for the 2006 PBS program African American Lives. The genetic test determined that her maternal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic group, in the area that today is Liberia. I started my blog in 2005 after two grandparents were murdered on the carnival cruise ship we were on and there was no investigation. They didn't even turn the ship around to look for the bodies for over 8 hours. I also have evidence that the cruise lines have threatened a newspaper to kill a story that put the industry in bad light. I hope somenone can share this with Oprah's staff.

115 individuals have gone overboard since the year 2000. Many of the deaths were never investigated thoroughly and were never solved. Foul play should be considered for all incidents until they are fully investigated. The Cruise Lines continue to tell the media that this is a rare occurence. Nothing has improved since our cruise in 2005 when a beloved and respected couple fell overboard and died and the ship did not return to where they fell for over 12 hours and then there was no investigation of their murder. In the most recent case, the captain was not even notified of the death until 8 hours later. If somone died or was injured in a bar or a restaurant could they get away with waiting 8 hours before reporting it. Negligence by the cruise line and perhaps Congress? There have been recent congressional hearings but no effective legislation. Then again why would any of the cruise lines be concerned about the death of one customer? http://safecruise.blogspot.com/2006/04/did-royal-caribbean-and-celebrity.html"How & Why Did Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Help Liberian Dictator, Charles Taylor Brutally Kill over 300,000 Individuals in Africa in the 1990's?"
How many more people must get killed at the intersection before we put up a stoplight? We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore. Take a cruise that is. Americans should be encouraged to travel domestically until independent law enforcement is on every cruise ship.

Second time in less than a month a passenger went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship based in the Gulf

Cruise passenger still
WALA-TV FOX10 - ‎1 hour ago‎
"Find her." Vilborg's disappearance marks the second time in less than a month a passenger went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship based in the Gulf.

Cruising into trouble
Tampabay.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
So far this year, 12 passengers or crewmen have gone overboard from cruise ships or ferries. That includes the Alabama woman still missing after a Tuesday ...

Carnival Cruise Passenger falls Overboard at 4 AM and is Rescued by Crew Members

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3269

June 15, 2009 - (4:20 p.m. EDT)

-- A passenger who went overboard from Carnival Inspiration was rescued this morning when he was found hugging a pilot marker in a shipping channel.According to a Coast Guard news release, "Crewmembers from a pilot vessel rescued a man at about 6:50 a.m. Monday, about one mile southeast of Mullet Key, in Fort Desoto, in St. Petersburg."The man was identified by the Coast Guard as Larry Miller, 46, who told the pilot crew that he had gone overboard from the cruise ship at approximately 4 a.m.According to a statement from Carnival Cruise Lines, "The guest told authorities that he climbed up on a railing to get a better view of the pilot boat when he slipped and fell overboard." Miller was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries.Interestingly, Carnival did not know the man had gone overboard until reports surfaced of his rescue. He had not been reported missing at that time. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.Carnival Inspiration was returning to Tampa from a four-night Western Caribbean cruise that departed on Thursday, June 11. The ship is scheduled to depart on a five-night cruise this afternoon as scheduled.--by Dan Askin, Associate Editor

Teenager falls overboard from Carnival cruise ship originating in New Orleans

http://www.nola.com
by The Times-Picayune
Monday May 25, 2009, 11:35 AM
A cruise ship headed to Key West from New Orleans lost a passenger Sunday evening when an 18-year-old man fell overboard, the Coast Guard said. The call came in at 9:45 p.m., said Petty Officer Nick Ameen, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami. A teenager, likely a member of a high school group celebrating graduation, had fallen into the water. Now, almost 14 hours later, the man is still missing, Ameen said. Helicopters, a C-130 Hercules and the Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket are still scouring the ocean about 150 miles off the Florida coast from Tampa Bay. The cruise ship, the Carnival Fantasy, circled the area until 2:30 a.m., before proceeding on to Key West, Ameen said. Ameen said he didn't have any identification for the teenager, but WWL-TV is reporting his name is Bruce O'Krepki of Hammond, a recent graduate St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

Crews search Gulf for missing teen
http://www.wafb.com

Increasinag Number of Cases of Swine Flu on Cruise Ships

Swine flu threat becoming more serious: Roxon
ABC Online - ‎1 hour ago‎
Speaking to Channel Nine, Ms Roxon also defended authorities who quarantined a cruise ship in Sydney because of a swine flu scare yesterday. ...
Swine Flu Cases Surge Above 10000
Voice of America - ‎May 20, 2009‎
Health authorities say the 52-year-old Australian man arrived in Taipei on Monday, after working as a doctor on a cruise ship in the northeastern US state ...
Second Cruise Ship Reports Possible Swine Flu Among Crew
CruiseCritic.co.uk - ‎May 13, 2009‎
At this point, it is unknown whether the H1N1 virus is present. However, when the ship arrived in Barbados this morning, information about the illness and ...
Fears swine flu has spread in South Australian schools
Adelaidenow - ‎3 hours ago‎
ALMOST 3000 passengers on a cruise ship from Hawaii were held up for five hours in Sydney for tests after several showed flu symptoms. ...
Doctors on alert
Tasmania Mercury - ‎5 hours ago‎
Also yesterday the P&O cruise ship Dawn Princess spent five hours in quarantine in Sydney after four of its 3000 passengers and crew were tested for the ...
Thousands held in harbour quarantine
The Age - ‎14 hours ago‎
NEARLY 3000 passengers and crew were quarantined on a cruise ship in Sydney Harbour yesterday due to a swine flu scare, before being allowed ashore but ...
Swine Flu Diagnosed In Cruise Ship Crew Member SmartAboutHealthBoston (SmartAboutHealth) - It is being reported that a crew member working aboard the Serenade of the Seas cruise ship has been diagnosed with swine flu.
The ship was cruising through the waters of Alaska at the time of the diagnosis, making this case the first to be reported in the state.

Crew member aboard a cruise ship in Alaska waters is recovering from what health officials suspect is swine flu

seattletimes.nwsource.com

Swine flu suspected in crew member on cruise ship

By MARY PEMBERTON
Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska —
A crew member aboard a cruise ship in Alaska waters is recovering from what health officials suspect is swine flu.
The female crew member of the Serenade of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship, became ill May 2 while sailing from San Francisco northward. The woman was isolated two days later and was treated with antiviral medication, Dr. Jay Butler, Alaska's chief medical officer, said Sunday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified Alaska health officials over the weekend that there was a probable case of swine flu aboard the ship.
Testing was performed at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory and forwarded to the CDC. The CDC is in the process of validating the results, which were expected Monday.
In the meantime, the state conducted its own testing on a sample taken in Ketchikan when the ship docked there. That sample was sent Friday to the new virology lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and came back negative on Saturday.
Those results were not a surprise, Butler said, because the woman had already been three days on Tamiflu, an anti-viral medication effective against swine flu, and for several days had no fever.
The swine flu has been blamed for 53 deaths worldwide, including 48 in Mexico, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica.
Confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization and CDC are more than 4,500 in 29 countries, including at least 1,626 in Mexico, at least 2,532 in the United States and 280 in Canada.
On April 18, before embarking for Alaska, the Serenade of the Seas departed San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the 14-night Panama Canal voyage it visited Huatulco and Acapulco, Mexico.
On May 2, the ship departed San Francisco for a 14-night voyage to southeast Alaska and Canada.
No other cases of suspected swine flu have been diagnosed aboard the ship.
Butler said the ship's medical staff followed strict isolation procedures to prevent the spread of the illness.

The pirates would have boarded had some passengers not fought them off with chairs being thrown overboard as they were clambering up the side

Kiwi slams security in pirate attack.
/tvnz.co.nz
One of the New Zealander passengers on board a cruise ship attacked by pirates says the danger of the situation has been down played to the media by the ship's captain.
The MSC Melody was over 900 kilometres off the Somali coast last Saturday, with 62 New Zealanders on board, when it was attacked.
Passenger Lorraine Adams told her mother, Barbara Newton from Nelson, in an email there was a lot to be disclosed when the ship docked as "really and truly, security weren't expecting this", the Sunday Star Times reports.
"The pirates would have boarded had some passengers not fought them off with chairs being thrown overboard as they were clambering up the side but then security of ours started the gunfire and, of course, pirates from their boat were letting us have it as well," she emailed.
"Captain said he took 4000 phone calls from CNN, NBC, BBC and of course every possible radio and TV station from around the world but everyone feels he has covered his own backside re security on that night."
The ship's captain, Ciro Pinto, said afterwards the attack had felt like "war".
One passenger and one crew member were injured by broken glass from windows shattered by gunfire, but the other 990 passengers were not injured. MSC Cruises chief executive Pier Francesco Vago said the ship's radar did not pick up the speed boat used by the pirates and it had arrived unexpectedly.
When bullets were fired the captain realised they were under attack and crew herded passengers into their cabins and got them to switch their lights off, he told Radio New Zealand last week.
He played down reports of security staff on the ship having had a shootout with the pirates.
The captain had zig-zagged the ship, the crew had sprayed the pirates with hoses and fired two warning shots in the air and the pirates had given up, Vago said.
A Spanish warship had intercepted a skiff carrying nine suspected Somali pirates believed to have attacked an Italian cruise ship

While rare, pirate attacks on cruise ships a cause for concern

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30442086

by Michael Ventre
msnbc.com contributor
updated 9:45 a.m. ET, Tues., April 28, 2009

On Saturday night, the Italian cruise ship MSC Melody, with 1,500 passengers aboard, was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Thanks to private Israeli security forces on the cruise ship who fired at the pirates, the assault was thwarted and the marauders were driven off.
Last December, the Oceania luxury cruise ship Nautica took evasive measures and outran a pirate ship off the coast of Yemen. In 2005, the Seabourn cruise ship Spirit, carrying 150 passengers and a crew of 160, was approached by two small boats filled with pirates armed with assault rifles and a grenade launcher. The captain of the Spirit took responsive action, even trying to ram one of the pirate boats, before eventually outrunning the bandits.
While pirate attacks on commercial ships have become more frequent of late, assaults on cruise ships remain rare. Still, rare is enough to cause some concern...
...Last year, more than 130 merchant ships were attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, an increase of more than 200 percent from the previous year, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Earlier this year, to step up security in the region, the CTF 151, a counter-piracy naval force, was formed by the U.S. (It recently turned over command to Turkey.) That is the fourth such naval group in the region, joining those sponsored by the European Union, NATO and the French.

Cruise lines cancel Mexico stops over flu fear

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97RO6K85&show_article=1
MIAMI (AP) - At least three cruise lines have canceled stops at popular ports in Mexico over concerns about swine flu, while those that haven't are assuring passengers the ships are clean and risk is low because most reported illnesses there are inland.
Travel agents say customers are still booking trips that include visits to destinations like Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, but those itineraries are likely to change if the outbreak gets much worse. The federal government has warned against nonessential travel to Mexico.
Jennifer Michaels, an Atlanta real estate broker, is stocking up on antiseptic wipes ahead of a five-day Carnival Cruise Lines voyage leaving Miami on Thursday.

She hoped Carnival would skip a planned stop in Cozumel, but said she and her friends would go even if it didn't. "We'd probably still go and then just stay on the ship if they stop," she said. "I don't know if that would do any good anyways, but that's what we'd do." Michaels got her wish. After cancelling three scheduled stops in Mexico on Tuesday, the company said it would suspend all calls in the country for every ship now at sea and those leaving between Thursday and May 4.
Carnival is offering alternate ports on many trips, but will allow customers to reschedule if they wish.

Cruise lines: No plans to cancel calls in Mexico due to swine flu

www.usatoday.com

Several major cruise lines with ships sailing to Mexico this week say they have no plans to cancel or alter the voyages despite global worries about a potentially deadly outbreak of swine flu in the country.
Industry giants Carnival and Royal Caribbean both say in statements today they are monitoring the situation in Mexico but will go ahead with itineraries that include calls in the country over the next few days.
Four Carnival ships are scheduled to call on Mexican ports Tuesday: the Carnival Paradise and Elation in Ensenada, the Carnival Inspiration and Holiday in Cozumel.
"We do not anticipate that our guests' cruise experience will be impacted by this type of illness and will not be making any adjustments to our itineraries," the line said in an updated statement issued late Monday. An earlier version of the statement today had said there was no evidence of a pandemic.
ALSO ONLINE: Passenger describes coming under fire during pirate attackALSO ONLINE: USA TODAY's Veronica Stoddart blogs live from European river cruiseALSO ONLINE: The secret to shore excursions in the Mediterranean?
Royal Caribbean's statement noted it will conduct enhanced sanitizing of all high-touch areas on ships visiting Mexico and take other measures aimed at reducing the transfer of illness. Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas is scheduled to call Tuesday at Cabos San Lucas, Mexico.
A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises also tells USA TODAY the line plans to go ahead with calls in Mexico in coming days as several of its ships reposition to Alaska for the summer.
Two Princess ships, the Sapphire Princess and Coral Princess, are scheduled to call in Mexico on Tuesday -- in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, respectively. Both ships have additional calls in Mexico scheduled for later in the week as does a third Princess ship, the Star Princess."We're taking extra precautions and will follow guidance from health authorities," Princess' Julie Benson tells USA TODAY. "Our ships and medical staff are well prepared to handle a contagious disease, and we'll also be stepping up screening."
Another major line that visits Mexico, Norwegian Cruise Line, already has finished its winter season of voyages to the country and doesn't have ships scheduled to call again until the fall, says a spokeswoman.
A spokeswoman for Celebrity Cruises tells USA TODAY the line, which is just finishing its winter season in Mexico, will go ahead with one final cruise to the country now underway. The Celebrity Infinity is scheduled to visit Huatulco, Mexico on May 5, Puerto Vallarta on May 7 and Cabo San Lucas on May 8.
As worries about the outbreak have grown since Saturday, a number of individual countries as well as the health commissioner for the European Union have urged citizens to postpone or cancel non-essential travel to Mexico. Many airlines, including Continental, American, United and USAirways are waiving penalties for customers who want to postpone trips.

Armed Guards and Cruise ship's security force fends off attack by pirates

news.scotsman.com

Published Date: 27 April 2009
By NICOLE WINFIELD
IN ROME
AN ITALIAN cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack 500 miles off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security force exchanged fire with the bandits.
The MSC Melody was 200 miles north of the Seychelles during a 22-day cruise from Durban to Genoa, Italy, when six men in a small, white boat approached at about 5:30pm on Saturday and opened fire with automatic weapons.Domenico Pellegrino, the cruise's director, said the pirates retreated after the security officers returned fire and sprayed them with water hoses. The ship then continued its journey, with windows darkened.None of the 1,000 passengers or 500 crew were hurt."It felt like we were in war," said Ciro Pinto, the ship's commander. "They tried to put a ladder up. They were starting to climb up but we reacted, we started to fire ourselves. When they saw our fire, and also the water from the water hoses that we started to spray, they left." Mr Pellegrino said all MSC cruise ships were staffed with Israeli security agents because they are "the best trained".This is not the first attack on a cruise liner. However, Saturday's exchange of fire between the Melody and pirates is one of the first reported between pirates and a non-military ship. But Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based East African Sea Farers Assistance Programme, said: "Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device."MSC Melody is proceeding to the Jordanian port of Aqaba under the escort of a Spanish warshship.

news.bbc.co.uk
BBC: Italian cruise ship foils pirates

General Petraeus tells Congress that Ships should consider armed guards

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425/ap_on_go_co/us_us_piracy
By LARA JAKES, Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes, Associated Press Writer – WASHINGTON – The global shipping industry should consider placing armed guards on its boats to ward off pirates who have become increasingly violent, the U.S. military commander who oversees the African coastline said Friday.
Gen. David Petraeus, who came to the Capitol to talk about a wide variety of issues, told a House committee Friday that just trying to outrun or block pirates from boarding cargo ships isn't enough to deter sea bandits off the Somali coast who are becoming more aggressive. The Pentagon is starting to study how to better protect merchant shipping, but hasn't yet come up with a formal plan. The shipping industry has resisted arming their boats, which would deny them port in some nations.

In response to questions from a House Appropriations subcommittee, Petraeus said defensive preparations short of armed guards "can work. You can have water hoses and others that can make it more difficult."
But in a wry tone, he added: "It's tough to be on the end of a water hose if the other guy is on the end of an RPG. So you've got to think your way through that calculation as well." An RPG is a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Naval forces from several nations currently patrol the waters that Petraeus described as many times the size of Texas. But he said there is no way for any military to be able to safeguard all commercial ships that ply those waters.

The region is one of the world's most crucial shipping lanes, with oil vessels and other merchant ships carrying billions of dollars worth of cargo. Authorities say pirates are well aware that ship owners have been willing to pay an average of $2 million ransom for each seized ship.
Petraeus said the Navy would continue to patrol the region, but added that some shippers in the past hadn't taken even basic steps to avoid pirates. "We started off by saying, 'If you just speed up, when the pirates approach you that will help. If you take evasive action, that's even better. And if you unbolt the ladder that allows the pirates to climb onto your ship before you set sail, you get extra credit for that,'" Petraeus said. "These were not being taken before."

Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, cautioned that deploying armed guards aboard cargo ships could escalate violence if pirates expect a gunfight. "If you asked us two weeks ago, we would say, 'No guns on ships,'" Cox said Friday. "Now the reaction is, 'Let's talk.' That's not a ringing endorsement of going in that direction. But we know, under the current circumstances, something has to be done."
The Washington-based trade association represents 32 shipping companies. Cox also called on the government to remain committed to securing the high seas. "We don't want them to abrogate the responsibility," he said. Pirates have hijacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, including one in a dramatic standoff between pirates and the U.S. Navy earlier this month in the Indian Ocean. A U.S. sea captain was held hostage for five days before three of his captors were shot and killed by Navy SEALS. A fourth pirate is now being held in New York, where he awaits prosecution.

Man Missing After Falling Off Norwegian Cruise Lines Ship

http://news.aol.com/article/cruise-ship-missing-man/434425

AP
posted: 5 HOURS 44 MINUTES AGO
comments: 202
filed under: World News
MIAMI, Fla. (April 19) - The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 39-year-old man who went overboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Bahamas. Passengers on a Norwegian cruise ship, seen here in an undated file photo, watched as a 39-year-old man fell overboard near the Bahamas early Saturday morning, officials said. The Coast Guard said it suspended its search for the man Saturday evening after patrolling 590 square miles. Click through this gallery to learn about others who have been lost at Sea.

The incident happened early Saturday morning, about 60 miles north of Nassau. The man was not immediately identified, but fellow passengers saw him go overboard. The ship was headed to Nassau, its first port of call on a three-day voyage. Several cruise ships in the area were assisting Coast Guard crews in the search. The Coast Guard says in a release that it suspended its search around 8 p.m. Saturday after searching 590 square miles.

New Plan To Tackle Somali Pirates Outlined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

www.rttnews.com

4/15/2009 4:07 PM ET (RTTNews) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton on Wednesday outlined a four-step strategy to tackle the escalating piracy problem off the coast of Somalia."We may be dealing with a 17th-century crime, but we need to bring 21st century assets to bear," Clinton told reporters at the State Department.The four-point plan announced by Secretary Clinton included expanding international efforts to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden, tracking and freezing the assets of pirates, promoting the deployment of defense mechanisms on board ships and improving the situation in Somalia.She said that the United States would send an envoy to the Somali donors conference in Brussels on April 23 to discus ways to improve conditions in the Horn of Africa country, which has not had a proper functioning government since the fall of the last government in 1991. "Our envoy will work with other partners to help the Somalis assist us in cracking down on pirate bases and in decreasing incentives for young Somali men to engage in piracy," she said.She said that she will discuss ways of expanding the international anti-piracy operations in the region with countries that have already deployed naval vessels in the Gulf of Aden to combat escalating piracy there.

Secretary Clinton stressed on the importance of tracking and freezing assets of the pirates, stating that it was "time to eliminate the financial payoff of piracy." She also reiterated the U.S. policy of "making no concessions or ransom payments to hostage takers."She also reminded the shipping industry that it too has a responsibility in contributing to the fight against piracy and said that she has instructed the U.S. State Department to "work with shippers and the insurance industry to address gaps in their self-defense measures."The Gulf of Aden, which is one of the world's busiest sea lanes, has been affected by piracy in recent months and more than hundred pirate attacks have been reported in the waters off Somalia since the beginning of 2008. Generally, the crew and the vessels are returned unharmed on receiving the demanded ransom. The pirate attacks off the Somali coast have escalated in recent weeks despite the presence of some 20 warships, deployed by navies of the NATO, the European Union, Russia, China, and India, in the region to protect cargo and cruise ships against piracy.The UN Security Council also has approved four resolutions since June to promote international efforts to fight the escalating piracy problem off the coast of Somalia, and has authorized counties engaged in anti-piracy operations to conduct land and air attacks on the pirates after obtaining prior permission from the Somali government. by RTT Staff Writer

A search and rescue operation continues for an Indian tourist, who went missing after he accidentally fell from a cruise ship off Kendi Island

www.bernama.com

April 14, 2009 20:06 PM

PENANG, April 14 (Bernama) -- A search and rescue operation for an Indian tourist, who went missing after he accidentally fell from a cruise ship off Kendi Island, continues as searchers have yet to find any sign of him.Penang marine police operation officer DSP Rosli Sufien said the operation was jointly conducted by the police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Marine Department, and Fire and Rescue Department."We have not found any sign of the victim until late this afternoon," he said when contacted today.Shetty Noojady Nithyananda, 49, went missing while his wife was rescued after they accidentally fell from a cruise ship about 15 nautical miles south of Pulau Kendi at 10.20am yesterday.Rosli said police had yet to ascertain how the couple fell from the ship, which was heading for Penang from Singapore.He said police had yet to record a statement from the victim's wife, Shetty Kasturi Nithyanda, 47, who had been admitted to the Glenagles Hospital here.-- BERNAMA

Royal Caribbean Cruises Has Web 2.0 Viral Infection: Failing to Identify Paid Advertisements May Mean They Pay People to Lie

www.jaunted.com
No surprise here: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has a viral infection. For once, however, it's not the Norovirus but that new-fangled byproduct of Web 2.0, the viral marketing infiltration. According to Consumerist, a group of fifty "Royal Champions" was outed by their own creator, the Customer Insight Group, as being a successful project whereby frequent positive cruise commenting on sites such as CruiseCritic was rewarded with free cruises and other perks.
So what's the big deal? Well, it seems that the "Royal Champions" weren't always up front about their status as compensated reviewers, effectively misleading readers of CruiseCritic forums with their positive comments. Add to this the fact that CruiseCritic admins assisted Royal Caribbean in choosing the fifty, with one of the stipulations being quantity of posts, "with many having over 10,000 message board posts on various Royal Caribbean topics." From here, the hole just gets deeper.
Now that many RC fans feel slighted at not having made the ranks and most everyone else is disgusted at the covert trade of cruising for happy juicing, the trustworthiness of such forums is under fire.
Due to CruiseCritic's ownership by TripAdvisor, which is in turn under the Expedia blanket of travel sites, a viral marketing stunt gone awry could possibly continue to negatively ripple. Does news like this affect your ability to trust good reviews on travel sites, or do you already consider yourself an excellent shill-spotter enough to weed out the solicited from the unsolicited? While this whole ordeal is mired in serious muckety-muck, let's hope it serves as a lesson for future viral marketers and as an argument for transparency.

Did Cruise Critic Cross an Ethical Line?
While I'm not a legal expert, I wonder if Cruise Critic's participation in this activity in some way might violate FTC regulations. Cruise Critic's management, in defense of their behavior, is claiming all it did was to provide their advertiser and marketing partner, RCCL, the contact information for those in to be invited to the Royal Champions Program;. Who are they kidding? Cruise Critic in addition knowingly published reviews and comments from this group and, according to a Cruise Critic bulletin board post (since removed from the site) from their Community Manager, both the Community Manager and Cruise Critic's Editor met with a large group of Royal Champions aboard one of the free incentive cruises. So, at the very least, Cruise Critic demonstrated a total disregard for their users who might have been misled by these posts, while creating an uneven playing field to the detriment of cruise lines other than RCCL. This seems to flaunt stated Trip Advisor policy, so it would be good to hear from them on this matter. And, as a public company, I wonder as well if Expedia, corporate parent of both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, may be liable for behavior that could be considered detrimental to their shareholders
Related Stories:· What Is A Royal Champion? [CruiseCritic.com]·
Paid Cheerleaders: Does Royal Caribbean's Viral Campaign Cross the Line? [Tripso.com]·
Marketing Campaign Sinks Cruise Critic [msnbc.com]
www.jaunted.com