Making Your Cruise Safer

If California state senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has his way, you’ll be seeing an extra passenger aboard cruise ships sailing from California.  In an effort to improve safety on cruise ships, a bill the state senator has authored would require a peace officer on board the ships.

If the measure passes, California would have the toughest state regulations in the $35 billion cruise industry…an industry that’s come under congressional and public scrutiny after several cases of missing people, passengers overboard and sexual assault were widely reported in the media.

“We’ve got air marshals on planes with a couple hundred passengers, but we’ve got no one on board the cruise ships with 10 times the number of passengers,” says California state senator Simitian.

                                                         

The peace officer would ensure that reported crimes are handled appropriately on board, without interference from cruise line attorneys or others hired to protect the company’s image.  Their salaries would be funded by a $1-a-day passenger fee.  They’d also serve as license marine engineers who would monitor compliance with environmental laws - laws that Simitian has promoted. 

International Cruise Victims President and co-founder, Ken Carver, says his group has lobbied for federal legislation to regulate the cruise industry and considers this state effort a “great step forward.”

Currently, cruise ships hire their own security officers, but increasingly, lawmakers and law enforcement officials are questioning whether that’s a lot like the fox guarding the hen house.

“On board security works for the cruise line, not for the passengers or public,” Simitian said. “There’s an inherent conflict of interest between the public relations goals of the employer and the public safety requirements of the passenger.”

Congressional hearings on cruise safety reveal cruise ship personnel are not trained to investigate crimes.  Days can pass between an alleged crime and the start of a criminal investigation.  If collected at all, evidence can be tainted by then.

Industry officials maintain their ships are safe and have opposed recent efforts to regulate the cruise industry.  As yet cruise officials haven’t offered a position on Simitian’s legislation.

California’s $2 billion cruise industry, with ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, represents about 14% of U.S. embarkations.  In all, more than 1.2 million passengers departed from one of California’s cruise ports in 2006.

                                                                                          

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Cruising Gets Greener

When you think green these days, you most likely think of recycling, cars running on vegetable oil, no more plastic bags at grocery stores, etc.  But when Celebrity Cruises talks grass, they mean lawn.  (Insert your own grass jokes here).   But seriously, lawn on a cruise ship?

Yep, they’re calling it The Lawn Club.  In fact here’s the exact description from Celebrity’s website:

The Lawn Club:

A freshly manicured lawn on the highest deck of Celebrity Solstice.  Enjoy casual outdoor activities in a decidedly Country Club atmosphere and let the grass between your toes take you places no cruise has gone before.

Patio on the Lawn:

Luxury adopts a casual, country club charm at the Patio on the Lawn.  Overlooking the beautiful The Lawn Club, it’s an ideal place to read the morning paper, your current novel, or enjoy a cup of gourmet coffee with friends.

The lawn area is expected to be a focal point of the new ship, which launches in December.  Celebrity’s CEO Dan Hanrahan says the Lawn Club will cover about a half-acre of the ship’s very top deck.  He says they originally considered installing just a putting green but as the idea of natural grass grew, they decided to expand the area.  So now you’ll be able to putt, picnic, play and enjoy the feel of real lawn under your bare feet.

In fact it took quite a bit of testing to figure out what would grow at sea.  Landscape architects, irrigation specialists in addition to soil and turf experts were all involved in the process.

It’s a concept Hanrahan hopes will bring an air of sophistication to Celebrity’s newest cruise ship. 

Solstice’s inaugural cruise is set to debut Dec. 14, 2008.  It’s a seven-night, Eastern Caribbean cruise, roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale.

FYI, my husband and I cruised on the Celebrity Summit a couple of years go.  It’s a beauty.  Food was very good.  We liked the separate dining areas.  We aren’t big on eating in the dining room every night.  Like to explore other options.  We shared an anniversary dinner in the Normandie Restaurant.  We’re still talking about that dinner.  But that’s for another post.   Overall, Celebrity is a luxurious line with large ships.  The cruise deals are off season which means, while the kids are in school.  Happy sailing!      

sl~cooper                                                                      

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