Hurricane Irene: Royal Caribbean denies 'stranding' passengers

Aug 25, 2011 09:00AM GMT

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Royal Caribbean International has denied responsibility for leaving 145 passengers stranded in Puerto Rico as a ship left early to avoid Hurricane Irene.

The passengers who had flown to the island missed their cruise when Serenade of the Seas left the port of San Juan three hours earlier than scheduled.

The cruise line said port officials began to limit harbour traffic at 12:30 pm on Sunday, forcing the ship to leave three hours early. That evening the storm hit the island, affecting power to 800,000 homes.

Fifteen of those left behind had bought airline tickets through the company and were given hotel accommodation for two nights and flown to Aruba on Tuesday to join the seven-night cruise. The remaining 130 had to cope for themselves without assistance from the company.

A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told US media: “Independent guests were advised of hotel availability in the area, but the expense was on them given that it was a weather-related event.

“There was no way to notify our guests of this change in departure time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused our guests, but this decision was made by the Port of San Juan to ensure the safe transit of all guests and crew through the port.”

One passenger, Nicole Washington of Baltimore, told a Miami TV station that when she and her family arrived at the dock on Sunday around 5:30pm, the gates were locked and the ship had left.

“In the time before my cruise, they were contacting me and e-mailing me about things," she said. “I can't believe this big, billion dollar company couldn't have contacted me to tell me the ship was leaving early. They had my phone number.”

More than a dozen ships have been forced to alter Caribbean itineraries this week due to Hurricane Irene which is now heading north towards the east coast of the US.

A further 300 cruise guests were left behind at the port as they had not yet boarded the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory, which was ordered to leave at 6pm instead of 10pm. Carnival Cruise Lines reportedly “tried to contact all guests who didn't make the ship and was successful in reaching most of them”.

Six US states on alert as Hurricane Irene arrives

Aug 26, 2011 08:00AM GMT

Six US states have declared emergencies as they prepare for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Irene which has left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean.

Having battered the Bahamas the first major storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has prompted states of emergencies in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina as Irene approaches bringing with it winds of at least 115mph .

The huge storm is creating hurricane force winds extending 80 miles from its centre, and tropical storm winds reaching up to 295 miles from the eye, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

Forecasters said Irene could strengthen slightly throughout today (Friday) before its expected arrival in North Carolina on Saturday.

The hurricane, which has forced cruise lines to amend itineraries across the Caribbean and airlines to revise schedules, is then expected to weaken as it moves up the US east coast, diminishing in strength to a still-powerful category two storm on Sunday.

Up to 25 cruise ships in the Eastern Caribbean and Bahamas have had to change schedules affecting companies including Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Holland American Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.

The Miami-based Hurricane Centre’s former director Max Mayfield told the Associated Press news agency: "One of my greatest nightmares was having a major hurricane go up the whole north east coast.”

He predicted that the damage could climb into billions of dollars, saying: “This is going to have an impact on the US economy.”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie warned holidaymakers to avoid the shore, and urged people to evacuate ahead of the storm's anticipated arrival on Saturday night.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents of low-lying and beach-front areas to find a place to stay on higher ground ahead of Irene's anticipated arrival on Sunday. The city is even planning to shut down the entire transportation system.

Earthquake puts crack in Washington Monument

By Gay Nagle Myers

The 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday in Virginia did not cause widespread damage or injury, but it did put a crack in the Washington Monument.

National Park officials closed the 550-foot obelisk and plaza surrounding it indefinitely after discovering a crack at the top of the monument.

The park service also temporarily closed the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, pending further inspection. Other landmarks, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, set to be officially unveiled this weekend if Hurricane Irene does not interfere, remain open.

 The Smithsonian museum complex also remains closed as officials survey for damage.

Also closed to visitors is the Washington National Cathedral, which had “significant damage,” according to information on its website.

Corner spires on the central tower fell off and cracks have appeared in several of the flying buttresses. There was no damage to the cathedral’s stained-glass windows.

Visitors are advised to check websites and Facebook pages for reopening information.

All air and rail travel have resumed normal operations, following slowdowns to check for damage following Tuesday’s quake.

Obama gaffe prompts fury from US travel agents

Aug 24, 2011 08:00AM GMT

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US travel agents have reacted angrily to suggestions from President Barack Obama that they are obsolete.

Obama was quoted last week as saying: “When was the last time somebody went to a bank teller instead of using an ATM, or used a travel agent instead of just going online? A lot of jobs out that used to be out there requiring people now have become automated.”

The President's remarks provoked a strong reaction from the American Society of Travel Agents, which pointed out that agents account for more than 50% of all travel sold in the US.

ASTA said in a letter to the White House: “While the President's intention surely was not to disparage the travel agency industry, his statement makes clear the need for greater education and understanding of the important role travel agents play in today's travel marketplace."

It pointed out that there are nearly 10,000 US-based travel agency firms operating in 15,000 locations, representing 120,000 full-time employees with annual payroll of $6.3 billion.

Agents in the US process more than $146 billion in annual travel sales, accounting for more than 50% of all travel sold, according to ASTA. This includes the processing of more than 50% of all airline tickets, more than 79% of tours and more than 78% of all cruises.

Earthquake hits US east coast as Irene approaches

Airlines with transatlantic services have restored schedules after a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit the US east coast.

Flights from New York's John F Kennedy and Newark airports were delayed while authorities checked for damage from the quake. Services at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC were also put on hold. Normal services resumed shortly after the quake at 1.51 pm local time. 

Transportation systems could face further disruption as Hurricane Irene heads towards the region after blasting through the Caribbean, forcing cruise lines to alter their itineraries. The FCO has warned that the storm “has the potential to affect a large area of the east coast from South Carolina to New Hampshire from Friday”.

The east coast quake was centred on Virginia but was felt in the capital as well as New York. Reports said the tremor was felt as far north as Boston, in North and South Carolina in the south, and as far west as Indianapolis and Detroit.

Three aftershocks were recorded, according to the US Geological Society. The Amtrak passenger train network slowed its trains in its busy north-eastern routes, and advised passengers to expect delays.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: “There are no reported casualties but there has been minor damage to buildings and sporadic disruption to telephone services. Transportation networks have been affected whilst infrastructure checks are undertaken.”

• Virginia quake details (US Geological Survey)

Carnival UK asks travel agents to prove financial stability

All travel agents who work with Carnival UK are being asked to open their books to demonstrate their financial stability or take immediate steps to reduce the operator’s exposure should an agency fail.

Carnival has started to introduce new payment procedures for the three Complete Cruise Solution lines –  P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Cunard – with payments made direct to the lines rather than through agents.

It intends to move all agents to the new system within 18 months. Some agents have already adopted the new terms, while those yet to do so are being asked to prove their financial stability or put up a bond during the interim period.

Carnival has spoken of its wish to do this for months but the failure of Gill’s Cruise Centre in July has given a new impetus.

Mark Pilkington, head of sales for CCS, said it was necessary to reduce risk. Carnival UK sales director Giles Hawke previously told Travel Weekly the current system of agents retaining pipeline monies effectively equated to them being given “unsecured interest-free bank loans”.

While direct payments are normal in the US, some agents attending a CCS conference last week said the move could have a serious impact on UK agents.

Louise Eakins, general manager of The Travel House, said: “We earn small amounts of interest on customer monies, so it will have a relatively minor effect for us, but some of the larger cruise retailers who rely on cashflow will lose a big revenue stream.”

Peter Grayson, managing director of Travel Angels, added: “Any agency dependent on cashflow is going to squeal, and they will also be very nervous that this is the thin end of the wedge with more operators to follow.”

Julia Lo Bue-Said, leisure director at Advantage Travel Centres, said: “When I look at this coldly I would resist it because it’s not in our members’ interests, but I understand the rationale from a Carnival UK point of view.”

Bomb scare delays arrival of cruise ship

By Donna Tunney

A bomb scare caused a day-cruiser operated by Discovery Cruise Line to arrive several hours late into Fort Lauderdale on Aug. 19.

According to Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mike Jachles, someone called Miami-Dade police around 6 p.m. Aug. 18, telling authorities that a man aboard the 900-passenger Discovery had a gun and a bomb. The ship was en route to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas when the call came in. The ship was due to arrive at 10 p.m.

Jachles said law enforcement notified the ship and told the crew to suspend sailing until officials could reach and board the ship.

Coast Guard and sheriff’s office staff boarded the ship around midnight, about 18 miles off Fort Lauderdale. They used bomb-sniffing dogs and determined the vessel was safe.

The Discovery arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 4 a.m. Friday, where another more thorough search was completed.

“We have to take any threat seriously,” said Jachles, “even though real bombers don’t make threats — they blow things up.”

Hanns Hahn, general manager and vice president of Discovery Cruise Line, said the ship has been operating normally since the incident. The ship sails roundtrip to the Bahamas once a day.

As reported, the line will cease operations on Sept. 6 due to financial difficulties.

Hahn said this was the only time that Discovery’s operations had been affected by a bomb threat.

“I guess we had to get that in before we shut down,” he said.

Jachles said an investigation into the incident is continuing, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved.

Guests flee as Branson island blaze destroys home

Twenty people escaped after a lightning strike sparked a blaze which destroyed Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson's luxury home in the Caribbean.

Aug 23, 2011 07:18AM GMT

Actress Kate Winslet was among those staying on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands when lightning from a tropical storm hit the house.

Sir Richard's 90-year-old mother Eve and his 29-year-old daughter Holly were also staying at the property, named the Great House, when the fire broke out in the early hours of yesterday. He said Winslet had helped to carry his mother to safety.

Sir Richard, who was staying at a nearby property with his wife and son, said the fire had “completely destroyed” the building. “My son Sam and nephew Jack rushed to the house and helped get everyone out, and many thanks to Kate Winslet for helping to carry my 90-year-old mum out of the main house to safety,” he said.

“My office was based in the house and I have lost thousands of photographs and my note books, which is very sad. But all family and friends are well - which in the end is all that really matters.”

He pledged to rebuild the house, which is rented out and is used as a wedding venue on the island which was acquired in the early 1980s.

“There's a lot of damage but we'll create something even more special out of the ruins,” Sir Richard told the BBC.

Cruise ships diverted as Irene hits hurricane status

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International have been forced to alter Caribbean itineraries in the face of a hurricane.

Irene is heading towards the cruise hub of Puerto Rico after hitting the island of St Criox with heavy winds and rain closing airports and flooding areas of the Leeward Islands.

The storm was upgraded to a hurriacane by the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami on Monday morning (August 22). Maximum sustained winds from the storm have reached 75 miles per hour.

The storm is due to reach the east coast of the Dominican Republic later today, prompting hurricane warnings on the Caribbean island popular with UK holidaymakers.

A state of emergency was imposed in the US Virgin Islands while other eastern Caribbean islands such as Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe and St Maarten were also affected.

Ships with revised itineraries include Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and sister ship Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas as well as Carnival Miracle.

Speaking before the storm was upgraded, The Puerto Rico Tourism Company said the island was under a Tropical Storm warning.

"All tourist information centres on the island will be available on a 24-hour-a-day basis to offer support to tourists," it said. "All hotels are operating as normal but have activated their contingency plans to protect guests and employees."

Although Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan is open, airlines have cancelled flights as a preventive measure. "We recommend that arriving and departing passengers call their airline regarding any changes, delays or cancellations," the tourism body said.

U.S. Travel: Overseas visitor spending driving growth

By Danny King

The travel industry accounted for more than one in nine jobs created in the U.S. economy through the first seven months of the year, as increased spending from overseas travelers and a relatively weak dollar contributed to the rebound in tourism spending.

Through July, the travel industry added 106,000 jobs, or more than 11% of the U.S. jobs created year to date, according to the U.S. Travel Association. The travel industry accounts for about 7.5 million workers, down from an all-time high of about 7.8 million in 1999 and 2000.

“International activity for the first four or five months of the year grew at a fairly robust pace,” said Dave Huether, senior vice president of research at U.S. Travel.

Huether estimated that inbound travelers account for about a third of all tourism spending.

That the growth is largely from overseas travelers is good for the industry because the typical overseas tourist spends about $4,000 per trip, according to U.S. Travel, which estimates that every $1 million in travel spending creates more than 10 jobs.

That growth might mask issues within the U.S. economy that could bring headwinds to tourism spending stemming from lower discretionary income from potential domestic travelers.

Last month, the U.S. unemployment rate fell slightly to 9.1% from 9.2% in June, while the number of unemployed workers stood at 13.9 million, down from 14.1 million in June, the U.S. Labor Department said earlier this month. July 2010’s unemployment rate was 9.5%.

What that means for job growth within the travel industry remains a question. But Huether said the data still suggested the industry might approach its 1999-2000 peak next year if the overall job numbers continue their gradual improvement.

Cruise ships alter course as Tropical Storm Irene blows in

Aug 22, 2011 08:15AM GMT

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International have been forced to alter Caribbean itineraries in the face of a tropical storm approaching hurricane strength.

Tropical Storm Irene was heading towards the cruise hub of Puerto Rico after hitting the island of St Criox with heavy winds and rain closing airports and flooding areas of the Leeward Islands.

Maximum sustained winds from the storm have reached 70 miles per hour and it is expected to intensify into a hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

The storm is due to reach the east coast of the Dominican Republic later today, prompting hurricane warnings on the Caribbean island popular with UK holidaymakers.

A state of emergency was imposed in the US Virgin Islands while other eastern Caribbean islands such as Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe and St Maarten were also affected.

Ships with revised itineraries include Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and sister ship Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas as well as Carnival Miracle.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company said the island was currently under a Tropical Storm warning due to the passing through of Irene.

"All tourist information centres on the island will be available on a 24-hour-a-day basis to offer support to tourists," it said. "All hotels are operating as normal but have activated their contingency plans to protect guests and employees."

Although Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan is open, airlines have cancelled flights as a preventive measure. "We recommend that arriving and departing passengers call their airline regarding any changes, delays or cancellations," the tourism body said.

Union 'not consulted' about Cook Co-op merger

Aug 19, 2011 07:00AM GMT

The trade union representing staff at the Co-operative Group has expressed dismay at the company’s failure to consult it ahead of receiving Competition Commission clearance for the travel retail merger with Thomas Cook.

The commission gave a final go-ahead to the deal to merge The Co-operative Travel, Midlands Co-operative and Thomas Cook retail division on Tuesday, after announcing provisional clearance on July 21.

The deal will see the creation of a new joint venture with more than 1,200 shops and in excess of 9,000 staff. It will be run and majority-owned by Thomas Cook, with most of the 9,000 staff from Cook and the Co-ops required to transfer employment.

Shop workers’ union Usdaw said it had no warning that the announcement was imminent.

Usdaw national officer Sharon Ainsworth said: “We have concerns about whether stores will have to shut and we are not happy about the fact we don’t know more.

“The Co-op did not consult us and that is unusual. I deal with the company day to day and the unions were not told.”

The Co-operative Travel head office employees at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, and in Manchester will face a choice between a transfer within the Co-op, a move to Thomas Cook headquarters in Peterborough or redundancy.

Ainsworth said: “Everything has been on hold since the merger was referred to the Competition Commission. There have been no talks. We had expected a decision in October, so the announcement was quite a shock.

She said the Co-operative Group had now agreed to a meeting with union officials.

Both the Co-operative Group and Thomas Cook have declined to give details of the joint venture and staff-transfer process ahead of consulting staff, but the process is likely to begin within six weeks.

Thomas Cook staff are represented by a separate union - the transport union TSSA.