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Media Coverage of Norovirus Outbreaks Doesn't Add Up

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Latest news blog entries - Feb 3

* Hundreds Sickened by Norovirus - Not on a Cruise, but in School
Feb 6 - Over the weekend, there have been dozens of articles running in newspapers across the country (and internationally), and even network, cable, and local TV coverage about two Princess cruise ships that have had outbreaks of Norovirus last week and were returning to port over the weekend. Princess did some additional disinfection when the ships turned around this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, and that got coverage too.
At the same time today marks the reopening of St. Ignatius Prep School in San Francisco. It's been closed since last Wednesday when 355 students and faculty reported having Norovirus. Still, it seems to have received only limited local coverage. More

* Way-Off the Beaten Track
Feb 6 - MSC Cruises detailed a new Caribbean program today that they will have next winter. It seems to be intended primarily for other than North Americans, but it may also fill the bill for North Americans who are looking for a different cruise experience.

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
Feb 6 - CND subscribers also read about another lawsuit in Italy ... thinking ahead in Bermuda ... and Crystal easing withdrawal for football fans.

The complete text of these stories appeared in the CND editions referenced and was sent to subscribers.

* Passenger Overboard from Allure of the Seas
Feb 3 - A 30-year-old British passenger went overboard from Allure of the Seas this morning as the ship was approaching Cozumel, approximately three miles offshore. More

* Liverpool Gives In
Feb 3 - We reported earlier that there was a money dispute in Liverpool that was holding up the city's use of its new state-of-the-art cruise terminal for cruises that turnaround in the city (as opposed to cruises which just make a port call there). Today, the City of Liverpool gave in and will pay the government what they want so the city can use the terminal in whatever way they want, but there may be a little more to the story.

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
Feb 3 - CND subscribers also read about ESPN's special party aboard Oasis of the Seas ... a medevac from Carnival Inspiration ... RCI goes back to TV advertising (more)

* The Media Gets It Wrong (Again)
Feb 2 - Royal Caribbean held their conference call today to discuss their fourth quarter earnings for financial analysts. The majority of the discussion, however, was about how the Costa Concordia accident is affecting future bookings. Just a tiny portion of the discussion, it seems, actually dealt with the company's results for 2011.
Over the last week, the media has made much of a comment that Carnival made in their SEC filing that their bookings were down a percentage in the mid-teens, and the media has been painting a fairly negative picture, focused on Royal Caribbean's similar comments today.
While they did say that, if one listened through the entire call, and thought about it, there were a lot of positive indicators cited, and the media seems to be completely ignoring that part of the discussion. The executives said this was a time of a lot of uncertainty, and proceeded to lay out the indicators they were seeing since the accident, and cautioned that a few days does not necessarily make a trend, but CND saw some very powerful indicators. One of the best was when chairman Richard Fain said, "Cancellations as a result of the incident, simply have not been a factor."

* Costa Begins Process to Remove Concordia Wreckage - Feb 2 - There have been several important developments today, including Costa taking the first step in the long process to remove the ship. More

The complete text of these stories appeared in the CND editions referenced and was sent to subscribers.

* Think Like a Kid
Feb 1 - Last month Norwegian Cruise Line announced a complete revitalization and upgrading of their children's program to debut later this year. There's just one thing. It doesn't have a name, and you guessed it, they're having a contest to name the program and each of the six new age groups of the program.

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
Feb 1 - CND subscribers also read about the media ignoring Wave Season ... a clean bill of health ... Superferries to sail again ... news about an old friend ... new man in PE ... why Queen Elizabeth looks the way she does (video)

* Your Chance at Immortality - At Least Until They Redecorate
Jan 31 - It's not exactly Grauman's Chinese Theater with your hand and foot prints in something as permanent as cement, but Princess Cruises is offering your cruise vacation memories an opportunity to be shared permanently with all the future passengers of the new Royal Princess.
Princess wants you to sift through your cruise vacation photos, and find a particularly stunning photo you took while you were on a cruise vacation - either on land or at sea - and send it to them.

* Costa Concordia - Tuesday's Developments
Jan 31 - Today's developments included a decision in the search for victims, bad weather still hampering the removal of fuel and a new estimate of the cost of the accident to Carnival Corp.

* Man Dies in Atrium Fall aboard Carnival Fantasy
Jan 30 - A 26-year-old man from South Carolina died in a fall aboard Carnival Fantasy on Friday. More

* Costa Concordia - Monday's Developments
Jan 30 - There were a number of developments over the weekend, including the recovery of another body with some special significance, the preparations for removal of the fuel, and indications that Carnival is deciding what to do with the ship. There was also some information about what survivors may have to do with some of their settlement money.

* Fall aboard Liberty of the Seas Claims Life
Jan 30 - A 47-year-old woman died aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas this morning when she fell down a short flight of stairs in the ship.

* Other Things You'll Want to Know
Jan 30 - CND subscribers also read about a Norwegian celebration ... a wild ride ... and unrest in the dining room.

* Costa Details Settlement Offer Made to Uninjured Passengers aboard Costa Concordia
Jan 27 - After talks with consumer groups in Italy to determine an appropriate amount, Costa Crociere made a settlement offer today to passengers who were aboard Costa Concordia during the accident on January 13 and who were uninjured. Passengers who lost their lives or who sustained physical injuries will be negotiated with individually. More

* Royal Caribbean Passengers Injured in St. Thomas Accident
Jan 27 - Eleven Royal Caribbean International passengers were injured today when an open air bus in which they were riding on a shore excursion was involved in an accident on St. Thomas.

* Costa Concordia - Friday's Other Developments
Jan 27 - Aside from the settlement offer, the main news coming from Italy today was that Smit Salvage confirmed that they are ready to begin pumping fuel from Costa Concordia's tanks tomorrow (Saturday). The process will take four to six weeks, but it is the first step in removing the ship.

The complete text of these stories appeared in the CND editions referenced and was sent to subscribers.

Jan 20 - Hi ho, hi ho, it's down to the sea she goes. Disney Fantasy made her transit today down the Ems River from Meyer Werft in Papenburg to Eemshaven. More

Dec 29 - Following a Disney tradition, a character was installed on the stern of Disney Fantasy. More/Larger

Dec 5 - Queen Mary 2's hull got a fresh coat of paint in the dry dock. More/Larger

Dec 1 - Splendour of the Seas has returned to service after a month-long revitalization that added some stunning new venues to the ship. More/Larger

Nov 28 - Video: The Coast Guard hoisted an ailing passenger from deck of Carnival Spirit as the ship sailed more than 200 miles off the West Coast. More/Video

Nov 27 - Queen Mary 2 has begun a 2-week dry dock at Blohm + Voss in Hamburg. More/Larger Video

Nov 18 - The new R Bar aboard Splendour of the Seas. More/Larger

Nov 2 - Costa Romantica arrives at the T Mariotti shipyard at Genoa for its four-month refit project.

Oct 20 - A piece of ship in Italy. Actually the first piece of Royal Princess. More/Larger

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