Royal Caribbean Fans

Two crew members from Allure of the Seas were arrested in Port Everglades, Florida this past Sunday for allegedly smuggling cocaine.

The two  men were stopped during a routine inspection of Allure of the Seas as they were attempting to disembark. Allure of the Seas was returning from a Western Caribbean cruise to Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.

Inspectors noticed something during an x-ray scan in one of the men's backpack. Both of the men removed various electronics and a wallet from the backpack and then told security agents the backpack did not belong to them, according to the investigative report.

Royal Caribbean's security personnel contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office deputies and Customs and Border Protection to investigate. A police dog alerted to something in the backpack which was then field-tested. The substance inside tested positive for cocaine and both men were arrested. More than one kilogram of cocaine was found, which was trafficked from Jamaica.

In its statement, Royal Caribbean said it maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding illegal drugs on its ships. "We take various steps to prevent the transport of illegal narcotics, including working closely with law enforcement in all of our ports of call."

Ever wondered what would happen if you walked off a cruise ship without paying your bill? The answer is you could end up in prison.

That's the fate of three New Yorkers who snuck off cruise ships earlier this year without paying for purchases.

The U.S. Virgin Islands' St. John Source reports that Sam Gross, 25, Joseph Herskovitz, 27, and Jacob Eisenberger, 29, were sentenced to up to three months in prison on Thursday for defrauding or conspiring to defraud cruise lines. The three men were also sentenced to several more months of home confinement after they are released from prison and must pay thousands of dollars in restitution.

The men boarded Majesty of the Seas earlier this year, and purposely ran up large bills by purchasing merchandise and services with their SeaPass Card, and then walked off the vessel after just a day without settling the tab.

Two of the three men then did something similar the following month on the Carnival Destiny and, a few weeks later, on the Dawn Princess, according to court documents cited by the St. John Source.

A fourth defendant in the case is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

"A small fire" were the words from Royal Caribbean commenting on the engine room fire that occurred onboard Allure of the Seas on Friday at 7:45pm.

Was this the case though?

Passengers who were onboard at the time have now arrived safely back in Port Everglades, Florida and are telling their stories of what actually happened. Somewhat different to how Royal Caribbean described it. Passengers describe hearing a loud bang shortly before smoke was seen billowing out the funnels. Shortly thereafter the captain informed the passengers that there had been an incident in the engine and that all watertight bulkheads had been closed. The entire section 6, apparently the section that includes Viking Crown Lounge, was evacuated. Some passengers on board were shocked, however, no one was injured. The ship drifted between one and two hours before continuing with the only one functioning machine left after the "small and short-lived engine fire was extinguished by using the ship's high fog system which had been immediately activated to contain the fire."

Some passengers used Cruise Critics forum to describe what they experienced; "Just got off the Allure and I have to disagree that there was NO panic. The crew were visibly scared as we're many of the passengers. Our cabin steward told us that our hallway had many families in tears and begging for life jackets. We were in the main dining room for our lobster dinner and when you feel a 225000 ton ship shake like that you know something big just happened. The crew were trying very hard to appear in control and they did a good job, but you could seem them passing notes to each other and the concern on their faces. We had finished our dinner, but skipped out on desert because I really couldn't eat much after hearing Bravo bravo bravo and water tight doors closing. We saw many in tears and I felt the need to get my kids away from that and the ridiculous people that laughingly and loudly started talking about the titanic and going down with the ship. We strolled the Royal Promenade and tried to appear normal for the kids. Communication was good and they did a great job of handling things quickly, but there were lots feeling very unsettled. Very glad it ended quickly."

An engine room fire has broken out onboard the worlds largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas.

According to Cruise Law News, heavy black smoke billowed out of the stacks. The cruise ship made an emergency announcement and altered its course so that the winds would not blow smoke into the ship.

The ship is continuing its cruise from St Maarten to Fort Laurderdale and is expected to arrive on Sunday. No passengers have been reported injured.

There has been 80 cruise ship fires since 1990. This averages out around 4 a year. The cruise industry has already experienced 3 cruise ship fires this year already, Azamara Quest, Costa Allegra and now Allure of the Seas. Royal Caribbean have not released an official statement on the incident. As this is a developing story, we will keep you informed.

UPDATE: "The ship was sailing from St. Maarten to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale when an engine fire broke out at 7:45 p.m. Friday," said spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. "The ship's high fog system was immediately activated, which contained and extinguished the fire." 

The world's largest cruise ship rescued 23 people from a small boat on the way to Mexico on Wednesday.

Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas was sailing from Falmouth, Jamaica to Cozumel when someone saw the small boat carrying 19 men and four women. The people on the boat, who the cruise line say were Cuban citizens, were given food, water and medical treatment once they were aboard the 5,400-passenger ship.

Officials with the cruise line notified the U.S. Coast Guard. They removed the 23 people from the ship in Cozumel Thursday, as directed by authorities.

Bahamas police are investigating an apparent suicide of a British man on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas that occurred last Friday. This investigation is related to the incident that was first reported about a man who fell off the ship.

The Police report that at 7:10am while aboard Allure of the Seas, the man committed suicide while the ship was off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico.

American Federal agents are assisting the police in the Bahamas, including Superintendent Paul Rolle, Head of the Central Detective Unit, along with officers from the Broward County Sheriff's Office and Customs and Border Protection.

"We do not have much information we can share with the public at this point. All we know is a British man is dead and it may or may not have been suicide. We are still conducting our on scene investigations and interviewing eyewitness. We are being assisted by other law enforcement agencies and expect to wrap up our investigations shortly. At that time, I will provide an update," he said.

Royal Caribbean also issued a statement that said the 30-year-old fell from the balcony of his stateroom on Deck 11. The statement also said, "The ship made multiple public announcements and began a complete search of the ship, in efforts to locate the guest. When the guest did not respond to the pages and was not found onboard, the captain alerted the local authorities of the situation."

A British passenger sailing onboard Allure of the Seas is missing after apparently going overboard.

The passenger fell over the railing from his stateroom as the ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico, according to a fellow passenger. CCTV footage on board the ship confirmed the story of the passenger falling off the 11th deck balcony.

According to Royal Caribbean International, multiple public announcements were made and a complete search of the ship did not locate the guest. The Allure of the Seas left Sunday on a seven-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale.

The Mexican Navy and Coast Guard, the Allure of the Seas, and a pilot boat are assisting in the search for the passenger. Royal Caribbean said, 'Our Care Team is providing support to the guest's family and our thoughts and prayers are with them'.

A 47-year old woman died on board Liberty of the Seas after she missed a step and fell down a flight of stairs.

The incident happened on Monday night. The FBI is now investigating the incident.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman Wright said their department's crime scene techs were sent to Port Everglades to investigate the death of the woman on the ship. However, since she died in international waters, Coleman Wright said the investigation will actually be in the jurisdiction of federal authorities.

Despite the investigation, Coleman Wright confirmed that they do not suspect foul play.

The Baltimore Sun reports today that a Grand Jury in Baltimore, Maryland indicted a Royal Caribbean crewmember of sexually abusing a minor during a cruise ship out of Baltimore.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, crewmember Fabian Palmer, age 25, befriended a 14 year old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Baltimore on December 17, 2010.

The newspaper reports that on December 23, 2011, the victim told authorities that she was alone on a deck on the cruise ship when crewmember Palmer took her into a men's locker room and "began having sex with her." He stopped only when another employee knocked on the door.

The cruise ship's CCTV video cameras captured images of the crewmember, the victim and a second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, according to the newspaper. During an interviewed by Royal Caribbean security, crewmember Palmer admitted having sex with the girl, but claims that he believed that she was 16.

The newspaper does not identify the cruise ship, but it appears that it involved the Enchantment of the Seas.

The Grand Jury returned the indictment yesterday.

The FBI has special maritime jurisdiction to investigate crimes like this involving U.S. citizens on the high seas. An adult engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14 year old minor is in violation of federal law and is considered to be "sexual abuse" which can be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

This incident comes at a time when the international media is reporting on the rape of a 15 year old girl on another Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Allure of the Seas.

The newspaper reports that Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment today.

A similar incident occurred in November on a Carnival cruise ship when a crewmember identified as Kert Clyde Jordan, age 35, a waiter from the country of Grenada, took a 14 year old child into a bathroom on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship. He was indicted on sexual abuse and is in jail in Miami awaiting trial. You can read about that incident here and here.

Source: www.cruiselawnews.com