From the no surprise department:

The Miami Herald reports that troubled Windjammer Barefoot Cruises has canceled two more weeks of cruises, October 14 and October 21. The bright spot, if there is one, is that at least Windjammer seems to have communicated with someone. In recent weeks, passengers, crew members and media have reported being unable to elicit responses from anyone at Windjammer's corporate offices. Beyond the new cancellation dates, however, the promises of new investors and return to normal service "shortly" sound like those that we've heard from dying cruise lines in the past.

Note: Link is valid at time of posting.

From the emergency pick up department:

Picking up people on rafts in the Florida Straits isn't really anything unusual, but in the Mediterranean, it doesn't happen as often. We received the statement below from MSC Cruises just now detailing one of those occasions last week. There was no indication of exactly why the people were out at sea in the small boat.


MSC CRUISES’ SHIP RESCUES 9 CASTAWAYS OFF THE COAST OF SPAIN

(Oct. 8, 2007) – MSC Cruises announced that around midnight on Oct. 3, MSC Lirica was traveling between Malaga and Civitavecchia, roughly three hours southeast of Cartagena [Spain], when the crew sighted a small boat in difficulty asking for assistance.

The Spanish authorities, the Cartagena Rescue Centre and the local DPA were advised while MSC Lirica’s Rescue and Security teams helped the nine Algerian citizens on board the cruise ship.

The castaways were in frail condition; in fact, one needed urgent medical attention. They were assisted and given refreshments. MSC Lirica, in accordance with the local authorities and the DPA, then turned back toward Cartagena.

At 2:40 a,m, the ship met the rescue boat Salvamar Alcor, accompanied by the coast guard vessel, and handed the nine castaways over to the authorities. By 3 a.m. the operation was completed and MSC Lirica resumed her course to Civitavecchia.

From the other world department:

Remember the days when going to training meant some time out of the office and flying, maybe, to some interesting interesting city for a couple of days? Thanks to the internet, you no longer get to travel anywhere, let alone have any time out of the office for training - and Costa Cruises is set to take full advantage of the latest in internet technology to train their travel agents in a way most agents probably haven't seen yet.

The line's online booking engine has recently been upgraded with a number of new features, and in order to train agents, Costa has built a classroom in the virtual version of their Palacrociere on Second Life, called Costa Click Second Life Academy. (Costa hasn't yet firmed up plans for US agents to "attend" the academy.)

For those readers unfamiliar with Second Life, the company describes itself as "a 3D online digital world imagined and created by its residents." It's hard to describe if you don't understand, but when you sign up, you create a digital representation of yourself, and you walk around and do things and "buy" virtual things there with virtual money. How do you get the money? Well, you start out by "buying" some with real money that you give Second Life. There are zillions of members around the world. For example, this afternoon at about 2pm Eastern time, there were almost 46,000 people from around the world logged on, and in the last 24 hours, they had spent more than $1.1 million.

Second Life has become so ubiquitous that real companies are starting to do real business there. NBC News, for example, will be participating in a job fair there. Likewise, Costa has set up their Palacrociere cruise terminal there, and as we mentioned, has created a classroom in the "building" (above) and will actually be holding classes there where real travel agents will learn about their real product and booking engine.

At the end of the class, agents will be able to walk around the digital model of the cruise ship Costa has built in Second Life. Now if you are ready to expand your mind, think about this: At some point, will Costa be selling virtual cruises on that ship? (for virtual money, which of you have earned in Second Life or acquired by paying real money) And if you go, will you enjoy yourself and come back relaxed? How will the spa thing work? Will the therapist in the spa try to sell you virtual products, and how will you use them? Maybe I just don't get this, but the agent training part sounds cool.

From the continuing danger department:

Remember Louis Cruises' Sea Diamond which sank at Santorini last April? It's still down there, in tact, slowly leaking oil and being kept tabs on by local authorities. The AP reports that a Greek diver died Saturday while inspecting the site of the Sea Diamond's wreck as part of the official investigation.

The ship struck some rocks and began taking on water. After almost 1,600 passengers were safely evacuated, it sank suddenly early the next morning. Two passengers were unaccounted for and presumed dead, although there are some still-unresolved questions as to if they were actually on the ship.

The 44-year-old diver was part of dive team video taping the site and inspecting for oil leakage and other evidence as to the cause of the sinking. The Kathimerini reports the possible cause of his death is that he surfaced too quickly, but an autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause of death.

Note: Links are valid at time of posting.

From the where did it go department:

Liverpool's new cruise ship dock opened to great fanfare less than three weeks ago when QE2 called at the port, and yet it's disappearing - temporarily.

There's nothing wrong with the floating pier, but there need to be tests conducted for Lloyd's register. The tests would normally have been done prior to its opening, but there was a rush so the facility would be completed in time for QE2's visit. Several of the floating pontoons will be detached and taken to the Cammell Laird yard for certification by Lloyds.

There's an interesting story about the process in the Liverpool Echo. There are also links on the page to some interesting video and photos of the facility.

Note: Link is valid at time of posting.