Medical Evacuation from Carnival Paradise

The US Coast Guard reports they conducted a medical evacuation from Carnival Paradise Thursday afternoon (May 14, 2009) when the ship was 10 miles west of Point Loma (CA), near San Diego.

The Coast Guard dispatched a 41-foot rescue boat from San Diego to pick up a 29-year-old pregnant woman who was in urgent need of medical treatment.

“These cruise ship medivacs are always a little tricky,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class George Damanis, a certified Emergency Medical Technician at Station San Diego. “It takes a great skill from the coxswain to maneuver along side another vessel during the evolution. Good communication is paramount during the patient transfer. In this case, we had to transfer her from the cruise ship to our boat while she was strapped into a rescue litter.”

The Coast Guard transported the woman to the San Diego Harbor Police dock and taken to a local hospital by a local EMS.


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Fewer Alaskan Cruise Passengers Mean Fewer Airline Passengers

The one way cruises to or from Alaska are particularly hard hit in the downturn in the Alaskan cruise market. Those passengers typically tour in Alaska before or after their cruise and many of them therefore fly into or out of Fairbanks to start or end their vacation. The lower number of people doing this is translating into fewer airline passengers, so the Fairbanks News Miner reports Delta Airlines has eliminated their daily flight between Fairbanks and Delta's hub in Salt Lake City.

Carnival Imagination Rescues US American Boaters in Distress

Last Friday morning, Carnival Imagination rescued three boaters whose boat had capsized about 14 miles north of the entrance to the channel into Miami's harbor.

Officers on the cruise ship's bridge spotted the trio in the water by their overturned boat as Carnival Imagination was sailing into Miami. Carnival Imagination lowered one of its rescue boats which took the three aboard and then transferred them to a US Coast Guard vessel which took them on to Miami.

Disney Channel Stars to Sail aboard Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line says popular tween stars from Disney Channel cable network shows will sail aboard Disney Wonder this summer. The eight 3- and 4-night cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral depart during the period July 9-August 1 and will each feature multiple stars.

"Disney Channel Summer at Sea" will feature stars from "Hannah Montana," "Sonny with a Chance," "Wizards of Waverly Place," "The Suite Life on Deck," "JONAS," "Camp Rock," "High School Musical," and "Hatching Pete."

Disney says they will update the exact schedule on their website.

During the cruise the stars will attend deck parties open to all passengers and other meet and greet events.

Zenith Aground

Updated May 12, 10am.
Pullmantur's Zenith ran around over the weekend as it sailed through the Oresund Strait. The ship was sailing from Copenhagen to Gdynia at the time of the incident. The ship was refloated and returned to Copenhagen for a survey of damage to the hull. Pullmantur confirmed the incident to Cruise News Daily and said that inspections showed no significant damage to the ship. It is now sailing and back on schedule.

Zenith was formerly operated by Celebrity Cruises and transferred to the Pullmantur brand of Royal Caribbean.