Cruise Bruise Blog
May 2, 2009
May 2, 2009
Cruise Ship Spa Company Steiner Reports 14.3% Revenue Decrease
Steiner Leisure Ltd. (STNR) reported net income for the first quarter of $7.9 million down from $9.7 million in the previous year quarter.
Revenues for the first quarter decreased 14.3% to $117.1 million from $136.7 million in the comparable quarter last year.
May 2, 2009
Group Asked EPA For Updated Cruise Ship Sewage Discharge Standards
Friends of the Earth issued a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today requesting that the EPA update standards governing sewage dumping from large ships. The environmental group said current vessel sewage discharge standards that allow the use of 30-year-old technology are outdated and fail to protect water quality, and that far better treatment technology exists and has been in use in some cruise ships for years.
The petition was drafted for Friends of the Earth by the Kathy and Steve Berman Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law.
“The EPA itself acknowledged, almost nine years ago, that current ‘standards … may no longer be sufficiently stringent in light of available new technologies,’” said Marcie Keever, Clean Vessels Campaign Director at Friends of the Earth. “Not only are these standards outdated, but the treatment systems tested by the EPA did not meet even the EPA’s extremely outmoded criteria.
May 2, 2009
Dominican Bus Driver Arrested For Hounding Cruise Ship Passengers
Bus driver Lemuel Williams was arrested at the Roseau, Dominica cruise ship terminal. He was soliciting cruise ship passengers and blocking the doorway to the terminal.
A court, the judge heard that a cruise ship was docked at the Roseau cruise ship berth when Williams was seen by Constable Gordon L. soliciting tourists unlawfully.
Williams did not have a valid permit to be in the area, and was asked to leave. He left then came back. That is when he was arrested.
Sergeant Matthew told the magistrate that when cruise ships are present, the street from Garraway Hotel to the Fisheries Complex is barricaded. Williams said while he was on the roster as one of the tour bus operators, he had an outstanding levy of $US25 to pay to Discover Dominica Authority, so he was not permitted to be there.
Williams was ordered not to commit any offense within a six-month probation period, failure to do so will result in a fine of $2,000 or in default three months imprisonment.
May 2, 2009
Australians Tired Of Tax Payers Funding Cruise Ship Shuttle Buses
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia City Council aldermen are fed up with taxpayers footing the bill to shuttle cruise ship passengers into town. They say it is time cruise ship companies started paying to transport passengers into the city.
The Darwin council has voted to pay $34,000 to cover half of the charges of a shuttle bus service this financial year after costs increased by $12,000.
Alderman Kerry Moir says from now on the private sector should pick up the tab to transport visitors.
"We're talking about, you know, top level cruise ships, big money to go on them.
"The sort of money that would be charged by a bus company to shuttle them into town would probably be peanuts.
"So it's time that the industry really got itself organized so they can operate just like a public bus [and] pay like the rest of us."
May 2, 2009
Caribbean Nations Report Cruise Arrivals Plummet
Anguilla took the worst hit with a decline of 18.8%, according to CTO statistics. Tourist traffic fell 14.3% in Antigua, 13.7% in St. Lucia, 11.6% in Montserrat and 11.3% in the Cayman Islands.
Visits were down in all 12 reporting nations and territories except Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico's Cancun region. The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico cited drops of 6.1 and 4.7%.
The statistics also show sharp declines in arrivals by cruise ship passengers: down 28.7% in Jamaica, 25.8% in Puerto Rico and 19.6% in the Cayman Islands.
