Photo by Xiomara Amaro

Three cruise ship passengers from Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas won a court decision in Brazil after seeking compensation following a norovirus outbreak aboard the ship back in March 2010.

The ship departed from Port Santos, Brazil when 348 people onboard were contracted norovirus.  Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were some of the symptoms experienced by the passengers, who resorted to the court system to be reimbursed for the damage.

The attorney that specializes in consumer law, Ferrette Sueli Maria Gomes, was approached by three passengers dissatisfied with the consequences of the outbreak. 

One of the plantiffs was Freire Lourdes Domingues, 79, who was infected and claims to have almost died because of the  norovirus. The other two passengers who sought legal action felt changed in Vision's itinerary caused greater injury to them since they were prevented from getting off the ship at their destinations.  The trip included stops in Buzios, in Rio de Janeiro and Ilhabela in São Paulo coast. 

According to the lawyer, setting the value to be paid for each passenger fell to the judge, as Royal Caribbean did not offer to make a deal. The only deal the company was offering was a 25% discount on a future trip. 

Royal Caribbean had to pay about $33,000, including punitive damages and reimbursement of passages (R$ 2,994.00 each). The compensation was increased to Lourdes, due to contracting gastroenteritis. She received $12,000 in damages only. The other two tourists won £6,000 each by the hassles. 

Among the complaints made by passengers, is there being only one doctor to serve the people, without priority for children and seniors. Furthermore, it was alleged that the norovirus can spread via unwashed food and water, which was a possible sign of poor hygiene. 

When asked about the ruling, Royal Caribbean said in a written statement it is appealing the verdict. Royal Caribbean also announced that as soon as the symptoms were detected on board the Vision of the Seas,  the ship immediately reported the incident to the ANVISA and "took all actions necessary to ensure the welfare of the guests on board." 

The company also noted that viral outbreaks can not be directly related to the ship. "A virus from external sources can be installed on the vessel human transmission and thus did not cause any problems as food and water on the ship."

Royal Caribbean also mentioned that all ships coming to Brazil are subject to the control of various organs and meet strict standards, controls and taxes from international organizations. 

Famous southern cook Paula Deen is hosting a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas that will sail out of Galveston, Texas early next year.

The cruise leaves on January 27, 2013 and will visit Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.  The "2013 Cruise with Paula" event will begin with a “welcome pajama dessert party” with Paula.

Everyone who books the cruise package will receive an 8x10 photo with Paula and events onboard include

• Deen Family Olympics
• Not your Mama’s Meals with Paula & Bobby
• Q&A games with Paula and "the boys"
• Super Bowl party with "the boys"
• Jazz (or Gospel) brunch
• Slot tournament
• charity auction
• Final night BBQ including private cocktail party

There will also be goody bags and a "personal gift" from Paula herself.

If you're interested, you can book the cruise by going to the Cruise with Paula website.

Royal Caribbean will be part of the conference line up at Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific conference and trade show later this year on September 17-18, 2012.  The second annual event will take place in Singapore is set to bring the cruise industry together to look at the emerging Asia-Pacific cruise market.

As part of the conference, Royal Caribbean's Managing Director for Asia-Pacific Gavin Smith and Adam Armstrong, Commercial Manager for Australia & New Zealand will join a panel of other cruise executives to look at the what the Asia market means.

Royal Caribbean has once again won first prize in the 2012 Canadian Travel Press Agents’ Choice Awards, which is the ninth consecutive year that's occured.

Royal Caribbean Canada director of sales and marketing Lisa Connell commented on the honor, "We are thrilled to receive such a special award from our valued travel agent partners who help make Royal Caribbean International one of the world’s top global cruise brands. It’s been an exciting year with the introduction of a dedicated sales team catering to Canadian travel agents and vacationers in order to further Royal Caribbean International success in this market.”

“We are honored to be recognized as the top cruise line for the ninth consecutive year by our valued travel agent partners in Canada,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president of Sales, Trade Support and Services, Royal Caribbean International. “This recognition re-affirms our ongoing and unwavering support of the travel agent community - what we call Loyal to You Always. Our commitment to building meaningful relationships through personal interaction with travel agents is one of the ways that sets Royal Caribbean apart.”

Royal Caribbean representatives along with representatives from Norwegian Cruise Line met with port officials from Almuñécar, Spain as a possibility for shore excursions on future cruises.

The port cities of Motril and Malaga, Spain were also on hand as these cities were looking for ways to bring back Royal Caribbean after they announced the company would cease port calls to Malaga next year.  

This visit is part of the campaign to promote the Port of Motril as a destination for cruise ships where other cruise lines are already operating with some regularity.

The visit began with a welcome by the Municipal Tourism Coordinator, Rafael Caballero, at the headquarters of the Tourist Board of Almuñecar. In addition to delivering information about the town municipality, Caballero informed the group of the availability of a guided service to show some of the most prominent monuments and archaeological sites.

For municipal representative, Rafael Caballero, the visit of two large cruise line representatives "is very important to Almuñécar so can be assumed in the projection of our community be included in brochures and possible destination of tourists arriving to the port as we have had the opportunity to meet, "he said.

Photo by Aaron Lin from Singapore