Any guesses about where and what this is?
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I was blocked, stymied, brain-dead. Between being cooped up inside because of cold, sleet and freezing rain and fighting the bureaucracy that is the Mass. DUA (department of unemployment administration), All I could see was a blank screen when I tried to prepare a post for yesterday but today the news has dropped a topic right in my lap. It seems that Carnival Cruise lines is still on the “sick list”.
Just a couple of days ago Carnival Fascination received a surprise inspection from the CDC. According to the article in USA Today, all cruise ships that dock in American ports are subject to surprise inspections twice per year. The article states the ship failed due to cleanliness. Citing live flies, dried food waste and even a “roach nymph,” inspectors for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fascination a failing health grade. (To read the whole article click here http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/04/11/carnival-fascination-cdc-health-inspection/2074175/
But that wasn’t the only cruise ship mishap in the news this morning. The one that made me perk up my ears was the name PRINCESS. We will be traveling on a Princess Ship when we sail to Alaska.
So what now? What has plagued the Princess ship?
A news station in Houston is reporting that the Carnival-owned Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess experienced a blockage within the vacuum toilet system which affected some 410 staterooms in the aft part of the cruise ship. The news station quoted a passenger saying “by the bathroom, it was flooded, it was wet in the carpet.” Another passenger said the ship “smelled of backed-up sewer.” Many passengers couldn’t use the toilets in their cabins. Passengers had to get up in the night and take elevators to use the public restrooms. One passenger told the Houston news station: “I will never, ever, ever, ever cruise with Princess again, ever.
Carnival, especially since the Triumph disaster, has been dubbed the “poop” ships. Princess cruise lines is owned by Carnival but treated as a separate entity with its own management but this may be the first glimmer that the same problems that plague the parent company may be “trickling down”. (pun intended)
The Crown Princess has had problems before. About 2 months ago it made the news when a passenger went overboard. The article I found states it was the Coral Princess but Cruise Law News reports it as the Crown Princess…typo error or multiple incidents? I don’t know. Just be sure to hang on to the rails! It was also the Crown Princess that was hit with the dreaded norovirus on a transatlantic trip from Venice, Italy.
So it appears the cruise ship industry continues to be plagued with problems. One thing is sure, get ready for deep discounts as the cruise lines attempt to lure back skittish travelers. Carnival has already introduced fares as low as $38.00/day for 4 day Caribbean cruises. My guess would be to expect more to come on the heels of this negative publicity.
My limited experience so far has been positive. In about a month my sister and I will be off on our Alaska adventure which starts with a 7 day cruise on Princess Lines. It is my sister’s first cruise and the longest one I will have taken. Here’s hoping my positive experiences continue.
Bad weather and bureaucracy have stolen my blogging time this week. I thought I’d Share one of my most popular posts from the past . This was once “Freshly Pressed” I hope you enjoy the repeat.
Boy the last couple of days have been busy! As you probably figured out from my recent posts I made a trip to Newport for my “Mystery Monday” and then grabbed the “T” into Boston for one of our first really nice days which also happened to be OPENING DAY AT FENWAY.
Baseball is back in Boston! I also attended an all day seminar in resume writing and job hunting and applied for a position as a travel writer. Wouldn’t that be a nice gig?
Meanwhile back at Fenway I didn’t have tickets and wasn’t about to spend $50 for one of the “Cheap Seats” but it was fun to be a part of the excitement. Boston is a sports town where excitement always runs high but the Home Opener at Fenway Park is always something special.
Once most of the shouting mob was in Fenway I slipped into Uno’s in Kenmore Square for lunch and missed the best moment of the opening…the Fly Over! I’m not sure what kind of planes but as I was being seated I saw it on the big screen TV. What I wouldn’t have given to be outside to try to get a picture of that! It caught me completely by surprise!
But now I needed sustenance so over steak tips and salad I chatted with my waiter who hailed from South Africa. Must add a trip or two to that county to my bucket list.
From Uno’s I headed back to Park St.. The previously crammed subway cars were now empty making for a much easier ride if not as exciting.
I was now on my quest to see the “Duckling” statues. You remember the story Make Way for Ducklings? Well I had heard that someone had outfitted them with spring bonnets and I wanted to see this. Since rain was in the forecast I knew if I didn’t go right away they would be a wilted mess. Hard to believe that it was going to rain when I looked at the brilliant, cloudless blue sky.
I’ve seen the statues before but of course I couldn’t remember where in the public garden they were located.
Like most things that are lost, you find them in the last place you look.
In my case it was after I had walked all the way around the Boston Common.
But it was worth it.
Those little Spring Bonnets were just the cutest touch! 🙂
Our Mystery photo from Monday was the Newport Tower. Located in Touro Park in Newport, RI. The tower masquerades under many names : Round Tower, Touro Tower, Newport Stone Tower and Old Stone Mill.
I got to thinking about this tower because it was recently featured on a program on the History Channel called America Unearthed. In AMERICA UNEARTHED, forensic geologist Scott Wolter, trys to reveal that the history we all learned in school may not always be the whole story.
For years the tower was thought to have been built in the 17th century as a windmill but more recently there has been speculation that the structure is really centuries older. Some of the current theories are that the tower was built as an observatory.
Another theory by the author Gavin Menzies is that the tower was built by a colony of Chinese sailors and concubines from the junks of a Chinese explorer. This theory is said to have been debunked.
There’s also the theory that Portuguese navigators built the structure as a watchtower.
But my favorite theory is not the most popular but maybe the most “romantic” and it is the theory that Scott Wolter tries to prove in his episode about he tower. That theory is that the remnants of the Knights Templar came to the New World and built the tower as a signpost for other to follow. He highlights the astronomical alignments and draws comparisons with known Templar built structures .
I have a soft spot for the Templars and would love to have this theory proved true however remote the chance. But even if the tower is eventually proved to be something as mundane as a windmill it will have been fun speculating about its origin.