Grand Princess Rescues Drifting Sailors Off Australian Coast
Princess Cruises’ ship Grand Princess rescued two sailors off the coast of Australia earlier this week.
A dive boat captain and his skipper were drifting off the coast of Victoria after their vessel ran out of fuel and was unable to anchor due to deep waters. After their boat began to take on water, they boarded a dinghy and sent out an emergency locator beacon.
Grand Princess was in the area en route to Melbourne from New Zealand and answered the call.
Despite rough seas, the pair were brought on the cruise ship without incident and no injuries were reported.
STORY: Two Distressed Sailors Rescued By Princess Cruise Ship Off The Australian Coast
Two Cruise Lines Add New Layer of Credit Card Protection
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will be adding a new layer of fraud protection for cruise payments and purchases starting in April.
The sister brands will begin requiring that guests enter their credit or debit card’s Credit Verification Value, which is a three or four-digit number on the back of the card, otherwise known as CVV. This serves as an extra layer of protection to help ensure that the person using the card is in possession of it.
The change comes just weeks after a woman appeared in court after being accused of using eight stolen credit cards to take a $22,000 cruise aboard Oasis of the Seas.
Port of Vancouver Anticipates Record Cruise Season
The Port of Vancouver in British Columbia is anticipating a record 331 cruise ship calls this year as it gears up for the start of the season next month. The first scheduled ship to visit is Sapphire Princess on April 12th, then Holland America’s Koningsdam and Norwegian Bliss the following day.
If ships are filled to capacity this year, the port could see a record 1.3 million cruise passengers. Last year, 815,000 cruise passengers passed through Vancouver.
The 2023 season is scheduled to run through October 24th, with Koningsdam being the final ship to call at the port’s Canada Place terminal.
To the south, Seattle is estimating 1.4 million this season.
STORY: Port of Vancouver Expecting a Record Number of Cruise Ship Calls This Year
