Daily Roundup--February 27, 2012

Another Costa Cruises ship is in trouble. This time it’s the Costa Allegra which had to battle a fire in the engine room. Fortunately, the fire was put out and no one was hurt. However, the fire left the ship without power and it’s currently drifting about 200 miles SW of the Seychelles. Rescue boats are on the way. As a precaution while battling the blaze, passengers were told to assemble at their muster points as a precaution. I guess the cruise line learned a lesson from last month.

Argentina turned away two Carnival Cruise ships from entering the port town of Ushuaia invoking a rule denying entry to vessels linked to Great Britain. As most of you know, Britain and Argentina are in disputes over the Falkland Islands. While the passengers lose out in visiting Argentina, it’s really the people of the port city who lose the most—as in tourist dollars. The two ships in question are run by Princess Cruises and P & O cruises both of which are based in the UK but owned by Carnival. Carnival also owns Costa Cruises (see above story.) The two ships denied entry had previously visited the Falklands before heading for Argentina. 

The strike by ground workers at Frankfurt airport is back on. Nearly 200 flights have been cancelled with 140 from Lufthansa alone. The airline says its long haul flights to North America will not be affected. I’m guessing anyone making a connection, however, might be. The strike is scheduled to last until Thursday.

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be nice. On a recent Southwest flight, an air traffic controller told the captain his mother was on board and it was her birthday. So, the captain made an announcement stating they had a special “mom on board.” Unfortunately, the way the PA systems on planes work, the passengers thought they heard the pilot say there was a “bomb on board.” Mayhem ensued and it took the crew awhile to calm the passengers down. Even an explanation by the captain didn’t convince everyone.