CARNIVAL CRUISE

My brother's family, sister and our 91 year old mama leave on a cruise to the Bahamas today on the Carnival Pride.  We will stay in touch through a blog created by our niece, since phones and internet are not reasonably available.  More than 2,000 passenger's will join them - along with 900 crew members.  Here are some interesting facts about cruise ships:

There is a trend underway for some baby boomers to permanently retire on cruise ships.  The cost is about the same as an upscale retirement home, but the ship provides better amenities. 

Specifications of the world’s largest cruise ship are simply mind-boggling: Nearly four football fields long and 16 decks high, the largest ship can carry over 6,000 passengers. The ship has 22 restaurants of varying themes, shows worthy of any Vegas casino, and its own replica of Manhattan’s Central Park. Royal Caribbean is currently building a third ship of equal size to be unveiled in 2016.


During the 1 week cruise about 210,000 gallons of raw sewage will be dumped into the ocean.  The ship must be at least 3 miles off shore before they start dumping (no pun intended).  The fish enjoy the passing cruise ships, since all food that is not eaten is also dumped into the ocean.

How can they get away with polluting the ocean?  I'm glad you asked!  If you pay careful attention during commercials for cruises, you might notice that the ships are registered in countries like Panama and Liberia, flying “flags of convenience.”   This allows companies to dodge taxes and operate at levels of pollution that would never be allowed in Western nations.

Wishing my family a great week on the water.  I understand the temperatures in the Bahamas rarely dip below 60 degrees with average high temperatures in the 70s to low 80s.  By the way, Dover, PA is preparing for another snow tonight.