Virgin Voyages has unveiled several pieces from its new crew uniform collection for their first cruise ship Scarlet Lady, set to sail next year. Designed by the British fashion icon Gareth Pugh the entire concept is quite unique and like nothing, we have seen on the other cruise lines. The new concept of crew uniforms combines the “Modern Romance of Sailing” motif promoted by Virgin Voyages and Pugh’s high-fashion modernist approach.

Crew members on ocean and river cruise ships work long hours. Rather than working standard five-day weeks, cruise-ship employees work seven days a week 10 to 14 hours a day, for the duration of their entire contracts. Day off does not exist when working on cruise ships. Usually, employees get lunch off or dinner off, and even with this so-called offs they work 8 hours.

A 28-year-old female Filipino crew member on the cruise ship Costa Fortuna was evacuated by the Italian Coast Guard yesterday, August 2, 2019, after she suffered serious head injury onboard. According to local sources, the incident was reported late in the evening while the ship was near Sanremo, Italy. The crew member slipped in her cabin and sustained a serious head injury from the fall. 

Costa Cruises has signed the Agreement "Genoa Blue", an initiative promoted by the Italian Coast Guard. According to the agreement the cruise ships will use fuel with sulfur content below 0.10% when entering the ports of Genoa and Savona. Existing legislation has already regulated this limit when the ships are docked, but the new resolution also establishes this rule before ships enter the ports.

A crew member aboard the Norwegian Cruise ship, Norwegian Joy, has died on 9 July 2019. The 29-year-old crew member from Mauritius, Chandraprakash Beersee, passed away in his cabin on Norwegian Joy, while the vessel was sailing to Juneau, Alaska. According to reports, the cause of death was a heart attack while the crew member was sleeping. Chandraprakash was a talented pastry chef who has boarded the vessel three weeks before his death on 15 June 2019.

Customs and Border Protection officials arrested a former Carnival Cruise Line crew member after he allegedly tried to smuggle himself out of the United States.

We have all heard the problems with deck chair hogs – people that wake up really early, claim their loungers by the open deck with a towel, but a brawl among two senior guests to claim a deck chair is something new.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas, decided to cancel scheduled arrival to San Juan due to safety concerns over protests which started yesterday, calling for Puerto Rico Governor Ricard Orossello to step down. According to the latest reports the vessel is being re-routed to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and all guests will receive refunds for prepaid shore excursions scheduled for San Juan.

The Italian Coast Guard performed medical evacuation of a 31 year old woman from the Philippines sailing on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Oasis of the Seas.

Silvio Gentile, Carnival Cruise Line Director of Scheduling and Compliance, has passed away from a heart attack ten days ago in Miami, Florida. With the sudden death of Silvio Gentile, Carnival lost a great professional and a visionary, but most of all an exceptional human who has impacted the lives of many onboard Carnival cruise ships.