Maritime Injury Attorney Blog

In my opinion the disaster involving the Costa Concordia, involving the loss of lives, not only requires us to focus in on safety issues aboard the mega cruise ships, but also emphasizes the needs for changes in the favorable laws cruise ship companies enjoy.

All of the cruise ship companies register in foreign countries, and register their ships in foreign countries. The flags of these vessels are referred to as flags of convenience because the cruise ship companies register these vessels in foreign countries in order to enjoy favorable laws, including avoiding United States taxes.

What are the many favorable laws that the cruise ship companies enjoy? First, let's focus in on claims involving passengers onboard cruise ships.

The first thing a passenger must be concerned with is the passenger ticket issued by the cruise line. It is referred to as a contract of passage. However, it is not really a contract, although it is considered legally to be one. It is merely a number of provisions which disclaim and limit the liability of the cruise ship company. It grants no rights to the passengers. It takes rights away.

In the passenger ticket, the cruise ship company sets forth the deadline to file a lawsuit against them arising out of personal injury or death. The deadline is one year from the date of the incident. This is an extremely short statute of limitations. Most statute of limitations involving personal injury and wrongful death claims are 2 to 4 years. The cruise ship company enjoys the benefit of being able to limit the time a passenger can file a lawsuit against them to a very short one year period of time. In addition, the cruise ship company requires written notice to be provided of such a claim within 6 months.

Continue reading "Costa Concordia Disaster Shows the Needs to Change Favorable Laws Cruise Ships Companies Enjoy " »

The website, Cruise Critic, reports that a waiter, onboard a Carnival Cruise Line's cruise ship, attacked a maitre d' in the main dining room during dinner. It is also reported on the website that the injured maitre d' is referred to as "The Singing Maitre D'."

We have reported often about assaults on passengers on cruise ships in an effort to create a better public awareness to passengers on cruise ships that criminal activity, including assaults, do happen onboard cruise ships. Assaults by one crewmember on another also do occur onboard cruise ships, and crewmembers are often times the victims of criminal activity aboard a cruise ship. Cruise ship workers have typically been protected by maritime laws that give them the right to sue their employer for negligence, as well as sue the cruise ship company under a doctrine called unseaworthiness. Crewmembers are also entitled to the remedy of maintenance and cure, which provides them with medical care for any illnesses or injuries they suffer, as well as maintenance money in order to live while they receive their medical care.

The issue as to whether a crewmember can recover against the cruise ship company for an assault by another crewmember is more complicated in the arena involving the maritime laws applicable to crewmembers than it would be if a passenger was assaulted by a crewmember. While the maritime law has held the cruise ship company strictly liable for intentional torts committed by a crewmember on a passenger, in order for a crewmember to recover against the cruise ship company for an assault committed by another crewmember, the crewmember would have to prove that the attacker had some type of violent propensity which was known or should have been known to the cruise ship company, or prove that the attack was so violent in nature as to demonstrate that the attacker was so deranged or violent that his mere presence onboard the ship rendered the vessel unseaworthy. The doctrine of unseaworthiness is only applicable to crewmembers.

How serious this incident is - is not discussed on the Cruise Critic website. The article does state that the cruise line did not provide information regarding the cause of the incident, or yet received back a comment from Carnival Cruise Line.

Our firm continues to be safety advocates for both crewmembers and passengers harmed at sea.

Dylan Cole Bloodsworth, who was referred to as a "serial rapist" by the prosecutor, has pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old during a cruise aboard a Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship, the Elation. The assault occurred last March.

This sad story which was highly publicized involved a 13-year-old who was travelling on the cruise ship with her family. She had agreed to go with Bloodsworth to his cabin under the pretense that he was going to retrieve a jacket. He then sexually assaulted the minor in yet another tragic case of a sexual assault on a minor occurring aboard a cruise ship.

These horrible stories we hear is a reminder to all parents who decide to take minor children on a cruise ship that sexual assaults and rapes do happen on cruise ships with a much greater frequency than ever was imagined by the general public. It has only been in recent years that there has been increased public awareness of crimes, including sexual assaults and disappearances, happening onboard cruise ships. The public attention has also resulted in Congressional Hearings addressing cruise ship safety, which eventually led to the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act past in the year 2010 and signed into law by President Obama.

In this particular case, the sexual assault was not committed by a crewmember. It was committed by another passenger. We have also read recently of stories involving passengers engaging in the sale of drugs while onboard ship. One must be aware that the cruise ship has been compared to a small city, which would include the potential for all types of criminal activity that occurs in a city. In the past, passengers have come onboard cruise ships with a false sense of security, and have not expected that these types of crimes can occur onboard a cruise ship. Unfortunately, minor children have often been the victims of sexual assaults which are a direct result of the fact that these types of incidents have been kept out of the public eye for some period of time, resulting in the false sense of security passengers get when boarding a cruise ship.

Again, this is a reminder to be very careful when going onboard a cruise. One must consider all aspects of the cruise, not just the advertisement by the cruise ship companies about the beautiful ports they are going to travel to, and all of the fun activities onboard the ship. One must consider the availability of medical care, including the fact that the cruise ship company takes the position that the ship's medical staff are independent contractors and that the cruise ship will deny liability for any negligence on the part of the medical staff. One must also consider the different ports the cruise ship is taking the passengers to. Are these ports safe? Has the cruise line warned the passengers of any criminal activity known in the particular areas of the ports they are travelling to? With respect to shoreside excursions and activities, are they safe? Are the operators of these shoreside excursions experienced and well trained? Is the equipment up to date and safe? Who regulates these shoreside excursions? Again, the cruise ship companies will allege that these shoreside excursions are provided by independent contractors and the cruise line will deny liability for any accidents that might occur during a shoreside excursion.

Continue reading "Man Pleads Guilty to Rape of Thirteen Year Old on Cruise Ship" »

By: The Greenwich Citizen
http://www.greenwichcitizen.com/news/article

The disappearance of George Smith IV of Greenwich on his honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean six years ago is the subject of a new book, "Man Overboard -- Inside the Honeymoon Cruise Murder (Lyons Press, $14.95)," by author Joan Lownds of Naugatuck, a former reporter for Greenwich Citizen.

To learn more about the author's book, her opinions about Smith's disappearance and her final conclusions about the case, the Citizen asked Lownds a few questions.

What were the major determining factors in your decision to state in your book title that George Smith IV was murdered?

I used the word "murder" in the book title based on several facts and sources. First of all, I don't believe that the FBI would have spent millions investigating the case throughout the world if they didn't believe foul play was involved. Also, Kevin O'Connor, the U.S. attorney, speaking for the New Haven FBI, described the case as "suspicious." Vito Colucci, the private investigator and former Stamford detective said he "believed right from the start that it's a murder case."

And there are simply and logically the facts of the case: there was a loud commotion in George Smith's cabin just before he went missing and then "a horrific thud" ­­-- as reported by the neighboring passengers, Clete Hyman and Pat and Greg Lawyer. And then there was a huge bloody stain on the awning below. Walter Zalisko, the vacationing former police chief of Jersey City, N. J., looked at the blood stain and concluded it was most likely a homicide. As Brett Rivkind, the lawyer for the Smith family said, "It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out there was crime there that night."

In your book, there is mention that Smith was carrying a good deal of money with him. Was this true to your knowledge and, if so, is there some thinking that money might have led to foul play?

This was rumor on the ship, that Walter Zalisko and other passengers had heard. But there is no proof of this.

What do you think is the most inexplicable or even outrageous aspect of this honeymoon cruise disappearance story?

I think it is both inexplicable and outrageous that passengers such as Walter Zalisko and Sheldon Sandler reported that George Smith's cabin was not "sealed off and contained;" and that the ship was reportedly not locked down when it docked in the next port of Kusadasi. This allowed passengers and crew to disembark, perhaps taking critical evidence with them. Brett Rivkind said Turkish police conducted a brief investigation that did not include the key ear witnesses, including Hyman and the Lawyers.

How many interviews did you do with family members who had lost someone on a cruise ship? Did you see any common threads in those cases?

I have done countless interviews with family members who lost loved ones on cruises, and also several with women who were allegedly raped on cruises. There was definitely a common thread. To quote Son Michael Pham, whose parents, Hue Pham and Hue Tran, went missing from a Carnival ship in May, 2004: "All of us had lost loved ones from cruise ships and all of us had no answers and the same story -- no witnesses, no surveillance tape, no motive and no help from the cruise line."

This was why the Smiths and the other families decided to from International Cruise Victims (ICV). As the Smiths said in their written testimony at Chris Shays' first Congressional hearing in Dec., 2005, "Please don't let George die in vain."

From the vantage point of those family experiences and what you have learned from the Smith case, how do you see the new Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act best protecting passengers on cruise ships?

This new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2012, will protect passengers, I believe. The bill provides heightened transparency in crime reporting on cruise ships by establishing a "structure" between the cruise industry, the FBI and the Coast Guard, requiring each ship to maintain a log book recording all deaths, missing passengers, alleged crimes, and complaints about theft, sexual harassment, and assault.

The bill also mandates shipboard rape kits and that a trained forensic sexual assault specialist be assigned to each ship; and the establishment of a program by the U.S. Department of Transportation which provides FBI training for crew members in crime prevention and crime scene preservation, among other safety measures.

I think this will help make cruising safer, and I hope that the passage of this bill brings some solace to the Smith family and the other families of the victims. Maureen Smith has said that they have to be George's voice now, and I think they have made his voice heard, and in the process have truly helped others.

Bottom line question -- do you believe George Smith was murdered?

Yes, I believe George Smith was murdered, or I would not have chosen the title I did. As I mentioned, I do not believe the FBI would have spent millions investigating the case all over the world if they didn't believe foul play was involved. And the circumstances of the case seem "suspicious," as U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.

Associated Press reported a California man has pled guilty in a U.S. Virgin Islands court to drug dealing onboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship the Allure of the Seas.

I recently did a blog about a man who pled guilty to going on a cruise with the intent to perform elicit sexual acts and in fact sexually molested a minor child.

I have also blogged about sexual assaults and rapes onboard cruise ships, as well as disappearances. The most famous case involving a disappearance of a passenger on a cruise ship is the George Smith case. I represented the parents of George Smith. It is believed he was the victim of foul play during a cruise. An ongoing F.B.I. investigation has not been closed regarding the circumstances and cause of his death. However, early reports reflected that there was blood found in his cabin, as well as outside on the awning area underneath his balcony. A passenger in the cabin next door heard loud noises going on in the cabin as if a fight had been taking place. The last people who were known to be with George Smith were other passengers who later were kicked off the cruise after allegations of a sexual assault against them surfaced.

What does that all teach us? I have been handling maritime personal injury and wrongful death cases, including cases involving disappearances, rapes and sexual assaults for almost thirty (30) years. We have learned that sexual predators can be on a cruise ship, as well as drug dealers. The cruise line often states they are like a floating city. This means that along with the analogy to a floating city, comes the recognition that each week there is a potential of 2,000 or more passengers from all over the country coming onboard, one or more who may come aboard with the intent to commit a criminal act. Of course, there is another potential 1,500 to 2,000 crewmembers from all over the world onboard the ship. The cruise lines have a limited ability to do thorough background checks on all of these crewmembers.

The cruise lines have historically kept from the public the number of crimes committed onboard cruise ships. It hurts their image. Most of the major cruise line companies have big public relations departments. Everyone has seen the commercials advertising the cruise ships as the "fun ship", and creating the image of a carefree and safe vacation. Most people think a disappearance or a serious crime aboard a cruise ship is virtually nonexistent. At least, that was the thoughts prior to the George Smith incident receiving national and international attention, and spurring Congressional Hearings into safety issues onboard cruise ships. Eventually, President Obama signed into the law the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act on July 27, 2010.

Continue reading "Crimes on Cruise Ships" »

Please read my blog about an article stating that sexual assaults on a cruise ship are 50 percent more likely than on land in Canada.

Our firm continues to be safety advocates for individuals harmed at sea.

Over the recent years, there has been increasing attention paid to criminal acts, including sexual assaults, that occur onboard the passenger cruise ships. Special attention was directed to the cruise ship industry after the disappearance of George Smith during his honeymoon cruise. The initial investigations suggested foul play as the cause of his disappearance, prompting an ongoing FBI investigation into the matter. The George Smith case, in which our firm represented his parents in an action against the cruise line company, involved his disappearance while the ship was in international waters. This led to some complex issues of which authorities had jurisdiction over the investigation. Initially, the Turkish authorities investigated the incident. They did a very poor job. There was a very quick and incomplete investigation.

The cruise ship company did their own internal investigation, including flying attorneys from Miami, Florida to the ship immediately to interview passengers and crewmembers. The cruise line delayed in reporting the incident to the FBI, which resulted in a delayed reaction by the FBI. Of course by the time the FBI got involved, the investigation became very difficult because critical evidence had been lost.

There were many allegations of improper handling of important evidence, and an improper investigation and cover up about the incident.

However, the incident did highlight the jurisdictional complexities involved in investigations of criminal activity that occur onboard cruise ships which travel through international waters, especially when carrying United States passengers.


Since the George Smith case, there have been Congressional hearings held which have addressed the complexities of jurisdiction, as well as the safety procedures onboard cruise ships. I was invited to speak as a maritime expert at Congressional hearings which addressed these issues. This resulted in addition, legislation which creating reporting requirements for certain crimes that occur aboard a ship.

Continue reading "Special Maritime Criminal Jurisdiction" »

ABC Nightline is doing a story about a thirteen year old who was raped aboard a Carnival Cruise Lines' passenger cruise ship during a family vacation. Sadly, sexual assaults and rapes occur aboard cruise ships with a much greater frequency than one would expect. I have been handling Maritime cases involving the cruise ship industry since 1983. I have watched the cruise ship industry grow tremendously. We all read about the new cruise ships that are being built that carry thousands of passengers. In addition to the thousands of passengers that must mix aboard the ship, there are the thousand plus crewmembers from all different countries who are onboard the ship. The sexual assaults that are reported often times involve a crewmember sexually assaulting a passenger. However, there are many reported sexual assaults involving a crewmember sexually assaulting another crewmember or a passenger sexually assaulting another passenger.

The cruise lines have become floating cities, with the dangers that are present in any city. The cruise lines often defend themselves by trying to point to crime statistics in big cities and compare them to the crime rates onboard their ships. The cruise lines argue that statistically the crime rate is much lower onboard a cruise ship. The cruise ship companies argue this demonstrates how safe a cruise actually is.

While I do not disagree that generally a cruise can be a safe and enjoyable vacation for the entire family, and that criminal activity, including sexual assaults, are not rampant aboard a cruise ship, the public needs to be aware of the dangers associated with cruising aboard a passenger cruise ship with such a large population of people from all different backgrounds and countries.

In the case reported by Nightline, a fourteen year old teenager was onboard with her parents. She reportedly was having trouble sleeping and decided to go by herself to an upper deck onboard the Carnival ship. A thirty year old Carnival Cruise Line employee from Indonesia then took her to an employee only area and raped her. When the crewmember was arrested sometime later, after actually being employed on another Carnival Cruise Lines' passenger ship, he initially denied the incident. After he reportedly did not pass a lie detector test, he then claimed the sexual acts were consensual. However, a fourteen year old teenager is below the age where one can legally have consensual sexual activity. This is called statutory rape.

Since the crewmember admitted to having sexual activity with a fourteen year old teenager, he was guilty of statutory rape. He was actually sentenced to prison and was serving jail time in Orlando, Florida. This is one of the rare instances where we hear about a crewmember being convicted for the crime of rape. One major cruise line previously remarked how it had never had anybody successfully prosecuted for a sexual assault aboard one of their cruise ships in over twenty-five years. This statement was made supposedly to support the assertion that sexual assaults were not occurring aboard cruise ships. However, we have been able to obtain statistical information regarding the number of sexual assaults and rapes that the cruise lines admitted to, which demonstrated that sexual assaults and rapes were occurring at a much greater frequency than anyone knew or expected, and yet there had not been a successful prosecution of any of the perpetrators of the crime. This did not demonstrate that the cruise lines were free of the problem of sexual assaults and rapes. Instead, it demonstrated how difficult it is to prosecute an individual for such a crime. The difficulty in obtaining successful prosecutions has been linked to the failure of the cruise lines to properly report and investigate alleged sexual assaults and rapes.

Continue reading "ABC Nightline to Broadcast a Story On A Rape Aboard A Carnival Cruise Ship" »

A California resident filed a lawsuit this week against Princess Cruise Line, which is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. The victim alleges in a lawsuit that a year ago she was vacationing aboard the Island Princess going from Acapulco to Florida when a crew member assaulted her.

The man, whose name is unknown, grabbed the victim and then began to grope her and try to kiss her, all before forcing her to go to a deserted part of the ship. The victim then claims she tried to escape her assailant but he physically prevented her from doing so. Once he had her in a more secluded area, he allegedly trapped her against a counter top, hiked up her skirt and further touched her inappropriately. The victim then was able to push the crew member off and escape.

The passenger on the cruise ship who was assaulted claims that she was not only attacked, but that her assailant has a "prior, similar incident of misconduct" while being employed aboard one of Princess' other passenger cruise ships.

Tragically, this is not the first time someone has complained and reported being sexually assaulted aboard one of Princess Cruise Lines ships. A previous incident was reported in March of 2009 when the FBI arrested a waiter in Los Angeles. The alleged claim came when the waiter was charged with aggravated sexual abuse after the victim had wine with him and then was assaulted. In this incident the waiter was afterwards acquitted claiming that the act was consensual.

An astonishing study by professor Ross Klein from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada found that, based on statistics provided by the U.S. Congress, passengers are nearly at twice the risk of being sexually assaulted on aboard a ship then they are on land. The study also showed that nearly 70 percent of the sexual assaults reported are by crew members against passengers.

Continue reading "Woman Claims a Princess Cruise Line Employee with a History of Sexual Misconduct Assaulted Her" »

A lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court alleges that Celebrity Cruises passengers went on a cruise without knowledge that the cruise line had been experiencing problems with the ship's propulsion system. Apparently, the problems were ongoing and the passengers were not told the problems could affect their cruise. The lawsuit also alleges had the passengers been fully informed, they would have cancelled their voyage.

The cruise ship involved is the Celebrity ship called the Summit, which was a 13-day cruise along the West Coast and to Alaska. The ship carries approximately 2000 passengers.

The lawsuit alleges there were several prior problems of breakdowns which resulted in cancellations and interruptions in other cruises. The lawsuit also alleges the ship had to be sent to dry dock for emergency/unscheduled repairs on several other occasions.

The issues will be whether the cruise line breached their maritime duties to the passengers by sailing with these ongoing problems and at the same time advertising that the cruise was a "premium" cruise. The passenger's expectations were that they were sailing on a ship that did not have any issues at all with any of its mechanical systems. To the contrary, the expectations are that everything was working properly and that the cruise would be a totally enjoyable and memorable, as the cruise lines advertise.

Since passenger claims against the cruise lines are governed by the maritime law and passenger contracts, the cruise line has asserted affirmative defenses to the lawsuit which include provisions contained in the passenger ticket. As our firm has reported, the cruise lines often times will escape liability by affirmative defenses such as the claims are barred by the time limitations contained in the ticket or waiver of liability found in the passenger tickets. An experienced maritime lawyer will immediately refer to the ticket when considering any potential claims against a cruise ship company.

Continue reading "Lawsuit against celebrity cruises for failure to warn about mechanical problems seeks class action status" »

Yesterday Three Royal Caribbean Cruise Line crewmembers working on the Enchantment of the Seas were charged with trying to smuggle drugs into the United States on a cruise ship. They attempted to smuggle in 700 grams of heroin, and 300 grams of cocaine into Baltimore.

The crewmembers charged were Gavin Excell, 35, John Swart Garth, 27, and Kishurn Neptune, 27. According to Department of Homeland Security's agent's report that was filed, the 3 men picked up the drugs in the Dominican Republic. One of the crew members tried to hide the drugs in his waistband and shoes when the ship reached the Baltimore port.

A U.S. customs official received a tip from a security officer employed by Royal Caribbean. One of the crew members was followed to a Wal-Mart near the cruise terminal and when apprehended he later told the officers he was paid $4,000 to make the delivery. All the crewmembers involved were arrested and charged, as well as the buyers of the drugs.

This is just another example of illegal activity that can occur aboard a cruise ship. Many times, crew members do not fear getting caught because of the lack of a police presence onboard the ship. Cruise ships have been compared to cities by many of the analyst as a result, there is an increased need for a police force and other security measures. President Obama, this year recently signed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act Legislation into law to add protection to cruise ship passengers.

Other incidents like sexual assaults and disappearances continue to take place. Our maritime personal injury and wrongful death firm have represented previous victims to these crimes and continue to do so.

Unfortunately, sexual assaults happen onboard cruise ships much more often than one would expect. Our passenger cruise ship claims firm has handled numerous sexual assault cases involving sexual assault by a crew member on a passenger. Sadly, several of the cases have involved minors. Most of the time the rape or sexual assault onboard a cruise ship has gone with any conviction of the perpetrator of the crime. This has been due to a number of factors, mainly the lack of prompt reporting and investigation by the cruise line, as well as the complexities of jurisdiction over such crimes when they occur onboard a cruise ship. The cruise ships are registered in foreign countries, and most of the crimes happen in international waters and are committed by a foreign resident and citizen.

Recently, congress passed legislation to hopefully deal with many of the problems faced by United States passengers who are the victim of a sexual assault or rape onboard a cruise ship. This legislation includes reporting and investigation requirements, and clarifies some of the jurisdictional issues that got in the way previously of there being an adequate investigation performed.

However, in the particular case which we are reporting here, a bartender onboard the Carnival Freedom was identified as the assailant, who took a fourteen year old into a restricted area onboard the ship and had sex with her. The FBI was contacted and the assailant was taken into custody. The cruise ship employee pled guilt to a count of sexual abuse of a minor. The crew member was sentenced to jail plus has to pay $4,360 as restitution.

The incident again reminds the public that these types of incidents do happen on cruise ships and must be aware of this. The public imaged portrayed by the cruise lines has always been that a cruise is a carefree, no problem type of vacation, the love boat comes to the mind of most people. The "fun ship" is what carnival refers to about their ships. This causes people to let their guard down when on a cruise. It is important to be aware, and to carefully discuss these issues with your children when going onboard a cruise ship.

While my personal injury law firm regularly sues the cruise line companies for various wrongful conduct, including claims for sexual assaults onboard cruise ships, as well as serious accidents, I must applaud Disney Cruise Lines and the heroic efforts of the Discovery Magic which recently rescued eighteen stranded boaters.

The cruise ship was the Disney Magic, which has been spending the summer time in Europe. On early Friday morning the crew overheard radio communications indicating that other vessels were searching for a boat that was in distress. The Disney Magic cruise ship then took action and was able to locate the stranded boat with eighteen people aboard. There were sixteen men and two women. The crew took the eighteen stranded boaters aboard the cruise ship and provided needed medical attention. They were also given cabins until they were disembarked in Barcelona, Spain.

A representative of Disney Cruise Lines said that one of the rescue boats from the cruise ship was used to rescue the stranded boaters.

The eighteen people were Nigerian citizens. They had been stranded in the open water for approximately four to five days.

The Disney cruise should be applauded for their efforts.

Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed that a 14 year old passenger aboard the Carnival Cruise Line passenger cruise ship VICTORY was shot during a shoreside excursion the teenager was on in Coki Point Beach, St. Thomas. Apparently it was a very popular area in St. Thomas.

The teenager was with her parents on a safari bus at the time of the shooting. She was caught in a cross fire during a shootout reported to have been taking place between local gang members.

While this tragic incident appears to be a random act of violence, under the Maritime Law if a cruise line has knowledge of an unsafe area that passengers may travel to during a cruise, there would be a duty to warn the passengers of any such dangers. Therefore, if the cruise line was aware, or should have been aware, of an unsafe area at one of the ports the cruise line takes its passengers to, they would have a duty to warn the passengers of the dangers.

A Maritime Law case previously held that a cruise line could be responsible for a shooting of a passenger at a port where the cruise line knew or should have known that the area the passengers foreseeably traveled to was an area that was known to have a lot of criminal activity.

Under the Maritime Law, the cruise ship owes passengers a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances, and that duty would include warning passengers of any dangers known to the cruise line that may risk the safety or lives of the passengers.

Continue reading "A 14 Year Old Passenger Aboard A Cruise Ship Was Tragically Killed During A Gun Fight While On A Shoreside Excursion" »