Monday, December 31, 2007

In The Headlines, Cruise Stories Not Always What They Seem

When hundreds of cruise passengers report to the infirmary with similar symptoms, does that necessarily mean their ship is SICK?

Hardly. But you'd never know that from news reports about nasty cruise ship diseases that attack unsuspecting vacationers. CruiseDiva.com would like to honor USA Today with 2007's Most-Misleading-Headline Award for... "Curse of Camilla hits Cunard's Queen Victoria." While the American press gleefully reports on every outbreak of norovirus (acute gastroenteritis) on cruise ships, the British tabloids are having a field day with this one because the champagne bottle failed to smash against Queen Victoria's hull when The Duchess of Cornwall named the ship earlier this month. Apparently British reporters are superstitious, particularly when it comes to members of the Royal Family.

Let's look at the real story. Is there an actual cruise ship disease? No, not hardly. However, you'd never know that by the way newspapers and television report every outbreak of 'stomach flu' on cruise ships and fail to mention how common it is elsewhere. It's actually possible to pick up a norovirus almost any place and you're more likely to get it on land than at sea. Get the real story behind the headlines from CruiseDiva.com's article, Is Your Cruise Ship Sick?