73-Year-Old Disney Cruise Passenger Goes Overboard

Editorial Summary

Doug Parker reports on several developments within the cruise industry for Monday, November 24. The report begins with a tragic incident aboard the Disney Wonder, where a 73-year-old passenger from Melbourne went overboard in the Tasman Sea. Authorities believe the individual jumped around 4:30 a.m. local time. Despite a five-hour search involving thermal cameras, the passenger was not located and is presumed dead. The incident has caused the ship to fall one day behind its schedule to Auckland. In other news, Carnival Cruise Line has announced a delay for its new Carnival Rewards program. The launch is moved from summer to September 1 of next year, allowing guests more time to earn status under the existing VIP club. This new system will transition from counting days sailed to measuring status based on total dollars spent. Additionally, Carnival is implementing stricter regulations for its Cheers drink package. Passengers are now required to wait 10 minutes between orders, which is double the previous five-minute requirement. This rule applies to all beverage types and limits guests to one order at a time. Finally, the report notes that cruise line stocks, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Viking, all saw increases on Friday.

Written by TripBacon from this video's transcript.