This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away. Amid reports that Costa Concordia Capt. Francesco Schettino abandoned ship, some are questioning whether “the captain is last to [...]

By FRANCES D’EMILIO, Associated Press – 3 hours ago  PORTO ERCOLE, Italy (AP) — Stone fortresses and watchtowers that centuries ago stood guard against marauding pirates loom above pristine waters threatened by a modern peril: fuel trapped within the capsized Costa Concordia luxury liner. A half-million gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel oil is in [...]

7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from $459 The Cruise: American Discount Cruises Travel is offering a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise onboard Carnival Liberty, sailing roundtrip from Miami on April 21, 2012. Fares start at $459 per person for an inside cabin, $649 for an outside cabin, $879 for a balcony cabin and $1,329 for a suite. [...]

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away. In the wake of the Costa Concordia tragedy, Carnival Corp. says it will do “a comprehensive audit and review [...]

A week after the Concordia struck a reef off the fishing and tourism island of Giglio, flipping on its side, its crippled 114,000-ton hull rests on seabed rich with an underwater prairie of sea grass vital to the ecosystem. The dead weight has likely already damaged a variety of marine life, including endangered sea sponges, [...]

By Ella Ide (AFP) – 3 hours ago  GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy — Italian rescuers were forced to suspend operations on the stricken Costa Concordia luxury liner on Friday a week after a Mediterranean tragedy in which up to 32 people are feared to have died. “Rescue workers were on the ship during the night. When [...]

After the worldwide madness that was Versace for HM, Donatella Versace decided to satiate the mass appetite for retro neon prints by creating a second HM offering: a Cruise/Pre-Spring collection, full of colorful fruit prints and little white dresses. To minimize the hospitalizations, the collection would only be sold online and only in Europe. And [...]

Sony, Panasonic debt ratings cut on TV lossesReuters Japan’s Sony and Panasonic both had their debt ratings downgraded on Friday by Moody’s Investors Service, which …

This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away. When you book a cruise you’re offered the option of travel insurance, for a fee – either directly through [...]

Last updated: January 20, 2012 1:55 am By Guy Dinmore, Giulia Segreti and Eleonora de Sabata in Rome