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The Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (PVSA) effectively bars cruise ships from sailing between American cities. The PVSA forces cruiseships going from one US city to another to either stop at what is called a "far foreign port" (ie., outside of North America), or to stop at a foreign port within North America before returning to the American port of embarkation. Thus, a cruise ship cannot start in Los Angeles and end in San Francisco unless it stops in Tokyo or Lima first.

An 18-year-old Panamanian fisherman who survived 28 days adrift at sea is suing Princess Cruise Lines, arguing that the cruise ship whose crew members saw him stranded should have stopped and saved him. The behavior of crew members of the Star Princess was outrageous, shocking, atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Even though crew members "had clear knowledge that people were stranded in an open boat hundreds of miles from shore in the Pacific Ocean and desperately calling for help," the lawsuit says, "they consciously ignored the emergency situation," R.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that California welfare money meant to help the needy pay for food, clothes and other essentials has been withdrawn on at least 14 cruise ships sailing out of Miami and other ports.

The Delta Queen has not been used for overnight passenger service since fall 2008, after Ambassadors failed to get an exemption from the federal Safety at Sea Act.

That 1966 law forced any boat that was predominantly wooden to stop operating as an overnight cruise vessel if it carried more than 49 passengers. Though the Delta Queen has a steel hull, she has a wooden superstructure and carries up to 174 passengers. Congress had granted her nine exemptions to the Safety at Sea Act since 1966.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11099/1138215-455.stm#ixzz1J5061eDg

Mark Edgington can't spell worth a crap, but that doesn't mean his yard sign on Route 12 near Keene in June 2011 was incorrect. PolitiFact address the claim that Obama "has fired more cruise missiles than all other Peace Prize winners combined," and gives it a "True" on the Truth-O-Meter.

Rockefeller and other critics of the industry say that cruise lines that are headquartered in the United States but have their ships registered elsewhere are getting a free ride on the backs of U.S. taxpayers, placing demands on federal agencies such as Immigration, Customs and the Coast Guard, which are charged with oversight when those ships enter and leave U.S. ports.
"They don't reimburse the Coast Guard, they don't pay taxes that will help with these 20 federal agencies that are watching over them in various ways and whose services they use, or might use," Rockefeller told CNN

Two drunk passengers in a car stopped by police were caught smoking pot — less than 20 ft. from Vermont State Troopers — while waiting for a sober driver to pick them up, Vermont State Police said.

Joke: To be fair, they were headed to Denny's -- where you have to be in said condition to really enjoy eating their food.

Reversing a near decade-long ban, Amtrak will allow passengers to bring guns on most trains starting next month. The change, pushed by gun-rights advocates and ordered by Congress, aligns Amtrak’s firearm policy with air travel rules that allow unloaded guns to be stored in locked baggage holds. Federal Homeland Security officials on Monday said they are OK with guns being on trains as long as security protocols are enforced. "It’s deemed safe and appropriate," federal Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said. "If people follow the rules, it’s pretty simple."

The 3D full-body scanners procured for thorough body check of passengers at the nation's major airports for security reasons are now being abused by security officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria