World cruise giant hits trouble after accidents

As the stricken Costa Concordia limped its way towards Genoa last week, all Italy was remembering the 32 people who lost their lives in the cruise ship disaster. All, that is, except for the captain. Francesco Schettino, the slick-haired skipper of the doomed vessel, was photographed on Friday jetting around the holiday island of Ischia, accompanied by a gaggle of glamorous women. Local media suggested he was celebrating signing a book deal.

A fire breaks out in the engine room of the Costa Allegra, which is carrying 636 passengers, including eight Americans.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) confirmed earlier today in a statement that it had struck a deal to acquire Prestige Cruises International for around $3.025 billion in a cash and stock transaction.

The Costa Concordia cruise liner began its final voyage Wednesday, slowly being towed away from the tiny Italian island where it capsized more than two years ago, killing 32 people. Boat sirens wailed and bells tolled on the island just before two tugboats pulled the Concordia away from Giglio’s port, where the luxury liner ended up on its side in pristine Mediterranean waters, after being gashed by a reef it struck when its captain steered too close to the island.

Over its 41 years, Carnival Cruise Line has had a checkered past. In its heyday, Carnival was the cruise brand known for innovation, but more recently it has become known as the brand with PR disasters to deal with.

ROME — Francesco Schettino, the former captain of the Costa Concordia, says the successful transfer of the stricken ship to Genoa shows he made the right decision about where to leave the ship when it hit rocks near the island of Giglio. Mr. Schettino is on trial in Grosseto in Tuscany on criminal charges, including multiple manslaughter, causing an environmental disaster and abandoning ship on the night of the disaster that claimed 32 lives in January 2012. He has denied the charges but faces 20 years in prison if found guilty.