Free Republic

A woman who lives on a cruise for free for half the year has revealed all the perks that come with it – and the one “weird” thing she can’t do. Christine Kesteloo, who is originally from the US and lives in the Netherlands when she’s not sailing, has visited a whopping 109 countries and counting. The 44-year-old doesn’t cook, clean, make her bed, do laundry or pay for food, and it’s all thanks to her husband Pete’s role as a chief engineer for the Holland America Line cruise company. Christine, who documents her life at sea for her almost...

More than 200 people aboard a still-at-sea Cunard Line cruise bound for New York, including members of the crew, contracted norovirus in the latest cruise ship outbreak of the nasty stomach bug. Of the 2,538 guests on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, 224 reported getting ill on the current voyage along with 17 crew members, this month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cruise departed from Southampton, England on March 8 to set out for New York and later the Caribbean. The entire journey, however, doesn’t conclude until April 6, leaving the rest of the guests stuck...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) claimed Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that in 2026, congressional Republicans “will feel like rats on a sinking ship.” Host Kristen Welker said, “Some Democrats are saying they want leadership to show more fight in this moment. They think that’s what’s required and you were instrumental in urging President Biden out of the 2024 race when he wasn’t convinced. I’ve had conversations with Democrats who says this moment feels similar. Are you making the same mistake that President Biden did?”

Vladimir Putin unleashed a missile strike to 'sink' a cargo ship amid unconfirmed Russian claims it was carrying British weapons for use by Ukraine. Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles hit the Panama-flagged container ship MSC LEVANTE F - reportedly Swiss-owned - soon after it arrived in Odesa on March 1, after making a stop in Turkey. Two port workers were believed to have been wounded in the strike, which also damaged infrastructure, Ukrainian reports said. The report of the attack comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer today hosts Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss the future of...

A newly minted and massive Iranian drone carrier was captured in new satellite images sailing in the Persian Gulf this week — the ship’s first reported sighting since leaving its home port for the first time in mid-November. The satellite images taken Thursday by commercial operator Maxar Technologies shows three Iranian drone ships in the waters off the country’s coast as theories have swirled in the US that Iran could be behind the mysterious drone sightings across the tri-state area, according to Business Insider. Iran’s new carrier — the Shahid Bagheri — is a converted shipping container that was outfitted...

A German military helicopter was fired upon by a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea, the latest escalation in tensions between Moscow and the West, a report in German media states. A Bundeswehr (Federal German armed forces) helicopter was shot at by a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea with a signalling flare, the German Press Agency (DPA) has said. When this event is alleged to have taken place has not been made clear, but Deutsche Welle states the Russian ship responsible for the dangerous act was a “tanker”. A signal flare launcher is generally a gun in the conventional...

Yemen’s Houthi rebel forces launched two missile attacks on the Panama-flagged Turkish cargo vessel Anadolu S within 24 hours in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The ship’s crew survived both attacks unscathed.

Video at link.

A New Zealand navy ship carrying 75 crew members and passengers caught fire and sank off Samoa, but all on board are safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said on Sunday.The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu Island in Samoa while conducting a reef survey.Videos shared on social media show thick plumes of grey smoke rising after the vessel, which cost the New Zealand government over NZ$100m (US$63m), ran aground.

A New Zealand Navy vessel has run aground in Samoa while surveying a reef. Passengers and crew aboard a New Zealand navy ship have been dramatically rescued after their vessel ran aground off the coast of Samoa in the South Pacific, caught fire and sunk. According to the NZ defence force, HMNZS Manawanui first got into trouble at about 6:45pm on Saturday while it was conducting a hydrographic survey just one nautical mile from the shore of the island country. The exact cause of the grounding remains unknown, but it is understood the ship collided with the reef. The 75...

The FBI and other federal law enforcement agents at sunrise on Saturday boarded a massive container ship in the Port of Baltimore called the Maersk Saltoro, which is managed by the same parent company as the cargo vessel that is at the center of a criminal investigation into the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge this year. FBI agents were conducting “court authorized law enforcement activity” on the Maersk Saltoro alongside officials from the Coast Guard’s Investigative Services and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, the bureau and the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland said in statements. They...

President Trump has a campaign event scheduled at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Saturday. Not far away from the North Philly campus, the S.S. United States floats on the Delaware in South Philly where it is docked. It's fate is uncertain but the clock is ticking following its eviction from the pier where it has been paying $850 a day in rent. The ship must leave by September 12th. Unfortunately, the Rats running the city, state, and the corrupt globalist occupyng the White House, can't find the money to dredge around an abandoned wharf just north of the...

A cruise line has offered the adventure of a lifetime for retirees to explore the world in luxury and give them a chance to beat inflation. Villa Vie Residences has launched their Endless Horizons program, which allows passengers to set sail on the Villa Vie Odyssey ship and take off on a seven-continent adventure on May 30. The luxury cruise liner requires a one time payment of $299,999 for a single room and $499,999 for a double occupancy cabin. 'One aspect most people nearing retirement age are concerned about is ongoing living expenses and the possibility of outliving their savings,'...

A 'cursed' wooden steamship that vanished in Lake Superior in 1909 with 14 crew members on board has finally been discovered. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society say they found the Adella Shores after it went missing on May 1, 1909, in Whitefish Point, Michigan. Adella Shores - which locals feared had been cursed after its sober owners christened it by smashing a bottle of water on its hull rather than booze - was found more than 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in over 650 feet of water. The 195-foot ship was built in Gibraltar, Michigan, and weighed in...

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the fire onboard the US Navy's Military Sealift Command USNS 2nd Lt John P Bobo while enroute to Gaza, along with the status of the other ships sent to the Mediterranean.

Authorities are investigating the events that led up to the ships crash into the bridge, causing the collapse. ... The FBI has opened up a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland after a boat crashed into it last month. ... The boat reportedly lost power briefly before veering one of the bridge's support, sending the bridge cascading into the water below. Six lives were lost. On Monday, federal agents boarded the crashed boat to conduct a search. Agents wore yellow and orange life jackets as they boarded the Dali, standing where it...

A fiery debate has sparked after a cruise denied eight passengers to board the ship after they failed to make the 3 pm cut-off time. The Norwegian Dawn ship left the tourists on an African island, some without their possessions after the private tour they were on ran late. The group have now made their way by plane, ferry and car to Senegal, over 2,000 miles from São Tomé and Príncipe, where the Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) ship departed without them last Wednesday. US couple Jill and Jay Campbell, who were among the abandoned eight cruisers have spent more than...

Ahoy mateys and millionaires! Regent Seven Seas Cruises, one of the world’s leading luxury ocean cruise lines, announced they will welcome guests on a 140-night world cruise, visiting six continents, 40 countries and 73 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Fares for the World of Splendor 2027 World Cruise begin at $91,499 per guest climbing up to a record-breaking $839,999 per guest for the decadent Regent Suite — $1.7 million dollars for two guests. “We have seen continued interest and demand to venture further afield and for longer durations and so we are thrilled to announce that our 2027 World Cruise will...

Rescue workers in Baltimore are working furiously in an attempt to save the lives of dozens of people who were plunged into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship. Initial reports indicate that at least a dozen cars hit the 47 degree water in addition to a 20 or so construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time. The workers were pouring concrete on to the bridge at the time of crash. At the first press conference around 6:30 am, Baltimore Fire Chief...

ADEN, Yemen, March 2 (Reuters) - The Rubymar cargo ship, attacked last month, has sunk in the southern Red Sea, Yemen's internationally recognised government said in a statement on Saturday. If verified, it would be the first vessel lost since Houthi militants began targeting commercial shipping in November. [ed., Sinking has since been verified by multiple outlets including UK maritime shipping office.] The government statement said the ship sunk on Friday night and warned of an "environmental catastrophe". The ship was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it came under attack, the U.S. military's Central Command previously said.