[Travelandtourism] Norwegian the latest cruise line to cancel parasailing

[cheryl echevarria]

By Dan Askin, News Editor, Cruise Critic
(Updated Monday, 2:30 p.m. EST) --

Norwegian Cruise Line is the latest of four lines to cancel parasailing 
trips in St. Thomas, following an accident that killed one passenger and 
left another critically injured. Norwegian has decided to suspend all such 
excursions Caribbean-wide.

Carnival Cruise Lines has also canceled its parasailing excursions in St. 
Thomas, and Celebrity Cruises has canceled its similar trips in the 
Caribbean indefinitely. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity's sister line, has 
followed suit.

A 60-year-old passenger sailing on Celebrity Eclipse, who the Virgin Island 
Daily News identified as Bernice Kraftcheck, 60, died as a result of her 
fall. Her daughter, Danielle Haese, 34, who was riding in tandem, is still 
being treated at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital in Charlotte Amalie, St. 
Thomas. Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez confirmed that the 
mother and daughter were participating in a ship-sponsored shore excursion.

According to the Daily News, "squalls and wind gusts in St. Thomas on 
Tuesday afternoon may have factored into the death." Coast Guard spokesman 
Ricardo Castrodad told the outlet that the women hit the water at the same 
time.

The U.S. Virgin Islands' Web site says that the accident happened just 
before 5 p.m.

At least six government agencies have convened to investigate the matter, 
and these agencies have also been working in collaboration with the U.S. 
Coast Guard at the Federal level, said the USVI's Department of Tourism in a 
statement. The parasail company has voluntarily suspended operations until 
the completion of the full-compliance inspection.

As of Friday morning, Martinez tells Cruise Critic that the investigation is 
ongoing, and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have stopped offering parasailing 
excursions in the Caribbean pending the outcome. Martinez said the decision 
to shelve the excursions was being made in an "abundance of caution."

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