Late Friday night, The Costa Cruises ship Costa Concordia sailed from the Italian port of Civitavecchia near Rome, beginning what would be a nice Mediterrnean cruise. Shortly thereafter, it went off course and struck a reef, eventually listing and coming to rest off the island of Giglio.

The weekend brought new stories, new shocks and new questions of what exactly happened that night, and how it could even happen. Even the death tool is fluctuating. So until some concrete facts emerge, we're returning to a story we know to be the firsthand account from a friend who survived a cruise ship accident (though it didn't end up sinking).

Kathy, who was kind enough to share her story with us, was stuck onboard a crippled cruise ship for three days, albeit a couple decades ago.

Here's her story:]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-16T08:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/8/10/124656/572

Lord help us if we start recapping The Real Housewives of New Jersey, but the most recent episode held some interest as the screechy families packed up their screechy children and old people for a 20-person trip to Italy. Wondering how these New Jersey Italians would interact with real Italians, we tuned in (or rather, caught it on Hulu) and discovered that Italy actually had very little interaction with the Real Housewives as they boarded a cruise ship only a few hours after arriving.

But first, they had to sneak in a gondola ride in Venice. As we now know about Housewife Teresa Giudice's bankruptcy, we watched her family take such a pricey trip from a whole new and highly skeptical angle. Frivolous spending in Venice? Check. Booze-soaked nights acting like a teenager? Check. Frankly we're surprised Teresa stayed solvent so long. Anyways, now about that cruise...]]> JetSetCD 2010-08-10T13:11:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/13/203335/712

Can everyone please welcome the cruise lines to the 21st century? If airlines, notoriously security-focused as they are, can successfully board and fly their passengers who have checked in via a self-service kiosk, then why can't ships do the same for cruisers? Finally, after Costa Cruises saw the light last year and installed some kiosk check-ins, Carnival has come around to allowing their passengers to check themselves in as well, but only at the Port of Miami.

Veteran cruisers know that along with the unlimited buffets and blue water of a cruise, one must endure the grueling discomfort of a lifeboat muster drill and the wait to simply board the ship. You check your luggage, get loaded with pamphlets on shore excursions and a map of the ship, and finally claim your ID/onboard credit card, and all you want to do is collapse into the closet that is your ship-side bedroom.

Now, using the self check-in kiosks, you can zip through the formalities, even set up a cash account for onboard purchases, and finally exchange your checked-in confirmation for your stateroom key. To use this new machine, however, you must pre-register online and be a US or Canadian citizen or from a visa-waiver country. Checked bags can be left with the porters and you are free to board and partake in the farewell Lido buffet, one of the grandest traditions in cruising.

Related Stories:
· Carnival Introduces Self-Service Cruise Check-In Kiosks [CruiseCritic]
· Carnival Launches Self-Service check-in at Port of Miami [Travel Weekly]
· Cruise News [Jaunted]

[Photo: CruiseCritic]]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-14T08:44:17-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/