December’s Cruise Ship Excursion Tragedy is Just the Latest in a Long String of Such Incidences

Every year, hundreds of people are hurt, and dozens of people are killed, in cruise vacation related incidences. While the most frequent criminal cause of injury among cruise ship passengers is cruise ship sexual assault, more cruise ship travelers are injured and killed during excursions than perhaps any other cause. In December the world was reminded just how dangerous cruise ship excursions can be, when 12 cruise ship vacationers were killed in a horrific excursion traffic collision.

On December 19, 2017 a bus carrying passengers from several cruise ships, including Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, was carrying cruise ship passengers on excursion to a local attraction in Mexico when it was struck by a large truck, killing 12 and injuring at least 20. The incident caused international outrage and shined a light on the dangers of cruise ship excursions. Though December’s excursion tragedy was certainly the deadliest such event to occur in recent years, it represents just the latest in a string of similar incidences.

Less than three months before the massive bus crash in Mexico, another cruise ship excursion tragedy resulted in the deaths of two people. Larry and Joyce Huntsman were killed when a bus that had taken them on a tour from their Celebrity cruise ship backed into them after offloading them in a parking lot. The company responsible for the vehicle, Obuljen Travel Ltd., was chosen by Celebrity to help with travel.