The cruise business is booming and its easy to understand why if you've been on one lately, but problems arise far more frequently than the cruise ship companies would have you believe. Some months after my wife and I cruised on the Star Princess, it had a significant fire gut several balcony cabins. Illness still plagues many cruises, and occasionally one sinks.

In one particular egregious case, the Oceanus, a Cypriot-owned ship, sank after her crew loaded up the life boats with their luggage and left their passengers to drown.

News like this gives the cruise industry a black eye, but less so than in the past because cruising has become such a mainstream vacation choice.. Horror stories don't have the same impact when it contrasts so strongly with a positive personal experience.