30 JAN: Costa Cruises offered uninjured passengers 11,000 euros (about $14,000) each on Friday to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after Costa Concordia ran aground and capsized off Tuscany.

30 JAN: Six years after Hurricane Katrina drove the cruise industry from New Orleans, the city has reported a remarkable comeback, attracting 736, 908 cruise passengers in the year to December - a 12-month record and 2265 passengers more than the previous best year, 2004.

27 JAN: Costa Cruises has reportedly clarified its compensation policy for passengers who were aboard Concordia when it grounded on 13 January.

27 JAN: A New York law firm dealing in personal injury has joined forces with Codacons, the Italian consumer-protection organization, in filing a class action against Costa Cruises over the Concordia disaster.

23 JAN: Carnival Australia, which represents half a dozen cruise lines, is being quoted today as saying that the Costa Concordia grounding has had no effect on bookings.

22 DEC: Disney Cruise Line has cancelled four Disney Wonder sailings from Los Angeles to Mexico in December next year, but hasn’t said why, according to reports today.

22 DEC: Soaring fuel costs have hit the earnings of the world’s biggest cruise operator.

20 DEC: P&O UK’s Oriana is back in service after a month-long refurbishing which saw it converted into an adults-only liner.

20 DEC: The top-rating UK TV show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ is going to sea.

19 DEC: The number of gastric illness outbreaks on cruise ships continues to decline.