GM's Cruise robotaxi service faces fine in alleged cover-up of San Francisco accident's severity
California regulators are alleging a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up the severity of an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent suspension of its California license.
Self-driving car company Cruise halts fleets in Houston, elsewhere in bid to โrebuild public trustโ amid fedsโ probe
The self-driving car and driverless rides company Cruise said Thursday that it is halting its driverless operations across its fleets -- including in Houston -- as it said on Twitter that it is taking steps to โrebuild public trust,โ though it added that the decision โisnโt related to any new on-road incident.โ
Hundreds of cruise ship crew members get vaccinated in Galveston ahead of anticipated cruising ban lift
There are 300 crew members between the two carnival cruise ships, the Carnival Vista and the Carnival Breeze currently docked at the Port of Galveston, all agreed to be vaccinated. Carnival officials say itโs an important part of the process to get sailing again.
Man sentenced for trying to strangle girlfriend while on a cruise off Galveston coast
GALVESTON, Texas โ A North Dakota man has been sentenced to prison after he was convicted of assault for trying to strangle his girlfriend while on a cruise ship off the coast of Galveston. Hector Fernando Blanco pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan 17 and on Tuesday was sentenced to three years in prison followed by two years of supervised release, according to a news release. Officials said the 41-year-old man and the woman he had been dating were on a cruise ship 45 miles from Galveston when the assault happened. According to the release, Blanco tripped and his girlfriend was able to escape the cabin and alert security personnel on the ship. AdBlanco was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined soon.
GM teams up with Microsoft on driverless cars
This image provided by General Motors shows the new company logo. (General Motors via AP)DETROIT โ General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electric, self-driving cars. โMicrosoft is a great addition to the team as we drive toward a future world of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,โ said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. It wants to be seen as a clean vehicle company, rather than a builder of cloud-spewing gas-powered pickups and SUVs. GM scrapped its old square blue logo for a lower case gm surrounded by rounded corners and an โmโ that looks like an electrical plug.
Carnival cancels cruises through April -- or later -- due to COVID-19
HOUSTON โ Carnival has canceled all cruises from U.S. ports through April 30, 2021, the cruise line said. The cruise line said travelers should look for an email or check with their travel agent for more details. โAs we confer with industry partners and regulators on the protocols and procedures that will guide our operations when we resume sailing, we will continue to make information available (here),โ the post reads. โThank you for your continued understanding and support.โCarnival has repeatedly pushed back sail dates locally and across the U.S. as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued. MORE ON CARNIVAL CRUISES AND THE PANDEMIC.
GM's Cruise to deploy fully driverless cars in San Francisco
The move announced Wednesday by GM-owned Cruise come two months after the company received California's permission to fully driverless cars in the state. โYouโre seeing fully driverless technology out of the (research and development) phase and into the beginning of the journey to being a real commercial product," Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said Wednesday. California regulators also recently approved new rules allowing ride-hailing services to pick up passengers in self-driving cars, but Cruise isn't going down that road yet. Instead, Ammann pledged the company will move cautiously while dispatching up to five fully driverless cars into parts of San Francisco initially. Ammann declined to provide a timeline when asked if Cruise planned to use its driverless cars in ride-hailing service within San Francisco next year.
GM to run robot cars in San Francisco without human backups
General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of the year. Cruise will go neighborhood-by-neighborhood in San Francisco and launch the driverless vehicles slowly before spreading to the entire city, he said. Progress toward autonomous vehicles slowed markedly after an Uber autonomous test SUV ran down a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018. Both Cruise and Waymo program their vehicles to drive more conservatively than humans, but still need to progress safely, Shladover said. He noted that Cruise will tackle easier areas in San Francisco first before venturing into more complex traffic situations.
Carnival Cruise Line cancels all cruises set to sail out of Galveston for 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns
GALVESTON โ If you were looking to catch a Carnival cruise out of Galveston soon, youโll have to wait. On Thursday, Carnival Cruise Line stated that some of its cruises from all U.S. homeports, except Miami and Port Canaveral, are canceled for November and December due to COVID-19 concerns. The cancellation applies to all cruises that were planned to sail out of the Port of Galveston. โLosing a cruise line is big for the Galveston industry,โ Newman said. And while we are not making any presumptions, once cruising is allowed, we will center our initial start-up from the homeports of Miami and Port Canaveral,โ said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Disney Cruise Line cancels all sailings through end of July
ORLANDO โ Disney Cruise Line announced Wednesday that all cruises that were set to sail through July 28 have now been canceled. According to a news release, the decision to cancel future trips was made with direction from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to the coronavirus outbreak. Guests who were currently booked on one of the affected sailings will be offered the choice of a cruise credit to be used for a future sailing within 15 months of their original sail date, or a full refund. Guests and travel agents will receive an email from Disney Cruise Line outlining details and next steps. Those who booked with Disney Cruise Line and have questions after receiving the email should call contact Disney by calling (866) 325-6685 or (407) 566-7797.
Carnival inundated with bookings after announcing August departures; these are cruises slated to set sail from Galveston
HOUSTON โ Bookings for Carnival Cruise Line shot up 600 percent after announcing cruises would begin on August 1, according to Cruise Planners, a cruise booking company. A check of Carnivalโs website shows a Western Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Dream is scheduled to set sail from Galveston as soon as August 8, with several subsequent cruises to depart through the month and into next year. However, plans are just plans, as Carnival noted on social media, saying in part:Update on important information regarding our service pause extension. Posted by Carnival Cruise Line on Monday, May 4, 2020โAny resumption of cruise operations โ whenever that may be โ is fully dependent on our continued efforts in cooperation with federal, state, local and international government officials,โ a news release said. โIn our continued support of public health efforts, any return to service will also include whatever enhanced operational protocols and social gathering guidelines that are in place at the time of the resumption of cruise operations.
Local couple worried $1,900 refund from Carnival cruise could be months away
GALVESTON โ One local couple booked what they hope would be a fun cruise. However, they did not expect an adventure to get answers from the Carnival cruise line. On March 30, the couple learned that Carnival was canceling the trip on Facebook than they received an email. To try to get more information on their refunds, they turned to Facebook and were shocked at what they read. "Carnival was responding, telling some people it could be 3-6 months, telling others well it could be 6-9 months," Debbie said.
โGolden Girlsโ-themed cruise to set sail from Miami next year
MIAMI โ Sure, they have traveled down a road and back again, but next winter, the Golden Girls will be headed out to sea. WJXT reports an events company is planning a cruise for fans of the beloved 1980s sitcom departing from Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sofiaโs home base of Miami in 2021. The company also offered this in 2020, but it sold out quickly! The five-night themed cruise sets sail April 5, 2021- April 10, 2021 with various stops on its itinerary, including Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. "Join other 'Golden Girls' fans for a once-in-a-lifetime gathering," the organizers' website says.