BAD BOAT NAMES RECEIVE `KEELHAUL' AWARDS

BAD BOAT NAMES RECEIVE `KEELHAUL' AWARDS

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Wireless Flash) -- Cruise lines are getting a sinking feeling this time of year thanks to the "Keelhaul Awards." The dubious honors are handed out each year by travel journalists Shirley Slater and Harry Basch. Topping the list of bad moves is the decision made by Premier Cruise to rename its ships with "dumb and dumber" monikers such as "Big Red Boat IV." Royal Olympic Cruises gets a Keelhaul award for suing the European Community after military action in Kosovo caused passengers to cancel their trips there. The cruising duo also wants to keelhaul Royal Caribbean International engineers who covered up illegal oil dumping in Alaskan, Caribbean and Pacific waters. The complete list of Keelhaul Awards appears in the upcoming edition of CruiseReports newsletter.