Ovewrturned cruise ship in Italy

[CathyA]

I'm finding this story absolutely unbelievable. How much does one of those luxury liners cost to make........and then they let an unfit captain run it and staff that didn't know what they were doing. Passengers were not prepped in emergency situations, their passports were taken from them upon arrival, etc., etc.
People are missing, some are dead, and they fear it will begin to leak all its fuel.
The captain jumped ship at the beginning of the problems.

Just unbelievable and tragic.

[Gregg]

What struck me is how many people I've heard interviewed that couldn't swim. Call me crazy, but if I couldn't swim the last place I would want to vacation is a boat on the ocean. I guess once you're so far out it really wouldn't matter, you're either in a life boat or not, but this ship is flipped over what looks like about 50' from land!

[Mrs-M]

Such a tragedy. Reports I've been listening to, via radio, tell of panic stricken passengers questioning crew-members of the ship, and the crew-members casually and calmly walking right past them and ignoring them.

[fidgiegirl]

I wonder what the passport deal was all about.

[Stella]

A member of my DH's and Dad's KofC group was on that ship and is missing.

[CathyA]

I guess they took the passports because they make identity-type cards out of them that the passengers can swipe going on and off the boat, so they can keep track of people. But I think it is usually done before the ship sails. Supposedly, after the ship hit the rocks, the captain then drove it as close to shore as he could, so people would have a better chance of reaching the shore. Probably the only good thing he did.

[loosechickens]

We recently returned from a Princess cruise from CA, down through the Panama Canal, ending in FL. Carnival Cruise Lines owns Princess, as well as Costa, whose ship is now lying in the Mediterranean.

On our cruise, we supplied the cruise line, before departure, with our passport numbers, we had to show our passport and be photographed when boarding the ship, but retained possession of our passports, and stowed them in the safe in our room.

Princess issued us a "Princess Card", which was linked to our credit card, and was used for any shipboard purchases not included in the cruise, and also served as the "keeping a count of souls on board" when we disembarked and/or re-entered the ship in ports of call. As you left the ship, you slipped your "Princess Card" into a machine, and when you returned from your onshore excursions, you slipped the card into the machine again, so they knew you had returned to the ship, and at that point, the machine also took your picture and it was compared by the computer with the picture they took before you embarked on your cruise at the time they examined the passports, for security reasons.

We had a mandatory "muster drill" BEFORE the ship sailed, about an hour before. Attendance was compulsory. Your life jackets were in your stateroom, and on the door of the room was a clear diagram of how to get to that stateroom's "muster point" in emergencies. They came on a loudspeaker and explained about the emergency drill, and we were directed that when the emergency signal (seven short whistle blasts) was given, we were to immediately go to our staterooms, get our life jackets and go to our muster stations.

When we did that, they did a VERY professional demonstration of our life jackets, each person was required to put on their life jacket and crew members inspected each passenger. We got a quite serious lecture on what to do in various emergencies, how the lifeboats worked, etc.

I was shocked that the ship that sank had not even provided that mandatory drill to the passengers, and that the crew seemed so unprepared, as on our cruise, crew members seemed well trained, were able to explain all emergency procedures clearly, etc.

I will say, since this cruise was our first one, that I'm glad this terrible accident, if it was going to happen, happened AFTER our cruise, or I'm sure I would have been much more tense when our ship encountered 75 mph winds crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec in Mexico, and heavy winds and seas in the Carribean negotiating the Windward Passage.

I guess there will be some real bargains for awhile in cruise prices, because the damage to the cruise industry from the recession was just lifting, and now many people will be frightened away from cruising, just as when a bad airline accident occurs, many people avoid flying.

I'm finding myself wondering whether purchasing a bit of Carnival stock might be in order.....it's taken quite a tumble these past few days. Although........

Those ships cost about half a billion dollars, and this one is probably pretty much totaled, and when you add in the additional cost of lawsuits, reimbursements to passengers, probable fines (especially if that heavy diesel leaks), it may be quite awhile before Carnival is profitable again.......

[Alan]

The closest we've come to a cruise ship was an overnight on a very ritzy* ferry from Portsmouth England to Saint Malo France in 1997. They took our passports upon boarding and returned them upon arrival. We also didn't receive any emergency instructions or drill procedures, before or during the trip across the channel.

*prior to that trip, my idea of a ferry was a flat raft with vehicles and cargo strapped onto the deck. Imagine my surprise to see a floating palace complete with multiple restaurant's and two movie theaters.

[domestic goddess]

My understanding is that the emergency drills were not done yet because there were some other ports in which passengers would be picked up, so they were waiting for the next day, when all passengers would be on board. While that seems efficient, having unprepared passengers on board is obviously not a good thing.
I often think I would like to go on a cruise, but between sinking ships and pirates, I'm not so sure I'm up for that. Too bad, because I'm sure there will be some real price reductions in the future.

[Weston]

Have been on dozens of cruises (all leaving out of US ports). We have never had to surrender our passports.

Every cruise that I have ever been on, the first order of business after setting sail is a Muster Drill. They take mandatory attendance at the drill and if even one passenger doesn't show up, the drill can not be concluded.

[CathyA]

Oh Stella.........I wonder if its that couple from up north. They are older and supposedly saved a long time for this cruise.......and they are missing. :(
Hopefully they found an air space and just have to wait to be found.......hopefully soon.

[Blackdog Lin]

I read the transcript this evening of the conversation between the captain of the ship (safe in his lifeboat, having jumped ship) and the coast guard (captain? coordinator? liason?) during the incident, and it was just unreal. That a captain of a ship that large would refuse to go back to help coordinate rescue.....it boggles the mind.

Prayers go out to those hurting or still lost.....

[Nella]

Have been on dozens of cruises (all leaving out of US ports). We have never had to surrender our passports.

Every cruise that I have ever been on, the first order of business after setting sail is a Muster Drill. They take mandatory attendance at the drill and if even one passenger doesn't show up, the drill can not be concluded.Ditto, except that some of my departure ports have been overseas. The muster drill was a very serious activity in which everyone was required to participate.