chengkp75

If the Captain was not aware of a restricted zone with an offshore limitation, distance off the coast is far and away less important than water depth. And, what conspiracy do you see that limited the investigation?

Anything from the ship would likely require a warrant. Cell signals would require getting a passenger manifest, either from Celebrity (again, likely warrant) or CBP, and warrant to the cell providers to divulge the locations of subscribers. Not sure how long AIS tracking sites keep pat track data for ships, but again, likely a warrant to get the information.

Did the drone have range finding equipment on it, or on the video? As others have mentioned before on this thread, perspective can give false impressions of size/distance. So, I can't say the drone footage "clearly" showed the ship closer than 3000 ft.

These things are charted as of the last survey, which may have been 40 years ago (I've seen this noted on charts), so how reliable they are is treated with skepticism by mariners. In the days of paper charts (and NOAA has started a program of not printing charts anymore, going to digital charts), it was up to the navigator onboard to update the charts with changes that have been reported since the last survey, which are sent to the ships as booklets "Notices to Mariners". Even with digital charts, updates are sent out periodically, to be added to the database for the chart. To me, and I'm not a navigator, the charts are a federal product, and federal restricted zones are noted on charts (and sent out in Notice to Mariners), but I'm not sure about state zones. These may be listed in publications like Port Directions, which include notes on all local, state, and federal laws pertaining to shipping, etc, but these have to be looked up for each port, and are not generally noted on charts.

Yes. With the relative ease that the Dali was lifted off the bottom, it shows that the ship did not drive deeply into any solid obstruction before the bridge. Adequately sized dolphins (see Sunshine Skyway bridge for examples), placed close to the bridge piers, along with adequately sized and bulkheaded (concrete facing) islands around the piers would have stopped the ship either before it even got to the bridge, or at least would not have allowed it to plow fully under the span as it did.

Since seawater has a density of 1.03, you'll only float 3% better.

That is why finding a person overboard is so difficult. It is a target about the size of a volleyball (Castaway?) covered usually in dark hair that blends with the ocean.

This is why SOLAS type 1 lifejackets, those required on all ocean-going vessels, are designed to take an unconscious person and turn them face up. Floating on your back, using your "natural buoyancy" requires you to use your neck muscles to keep your head/face above water. When unconscious, the head will droop back and allow the face to be under water, even if the torso and legs are floating. Similarly, with some type 2 and all type 3 lifejackets, when unconscious, the head will droop forward when floating upright, but these jackets will not keep the face out of the water.

Really shows how small and ineffectual the dolphins "protecting" the bridge piers are, when you compare that to the ones by the power lines, the significant bulkheading around the power line piers, and even the power line piers well away from the main span have significant bulkheading and even dolphins. Various government agencies are going to be left carrying the ball, especially after the revelations that predicted the disaster were brought to their attention 20 years ago.

Sorry to dispel this myth. The toilet tissue on ships is thin due to them using pallet loads of it each week, and to keep cost down. It is not special TP like motor homes or boats, and in reality it needs to not break down easily to ensure the "product" plug can be sucked down the full length of the vacuum piping to the engine room.

There is no toilet tank. But, if it is merely water overflowing a clean toilet bowl, it is the water valve that is stuck on, and simply turning off the water supply to the toilet (in the locker in the passageway outside the bathroom) will stop the overflowing.

Where is the water coming from? Is the toilet bowl overflowing? Is it water, or sewage? Are you actively doing anything about it? A little explanation, and I may be able to help, if you are at all handy. Now, go to guest services, and tell them that you want to speak to the Hotel Director, or the Staff Chief Engineer, in person, to report this issue, and that if you don't get to see them right away, you will be filing a report with the USPH/CDC for a violation of the Vessel Sanitation Program. That will get their attention.

First off, all the trash from your cabin (and so anything in the bathroom trash) is sorted, by hand, by the cabin attendants into multiple categories. The incinerator is used for paper and cardboard almost exclusively, as virtually everything else is sorted for recycling or proper disposal ashore. Now, everything that goes into the incinerator is shredded to ensure a proper and complete incineration. So, if biohazard waste is left with the incineration waste, it gets shredded, and then stuck in the silo for hours, contaminating the inside of the silo. Biohazard waste is collected in "red bags" to identify it, and it is segregated, and fed into the incinerator when at a specified furnace temperature, through a manual door into the furnace, and is witnessed and logged for time and quantity. This is the same process done for expired dangerous medications. As a side note, when cabins have people in quarantine, their linens are collected in other "red bags" that are put into a special washing machine, used for nothing else but biohazard laundry, that is set for higher wash temperatures. The laundry is loaded into the washer still in the red bag, not having been handled since it was taken from the cabin, and the red bag dissolves in the hot water in the washer.

I won't argue whether the DSC is right or not, but I will break my 1 post rule because this "fact" is not true. The technical departments (deck and engine, including those electricians and plumbers) are represented by different collective bargaining agreements, and are not part of any DSC pool, any more than an officer (deck or engine) or hotel supervisor (those with stripes) is.

My guess is that they are moving towards having what Carnival calls the "Ambulatory Accessible Cabins" which don't have roll-in showers, but only a low curb shower, and the step up for the bathroom, with grab bars, etc. This is an inexpensive way to increase "accessible" cabins.

I'll make my typical "one and done" post to a tipping thread. DSC (I refuse to call them "gratuities", regardless of what the cruise line calls them), is, and always has been the majority of the crew's "compensation package". In the past, the DSC made up more of the total compensation, and today, there is a minimum wage requirement (more on this later), but even today, the DSC makes up more than half of the crew's compensation. This is clearly spelled out in their employment contract, that "x" amount is monthly wage, and "y" amount is DSC, which is spelled out as variable depending on passenger participation. As for the minimum wage I mentioned above, the typical cabin steward pay is around $1200-1400/month, but the minimum wage is only $666/month this year. Until the removal of DSC reaches the point where the crew are receiving less than the minimum $666/month, the cruise line does not have to make up the difference. Whether or not a cruise line uses DSC to pay the crew or not, if they didn't, they would just raise the cruise fare to cover what the labor market would require as total compensation for the crew. There are two reasons the cruise lines use DSC: 1. It allows them to post the lowest possible cruise fare 2. It provides them with a "carrot and stick" management of the crew's service by making it dependent on every crew member to self-police their colleagues in order to get the maximum compensation, and allows the cruise line to shift the "blame" for reducing the compensation to the passenger. I don't agree with it, and have never liked it, but it isn't going away, and those who remove the DSC to "tip" those who they feel did extra, are rewarding those people less than a traditional tip would (since they have already removed part of their compensation), and punishing others who may have done a fine, but not excellent, job by removing their compensation.

Yes, the luggage is x-rayed, both checked and carry-on, just like airports. And, it depends on the cruise line or the port as to whether your luggage would be held at security for you to come down to witness the searching of it for the power strip, or whether they would just take it and leave a note in the luggage about reclaiming it at the end of the cruise. Ticket contracts typically give the line the right to search your cabin, luggage, and belongings with or without notice or presence.

Actually, yes. Since any time a tank is not completely full, there will be "free surface effect", where the water sloshes back and forth as the ship rolls. This sloshing decreases the stability of the ship, as it moves the center of gravity. So, to prevent this, tanks like ballast tanks are "pressed up", where they are filled until the water flows out of the tank vent pipe, which is several decks above the top of the tank, ensuring that the tank itself is completely full.

Unfortunately not. The cabin stewards are not technically trained, and determining whether something is surge protected or not can be difficult. Also, the cabin stewards are trained in "service etiquette", where they try not to "discomfort" or "annoy" the passengers for any reason, which is why enforcement of many shipboard rules is spotty to nonexistent.

I think this was a joking reference to "tipping threads". But, since MSN has decided to quote such renowned maritime experts like "Readers Digest", I find the article completely compelling 😄

I think this is a case of not proof-reading, by non-technical people. And, there is no "valid lawful reason" to have a surge protector onboard, unless it is one that is designed for shipboard use (which normally cost over a grand).

While a 3 week dry dock will allow more hotel refurbishments, when a ship is over 15 years old, a 3 week dry dock is generally required for the technical items.

Most countries prohibit taking non-factory sealed food from ships, and some don't even allow that.

Here in southern Maine, black flies are typically supplanted by mosquitos by June, but the Maritimes are typically a little behind us, being farther north, so it's possible. Severity depends on how wet a spring there was, and whether there is a breeze on the day of your visit.

While the "guidance" provides a "consideration" for stopping operations at 15% of pax and crew, remember that the USPH/CDC has the authority to prohibit a ship from entering US waters, or entering quarantine anchorage until the public health threat subsides. So, rather than "legal boilerplate", the cruise lines will take these "considerations" as requirements, because if they ignore the threshold to suspend operations, they may be forced to suspend operations, when they request clearance into the US. It seems that even when a ship reaches the 15% threshold, the passengers will be allowed to disembark (with protective procedures for symptomatic passengers), while if the 15% threshold is passed, and the ship continues to sail, when it returns to the US , no one will be allowed to disembark, as the ship will be in quarantine.