Does the Costa disaster scare anyone from cruising?

[Pati]

having had a mishap at sea on the hurtigruten fram in the antarctic that we had to muster for.........i'll keep cruising. the costa ship had no muster drill. no one would recognize the horn burst for go to your muster station. from what i have been reading the experienced cruisers went immediately to get their life jackets and warm clothes regardless of what was being said.......there was also probably a language barrier.......things happen for various reasons stupid or not.....we learn where to muster but in our incident, we couldn't use one side of the ship and one of the muster boats as it was crushed by a glacier....fortunately our staff was very prepared and took control immediately sending us to a different muster station on top of the boat where there were staff, medical staff etc after telling eveyone to get into your warm cloths with life jackets. we were also told there were other ships in the area if we had to bail from our ship to lifeboats and rafts..the staff did a room to room search and all the doors were sealed in case the hull was breeched.. was there panic yes but not people mowing people down etc to get to muster station. orderly panic and stress...we were a small ship that ended up being able to sail back to ushuia with an escort but i shuddered to think what would have happened to a mega cruiser doing a passby of iceberg alley etc and hit something. we at least had survival gear as we made landings. have cruised many times since and always have a little safety bag near my door just in case...that i can grab and go if ever needed.........i give the staff credit for getting 4000 people off in only a couple hours though.......

[Carolina Cruisr]

No way will this stop me from cruising. Just booked our 3rd cruise for the year this morning. You cannot stop living!

[Woobstr112G]

In an emergency, some people panic. That is just the way it is.

 

You react as you train. Obviously there needs to be more training.....

 

Bob

[philv]

It doesn't scare me. Princess seems pretty well organized. First thing I do when I get to my cabin is check where our muster station is on map on back of door. Also check we have two life preservers. Does make me think though. The loss of lights at night seems the biggest thing that would make the situation really dangerous. I'm thinking of getting a miniature flashlight to stick in my pocket. Also from the tales of what happens to people after evacuation, I will make sure my passport and credit cards are in my dry bag ready to go if I can get back to my cabin.

[vinoblanco]

Hmmm. Having passed the very place on cruise ships, last July and the July before it does make me stop and ponder.

 

I can swim, slowly, but hate to be out of depth and my DH has joked, when swimming together, that it's a good job we aren't swimming for our lives!

 

Unfortunately, these days, there's a decrease in manners, commen decency and chivalry. It's very much an "every man for himself" attitude.

 

Sad.

[Molly's Mum]

Does this awareness perhaps come from being in a medical family. We too consider all the "ins and outs" of the above various venues.

 

We always check/ walk exits with family, on holiday and make arrangements

As to what we would do (if possible ) in an emergency.

This stems from DH being hearing impaired and having a visit In our home

From the local fire safety officer, who made us realise, that in our

Own home, we didn't have safety plans?!

[macusr]

While I am saddened by the tragic loss of lives and disturbed by the reprehensible behavior of the captain (if all reports prove to be true), it will not change my passion for cruising. Having sailed on Princess, Celebrity, and soon Disney, I have no doubts that the circumstances leading up to and during the Costa tragedy are an isolated incident.

[Griller]

I will not stop cruising but I am now aware how easily a modern ship can fall over.

Apparently it goes along with the design features of the ship being comfortable and not moving about so much.

 

So as Princess hold their emergency assemblies inside the ship I am now not so convinced this is a good idea, if that had happened on the stricken Costa ship then the assembly point could have been at an acute angle and under water, I have never seen mention of an alternative assembly point if the first choice one is not safe.

 

Maybe the best thing to do is to go to a higher deck on the side which is not leaning towards the water?

 

Wouldn't help much if the ship goes over, if it was in deep water and not able to bottom out like the Costa ship.

 

And yes, I like Transatlantics, a lot of deep water. Not many rocks though but still now very worrying if the ship heels over.

[brutus11]

No we will continue cruising, however we will only cruise on Princess, Holland America and Cunard, Good advise from a senior captain friend of ours. Of course there are other ships with well trained crews, It is interesting to note that Costa was on his list of cruise ships not recommended.

[Redwing55]

I will not stop cruising but I am now aware how easily a modern ship can fall over.

Apparently it goes along with the design features of the ship being comfortable and not moving about so much.

 

So as Princess hold their emergency assemblies inside the ship I am now not so convinced this is a good idea, if that had happened on the stricken Costa ship then the assembly point could have been at an acute angle and under water, I have never seen mention of an alternative assembly point if the first choice one is not safe.

 

Maybe the best thing to do is to go to a higher deck on the side which is not leaning towards the water?

 

Wouldn't help much if the ship goes over, if it was in deep water and not able to bottom out like the Costa ship.

 

And yes, I like Transatlantics, a lot of deep water. Not many rocks though but still now very worrying if the ship heels over.

Please don't make assumptions about this. The center of gravity for these big ships are typically below water. I'm not sure either, but regardless, this is not an issue to be concerned with.

Enjoy the ship, but know it's safety measures.

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

My son is a police officer and the day after the ship disaster, he had to respond to one of the most gruesome auto accidents he's ever seen. People in a vehicle were being burned alive and two were children. They're fighting for their lives in a Chicago hospital.

On our recent Princess cruise, our ship stopped to save 20 Cuban refugees. They would not have lasted much longer judging by the pictures I saw of the boat.

None of these events are related to what happened in the Costa Disaster, by it gives one some pause when it comes to the randomness of human suffering.

 

I don't know why bad things happen to people and I know that neither I nor my loved ones are exempt from that randomness. I try to treat life like it may be my last day and treat the people I love and strangers with this question in my mind; how do I want to be remembered.

 

More practically, a flashlight and a whistle are two things I'll add to the packing list. I'm also not crazy about the ships that carry over 8000 souls. I just don't ever want to know what would happen with 8000 people panicking.

[momofteens]

I always thought that if the Captain abandoned ship or was incapacitated in some way that someone else would take over and be in charge of the ship during an evacuation. From listening to the survivors being interviewed it sounds like 4000 people safely evacuated themselves, some climbing down ropes and swimming to land. where were the officers? I certainly understand that accidents happen but the response from the crew was unacceptable.

[CruiseAdict218]

I want to cruise the world, this won't stop me at all from cruising, we are booked on the Golden Princess in July to Alaska, something me and my mom wanna see, and we are not gonna cancel

[Rockymountainsparky]

Would the Costa accident stop me from cruising? Hell no. Why would it?

[J & G]

No we will continue cruising, however we will only cruise on Princess, Holland America and Cunard, Good advise from a senior captain friend of ours. Of course there are other ships with well trained crews, It is interesting to note that Costa was on his list of cruise ships not recommended.

 

All of the lines you mention, including Costa, are owned by Carnival Corp. Why would you cruise the ones you chose? I'm really just curious....not trying to be confrontational.....

[satxdiver]

I will continue cruising. The Costa sinking is indeed a tragic event but that will not cause me to quit sailing any more than a airline crash (they still do occur) will cause me to quit flying to my vacation destination. Life is a gamble at best and it could be ended in a car within 20 miles of your home.

 

As for the Costa tragedy, a lot of stories are being posted by news agencies and individuals. Some are true and some are not. It will be weeks before we find out the real story.

[Aussie Gal]

In no way it certainly won't deter us. We have 3 cruises booked and are going to book another when we are on the Ocean Princess in March. In fact, we are counting down the weeks until we leave.

 

It is just about impossible to believe that a wonderful cruise ship of only 5 or so years old has come to such a horrible end in this day and age. When I first heard about it I was speechless as it was just so hard to believe that a ship had hit a rock especially with all the modern navigational aids that are available now. If it had been fire, then that is a completely different scenario.

 

It will be interesting to hear the results of the investigations in weeks and months to come.

[PescadoAmarillo]

It has been interesting to be on a cruise when this event occurred. Saturday evening, when Captain Binetti made an announcement acknowleding what happened, I was in the dining room. For the first time I ever recall, you could have heard a pin drop in there. We had all heard about it, and the fact that it was publicly acknowledged was as shocking as the event itself.

 

Of course I'll continue to cruise (today, even), but, as someone who does a lot of b2b's, and who can miss musters after the first one, I can tell you that a huge number of passengers do not attend. Services do not all shut down. Nothing is said to those not attending. Princess does not take a roll, claiming that they have a better way to determine that everyone is accounted for, but if you read the accounts of what happened after the Crown tilt, this was the number 1 issue: people couldn't locate their family members. On other cruise lines, all kids wear wrist bands making it easier to link them to their parents if separated. (I work in a preschool...little ones will go by what ever name you call them without correcting you if you're wrong. I don't know how you'd ever get info from them in an emergency).

 

I hope that changes will result where 1). Princess takes rolls 2). Kids wear wrist bands and 3). Muster takes place on open decks and is reached using emergency stairwells.

 

I think Princess has been making it too easy for too long. JMHO.

[Skipskatta]

Carnival has suffered a loss in booking the last days. But as with airline accidents, it will not deter people from travelling.

[1 HappyCruiser]

It has been interesting to be on a cruise when this event occurred. Saturday evening, when Captain Binetti made an announcement acknowleding what happened, I was in the dining room. For the first time I ever recall, you could have heard a pin drop in there. We had all heard about it, and the fact that it was publicly acknowledged was as shocking as the event itself.

 

Of course I'll continue to cruise (today, even), but, as someone who does a lot of b2b's, and who can miss musters after the first one, I can tell you that a huge number of passengers do not attend. Services do not all shut down. Nothing is said to those not attending. Princess does not take a roll, claiming that they have a better way to determine that everyone is accounted for, but if you read the accounts of what happened after the Crown tilt, this was the number 1 issue: people couldn't locate their family members. On other cruise lines, all kids wear wrist bands making it easier to link them to their parents if separated. (I work in a preschool...little ones will go by what ever name you call them without correcting you if you're wrong. I don't know how you'd ever get info from them in an emergency).

 

I hope that changes will result where 1). Princess takes rolls 2). Kids wear wrist bands and 3). Muster takes place on open decks and is reached using emergency stairwells. They do where crew stairwells are located near cabins that can utilize them.

 

I think Princess has been making it too easy for too long. JMHO.

 

All of muster drills in the world wouldn't have helped in the Costa situation. All any ships muster does is inform the people where to report, how to put in a life jacket & what items to bring with them. If you're incapable of following or understanding those instructions you shouldn't be cruising in the first place....

And yes during a true emergency Princess can determine who is missing from each station or if they've reported to another location by mistake.

[Pam in CA]

All of muster drills in the world wouldn't have helped in the Costa situation. All any ships muster does is inform the people where to report, how to put in a life jacket & what items to bring with them. If you're incapable of following or understanding those instructions you shouldn't be cruising in the first place....

And yes during a true emergency Princess can determine who is missing from each station or if they've reported to another location by mistake.

I disagree with you to a certain extent. There was almost an hour between the time the ship hit and evacuation started. If the Captain and staff had followed Costa's own procedures by informing passengers and getting them to muster right away, passengers would have had time to find other family members and get to where they could have disembarked more safely.

 

This was a total failure of leadership, from the top down.

[LARGIN]

I disagree with you to a certain extent. There was almost an hour between the time the ship hit and evacuation started. If the Captain and staff had followed Costa's own procedures by informing passengers and getting them to muster right away, passengers would have had time to find other family members and get to where they could have disembarked more safely.

 

This was a total failure of leadership, from the top down.

 

Agree... :rolleyes::rolleyes::(

[kruisey]

Reading and rereading the reports from different agencies I have come to the conclusion it was every man/woman/child for themselves.

One can train and retrain the employees how to re act, but when it comes to the real emergency and panic it is ' Ones own Survival ' .There are hero's amongst us but those few are not capable of handling thousands.

This will not put me off cruising in any way because it is in my blood I must cruise.

This disaster and its dreadful consequences is a reminder one could be solely on ones own if a disaster happens and my survival instinct will come to the fore.

[brutus11]

for J &G. It does seem odd that Costa falls under Carnival umbrella and it was not a recommended cruise line, however I talked to our friend and he loves to study anything to do with the sea. He has a rating system he uses and says it is far from scientific. He also rates medical staff on each line. He looks into where they receive their training etc. We have been on a total of 26 cruises and enjoyed all of them. As we are lucky enough to have a great resource as our friend ,and his research, we will continue

cruising with the lines mentioned. Happy cruising to everyone, no matter which line you choose. PS We think Holland America ,by far, do the best job when it comes to life boat drills.

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 Happy- the only time we had used a crew stairway during muster was on the Grand in 2005. We are just a few feet down from an emergency stairwell, yet we are directed to walk down the aft passenger stairway. We know that stairway...it would be nice to use the stairway closest to our cabin, where we would likely be directed in a real emergency. On our own, in the dark, we would have no idea where to exit that stairwell and where to go from there.