Does the Costa disaster scare anyone from cruising?

[CRUZER2012]

It is my understanding that the root cause of this accident is not safety. But rather, it is a deviation of established procedures. From what I read, there are specific routes established by the cruise lines that each cruise ship should follow. In this case, this established route was not followed.

[travelgenie]

I am leaving in 2 weeks for a Princess cruise, and will be paying full attention at the muster drill for sure......makes me wonder about people with physical disabilities though, I think I may think twice if I was dependent on a wheelchair or scooter.

[CRUZER2012]

I am leaving in 2 weeks for a Princess cruise, and will be paying full attention at the muster drill for sure......makes me wonder about people with physical disabilities though, I think I may think twice if I was dependent on a wheelchair or scooter.

 

 

 

Good point. I am in that category. I will be using a scooter on my next cruise.

 

Though the initial cause of this mishap was not an accident as I see it, the seeming lack of adherence to safety procedures do cause me some concerns. It is not a certainty that an "abandon ship" will result in an orderly process to leave the ship.

 

Still, I do not plan to change my plans to cruise.

[windsor26]

A few thoughts...

 

Full Evacuation Drill. I am a bit surprised, if true, that an actual full cruise ship evacuation has not been done. To think that a full evacuation drill at least by crew has not been performed on any cruise ship does give me pause. I do think that partial drills by crew have been performed. With the size of cruise ships these days, is it reasonable to expect that thousands of people in a confined space can safely evacuate a cruise ship? Ships these days are carrying, with crew and passengers, anywhere from 1,000 to more than 7,500 souls.

 

Crew Character. An actual crisis situation does not necessarily build character, but rather it exposes the true character of an individual. How would any of us perform in a crisis situation? I do wonder how I would react.

 

Cruise Safety. I remain very confident in the integrity of cruise ships and their personnel. Safety is put in peril when established rules and procedures are not followed.

 

On nearly every cruise I have been on I have seen the crew do an evacuation study/drill and the Captain asks the passengers to ignore all messages while it is going on.

[fishin' musician]

On nearly every cruise I have been on I have seen the crew do an evacuation study/drill and the Captain asks the passengers to ignore all messages while it is going on.

 

These short exercises bear little or no resemblence to a full blown evacuation.

[zahav1]

Cruise passengers seem to be worried about quick emergency evacuation. Maybe Princess and/or the other lines should start a real evacuation exercise for all cruise crew members who's additional job is also to evacuate during an emergency. A good idea and probably very expensive is to take a ship out with only those crew memebers and do a real "abandon ship" maneuvers. Maybe do it once a year and make it mandatory for all those employees.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

A friend asked me, on Friday, if I was still going to cruise. I told her "yes in fact I am booking one tomorrow."

[6pack]

Cruise passengers seem to be worried about quick emergency evacuation. Maybe Princess and/or the other lines should start a real evacuation exercise for all cruise crew members who's additional job is also to evacuate during an emergency. A good idea and probably very expensive is to take a ship out with only those crew memebers and do a real "abandon ship" maneuvers. Maybe do it once a year and make it mandatory for all those employees.

 

I can't see this ever happening as they would be opening themselves to liability. Can you imagine the law suit if someone was injured during an evacuation drill?! Plus time = money. They turn these ships around in a few hours, when would they perform this activity?! Personally, I believe the crew is as prepared as can be. This situation was caused by total incompetence on the part of the Captain.

[DugboatLarry]

Is what the Italian Press is calling him. I wonder if he had a cigarette before he accidently fell into a Life Boat. Jeez

[fishin' musician]

I can't see this ever happening as they would be opening themselves to liability. Can you imagine the law suit if someone was injured during an evacuation drill?! Plus time = money. They turn these ships around in a few hours, when would they perform this activity?! Personally, I believe the crew is as prepared as can be. This situation was caused by total incompetence on the part of the Captain.

 

I too believe the crews are as prepared as can be (which is far less than reassuring, ok, it's downright scary!). As for the captain, I am convinced it is an issue of neglegence rather than competence.

[6pack]

I too believe the crews are as prepared as can be (which is far less than reassuring' date=' ok, it's downright scary!). As for the captain, I am convinced it is an issue of neglegence rather than competence.[/quote']

 

I would go with a bit of both!

[gooch47]

Never mind.

[cruzinchris]

Message from Princess President Alan Buckelew Regarding Costa Concordia Tragedy:

 

All of us at Princess Cruises continue to be deeply saddened by the grounding of the Costa Concordia and the tragic aftermath. We are stunned that this incident occurred, and our hearts go out to all those affected, especially the families of the deceased, and to everyone at our sister company Costa Cruises as they cope with this difficult situation.

 

We want to assure our passengers that the safety of all those aboard our ships is always our constant focus and top priority, and that Princess operates to the highest safety standards. Princess has a multitude of measures in place to ensure a safe and secure shipboard environment including advanced navigation technology, extensive training of all officers and crew, and regular safety drills. We meet or exceed all international safety requirements, and our safety record during our 45 years of cruising is excellent. Incidents such as the recent tragedy are a rare occurrence, and cruising continues to be a safe vacation choice.

 

We expect that some important lessons will be learned from this recent incident, and we will use these to further refine our own safety practices so we can continue to provide our passengers and crew a safe and secure environment.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Good read from the BBC

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16649589

 

also photo of a Costa ship paasing by

 

 

yours Shogun

[Redwing55]

Hi All

 

Good read from the BBC

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16649589

 

also photo of a Costa ship paasing by

 

 

yours Shogun

That passenger quoted was right on. Folks will be panicky. That's one reason I like Princess's way to muster for the drill- meet in open/lounge areas. It's much easier to communicate to people and gets the crew the opportunity to have some order. Of course, the crew must be trained to do so, but that is not that difficult. I want them to know what to do- not to rely on passengers to remember what to do.