Will the recent tragedy change your decision to cruise?

[read52]

We can talk about other tragedies like shootings in schools, post offices and work places.

 

I am a teacher. I was teaching in a school in Maryland right outside of DC during 911. We did not have a procedure for a situation like that. I was one of the last teachers to leave the school after all the students had been picked up by their parents. We now have a procedure.

 

The next year we had the sniper in the area. For 3 weeks we had to do some strange things to avoid the sniper. I still had to teach but was always thinking of the protection of the students. On the day they caught the sniper, I was a few blocks from school when all the streets were closed. My husband was driving me. After 1/2 hour, I told him that I would walk the two blocks. I walked pass soldiers with guns at the intersection and there were helicopters in the air. Made it to school to find out that my school had closed for the day because of the road closures. By the way, the snipers were working out at a YMCA about 1/2 mile from my school. I still teach there.

[kuddles14]

We were over my in-laws yesterday and my sister-in-law asked if we were going to cancel our up coming cruise. We told her no, why? She mentioned the Costa accident. We then proceeded to inform her of everything we had read (mostly on Cruise Critic) and that the captain had violated many things including not sending out a mayday. That occurances like these are rare.

My husband then mentioned, that right now is proably the saftest time to cruise. He told her if you think that the other cruise lines have not been in contact with their personnel over the weekend about the tragedy and the proper steps to go through, you would be sadly mistaken. I would bet every executive of every cruise line is implimenting some sort of refresher course, and/or have sent out more e-mails about how to handle such a situation than you could wave a stick at.

Like others have said, I take my life into my own hands every day just driving my car to and from work, grocery stores, etc. I firmly believe when it's my time to go, it really doesn't matter where I am and what I am doing, God will send for me.

My thoughts and prayers are with those and the families of everyone involved in such a tragedy.

[sparky-elpaso]

I figure we're safer on a cruise ship or plane than we are driving to the supermarket. Will I pay more attention to where things are on the ship, route to our lifeboat, etc. - probably. Which is a good thing.

 

I agree with everyone who has mentioned that the companies will probably be doing a bit more training of their employees now.

[Kokanee]

About cruising probably not, about my choice of cruiselines , maybe. It will depend on what they final reports come back on the how the Officers handled that whole sitiuation . Its coming back the Capt. was one of the first people off the ship . Which is sad , and if Carnival is hiring Officers that are not competent , then yes I will look at other cruise lines , maybe there is a reason I can always book them more cheaply , at the cost of being safe I draw the line, I can handle them cutting corners on food or whatnot but not on safety.

well said, my thoughts exactly

[Iluvcruising2]

No, we will still cruise with Royal Caribbean.

 

But I don't think I'll ever cruise with Costa.

[marielco]

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the dead and missing and with the injured in this tragedy.

 

It will not change my attitude to cruising. I have always had an awareness that when on the sea, no matter how big the ship, things can and do go wrong. The weather can sink ships too. While having this awareness and making sure I know where my muster station is and my route to it I do not then spend my cruise worrying.

 

I feel those who had an unrealistic view that these big cruise ships were unsinkable and never gave safety a though (skipping muster drills etc..) are the ones who may be so shocked by this tagedy they will think twice before going on any more cruises.

[tab1220]

Not at all! In fact, we're leaving on the Oasis in 12 days!

 

I almost drowned at summer camp when I was a little girl which has made me terrified of water! I can't swim to this day, but I find the only way to get over your fears is to tackle them.

 

I cruise every year in hopes that this will help me conquer my fear,if not.I'll have a blast trying! :D

 

Our family motto is"live eachday as if it's your last"and trust me...we do!

 

I'm a firm believer that everything that happens is in God's(or a higher power's)plan.

 

My prayers go out to all the families who lost their loved ones,but on the bright side. They died doing something they loved.

[Irish Cath]

Just wanted to say there are other ways to travel you know !

 

Get a train up to New York, get the Queen Mary 2 to Southampton. From there, any country except those in North/South Amreica is accessible by train, bar Australia which you'll need to fetch a cruise for. You can even access Thailand through a train from London, would take about 9 days though- nonetheless it is doable, and not nearly as uncomfortable as most would think. If you wanted to do a Med cruise from Barcelona, for example, it'll be 6 days to a week on QM2 depending on which crossing, then a 22 hour train ride on the ''Grand Hotel''- this is NOTHING like Amtrack, it is very comfortable and has a lot of amenities. Then you're in Barcelona, on to the cruise and on words to Europe.

 

You need not just stick to the Caribbean, there are ways to travel other than by air!

not correct, you would need to catch a flight or ferry to Ireland.

[Room Service!]

No way.

[emeraldcity]

Yes I will still cruise. I am reading as much as I can about this tragedy, however to see if there are lessons I should take away to ensure my safety. I have always taken care to be aware of where my muster station is ... and to evaluate whether I thought it was the closest possible lifeboat to my cabin. I really doubt that in every "abandon ship" situation that there will be a nice, leisurely assembling-on-the-deck formation while they determine if everyone has shown up. Nor will this be followed by a civilized queue that snakes to the lifeboat opening so that everyone can be nicely helped aboard in turn.

 

I have tucked away one bit of information that I'm going to have to act on: My next cruise is targeted for a Spanish-speaking majority. Although I've been assured that the language has never been an issue for those who don't speak Spanish, I have to acknowledge now that it is clearly an issue in an emergency. I'm sure many of you have read the account of the Australian family who couldn't get any information about what was going on because they couldn't find anyone speaking English. It looks like I have about 12 weeks to learn something beyond gracias and por favor.

[Nebr.cruiser]

As I said earlier, we will definitely still cruise--were looking for one right now.

 

I have to admit, though, that Costa is completely off the board of choices for right now, even though that is kind of irrational. If anything, they'll be the safest choice (for a while).

 

We always looked at, but never booked, Costa before because of language/smoking issues that we have heard about.

[Cat54]

No, I am sailing on the Serenade in June.:D

[slimjill123]

I would have imediately said NO, However i have been keeping an eye on the cost of a 10 night greek island trip in Sept 12. When i got back from my last trip in Sept 11 it was showing at £2,122 [single]. Then just befoe xmass it whent down to £1965. In the new year it went back up to old price. In the last 3 days it has worked it's way up to £2554, same cabin, same sailing and same flight. Call me cynical but that strikes me as a bit odd. Could it be that they are trying to cash in on all of those good folks who may have been looking to sail the med with Costa but now might be thinking of booking with someone else.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Eng23]

Nope. Although tragic the Costa incident does not change my attitude about cruising. I am eagerly looking forward to my next cruise.:D

[jlajla]

No. There are lots of dangers in the world that I cannot totally avoid. I will, however, make sure I take a minute to make sure I have a grip on the safety/evacuation procedures.

[mktt]

I'm not cancelling but.....

 

I'm not really a fan of being an unwilling participant on some moron's joy ride.

 

Sail away won't be as fun anymore. Instead of the pure excitement of looking forward to a fun night and waking up in a new port the next day, I'm sure I'll have thoughts as to whether or not the crew on the bridge will be taking reckless risks in the dark while we're totally dependent on them for our safety.

 

When I see the lights on an island from my balcony, I'll probably wonder if we're too close. I'll wonder if the captain has friends on that island he's trying to show off for. I'll wonder if there's a running competition to see how close the ships can get.

 

I know most of the worries will be unfounded but there's a bit of an innocence lost now. Ignorance was bliss.

 

The main solace I can take is that there's no way the suits will let these joy rides continue (this one, or the ones only they know about) since it's putting their multi-million dollar and in some case billion dollar assets at risk

[bionicman97]

No change for me, but it does make me think I should have some type of family plan in case something were to happen, although I am not sure what that plan would be.

[Eng23]

I'm not cancelling but.....

 

I'm not really a fan of being an unwilling participant on some moron's joy ride.

 

Sail away won't be as fun anymore. Instead of the pure excitement of looking forward to a fun night and waking up in a new port the next day, I'm sure I'll have thoughts as to whether or not the crew on the bridge will be taking reckless risks in the dark while we're totally dependent on them for our safety.

 

When I see the lights on an island from my balcony, I'll probably wonder if we're too close. I'll wonder if the captain has friends on that island he's trying to show off for. I'll wonder if there's a running competition to see how close the ships can get.

 

I know most of the worries will be unfounded but there's a bit of an innocence lost now. Ignorance was bliss.

 

The main solace I can take is that there's no way the suits will let these joy rides continue (this one, or the ones only they know about) since it's putting their multi-million dollar and in some case billion dollar assets at risk

So long as you continue to cruise, fly, take a train, drive your own vehicle, or walk down the street you will always be exposed to the actions of other's that is completely out of your control. Sometimes you can mimimize the actions of others so as not to affect you or your safety and sometimes you cannot. Just realize that you are probably still safer on board a cruise ship than driving your own car, don't dwell on the bad things that could happen. Enjoy your cruise.

[teaysvalley]

Maybe....my concern as I read and hear the actual accounts of the survivors will be whether the captain and his crew have competancy on future trips. I've seen them train launching the boats while docked, but that is in daylight with an upright ship. I wonder if they ever do a night drill with little light or at least go through what to do when a ship lists to one side? These big ships are top heavy and it doesn't take much to make them list to one side.

 

It seems most were pretty much on their own to save their skin.:(

[Thanna63]

Doesn't change my plans on cruising one bit. A million bad things could happen to us the minute we get out of bed, that doesn't mean that I'm never getting out of bed. I'm still getting out and I'm enjoying each day as if it might be my last, so I'm still planning on going on a cruise and having a wonderful time. Just wish I didn't need to wait so long for the next one.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Not at all....

 

 

 

CruiseDivaNJ Stacey

[cruisenfever]

Anyone remember what happened to the Monarch in December of 1998? Crew of cruise ship that hit reef faulted for failing to update charts

[regg1216]

Have you ever read about a car accident? Do you still ride or drive in a car?

[orville99]

For an interesting perspective of the long term impact of tragedy on cruise growth, google achille lauro, a ship that was apparently jinxed from day one with collisions, fires, explosions, and the hijacking in 1984, but continued in service from 1947 until the mid-90's when one last fire finally sunk her. for a few years she was even owned by Chandris (now Celebrity), but remained in service throughout the large sustained growth cycle that saw the industry transform itself into the industry we know today.

 

This too shall pass.

[Ilovecruising31]

My mind is not changed or altered one bit! The thing that scares me is the stupidity of other people out there..