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Costa Allegra caught fire and now adrift

Mikel1733

By Mikel1733,
in Costa Cruises

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judyzoo

judyzoo

Posted
Posted
It's definitively not one of the newer "resort" ships but I fail to see from the article how you get that it's a tub.

 

It's an old ship without many balconies. Doesn't necessarily make it a tub. Maybe it is, but nothing I've seen shows that it is.

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judyzoo

judyzoo

Posted
Posted
The claims about spam sandwiches are also present in many articles about the Costa Allegra. Here is one quote:

 

“If anything had gone against us, such as the weather, we would have had it. Information was kept from us, we were fed dry bread sandwiches with thick salami and spam."

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9115682/Costa-Allegra-passengers-tell-of-hell-on-board.html

 

Of course the food wasn't good, but there was food, such as it was. The worst thing was probably the lack of toilet facilities. But, things happen; it sounds like the cruise line did the best that they could, and the compensation seems very fair. I'd say that it was handled well.

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1stcruise2012

1stcruise2012

Posted
Posted
Of course the food wasn't good, but there was food, such as it was. The worst thing was probably the lack of toilet facilities. But, things happen; it sounds like the cruise line did the best that they could, and the compensation seems very fair. I'd say that it was handled well.

 

I was wondering about that. Since the sewage system wasn't working did they continue to empty their guts into the toilet or did they have to do that off the edge of the ship into the ocean! :eek:

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Tranquil Waters

Tranquil Waters

Posted
Posted
It seems a fair offer IF conditions were as advertised.

 

I hearken back to the Splendor where there were many claims of Spam sandwiches, etc, but none ever confirmed (although I am sure the cuisine was creative)

 

I think many people use the word spam as a generic mystery meat that they would not normally eat. Just as many people in the southern US call all soda/pop/colas Coke. Whether they are actually drinking Pepsi or diet coke or whatever. I don't think it is necessarily an attempt to ezaggerate.

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littlesteelo

littlesteelo

Posted
Posted
I think many people use the word spam as a generic mystery meat that they would not normally eat. Just as many people in the southern US call all soda/pop/colas Coke. Whether they are actually drinking Pepsi or diet coke or whatever. I don't think it is necessarily an attempt to ezaggerate.

 

People also have a huge tendency to over-exaggerate when interviewed by the media. One mention of the word 'spam' and the tabloids will have a field day. Honestly? It wasn't an ordeal, as some media outlets are letting it out to be. Inconvenient and at times uncomfortable, but certainly not horrendous. This quote someone posted earlier annoys me:

 

“If anything had gone against us, such as the weather, we would have had it. Information was kept from us, we were fed dry bread sandwiches with thick salami and spam."

 

What did they expect? How much more information could they have needed? They were adrift, and were being towed to the Seychelles! I would imagine they would have been informed of that. Regarding food, were they expecting regular meals? In a situation like this, they need to think logically, rather than immediately going after the line. Would they be able to cook food at home without a cooker or a fridge working? I think not.

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BoughtMyPoints

BoughtMyPoints

Posted
Posted
I used to work for Cunard.

 

Then you will know that pre-Carnival, Cunard had lesser ships like the Cunard Countess and the Cunard Princess.

 

And judging from current reviews the QM2 is becoming a lesser ship.

 

In many cases, I prefer the "lesser" ships.

 

That said, it was no secret that the Costa Allegra and Costa Classica were/are on borrowed time. But every ship has its fans who just feel "comfortable" no matter the gripes of others.

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Capricruiser

Capricruiser

Posted
Posted

The Spam brand of tinned processed meat (and who knows what else) found on North American supermarket shelves has never found its way to Italian markets so the "spam" that some passengers have called it must be something else. It was probably "mortadella" which is a typical packed meat product made in the Bologna area of Italy and in fact it resembles American bologna.

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greg-nc

greg-nc

Posted
Posted
The Spam brand of tinned processed meat (and who knows what else) found on North American supermarket shelves has never found its way to Italian markets so the "spam" that some passengers have called it must be something else. It was probably "mortadella" which is a typical packed meat product made in the Bologna area of Italy and in fact it resembles American bologna.

 

Actually Spam (the tinned processed meat) is prevalent across many areas of the Pacific and Indian ocean region. If the "Spam" was part of the food delivered by helicopter then it was probably Spam. If the "Spam" was onboard already then it was probably "mortadella".

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Cruachan

Cruachan

Posted
Posted
Actually Spam (the tinned processed meat) is prevalent across many areas of the Pacific and Indian ocean region. If the "Spam" was part of the food delivered by helicopter then it was probably Spam. If the "Spam" was onboard already then it was probably "mortadella".

 

Mmmmmm...

 

Spam - yummy. I love it. Spam fritters are great but I don't suppose they would have been an option without power.

 

J

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Tranquil Waters

Tranquil Waters

Posted
Posted
People also have a huge tendency to over-exaggerate when interviewed by the media. One mention of the word 'spam' and the tabloids will have a field day. Honestly? It wasn't an ordeal, as some media outlets are letting it out to be. Inconvenient and at times uncomfortable, but certainly not horrendous. This quote someone posted earlier annoys me:

 

“If anything had gone against us, such as the weather, we would have had it. Information was kept from us, we were fed dry bread sandwiches with thick salami and spam."

 

What did they expect? How much more information could they have needed? They were adrift, and were being towed to the Seychelles! I would imagine they would have been informed of that. Regarding food, were they expecting regular meals? In a situation like this, they need to think logically, rather than immediately going after the line. Would they be able to cook food at home without a cooker or a fridge working? I think not.

 

Not an ordeal??? No working toilets. That alone makes it an ordeal to my way of thinking.......

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Grumpy100

Grumpy100

Posted
Posted
Mmmmmm...

 

Spam - yummy. I love it. Spam fritters are great but I don't suppose they would have been an option without power.

 

J

 

I like bologna. With mustard it is quite tasty. If you are hungry you will eat whatever is available. Now I don't think I could have handled the toilet situation.

Yuck....

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teriwinkle

teriwinkle

Posted
Posted
That leads to one follow-up thought.

 

Costa had a great reputation until it was purchased by Carnival and has only had a medicore reputation since the purchase.

 

Carnival is very focused on financial aspects of the operation and determining how to squeeze out every possible dime operationally. They have the best financial ratios, profitability, higher dividend, etc. of all the cruise lines that publicly report.

 

Is there a correlation between being purchased by Carnival Corp and the quality of service to passengers on a cruise line? Before/After/etc. Does it hold true for other cruiselines in Carnival Corp family. Or is this all bunk?

 

We were passengers on the QE2 before Carnival acquired Cunard. We feel that things changed and not for the better on our Cunard experiences post Carnival acquisition. But Cunard remains our favorite cruise line nonetheless, mostly because of the awesome ballroom dancing venues and the many friends from the UK we've met onboard.

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Mikel1733

Mikel1733

Posted
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I like bologna. With mustard it is quite tasty. If you are hungry you will eat whatever is available. Now I don't think I could have handled the toilet situation.

Yuck....

 

I agree......we had a major ice storm and lost electric power for 9 days. As we live in the country there was no water, heat, toilet, etc. we had canned food and bottled water stored.... But the toilet situation was the worst. I was able to haul 5 gallon cans from town each day after work and we used it to fill the toilets. I can't imagine being confined to a ship and not being able to do that. The darkness at night was also terrible.

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