Making Use of Cruiseships to Assist.......

[sail7seas]

I'm listening to Larry King and the Govenor of LA is on and discussing the fact that about a million people are homeless.

 

A caller suggested making use of cruiseships as hotel space. Sure, there won't be a million beds but any would be a help.

 

The Govenor thought it 'a great idea.'

 

Wonder if any of the cruiselines would be willing to charter any ships out to the state for that use.

 

I seriously doubt it....what do you think?

[JimVrhovac]

Sounds like a great idea BUT the port is shut down for now.

 

When you consider the dockside services necessary to stock one of these ships and the fact that all dockside services are not there now what do you do. Pick them up and take them for a cruise.

 

I AM NOT A BIGOT But

what cruise line would turn a beautiful ship into a homeless shelter for an indefinite period of time and probably only get minimum payback from the government and then be required to refurbish the ship afterwords.

 

If it was your ship would you do it??????????????????????????

 

Jim

[sail7seas]

I don't seriously think it is viable or likely to happen. I just thought it an interesting proposition.

[JimVrhovac]

It does sound like a great idea until you try to work out the nuts and bolts to make it work.

 

The logistics required would give anyone in logistics ulcers......

 

Nice thought though.

 

The cruise ship will be a great idea for them in 6 months....

 

While they rebuilt our house after Charlies we managed to fit in two cruises and they helped us keep our sanity.

 

You cannot imagine what these people are going to go through unless you have been there.

 

Jim

[bcc99]

Interesting to think about! If we still lived in an era when passenger ships were built with government subsidies and/or the ships were considered to be naval-auxiliaries...it could happen (I remember reading that QE2 and Canberra took quite a beating during their short time as Royal Navy troopships during the Falklands incident). With the current fleet of cruise ships being privately owned, registered under convenient flags, and so expensive to build and maintain, it would be a considerable act of corporate charity. Probably not too likely. I can imagine that the process of fairly allocating 2,000 beds among 1 million people would get dicey, too. Talk about riots... :(

[bluehorizonlover123]

Very interesting idea but too costly I would think.

[Classynfun1]

As a current MBA candidate, my first thought is that it would be a horrible business decision for any line in the industry. That said, maybe using naval ships or the like, that aren't in full use, would make some sense.

 

I feel horrible for everyone effected directly and indirectly by Katrina. I hope a solution comes soon...

[mhshapiro]

While it probably is not feasible to use cruise ships, it might be possible to use some Navy assets to move hurricane refugees from New Orleans to Gulf ports outside the affected areas. Ports with nearby military bases where shelter operations can be set up quickly probably would be the best bet.

[tomc]

As Jim said (or would have said), "Logistics, logistics, logistics."

 

Even if you used all available ships (let's say 150 are in the water now), you'd only have 300,000 beds. Ok, that's 300k more than you had yesterday and a good dent in the housing needs. But the NewPax could not come and go as they wished; they'd be stuck on the ship with its limited comms. They'd have to stay offshore and near provisioning services.

 

Also, it would put a major dent (a below-the-waterline gash?) in the cruise lines. No matter how humanitarian, they'd be heroically taking themselves out of business because this is going to last for the better part of a year.

 

It's a great idea, just not something that can be done.

 

Better ideas:

 

(a) Don't build houses below sea level

(b) If you do, and there's a hurricane coming, get out of town fast and early

© Always let your family know how much you care for them. Today is the first day of the rest of your life ... and it might also be the last.

[Sierrachik]

While it probably is not feasible to use cruise ships, it might be possible to use some Navy assets to move hurricane refugees from New Orleans to Gulf ports outside the affected areas. Ports with nearby military bases where shelter operations can be set up quickly probably would be the best bet.

 

The news last night indicated four ships were leaving Norfolk, VA to move into the gulf to assist in efforts. I do not recall if they were Navy or Coast Guard.

[peaches from georgia]

I'm shocked, though not totally surprised, at the lack of an overwhelming presence by the LA National Guard. This is what the Natl Guard is supposed to be used for- a civil emergency. I haven't seen any sign of them and the fact that N.O. was going to be in trouble was known for several days before the storm actually hit.

 

Cruiseships? Don't think that would work for all the reasons already stated.

[Starbright]

I don't suppose there are any cruise ships just standing around with no passengers on board. The cruise companies would have to pay out a lot of compensation to all the people whose cruises would be cancelled so that the ships could be used as homeless shelters for the next few months.

 

In addition, the ships are not all nearby to the Gulf of Mexico. Plenty of them are in Europe just now, as well as other areas.

 

I don't think that is really a practical idea.

 

I can't imagine what it must be like trying to organise anything in the hurricane areas just now - it must be a nightmare. I hope they're able to sort something soon for all those people who've lost everything.

[sail7seas]

I'm shocked, though not totally surprised, at the lack of an overwhelming presence by the LA National Guard. This is what the Natl Guard is supposed to be used for- a civil emergency. I haven't seen any sign of them and the fact that N.O. was going to be in trouble was known for several days before the storm actually hit.

 

Cruiseships? Don't think that would work for all the reasons already stated.

 

Somewhere around 50% of the LA National Guard is in Iraq.

[sail7seas]

This morning on Fox, they reported that 4-5 five Naval Vessels are being sent to the Gulf states. There is also some talk that the Hospital Ship "Comfort" is also being sent.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't see any cruise line offering a ship to house the homeless for an indefinite amount of time. And as was stated, 50% of LA national guard is in Iraq. I heard somewhere - and someone can correct me, but they won't be able to come for at least 8 - 9 days when their tour of duty was scheduled to bring them back home.

[peaches from georgia]

I don't see any cruise line offering a ship to house the homeless for an indefinite amount of time. And as was stated, 50% of LA national guard is in Iraq. I heard somewhere - and someone can correct me, but they won't be able to come for at least 8 - 9 days when their tour of duty was scheduled to bring them back home.

Cruiselines are private corporations and they might make a monetary donation of some kind, but it would be ridiculous to expect any cruiseline to donate their ships and income.

 

50% of the LA Natl Guard in Iraq? This is the perfect example of why sending NG troops, that are to protect and serve us here at home, overseas was a disaster waiting to happen from the beginning. I'm not a kid and have lived through a number of wars in my lifetime and this was never done before- for good reason.

[sail7seas]

I don't see any cruise line offering a ship to house the homeless for an indefinite amount of time. And as was stated, 50% of LA national guard is in Iraq. I heard somewhere - and someone can correct me, but they won't be able to come for at least 8 - 9 days when their tour of duty was scheduled to bring them back home.

 

KK....I think I heard an interview with an Officer with the LA National Guard in Iraq, that a group of them will be returning (as previously scheduled) to LA in about 8-9 days. Not ALL of them are scheduled to come home now.

 

He also made it clear that they will be put to work immediately upon arriving home. So much horrible work awaits them after a rough tour in Irag. Many thanks to those men and women from a resident of Massachusetts. Matters not if these Guardsmen are from MA or LA ......many to thanks to them.

[sail7seas]

I agree it is not a great idea nor does the idea of using cruiseships have more than an infintesimal chance of occuring, but (the concept) sounded okay. The logistics and practicality are a whole different thing.

 

If there are Naval vessels not being used elsewhere, that is a far better idea IMO

[gizmo]

It was FEMA who came up with this suggestion according to Fox News.

 

Thinking a cruise line would do this makes no sense. As Peaches said ,a monetary donation would be more in order.

 

The Naval ships leaving VA. are bringing supplies, at least that is what Fox News said earlier this morning.

[sail7seas]

...as well as some consideration being given they be used to 'house the refugees'.

[AWOL]

 

The following was taken from the National Guard Web Page. There are also approximately 4000 guards in the disaster area at present and more coming as soon as they can be mustered. Lets give the folks who love their country enough to make sacrifices for it credit where it is deserved and lets check our facts before posting them. This is how false stories get started

 

"The Guard doubled the size of the Regular Army when it was mobilized in 1940, more than a year before Pearl Harbor, and contributed 19 divisions to that war, as well as numerous other units including Guard aviation squadrons. More than 138,000 Guardsmen were mobilized for Korea, followed by numerous smaller mobilizations for the Berlin Crisis, Vietnam, and numerous strikes and riots at home. Approximately 63,000 Army Guardsmen were called to serve in Desert Storm"

 

Regards

Roger

[sail7seas]

The following was taken from the National Guard Web Page. There are also approximately 4000 guards in the disaster area at present and more coming as soon as they can be mustered. Lets give the folks who love their country enough to make sacrifices for it credit where it is deserved and lets check our facts before posting them. This is how false stories get started

 

 

Regards

Roger

 

 

 

Posted by Sail7seas

He also made it clear that they will be put to work immediately upon arriving home. So much horrible work awaits them after a rough tour in Irag. Many thanks to those men and women from a resident of Massachusetts. Matters not if these Guardsmen are from MA or LA ......many to thanks to them.

[kryos]

I don't seriously think it is viable or likely to happen. I just thought it an interesting proposition.

I don't know ... I think it could happen. It wouldn't be a "cruise" ... it would just merely be a place for lots of people to find shelter. It would basically be loaded and then just moved somewhere ... preferably a place where the ship could dock and supplies brought in as needed by the American Red Cross and other relief agencies.

 

I'll bet a lot of people could be housed there. All of the lounges can be refitted as "dorms" ... roll-away beds brought in. Same with cabins. Each one would be filled to capacity depending on its individual size ... I'll bet you could double the ship's normal capacity for a sailing. That's a lot of people having a safe place of shelter for several months, the minimum amount of time it will probably take to get these folks on the road to recovery in their own states.

 

The state could lease the ship for much less than it would cost to sail on a voyage ... because the ship wouldn't be sailing. It would be docked, and would not offer any of the services normally to be had onboard. Most of the employees could be moved to other ships in the fleet since they wouldn't be needed onboard these relief vessels. Families would keep their own cabins clean ... the bars would be closed ... no entertainment program, and of course, valuable artwork and the like would be removed for the duration. The goal of housing people on these ships would be to help them get back on their feet. Ideally, jobs will be found for them in the local area near the port ... and even providing vital required services on the ship itself ... as a way for them to make a couple of bucks to sustain them for the long road ahead. That's why the ship should stay docked and not out at sea.

 

I think some cruiselines would lease their older ships to the state for this purpose ... especially if the ship is one that is scheduled to go into drydock anyway, and thus wouldn't be losing revenue. I can't imagine a better use for a cruiseship to be put than to help all of the people devastated by these terrible tragedies in Louisiana and Mississippi. Frankly, if I were the President, I might be tempted to see how I could twist the arms of some cruiseline executives and force them to give up a couple of their ships for this purpose. True, they could lose a substantial amount of revenue, but sometimes profit must be sacraficed for the "greater good" and for the privilege of doing business in this country. Using cruiseships for this purpose could resolve the major problem of where to house some of the thousands upon thousands of people left homeless by this terrible tragedy.

 

Just my opinion ...

 

--rita

[peaches from georgia]

I have great respect for the National Guard, AWOL, and all our servicemen. Too many of them are just are not where they need to be and are stretched way too thin. Finishing a tour in Iraq and immediately having to go to work in N.O. as they arrive home? My point exactly and I am not blaming the National Guard in any way. They are only doing what they are ordered to do.

[bookworm0911]

They just announced on FoxNews that FEMA is busing the 25,000 in the Superdome to Houston's Astrodome.