Any body watch ABC Prime Time Overboard?

[jakedoc]

Typical news hype that doesn't provide ALL the facts. They had a segment regarding the disappearance of a female passenger on the Mercury sailing Alaska. My friend who I talked into trying a Celebrity cruise( we're saling Mercury) is asking what we got her into. They did mention all the millions of passengers that sail without a problem. Royal Carribean was mentioned in a few vignettes. I never had a problem and never expect to have a problem.

[Daveh988]

we've been on lots of cruises. Plan another Celebrity Century Feb 9th. Tried to get rid of the wife several times, but she doesn't drink. That seemed to be the common thread in all the cases tonight. If I can get her drunk my story might be on TV next time. I'll keep you informed. Great cruisin everybody!!!!!

[usha]

DH and I go a little overboard on every cruise! :D

[The Big Booper]

The Primetime show was a big jumbled pile of garbage. Makes MSNBC stuff look half way decent.

[Bob S90]

Just finished watching "lost at sea" and I must comment on the lady that went missing on the Mercury. Missed the date in 2004 when she disappeared. We have been on the Mercury, yes it is a nice ship, food was great but the Captain and his fellow officers don't perform well under pressure. (the Mercury was approaching Glacier Bay approx 2 miles out then turned and sailed away. Needless to say some of the passengers were upset as no reason was given) As mentioned on the TV show that Celebrity and RCL were not cooperative. Not surprising at all when you have an ignorant Captain running the ship. Last time we will cruise with them.

[Barry ATL]

The whole entire program was very slanted toward the poor, poor victims. Not a word about what the cruise lines actually do. I am not taking sides, but for me, 14 out of 20,000,000 is pretty good odds.

[C 2 C]

I watched the program but I was much more impressed than with Oprah's show. At least they talked to the policeman/neighbor of George and the other low lifes George chummed around with.

 

I can understand the missing people who might commit suicide this way. It is a much cleaner way to go than driving on purpose into cement walls and walking in front of trains...( several messy local examples here).

 

The guy who survived for 17 hours and was picked up by a freighter was a marvel though.

 

I don't understand the Mercury episode. When the cabin steward reported her missing no action was taken and her clothes given away to charity without informing relatives....???

[Danno]

Just finished watching "lost at sea" and I must comment on the lady that went missing on the Mercury. Missed the date in 2004 when she disappeared. We have been on the Mercury, yes it is a nice ship, food was great but the Captain and his fellow officers don't perform well under pressure. (the Mercury was approaching Glacier Bay approx 2 miles out then turned and sailed away. Needless to say some of the passengers were upset as no reason was given) As mentioned on the TV show that Celebrity and RCL were not cooperative. Not surprising at all when you have an ignorant Captain running the ship. Last time we will cruise with them.

 

 

I didn't know one cruise made a person an expert on piloting, navigation, engineering, risk management, and customer relations...you must have been very busy!! :eek:

See ya....

 

Amazing what crap makes it to TV when your country has lost interest in the war...sad in both cases.

[Robrph]

The common denominator in every one of those cases was: heavy drinking. In every case, shortly before the person disappeared they were seen falling-down drunk or even passed out. Obviously these were heart-breaking situations for th victim's families- their child or wife or husband was gone and there was no explanation. But it's just another case of people not taking responsibility for their actions and blaming others for their transgressions. How about the guy who fell off the ship and managed to live in the Gulf of Mexico until he was picked up the next day by a cargo ship? He admitted to being so bombed he didn't even know how he got into the water. There are 2000 people on a cruise ship; the cruiselines can't keep track of everyone. The "sea cards" are used to show who enters and leaves the ship at ports. I wonder how many cases there are of people "disappearing" onboard, only to be found later passed out in a hallway or public area somewhere.

[Susan-M]

Last time we will cruise with them.

 

I was quite relieved to read that last line after reading your post - I think both Celebrity and their passengers can be thankful for that favor :)

 

Where do these posters come from:confused:

[tbelian]

As mentioned on the TV show that Celebrity and RCL were not cooperative. Last time we will cruise with them.

 

Hi 'Bob'. Welcome to Cruise Critic. Pretty harsh for a first run. Don't be surprised if others feel the same way. Do you have an axe to grind (just asking a question). Perhaps you were on the cruise where passengers were upset 'as no reason was given'?

 

Although Royal Carribean was mentioned prominently in the show, I didn't see a specific reference to Celebrity, other than the very last clip (that WAS an 'X' ship in that last clip wasn't it?). I know RCL is the parent company, but they are two different entities.

 

News programs, in fact tv programs as a whole, are all about getting ratings. I know this for a fact. That show was great fodder for a long line of attorneys to get lined up for some deep pocket picking.

[RodPat]

I read awhile ago about the woman who disappeared in Alaska. I read that she did not fill out any emergency info so they did not know where or who to contact. Also if I remember correctly her parents did not know she even went on this cruise. As for the honeymoon disappearance I do feel bad for the parents because they are trying to come to an understanding of why their son died. The wife on the other hand I am sure still has not told the truth. People try to commit suiside everywhere and not all of it makes it to the papers. There are many people who jump off the George Washington Bridge that is never reported. Right now the media is flying with this and if something else happens they will be off chasing that story and this will be old news. Pat

[USSFRef]

Crap journalism, but the timing on this couldn't have been better. My wife and I are going on our first cruise next month, and I told her last night as we were watching the story that if she acted up, she was going straight overboard and her clothes would go to Goodwill. ;) That's when she threatened to stab me and feed me to the sharks.

 

As you can tell, we really need this vacation.

[BB5953]

Amazing what crap makes it to TV when your country has lost interest in the war...sad in both cases.

 

 

This country has in no way lost interest in the war. This country supports our soldiers and what they are doing over there. This has no place on a cruising forum!

 

I am sorry I know the bigger thing would have been to ignore a ridiculous comment like this but I can not stand ignorance. I won't say anymore about this topic at least not on a board such as this.

[Robrph]

This country has in no way lost interest in the war. This country supports our soldiers and what they are doing over there. This has no place on a cruising forum!

 

I am sorry I know the bigger thing would have been to ignore a ridiculous comment like this but I can not stand ignorance. I won't say anymore about this topic at least not on a board such as this.

 

I do not believe this country has lost interest in the war or does not support the troops. However, supporting the troops does NOT mean agreeing that we should still be there. I'm tired of all the rhetoric that if you don't believe we should still be over there, you are somehow anti-American.

[nicenspicy]

Having already booked my first cruise in April, I am a bit disappointed to hear of the missing people. Of course, I must acknowledge the fact that excessive alcohol was one of the contributing factors to their disappearance. So the question I must ask is: does being on a cruise ship make people less accountable for their actions? Accidents do happen but I do understand thoroughly investigating instances of foul play. I do not have first hand knowledge of cruise protocol when someone disapears so I cannot comment on their lack of attention. I can, however, be accountable for my actions while on a cruise ship and be cautious of my surroundings. I'm with strangers for god's sake! I can drink to my limit and not be obnoxiously drunk. I am not having fun throwing up or passing out drunk.

Maybe this report will open some eyes & make people a little more cautious. 14 out of 20 million is not bad. I just pray that it doesn't happen again.

[bbuchanan]

14 out of 20,000,000 is pretty good odds.

 

I watch and wonder how many times there is "foul play" or someone goes missing at a destination resort or all inclusive.........I don't recall hearing about those. Guess they are not as news worthy! Though I have such compassion for the family members, I feel safer on a cruise ship than about any major city.....JMO!!

[Sky Sweet]

I agree with the posters who commented about the intoxication level of passengers who mysteriously disappeared at sea. That is why I think the cruise lines should enforce their policy of not allowing passengers to bring their own liquor aboard a ship.

[cruzzza]

I noticed them doing it mutiple times. I think they did it on purpose, not just because Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity, but because more people in the general public know the RC name. RC is simply a bigger "brand" and gets more of a "response" than a lesser known name like Celebrity. They were all about sensationalism and came across very tacky. Yeah, RC owns them, but they used the name like it was actually a RC ship, when it was actually the Mercury. I actually enjoyed the show because of all the ship footage! In a way, I think that it's good that the spotlight be turned on the way they handle foul play. It might actually make the ship safer for us all in the long run.

 

p.s. The guy that fell overboard and lived admitted his drunkenness, but said that he suspected that there might have been foul play. He said he was concerned someone may have drugged his drink. This guy DOES need to take some of the responsibility here, instead of blaming cruise security for not watching his drink for him or whatever.

[teajak]

I agree with the posters who commented about the intoxication level of passengers who mysteriously disappeared at sea. That is why I think the cruise lines should enforce their policy of not allowing passengers to bring their own liquor aboard a ship.

What difference does it make if they bring their own or buy drinks on the ship? A person that is going to drink to the intoxication level doesn't care where it comes from, just the availability and it is readily available..

[negc]

What difference does it make if they bring their own or buy drinks on the ship? A person that is going to drink to the intoxication level doesn't care where it comes from, just the availability and it is readily available..

 

The difference is that if the person has to purchase his or her drinks, the shipline, at least theoretically, can control his or her level of intoxication by cutting him, or her off, when it becomes necessary. If that person has access to a private stock of liquor, there is no way to prevent that person from overimbibing with all of the potentially dangerous results that can follow. By not allowing liquor to be brought onboard, the cruiseline maintains some control over its passengers, but at the same time increases its liability if it allows a passenger to overindulge.

[Danno]

This country has in no way lost interest in the war. This country supports our soldiers and what they are doing over there. This has no place on a cruising forum!

 

 

 

Sorry....very poor choice of words...I meant the media, not the people of the US. I have a 21 year old son and can only imagine what these parents are going through.

 

It was an unitentional cruel comment...I am sincerely sorry :( .

[BB5953]

Sorry....very poor choice of words...I meant the media, not the people of the US. I have a 21 year old son and can only imagine what these parents are going through.

 

It was an unitentional cruel comment...I am sincerely sorry :( .

 

 

Okay I am crawling down off my soapbox.... My apologies as well for jumping on that.

[wishful]

Was there any mention of the Irish 15 year old girl that fell off the Costa ship Magica late in 2005? I have been following this story on the Costa site on Cruise Critic. Seems it was another case of drinking and falling overboard or jumping only this time there were witnesses. A very sad story.

[Danno]

Okay I am crawling down off my soapbox.... My apologies as well for jumping on that.

 

Thanks...my poorly worded point was supposed to be...the media will seek out bad news and misery anywhere/everywhere...and cruiselines are a comfortable victim, they can't, don't, won't, defend themselves.

 

I have sympathy for so many people who have no control over the bad luck that befalls them...to get blind drunk and fall overboard, I really couldn't care less.