# Mega Cruise Ships: Tragedies Waiting To Happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 10, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937 "2011-02-10T20:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/41 "2011-02-11T22:58:22Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Yeah, that’s not an accurate account of what happened. The captain didn’t abandon ship until over 3/4 of the passengers had been evacuated. Not the version that the bandleader reported-the captain and officers abandoned the ship, and left a large group of passengers abandoned. If not for the bandleader, hundreds would have died-while th captain was on shore. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/42 "2011-02-11T23:27:19Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’ve never been on a cruise. What do you do in one? It seems all you do is eat, gamble, and watch shows, like a floating Vegas casino Well, for 4 of the 5 days of the cruise: mrAru wandered down to the coffee shop one deck down in the promenade and brought back 2 large cups of coffee for us, and we drank it while waiting for the dining room to open. Then we went to the dining room and had breakfast. I was evil and actually had eggs, 2 pieces bacon, piece of toast and another coffee instead of my normal breakfast. Head back to the room to decide what to do that day. Sea day we hung out on deck near the pools for a while, hit the hot tub, read and people watch. Do some random splashing around in the pool [we stayed in the adult area even though there weren’t many kids along, it not being spring break.] Head back to the room to dress for lunch. Explorer has a killer chef presided over salad bar in the dining room, as well as a lunch menu. Alternate would be the buffet, or Johnny Rockets. One lunch we did go to Johnny Rockets, mainly because I have never been to one. Good fries, tolerable burgers. mrAru said the shakes were killer. Buffet a couple times - not bad, typical equivalent to a Golden Corral. Main dining Room a bit better than a bugaboo creek or outback for lunches. Naptime after lunch. Some quiet time on the balcony sitting and reading while watching the ocean. Kill time until dressing for dinner. Dinner was excellent. Waitstaff were excellent. Food was excellent. They even had both fat free and sugar free dessert options, a vegetarian dinner option, and if you had dietary issues like my allergy to mushrooms they were good about showing me the menu for the next night and determining if I needed something modified or left off. After dinner was typically a wander down to the coffee shop for coffee and some people watching. Twice I got a massage/beauty treatment. We wandered through the art show. We wandered in the promenade a couple times when they had something special going on, and we went to a cooking demo that was a blast. The days we hit port, first was a late afternoon in Puerto Rico. I didn’t want to go anywhere, so mrAru toured a rum distillery. Then we hit St Thomas, I hit the beach briefly for some ocean swimming, then I headed back to the chip and mrAru went shopping. I got a pearl necklace/earring set out of it. After that was Dominican Republic, mrAru went shopping, I hung on my balcony swilling a mojito and reading and people watching. Labadee Haiti there was an organized picnic, so we did beach for swimming and picnic. If memory serves, it was $1800 each, and checking my bank statements we spent an additional $800 on shopping, a special dinner at the specialty restaurant on board for our anniversary, a couple bottles of wine and a few drinks, and bling to give away for presents to various people. Not bad for escaping 2 nasty new england snow storms in tropical warmth =) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/43 "2011-02-12T00:06:05Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Wasn’t it just a few months ago when a big cruise ship lost all power for a few days in the Americas? Not as bad as sinking, but a serious disaster nonetheless. This is what I am getting at-that ship had a fire in the engine room-knocked out all electrical power. there was no (working) backup system-the ship was helpless. imagine if this happened while a storm was blowing. As for fires, suppose one of these monster ships (5000+ passengers) catches fire? You have thousands of elderly passengers crowding on the decks-sounds like a recipe for disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/44 "2011-02-12T00:39:55Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’ve never been on a cruise. What do you do in one? It seems all you do is eat, gamble, and watch shows, like a floating Vegas casino There is so much to do on a cruise, that it depends strongly on what you want. I’ve been on 4 - QE2 Transatlantic crossing, Southern Caribbean and up the Orinoco River, Alaska Inner Passage, and Mediterranean - Barcelona -\> Rome -\> Athens -\> Turkey -\> Egypt -\> Malta -\> Barcelona. The highlights for us are the land trips, which for us do not involve shopping. It gives a good taste for places you’d like to return to, but is no substitute for a multiple day stay. As **aruvgen** said, there is eating, and I’ve never had a bad meal on a cruise ship. We like to do trivia games and puzzles, and I’ve won lots of stuff on cruise ships. Our daughter came with us on the last two, and we played cards. On the Alaska one I went to the library and listened to CDs I bought in Victoria BC while watching the Alaska coast go past. On the QE2 we had assigned tables, and we had the Chief Engineer and Deputy Chief Engineer alternating. We got invited to a quite nice cocktail party in their cabin. Internet was both expensive and slow, so you are nicely cut off from the rest of the world. And there is entertainment every night - shows, acrobats, jugglers, comics. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/45 "2011-02-12T00:43:10Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Not the version that the bandleader reported-the captain and officers abandoned the ship, and left a large group of passengers abandoned. If not for the bandleader, hundreds would have died-while th captain was on shore. Yes, he left about 170 on board when he evacuated. About 1/4 of the passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/46 "2011-02-12T03:58:02Z")
One possible cruise ship tragedy scenario might be terrorism: these things could be tempting targets - “low-hanging fruit” - to the wrong sort. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/47 "2011-02-12T04:11:13Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’ve never been on a cruise. What do you do in one? It seems all you do is eat, gamble, and watch shows, like a floating Vegas casino Before I had ever been on a cruise I had thought the same as you. But I changed my mind after my first cruise. There are two kinds of days on a cruise: Sea days and port days. Sea days are, for me, relaxing. It’s the only kind of vacation where I truly don’t have to think about a thing. Typically I spend a few hours in the ship’s library reading or doing crossword puzzles, or walking out on the promanade. Either way looking out at the ocean occasionally. I find it very soothing compared to my normal stressful life. Port days I go ashore and experience whatever there is to see. Precisely what depends on where we are, of course. But a good example is when we were in Juneau, Alaska, we went on a tour to a glacier. Eating, gambling, and seeing shows can happen on any day. I don’t gamble, but I do eat and sometimes see shows if I don’t have anything else to do. Here’s what’s great about cruises though: You only have to unpack once, and all your “hotel” nights and your meals are in the same “location” (though you can eat elsewhere if you like), yet you get to travel to all the different places the ship stops at. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/48 "2011-02-12T04:36:32Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I don’t really know how trustworthy this web site is ([http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/deck.htm](http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/deck.htm)), but if it is, the requirements to have an actual “sea-type” job are pretty much the same as any other ship. Given that the captain is pretty much where the buck stops on a ship, I’m guessing they don’t give these jobs to just anybody. > > For example, the job requirements for the captain: > > Captain (responsible for the entire operation of the vessel). Captain’s licenses and all applicable certifications by a recognized maritime government body required. Extensive experience with minimum five to eight years in subordinate positions on board ships and solid experience in all navigational electronic and computerized equipment required. Diploma from an accredited maritime training school or facility and fluent English Language skills required. > > Sure, there’s a lot of “people time” as the captain of the cruise ship, but depsite that the captain really, actually is in charge of everything. Time to get a US Coast Guard Masters liciense. 1. Sail 3 years under articles on a Coast Guard inspected (US Flag) ship or attend one of the maritime academys (4years). Pass the 3rd mates unlimited test. 2.Sail at least one year under articles as a third mate. Take and pass the 2nd mates unlimited test. 2. Sail at least one year under articles as a 2nd mate. Take and pass the 1st mates unlimited test. 3. Sail at least one year under articles as a 1st mate. Take and pass the Masters unlimited test. By the way the captian is not in charge of everything. The Chief engineer is in charge of the engine room. Most captians only know where the engine room is but do not know anything about what goes on there. But that is Us flag ships. Most cruise ships are not US flag. The requirements for other coultries are different some more but a lot less. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/49 "2011-02-12T05:04:48Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Wasn’t it just a few months ago when a big cruise ship lost all power for a few days in the Americas? Not as bad as sinking, but a serious disaster nonetheless. I have had problems with what went on that ship. Fire in main engineroom. Loss of the main switch gear and main power distrobution system. Was there no seperation from the main motor power buss and the hotel power buss? Was there no emergency generators? Or emergency distrobutions system? And if not why. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/50 "2011-02-12T05:15:39Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > This is what I am getting at-that ship had a fire in the engine room-knocked out all electrical power. there was no (working) backup system-the ship was helpless. imagine if this happened while a storm was blowing. > As for fires, suppose one of these monster ships (5000+ passengers) catches fire? You have thousands of elderly passengers crowding on the decks-sounds like a recipe for disaster. With just a fire, the fire supression system would not be taxes and the loss of life would be small. But if there are multiple failures it could be bad on a ship designed like that one. If the fire had spread outside the engine room with no power what would have happened. If they did not have emergency power would they had water in the fire mains. Electric or diesel fire pumps? If they were in the middle of a storm at the same time what would have happened? Disasters do not happen with single failures. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/51 "2011-02-12T06:29:45Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Don’t worry. Cruise ship have already been deemed > > "[a giant, floating symbol of everything that is truly god-awful about America."](http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-authorities-cant-really-fault-alqaeda-for-deadl,19105/) You should watch the documentaries about this [ship](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon_(fictional_ship)). _terra firma_, that’s my home for now… ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/52 "2011-02-12T12:54:38Z")
Icebergs are still a problem for some cruises: [holed by iceberg](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318969,00.html) in 2007 and [sunk by iceberg](http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3904801&page=1) a month earlier! No casualties in either case. Both were carrying eco-tourists in the Antarctic or sub-Antarctic. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/53 "2011-02-12T22:05:16Z")
They look incredibly unsafe to me, frightfully top heavy. It appears as though one snap ice storm, or the like, and the thing would surely capsize, in a strong wind. I realize it could just be how it appears. I’m an independent traveler, artificial worlds hold little interest for me. Being stuck on a boat with 1800 people sounds like one of the circles of hell to me, no amount of unlimited eating is going to change that. When I travel it’s because I want to reach my destination, spending my time and money on that, meeting locals eating local cuisine. Cruising seems a way to minimize all the things I love. It seems all about the journey and little about the destination. A few hours on shore? Yeah, that doesn’t really work for me. Plus I’d be afraid of the spread of disease, they seem like floating petri dishes in some ways. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/54 "2011-02-13T00:34:25Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > They look incredibly unsafe to me, frightfully top heavy. It appears as though one snap ice storm, or the like, and the thing would surely capsize, in a strong wind. I realize it could just be how it appears. > > I’m an independent traveler, artificial worlds hold little interest for me. Being stuck on a boat with 1800 people sounds like one of the circles of hell to me, no amount of unlimited eating is going to change that. When I travel it’s because I want to reach my destination, spending my time and money on that, meeting locals eating local cuisine. Cruising seems a way to minimize all the things I love. It seems all about the journey and little about the destination. A few hours on shore? Yeah, that doesn’t really work for me. > > Plus I’d be afraid of the spread of disease, they seem like floating petri dishes in some ways. I like that kind of travel, too. I like both – independent is exciting, cruises are relaxing. Preferably I go on at least one of each every year. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/55 "2011-02-13T00:47:13Z")
In the movie The Towering Inferno, an electrical malfunction managed to ignite electrical fires all over the tower. (yes I realize this was a fictional movie) I have often wondered if something similar might happen on a cruise ship. A fire on board a ship is bad enough (recall the recent laundry room fire on one), but if some malfunction ignited several fires simultaneously on a large ship, I think the on board fire fighting capability could be overwhelmed very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/56 "2011-02-13T02:46:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t know about Alaska and BC, but the Staten Island ferry only carries passengers. Showing my age. They carried cars from Brooklyn back before the Verazanno Narrows Bridge was built. That’s the way we went to the Boy Scout camp on Staten Island. The ferry had excellent soft ice cream also. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/57 "2011-02-13T03:45:40Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m an independent traveler, artificial worlds hold little interest for me. Being stuck on a boat with 1800 people sounds like one of the circles of hell to me, no amount of unlimited eating is going to change that. When I travel it’s because I want to reach my destination, spending my time and money on that, meeting locals eating local cuisine. Do you consider road trips “traveling”? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/58 "2011-02-13T04:17:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you consider road trips “traveling”? Absolutely, but that’s probably because I don’t just turn around and go home, once I arrive. Plus I can go on my own schedule. If I find a place I fancy, I can stay as long as I like. Hey, I’m not slagging it, it’s just not my cup of tea is all. Who knows? Maybe when I’m 80 I’ll feel differently. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/59 "2011-02-13T07:21:28Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > In the movie The Towering Inferno, an electrical malfunction managed to ignite electrical fires all over the tower. (yes I realize this was a fictional movie) > > I have often wondered if something similar might happen on a cruise ship. A fire on board a ship is bad enough (recall the recent laundry room fire on one), but if some malfunction ignited several fires simultaneously on a large ship, I think the on board fire fighting capability could be overwhelmed very quickly. That was pathetic joke of a movie. If the fire main on the ship is kept pressurized i do not think the crew would be overwhelmed. But after the Carnival fire and loss of all electrical power I wonder if the fire main could be lost. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/60 "2011-02-13T10:30:38Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Absolutely, but that’s probably because I don’t just turn around and go home, once I arrive. Plus I can go on my own schedule. If I find a place I fancy, I can stay as long as I like. > > Hey, I’m not slagging it, it’s just not my cup of tea is all. Who knows? Maybe when I’m 80 I’ll feel differently. Well, most people have a time limit on their vacations, so they just cant randomly decide to stay somewhere an additional few days or weeks. When you have 5 days off from work, and the cruise is 5 days, that leaves you a day on either end to get to the cruise depot, and get home from the depot and do a few loads of laundry before having to go back to work…[assuming that you take the 5 days off and a week is 7 days … you get the drift] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937.md?page=4)