# 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:** 9
**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:** [January 18, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/161 "2012-01-18T17:28:09Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > This is one one the main reasons I like cruising, it’s a good value. > > I’m leaving on an NCL cruise today for 10 days. I am paying $2400 but that is for a single occupancy mini-suite. The fare per person for a double occupancy balcony cabin was $899.00. > > That’s less than 90 bucks a day for all you can eat food, a room and transportation…not to mention entertainment and recreational facilities. Which route? We are doing the Scandinavia /Russia route in May, and saw rates of $1500 for a 9 day cruise. However the articles in the paper say that we can expect sales very shortly since this disaster is going to cut bookings at a critical time, so we are waiting. We are taking our daughter as third in a room, and that is very cheap. Well, for what you get. I don’t want to sound like Mitt here. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/162 "2012-01-18T18:33:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Where I’m getting it from is interviews with passengers reported in the Times. None of the crew seemed to know where any of the passengers should go. Some of the crew piloting the lifeboats drove them in circles until in one case, some passengers took over steering. > Perhaps the crew did get trained but they are such idiots it didn’t stick. However, on cruises I’ve been on the crew did drills not involving passengers, so their knowledge should be frequently refreshed. LOL the cruise I was on recently they did the lifeboat training for the employees on our side of the ship, and since I didn’t want to go in and play tourist I hung out on my balcony swilling iced tea and watching the festivities. The crewmembers _did_ run the lifeboats around in circles. I would be willing to bet that the crew members didn’t know where to go because nobody gave them any orders other than ‘to your stations, load up and leave’ so they drove around in circles. I should volunteer myself as a training aid for schlepping someone down a stairs safely in a wheelchair. I believe our lifeboat station was assigned specifically because the accessible cabin we were assigned was 1-next to the stairwell and 2-one flight up from the lifeboat station and 3 we were directly above the lifeboat we were assigned to. Honestly, for someone who is not physically able, a cruise is great, other than the jackasses who shove their way into and out of elevators and don’t let the gimpy travel between levels. I swear, around mealtime it was worth my life to get onto the elevator. Thank Ghu the table assigned to us was in the dining room that was on the same floor. I wanted to try the general buffet at dinner but never managed because of the elevator issue. [It would be nice if they would lock out 1 of 12 elevators on the ship at high traffic times for people with mobility issues.] ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/163 "2012-01-18T18:57:12Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Well the Capt now says that he ended up in the boat coz he tripped into it. Along with the 2nd and 3rd in command. FFS! > > He also admits the change was his doing > > [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9022170/Costa-Concordia-captain-says-he-tripped-and-fell-into-life-boat.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9022170/Costa-Concordia-captain-says-he-tripped-and-fell-into-life-boat.html) Dude! You totally left out the best part of this interview!! > [@Captain Awesome](#): > > During three hours of interrogation on Tuesday, he reportedly said: “The passengers were pouring onto the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault. I didn’t even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60 to 70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That’s how I found myself there.” That is some kind of gold plated bullshit, right there. The captain should get a medal for that. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/164 "2012-01-18T19:10:21Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > LOL the cruise I was on recently they did the lifeboat training for the employees on our side of the ship, and since I didn’t want to go in and play tourist I hung out on my balcony swilling iced tea and watching the festivities. The crewmembers _did_ run the lifeboats around in circles. I would be willing to bet that the crew members didn’t know where to go because nobody gave them any orders other than ‘to your stations, load up and leave’ so they drove around in circles. Well, if they were doing a drill at sea I hope they’d run the lifeboats in circles and not head off for the next port. Slightly different if you have a full load of passengers and a port in sight. > [@](#): > > Honestly, for someone who is not physically able, a cruise is great, other than the jackasses who shove their way into and out of elevators and don’t let the gimpy travel between levels. I swear, around mealtime it was worth my life to get onto the elevator. Thank Ghu the table assigned to us was in the dining room that was on the same floor. I wanted to try the general buffet at dinner but never managed because of the elevator issue. [It would be nice if they would lock out 1 of 12 elevators on the ship at high traffic times for people with mobility issues.] I hear you. You’d think that people would be a bit nicer, but during trivia games our cruise director sometimes had to remind people that they were on vacation. In any case, many passengers would have done better taking the stairs from the sight of them, especially after dinner, and left the elevators to those who needed them. ---
**Author:** ![robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@robinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinson)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/165 "2012-01-18T19:30:55Z")
I’m pulling in my horns on this one. The root cause is economic. I was recalling the fallout from the Jones act. Whether US shipbuilding standards were/are more stringent than ICS is now moot. ---
**Author:** ![robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@robinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinson)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/166 "2012-01-18T19:35:56Z")
What! Lies? Backstabbing? Sounds like a corporation to me. ---
**Author:** ![robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@robinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinson)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/167 "2012-01-18T19:51:18Z")
The most suggestive thing i saw in the Lloyds diagrams is that the January course was closer than the August to a spur of rocks projecting from shore south of the Giglio harbor. I know I am speculating in advance, but given the vessel was turning right when it struck (from the hull location of impact), someone aboard probably thought he was too close and ordered a right turn, which pushed the stern into the object. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/168 "2012-01-18T22:27:40Z")
Imagine what will happen if that real monster (8000 passengers) sinks in mid-ocean? I cannot conceive of an ordely evacuation, with so many people. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/169 "2012-01-19T00:05:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Imagine what will happen if that real monster (8000 passengers) sinks in mid-ocean? Note that cruise ships are rarely mid-ocean - they tend to stick close to land and ports. Presumably, larger ships have more lifeboats, and more crew to assist in launching them. How this would work in practice is perhaps hard to predict. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/170 "2012-01-19T10:00:27Z")
It seems like this is already devolving into something very like the Paterno pitting, but I saw this online and thought I’d share. [ > [@](#): > > **Report: Captain Claims He ‘Tripped’ Into Lifeboat** > [@Capt. Francesco Schettino](#): > > I didn’t even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60 to 70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That’s how I found myself in the lifeboat. ]([http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/185517/158/Report-Captain-Claims-He-Tripped-Into-Lifeboat](http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/185517/158/Report-Captain-Claims-He-Tripped-Into-Lifeboat)) ETA: Awwwwww, I see I’m late to the party with this. Ah well, carry on. Nothing (new) to see here. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/171 "2012-01-19T10:24:53Z")
> [@robinson](#): > > The most suggestive thing i saw in the Lloyds diagrams is that the January course was closer than the August to a spur of rocks projecting from shore south of the Giglio harbor. [Video of the August 2011 ‘Giglio salute’](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9022442/Costa-Concordia-passed-230m-from-Giglio-during-previous-salute.html). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/172 "2012-01-19T12:53:20Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Note that cruise ships are rarely mid-ocean - they tend to stick close to land and ports. > > Presumably, larger ships have more lifeboats, and more crew to assist in launching them. How this would work in practice is perhaps hard to predict. Well, yes, but ideally at some point someone would have to do some modeling on how exactly do you manage an evac of that many people out of that large/complex a structure, as there would be a point at which you’d bump into physical limits to traffic flow. The thing with large ships is that they are counted on to take hours, not minutes, to sink, but you can have list situations that hinder the traffic flow and even render one of the lifeboat decks unusable relatively early in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/173 "2012-01-19T14:09:56Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > …there would be a point at which you’d bump into physical limits to traffic flow. It should be possible in the design of a ship to scale things like the number and size of passageways so that traffic can flow as it should. But I fully agree that if a large cruise ship finds itself sinking quickly, the chance of getting everyone off safely can’t be high. In the case of the Costa Concordia, I have to believe it was because the ship was beached and more or less unlimited time was available that so many people got off safely. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/174 "2012-01-19T17:54:49Z")
Just in case anyone does not think that Capt. Schettino is _completely_ screwed, we have this [additional tidbit](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/captain-didnt-tell-officials-cruise-ship-had-hit-reef-new-recording-reveals/article2307604/)turning up: > [@](#): > > In a new recording released Thursday, the first communication between the ship and Livorno port authorities, Capt. Schettino is heard assuring the officer that he was checking out the reasons for the blackout. But he doesn’t volunteer that the ship had hit a reef. Apparently he waited 30 minutes after the ship hit the reef to call officials. And then, he neglected to tell them that the ship had smacked into something, and instead told them that the ship had a blackout. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/175 "2012-01-20T00:34:09Z")
But wait! It’s even more fun! A woman who has come to the captain’s defense, saying "[He did a great thing"](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/woman-defends-captain-of-capsized-ship-he-did-a-great-thing/article2307604/) Turns out to be one Domnica Cemortan, [a cruise ship passenger rep and former dancer,](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9026359/Costa-Concordia-mystery-of-blonde-on-the-bridge-of-doomed-liner.html) who it seems had dinner with the captain, helping him down a decanter of wine. She then accompanied the captain to the bridge. Passengers saw him leave the restaurant with the woman at 9.05pm, 37 minutes before the collision. Although he claimed to have had nothing to drink that evening, it seems that passenger testimony, along with photographic evidence may just prove that he’s lying about this. ---
**Author:** ![robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@robinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinson)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/176 "2012-01-20T02:09:54Z")
Yes, I saw that. Looks close, doesn’t it? The tracks cross. The quoted 230m clearance August was north of the harbor. It was also the closest point of approach going south. Meaning that once clear of the rocks at the north end, your course was safe. They didn’t provide a clearance number between the January track and the projecting spur of rocks south of the harbor. As a small boat sailor, I always gave extra leeway to that configuration, since it was a good bet that the spur continued underwater where you couldn’t see it. We will see. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/177 "2012-01-20T02:26:56Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Turns out to be one Domnica Cemortan, [a cruise ship passenger rep and former dancer,](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9026359/Costa-Concordia-mystery-of-blonde-on-the-bridge-of-doomed-liner.html) who it seems had dinner with the captain, helping him down a decanter of wine. She then accompanied the captain to the bridge. Passengers saw him leave the restaurant with the woman at 9.05pm, 37 minutes before the collision. [Here’s a rather dubious interview with her](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98_7pgFQj0) on Moldovan TV, with English V/O. All I can think of while watching that is "did they have to choose _that particular_ Escher as the background?! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/178 "2012-01-20T14:09:30Z")
If eleven people hadn’t died, this would be some weapons-grade funny. Heck, even with eleven people dead it’s funny. My favorite part is that plaintive little ‘but I can’t go back on board - it’s _dark_’. I don’t know a lot about Italian culture, but I rather doubt a really sincere apology and a trip thru rehab for sex addiction is going to cut it. I have a feeling his picture will show up in the next edition of the Italian dictionary under the entry for “screwed royally”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/179 "2012-01-20T18:14:41Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Here’s a rather dubious interview with her](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98_7pgFQj0) on Moldovan TV, with English V/O. > > All I can think of while watching that is "did they have to choose _that particular_ Escher as the background?! I saw a mention of her claims in the news and the report presented her as c cruise line employee and failed to highlight the fact that _she was the person having dinner with the Captain_, and thus has inherent conflict of interest in coming to his defense. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937/180 "2012-01-20T18:23:20Z")
Was the ship’s band playing “Nearer My God To Thee”? It just occurred to me: a remake of “Titanic” (update to the Costa Line) would be interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mega-cruise-ships-tragedies-waiting-to-happen/570937.md?page=10)