Tag Archives: cruise ships

Cruise Ship Passengers Find Water in Cabins and Think Titanic

CARNIVAL VISTA in Willemstad, Curaçao on March 29, 2017.
Gordon Leggett via Wikimedia Commons

Cruise ships offer a lot for the traveler these days. You have nicely appointed cabins, casinos, places to shop, lots of entertainment options, and of course lots of food. No one though expects they might experience something akin to the Titanic. A video making rounds on Tik Tok shows passengers standing in a hallway where water was reaching up to their ankles on the Carnival Vista. Of course they posted comments as well on what they were seeing.

“Woke to water rushing into our cabin…our lives flashed before our eyes.”

Two floors were flooded by a plumbing issue (probably a leaking pipe) when a ceiling collapsed from the water. According to news reports, the issue was apparently resolved quickly by the staff. While it is not mentioned, it is likely all those affected by the event were relocated to  other rooms (no word on any compensation for any personal items or damages). Most cruise ships (especially the larger big name ones like Carnival) have procedures for dealing with such emergencies. At least in this case, no lifeboats were needed!

Sources:

Carnival Cruise Ship Floods Like Scene Out Of ‘Titanic’
International Business Times, 8 Sep 2022
https://www.ibtimes.com/carnival-cruise-ship-floods-like-scene-out-titanic-3610930

Flooding on Cruise Captured in Dramatic Video Prompts Comparison to Titanic
Newsweek, 9 Sep 2022
https://www.newsweek.com/flooding-cruise-captured-dramatic-video-prompts-comparison-titanic-1741650


Ten Years Ago Costa Concordia Sank; Survivors Recall Their Experiences

Costa Concordia shipwreck (wire photo)

On 13 Jan 2012, the Costa Concordia was wrecked off an Italian island in shallow water resulting in 32 deaths and seriously injuring others. A trial later revealed the ship captain likely sailed close to the island to impress a girlfriend (it should be noted that Captain Schettino said sailing close was normal to salute mariners). Captain Schettino along with four crew members and a company official were found at fault for the disaster. The disaster, it was found, resulted from a series of human errors. Now ten years later, survivors are being interviewed about what they remembered that night.

10 years later, Costa Concordia survivors share their stories from doomed cruise ship  Yahoo! News, 12 Jan 2022

 

 

Pleasant Cruise Turns Into A Titanic Like Adventure

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Sunshine berthed at “Alto Fondale” wharf, Port of Livorno, Italy 2013
Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi (Wikipedia)

There is nothing like taking a nice cruise.  You board the ship, stow your things, and prepare for a nice cruise enjoying the sights and sounds. Except that is not what happened recently to passengers aboard the Carnival ship Sunshine. Hours after leaving Port Canaveral Florida, it experienced what the Carnival called a “technical issue.”

I didn’t think anything of it, since it’s not uncommon for ships to rock back and forth. But it didn’t rock back. It kept leaning,” said passenger David Crews, according to CBS Orlando. “Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.”

An electrical switchboard problem resulted in the ship tilting to one side (whether it was port or starboard is unclear right now). The result was panic. Like most people you take the occasional bumps and jolts when on the ocean as nothing. But when it did not right itself quickly and things began sliding and coming off the walls, people began to panic. And of course water started coming in making it appear the ship for the moment was in serious peril.

The situation thankfully did not last long and apparently was corrected quickly by the ship officers. The damage was done though as passengers took to social media to report what happened. Although the ship’s crew quickly got to work to clean up all the mess caused by the tilt, many just wanted to get off the ship at the next port of call (many did). The initial offer of a $50 credit by the captain was considered insufficient by many. Carnival likely had to offer other compensation to passengers who choose to leave early. And you cannot blame them. That is a pretty scary thing to go through. Thankfully though it was not at all like Titanic. However it is not a great way to start your vacation.

Sources:
1. Cruise Ship Chaos: ‘Technical Issue’ Causes Carnival Sunshine To List To One Side, Terrifying Passengers (CBS New York,1 Nov 2018)
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/11/01/cruise-ship-chaos-technical-issue-causes-carnival-sunshine-to-list-to-one-side-terrifying-passengers/

2. A scene from the Titanic: Carnival cruise ship terrifies passengers after leaning to one side (Deseret News,2 Nov 2018)
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900040078/a-scene-from-the-titanic-carnival-cruise-ship-terrifies-passengers-after-leaning-to-one-side.html


Blue Star Line: Titanic II in 2018

[Correction 21 July 2014-In my haste in writing this up I noted “it seems they let people continue to believe might be launched this year all the while covering themselves in this release.” Of course it will not be launched this year but what has been put off is the date the keel will be laid. It was supposed to be done early this year, then switched to Fall 2014. However no formal contract has been signed or reported as signed with the Chinese company that will build Titanic II. So that date is subject to change.]

Governments often try to avoid public notice of something that will cause a stir by burying it inside a large document or give a brief mention of it seemingly as a routine matter in some filing. Blue Star Line has tried this approach, according to the Australian newspaper Courier Mail, by briefly mentioning in the last paragraph of a release that was issued way back in May. The press release is from 9 May 2014 and its subject line is “BLUE STAR LINE SIGNS TITANIC II MOU WITH AVIC AND DELTAMARIN”

Nearly the entire release is about how this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will enhance Blue Star’s ability to get sponsors to help finance Titanic II. Sounds pretty boiler plate until you get to the very last line:

Titanic II is scheduled to be launched from its construction base in China in 2018, before her maiden passenger voyage retracing its original journey from Southampton to New York.

I have to admit being duped on this. I did not read the full release as close as I ought to have. I did a write up on the MOU but did not notice that little line at the end. And nor did anyone else but, if I recall correctly, Blue Star did not point people to it either. Instead it seems they let people continue to believe might be launched this year all the while covering themselves in this release.

Of course it might be moot if the dispute between Palmer and the Chinese government remains unresolved.

Sources:
1. Clive Palmer’s Blue Star Line Has Quietly Readjusted The Launch Date For Titanic II To 2018 (21 Jul 2014,Courier Mail)

2. Press Release:Blue Star Line Signs Titanic II MOU With AVIC And Deltamarin (9 May 2014, Blue Star Line)

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Tuesday Titanic-How Does Titanic Compare To Modern Cruise Ships?

Photo courtesy George Behe
Photo courtesy George Behe

Back in 1912 RMS Titanic was state of the art. The size of this class of ships was unlike any ship before. The luxury and comforts of this ship were beyond anything done before. That was 1912 so how does Titanic stack up to modern day cruise ships? Well you can take a look at James Sexton’s twitter post and see for yourself. Today’s cruise ships are substantially larger and hold more people. And they have a lot more than offered in 1912 in terms of amenities. Gizmondo also has a side view comparison of Oasis of the Seas and Titanic.

 

Source: The Titanic Was Ridiculously Tiny Compared To Modern Cruise Ships(11 Nov 2013,Gizmondo)


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