Costa Concordia Runs Aground / Deaths Reported

[MelissaE1]

This is so sobering -- it's hard to believe something like it could happen with all the safety features on ships these days (although without them I am sure it could have been much worse). We always attend our muster drill, but I will pay even closer attention now. And truthfully I never thought of what would happen if you couldn't launch the life boats because the ship was listing.

Hopefully the people still unaccounted for are just a result of the confusion and are not actually missing.

 

[Meg'n'walt]

I cannot even imagine the terror that those passengers felt.

That's a huge rock stuck in the hull... how the heck does that happen???

Heard the ship had technical/electrical difficulties leaving port, maybe the radar fell out because of that ??

 

[FJS961]

I read on a news report that the ship had not yet had its lifeboat drill...so confusion about what to do on the part of the passengers is understandable.

Though rare, there are situations when the safety drill is done after the ship has left the docks. This ship left Citavechhia around 7pm and I'd read that the safety drill was scheduled for the next day at 5pm. One passenger had remarked something like 'I hope nothing happens before then'.

That make NO SENSE that the drill would ever be done BEFORE the ship leaves the embarkation port.

 

[Alexander]

Accidents happen, yeah, this is a big one...I just cannot even come close to fathoming why people would jump off the ship! Were they going to try and swim to shore? I just cannot comprehend this! Maybe because I am not one to panic and can think clearly in an emergency I don't understand what if feels like to be in absolute panic attack. Praying for everyone aboard, those pictures make me so sad!

 

[Alexander]

And regarding safety drills/airplane lingo, etc...If it saves one life isn't it worth your precious time? It only takes one person to survive because they remember what to do that makes giving 30 minutes of your life worthwhile.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Oh dear. Looking at that I am happy to read that so far given the amount of people on board that only a handful did not make it (of course I feel horrible those those who didn't survive- I'm just happy it's not much much worse)

As far as safe drills, what happens when your life boat is on the side of the sinking ship?

It takes time to sink a ship. Even the Titanic didn't sink in 5 minutes. The ship should have time to release at least some of the life boats on the listing side.

I'm trying to remember from the tour I did on the Magic in Oct. The art of the Ship tour i think it was and the guide did take us out to the life boats. You can fit quite a lot people onto 1 boat, even tough it doesn't look that way. And the lifeboat capacity is actually well above the total number of persons on the ship at full capacity, passengers and crew. He did not say whether the lifeboats on 1 side of the ship could handle everybody though.

 

[DreamBound23]

What REALLY shocks me is there have been threads on here recently in regards to the Super Bowl cruise about the drill (and sail away party) being postponed until THE NEXT DAY so they can have the game on the big screen. I find this SHOCKING about Disney!!!!! Some people didn't believe it but then past super bowl cruisers confirmed this.

THAT is scary. Maybe this tragedy will change that.

 

[Alexander]

Sadly, Maritime Law only states that muster drills must take place within 24 hours of sailing. Maybe things will be reconsidered by at least the cruiselines now.

 

[Octoberbride03]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/0...-coast-italy-at-least-3-dead/?test=latestnews



FTR: The drill on DCL is the first day BEFORE you leave port, though you don't have to wear the life jackets anymore, They check you off on a roll list. And though i have not been on board for any actual emergency I would hope that they are handled FAR BETTER than this was.

NO wonder people were jumping off

 

[Rogillio]

Accidents happen, yeah, this is a big one...I just cannot even come close to fathoming why people would jump off the ship! Were they going to try and swim to shore? I just cannot comprehend this! Maybe because I am not one to panic and can think clearly in an emergency I don't understand what if feels like to be in absolute panic attack. Praying for everyone aboard, those pictures make me so sad!

I can see jumping off the ship. If I thought it was going over I'd have no problem at all jumping over the rail and swimming to shore. Maybe the people that jumped made a calculted decision that they were not going to secure a seat on the life boat, the saw the shore a few hundred meters from teh ship and swam for the bank. I don't see an issue with this (I've swum 2.4 miles in open water on several occasions for sport). Perhaps their thinking was that when the ship went on over or sank the vortex would suck everyone around under the water. So why not jump and swim away from the ship?

Just my opinion - I'm an excellant swimming and do not fear the water.

 

[Rogillio]

That's how I felt when I made that post. One could easily make a statement like "I hope this shows everyone just how important it is to attend the safety drill", rather than rudely and pompously state how disgusted you are with people who don't attend the safety drill and then follow that up with an ignorant statement saying they aren't welcome aboard ships.

For the record, the Concordia had not even conducted it's muster drill yet. It was schedule for the next day. Seems sort of strange and equivelent to having flight attendents conduct their safety presentation 45 minutes after takeoff...even if I don't pay attention to them.

From what I've seen and read here, having the safety drill on the 2nd day is something the Wonder does routinely on the MR cruises.

Just because one does not "pay attention" during the flight attendants' speil does not mean they don't know what to do in case of emergency. I've logged several hundred thousand miles flying and I know most of the equipment I fly on as well or better than the flight attendants.

RE the life boat drill. We've been on 10 cruises and I have grown up with boats all my life. I go thru the motions of the life boat drill our of respect for those not quite so comfortable on the water but I get no value whatsoever out of the drill. Others might and I'd encourge them to pay attention.

BTW, I think this happend 40 miles from Civitevekia (sp?) (the port we made to visit Rome on the DCL Med cruise)

 

[pxlbarrel]

I can see jumping off the ship. If I thought it was going over I'd have no problem at all jumping over the rail and swimming to shore. Maybe the people that jumped made a calculted decision that they were not going to secure a seat on the life boat, the saw the shore a few hundred meters from teh ship and swam for the bank. I don't see an issue with this (I've swum 2.4 miles in open water on several occasions for sport). Perhaps their thinking was that when the ship went on over or sank the vortex would suck everyone around under the water. So why not jump and swim away from the ship?

Just my opinion - I'm an excellant swimming and do not fear the water.

The water isn't the problem most of the time, it's the temperature of the water. It may be the Mediterranean but it still can't be that warm in January. Hypothermia is the problem if you're going to jump and swim for it. Another problem is jumping from that height into what looks to be a very shallow area... aren't you liable to hit some of the rocks that sunk the ship?

 

[cyclenut]

Do you have a link? Looking around cruise critic just gives me a migraine, the site layout is horrible, as are many of the people who post there

Here is a link but I don't know what you are complaining about. You go the boards and there is an alphabetical list of cruise lines. You click on Costa Cruises and you see the threads.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=138

I've been on cruisecritic much longer than here on the dis. If you ever sail on any other line, and even if you sail DCL, they have some great information over there.

 

[luv2sleep]

68 people still unaccounted for. Life boats not even prepared right away and people demanding for it to be done. What???? People crawling on practically vertical surfaces just to get out. I can't believe such a tragedy occurred in this day and age. The loss of life is so tragic and the experience these poor people have gone through is horrifying.

One passenger reported she had left her passport in her room. She's not Italian. How is she going to be able to get home? What if you don't have your ID? How will an airline let you on a plane?

I know this might sound paranoid but does anyone else have second thoughts about cruising after this? I'm sure we will go on our trip but this news is very sobering in regards to the realities of a disaster at sea. I tend to Aldo not want to fly for a while after air disasters.

I am booked on deck 2. I know this is going to sound paranoid also but is it possible to get trapped in your stateroom in a situation like this when you are in a cabin on a lower deck on the ship?

 

[Rogillio]

The water isn't the problem most of the time, it's the temperature of the water. It may be the Mediterranean but it still can't be that warm in January. Hypothermia is the problem if you're going to jump and swim for it. Another problem is jumping from that height into what looks to be a very shallow area... aren't you liable to hit some of the rocks that sunk the ship?

I don't mean to say that I would go running staight to the rail and leap over into the dark abiss only to crash onto the rocks below! LOL My point was that it might now have been "panic" that led people to jump over the rail and make a swim for it. It might very well have been good swimmers who are Europeans and know how chilly the Med is in Jan and judged how deep the water was by the fact that the bow of the ship was still under water (indicating a dept sufficient to jump into). I'm not saying I would definately jump but I'd evaluate the situation and make a rational, calculated decision as to what I thought my best chance of survival was.

RE hypothermia. Hopothermia is a funtion of time and given how close they are to shore, I think a good swimmer would not have any problem with hypothermia since they would not be in the water that long.

 

[mimmi]

One passenger reported she had left her passport in her room. She's not Italian. How is she going to be able to get home? What if you don't have your ID? How will an airline let you on a plane?

This is what embassies and consulates are for, they provide you with new documents in case of emergency.
Most of the passengers were Italians, followed by Germans and people from France. If they went home by bus or trains (and I read something about people not finding the right busses), no problem - there aren't any passport controls between these countries.

 

[cyclenut]

I've read a couple of the posted articles on this now and it is really chilling. We'll need to wait awhile before we hear the whole story.

As for muster drills, I am not much of a fan of how DCL does their drills. I do like the fact that you are meeting inside. That is good. However, I would prefer if they required you to don your life vest, go to the meeting spot and then have them walk you out to the deck where the life boats are and tell you how the evacuation would be done.

Sure, I like the convenience and comfort of the current process and if you've sailed DCL many times, it will really seem pointless.

I know I took my vest down out of the closet and tried it on. I know some others did check too because I heard them saying they needed more and/or different vests, but we all know that a fairly large number of people didn't.

As tragic as this event is, and it is tragic, maybe it will serve as a reminder for all cruisers that the muster drills are not just another excuse to party.

 

[matrixband]

This is so awful. I am usually the one who is the most cautious and attentive to safety drills, but this really reinforces preparedness. When I get on a plane, I usually don't pay attention much to the attendant's demonstration, but I do check out the plane diagram in the seat back pocket. Every plane is different. I also count how many seats to the nearest exit door. So, I might suggest this:

1. Take the lifeboat drill seriously.

2. Imagine doing it with people panicking and maybe even in the dark. Yes, the power might go out.

3. Where are the stairs in relation to your room? How far away? How many doors down? What if it's pitch black? Could you get your family to the stairs or exit?

Of course, if you have a verandah, you may think just go out there, but like it was said above jumping into the water from a great height could cause injury and could very well lead to hypothermia if not drowning.

Otherwise, have a positive attitude--really-- as news like this can make you paranoid and not enjoy your trip..

 

[redsonja76]

And of course we are set to sail on the Costa Fortuna in 3 months. Very scary.

 

[vakamalua]

I have been on 20 cruises all over the world; an accident like this this is my worst nightmare. We take safety drills and all other measures very seriously.

This will cause ALL cruise lines to immediately review all their procedures which will make ships even safer in the future.

Prayers to families who lost a loved one and to those missing.