Luxury cruiser runs aground in Tuscany, holy cr*p

[Elite]

Which one of the two? If it's the captain I can imagine him being shocked to death by what happened.

[chknptpie]

Which one of the two? If it's the captain I can imagine him being shocked to death by what happened.

The captain... shouldn't he be collected enough to handle the situation, even if shocked? Training and instincts to evacuate safely and timely should be key for someone in that position.

[wasteland]

Which one of the two? If it's the captain I can imagine him being shocked to death by what happened.

The captain... shouldn't he be collected enough to handle the situation, even if shocked? Training and instincts to evacuate safely and timely should be key for someone in that position.

He was completely off. First he said he had abandoned the ship with his officials, than that he was alone, than that he had been thrown off the ship when it capsized (which is obviously a lie since the Concordia didn't roll abruptly). Then he promised De Falco (the fiery man on the phone) he was about to climb up again, but after a few minutes he was already on a taxi, begging the driver to host him at his own home for a while.

Obviously, he was in shock, pherhaps drunk, but alchool test were not run, we'll never know for sure. Sure thing is, to make such a close approach to a rocky coast you have to be either crazy or drunk (or stoned), and I honestly don't know which is better for him.

[AcidLameLTE]

[Chino]

This is what I heard on the radio this morning. One of the crew members was native to the island they were passing. As a favor the captain wanted to do a cose fly-by so everyone could wave to people on shore. The coast guard found the captain well before the ship was in serious distress, they ordered him to get back on the vessel. Apparently he refused to do so and is now being charged with at least 11 accounts of man slaughter.

[chknptpie]

Some pictures from survivors:

https://gma.yahoo.com/photos/photos-costa-concordia-cruise-ship-tragedy-1326718755-slideshow/photos-costa-concordia-cruise-ship-tragedy-photo-1326717963.html

[PlaysLikeMyung]

New explanation from the captain as to why he wasn't on the ship:

"he slipped and fell over the deck into a lifeboat"



holy shit is this guy as dumb as he looks?

[7StringedBeast]

Yes he is.

[Chino]

Some of the best pictures I have seen yet.

https://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/01/costa_concordia_cruise_ship_ru.html

[El Barto]

Wow,  some of those are awesome.  Much like Kowtowboy,  I find pictures like that to be all kinds of fascinating. 

[7StringedBeast]

The thought of people being entombed in a capsized ship is so scary. 

[Chino]

I recorded a show to my DVR that has a bunch of onboard video from the incident. Starting it now, it looks freaking nuts.

[Cool Chris]

Can we change the subject line to Carnival Fail, pt 2?

https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/12/travel/cruise-ship-fire/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Highlights:

Some passengers report sewage sloshing around in hallways, flooded rooms and trouble getting enough to eat after a fire in the ship's engine room Sunday left it drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. Passengers have dragged their mattresses onto the ship's open deck to stay cool and get away from the nasty smells inside.

"The odor is so bad, people are getting sick and they're throwing up everywhere," Brent Nutt, whose wife is aboard the ship, said Tuesday.

Passenger Ann Barlow told CNN Monday that while the staff was doing a good job, flooded rooms, hot, humid conditions, long lines for food and overwhelming odors were making things tough for passengers.

"It's disgusting. It's the worst thing ever," she said.

Barlow's husband, Toby, said she told him there was "sewage running down the walls and floors" with passengers being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers due to the lack of functioning toilets. The air conditioning is also out.

I work for a subsidiary, not CCL, but damn if this doesn’t want me to cash in my profit sharing and run. 

[Orbert]

I can understand a fire in the engine room taking out the engines, which in turn means the power generators eventually die, but isn't there some kind of backup power?

And doesn't Carnival have any kind of "emergency response" scenario?  I guess I thinking of a boat/ship that can head out to the stranded ship and help effect repairs.  Instead, it's just adrift, completely helpless.  That just seems weird.

[El Barto]

I just don't get cruises at all. Why do people even want to do such a thing? If you're going someplace spectacular that requires a boat, yeah, that makes perfect sense. However, it really seems like big, fancy-ass cruise ships are becoming the destination themselves. It'd be like traveling to France so you could spend 2 weeks in an all inclusive hotel and never leave the compound. What's the point? It's a milquetoast vacation for people terrified of anything foreign.

On the bright side, this is fucking awesome: https://www.360cities.net/image/costa-concordia-il-naufragio

[rumborak]

I don't get it either. A coworker of mine did one, he did the Caribbean. He bitched about that yes, you *do* get to see a good number of places. But, it's always during the day; by the time the night-life would pick up, they had to be back on the boat.

[Chino]

I just don't get cruises at all. Why do people even want to do such a thing? If you're going someplace spectacular that requires a boat, yeah, that makes perfect sense. However, it really seems like big, fancy-ass cruise ships are becoming the destination themselves. It'd be like traveling to France so you could spend 2 weeks in an all inclusive hotel and never leave the compound. What's the point? It's a milquetoast vacation for people terrified of anything foreign.

On the bright side, this is fucking awesome: https://www.360cities.net/image/costa-concordia-il-naufragio

I don't get it either.... At least not for an entire week. It'd be fun to just be hammered drunk for two or three days... But that's about it.

That 360 was really cool.

[Cool Chris]

I just don't get cruises at all. Why do people even want to do such a thing? If you're going someplace spectacular that requires a boat, yeah, that makes perfect sense. However, it really seems like big, fancy-ass cruise ships are becoming the destination themselves.

This is a key element, as to how they sell cruises. Fancy dining? Check. Spa luxuries? Check. Elaborate stage shows and entertainment? Check. Swimming pools, activities for the kiddies? Check. Guest speakers, classes, demonstrations? Check.

I can understand a fire in the engine room taking out the engines, which in turn means the power generators eventually die, but isn't there some kind of backup power?

No doubt. No impulse or auxiliary power?

[Orbert]

It's the lure of being at sea.  There's something calming and relaxing about looking out and seeing nothing but water.  The ship you're on is so huge that you don't even feel it moving, so it's like being on land near a huge body of water, but even better because you're floating and completely surrounded.

Then there's the whole "don't worry about anything for days" thing.  If you're hungry, get something to eat, whatever you want, as much as you want, no charge.  Thirsty?  Drink, no charge.  Everything is covered by the fee you paid up front.  Sleepy?  Go take a nap, get up whenever.  Catch a show in one of the theaters, hang out by the pool, go workout, do whatever you want, whenever you want.  You're on vacation.  Your wallet is in the safe in your room, where it can stay for the next few days.  You want to just chill in your room and watch the HDTV or listen to tunes?  Go for it.  And the whole time, you're on this ship in the middle of the ocean.

I think it sounds pretty sweet.  I've never done it, but my sisters have both taken cruises and they say it's awesome, if you're into that kind of thing.

[bosk1]

^Yeah, that.  It's not the kind of vacation I would like to do very often, but we did a short one a few years back, and it was pretty enjoyable for all the reasons Orbert mentioned.  I'd like to do another one at some point.  I think Alaska is a likely destination, as there are some things you get to see on the voyage that you wouldn't otherwise easily get to see (not to mention the fact that a trip to Alaska as a destination isn't likely any other way).

[King Postwhore]

I've been on 3 cruises and I loved them but there is a truth that you can't see much on the stops.  So we would cruise on year and go stay some place the next vacation.

[El Barto]

^Yeah, that.  It's not the kind of vacation I would like to do very often, but we did a short one a few years back, and it was pretty enjoyable for all the reasons Orbert mentioned.  I'd like to do another one at some point.  I think Alaska is a likely destination, as there are some things you get to see on the voyage that you wouldn't otherwise easily get to see (not to mention the fact that a trip to Alaska as a destination isn't likely any other way).

I'd do the Alaska thing, but it'd be because I wanted to see Alaska, not because of the cruise part.

Then there's the whole "don't worry about anything for days" thing.  If you're hungry, get something to eat, whatever you want, as much as you want, no charge.  Thirsty?  Drink, no charge.  Everything is covered by the fee you paid up front.  Sleepy?  Go take a nap, get up whenever.  Catch a show in one of the theaters, hang out by the pool, go workout, do whatever you want, whenever you want.  You're on vacation.  Your wallet is in the safe in your room, where it can stay for the next few days.  You want to just chill in your room and watch the HDTV or listen to tunes?  Go for it.  And the whole time, you're on this ship in the middle of the ocean.

Just seems like there are other ways of accomplishing that which don't limit you to being on a boat. Aside from the risk of calamity or disgustingness, you're severely limited in your options. Why would you limit yourself to being on a boat, as opposed to, say, Club Med (or better yet, Hedonism II)?

[Big Hath]

Can we change the subject line to Carnival Fail, pt 2?



Highlights:

Some passengers report sewage sloshing around in hallways . . .

"The odor is so bad, people are getting sick and they're throwing up everywhere," Brent Nutt, whose wife is aboard the ship, said Tuesday.

"It's disgusting. It's the worst thing ever," she said.

Barlow's husband, Toby, said she told him there was "sewage running down the walls and floors" with passengers being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers due to the lack of functioning toilets.

well, at least we can keep the "holy cr*p" part of the thread title

[Perpetual Change]

Yeah, vacations are one of those things you can't really mess with. There are basically two types: vacations for personal enrichment, and vacations for sheer relaxation. For example: I know rumby took off to travel the world a year or so ago, but I do wonder how relaxing that’d be for most people? It sounds like an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience, but even taking off to go and try and genuinely experience ONE location can be more exhausting than relaxing. 

Some people care about seeing natural wonders and the like, while others just want a few weeks of luxury living. When I was a little, my family took me to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, and all those great places. Eventually, though, we started going on cruises. I've been on like three or four, total. It's a fun time. It's a week of first-class food, drink, relaxation, and entertainment. It IS like being in a luxury resort, just at sea with some decent excursions when you're at shore. It can also be pretty economical, considering what you might spend to actually fly yourself out to a luxury resort.

Best cruise I went on was definitely Alaska. We stopped in British Columbia for a day, as well as a port in Alaska where the ship was docked 2-3 days and you were free to just kinda get out and explore. It was good fun. Honestly, I did spend a lot of the trip just sitting out on the deck listening to music while watching the sun go down over glaciers, but I also went on all the excursions, used the first-class gym each morning, went to the comedy or dance clubs every night, logged at least two hours per day reading per day in the library, and went to the dress-up dinner every evening. I also met a cute girl on board, who was my age and into me. I come from a working class family and I definitely felt "out classed" by a lot of the rich dudes and dudettes on the boat, but I guess getting to live like that for a few weeks is just as valid a vacation as going to camp out in a national park. My brother, who kinda just stayed in the room watching TV and napping, didn’t enjoy the cruise nearly as much as I did, and wound up staying home the next time.

But, anyway, my favorite vacations were the ones that were both enriching and relaxing. One year my family flew out west and camped for a few days around the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and then hooked into Vegas for like three days of luxury living before flying home. I think that balance is important. With cruise ships, the excursions give the whole thing a 75/25 ratio of relaxing/enriching, which isn’t ideal, but is still decent.

[Super Dude]

Good cruises are fun. This company fails so hard.

[Fuzzboy]

my father and stepmother invited me to go on a cruise around the Mediterranean. While I've never been to that side of the pond and I've always wanted to go, they told me that you're really spending no more than one afternoon in each city, which seems like the dumbest fucking thing on the planet. I'd rather spend a week in a boring city than 5 cities in 4 days.

[Cool Chris]

More from Carnilol

https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/14/travel/cruise-ship-trouble/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Good Lord.  I imagine Royal Caribbean's business is going through the roof at this point.

[Super Dude]

I will happily endorse Royal Caribbean btw. It was awesome.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

My one experience with them was stellar.

[El Barto]

Guests on the current voyage will receive a refund equivalent to three days of the voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise.

Cheap bastards. I'm always amused when somebody's idea of compensation for a disaster is a discounted rate for a future disaster.

[Cool Chris]

Cheap bastards. I'm always amused when somebody's idea of compensation for a disaster is a discounted rate for a future disaster.

But surely that distaster was a one-time occurance. It certainly couldn't happen multiple times, and with the same cruise line.

But seriously... they aren't making money off of your ticket to board. They want you on board so you can spend money on excursions, concessions, drinks, etc... It's like Vegas. Hotels are cheap enough to entice you to go there, and once your there you will spend your money. No point having someone spend all their vacation money just to go there and have nothing left over to spend while there.

Again, this isn't my employer, but we are sister companies, and it is pretty depressing to see the name of a company sister and terms like "fecal matter" appear repeatedly in news articles.

[El Barto]

But seriously... they aren't making money off of your ticket to board. They want you on board so you can spend money on excursions, concessions, drinks, etc... It's like Vegas. Hotels are cheap enough to entice you to go there, and once your there you will spend your money. No point having someone spend all their vacation money just to go there and have nothing left over to spend while there.

So the cruise itself is a loss-leader.  Did not know that. Makes me want to avoid the whole thing even more now. That's a business model I tend to frown on.

And by excursions, do you mean they charge you to get off the boat, or are they selling package deals?

[Cool Chris]

But seriously... they aren't making money off of your ticket to board. They want you on board so you can spend money on excursions, concessions, drinks, etc... It's like Vegas. Hotels are cheap enough to entice you to go there, and once your there you will spend your money. No point having someone spend all their vacation money just to go there and have nothing left over to spend while there.

So the cruise itself is a loss-leader.  Did not know that. Makes me want to avoid the whole thing even more now. That's a business model I tend to frown on.

And by excursions, do you mean they charge you to get off the boat, or are they selling package deals?

Not a loss-leader, didn't mean to overstate it that way. Just meant that there is much more to pay for once your cruise starts - if you wish, of course. Some of the smaller luxury lines like Seabourn are more all-inclusive with their ticket pricing.

And yes, package deals in ports of call. You can get off and do your own thing, but if you want to go on one of their tours or activities, then yes, that is an additional charge.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Another?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/carnival-legend-cruise-ship-problem_n_2882872.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=World