Costa Cruise Tragedy

[Andrea J.]

Paul just said to me, "what kind of chatter on the aruba board about the costa accident. i told him that surprisingly , "nothing."

as soon as we finished the conversation, the newswoman on tv, said 5 more bodies had been pulled from the vessel.

i wonder what really happened?

how many of us, who have cruised have ever really thought of the importance of the "drill"? how many of us ever realized that it could really happen?

the cell phone videos show confusion and panic.

it certainly resembles the titanic from what i see.

[purpleangel]

I've only been on one cruise, and it was enough for me.

Several news reports I heard over the weekend said the captain abandoned ship and there was no "muster" drill once the cruise was underway. There were interviews over the weekend with a woman from my state, CT, who was on the cruise. She said she will never sail again.

I'd much rather fly to Aruba and spend my entire vacation on the happy island!

[hatteras]

We cruise a lot, and I have been spending most of my time on the cruise critic boards since this happened. There is a lady from Australia who was on that ship, that has been posting her story of the incident and what has transpired for all of them since then. They are there with no clothes, passports, money, and their embassy is trying to get them home. Costa did eventually round up a lot of them and put them in a hotel somewhere, after the first night. I always pay attention to the muster drill, but have noticed how much they differ by cruise line. My husband and I both agree, however, that if the ship starts listing like this one, we wouldn't go to the lounge or wherever they assigned us to meet. We would head straight to the life boats, just like everyone else. I love to cruise. This would in no way stop me from going again.

[Arubalisa]

There are so many things I could say, but imo, it is important to keep in mind that this is one solitary incident.

I had sailed Costa once, before they were bought out by Carnival, and vowed never again. I was underwhelmed to say the least.

For Carnival through Costa to employ a Captain of this caliber, what does it say of their corporate integrity? Have they gotten 'too big'?

There are many many more commercial aircrafts out there than International cruise ships. When I see things like, "I will never consider a cruise because of this", I think, so you will never fly anywhere in an airplane?

Prayers go out to the families of those still missing and those who have died. Passports and possessions can all be replaced, lives of the those who have perished cannot.

[purpleangel]

Originally Posted by Arubalisa

For Carnival through Costa to employ a Captain of this caliber, what does it say of their corporate integrity? Have they gotten 'too big'?

I have thought about that too. The attached news report states the captain has a history of disobeying orders. Not good.

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...n-to-go-aboard

[Arubalisa]

Originally Posted by purpleangel

I have thought about that too. The attached news report states the captain has a history of disobeying orders. Not good.

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...n-to-go-aboard

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01...uise-disaster/

This Captain is pathetic and I hope they throw the book at him. Unfortunately it will not bring back those who lost their lives.

Fox News has been reporting a translation of the following audio:

"In a telephone conversation, the official berates the captain, who is on a lifeboat and repeatedly says he doesn't want to return to the ship even as passengers are still being evacuated. The ship struck a rock Friday evening and capsized.

The officer tells Francesco Schettino to reboard and assess the needs of passengers: "It is an order. Don't make any more excuses."

Schettino has insisted he stayed aboard until the ship was evacuated, but the recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco indicates he fled before all passengers were off -- and then resisted De Falco's repeated orders to return.

"You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear?" De Falco shouted in the audio tape.

Schettino resisted, saying the ship was tipping and that it was dark. At the time, he was in a lifeboat and said he was coordinating the rescue from there.

De Falco shouted back: "And so what? You want go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"

"You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared the abandoning of the ship, now I am in charge," De Falco shouted.

Schettino is finally heard agreeing to reboard. It is unclear whether he did."

[hatteras]

When I'm on a cruise, I rarely think about the captain. He is usually someone we see the first night, and then never again. On our last cruise in 2010, the captain was very visible. I always assume that they must be extremely competent in order to have that position. This will put all cruise officers, along with cruise lines, in a bad light for a very long time. Bottom line, I doubt if Costa will survive. I don't know what that means for Carnival. Considering how disorganized the crew was, I would never want to sail with them. Ofcourse, you can prepare for every conceivable emergency, and still not know how to handle this type of situation. I've often seen the crew practice various drills, lowering life boats, searching the waters, etc. Last year, we were guided through the wrong area when we were getting off at a port and ended up in the middle of a fire evacuation drill, with smoke and all! We were fairly concerned when we saw the smoke and all of them coming in our direction. Some of them stopped to explain to us what was going on so that we wouldn't be alarmed. This was the same week the Carnival ship had the fire and was drifting off the Calif. coast, supposedly dining on pop tarts and spam!

[Arubalisa]

Anyone had the chance to listen to the Italian audio of the Italian Coast Guard with the Captain over the radio? The Captain was very droll and the Coast Guard was MAD!

It will be interesting to see what Carnival does with Costa. Except for Cunard, I "think" Costa is their largest exposure to the European market. Cunard and Costa are worlds apart in standards and amenities.

Cunard might be able to absorb the ships but not the line's clientèle itself as it stands now.

As of this moment their stock is down 13.49% on the day.

I believe Andrea may have some knowledge as to the training of ship's captains and officers???

[hatteras]

I've listened to the taped conversation several times, and it sure sounds like the Italian official on land is VERY upset with the ship captain. He sounds pretty exasperated with him, which certainly makes you think that he's been fed up with him for a while before the phone call. I can't figure out the ship captain. Was he in shock, afraid, just arrogant? It's hard to tell. Whether some of his excuses were genuine or not, he should have never left that ship in the first place. You're definitely right that Carnival can't absorb the Costa clientele. Since Cunard is part of Carnival, it will definitely impact them also. I don't know who's left in that particular market besides Oceania.

[Andrea J.]

funny you should mention that.
my son is a nuclear engineer with the dept of defense. (navy submarines)
his bachelors degree is in marine engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

During last nights phone conversation with him, he was reiterating to us some of the things that MMA instilled on its students about responsibilities and maritime law.

ds was not a "deck /marine transportation" major........that is the major that ship masters (captains) have if they had college maritime training. ds was an engineering major and when he was out on his 5 semesters at sea, he rarely saw daylight since the engine room was his stomping ground.

every deck officer, crew and staff should be trained in an evacuation procedure. that being said.........there is a huge language barrier on cruise ships. how can we as passengers be sure that our "muster leader" really understands especially if his/her language skills are poor? heck, how many of drive thru dd daily and have no idea just what the nice lady said to us from the speaker? heck, the nice dunkin lady is probably thinking the same thing? language challenges could have played a huge issue.

but everything that we have heard that has transpired about that final costa journey is totally not what being a ship's master is all about. being the last to disembark in the event of an emergency is standard practice. making timely and truthful updates is standard practice.

also too, it is commonplace and a daily occurrence for the master to not be at the controls. he/she has a 1st officer and others that navigate from the bridge in the master's absence.

re: costa cruise lines
prior to carnival's acquisition we were on a costa cruise, i think it was in 1996 or 1997. it was a caribbean cruise.
we enjoyed ourselves and the food was FABULOUS.

listening to the audio of that coast guard/captain conversation.........
my opinion, the captain/master is gonna rot in jail. guilty as charged!

ccl has some 'splainin' to do.

the cell phone videos are frightening.

if

Originally Posted by Arubalisa

Anyone had the chance to listen to the Italian audio of the Italian Coast Guard with the Captain over the radio? The Captain was very droll and the Coast Guard was MAD!

It will be interesting to see what Carnival does with Costa. Except for Cunard, I "think" Costa is their largest exposure to the European market. Cunard and Costa are worlds apart in standards and amenities.

Cunard might be able to absorb the ships but not the line's clientèle itself as it stands now.

As of this moment their stock is down 13.49% on the day.

I believe Andrea may have some knowledge as to the training of ship's captains and officers???