Will The Costa Concordia Tragedy Change Your Cruise Plans

[nbturfman]

Will the Costa Concordia tragedy change your cruise vacation plans? While it should be noted that many facts have yet to come to light, the sight of the ship laying on the rocks partially submerged will make many wonder if they should cruise or cruise again. We have sailed on Carnival who's parent company owns both lines and will think long and hard about using a coupon we have for an OBC with them. So fellow cruisers will this affect your plans to cruise or which line you cruise?

[HSTeacher1]

Not in the slightest. Still statistically so safe you have a better chance dying in a car wreck on the way to the airport.

[Karen@Steve]

Not in the least. I'm currently waiting on schedules (DH's) to book a cruise and can't wait!

[Bonnie J.]

nope- going on February 4th!

[micruiser12]

No! Would never stop me from cruising. HOWEVER, if I had never cruised before and did not know much about it, I might think twice!

[bigmohes]

It will in NO way affect my future plans. I have only cruised with RCI ships and have always felt that we were in excellent hands. I certainly now understand the importance of the muster drill. The change may come in reviewing safety records of ships prior to sailing with them.

I will continue to pray for the victims of this terrible tragedy

[greeneg]

Nope, not at all.

[jacketwatch]

Not really.

[sazzinfredericton]

Not a big fan if I am in water over my neck (due to a near drowning incident). I have never seen the movie Titanic because of my phobia.

 

I am leaving for my first "real" cruise on Saturday. I am looking forward to with anticipation and not trepidation.

 

This is a very horrific, sad and disturbing set of events. Accidents (whether it is human error or other reason), tsunamis, earthquakes etc, terrorism happen unfortunately.

 

Life is about living!

[TLCOhio]

No! Would never stop me from cruising. HOWEVER, if I had never cruised before and did not know much about it, I might think twice!

 

Agree on this wise, above point by our north and Michigan neighbor. If you are new to cruising and/or economically-challenged, this tragedy off of the Italian coast could be an "excuse" to have doubts and/or say "NO!". But those more experienced travelers know and understand the bigger pictures and that anything in life has its "risks".

 

You can be sitting at home typing on your laptop and have a heart attack. Or, traveling, having fun, seeing the world, etc. Your choice!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 56,960 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Tuna50]

Nope, 25 sleeps and counting :)

[artmc]

We're going on the Infinity from Valparaiso to Buenos Aries on February 12th. This won't change my mind.

 

We hear about fatal car accidents all the time. Does this stop us from driving to the airport? We hear about plane crashes frequently enough. Does this stop us from flying to and from the ports?

 

Admittedly, this is an unusual tragedy. Not that I don't go or listen, but I'm sure this time I'll pay much closer attention at the safety drill.

 

Arthur C.

[islandgirlejfan]

OMGosh, no...there's still nothing like cruising!:) I bought two cruise credits on Celebrity and just booked our next cruise two weeks ago. Doesn't change a thing for me other than I would maybe rethink a foreign cruise such as AIDA or Costa where several languages might be spoken, English not being the main one....and I say MAYBE because having lived in Europe, I do have some knowledge in German and French.

 

How many of us drive? I know for myself I've been in several car accidents that were not my fault and was almost killed in one. Doesn't stop me from getting in my car almost every day. I'll continue to drive, fly and cruise....travel is the best thing ever!

[Wimpinthewater35]

The only changes we've made are adding flashlights to our packing list and an extra extra copy of passports.

 

We sail in 19 days on a ship that in the past 2weeks has been grounded on a reef in the bahamas and recently heard it also hit and sunk a guide pillar in Falmouth jamaica.

[bsawg]

We are booked for March and I am still just as excited. I will admit that the last time I cruised (the first time with my preschool-aged son), I started having trouble sleeping because I would worry a bit about these crazy scenarios. I felt like I needed to have a bag ready to grab in case of evacuation. I felt like a lunatic at the time. Now, if I am perfectly honest, I might actually carry a few extra things around with me to dinner, etc, in case we can't get back to the cabin. I actually have a lot of faith that we would be able to get to a lifeboat and survive, so what I envision wanting with me are for those many-hours-waiting scenarios with a 4 year old....

 

But no, no real changes. We will continue to cruise.

[shoreham01]

No, it will not stop us either.

[Jbird81]

The Costa incident won't deter us from cruising at all.

[Estelle]

My first post on this tragedy, although I have been reading reports all weekend.

 

No it won't change our plans - we sail again in 97 days and have been eagerly awaiting this cruise for almost a year now. I'm sure more cruises await in our future, although they haven't been booked yet.

 

I am not an expert in navigation, ship design, emergency or disaster planning or any of the other issues at play here, just a fairly seasoned cruiser who considers herself smart and very level-headed. I have never had to face a situation like this and can only hope that I would not panic but would behave in a way that would minimize any injury to myself or others.

 

I can't help but think this is a one-off tragedy. Just consider how many cruises go out every year in all kinds of weather with so many passengers and this is the first time anything like this has happened in the modern era of cruising - the seeming impossibility of an accident of this kind is why we are all so shocked.

 

It may be a while for the full answers to come out - but it really does sound like serious (and criminal) mistakes were made by the captain and/or senior crew. At the same time - the % of people killed is extremely low, which indicates that the crew and passengers still managed to pull it together enough to get almost everyone off the ship, despite the panic and confusion.

 

I am sure every cruise line will be reviewing their safety protocols and requiring additional training for officers and crew, as publicity for the industry will be at a low for the immediate future.

 

Cruising is a vacation and a luxury and this tragedy has certainly made me think about possibilities that I had never truly considered before. We always took safety drills seriously (Cunard's have been the absolute best, BTW) but we will probably have our own little reminder drill now about exactly what to do in the case of an emergency.

 

All this being said - we can't wait to get back out to sea. Peace and happy travels to all!

[portofrome]

No, it will not stop me.

[uktog]

No, the odds are more likely that something will happen before you get there than on the ship, starting with crossing the road tonight

[S.O.C.I.O.C.A.T.s]

Actually it will not. There may even be a silver lining in that some people will drop out making reduction in prices likely for those who stick through it.

[van-lop]

Nope, but not with Mr. Schettino as captain, if you can call him captain.

[ladylemondrop]

No it will not stop from going, but will make me a lot more safety aware, it never fails to amaze me how many people skip the drill/chat all the way through the Muster Drill!

 

Also, I will ensure my kids know to get to a muster station and get a life jacket and GET IN A LIFE BOAT without looking or waiting for us in the event they are not with us in event of emergency, (without scaring them) I am not sure I trust staff to protect my kids before themselves after this!

[4774Papa]

No, cruising is probably safer than flying, and for sure safer than driving.

[kelmac]

No fears here! We have four cruises coming up.

We got some of the greatest bargains in travel just after 9/11, as Americans were paralyzed in fear. We did a Mediterranean cruise ($325 ea) and R/T airfare for $598.

I'm sure this tragedy will have a minor impact, but you never know?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)