Will The Costa Concordia Tragedy Change Your Cruise Plans

[4774Papa]

I've always said that if I won a huge lottery, I'd literally live on cruise ships. I'd hop from one to the other to another.

 

This tragic, unfortunate, and completely avoidable accident changes nothing.

 

Now where is my countdown timer.... :D

I remember reading a few years ago about a woman that did just that. She sold her home and lived on a cruise ship. I think it was a Cunard ship and she cruised around the World. Her pension covered the cost as long as she didn't imbibe too much.

[wvufan]

I have no fear of cruising at all. However, in the future I will make sure I have a "go bag" containing my meds, passport, etc and warmest clothing readily accessible in case of an emergency.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE Baby :D:D Bob and Phyl

[TLCOhio]

I remember reading a few years ago about a woman that did just that. She sold her home and lived on a cruise ship. I think it was a Cunard ship and she cruised around the World. Her pension covered the cost as long as she didn't imbibe too much.

 

Yes, we've met some of those folks who are doing cruises all of the time and/or for big chunks of time. Some cruise lines do these two or three month long "World Cruises" in the early part of each year. As one who does those long cruises put it to me "We could go to Florida for three months or do this cruising. Which do you think we like better or is more interesting?"

 

From Business Week/Bloomberg News in the past 15 minutes this morning, they have this headline: "Concordia’s Death Toll at 13 as Italy Prepares Fuel Removal" with these highlights: "Italian search teams resumed operations on Carnival Corp.’s Costa Concordia cruise ship after finding a 13th body and preparations began to remove 500,000 gallons of fuel from the damaged vessel. Divers set off more explosives onboard the ship at a depth of about 15 meters (49 feet) to 18 meters today to allow them to reach remote parts of the boat. Rescuers found the body of a woman yesterday, taking the death toll to 13. The number of missing people is 24. The Concordia might have been carrying some unregistered passengers, Franco Gabrielli, the Civil Protection Agency official overseeing the search operations, said at a press conference broadcast by SkyTG24. That makes it difficult to determine the number of missing people."

 

From AP newswire in the last 30 minutes, they have this headline: "Italian officials: ship stable, fuel removal imminent" with these highlights: "Italian officials say experts can begin pumping fuel from a capsized cruise ship while divers continue the search for people still missing. Admiral Ilarione dell'Anna said Monday that the fuel removal could begin as early as Tuesday."

 

From the Daily Mail in London in the last hour, they have this headline: "Survivors of Costa Concordia tragedy offered 30% discount on their NEXT cruise amid £100m lawsuit threat" with these highlights: "It is believed that the firm is trying to reduce the damage from an impending lawsuit, which could cost it more than £100million in compensation. So far, 100 passengers have joined a class action suit to be filed against owners Carnival Cruises in Miami, Florida. Each is said to be demanding between £100,000 and £1million."

 

Full stories at:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-23/concordia-s-death-toll-at-13-as-italy-prepares-fuel-removal.html

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4u_49QziI8YtK9arOU_VSOhBvyQ?docId=cc03fb178f95486da2b558bca958e46b

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090573/Costa-Concordia-survivors-offered-30-discount-cruise-amid-100m-lawsuit-threat.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

THANKS! 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 59.067 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

[Brad1185]

The reality is the drills done by the cruise lines are a joke. Hopefully your not handicapped, in a wheel chair or elderly, because your on your own. I cruise a lot with my 85 yr old dad, 59th cruise coming in May, I hate to think what would have appended to him if he was on the Concordia by himself.

 

My wife and son gave up crusing a couple of years ago, for other reasons, the Concordia strengthened their resolve never to cruise again.

 

It won't alter my cruise plans, the cutbacks and extra charges do.

[CaroleLee]

A big question for me is how very, very quickly that Captain moved up from just a Safety Officer to Captain in only four years and then to being responsible for one of their largest ships. Seemed very quick and/or that he must have had some "special friends". Costa/Carnival has some serious legal and PR issues about which to be worrying.

 

Below are a couple of my pictures of Carnival's "sister ship" to the damaged Costa ship. Carnival got a real "black eye" with the problems on that ship off of the California/Mexico coast. Remember that one? See more details below to re-fresh you memories.

 

It has only been fourteen months since Carnival had to be rescued by the U.S. Navy's Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. Carnival had said there was a "crankcase split", and that it caused the fire, was isolated to the aft generator room, etc. The fire was extinguished by the afternoon, and no one was injured. Nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members were onboard. They were unable to restore power to the engines and the ship was towed by tugboat to San Diego. Without power for air conditioning and refrigeration, passengers were fed rations delivered via U.S. Navy helicopters from the aircraft carrier.

 

THANKS! 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

 

 

Here are two views of the now “infamous” Carnival Splendor as photographed from our ship during a July 2008 Baltics cruise. The first picture shows this large ship (3000 passengers) docked in Copenhagen with some church dome/towers in the background. The second visual shows the Splendor docked in St. Petersburg at its industrial-style port. This ship commenced sailing in 2008. It is smaller, modified version of the Concordia class cruise ship, operated by Costa. On November 8, 2010, on the second day of a voyage from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera, the ship experienced a fire in her engine room, cutting all electrical power. The rest was history, sadly!:

 

 

 

 

Terry you are right. another item is that the Concordia was the twin of Carnival Splendor-indeed the Concordia was originally going to be a Carnival ship-they changed the funnel. Amid the choas and confusion on the Concordia is a detail that seems to be skipped the layout / design of the ship is such that you have to go DOWN to go UP ie there is no floor though passage The layout insures that PAX pass through either a bar or casino.

When the dust has cleared I wonder if this design will be taken into account.

Carole

(Terry-we were in the same Solstice BCN cruise Connections group

[CaroleLee]

I remember reading a few years ago about a woman that did just that. She sold her home and lived on a cruise ship. I think it was a Cunard ship and she cruised around the World. Her pension covered the cost as long as she didn't imbibe too much.

 

Yes, I remember this story. To me its the perfect retirement.

 

Did anyone else catch this in the News section of CC re the disaster " Franco Gabrielli, who has suggested that there may have been a number of unregistered passengers on the ship"

Unregistered pax? How does one board sans seapass, security etc?

 

Carole

[Kancruze]

Yes, I remember this story. To me its the perfect retirement.

 

Did anyone else catch this in the News section of CC re the disaster " Franco Gabrielli, who has suggested that there may have been a number of unregistered passengers on the ship"

Unregistered pax? How does one board sans seapass, security etc?

 

Carole

 

Carole, That's what I'm wondering??? While we passengers are subject to all the scrutiny and such, the crew are busy smuggling every Tom, Dick and Mary they can find. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but it really worries me that the cruiselines don't know "who" they have onboard!

Edie

[TLCOhio]

Terry you are right. another item is that the Concordia was the twin of Carnival Splendor-indeed the Concordia was originally going to be a Carnival ship-they changed the funnel. Amid the choas and confusion on the Concordia is a detail that seems to be skipped the layout / design of the ship is such that you have to go DOWN to go UP ie there is no floor though passage The layout insures that PAX pass through either a bar or casino. When the dust has cleared I wonder if this design will be taken into account. Carole (Terry-we were in the same Solstice BCN cruise Connections group

 

THANKS, Carole, for the added info and reminding me on our Barcelona "connections". That was a fun cruise with great weather!

 

YES, these added, non-registered "passengers" being sneaked on the ship is a real mess. We'll be hearing more about these issues in the coming days. AND, it won't be good, sadly.

 

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 59.067 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

[homerandmarge]

We LOVE cruising and the tragedy that has befallen Costa Concordia will not deter us, although we were not interested in Costa anyway. It's still the best way to travel the world.

 

With all the technology and systems at the captain's disposal it seems that a particular set of circumstances must have applied to allow her to founder so quickly and violently, and I'm sure that this will be revealed.

 

Celebrity and Princess are our favourites, and the professionalism of their officers and crew inspire great confidence. We're trying P&O this year -

Ventura's next in April, then again in November.

 

Mike ("Homer").

[TLCOhio]

On the NBC Today Show this morning, they indicate that the sixteenth body has been found in Italy at the Costa wreck site and detailed the challenges for divers to be search the sunk hulk of this ship. Sad!!

 

From Monday's Wall Street Journal, they have this headline on a comprehensive story: "Carnival CEO Lies Low After Wreck" with these highlights: "The leaking, submerged Costa Concordia represents the stiffest challenge yet for the 62-year-old Mr. Arison, who over more than three decades has quietly built Carnival into the world's largest cruise-ship company. Today it boasts a stock-market capitalization of $18 billion and annual revenue of $16 billion, more than twice as large by both measures as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the next-largest company. Images of the massive shipwreck and transcripts of the chaotic evacuation threaten an industry that has enjoyed a reputation for safety and few major accidents. Cruise operators, in the midst of what traditionally is their heaviest booking season, already have been grappling with high fuel prices and Europe's weakening economy. By maintaining a low public profile during the Costa Concordia crisis, Mr. Arison and Carnival also might limit the focus on the parent company and its other cruise lines. Of Carnival Corp.'s 101 ships, only 15 sail under the Costa brand."

 

This detailed analysis looks closely at the mega cruise giant and their big owner/CEO. Clearly the "PR play" is to keep Arison out of the spotlight and lessen the "splash-back" on the Carnival name and its various cruise brands. Not everyone can get the full Wall Street Journal stories, but it is a very insightful journalistic piece on Carnival and the overall pressures in the cruise business. Looking at the longer-term view, Carnival has had big revenue growth, but its shares have struggled in recent years. They had dropped 28% in the 12 months before the Costa accident. They have been impacted by industrywide concerns about fuel costs and the European economy. Profits have tightened as vacationers resisted price increases in the wake of the recession. Carnival shares closed Friday at $31.56, down from $52.39 five years earlier. Since the accident, most of the quick, first-two-days loss has been recovered.

 

From the Business Week Bloomberg newswire this morning, they have this headline: "Italy Urged to Curb Cruise Ship Routes After Concordia Accident" with these highlights: "Pressure mounted on Italy to ban cruise ships from passing too close to coastlines more than a week after Carnival Corp.’ Costa Concordia capsized off the Giglio Island, killing at least 15 people. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, yesterday urged the Italian government to restrict access of large cruise ships near “culturally and ecologically important areas.” Italy’s Environment Minister Corrado Clini is working on new rules for routes along coastal areas and plans to meet cruise companies on Jan. 26"

 

Full stories at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177131752006116.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-24/italy-urged-to-curb-cruise-ship-routes-after-concordia-accident.html

 

THANKS! 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 59.302 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