How do you rate Oceania for safety?

[JimandStan]

I agree with most all the posters on this topic. Oceania Cruise Line follows the rules when it comes to passenger and crew safety.

There is no need to carry an extra flash light if you own a cell phone better yet a smart mobile phone with an appropriate App. They can in a pinch be used as a light. Try it some dark night and see how it glows and shows your path.

Who carries a cell phone on the ship? :confused:

[RetiredFL]

Who carries a cell phone on the ship? :confused:

Too many people who forget it is a vacation!

[dundeene]

First as a ship Captain's daughter my entire life; I know ships don't run aground

. . . Captains do! This was not a perfect storm, or any storm. It was human error.

I have spent many days and nights on-board, and many years with a Dad who was home 30 days, gone 45+ days but this will be my first pleasure cruise.

There are many reasons to need a flashlight on-board. Most unfortunately involve water:eek:

A cell phone is a terrible idea. Flashlights on-board are LED and sealed aluminum.

This type of light is bright and batteries will work for MANY hours. Cell phone will quit as soon as it is wet! I am confident we will have a safe uneventful cruise, but I will have a small waterproof LED flashlight in my cabin.

Dad already gave it to me!

[rubysue]

First as a ship Captain's daughter my entire life; I know ships don't run aground

. . . Captains do! This was not a perfect storm, or any storm. It was human error.

I have spent many days and nights on-board, and many years with a Dad who was home 30 days, gone 45+ days but this will be my first pleasure cruise.

There are many reasons to need a flashlight on-board. Most unfortunately involve water:eek:

A cell phone is a terrible idea. Flashlights on-board are LED and sealed aluminum.

This type of light is bright and batteries will work for MANY hours. Cell phone will quit as soon as it is wet! I am confident we will have a safe uneventful cruise, but I will have a small waterproof LED flashlight in my cabin.

Dad already gave it to me!

 

A "perfect storm" is a metaphor that is used in failure investigations (which I have been involved with for over 30 years in the Aerospace business). It refers to having all of the factors line up perfectly to cause a major mishap. It usually has nothing to do with weather, although that can be a factor in some incidents. Usually the "perfect storm" incidents have a human factor involved of major significance. I hope I made that clearer since you chose to refute my comment. ;)

[joysav]

I have not noticed any ships in the Oceania line sinking :rolleyes:

 

The Costa mishap was caused by human error... I suspect

 

But all the doors stayed locked after the power failure.

I have seen this reported on several Cable Channels

BBC , CCTV , Al Jazeera , Bloomberg etc.

 

If this is true and includes hotels etc what Death Traps they are. :eek:

[2kiwis]

We agree with all those who have had positive experiences on Oceania. The lifeboat drills have always been conducted thoroughly and seriously. We have sailed many times on Oceania and have always felt safe – even when we meet the pirates on Nautica.

 

From what has been published so far about the Costa Concordia accident, I just cannot imagine any of the Oceania Captains we have sailed with, behaving as irresponsibly as Captain Schettino has done.

 

I cannot come to terms with any captain believing it is his prerogative to take a huge cruise liner off course and risk the lives of all on board, for little more than grandstanding. It seems that there have been concerns raised about Captain Schettino's gung-ho attitude and one wonders why this has not been taken seriously by his bosses in head office.

[Toranut97]

Too many people who forget it is a vacation!

 

You forget that a phone is more than a phone these days! My iPhone is my computer when we cruise, I use it to glance at Facebook and so on, it has a small camera for spontaneous photos at dinner, etc.,, and I use it to post a daily Facebook photo as my "postcard" to friends. And so much else -- and I agree, I thought instantly of my flashlight app which is part of the "AppBox Pro" app --which includes a currency converter, translation app, and unit of measure converter, among other things which can be useful on a voyage!

 

Don't assume that we are Type A personalities just because we keep a smartphone handy!!!

[JimandStan]

Don't assume that we are Type A personalities just because we keep a smartphone handy

 

That would not be the assumption that I would jump to....:o

 

It did occur to me that you might be the type who imagines that your "friends" are desirous of seeing your vacation photos on a day by day basis... :cool:

 

Do you suppose that I'm psychic? :confused:

[RetiredFL]

You forget that a phone is more than a phone these days! My iPhone is my computer when we cruise, I use it to glance at Facebook and so on, it has a small camera for spontaneous photos at dinner, etc.,, and I use it to post a daily Facebook photo as my "postcard" to friends. And so much else -- and I agree, I thought instantly of my flashlight app which is part of the "AppBox Pro" app --which includes a currency converter, translation app, and unit of measure converter, among other things which can be useful on a voyage!

 

Don't assume that we are Type A personalities just because we keep a smartphone handy!!!

You may not be a "Type A" but you exhibit many of the symptoms:D

If we sent daily photos of our trips to our friends they would move our e-mail address to their spam folder.

We are not on Facebook or Twitter and have no desire to be there.

We have been disturbed at dinner in Polo, Toscana, etc by people talking loudly on their phones to, we presume, their friends about their success in the bathroom, their amorous adventures or other things we really don't want or need to know about.

As to the apps concerning currency conversion, measurement, etc. we find we can estimate those accurately enough with some simple math in our head.

We don't need to worry about losing another expensive gadget while out on tour.

Enjoy your smart phone, just don't disturb others with it.

[Toranut97]

You may not be a "Type A" but you exhibit many of the symptoms:D

If we sent daily photos of our trips to our friends they would move our e-mail address to their spam folder.

We are not on Facebook or Twitter and have no desire to be there.

We have been disturbed at dinner in Polo, Toscana, etc by people talking loudly on their phones to, we presume, their friends about their success in the bathroom, their amorous adventures or other things we really don't want or need to know about.

As to the apps concerning currency conversion, measurement, etc. we find we can estimate those accurately enough with some simple math in our head.

We don't need to worry about losing another expensive gadget while out on tour.

Enjoy your smart phone, just don't disturb others with it.

 

Good Lord!

 

I have never met you. I have never disturbed you. I have never used my phone for a single phone call while on a cruise.

 

Why the need for this snarky attack?

 

This board is becoming as snooty as Regent!

[JimandStan]

This board is becoming as snooty as Regent

 

Hey Hey Hey- Those people have never met you, those people have never disturbed you......So why the snarky attack :p

 

Can't we all just get along?

[RetiredFL]

From an e-mail just received:

 

"Miami, January 23, 2012 - Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, has announced that effective immediately all ships will hold guest muster drills on the day of departure.

 

Presently, all Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels hold muster drills on the same day of departure, with few exceptions.

 

"On just a handful of occasions the drill is held the following morning, primarily to accommodate late-arriving guests," stated Robin Lindsay, executive vice president of vessel operations for Prestige Cruise Holdings. "However, in light of the recent tragic event, Oceania and Regent have adopted a new policy that requires all muster drills to take place on day of departure."

 

All Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels are designed and operated in compliance with the strict requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which mandates global standards for the safety and operation of cruise ships, through adoption of regulations, resolutions and treaties. The most important of these treaties is the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, which includes comprehensive mandates on safety equipment and procedures. Prestige Cruise Holdings' ships adhere to all IMO and SOLAS regulations and requirements. In addition, all officers and crew who have specific safety functions, such as evacuation leaders, boat commanders, fire teams, and lifeboat launching teams, regularly conduct simulated emergency training drills."

[ORV]

" In addition, all officers and crew who have specific safety functions, such as evacuation leaders, boat commanders, fire teams, and lifeboat launching teams, regularly conduct simulated emergency training drills."

 

To me this is the most important thing. It seems I read the waiters and dancers were more visible than the ships officers on Concordia during the evacuation. Of course it goes without saying, oh wait I won't say it.

[PaNavy]

My comments are based on 40 years of successful industrial safety experience including my last 10 years responsible for 10,000 people in 68 countries. Our record was excellent by any measure. The most important factor for safe operation of a ship is the safety attitude of the cruise line management, especially the captain which in turn creates the culture of the ship. All the rules in the world don't guarantee safety, they only help attain it if the leadership cares. One very good clue is the drill because it's one window to observe the safety culture. It it's done promptly, throughly and taken seriously by the crew it's a real positive. Other factors we may observe as passengers is crew compliance with shipboard rules, proper marking and maintenance of safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, alarms, lifeboats, security for access to critical areas to name a few. Other factors we look for in industry include record keeping of ALL injuries and incidents with detailed investigations, reporting of any deviations from safe practices (like unscheduled tours of the coast line) and follow up by management. The Costa Concord cruise line should have known if the captain took previous, unauthorized "fly bys" of the island with serious discipline after the first incident and demotion or termination after the second.

 

As for Oceania my opinion is that they are very good, perhaps one of the best, but not perfect. Our first O-cruise last year (Antarctic) had an excellent drill, all crew impressed me as well trained and serious. However, there were some safety signs that were confusing, a fellow passenger was injured by walking into a glass door in a dark hallway and nothing was done to investigate or make the minor changes to keep it from happening again, and we observed an early morning incident where the tug was too small to hold the ship against the wind when docking and we missed colliding with the dock by about 20 feet. These are details more related to injury prevention but the overall culture and high level of maintenance and compliance gave me confidence that the ship was managed professionally, conservatively and I'm at higher risk driving on the highway. We are booked on the Oceania South Pacific cruise for April this year.

[Funcouple]

In this new post-Concordia world, I wonder how those of you with experience sailing with Oceania rate this line on safety? We have booked a first cruise with them for next year and because I have not found all cruise lines alike, I would greatly appreciate impressions on this from those of you who have cruised Oceania before.

 

Sorry, but pa-lease.......

[Floridiana]

Excellent information, thank you.

In addition to the ship's safety procedures, I find that it is important how seriously passenger take this drill. They all did when we had drills near the lifeboats with our vests on, standing in orderly rows and facing the crew member responsible for our particular group. (Regatta, Statendam)

On the Grand Princess, our muster drill station was without life vests inside a bar. People continued talking throughout the instructions which were difficult to understand anyway at that location. The crew member responsible for our gaggle could do nothing since the bar set-up did not allow him to address and tell everybody to listen to the loudspeaker.

[JPR]

It should be noted that several of the bodies on Concordia were found in life jackets at their muster stations. There were terrible lapses on the part of the crew as well as the captain, it appears.