Concordia News: Please Post Here

[CostaSmurfette]

In relation to the survivors who I had pleasure in meeting and chatting to, they were all German, French, Italian and Spanish. The cruise was not meant as a memorial type cruise, those survivors were on board purely by chance, there was nothing organised about it.

 

Several met up for the first time since the accident and yes, there were lots of tears tween them all. The pax numbered around 650 along with over 100 of the crew aboard Pacifica who were aboard Concordia that night...plus some of the entertainers too.

 

It was a highly emotive cruise, I got to meet up with a young family from Caen in France who I originally met aboard Costa Allegra in 2010, they were honeymooners back then. They were also aboard Concordia on January 13 last year, the wife was pregnant at the time. The husband had seen me aboard Pacifica and came to find me whilst I was in one of the bars, he introduced me to his 8 month old daughter who was born 3 months after the accident very healthy and a truly adoreable little girl. Meeting him, his wife and their lovely daughter was a highlight for me as is so often the case that you can make friends on a cruise and then lose touch with them, so it was great to be able to catch up with them again. The little girl was named after her late grandma, Maria, and the ship that so easily could have taken her life, Concordia.

 

One abiding thing to come from meeting up with the family again and through chatting to the other survivors was that all have taken steps to move on with their lives and what may surprise many of you is that they hold no mallice towards the Captain and crew aboard Concordia. As they told me, to hold grudges means not getting on with life and life is too short to hold mallice against anyone or anything. As my French family commented....

 

"Pour tromper est humain, pardonner est divin... telle est la vie, nous sommes ici, nous avons survécu et nous continuons à vivre et nous continuerons de croisière avec Costa, erreur d'un homme n'est pas une raison suffisante pour arrêter ce que nous aimons le plus."

 

Which in English is "To err is human, to forgive is divine...such is life, we are here, we survived and we continue to live and we will continue to cruise with Costa, one man's error is not reason enough to stop what we enjoy the most."

[SomeBeach]

A few new pictures for us to look at.

 

http://www.giglionews.it/2013010659346/news/isola-del-giglio/rimozione-relazione-settimanale-dal-29-dicembre-al-4-gennaio.html#addcomments

 

I copied this in English but it's in Italian. Click on Visualizza Relazione to view the charts and pix.

Edited January 6, 2013 by SomeBeach

[Ken711]

A few new pictures for us to look at.

 

http://www.giglionews.it/2013010659346/news/isola-del-giglio/rimozione-relazione-settimanale-dal-29-dicembre-al-4-gennaio.html#addcomments

 

I copied this in English but it's in Italian. Click on Visualizza Relazione to view the charts and pix.

 

Nice to see the how they dismantled the funnel.

[clive and anne]

Thanks for that Micki and Ken.

I think I have been so used to seeing the funnel in situ I was surprised by the sheer size of the parts of the funnel, but not sure why I should be surprised.

I noticed on Friday that what I think is a supply ship was first docked alongside the accomodation barge and later that day it appeared to move back towards where the funnel had been removed. By the morning the supply ship had left. I wondered if the move towards the funnel area was to remove what had been removed from the site.

This morning the supply ship is back so I am watching to see if it leaves loaded up on the flat deck.

[SomeBeach]

Some tourists had an oops moment whilst attempting to get close to Concordia.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/01/07/costa-concordia-tourist-boat/1813277/

[SomeBeach]

Giglio plans for Jan 13th.

Ceremonies and remember next Sunday on the Island of Giglio where it is celebrated the first anniversary of the sinking of the Costa Concordia. The first gesture, at 8 pm, will be the installation of the rock torn from the ship's hull where it was, at Scole, with a commemorative plaque. So a wreath will be placed in Punta Gabbianara. Mass for the repose of the victims will instead be celebrated by the Bishop of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, Guglielmo Borghetti with the choir of Giglio, at 11 in the Church of St Laurence and Mamiliano, the same where on the night of January 13 last year many of the survivors found refuge. In that same church at 12:15 there will be a commemoration, the delivery of honors "the charity and solidarity" in memory of Father Luciano Baffigi and the allocation of honorary citizenships. At 15:30 at Pier Red will be laid a memorial the victims of the sinking and Piazza della Dogana, a plaque commemorating the gestures of solidarity gigliesi. Again in the afternoon, at 18 to Giglio Castello, in the church Saints Peter and Paul, a concert dedicated to solidarity, while at 21:45 , time of the collision, a minute of silence will be followed by the sound of the sirens of the boats in the harbor and the launch of lanterns light.

[sidari]

Hard to believe that almost a year has passed since that night of the 13th January.

[watertheodds]

Hey Uniall, this is off subject but I noticed you have been on the Norwegian Star a couple of times. I am thinking of a quick, strictly R & R cruise and wondered what you thought of the Star...food, entertainment, cruising from NOLA? Have only cruised on Norwegian once on the Dawn out of NYC and it wasn't the best experience for me. Thanks.

[Uniall]

Hey Uniall, this is off subject but I noticed you have been on the Norwegian Star a couple of times. I am thinking of a quick, strictly R & R cruise and wondered what you thought of the Star...food, entertainment, cruising from NOLA? Have only cruised on Norwegian once on the Dawn out of NYC and it wasn't the best experience for me. Thanks.

 

That's a tough one since each cruisers likes and dislikes depend so much on individual tastes. I've found the Star's Hotel Directors, Food & Beverage Directors, and Cruise Directors to be some of the best I've met, friendly, personable, and responsive to guests.

 

I did the Dawn for a Christmas Cruise and enjoyed it as well.

 

So, I'm not sure if my report fits with your needs. If you tell me the casues of your negative reaction to the Dawn, it might give me a better fix on my advice.

[watertheodds]

Primary complaints on the Dawn were food venues so crowded it took forever to get a table. We finally gave up and most of the time ended up in the Red Lion Pub for fish and chips. My other problem was if we stayed in our room late in the morning - it didn't get cleaned all day. Basically, they told us if we weren't out by 11 am we were out of luck. Our vacation as long as on their schedule. I had quite a hissy over this and had a sit down with the hotel manager towards the end of the week. Otherwise, thought the entertainment was great, liked the casino and the room was adequate. Just curious as the Star is a little older ship - is it shabby? Most pics I seen it looks pretty good.

[Uniall]

Primary complaints on the Dawn were food venues so crowded it took forever to get a table. We finally gave up and most of the time ended up in the Red Lion Pub for fish and chips. My other problem was if we stayed in our room late in the morning - it didn't get cleaned all day. Basically, they told us if we weren't out by 11 am we were out of luck. Our vacation as long as on their schedule. I had quite a hissy over this and had a sit down with the hotel manager towards the end of the week. Otherwise, thought the entertainment was great, liked the casino and the room was adequate. Just curious as the Star is a little older ship - is it shabby? Most pics I seen it looks pretty good.

 

I guess my first question would be to ask: did your cabin service improve after meeting with the Hotel Director.

 

In my experience, NCL's hallmark of service is to respond quckly to rectify complaint and encourage guests to escalate complaints to a higher level.

 

Why don't you take a look at how other Cruise Critics rate the two ships.

 

NCL Dawn: Into Service 2002 - Refurbished 2011

 

www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=265&kw=73028&eagid=1365531489&eng=CCSEM&content=&gclid=CIL_0L-P2rQCFQioPAodbzsASg

 

 

NCL Star: Into Sevice 2001 - Refurbished 2010

www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=198

 

John

 

PS

Just to avoid any "Off Topic" complaints, neither the NCL Star nor the NCL Dawn have ever been run aground in a sail by salute and capsized. LOL

Edited January 9, 2013 by Uniall

[watertheodds]

Just to avoid any "Off Topic" complaints, neither the NCL Star nor the NCL Dawn have ever been run aground in a sail by salute and capsized. LOL

 

Good point. I have done some reading on the NCL forum and I have been pretty impressed. It was late in the week when I talked to the hotel mgr on the Dawn cruise so there was really not time to notice an improvement. I just felt like you would give me the 411 I wanted. In any event we got this thread back up at the top of the page. I am ready for some new info on the upcoming trial. Wish they would get with it.

[sidari]

watertheodds .... Though it pains me to agree with uniall i have to say that the officers on our two NCL cruises have been some of the best we have encountered .... :)

 

Our CC group on our second Jade cruise (as on the 1st) met all the heads of departments who came to the meeting along with the Captain, there were about 30 people there who were each given a card with mobile/cell contact numbers for those who attended apart of course from the Captain.

 

We were told that if anyone had any issues to call the relevant person on their mobile/cell number and it would be dealt with as soon as possible.

 

We have found that if you ask nicely and treat the staff how you would like to be treated you usually get something rather than those who Demand who usually do not! the Hotel Director a very nice guy called Dennis from Croatia helped us with a problem and we were given a free upgrade to a Balcony cabin on our second week.

 

So i would suggest that it may be worth going along to the CC meeting onboard if someone has arranged one to meet the officers.

[Uniall]

watertheodds .... Though it pains me to agree with uniall i have to say that the officers on our two NCL cruises have been some of the best we have encountered .... :)

 

Our CC group on our second Jade cruise (as on the 1st) met all the heads of departments who came to the meeting along with the Captain, there were about 30 people there who were each given a card with mobile/cell contact numbers for those who attended apart of course from the Captain.

 

We were told that if anyone had any issues to call the relevant person on their mobile/cell number and it would be dealt with as soon as possible.

 

We have found that if you ask nicely and treat the staff how you would like to be treated you usually get something rather than those who Demand who usually do not! the Hotel Director a very nice guy called Dennis from Croatia helped us with a problem and we were given a free upgrade to a Balcony cabin on our second week.

 

So i would suggest that it may be worth going along to the CC meeting onboard if someone has arranged one to meet the officers.

 

Sid

Like you, it pains me to finally agree with you. Let's not make a habit of it... LOL

 

I believe you're referring to Hotel Director Dennis Prguda (no "e") who is a Prince among men. (doesn't that sound British ? LOL)

 

John

[watertheodds]

Oh believe me - I am super nice and tip our cabin person like crazy - I think we just got a bad one and they get weeded out pretty fast. The problem was my sis and I are gamblers and we would stay up late in the casino and then sleep in and laze around in the morning and it didn't work with his personal schedule. This was also probably about 5 years ago so I am sure I just had an unusual circumstance. That is why I asked and you have confirmed it was probably a fluke. Thanks for yours and Sidari's responses. Now, you two get back to disagreeing!

[watertheodds]

Oh believe me - I am super nice and tip our cabin person like crazy - I think we just got a bad one and they get weeded out pretty fast. The problem was my sis and I are gamblers and we would stay up late in the casino and then sleep in and laze around in the morning and it didn't work with his personal schedule. This was also probably about 5 years ago so I am sure I just had an unusual circumstance. That is why I asked and you have confirmed it was probably a fluke. Thanks for yours and Sidari's responses. Now, you two get back to disagreeing!

[watertheodds]

Oh believe me - I am super nice and tip our cabin person like crazy - I think we just got a bad one and they get weeded out pretty fast. The problem was my sis and I are gamblers and we would stay up late in the casino and then sleep in and laze around in the morning and it didn't work with his personal schedule. This was also probably about 5 years ago so I am sure I just had an unusual circumstance. That is why I asked and you have confirmed it was probably a fluke. Thanks for yours and Sidari's responses. Now, you two get back to disagreeing!

[watertheodds]

Ok - didn't mean for you to "believe me " three times......Computer or operator error, you decide.

[SomeBeach]

Ok - didn't mean for you to "believe me " three times......Computer or operator error, you decide.

 

Odds, CC has been having some "delay" in postings for about a week now. They are working on the problem. Don't hit Submit Reply more than once. If it looks like your post isn't coming up, hit your stop loading page on your puter. Then leave the page and come back in a minute or so to see if your post did show up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As we all know, it is coming up on one year since the accident. Giglio has some plans for Sunday, Jan 13th.

"Ceremonies and remember next Sunday on the Island of Giglio where it is celebrated the first anniversary of the sinking of the Costa Concordia. The first gesture, at 8 pm, will be the installation of the rock torn from the ship's hull where it was, at Scole, with a commemorative plaque. So a wreath will be placed in Punta Gabbianara. Mass for the repose of the victims will instead be celebrated by the Bishop of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, Guglielmo Borghetti with the choir of Giglio, at 11 in the Church of St Laurence and Mamiliano, the same where on the night of January 13 last year many of the survivors found refuge. In that same church at 12:15 there will be a commemoration, the delivery of honors "the charity and solidarity" in memory of Father Luciano Baffigi and the allocation of honorary citizenships. At 15:30 at Pier Red will be laid a memorial the victims of the sinking and Piazza della Dogana, a plaque commemorating the gestures of solidarity gigliesi. Again in the afternoon, at 18 to Giglio Castello, in the church Saints Peter and Paul, a concert dedicated to solidarity, while at 21:45 , time of the collision, a minute of silence will be followed by the sound of the sirens of the boats in the harbor and the launch of lanterns light."

[SomeBeach]

Lawsuit...

http://www.metro.us/newyork/national/article/1159355--costa-concordia-disaster-lawyers-to-take-action-against-ship-s-owners

 

Tho I think we've probably seen most of them already, this link has some photos.

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Photos+Costa+Concordia+salvage+gets+underway/7792478/story.html

 

With the one year anniversary, we may have some news reports to catch us up on when any court proceedings will occur.

[SomeBeach]

Hard to believe that almost a year has passed since that night of the 13th January.

 

I can't help but think of those that lost loved ones and especially the 2 families that have not had closure with the recovery of their loved ones.

Tho I believe we have seen most of them, this link has some photos.

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Photos+Costa+Concordia+salvage+gets+underway/7792478/story.html

 

I think as the weekend approaches we may hear some updates on Concordia, both the salvage operations and court proceedings.

[sidari]

Uni .... Dennis is the very man .... :D he took us by suprise at the CC meeting when he asked to have a photo with us wearing our washy Washy T shirts, people were going to the onboard shop trying to buy them .... :) if only Airline luggage weights were higher we could have made a killing lol.

 

Any updated news on the Ferry that hit the pier in NYC ?

Edited January 9, 2013 by sidari

[SomeBeach]

Latest update via newsprint...

Updated at 3:35 p.m. ET -- A commuter ferry packed with more than 300 passengers crashed into a dock in Lower Manhattan early Wednesday, injuring 74, at least two critically. Nine people were also in serious condition, officials said.

 

Waiting for evening news for more. Course we already know drug tests and an investigation are underway.

[sidari]

This story is from October 2012, but interesting if all other cases are referred back to Italy. Other stories on the page.

 

http://seatrade-insider.com/News/Costa-Concordia/US-judge-dismisses-Concordia-suit-by-Giglio-businesses.html

Edited January 10, 2013 by sidari

[SomeBeach]

Checking out the port today I noticed that the media has started to assemble on Giglio. One could clearly see cameras on tri-pods and at least one man with a news camera on his shoulder. Coming off the ferry were at least two vans with satellite equipment on top of them.

In checking for other news, I came across this.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/10/abandoned-ship-new-book-details-honeymooners-costa-concordia-nightmare.html