flagger Posted February 4, 2006 #1 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I had a second engineer on Infinity tell me on our tour that they could evacuate the entire ship using only half the lifeboats and rafts (on one side) within IIRC 30-45 minutes. I have to wonder if that is a realistic time frame. I see pictures of the insides of Carnival ships and RCCI with their huge centrums and I wonder about the chimney effect of an out of control fire. I think when panic sets in, there easily could be another disaster at sea that would dwarf the loss of life of Titanic. It reminds me of those safety demonstration videos where the masks drop from the ceiling and there is no blowing wind and debris from rapid decompression and of course everyone CALMLY puts on their masks. This thought of course will not keep me from cruising, but it does make me pause and wonder just how the public and possibly the crew would react to an actual life threatening emergency at sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovetheSea Posted February 4, 2006 #2 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I don't worry about sinking. A fire maybe or the ship tipping over like when the Norwegian Sun's auto pilot malfunctioned and the ship leaned way over. It would be like being in a skyscraper and suddenly it tipped over! I also think cruise ships are sitting ducks for terrorists. It would be too easy to come up to a ship in a small boat full of explosives. When the ship is not in port. Remember what happened on the Cole. But we can't be worry worts, or we would never leave our house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdawson Posted February 4, 2006 #3 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Life is full of potential hazards, of all kinds. I am not going to worry about them. I already have enough gray hair. Now, may I have and extra order of escargot? Also the creme brulet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuggers Posted February 4, 2006 #4 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Bad stuff happens all the time but if you constantly worry about what ifs you don't enjoy life as much as you can. I prefer to ENJOY life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 4, 2006 #5 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Not in the least...life is in the living, not in fearing to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druke I Posted February 4, 2006 #6 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Danno's answer fits my attitude also. Life continues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasale Posted February 4, 2006 #7 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Life is for living and I have always proceeded to enjoy whatever I wanted without fear. Thankfully I have lived through enough of them that I believe I make better choices today. The one emotion I have never felt on a cruise is fear and I should like to think that I will keep feeling this way! Anyone want to assign me their tickets? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJJQ Posted February 4, 2006 #8 Share Posted February 4, 2006 The ferries that are used over often go down. They are overloaded and doubt ever inspected to see if they are safe. Doubt they even have what we would think is necessary floatation gear for passengers. On a cruise ship many think the mandatory drill that first day is funny but the ship wants to keep us safe and first step is making us aware what they have if the unspeakable happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuggers Posted February 4, 2006 #9 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Here's some new news: Survivors of the Red Sea ferry disaster said its captain fled the burning ship by lifeboat and abandoned them to their fate, as hopes faded on Saturday of finding some 800 missing. Some passengers plucked alive from the sea or from boats after the ferry caught fire and sank early on Friday said crew had told them not to worry about a fire below deck and even ordered them to take off lifejackets Shades of Oceana!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tawcat Posted February 4, 2006 #10 Share Posted February 4, 2006 my dw and i have always said, if we get caught in an emergency at sea, we would find our way to the nearest lounge, fix us a drink(s) and dance our final dance. one has to realize that there are limitations to everything and we really believe when there is a disaster at sea, good very seldom comes out of these. whether it be an incident like the titanic or a rouge wave, stuff like that can turn for the worse very quickly. imagine what would have happened had the NCL Norway experienced its explosion at sea rather than in port!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisiamc Posted February 4, 2006 #11 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Sometimes it's not so bad. Remember the Achille Lauro (not the hijacking, but the final fire?) This link talks about thow they managed to successfully evacuate the passengers and crew (except for 3 dead and eight injured) when she caught fire and sank in 1994. The crews take their fire/emergency precautions seriously, and the chances of surviving something similar would actually be pretty good. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy & George Posted February 4, 2006 #12 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I agree with Danno...life is for LIVING not Fearing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkringen Posted February 4, 2006 #13 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I think I have a better chance of slipping in the shower. Michelle in SoCal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmand Posted February 4, 2006 #14 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Nope, never give it a thought. I may be naive here but I do think that while some people may initially panic in an emergency the majority will not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted February 4, 2006 #15 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Here's some new news: Survivors of the Red Sea ferry disaster said its captain fled the burning ship by lifeboat and abandoned them to their fate, as hopes faded on Saturday of finding some 800 missing. Some passengers plucked alive from the sea or from boats after the ferry caught fire and sank early on Friday said crew had told them not to worry about a fire below deck and even ordered them to take off lifejackets Shades of Oceana!! One of the first Travel Reviews I ever read was from the new york times travel section many, many years ago. It was a review of a river boat trip down the Nile. Unfortunately, the boat (and it was a boat) ran into problerms and it was about to sink. The author told of the entire crew abandoning ship, pushing passengers aside to get to the lifeboats. Fortunately, the "review" was written as sort of a comedy (I guess because all of the passengers made it to shore, inspite of the crocodiles!). BUT I sorta, kinda think that on one of these ships, it's every man for him(her)self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma Bell Posted February 4, 2006 #16 Share Posted February 4, 2006 All I can say is I'd rather go while seeing the world and enjoying myself, than sitting at home worrying about what I may encounter.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Sweet Posted February 4, 2006 #17 Share Posted February 4, 2006 All I can say is I'd rather go while seeing the world and enjoying myself, than sitting at home worrying about what I may encounter.:) I agree with you, and this thread has reminded me of my favorite quote from Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arabrab Posted February 5, 2006 #18 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Taking ferries in second or third world countries is a risky proposition. Yes, accidents happen everywhere, but the myriad sinkings and capsizings of ferry boats that are always overloaded and always without the requisite safety equipment is way too common a story. We're probably luck that there aren't a lot more. Cheers, Barb K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chessbriar Posted February 6, 2006 #19 Share Posted February 6, 2006 When it comes to cruise ships, I tend to agree with everyone else. As Buffet puts it, "I'd rather die while I'm living, than live while I'm dead." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted February 6, 2006 #20 Share Posted February 6, 2006 I suppose I put my trust in the officers and crew and a cruise ship such as Celebrity must have the very best. I gave no thought about my cruises when I heard of this awful tragedy, but it did have more of an impact having been on the high seas and imagining what it must have been like for those poor people. The ferry was about 11,000 tonnes, one seventh the size of Galaxy or Mercury. Looking at the number of passengers on board, that would have been the equavalent of nearly 10,000 on a C-Class ship. Built in 1970 it had three extra decks added after being sold a few years ago by an Italian company worried about its safety. Add to that the inherent instability of a Ro-Ro ferry (read Herald of Free Enterprise) and there is absolutely no comparison with a modern cruise ship, so I guess it doesn't make me worry at all. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted February 7, 2006 #21 Share Posted February 7, 2006 We don't worry about it - the waters are warm and fat floats ... we'll be fine!:D Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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