Costa Concordia Runs Aground / Deaths Reported

[sdlong329]

It takes time to sink a ship. Even the Titanic didn't sink in 5 minutes.

It's sister ship, Britannic, sank in 55 minutes!

 

[sdlong329]

No. It has been mentioned several times in this thread that Disney postponed the drill last year because of the superbowl.
Obviously the Safety drill has to performed within 24 hours after leaving port. Anywhere in the world.

I was not referring to the Wonder. I was surprised Costa did not perform the safety drill prior to port departure, and was asking if this was because it was a non-US based (clientele) cruise ship?

In the nearly 20 cruises I have sailed, all have had their safety muster prior to port departure. So, when you say "obviously" ... "obviously, it is not obvious." If you are on a 2-day cruise, or a 1 day cruise ... you could be back in port within 24 hours.

So, are you saying maritime law mandates the safety muster within 24 hours of .... embarkation ... departure of port?

Steven

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

"We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing," her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61 said. "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. "He said 'take my baby,'" Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.

"I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said.

"I wonder where they are," daughter Valerie whispered.

I was afraid I would hear a story like this, I'm not aware of this cruise line and after hearing about the tragedy I was hoping it would be an adults only cruise. (I'm actually crying and choking up myself reading this to my husband)

 

[kaseyC]

Wow!! Looks like the ship's Captain has been arrested and being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/world/europe/italy-cruise-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[cass'mom]

Breaking News: Captain was arrested for manslaughter and abandoning ship...


http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/world/europe/italy-cruise-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[DMMarla07860]

Im on the superbowl cruise on the Wonder and hoping they will do the drill on the first day.



We( the other people on my cruise and I ) have written to tell them that we want the schedule to stay the same(sail away party,drill etc) and are waiting to get a response telling us what they will be doing.

I am not on the super bowl cruise, but I remember reading that thread talking about this. I wonder if DCL will just do the drill on the first day after this.

 

[cass'mom]

Wow!! Looks like the ship's Captain has been arrested and being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/world/europe/italy-cruise-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Sorry for the redundant post! You beat me to the punch!

 

[kaseyC]

Sorry for the redundant post! You beat me to the punch!

We were within minutes of each other. Great minds think alike!!

 

[lexlaw69]

I was On the magic in the med when it lost power for several hours. It happened in the middle of the night, it was pitch black and scary. They told us it was a simple problem. I didnt believe them When they said it. Always be prepared and I don't think it makes a difference if it's DCL or whoever.

 

[mimmi]

I was not referring to the Wonder. I was surprised Costa did not perform the safety drill prior to port departure, and was asking if this was because it was a non-US based (clientele) cruise ship?

In the nearly 20 cruises I have sailed, all have had their safety muster prior to port departure. So, when you say "obviously" ... "obviously, it is not obvious." If you are on a 2-day cruise, or a 1 day cruise ... you could be back in port within 24 hours.

So, are you saying maritime law mandates the safety muster within 24 hours of .... embarkation ... departure of port?

Steven

Yes I'm saying exactly that. Up to 24 h after departure.
And I mentioned the Wonder because this is an example of a non Europe based ship, that, too, didn't perform the muster drill before departure but the day after.

 

[sayhello]

I suspect those that died were in the bottom of the ship and trapped in flooded compartment below deck.

The BBC reported that one of the dead jumped, and had a heart attack when he hit the water.

Sayhello

 

[Raspberry Beret]

I was On the magic in the med when it lost power for several hours. It happened in the middle of the night, it was pitch black and scary. They told us it was a simple problem. I didnt believe them When they said it. Always be prepared and I don't think it makes a difference if it's DCL or whoever.

Great point, especially before the "this could never happen on DCL" posts start.

 

[Rogillio]

The BBC reported that one of the dead jumped, and had a heart attack when he hit the water.

Sayhello

"Crew were left with a choice of jumping into the water and trying to swim ashore -- and risk waiting for a life boat."​

This boils down to a judgement call. One has to consider how deep the water is, how cold the water is, their own ability to swim, their own health issues, the availability of life boats, their perceived risk that the ship was going under before they could secure a seat in a lifeboat, their ability to swim to shore.

Given that 1/2 of the lifeboats were usless I would think the "elderly, woman and children, wheelchair bound, etc" passengers should take the seats on the lifeboats. I would help as many people as I could and then swim ashore.

 

[holie]

RE hypothermia. Hopothermia is a funtion of time and given how close they are to shore, I think a good swimmer would not have any problem with hypothermia since they would not be in the water that long.

In terms of distance, it was only 400m away. Which is only the length of a running track/oval. But, the more you move, the faster hypothermia kicks in. It might have been better to stay in one place with the life jacket on and waiting for someone to spot the strobe light on the vest than it would be to swim that distance- no matter how good a swimmer you are.

In regards to muster drills; I think every time an accident happens, it changes the future for safety guidelines and precautions. For anything.

 

[rosermama]

I am just shocked that they didn't hail a mayday when it happened and also once they started to rescue people why wouldn't the company release a list of the guests right away to the authorities to account for each person. This is the oddest thing.

As well there have been accounts by people that they didn't account for people once they were on the island.

There seems to be something else going on here

 

[makaylee]

From what I've seen and read here, having the safety drill on the 2nd day is something the Wonder does routinely on the MR cruises.

I bet they don't anymore.

 

[MinnNice]

Adding a flashlight to my list of things to pack. Do NOT want to be in a dark passageway in an emergency!

Anyone know what DCL's policy is if kids are in the clubs at the time of an emergency? Do clubs have their own muster station or do parents come and collect the kids? The thought of being separated from my kids at the time of an emergency like this one makes me freak out just a bit. What if you can't get there?!?

 

[kaseyC]

Interesting. I just read a thread on Cruise Critic about the Costa Concordia and the Carnival Splendor being sister ships. The Splendor was originally supposed to be part of Costa. IIRC, isn't the Splendor the ship that lost all power off the coast of Mexico and drifted for awhile before being towed in.

Costa is a part of the Carnival Corp along with HAL, Cunard, P&O, Princess, Aida, Ibero and Seabourn.

 

[luv2sleep]

I was afraid I would hear a story like this, I'm not aware of this cruise line and after hearing about the tragedy I was hoping it would be an adults only cruise. (I'm actually crying and choking up myself reading this to my husband)

I know. I keep thinking about how I'd handle this with my 4 year old son. Just terrifying.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

From what I've seen and read here, having the safety drill on the 2nd day is something the Wonder does routinely on the MR cruises.

I have cruised 7x on DCL, including twice on the MR cruises in 2011. Never once had a safety drill after leaving port. Where did you see that this is routine? The only thing I have heard of was the Superbowl as previously mentioned on this thread.