Not Enough Life Boats For All

[MarkRG]

Yes, some cruise lines DO use a few of their lifeboats as tenders. That is because of the amount of tendering they do. Disney tries to avoid running tenders as much as possible, with infrequest ones at most ports always at Grand Cayman, and never at Castaway Cay, their private island where they dock.

I am personally happy with this, as I think relying on a lifeboat that has double duty as being regularly used as a tender might be a weakness. And again, how frequesntly do you see a newer major cruise line ship in need of their lifeboats? Disney has come close exactly once.

 

[CheapMom]

Disney has come close exactly once.

WHAT HAPPENED?

 

[MarkRG]

They had a grease fire in the garbage incinerator which is inside one of the stacks. They actually called everyone to the lifeboat stations at 2 in the morning, but got the accident under control and resumed the trip.

 

[neosnightmare]

Originally posted by MarkRG
They had a grease fire in the garbage incinerator which is inside one fo the stacks. They actually called everyone to the lifeboat stations at 2 in the morning, but got the accident under control and resumed the trip.

damn i never heard that 1. that sux

 

[Otimon]

Going anyway

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by MarkRG
They had a grease fire in the garbage incinerator which is inside one of the stacks. They actually called everyone to the lifeboat stations at 2 in the morning, but got the accident under control and resumed the trip.

Was anyone here on the DIS on the fire cruise?

 

[MarkRG]

There were a number, I'm sure someone will mention it- it was quite a while ago now. This is where I read about it then.

Here's a link to some pics on Castaway Club that shows the extent of the damage. http://www.disneycruiser.info/fire.htm

Don't panicky about it- it was a very rare thing.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

During the Christmas Eastern in 2001 there was a fire onboard. It was probably small because we didn't get called to our stations. The captain came over the intercom around 2 or 3am to let us know and to tell us it was under control. Then he came back on a short while later to tell us everything was taken care of. It was very eerie hearing his voice in our cabin at that time of the morning/night.

 

[minnieluvzmickey]

Or you get eaten by a shark!

 

[HLFDZN]

Funny I sailed Royal Carribean in February and they used private tender operators that lived locally. They did NOT use their own lifeboats as Tenders. The one in Grand Cayman was a double decker open tour boat and the one in Belize was a speedy little covered boat. All had local staff....not Royal Carribean staff. I guess it probably depends on the ship you sail. I was on the Nordic Empress and perhaps since it is an older ship, this is the way they do it with that ship. At any rate, it was not a really pleasant experience for us. Melissa

 

[bostonlass]

Has anyone ever watched the Titanic the night before sailing?

 

[txtara]

ok...I will take a stab....I was on the Magic that caught fire in the middle of the night.... scariest experience of my life....anyway....
we asked and were told that all crew member would be on rafts and all passengers would be in boats......

 

[inkkognito]

Hubby and I used to joke all the time because it seemed like Titanic was on cable t.v. a day or two before every one of our cruises for a while! It hasn't been on lately, but then for a while Final Destination was on all the time. For a paranoid flyer like me, that was even worse. I can swim if there is a problem on the ship, but I can't fly if there is a problem on the plane!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[giljr]

My wife and I went to a Titanic artifact exhibit here in Tampa the week before we went on our cruise in January. When you start the tour, you are given a "boarding pass" that has the name of one of the original passengers on it. When you get to the end, you compare your boarding pass to lists of passengers who lived and died. I "died" but my wife was rescued.

We both got a chuckle out the fact that we went to this exhibit the week before we were going on a cruise. But we were glad we did. It was extremely well done.

I just think that times are so different now, especially on Caribbean iteneraries. You are never very far from another ship, and most nights you can see either land or another ship in the distance sometime during the night. I think cruising is safer than either driving or flying. Not to mention it is a whole lot more fun!

 

[inkkognito]

We did the Titanic exhibit, too, when it was in Chicago. Both my husband and I were rescued, but I had to laugh because he was Ismay!! I don't know if I'm spelling that right, but it was the White Star owner or top manager who lived because he barged his way onto a lifeboat.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[2tinksmom]

All the talk about man-eating sharks...so glad I'm a woman!!
Michele

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

All the talk about man-eating sharks...so glad I'm a woman!!

@ Michelle

NCRedding: Sorry I didn't get to answer you yesterday, we were out and about, it was gorgeous here yesterday. Looks like your questions been covered though.

 

[disneyophile]

Does anyone else wonder where the posting in response to this thread is from the Official Disney people?

If passenger safety was truely something we should be seriously concerned with while crusing, wouldn't we have heard a lot more about it before now? The press takes these kind of stories and hypes them up to tantilize us into "tuning in" or "reading on" that we certainly would be much more informed about all the safety short comings while at sea.

Let's just enjoy making our plans and looking forward to our wonderful vacations, and not make Mountains out of molehills.

 

[hughiedeweylouie]

OK, this is one thread I won't let my children read! You guys are freaking me out!

 

[wildcatwmn]

When my ex-H and I sailed on Princess, they used the lifeboats as tenders. As an ex-boat owner, I think this is a great idea as it keeps things in running order. Salt water and sitting marine engines don't go together well...lol.

As another point of reference, the only time I have been in a fire situation in all my travels was at the Courtyard with DS 2 years ago in DD. We came back from dinner and the hotel was closed off because some nimrod had left a cigarette burning and caught the mattress on fire, and burned the whole room (and it was a non-smoking room). They had to move a whole bunch of people because of water damage. They made us wait in the atrium abd finally let us back into our room at 10:00pm. I got DS to bed but I couldn't sleep. I finally fell asleep only to wake to the alarms at 12:00 am! The Fire Department was "resetting" them. Needless to say, I didn't sleep the rest of the night. DS was fine tho...lol....slept through the whole thing.