Pointing Fingers at Carnival

[templed]

... don't get me wrong... I don't have a problem with the letter either...

I mean seriously though... thinking strategically about it... I honestly expected to see something like this...

Call me cold... callous... but I expected that sort of response from Carnival's competitors.

 

[darkwing818]

It's probably just me, but having reread the e-mail from the CEO of RCl a few times; I just find it to be in poor taste.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Because when the Captain took the ship off course it August, Costa had approved that deviation and Costa ploted a new, approved course.

This time the Captain didn't tell Costa, didn't get his route approved or plotted and hit something.

Where is it saided Costa *plotted* the allegedly approved courses themselves?.........Thier 1st posting was that thier ships never did*tourist/navigation*/*showboating*......then they said they did, but it was approved.etc.etc.etc....

My point is........don't beleive much of what Costa is saying,thier lawylers have been in damage control mode since day 1!.


When all the facts are out there is going to be alot of blame to spread around. I think some of the Costa line directors maybe facing charges as well.

AKK

 

[DisneyManFamily4]

Is Celebrity owned by Carnival? I got this letter from them today:

Dear Jennifer,

Like you, all of us at Celebrity Cruises, both shipboard and shoreside, are deeply saddened by the events surrounding the tragic Costa Concordia accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the incident.

I debated about writing to you, as I wanted to be respectful of the investigation process and avoid adding to the speculation as to the cause or related failures. However, the concerns that have been raised about the safety of cruise ships compelled me to take the opportunity to share what an intense focus we have always placed on safety, and how rigorously we put that focus into practice every day.

Since Celebrity Cruises’ founding more than 20 years ago, the safety of our guests and crew has always been our highest priority. The measures we take in the interest of safety are many, often exceeding regulatory requirements. It’s a critical part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.

Our guests see just a portion of our safety practices through the mandatory muster drills we conduct at the outset of every sailing. But our safety practices encompass so much more. In light of the Costa Concordia accident, we chose to post a summary of our safety practices on our web site. Simply go to, www.CelebrityCruises.com/Safety, and click on the tab labeled "Safety and Security". I encourage you to take a look, and to share the information with your family and friends.

Above and beyond what we’ve communicated there, you also may be interested to know that the leader of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains is a highly experienced former officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, Greg Purdy. As the head of our Marine Operations Department, Greg’s highest priority is to guide and monitor the safety of our fleet. His own experience at sea, including serving as Captain of a Coast Guard vessel, combined with his depth of knowledge of cruise ship safety, ensures that he and the entire Celebrity Marine team continue to build on our strong safety culture.

Our Captains across the Celebrity fleet hold degrees from some of the world’s finest maritime institutions. You also may be surprised to know that, along with the Captain, every one of our ships has at least two other officers who hold the level of license required to serve as Captain of a cruise ship. Essentially, we have three people onboard every Celebrity ship who qualify as a Captain.

On average, each of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains has 25 years of seagoing experience. Besides the training and drills we conduct onboard, our Captains and their bridge teams also participate in navigation simulator courses and other training. One of the cornerstones of our training is that everyone is expected to speak up if they detect something wrong, regardless of their rank. Our shipboard officers and our shoreside team spend a considerable amount of time focused on how we can continually improve our safety procedures.

Along with our vast in-house expertise, we also rely on a group of experts known as our Maritime Safety Advisory Board. The group was established in 2006 to help guide our safety program and provide critical thinking from the world’s leading marine safety experts. The group includes former senior officials from the US and UK Coast Guards, as well as leadership from the academic world.

Our Chairman Richard Fain has said there’s no such thing as perfect safety, but there is such a thing as perfect dedication to safety. And that’s what we strive for daily.

Whether you’re a longtime cruiser, or have yet to sail with Celebrity, I hope you’ll help us reinforce the fact that cruising continues to maintain the best safety record of any industry in the travel business.

Our highly skilled and dedicated crew members look forward to welcoming you onboard soon to provide you with an outstanding vacation experience. Meanwhile, I thank you for your continued support of our brand and our business.

Sincerely,


Dan Hanrahan President & CEO

Somehow this one seems to emphasize safety and I like that they acknowledged the "tragic Costa Concordia accident" and made their point about safety with all the extra details. I appreciate the personal tone of the letter, the RCCL letter seemed to have a colder tone to it, IMO.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

IMO, the Celebrity email was worse and goes into too much detail about how safe "they're" Captain's are. The whole I debated about writing to you part is BS.
He wanted to send that email straight away to protect the business he is in charge of.

I think the RCI email was in better taste, more succinct and didn't get too involved in the how our Captains have an average of x number of year's at sea. Didn't Francesco Schettino have a similar number of year's at sea under his belt?

I'm glad DCL haven't done the same, but I would have liked them to have put a pop-up banner directing people visiting their site to their safety and security page.

Ex Techie

Is Celebrity owned by Carnival? I got this letter from them today:

Dear Jennifer,

Like you, all of us at Celebrity Cruises, both shipboard and shoreside, are deeply saddened by the events surrounding the tragic Costa Concordia accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the incident.

I debated about writing to you, as I wanted to be respectful of the investigation process and avoid adding to the speculation as to the cause or related failures. However, the concerns that have been raised about the safety of cruise ships compelled me to take the opportunity to share what an intense focus we have always placed on safety, and how rigorously we put that focus into practice every day.

Since Celebrity Cruises’ founding more than 20 years ago, the safety of our guests and crew has always been our highest priority. The measures we take in the interest of safety are many, often exceeding regulatory requirements. It’s a critical part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.

Our guests see just a portion of our safety practices through the mandatory muster drills we conduct at the outset of every sailing. But our safety practices encompass so much more. In light of the Costa Concordia accident, we chose to post a summary of our safety practices on our web site. Simply go to, www.CelebrityCruises.com/Safety, and click on the tab labeled "Safety and Security". I encourage you to take a look, and to share the information with your family and friends.

Above and beyond what we’ve communicated there, you also may be interested to know that the leader of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains is a highly experienced former officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, Greg Purdy. As the head of our Marine Operations Department, Greg’s highest priority is to guide and monitor the safety of our fleet. His own experience at sea, including serving as Captain of a Coast Guard vessel, combined with his depth of knowledge of cruise ship safety, ensures that he and the entire Celebrity Marine team continue to build on our strong safety culture.

Our Captains across the Celebrity fleet hold degrees from some of the world’s finest maritime institutions. You also may be surprised to know that, along with the Captain, every one of our ships has at least two other officers who hold the level of license required to serve as Captain of a cruise ship. Essentially, we have three people onboard every Celebrity ship who qualify as a Captain.

On average, each of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains has 25 years of seagoing experience. Besides the training and drills we conduct onboard, our Captains and their bridge teams also participate in navigation simulator courses and other training. One of the cornerstones of our training is that everyone is expected to speak up if they detect something wrong, regardless of their rank. Our shipboard officers and our shoreside team spend a considerable amount of time focused on how we can continually improve our safety procedures.

Along with our vast in-house expertise, we also rely on a group of experts known as our Maritime Safety Advisory Board. The group was established in 2006 to help guide our safety program and provide critical thinking from the world’s leading marine safety experts. The group includes former senior officials from the US and UK Coast Guards, as well as leadership from the academic world.

Our Chairman Richard Fain has said there’s no such thing as perfect safety, but there is such a thing as perfect dedication to safety. And that’s what we strive for daily.

Whether you’re a longtime cruiser, or have yet to sail with Celebrity, I hope you’ll help us reinforce the fact that cruising continues to maintain the best safety record of any industry in the travel business.

Our highly skilled and dedicated crew members look forward to welcoming you onboard soon to provide you with an outstanding vacation experience. Meanwhile, I thank you for your continued support of our brand and our business.

Sincerely,


Dan Hanrahan President & CEO

Somehow this one seems to emphasize safety and I like that they acknowledged the "tragic Costa Concordia accident" and made their point about safety with all the extra details. I appreciate the personal tone of the letter, the RCCL letter seemed to have a colder tone to it, IMO.

 

[Yokelridesagain]

Celebrity and RCCL are owned by the same company. Interesting that they made the decision to send two different messages.

I agree with the PP who said that the most bothersome thing about the originial email was the "Carnival Corporation" part...that was just gratuitous. I don't buy that many passengers feel that Carnival might own RCCL.

 

["Got Disney"]

I also hold the Carnival Corp responsible.....they were to over sea(pun intended) all their captains...this guy has done this a few times and was just lucky enough not to have it happen sooner.....they new he was a loaded cannon yet they kept him on as a captain in their fleet/Corporation......

I have no problem with RCC sending out a letter reassuring all their cruisers that they are on top of it......many that sail wonder if the cruise lines are really ready for such a tragedy.....I wonder myself even with all the cruises behind my belt....

I don't find what they did tasteless ....JMO :good vibes


I don't see any finger pointing in the letter...please show me where it is...I might have over looked what you are calling in bad taste?

 

[JessicasMom]

Hmm--I find the email the OP received very interesting. Looks as though RCCL is worried that there will be a chill throughout the entire cruise industry as a result of the Costa disaster.
As a loyal HAL (which is also owned by Carnival) passenger, I have received no communication at all from HAL, or Carnival.
It seems that Carnival Corp. is sticking its' head in the ground, and hoping nobody notices. I expect Carnival will do its' best to distance itself from Costa, particularly in light of what I expect will be the massive lawsuits resulting from the sinking.

I doubt they're sticking their heads in the sand, but Carnival has to tread very lightly now, so as not to seem callous or self-serving. It's been well publicized that Carnival owns Costa. I received both emails, from Celebrity and RCI, and I didn't find them to be in poor taste. My first reaction was that these are marketing measures to boost business, not specifically to take anything away from Carnival, but to reassure worried consumers who aren't booking cruises this month. Like all tragedies, the shock wears off and things go back to normal, but it does take time. Of course, these lines want to do damage-control, but I don't think they want to appear self-serving, either.

All I know is, while anything is possible, I have complete confidence in DCL safety .

 

[woody73]

I get weekly emails from many cruise lines. I do not find Celebrity or RCCL's recent e-mail letters in bad taste. If any cruise line wants to send an e-mail addressing safety, I would welcome it.

Woody

 

[Disney Dreams]

I don't have issue with the Carnival email, EXCEPT for this part:
"As a Crown & Anchor Society member and loyal Royal Caribbean guest, we know you may have some questions as the situation continues to unfold."

There is no need for this, as they cannot answer the questions that arise from the situation because it was not their ship. The rest, I'm okay with.

- Dreams

 

[Iceman93]

I think the RCI email was in better taste, more succinct and didn't get too involved in the how our Captains have an average of x number of year's at sea.

I guess this shows just how difficult corporate communications must be in a situation like this. I couldn't disagree with you more! I thought the Celebrity letter was intelligently written, conveyed the proper tone, and focused on themselves while the RCCL was a cheap shot, plain and simple!