Backseat Drivers & Other Drama Queens

[mariner]

Having read some of the recent Maasdam postings and the reports from the Norwegian Dawn, I'm puzzled about what has happened to cruise passengers.

I know of at least two instances where passengers have called the Coast Guard with their cell phones to report problems at sea. One was the Dawn. The other was a HAL ship.

In the HAL ship's case, the captain was greeted upon arrival by the Coast Guard who said, ``You hit something and kept going.'' The captain said, ``Had I hit something, I would have called you for help.''

Where do passengers get off thinking they know more about handling ships at sea?

I remember sailing on an 18,000 ton ship in the 70s. We had an Atlantic squall for three days. A deadbolt cover was placed over the portholes in the cabin the entire way down the coast. Did anyone complain? No.

The pax returned from the Dawn and compared the trip to the Titanic. Not so. Fifteen-hundred people never returned from the Titanic.

Why are there so many complaints if the ship is late but it arrives without loss of life? Is missing four hours in Puerto Rico more important than getting home alive?

I'm sorry. I must side with the line on this one. Oceans are not as predictable as brochures and I'll place my bets with captains before the gang in search of a lawyer.

[JDee]

If I ever have to abandon ship, sure hope someone has a fully charged cell phone in our lifeboat..http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

happy cruising.....

[mariner]

No. I'll rely in the radio on the lifeboat. Your cell may not work too far away from land.

[Ziggy7]

No. I'll rely in the radio on the lifeboat. Your cell may not work too far away from land.
Yep cellphones are only good if they are close to land! ie a cell tower, not all land even has cell towers so, my choice is radio too :)

[grannynurse]

Thanks for posting this, it reflects my thoughts exactly.

We had a gentleman on board the Rotterdam who complained about the use of the fog horn, wanting to know why the Captain "kept blowing the damn whistle". We had been in solid fog for about 3/4 of the 34 day trip.

The mind-sets and opinions can been amusing to observe but you wonder if some people are really in touch with reality.
GN

[RevNeal]

I totally agree.
As for cellphones at sea ...
Think "Satellite Phones."
Oh, Lord, help the captains.

On my cruise to Hawaii in 2002 there was a "lady" (I call her that only as a loose figurative term) who was irate about the "boat being broken." At first I thought she was worried about the fact that crew had been working on the engines of one of the life boats for much of the cruise to the Islands. When I asked her what her concern was, I found out that it wasn't the life boat that had her upset, it the ship. "It's broken!" she said.

"How broken?"

"The thingies that keep her stable. She keeps rocking back and forth!"

"Oh, you mean the pitching fore-and-aft?"

"Yes! It's horrible! I've never been on a ship that moved this much!"

I smiled and said, "Ma'm, the ship isn't broken. There's no stabilizer ever invented that will keep the ship from pitching. Stabilizers are intended to keep the ship from yawing port to starboard. For this, the Statendam's work just fine."

The woman looked at me as if I had two heads and replied, haughtily, "Young man [!], I'll have you know that I've been on 4 cruises in the Caribbean and have never felt a ship rocking as bad as this. It must be the ship that's broken!"

"Have you ever been in the Pacific before?" I asked.

"No. Why should that matter?"

"Yes ... it has to do with the size and depth of the Pacific Ocean as compared with the Caribbean Sea."

She "humphed" and turned her back on me as if I was some ignorant child.

Some passengers cannot be told they are wrong. The possibility just doesn't enter their minds.

[doowillie]

Speaking of cell phones, do most of our domestic companies (Verizon in my case) have towers on the Caribbean islands and Central America ?

[Stevesan]

Some passengers cannot be told they are wrong. The possibility just doesn't enter their minds.

Why would you even try???

[Majika]

Speaking of cell phones, do most of our domestic companies (Verizon in my case) have towers on the Caribbean islands and Central America ?

I recall using my Verizon cell phone in St Thomas with no problem. Of course I was charged roaming fees. I don't think it worked in Mexico however. If you are unsure you can call Verizon.

[tomc]

I was invited to join a cruise with a co-worker's husband, a guy who is not only never wrong, but who knows more than anybody -- including the captain. He is a real control freak who won't take "no" for an answer. I turned down the invite. I think a $400 time-share promotion cruise would be a lot more relaxed and enjoyable experience than that.

[discjoker]

I agree that there are way too many backseat drivers and drama queens. People fail to remember that the Captain has ultimate power and ultimate control. Even the passengers are under the Captains command onboard. So, these people who think it is their responsibility to contact the Coast Guard because they think something is wrong really are going over the Captains head in doing so. And I for one am going to trust the Captain over any backseat driver, drama queen, or even myself in a stressful shipboard situation.

[mariner]

One of my favorite comments from the Dawn was a passenger who was on a talk-radio station.

He was complaining that the line ``MADE'' him atend the lifeboat drill. He then complained that the captain didn't prepare to lower the boats in the storm.

When I got my hair cut today, my stylist said, ``Why didn't the ship just stay away from the storm?''

I explained that, from looking at the satellite, there really was nowhere to run. I recounted that in the 1970s, the then-Olympic (now Regal something or other) got caught in a storm and limped back into New York with a bow creased from the pounding waves.

[ekerr19]

Seems like everybody is an authority these days... these are the same folks who think nothing of yakking away on a cell phone while trying to drink coffee and drive a stick shift - "they know how to handle it!" yeah, right. Keep them away from me.

I cannot believe that some of these yah-hoo's had the nerve to call the Coast Guard! Just goes to show how completely self-absorbed so many people are -

[ryansmemom]

if the cruise lines install technology that will allow cell phone service while at sea. Can you see it now? The coast guard will be inundated with call like this:

US Coast Guard: May I help you?

Cruise Ship Passenger: Help us, we are in trouble.

CG: Calm down, tell us what is going on

CSP: I'm on the **** and we are about to sink

CG: We have no official report of a problem

CSP: These idiots have no idea what is going on. I'm telling you we are sinking. This is a boat on the ocean for heaven's sake. I am going to die if you don't get here now!!

CG: What evidence do you have?

CSP: The ship is swaying and I can't even walk properly. I just know that on one of these downswings it will not come back up and these idiots are not doing anything about it. I'm on vacation. No one told me about anything like this.

CG: Well we will contact the Captain and find out what is going on.

CSP: The Captain! What does he have to do with it? He just makes announcements and runs the cocktail parties. That's my point, no one knows what is going on except me!!

CG: We will look into it. I have to go. We are getting a lot of calls right now.

CSP: Well I can believe that, I had a lot of trouble calling you. You need more phone lines. We are at the mercy of these idiots out here. We could all drown. No one tells us what to do in case of an emergency.

CG: Did you attend the lifeboat muster?

CSP: Of course not! I'm on vacation. And anyway, what could they possibly have to tell me that I don't already know. They don't even know the boat is sinking!!

What a nightmare

Linda

[mariner]

Too funny Linda!

If this keeps up, I can see the cruise lines banning cell phones like booze. In fact, the captain can control communications from the vessel. Who would blame him for confiscating the phone and giving it back once the cruise is over.

The poor Coast Guard is swamped with homeland security duties. As if they need to track down dumb calls. I'd be pretty mad as a boater if a few Coasties were tied up doing that and I really needed help.

And yes ekerr, those drivers are too busy transmitting, they don't receive, like, oh, you're stopping.

[wrp96]

People are going to complain. On my last cruise people complained that it was too windy on our sea day, like the Captain could do anything about that. Even in the Caribbean, we were in the Atlantic Ocean in January.

As to cell phones, I had service on my Cingular cell phone throughout most of my cruise (even at sea). It all depends on your carrier and where you are going. Several people who had Nextel and Verizon phones only had service in San Juan and St. Thomas.

[sail7seas]

Great thread.

Thanks for starting it, Mariner.

Seems that the Dawn 'weathered the storm' and all 'souls aboard came safely home. Thanks be to the Captain. He 'done ;) good'!!!!

[CDRMark]

It is in fact a Federal offense to submit a false report to the USCG. Usually if it does not interfere with a REAL emergency, they let them off with a warning or fine. I believe jail time is a possibility.
Imagine if you were endangered because some nimrod filed a bogus report, taking up resources.
Cheers
MarkB

[ryansmemom]

It is in fact a Federal offense to submit a false report to the USCG. Usually if it does not interfere with a REAL emergency, they let them off with a warning or fine. I believe jail time is a possibility.
Imagine if you were endangered because some nimrod filed a bogus report, taking up resources.
Cheers
MarkB

Thank you Mark. That makes a great deal of sense. Calling in a false fire or police alarm is a serious offence and this should be as well. I know that private security companies will fine customers after several false or accidental alarms for the same reason. A misallocation of resources could result in serious consequences for someone with a true emergency.

Linda

[jhannah]

Isn't it concidental that those who know everything and can never be wrong are also those who are the most clueless about the topic at hand? They overheard some folks talking about this or that, and now they themselves are the experts! Yeeesh!

[DFD1]

You're Right On, Mariner. Good thread. Interesting posts all the way thru.

[Gimpster]

A good column in the Wall Street Journal last Friday by a Dawn pax. Page W13.