Costa Concordia - a year on

[editor@cruisecritic]

It's natural that, nearly one year after the tragic capsizing of Costa Concordia we're hearing a lot of buzz about it just now. And so we wondered:
At this point, has the tragedy impacted your feelings about cruising? Please vote in our poll, and feel free to comment beyond that, below.

Thanks.

Carolyn Spencer Brown
Editor in Chief
Cruise Critic

[susie8862]

Not even for a second. We have booked 3 since the tragedy. Look at all of the bus tragedies in the past 2 years. Would you never ride a bus again? Of course not. Planes....I could go on for hours. Would you never fly again? Terrible tragedies happen. Life goes on.....

[Gangway Style]

What Costa Concordia brought home to me is how the muster drills normally done on cruise ships are just barely reality--based. In Concordia, the ship was on its side, so half the life boats were immediately unserviceable. What did folks do whose muster station was at one of those lifeboats that were underwater? That was just one example.

Experienced cruisers know how long it takes to assemble passengers for a muster. Just think how long it would take in an extreme and fast developing emergency when some folks might be injured or disabled.

Think how hard and desperately frightening it would be if your family is spread all over the ship. Think how hard it would be if you don't speak the language of broadcast instructions. What if there are no instructions?

Every cruise I have been on had at least several passengers in wheel chairs and Hover Rounds. How on earth did such passengers manage on Concordia or on any ship in an emergency?

I've been to five musters since Concordia and every one has seemed so unrealistic to me given how the crisis on Concordia evolved. I feel the typical muster is only moderately helpful at best and in a real emergency would bear scant resemblence to what will actually occur. Of course, I don't know how you can train for every contingency. You can't. SO the best thing to do is familiarize yoursef with the ship and try to figure out what your course of action might be in variosuscenarios. Just try to have some kind of plan, because in an emergency you might very well be completely on your own.

[sapphireceylonblue1]

We sailed a few weeks after the Concordia disaster and we were on our cruise in the Caribbean when its sister ship broke down in the Indian Ocean. We have always made a point of taking notice of drills......the ships are so big and you need a few days to work out the ships layout (if new to the cruse ship/line).

The captain on our cruise ship was less than complementary when we attended our cocktail evening with comments about girl friend driving boats making everyone laugh

We booked two cruises last year whilst on board, September 2012 Europe and June 2013 Baltics!

[Allis154]

It made little difference to my perception of safety in public spaces. I am one of the few people who always pays attention at muster drills, check my exits, watch the safety presentations on planes, look at the safety cards...I even check the escape routes in hotels rooms (the last one was a fiasco...as a cartographer, I couldn't even make sense of it!).

Every person needs to be aware of where they are, and, in case of an emergency, what to do. Regardless of where they are..planes..trains..automobiles..houses..and cruiseships.

[racingraysswimmom]

I also am listening and watching when safety procedures on any plane, bus, car, ship is being explained. Prior to the accident, I was not as attentive, but I still did not joke or talk like I see STILL on cruise ships. Unbelievable that people do not pay attention.

I have been on 4 Costa Ships. 2 of the ships were before Carnival Corp. bought the company. My very first cruise 41 yrs ago was a Costa Cruise, the
Flavia out of Miami. Would I cruise them again, I am not sure. The last cruise on Costa we lost power at sea at night and the ship started to list. The crew was very nonchalant about the whole episode however my BIL who was in the Coast Guard got on his life jacket and was Very Serious. Eventually power was restored and the ship uprighted but now I think back and my BIL was RIGHT to get on that jacket. That is what we should have done too. I still think about that night and how the crew made jokes ( it was Toga night) about the whole episode.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The tragic accident of the Costa Concordia has not made us change our plans.

We are still cruising and only getting old with health issues has slowed us down.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Wow, interesting perspective and thanks for sharing.

Carolyn

Originally Posted by racingraysswimmom

I also am listening and watching when safety procedures on any plane, bus, car, ship is being explained. Prior to the accident, I was not as attentive, but I still did not joke or talk like I see STILL on cruise ships. Unbelievable that people do not pay attention.

I have been on 4 Costa Ships. 2 of the ships were before Carnival Corp. bought the company. My very first cruise 41 yrs ago was a Costa Cruise, the
Flavia out of Miami. Would I cruise them again, I am not sure. The last cruise on Costa we lost power at sea at night and the ship started to list. The crew was very nonchalant about the whole episode however my BIL who was in the Coast Guard got on his life jacket and was Very Serious. Eventually power was restored and the ship uprighted but now I think back and my BIL was RIGHT to get on that jacket. That is what we should have done too. I still think about that night and how the crew made jokes ( it was Toga night) about the whole episode.

[Travel Writing Mary]

I cruised last October in the Med with Celebrity. However I would never cruise on Costa again after what happened

[GrandmaHofmann]

What Costa Concordia brought home to me is how the muster drills normally done on cruise ships are just barely reality--based. In Concordia, the ship was on its side, so half the life boats were immediately unserviceable. What did folks do whose muster station was at one of those lifeboats that were underwater? That was just one example.
My father, who spent four years in the merchant marine, five in the navy, and one in the naval reserves, was torpedoed twice and sunk once. He told me that when a ship sinks, half the lifeboats are generally useless. If a captain waits long enough, you can't launch boats off both sides of a ship. Maybe not at all.

[KirkNC]

It has made me more aware as I believe you are on your own in a disaster.

[cleophus12]

We sailed Costa in the Med a few years back and were constantly aware of the language barrier. We were in a minority of about 150 English speaking passengers. About 1 am one night the alarm went off. Not even one passenger on our deck came out of their cabin to see what was going on. I was petrified. We got our life jackets out and waited for instructions. About 10 minutes later an announcement came in 8 languages, the last of which was English. After the
Concordia disaster, I became more fully aware of how frightening and chaotic a true disaster can be.

[Steppy08]

To echo some of the previous thoughts...

We did a Mediterranean cruise last summer, and while we did not experience any language barrier issues some on our ship had to deal with a broken train for 2 hours with no English announcements. It made me realize that although I embrace being immersed in another culture/language I would not do that at the expense of my own safety. After Concordia I would not cruise Costa or any line that didn't have English as the primary language. (At least until I'm fluent in another language)

I also realized that many times in emergencies it really is "every man for himself."

[spotdog32]

Since the shipwreck we have sailed twice and are planning one for this year as for us we have become a little more aware at safety muster and we pack a couple of extra things in our lugage for that just in case incident but we still fell very safe on a ship

[sail7seas]

Originally Posted by spotdog32

Since the shipwreck we have sailed twice and are planning one for this year as for us we have become a little more aware at safety muster and we pack a couple of extra things in our lugage for that just in case incident but we still fell very safe on a ship

I'm interested, if you don't mind.

What are the 'extra things' you pack in your luggage, just in case?

[Erik101]

The Concordia incident hasn't changed my mind about cruising because that event was a rare occurrence albeit unfortunate. Based on the response of the poll, I highly doubt loyal cruisers are going to stop booking anytime soon.

[Talex831]

The accident has not stopped us from cruising. We are probably a little more aware of where things are on the ships now than we were before. One of the key things I thought during the whole Concordia tragedy is how people really needed to fend for themselves and make decisions for themselves and their families as the crew either couldn't or wouldn't. I think that while I of course would listen to crew instructions that if there was something just not right, I would have to decide if I needed to do something else. It is really hard to say until you are in that type of situation.

[pebbledot]

We always listened to the muster instructions and made sure to actually know how to get to the station from any point on the ship. I am a firm believer in hope for the best but be consider the worse. This was before Concordia capsized. One thing we've added to our luggage and must have are small LED flashlights that we carry on us or in our backpack at all times. Also if something does occur or if something is abnormal get to the muster station. A little preparation could be the difference between life and death.

[bevomom]

I had been wondering the same thing about the lifeboats. Apparently the captain waited too long to launch them, and once the ship lists past 20 degrees, the angle of inclination is too steep and the boats just get stuck on the side of the ship. I watched the special on TV last night and got a better understanding about the timeline and what happened on board. The muster drill had never happened, and wasn't scheduled to take place until the next morning. So the passengers didn't really know what those bells were, where to go, or what to do. Seems it was pretty chaotic.

[Aquahound]

Originally Posted by editor@cruisecritic

It's natural that, nearly one year after the tragic capsizing of Costa Concordia we're hearing a lot of buzz about it just now. And so we wondered:
At this point, has the tragedy impacted your feelings about cruising? Please vote in our poll, and feel free to comment beyond that, below.

It would be extremely foolish for anyone involved in cruise travel to not take something away from the Concordia tragedy. This incident shows that a full cruise ship evacuation will not go as smoothly as a muster drill indicates. People will panic and push and shove, and as clearly learned from the Concordia, a listing ship can eliminate the use of an entire side of life boats. If not for the extreme good luck, forcing the dead ship close to the shoreline, the death toll would have been, at least, in the hundreds.

All you have to do is make a mental note of the exits, learn where life jackets are stored and for goodness sake, just refrain from drinking and cell phone talking during the few minutes of the muster drill.