sparks1093

Actually he was investigated for his actions because every pilot is investigated for their actions when something goes wrong. And the computer models (and simulations) were correct- an immediate turn back toward the airport would have resulted in a landing on the ground (and even still the pilots in the simulators needed to practice the maneuver before they were successful). But as was pointed out (by Sully and others) no one had ever trained for dual engine loss at such a low altitude. I would think that since that fateful day this scenario is carried out in simulators regularly so pilots can be trained in this unlikely occurrence.

I would call it more of a mindset than a myth. Certainly not a mindset shared by all back in the day, but it was a prevailing one whenever disaster struck.

If you spend any time looking at most disasters they stem from a series of miscues that lead to the disaster happening or making it worse than it should have been. Usually the miscues are done by different people at different stages leading up to the disaster, but as pointed out the miscues in the case of the Concordia came from one individual- the Captain. This is the human element that most planners try to take into account but at the end of the day cannot be totally eliminated. With all of the redundancies built into modern aircraft it still took Captain Sullenberger to safely land a disabled jet on the water. Had he not been so skilled and competent all onboard would have been lost. As for calling the individual captain (I can't spell his name and don't want to take time looking it up), no- he was stripped of his ability to command a rowboat. In my view that puts him lower than a cabin steward or dishwasher (and putting him on the same level as them is an insult to them, since they still have their maritime credentials).

This has always been my understanding of the expression- that the Captain be the last person off after making sure everyone else has been evacuated and after doing everything he or she could to save the vessel.

I'm not sure one can tell from down on deck how long the line is (I couldn't, anyway), but certainly you can easily tell how many are on the course itself.

And it all comes down to the CD- he or she can decide to run Quest instead of the Adult game. (We did see some sort of Adult game on the schedule but there was something else going on at the time so we didn't go.)

Probably a good bet, but even if it is slow at one moment it could be very busy the next, while the teen is actually on the course. I'm not sure what "crowds" means to him but I never saw it too busy (but then there may have been people at the starting line that I couldn't see from down below waiting their turn).

They might seem understaffed but in reality there are only so many bodies that can move around back there efficiently. With the number of customers they are serving they most definitely have to hustle and I rarely waited more than 5 minutes at the bar for a drink last week, even when they were busy.

Very true. I used to have my email in my signature until a troll decided to respond there instead of on the board. Definitely not pleasant.

Another consideration in addition to the venue is what other activity gets axed so that Quest can take place? The Fun Squad was going all out all week as was the CD and the entertainment schedule was jam packed. From what we saw everything was well attended so choosing which one to eliminate raises its own set of problems.

If I recall correctly the cruise director chose not to have Quest last year when we were on Glory.

The idea of being crammed in a tiny space like that and being forced to participate is enough to make me cringe. A lot of people like to watch Quest and not having room for them is a good reason not to have it.

When we first started getting interested in cruising I found two forums, Cruise Critic and another. I joined both, but found CC to be intimidating with it's large volume of info each day so I spent more time on the other one. Then one day one of the moderators on that other board took me to task for an opinion I had about something, so I left that board and never looked back. Did a search for them the other day and they do not exist any longer.

4/25 Grand Turk Déjà vu- up at 7 and we are already docked. Off the ship at 9 for our beach excursion with open bar and rum tasting. It was a 20 minute ride to Bajari beach. Beautiful water and nice facilities. The rum punch is strong and tasty. Tasted 3 different rums then had a drink mixed with all 3 and pineapple juice. A beach chair is included in the excursion but an umbrella was $15 extra. They have a buffet available or you can order food at the bar. We ordered jerked chicken for $12 (I think) and it came with two pieces of chicken, fries, macaroni salad and coleslaw. Headed back to the ship at 1:15pm and headed up to lido after dropping stuff off. Found a lounger in the shade and snoozed a little bit. Went over to Seafood Shack and ordered the clam chowder and the clam strips. $5 for the chowder and $8 for the strips. The chowder was thinner than I like but it had huge hunks of clam. It was good, but I think I preferred the chowder in the MDR. The clam strips were very good. Stayed on lido, had a few drinks, a dunk in the pool and hot tub before going back to get ready for dinner. Elegant night and open at 5pm. Had calamari, lobster, and blueberry panna cotta. DW had the mushroom soup, veggie lasagna, and WCMC. The panna cotta was a bit bland but everything else was good. Did a few more photos then went back to change. Had an envelope with luggage tags and instructions for disembarking, but don’t want to think about that yet. Decided to call it a night early. Cheers count- 10. 4/26 Fun Day at Sea Drank coffee on lido as usual until it was time to get DW up. The rest of the party are reserved for the Dr. Seuss breakfast but we weren’t able to make a reservation. We waited in line and after speaking to the hostess she was able to seat us. We weren’t at the same table, though. Had the Who Roast Beast omelet, corned beef hash and fruit parfait that was all quite tasty. After breakfast swung by Java Blue and grabbed a spiked coffee and spiked milkshake before sitting down to play trivia. Decided on Cucina del Capitano for lunch with DS and GF. Had mozzarella sticks and pasta bowl with alfredo, shrimp, broccoli and mushrooms. DW had same except didn’t have the shrimp. After eating we went back to the cabin and packed a bit then went and watched Vince Morris’ PG show. At dinner ordered the roast duck as appetizer (Emeril’s selection), beef brisket, baked Alaska. DW did see anything she liked but ordered the minestrone soup, Indian vegetarian and WCMC. Tried the vegetarian but it was too spicy for her and made with veggies that she doesn’t like, so she ordered some alfredo noodles. They weren’t as good as the ones she had at lunch. Went to the World Works Here show (30 countries) at Center Stage, We Are One, All You Need is Love and United in Song. Went to late night comedy in the theater with Vince Morris and Just June. Then we went to the Piano Bar until it was time to call it a night. There were 4 off duty entertainers there and a couple of them joined Brad on a couple of songs. Cheers count- 23. Total for the week- 142. I think we got our money’s worth. 4/27 Port Canaveral Sad day. I wake up at 5am and have a few cups of coffee on Lido and chat with our companions. Wake DW at 6:45am. Go down to the Flamingo Dining Room to meet for our excursion, Pontoon Boat Tour with Airport Transfer. They have coffee, juice, and pastries available while we wait. Disembarkation started just before 7, but since we are on an excursion I didn’t pay attention to who was being called when. I didn’t make a note of when we were called or how long it took to get our bags, etc. but we were on the bus by 8:05am. They used facial recognition for those with passports. Some of our travel companions didn’t have passports but it didn’t take them much time to be cleared. Should have brought a water for the bus but we were on the pontoon boat at 9:10am. They do have soda and water available for $3 each. We saw a manatee and her calf, dolphins, pelicans, herons, cormorants, and more and were back at the dock by 11:05am. Got on the waiting bus and got to the airport around 12:10pm. We had gotten a notice that our flight had been delayed so we were too early to check our bags. Went to the food court and grabbed some lunch and then checked our bags at 3pm. DW and I have TSA pre-check, but no one else did. It took us 11 minutes to get through TSA and it took them 25 minutes. Made it home to Vermont by 2:30am. If I can answer any questions I would be happy to.

I had the same thought, but the theater is very cramped with little room between the seats, so drink service on top of that would be nightmarish at best. Not the best design at all, for sure.