qtlikeme
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Posts posted by qtlikeme
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We were told from the very beginning that we would have the items in our safes returned to us. Early communication from Costa had us list the items in our safe so they would have record of it. Our cabin is underwater and I do not hold out any hope of anything being returned to us. Sadly, we did not take the time to put our valuables in the safe as we had only boarded the ship at 5:30 pm on that fateful Friday the 13th! Luckily we did not have anything of great value with us that could not be replaced!:)
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One of our fellow passengers that night shared this link with us. It is chilling and not for the faint hearted.
It brought back so many haunting memories.
So very thankful to have survived.
I follow this thread faithfully and want to thank everyone who contributes. I seem to be forever looking for anything related to that awful night.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9598532/Costa-Concordia-captain-wants-his-job-back.html
Fracesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia has launched legal action to get his job back . . . .Capt Francesco Schettino is also claiming back pay . . . .
More at:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/392918/20121010/schettino-costa-concordia-sues-sacked-company.htm
I am appalled and disgusted to think that Schettino would ever work for a cruise ship company again!! And he's asking for back pay..... what about the families whose loved ones didn't come HOME from their vacation???? And he is asking for back pay? What next??? Such arrogance!!!
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Thanks for this account qtlikeme. I remember you were on this thread early on and were actually on the Concordia that night. Have you been able to put this past you? Has it been easy or not so easy? Were you able to settle with Costa or are you with the groups that are still waiting?
I will never forget! It has not been easy but thankfully with counselling and medication early on I was able to sleep again and now more than 6 months later my mind is healed but the event is never very far from my thoughts!
We settled with Costa and are planning a dream vacation this fall. I appreciate the wonderful life that we have and our second chance. I could not have tolerated waiting for a settlement in the courts. Every one has to make their own decision however.
I read this thread almost daily! How long will it keep going????
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Agreed. I think most of the crew did an amazing job. Glad to see some were able to take action despite their ineffective captain.
I also agree that the crew did an amazing job but IMO critical time was wasted waiting for the abandon ship order!!!!! There were crowds of passengers waiting on the lifeboat decks within 10 minutes of the collison with the rock! It has been stated that the majority of the casualties were found on the 4th deck which was the lifeboat deck. If the lifeboats had been loaded and lowered earlier they would have made it to shore before the listing of the ship increased to the point that the port side lifeboats couldn't be lowered easily! As it was, the earliest lifeboats ashore went back to the ship and were able to load more passengers but as the boat listed more and more this became too dangerous. It was the DELAY that was the reason for the majority of the casualties. All the passengers could have been safely ashore in the 50 minutes that was wasted before the call to abandon was finally sounded!
Any one of those officers on the bridge that knew the seriousness of the problem should have been able to start the evacuation immediately. So what if they were overstepping their order of command. They would have been a hero!!!! My husband and I sensed the seriousness of the situation almost immediately and we don't have any formal seaman's training..... it was so obvious that the ship had hit something and was listing first to the port (didn't stay level for very long) and then very soon after to the starboard side.
The memories are so vivid and I get angry about the delay whenever I think about that night!!
It should never have happened!!!
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Yes I think we will cruise again! It has taken some counselling and time to recover but I hope this hasn't spoiled the enjoyment that we have had in the past and hope to have in the future, cruising! (I think I will definitely need a balcony cabin near the lifeboat deck, to feel the most safe.)
We are so very thankful and will always think of what might have been that night and how so many lives were ended needlessly! I think of those families whose loved ones didn't come home from their vacation and it still makes me shiver!
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My husband and I boarded the Concordia at Civitavecchia on Jan 13th! We had been on the ship only 4 hours before the ship hit the rock! We were in the theatre on the starboard side of the upper balcony watching the magic show that started at 9:30. About 10 minutes into the show we felt a sensation of being forced forward out of our seats. We suspect that this was the moment when the ship was doing the sharp steering manouver to avoid hitting the rock that Schettino says that he saw. The ship listed to the port side initially and within moments of the impact with the rock sent shudders and scrapping sounds along with vibration felt at the front of the ship (where we were). After the collision with the rock, the lights went out and then the emergency lighting came on within a minute or two. The Magician disappeared and left his assistant trapped in the box on the stage. Everyone started to leave the theatre and we went to our room and with only lights in the hall could only locate our life jackets and our coats before proceeding immediately to the muster station on deck 4. Thankfully we had been on other cruises and knew that what we were experiencing was not normal and we needed to get off the ship to safety. We stood at lifeboat 7 for almost an hour before we were allowed to board and we were among the first group of passengers to arrive at the dock on Giglio!
Any questions?
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Vanity Fair has an article on Concordia in this months issue.
At the end of the article in the following link there is an excerpt link worth reading.
I am so very thankful that my DH and I did not experience any of this horror when we got off the Concordia! We were among the first lifeboats to reach Giglio and safety! We stood at the muster station for almost an hour which seemed like much longer but when the abandon ship was called, we were already on our way to shore! My DH sensed a serious problem from the very beginning of the whole mess and made the decision that the situation was bad and we needed to get off the ship! I am grateful for my level headed and clear thinking husband! I might have been lead to believe what the overhead messages were falsely telling us! Hubbie knew better than to listen..... he thinks for himself, always!
One thing that has made this experience hard to get over was the fact that we were left to fend for ourselves when we should have been in a situation with someone taking charge and telling us the truth. No one was in charge and no one told us what was really happening.
Later when we were safely back in Rome waiting to make future plans, no one from Costa apologized to us or acknowledged that this should not have happened and what could they do for us to make it better for us! All the Costa officials were instructed to do was to get us on a flight home! If only these people had said they were sorry from the first time they met us! The Costa employees that we were dealing with in the Rome Hilton were sales agents from various locations in Italy. I realize that they were not prepared to deal with anything like this either. Since this I would hope that they are asking passengers what they could have done or should have done to make the situation better
Concordia News: Please Post Here
in Costa Cruises
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I watched her go down and I have been drawn to this thread ever since we returned home from Italy! I have learned so much from all the experts on this sight and I am very grateful for that! We watched from the pier that night and my husband's comment that night as they were telling us to go ashore and get off the pier was that we had never watched a ship sink and unless someone came along with a gun, we weren't going anywhere, but staying there to watch. As a side note, we did not know that others were having such a hard time getting off...we had an easy evacuation after the delay!
Tonight I am even more fascinated to watch her coming back up...my prayer is that the workmen will all stay safe and that the two bodies may be located and finally put to rest in their homeland.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread....it is truly an amazing thing to have been part of and we will return to Giglio in a few months to say thanks and to see the ship upright!!