Poll: Would you have wanted to sail on Carnival Splendor?

[misstopgun]

Misstopgun,

 

Sounds like he has a plan!!. We, too, go for the balconies; often on the Lido or one deck higher. Last year, I couldn't make it to the muster station after the drill briefing due to recent back surgery (delayed effects of a couple of hard helicopter landings and jumping out of the back of duece and a halfs). As I'm sure your husband knows, necessity is the mother of invention. Emergencies, like getting shot at, can encourage all kinds of adaptations. I figure whether hampered by limited ambulation or a wheel chair, one can get on the floor and scoot down stairs; doesn't work so well going up!

 

Captain Ronn

LOL captain! The visual of him going down stairs belly down made me laugh. He is very creative when getting off a fishing boat and onto the pier. He gets on the pier butt first, then rolls over on his belly. He uses his arms to pull his upper body up and then scoots his feet beneath him till standing. From there his cane or walker gets him wherever else we need to go. He Looks strange but doesn't keep us from enjoying our fishing excursions. I was thinking of a cove balcony for our next cruise. I think now I will stick with the upper levels.

[LemurCat]

That would be my response.

 

Nobody WANTS that....to even ask that is kinda silly. :rolleyes:

 

Oh no, Halos, we both know there are plenty of people who would do it just to be on a CCL ship. :rolleyes:

 

Bad day on a cruise is better than a colonscopy or something along those lines ....

[RuthlessBoss]

Hey I would rather be on a nice safe cruise ship with a fire and without a motor than a nice big airplane with a fire and without a motor. Modern humanoids are a bit spoiled. Lest we not forgot what the miners trapped for however many days managed to survive on. I suspect they would have loved some Pop Tarts.

And Spam!! Poor Spam, it's not that bad. I grew up on it. I guess it's reputation is that it's a poor man's meat.

[cathyoo]

And Spam!! Poor Spam, it's not that bad. I grew up on it. I guess it's reputation is that it's a poor man's meat.

 

I grew up on it also.. before it became polictically incorrect.. sliced thin and fried, hmm, hmm

[DougandEric]

I grew up on it also.. before it became polictically incorrect.. sliced thin and fried, hmm, hmm

 

The best is a spam sandwich - two slices of white bread, mayo and sliced room temperature Spam - maybe lettuce if you want to fancy. Ain't nothing wrong with that!

[cancankant]

Heck NO!!!

[bunny1954]

I wouldn't have "WANTED" to sail on her at that time. But I would have survived, had a story to tell and a refund with my free cruise coming to me. No huge deal.

 

My same take on it.

[CruisinManiac]

I voted "yes, what an adventure" , free cruise and all, but also "something else."

 

If it had just been DH and I, we would have weathered the storm just fine, and come out ahead. :D However, had we had my parents onboard (like we did the week before on the Glory) the story would have been a lot different, and made difficult. The elderly, with mobility issues and diabetes, would have turned the cruise into a stressfull event for all. :eek: I also had my sister and BIL with us. Had this happened on our cruise, my sister would have never forgiven me. She would have made our trying to make the best of the cruise, a NIGHTMARE!

[Captain'sgirl]

Differnent strokes I suppose! I'm not used to that kind of thing so I don't consider it to be enjoyable. I did have spam once though. ;-)

 

 

I, for one, love Spam. LOL

[UpstateCruizer]

It's been a heated debate here on the Cruise Critic message boards. So we want to know: Would you have wanted to sail on Carnival Splendor's recent voyage, during which a fire in the engine room disabled the ship, or are you thanking your lucky stars you didn't book that cruise? Vote in our poll.

 

Hmmm this looks like it's an official CC thread so I have to ask why one of the options refers to "Poptarts and Spam" when you have already shared another official post that "Debunks the Myth"???

 

I personally would not have signed up to go on this cruise nor do most of us have the luxury of hindsight knowing how things would progress during. Had I been on this cruise I would have spent a great deal of time trying to assist anyone that might have needed it. If what I've read about elderly people being stuck in the dark without any help or those with mobility issues being unable to go get food I know that I'd have been doing everything I could for them. I really hope that those stories have been sensationalized otherwise they are heartbreaking.

[stevec999]

For me the answer would be no. I had my big disaster adventure many years ago in Mexico. We were stranded in Cancun during hurricane Gilbert.

 

The hotel bussed us off to a school (after the Mexican army told the hotel we could nor stay at the hotel). The school was a block building and a steel building. I choose the block (looked stronger). They had removed the windows so breaking glass wouldn't hurt us. We basically sat in the wind and the rain for two days. Once the roof was ripped off the steel building and everyone moved into the block building there was just enough room to sit on the concrete floor.

 

So no food, water or bathroom for two days.

 

No more adventures for me. :D

 

 

I did live and at least I have a good story to tell.

[f7prez]

Suffer through that for a free cruise, Ahhhhh, NO. Even though we usually book a balcony, I don't think I could handle the stench or the constant complaining by the group of people that are never happy no matter what you do. I'm sure I would have thrown someone overboard.

[Minoushka]

Until REAl stories are revealed it would not be wise to trivialize this occurence. We REALLy do not know yet how bad it was. I read people got hurt tripping over things in the dark

I'm sure lots of stuff will come out

I also believe some people were not as badly off as others

IMO FIRE on any ship is not a good thing and terrifying Before we envy the FREE cruise let's find out how some pax managed I'm sure the ones on lower decks inside have lots to share I for one would have FREAKED in total darkness in a smoke filled hallway ...no free cruise could make up for that kind of terror How about the climb tp Lido deck??? how much fun could that have been

I am now EXTREMELY happy I try to always book a balcony .At least you can get air and light

Insides must have been dreadful

I hope none of these pax will be permanently traumatised

[Bob & Sandy]

It would have been interesting to say the least, I don't know if I would have wanted to be on the cruise to experience the chaos per say, but I would have survived and it would have been interesting to say, "yup, I was on that ship when that happened".

 

I was going to say as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, you must be used to hardship ... :D

[T. Advisor King]

I take cruises for the adventure. So if I take a cruise, it better be different than the last ones. And you can't get much "different" than having a fire. Given that no one was injured in the accident, I don't really see the down side.

 

Once the plumbing was working, it sounds like the situation was more luxurious than camping, which I have done enthusiastically all my life. I certainly don't take cruises for the "shows" or other "entertainment".

 

I'm not sure I would have wanted to be there with my whole family, because we all enjoy different elements of a cruise, so I don't think they would necessarily feel the same as me about it.

 

My only concern is the cost. There are refunds of the cruise cost and I've heard different things about transportation (is it all transportation, just air transportation, or just return air transportation?). Cruises are not cheap vacations and most of the expense is in the transportation (although PNW to SD might not be as bad as getting to other ports). Still, the little costs (taxis to the local airport, prepaid hotels before departure and after return, transportation to the port, private insurance ... my list could go on if I had my last trip cost breakdown in front of me) add up, and I'm not sure I would have wanted to incur those extra hundreds (thousand?) dollars for that "adventure" if I wasn't being reimbursed.

[photojunkieEMT]

I wouldn't have "WANTED" to sail on her at that time. But I would have survived, had a story to tell and a refund with my free cruise coming to me. No huge deal.

 

That's EXACTLY what we have been saying about this. I think instead of the "wanted" I would replace it with "minded" being on the cruise.

[glfr72]

A contingency plan is what makes a good company great, accidents happen I wonder what the cruise industry will learn from this accident?

 

The dark was an issue at night..why not flashlights? The kind with a crank that you turn and it gives off 20 minutes of light? One per cabin they last 10 years no upkeep.

 

No toilets? Why not an emergency system that has 10 per deck that gravity feeds so something else that requires no power.

 

I love to cruise but accidents can happen anywhere anytime, the real question is what will they (Cruise Companies) learn.

[ousoonergal]

I agree. Let it rest.

[BeachChik]

Until REAl stories are revealed it would not be wise to trivialize this occurence. We REALLy do not know yet how bad it was. I read people got hurt tripping over things in the dark

I'm sure lots of stuff will come out

I also believe some people were not as badly off as others

IMO FIRE on any ship is not a good thing and terrifying Before we envy the FREE cruise let's find out how some pax managed I'm sure the ones on lower decks inside have lots to share I for one would have FREAKED in total darkness in a smoke filled hallway ...no free cruise could make up for that kind of terror How about the climb tp Lido deck??? how much fun could that have been

I am now EXTREMELY happy I try to always book a balcony .At least you can get air and light

Insides must have been dreadful

I hope none of these pax will be permanently traumatised

 

 

Exactly!! Everyone here is so quick to judge and say they just didn't know how to make the best of it and the complainers want free stuff. We don't know what some of these people went through. In another thread, don't know which one, but someone who was ACTUALLY ON THE SHIP posted some pretty bad stories of things they saw with passengers who were injured. We weren't there so it would be nice if people would stop trying to trivialize their experience.

 

I say gimme a break on those that claim to envy this experience. Yes most will have made the best of the situation but to say you wish you were on board is asinine.

[Don Haynes]

Really folks, people worldwide used to live without electricity and indoor plumbing...

 

The way so many cry today when the juice is cut off shows how many of us are spoiled rotten...

 

And once we go without indoor plumbing for a while, most of us begin to appreciate outhouses...

 

Carnival should have built some heads sailing ships used to have centuries ago. Unfortunately they didn't have enough lumber to do so...

[halos]

For me the answer would be no. I had my big disaster adventure many years ago in Mexico. We were stranded in Cancun during hurricane Gilbert.

 

The hotel bussed us off to a school (after the Mexican army told the hotel we could nor stay at the hotel). The school was a block building and a steel building. I choose the block (looked stronger). They had removed the windows so breaking glass wouldn't hurt us. We basically sat in the wind and the rain for two days. Once the roof was ripped off the steel building and everyone moved into the block building there was just enough room to sit on the concrete floor.

So no food, water or bathroom for two days.

No more adventures for me. :D

I did live and at least I have a good story to tell.

That's exactly what happened to my cousin! He was there (Cancun) on his honeymoon...bussed over to a building, no windows, and had to virtually hold on to his scrawny (I mean REALLY csrawny, under 100 pounds) new bride for days so she wouldn't blow away.

It must have been hurricane Gilbert...not sure, I do know his anniversary is in Sept and he was married sometime in the 80's....

Until REAl stories are revealed it would not be wise to trivialize this occurence.

So far, I have seen some real stories...none of them are horrific in detail though. Does that make them not real?

I imagine there were a few injuries due to the darkness. I am sure we will hear more later.

I think that people may be 'trivializing' this based on the 'real' interviews and reports we have seen thus far in which no one seems the least bit traumatized.

I also imagine those saying they wouldn't be bothered by this are the able-bodied/minded and they genuinely wouldn't be bothered.

 

 

 

 

 

A contingency plan is what makes a good company great, accidents happen I wonder what the cruise industry will learn from this accident?

The best plans usually are drafted after unexpected disasters such as this occur. I am SURE steps/measures will be taken for all future ships because of this.

You usually learn your best lessons because of disasters or mistakes. That's just how life works.

 

 

I say gimme a break on those that claim to envy this experience. Yes most will have made the best of the situation but to say you wish you were on board is asinine.

While I agree with you, I have to say that I know people who would have liked this...you know, the kind that would likely try out for the show 'Survivor'??? I have 2 daughters. My oldest would have enjoyed that dysfunctional cruise quite a bit.

 

My other daughter....well, she is sane (thank God)

[Bound4Bermuda]

I'm a little surprised to see that about 80% of the responses are from a resounding yes to a maybe. Why anyone WANT to be in that situation is beyond my comprehension. I know most of the members here are cruise addicts, so maybe it's a matter of any type of cruise is better than no cruise at all and/or you'd be able to trump other Cruise Critic members' stories, perhaps. :confused: But it almost seems like some people are HOPING their next cruise will devolve into some greater catastrophe. Why would anyone WANT that on their vacation?

[LemurCat]

Carnival should have built some heads sailing ships used to have centuries ago. Unfortunately they didn't have enough lumber to do so...

 

Great idea. I'm sure people would just love using the communal length of rope as TP.

[deeluvs2cruise]

First, it was a blessing that no one died or was seriously injured or that the ship had to be abandoned. For those that were unable to navigate the ship without the use of the elevators, this might give forethought to cruising in the future. With the advent of new ships arriving monthly, the odds are that there will be other adverse events at sea, which can hamper vertical movement of several decks. However, had the need arisen, I believe that the able-bodied would have assisted those needing to travel to other decks.

 

Secondly, fittingly the day after Veterans' Day, it should be paralled that there are servicemen and women who eat cold rations daily, shower from a bottle of bottled water if it is available, sleep in tents, vehicles, or the open air, and improvise a toilet with a shovel. I would like to think that the passengers of the Splendor might reflect on this and appreciate our military a little more than before. The men and women of the Navy and Coast Guard who supplied food and water did so without expecting ceremony or accolades for their effort. Wouldn't it be nice if each passenger would adopt a sailor or soldier's family to say "Thank You for your assistance and service"?

 

Lastly, such an event (it was not a disaster), allows one to display their true character and moral fiber to themselves and those around them. It sounds as though most of the passengers and crew came through with flying colors.

 

Well, my two cents worth. Hope no one was offended. If so, so be it.

 

Captain Ronn

 

Well said, Captain Ron!!

[nrdsb4]

I would have survived it, would have made the best of it, but NO, I would not purposely sign up for days in the dark, no electricity, no ports, no hot showers, and really crappy food.