Concordia News: Please Post Here

[DocF]

Sidari, I take offense at the casual way you toss out the Columbine and Aurora shootings.

 

I had a friend who was a guidance counselor at Columbine High School. She is still scarred by the horrid events. I also read a hockey blog that was written by one of the shooting victims in last night's tragedy in Aurora. Those events struck too close to home for this guy to be comfortable with them being used to make an inane and totally unrelated point.

 

Rather than throw you to the thought police, I will simply post this protest.

 

Doc

[sidari]

Titanic 2 anyone ?

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/109-cruise_news/30359-titanic_ii_feature_new_safety_deck.html?utm_source=200712&utm_medium=BULLETIN&utm_content=6&utm_campaign=NEWS

 

 

DocF ... I did not casually throw out the two places you mention, those who died at Columbine did so in a horrible way just as those did at Aurora at the hands of gun weilding Manicas who were allowed to access firearms with great ease.

 

It is sad that all of these people have been taken from their loved ones, the point i was making was that these killers set out to destroy lives and maim people and with premeditation unlike Schettino who did not but again sadly people died.

 

"What on earth do Columbine and Aurora have to do with the Concordia disaster? Am I missing something?"

 

CT ... Yes you are missing something the fact that certain people here are saying that Schettino Murdered people and clearly do not know the difference!

Edited July 21, 2012 by sidari

[lady peacock]

I think if you book one of their cruises with port calls in Egypt, Costa Cruises pays you $100 per day...............LOL

 

 

We sailed with Costa in April and we did three ports of call in Egypt, dont really think your quote is funny.

 

Can I really ask why you quoted ports of call being Egypt, we had no problems at all

 

We really must have a different sense of humour:rolleyes:

[Uniall]

Titanic 2 anyone ?

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/109-cruise_news/30359-titanic_ii_feature_new_safety_deck.html?utm_source=200712&utm_medium=BULLETIN&utm_content=6&utm_campaign=NEWS

 

 

DocF ... I did not casually throw out the two places you mention, those who died at Columbine did so in a horrible way just as those did at Aurora at the hands of gun weilding Manicas who were allowed to access firearms with great ease.

 

It is sad that all of these people have been taken from their loved ones, the point i was making was that these killers set out to destroy lives and maim people and with premeditation unlike Schettino who did not but again sadly people died.

 

"What on earth do Columbine and Aurora have to do with the Concordia disaster? Am I missing something?"

 

CT ... Yes you are missing something the fact that certain people here are saying that Schettino Murdered people and clearly do not know the difference!

 

I'm inclined to doubt your candor. You have made prior posts indicating your antithesis towards the USA's constitutional right to keeep and bear arms. We protect those rights because of the lesson learned when the Brits first step to enslave us was to take our guns at Lexington and Concord.

 

Just stop your posts concerning your views on American constitutional rights. They are none of your business, they are not welcome by some of us and they are considered off topic by most of us.

Edited July 21, 2012 by Uniall

[Uniall]

We sailed with Costa in April and we did three ports of call in Egypt, dont really think your quote is funny.

 

Can I really ask why you quoted ports of call being Egypt, we had no problems at all

 

We really must have a different sense of humour:rolleyes:

 

I was being quite serious, "many a truth is spoken in jest." We did Egypt on NCL last year doing two ports of call, but would not do so today, considering the change in Egyptian mindset that has occured with the political changes. Many cruise lines have cut back or ceased making ports of call because of the danger. "A word to the wise should be sufficient" even if spoken in jest.

[cruiserfanfromct]

Titanic 2 anyone ?

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/109-cruise_news/30359-titanic_ii_feature_new_safety_deck.html?utm_source=200712&utm_medium=BULLETIN&utm_content=6&utm_campaign=NEWS

 

 

DocF ... I did not casually throw out the two places you mention, those who died at Columbine did so in a horrible way just as those did at Aurora at the hands of gun weilding Manicas who were allowed to access firearms with great ease.

 

It is sad that all of these people have been taken from their loved ones, the point i was making was that these killers set out to destroy lives and maim people and with premeditation unlike Schettino who did not but again sadly people died.

 

"What on earth do Columbine and Aurora have to do with the Concordia disaster? Am I missing something?"

 

CT ... Yes you are missing something the fact that certain people here are saying that Schettino Murdered people and clearly do not know the difference!

Sid,

 

Admittedly the outrage over this disaster has prompted people here to use words to describe Schettino and his actions that are not necessary LEGAL terms and will not be the precise words he will ultimately charged for -- if he even goes to trial. It will be for the Italian courts to decide. That you take a different point of view than most people here is your right -- I have to say it does allow for lively debate and discussions.

 

If you have been following the Italian press, the Italian people have been harsher on Schettino than anyone here on this thread. I have read some of the most vile remarks regarding his incompetent and the most vicious accusations for his actions and in-actions. He has been dubbed the most "hated man in Italy" - some have even compared him to a serial killer. Some want him tied to an anchor and sent to the bottom of the ocean, where cowards like him who cost others their lives through dereliction of duty, belong.

 

Of course Schettino did not "set out" to murder anyone. I believe we all get this. But when you assume command of a ship like the Concordia, you assume responsibility for everything that could go wrong. A real captain would have stayed onboard until the rescue operations were complete, leading the charge. That was his duty. Since he did none of that and bailed, in his absence, the confusion about what to do in the situation allowed for people to die.

 

Worse, this wasn’t something that just happened. It happened because he was preoccupied and ran the ship over rocks. You have to be pretty daft to get that close to an island and run a 115,000-ton cruise liner over rocks.

 

This said, it doesn't matter what people here or all over the world are saying about him -- what truly matters for Schettino is how things are played out in the Italian justice system.

[cruiserfanfromct]

I was being quite serious, "many a truth is spoken in jest." We did Egypt on NCL last year doing two ports of call, but would not do so today, considering the change in Egyptian mindset that has occured with the political changes. Many cruise lines have cut back or ceased making ports of call because of the danger. "A word to the wise should be sufficient" even if spoken in jest.

Agreed. Costa suspended a few ports of call in 2011 -- one of them was Egypt.

http://boatworktimes.com/entertainment/cruise/5101-costa-cruise-line-cancels-egypt-tunisia-a-israel-ports-of-call-for-rest-of-2011.html

[cruiserfanfromct]

The next pretrial hearing has been postponed to October 15, 2012.

 

http://it.euronews.com/flashnews/1592492-costa-concordia-udienza-il-1510/

[DocF]

A view of real significance can be seen on the web cams today. That would be the boom of a crane or derrick on the seaward side of the hulk. This indicates that the installation of the platform is taking place now.

 

Doc

[cruiserfanfromct]

From this morning's Washington Post:

 

GROSETTO, Italy — An Italian court has postponed a preliminary hearing seeking to determine charges against those responsible for the Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32 crew and passengers.

 

The court said Saturday it has adjourned the hearing until Oct. 15 to examine an expert assessment of audio evidence from the black box data recorder. The preliminary hearing will decide whether Costa Concordia’s captain, Francesco Schettino, and others should stand trial.

 

Schettino’s lawyer said the audio evidence from the black box confirms his client’s version of events. Schettino said in a TV interview that he was distracted by a telephone call just before the Jan. 13 accident. Prosecutors allege he sailed too close to an island in a publicity stunt, ramming it into a reef.

 

[Uniall]

The next pretrial hearing has been postponed to October 15, 2012.

 

http://it.euronews.com/flashnews/1592492-costa-concordia-udienza-il-1510/

 

From this morning's Washington Post:

 

CruiseFanFromCT

 

I'm delighted you posted this info. They spotlight one of the major differences between Anglo/American law and Napoleonic Code law that I've attempted to point out in some of my prior posts.

 

Your post indicates the underlying dual authority of the Italian judiciary to be both Investigator AND Trier of the Facts.

 

John

[sidari]

"Just stop your posts concerning your views on American constitutional rights. They are none of your business"

 

Uni ... Doubt as much as you like but you are in no position to tell me what i can or cannot discuss just because you are an American citizen, for someone who believes in Freedom of speech the above make you a hypocrite. I have no problems with the UK or USA taking up arms against those that use terror on people but i draw the line at phony wars of the like that the Liar blair took UK troops into.

 

My post regarding the people of Aurora was sincere but you can please yourself if you want to accept that, despite what you say those poor people were murdered by a maniac.

 

CT ... While Schettino is the head man and will i agree face some sort of charges there were others on the bridge that night who are equally to blame for standing by and doing nothing, and when the case does eventually come to court proper those people along with Schettino and senior people at Costa will all be in the frame for blame.

[Uniall]

"Just stop your posts concerning your views on American constitutional rights. They are none of your business"

 

Uni ... Doubt as much as you like but you are in no position to tell me what i can or cannot discuss just because you are an American citizen, for someone who believes in Freedom of speech the above make you a hypocrite. I have no problems with the UK or USA taking up arms against those that use terror on people but i draw the line at phony wars of the like that the Liar blair took UK troops into.

 

My post regarding the people of Aurora was sincere but you can please yourself if you want to accept that, despite what you say those poor people were murdered by a maniac.

 

CT ... While Schettino is the head man and will i agree face some sort of charges there were others on the bridge that night who are equally to blame for standing by and doing nothing, and when the case does eventually come to court proper those people along with Schettino and senior people at Costa will all be in the frame for blame.

 

Your posts on the American constitutional rights are OFF TOPIC.

 

Moreover, America learned those rights were necessary when the Brits decided to enslave us as part of their world empire. Furthermore, I don't need Brits who, also, tried to enslave my Irish forebearers for 700 years to teach me lessons about the need to keep and bear arms.

 

By the by, every November, I throw a party honoring a personal hero of mine, Guido Fawkes. In case you haven't guessed, my three favorite Brit Prime Ministers are: Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Tony Blair.

Edited July 21, 2012 by Uniall

[cruiserfanfromct]

CT ... While Schettino is the head man and will i agree face some sort of charges there were others on the bridge that night who are equally to blame for standing by and doing nothing, and when the case does eventually come to court proper those people along with Schettino and senior people at Costa will all be in the frame for blame.

Ah........we finally agree on something!

 

Costa will certainly be on the hook since no matter how much they want to pin the blame solely on the captain, the captain IS Costa. IMO, Costa is responsible for promoting a security office, unfit to be a captain, to a job of ultimate responsibility. It's no wonder that the head of fleet operations, Manfred Ursprunger, got the ax and Pier Luigi Foschi has stepped down as Costa's CEO. I'm sure more heads will roll before this goes to trial and by that time (this could take years) there will be no one left at Costa to blame and Micky Arison will have done a great job of washing his hands of this whole thing.

 

As for the others on the bridge that night, only Ciro Ambrosio has been implicated. It remains uncertain whether he will be facing any charges but it is quite possible that he will stand trial together with Schettino, if indeed this ever goes to trial.

[Max49]

Titanic 2 anyone ?

 

http://www.cruises.co.uk/109-cruise_news/30359-titanic_ii_feature_new_safety_deck.html?utm_source=200712&utm_medium=BULLETIN&utm_content=6&utm_campaign=NEWS

 

"Titanic 2". I guess every thing is "Made in China" now.

 

Sidari, Sure Schettino and Holmes, from the theartre shootin are not the same kind of lunatics. Schettino was supposed to be a professional entrusted with the safety of the ship and all the passengers.

Holmes apparently is a bored psychotic no body who needed to get some attention.

Holmes went in and deliberately massacred innocent people and Schettino did'nt think the 4000 passengers worth paying attention to keep them safe and then abandoned them to save his own arse.

If I lost a loved one on the Concordia or at the Aurora CO theatre I don't think I would be any less mad at what was supposed to be a responsible captain than I would be at the deranged shooter.

At least I'm pretty certain that Holmes will at least spend the rest of his life in a mental institution. Schettino is a free man able to sell his story, We won't let Holmes profit from his crime.

How'd you like to on an Airliner that crashed into a mountain and the capt. used the excuse that he was distracted with a phone call?

BTW, I only live about 10 miles from the Aurora movie theatre.

Edited July 21, 2012 by Max49

[Tonka's Skipper]

... While Schettino is the head man and will i agree face some sort of charges there were others on the bridge that night who are equally to blame for standing by and doing nothing, and when the case does eventually come to court proper those people along with Schettino and senior people at Costa will all be in the frame for blame.

 

 

Totally agree!:D

 

AKK

[Max49]

Maybe, but perhaps on ships the Capt. is King. When we saw the secret video of the bridge after the collision, someone kept yelling "what should we do, general emergency?" Finally Schettino said, wait, abandon ship. When he said that they all started running. I got the impression that they all knew better than to take things to do on their own or 2nd guess the king.

I'm sure I could be wrong. However I wish they'd get the hearing going.

Schettino is going to try to drag others under the bus (or ship in this case) with him but I doubt it will be very effective. It is odd that Schettino is the only one talking. And he should should be learning from his subordinates and shut up , and quit saying bizarre things like "I fell in a lifeboat" and I crashed the ship because I was distracted with a phone call. Next time you crash your car, try that excuse with the cop or judge.

 

It does seem different in Italy or Europe. I would think if it happened here in America that the press would interviewing not only the passengers but all the employees and other officers that they could.

My guess is that not many of them will have much good to say about Schettino.

After listening to Schettino, has any one got a 'better impression' of him as compared to before he spoke? I sure did'nt.

[sidari]

Uni ... of the 3 prime ministers only churchill is worthy of mention! the other two i would not pour water on if they were on fire. Thatcher killed the UK by allowing its Industries to be sold to foreigners who are now ripping off the consumers in the belief that the Pound was King! and pushed the UK into beliving banking was the way to go, now look at the state of the banking industry! with all the thieves it has produced and not just in the UK.

Ah the terrorists get a mention i see from across the water!

 

As for Bliar most here believe he should be tried for war crimes,this liar took the UK to war with Iraq while taking money from a large oil company there for his own indulgance.

 

Max ... The Costa employees are probably banned from speaking to the press as part of their continued employment, while Schettino who is probably no longer on their payroll can talk to who he wants, Schettino was not the only ships officer on the bridge the night Concordia hit the rock! all are as much to blame so it makes no difference if Schettino was on the phone there were others who did not do their job.

[lady peacock]

I was being quite serious, "many a truth is spoken in jest." We did Egypt on NCL last year doing two ports of call, but would not do so today, considering the change in Egyptian mindset that has occured with the political changes. Many cruise lines have cut back or ceased making ports of call because of the danger. "A word to the wise should be sufficient" even if spoken in jest.

 

I can remember in the early 90's being advised against travelling to Florida, but unless the foriegn office states not to travel we always do.

 

We travelled with two very young children, we flew into Orlando and was advised after a long flight to stay the first night at the airport which we did, we made sure that our hire car didnt have any visable signs that it was a hire car, while there we travelled to Miami, again after even americans in our hotel advising us not to do it, we only travelled where there was a sunshine on the road signs.

 

What a family holiday we would have missed if we had listened to the advise and not travelled to the USA.

 

Having travelled to alot of the middle eastern countries and Egypt (over 10 times) and unless the Uk foriegn office advise us NOT to travel we will carry on travelling.

 

This thread as turned into judge and jury.... and knock Costa.

 

Our family must be stupid to travel Costa and gosh to Egypt, I wish people would stop commenting on a cruise line they have never travelled on or intend to travel on, and make people who do enjoy Costa feel stupid for enjoying the product.

 

We have only travelled with Princess once out of New York, and we had such a bad experience that we would never travel Princess again, do you see me posting on the Princess topic slating them, no not at all because I have respect for people who do enjoy cruising onboard a Princess ship.

[Uniall]

I can remember in the early 90's being advised against travelling to Florida, but unless the foriegn office states not to travel we always do.

 

We travelled with two very young children, we flew into Orlando and was advised after a long flight to stay the first night at the airport which we did, we made sure that our hire car didnt have any visable signs that it was a hire car, while there we travelled to Miami, again after even americans in our hotel advising us not to do it, we only travelled where there was a sunshine on the road signs.

 

What a family holiday we would have missed if we had listened to the advise and not travelled to the USA.

 

Having travelled to alot of the middle eastern countries and Egypt (over 10 times) and unless the Uk foriegn office advise us NOT to travel we will carry on travelling.

 

This thread as turned into judge and jury.... and knock Costa.

 

Our family must be stupid to travel Costa and gosh to Egypt, I wish people would stop commenting on a cruise line they have never travelled on or intend to travel on, and make people who do enjoy Costa feel stupid for enjoying the product.

 

We have only travelled with Princess once out of New York, and we had such a bad experience that we would never travel Princess again, do you see me posting on the Princess topic slating them, no not at all because I have respect for people who do enjoy cruising onboard a Princess ship.

 

Regarding your belief that this thread has turned into a "knock Costa" exercise, If the shoe fits, wear it.

 

Regarding saftey in Egypt, it doesn't take a genius to watch TV (try Sky News instead of the BBC for the truth) and decide to skip Egyp when seeing a mob burning and looting buildings filled with antiquities. This is especially when they are led by religious zealots who call for the destruction of the pyramids as pagan places of worship and call for the killing of western tourists. The fact that some cruise lines have cancelled Egyptian ports of call or cut back to just Alexandria might give one pause.

 

There's crime in every major city carried out by individuals and small bands of thugs but not hundreds of thousands filled anger and hatred.

[MorganMars]

Lady Peacock,

 

We also travel when popular opinion says not to. We will be cruising to Egypt in December as long as the State Department maintains the current view. Media reports should not be used to make such decisions, since they are financially motivated. (More action/adventure = More Viewers)

 

I have not sailed Costa, and probably won't, but I don't sail Carnival anymore, either, since I have found better experiences on other lines.

 

It is unfortunate when a place, or a people, all get painted with the same brush. I have found that by using a bit of logic and reasonable caution I can travel without fear. If I didn't, I would not have traveled to Paris for all the stories of rampant pick pockets, London for fear of suicide bombers or the Florida Everglades because of the hoards of mosquitoes. (That turned out to be true, but the repellent worked, thank goodness!)

 

Regards,

MorganMars

 

I can remember in the early 90's being advised against travelling to Florida, but unless the foriegn office states not to travel we always do.

 

We travelled with two very young children, we flew into Orlando and was advised after a long flight to stay the first night at the airport which we did, we made sure that our hire car didnt have any visable signs that it was a hire car, while there we travelled to Miami, again after even americans in our hotel advising us not to do it, we only travelled where there was a sunshine on the road signs.

 

What a family holiday we would have missed if we had listened to the advise and not travelled to the USA.

 

Having travelled to alot of the middle eastern countries and Egypt (over 10 times) and unless the Uk foriegn office advise us NOT to travel we will carry on travelling.

 

This thread as turned into judge and jury.... and knock Costa.

 

Our family must be stupid to travel Costa and gosh to Egypt, I wish people would stop commenting on a cruise line they have never travelled on or intend to travel on, and make people who do enjoy Costa feel stupid for enjoying the product.

 

We have only travelled with Princess once out of New York, and we had such a bad experience that we would never travel Princess again, do you see me posting on the Princess topic slating them, no not at all because I have respect for people who do enjoy cruising onboard a Princess ship.

[sidari]

Morgan ... We too have travelled in the same way as yourself and lady Peacock and have only ever been on 1 tour booked through a ship and that was on the Queen Victoria and only because we had a very large onboard credit.

 

We travelled from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and back using the train system and then walked from the Tri rail station down to the area where the trip boat goes from into the port.

 

We have also taken trains into most major cities from ports such as Civitavecchia for Rome, Cannes for Monaco, livorno for Pisa, Piraeus for Athens and Barcelona, and have never once had a problem unlike the American tourist in Naples who decided to go against advice and wear a well known very expensive wrist watch to walk around.

Sadly he was attacked near the port,had the watch stolen and died from his injuries after falling and banging his head.

 

(try Sky News instead of the BBC for the truth)

 

Uni ... sky news would not know the Truth if it hit them in the face! try asking Kay Burly about the Lies she told during the 2002/3 Firefighters strike in the UK.

[cruiserfanfromct]

Back to the NEWS and title of this thread "Concordia News: Please Post Here":

 

From Overhead Bin: Getting there is half the fun, so the saying goes. NBC News' travel team examines the issues of the day and, of course, the joy and hassle of traveling.

 

Schettino is quoted in the article as having said:

 

“The ground gave in below me, it was like the tremor of an earthquake, the floor gives in and what do you do?”

 

Gotta love the comments at the end of story.

 

Full story from NBC NEWS:

 

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12678273-costa-concordia-captain-admits-he-was-distracted-by-phone-call#comments

[Uniall]

Uni ... sky news would not know the Truth if it hit them in the face! try asking Kay Burly about the Lies she told during the 2002/3 Firefighters strike in the UK.

 

Truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. LOL

[cruiserfanfromct]

For those who complain about this being a "hate" board, here's a story of love.

 

From Adventures In the Ordinary Blog

 

O Captain, my Captain…where was your honor?

 

A story of love ----- Nicole Servel, a 61 year old Frenchwoman who survived Concordia's crash, but lost her husband in the disaster.

 

"The trip was a gift given to them by their children to celebrate her 60th Birthday. She tells of the last moments she had with her husband. They stood on the edge of the sinking ship with one life jacket between them. Her husband gave her the life jacket and told her to jump into the 8 degree water. Because she isn’t a swimmer, when she landed in the water, all she could do was float. The last thing that he yelled to her as he tried to stay afloat in the icy water was, “Don’t worry! I’ll be alright.” And then she never saw him again. Eventually she floated to a place where she was spotted by strangers who got her out of the water and took her to a church to get warm.

So, what makes one man abandon his ship and another man give up his life for his wife? Honor for certain. But, how is it that one man can attain such respect and authority and not be truly honorable when the waters rise and another can live a simple life and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?

I’m sure the answer is LOVE."