Costa Allegra caught fire and now adrift

[mainelycruising]

We were passengers on the QE2 before Carnival acquired Cunard. We feel that things changed and not for the better on our Cunard experiences post Carnival acquisition. But Cunard remains our favorite cruise line nonetheless, mostly because of the awesome ballroom dancing venues and the many friends from the UK we've met onboard.

 

We felt the same about HAL. As a family we sailed HAL for three decades. Since CCL took it over, it has changed almost in entirety from the great line that it was. I think Cunard is undergoing the same thing a few years later than HAL.

 

It is now all about profit and not tradition.

[Bretagne]

People also have a huge tendency to over-exaggerate when interviewed by the media.

 

I think "the media" has the tendency to misquote people and exaggerate stories.

[mainelycruising]

I wonder if it will make financial sense to replace the engines and rewire everything in this old ship. I am afraid that she might be heading to the breakers...

 

She is 42 years old. Well past her sell by date. A converted container ship. Good grief. She wouldn't even qualify as a casino ship out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Alang, get ready. More scrap on its way. You are becoming the recycling agent of Costa.

[mainelycruising]

I just quit reading as soon as they used the word ordeal.....:D

 

'Costa Crociere bookings already had dipped by an estimated one-third following the January 13 wreck of its Concordia ocean liner.

Industry experts said Costa's survival after 60 years in the passenger ship business could depend on the company changing its name or getting a bailout from its parent, U.S.-based Carnival.'

 

My thought is that the corporate name is besmirched. CCL might consider winding up Costa, selling off the older and smaller ships, and reform the company as 'CarnivalEU' and use Dutch or British officers. It would then be in direct competition with Thomson and others for the budget-minded European cruiser, and it would become a natural progression for its older but classier HAL ships (such as Maasdam, Statendam, Ryndam etc) when they not longer match the expectations of North American clientele. North Americans might enjoy sailing older HAL ships in the Med under the CarnivalEU name. They will never again sail Costa. The name 'Costa' is now valueless. As valueless as naming a ship 'Titanic'.

[mainelycruising]

Click on this CNN link

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/europe/italy-cruise-ship-fire/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

and you'll get some idea of what a horrible TUB this "cruise ship" is..

 

 

You wouldn't catch me dead on anything looking like that. :eek:

.

 

You can understand why British passengers prefer the Thomson Dream (ex Homeric; Westerdam; Costa Europa) to this line's tubs. The Dream is two decades newer. So 'new' that Thomson touted it rather misleading as a 'new' ship (as in 'new to Thomson').

 

Costa? I don't think so...........

[G.M.T.]

I like bologna. With mustard it is quite tasty. If you are hungry you will eat whatever is available. Now I don't think I could have handled the toilet situation.

Yuck....

 

Spam! A great Monty Python sketch:

 

 

Ron

[Philly Steve]

I think "the media" has the tendency to misquote people and exaggerate stories.

 

Kill the messenger?

[greg-nc]

I think "the media" has the tendency to misquote people and exaggerate stories.

 

Yes, but it is harder to do in this case when most of the quotes from passengers are on video.

[Davyjonesrugrat]

David Tinson, 49, said the crew had been "clueless" as to how to deal with such an emergency and that their actions only served to put them in further danger.

Im sorry but I read that this was his 'first and last cruise' so his credability is suspect already.

 

As plumes of black smoke poured from the chimney and panicking passengers raced to pick up life jackets, he was trapped in an overheating lift which jammed between two floors.

Hmmmm smoke chimney? I thought they were funnels....As a passenger we are all informed not to use elevators/lifts during an emergency.

 

He hit the emergency button but there was no response for his calls for help and he was forced to prize open the doors.

The crew should have responded however since there appeared to be another ongoing problem this alarm would be down the list a bit.

 

 

"People could have died," he said. "I would have lasted less than an hour in there, it got so hot so quickly. I should never have been in that lift. It should have been closed off and the alarm raised as soon as the crew became aware of the fire."

He should not have gone in the lift as he himself states' it should have been closed off'

 

Mr Tinson, from Headley Down, Hampshire, said it was clear there was an emergency long before the official alert was made, by which point 50 per cent of passengers had already donned their life jackets.

 

But despite the ensuing chaos, various decisions were made which he said compromised their safety.

I fail to understand how he, with no prior cruising knowledge could state they were compromised.

 

The 627 passengers, of whom 31 were Brits, finally made it to safety on Thursday morning, docking on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles after three days at sea without electricity, running water or air conditioning. The incident came just six weeks after the Allegra's sister ship, the Costa Concordia, capsized in Tuscan waters, claiming up to 32 lives.

 

Mr Tinson said that when he awoke in the night and went to check that someone was on night watch, he discovered a member of crew asleep on a camp bed, binoculars by his side.

Im sorry but how does he know he was on duty? he could have been off watch. Why was he going around to check on the crew?

And he said that although satellite phones were their only means of communication, he heard one ring out on the bridge three times, no one answering despite their predicament.

Does he know what a satellite phone sounds like, it doesnt ring like a normal one as some of them have a distinct tone.

 

After the fire knocked out all power on the ship, candles were put out in the bar areas which passengers picked up and took down to their cabins, despite no means of putting out a fire, he claimed.

I feel that the passengers are in the wrong here, they were taking the candles back to their cabins, however the crew should have stopped them.

 

When Mr Tinson and his wife Denise, 52, went to gather their life jackets, their cabin had already been marked as having been evacuated, which he said suggested that any subsequent roll call would have been worthless.

What were they doing going back to the cabin, they should have remained at Emergency stations until relieved by the crew.

"My confidence in the crew's abilities was sapped rapidly," Mr Tinson said. "There was no foresight, only fire fighting.

Im sorry but the ship was on fire!!!!

 

"As you might imagine, we're not going on a cruise again. It was our first and last."

One incident and you are put off, you cant think that the whole cruise industry is run like and muck does happen, its a case of learning and moving on. Try another brand you might enjoy it and realise it was a hiccup.

 

Costa Crociere, the largest cruise brand in Europe, is facing a struggle to maintain its reputation following two such high-profile disasters on its ships. Allegra passengers have been offered a full refund, indemnity and a free holiday in the Seychelles.

In a statement issued on Friday night, Costa Cruises said it was "sincerely sorry" for the discomfort caused to passengers and highlighted the compensation package on offer.

The offer does appear to be a realistic one and appears to have been taken up by a lot of the passengers.

 

Sorry rant over !!!

 

:)

[Ratt]

Im sorry but I read that this was his 'first and last cruise' so his credability is suspect already.

 

As plumes of black smoke poured from the chimney and panicking passengers raced to pick up life jackets, he was trapped in an overheating lift which jammed between two floors.

Hmmmm smoke chimney? I thought they were funnels....As a passenger we are all informed not to use elevators/lifts during an emergency.

 

The crew should have responded however since there appeared to be another ongoing problem this alarm would be down the list a bit.

 

 

He should not have gone in the lift as he himself states' it should have been closed off'

 

I fail to understand how he, with no prior cruising knowledge could state they were compromised.

 

 

 

Im sorry but how does he know he was on duty? he could have been off watch. Why was he going around to check on the crew?

Does he know what a satellite phone sounds like, it doesnt ring like a normal one as some of them have a distinct tone.

 

I feel that the passengers are in the wrong here, they were taking the candles back to their cabins, however the crew should have stopped them.

 

What were they doing going back to the cabin, they should have remained at Emergency stations until relieved by the crew. Im sorry but the ship was on fire!!!!

 

One incident and you are put off, you cant think that the whole cruise industry is run like and muck does happen, its a case of learning and moving on. Try another brand you might enjoy it and realise it was a hiccup.

 

The offer does appear to be a realistic one and appears to have been taken up by a lot of the passengers.

 

Sorry rant over !!!

 

:)

 

Thanks Davey, I was thinking pretty much the same things.

 

The people being interviewed by the media are usually the people who are the most excited, stressed, put out, etc, etc. The media does not want a calm person that states facts, they want the people who think the world was coming to an end. Calm and collected does not make good news.

[judyzoo]

The Spam brand of tinned processed meat (and who knows what else) found on North American supermarket shelves has never found its way to Italian markets so the "spam" that some passengers have called it must be something else. It was probably "mortadella" which is a typical packed meat product made in the Bologna area of Italy and in fact it resembles American bologna.

 

FWIW, mortadella is one of my favorite types of cold cuts. And Spam is (for some reason that I don't understand) very popular in Hawaii.

[Grandprix]

The entire ship smelled of Schettino.

All the passengers were offered a free cruise on the Concordia.