Crown Princess Incident

[birdcat]

Indeed ... years ago I was working with a computer controlled 5.5 ton telescope mounted on the roof of a building. Every so often, perhaps once every 100 hours of observing, the 'scope would go into very rapid oscillation ... sufficient to vibrate the building (and elicit an immediate phone call from the admin office directly below). We spent many hours searching the code for the bug without success until I found it purely by accident while looking at something else entirely. It turned out that only when two events occurred at exactly the same time could the problem occur ... we estimated that it happened once in every 200 billion cpu cycles. Large system control software is enourmously complex ... subtle bugs can be nearly impossible to find.

 

Known bugs, by definition are limited in scope and quantity - Unknown bugs, by definition are unlimited in scope and quantity - Been doing programming professionally for almost 30 years - hasn't been a system yet designed without bugs.

 

I sailed on the Grand a few years back - she was "Grand" - I tend to go RCCL more often than not these days (we are Platinum members and that does have it's priviledges) but would sail Princess again and even the Crown after they do all the repairs.

 

I would also buy Carnival Corp. stock.

 

Just MHO

[GBRBEB]

Did you also notice the statement from the Coast Guard in that same story?

 

 

Yes, I saw that but I still thought it was interesting that Coast Guard thought that it was an important enough issue to investigate...and it might be interesting to know how much time did elapse between when the incident happened and when the Coast Guard contact was made and by whom...

Im not suggesting anything sinister here but am just curious of the process...

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hey Greg. Are you home yet? I see Carol is home safe and sound. We ran into some serious turbulance last night on the plane. The guy next to me wsa seat gripping. I just figured God would not save the Crown then crash me. Of course I will NEVER be a Princess Pop Star now.

 

I am not sure if someone posted this already. I had posted here, after the incident and I was down in Joanie and Al's cabin with Carol when my cell phone rang with a number I did not know. "Hello, this is Deborah, with Anderson Cooper 360 at CNN. Do you have any video?" WHAT?? Vultures. I did do an interview with my hometown paper yesterday. I wanted to share that I had a very good time, thought the crew handled it well and would sail her again tomorrow if I could. I was terrified. Make no mistake, but I'm safe and sound and in all my cruises this was the very first indcident. I know some people will be scared, but I also know that I am a big chicken poo and if I can get back on the horse....

 

Time to wake up my babies now!!! YEAH! I GET TO SEE THEM!!

 

Nancy, welcome home! I don't know you, but I just have to post that I think you have the most amazing, remarkable, wonderful attitude! If everyone could look at "stuff" happening and then get back on track so quickly the way you do, it really would be a better world.

 

I would have been so terrified to go through what you did and I'm not sure even my usual sunny disposition would hold up through that ... let alone get back on a ship anytime soon!

 

The best wish I can think of for you right now? May you have a thousand more cruises and never list again!!!:)

[Sky Sweet]

Not sure what a degree or university matters - but why would one go to MIT for a business degree?

 

Anyway, Carnival's last earnings conference call was jun 16 so will be a while before another.

 

The effects of this years hurricane season will have a far greater effect on the stock price, and a bad hurricane year is already factored in, than this incident.

 

But for the record, I have a MBA from a diploma mill college.

 

To answer your question.... MIT's Sloan Business School, Northwestern University's Kellogg, Harvard's Business School, and Penn's Wharton School of Finance, and one other have been rated the top five MBA programs for years.

[hillslife]

Pretty amazing as I read these threads about all the speculation of what happened and how it was handled on the Crown.

 

I was there - I experienced it first hand. Was it a terrifying experience, you bet. Did I think the ship was going over - yes, definitely. We were so far tilted I knew there was no way we could right ourselves. It was a bad nightmare. But the Captain was on the loud speaker almost immediately telling passengers about the llist and that it was being corrected, to sit down where ever you were; they weren't sure what happened but were investigating it; if you are missing family members, go to the Club Fusion to reconnect, etc. He was out of breath in his first announcement - but rightfully so. I think his timely and frequent announcements were a great comfort to me and my family. He was in charge and handling it. After an announcement was made, a printed copy was delivered to our staterooms for reference.

 

I have no idea at what point the Coast Guard was called - but they were seen along side the ship within minutes and escorted us all the way back into port along with tugs and sheriff's boats. I don't feel there was a delay at all.

 

Decisions were made very quickly about returning to port, that the cruise was going to be terminated in Port Canaveral, full refunds given, all flight expenses would be reimbursed, etc. We were all given the option of making our own travel arrangements (free phones and internet offered) or having Princess do it. We were in the states, everyone had cell phones and begin making their own arrangements. This worked very well and was more expeditious than waiting for the Passenger Service Department to make 3000 airline reservations. I frankly liked being more in control of my flight times, etc.

 

Being a nurse, after I rounded up my family (which did take some time and was very scarey and I did shed some tears when I couldn't find my teenage daughter right away - but when the Club Fusion meeting area was announced, we all heard it, proceeded there and met up). I reported to the Medical Center, told them I was a nurse and they put me right to work triaging people, dressings, ice applications, assessing critical from non critical complaints, offering comfort and support, etc. It was very hectic in the medical center but several passengers that were doctors, nurses, EMT's came forward and were essential in helping the staff medical people to care for everyone. Our resources were limited but the more critical patients were found and treated first with the minor "walking wounded" assessed and then sent to deck 5 for minor treatment.

 

While working in the Medical Center, one thing I noticed is that many crew and passengers pitched in. Crew from shops, dietary, art autioneer, stateroom stewards, etc were all down there helping, bringing chairs, making ice bags, etc. We were a team. Supplies were not very abundant - but they can't really stock supplies for 3000 people. There was a need for some "Disaster Triage Tags" like the paramedics use in the field at home. Patients could have been sorted into categories of severity and everyone would have seen at a glance with the tags on the patients as to their severity. There was no way to identify the patients we were treating, they had only a very few "medical tags" that would ID people that needed to be transported to shore for further threatment.

 

We are very lucky no one went overboard (at least I haven't heard of any) but we did hear of furniture, beach bags, cameras, laptops, etc going overboard on the pool decks as the water rushed out of the pools towards the ocean. There was not an official passenger count done - I am not sure how you could do this with 3000 frantic people running around the ship, many either carrying or wearing their lift jackets, but advising all to go to Club Fusion to meet up with missing family gave a central meeting place and crew was there to support anyone that couldn't find family right away. They would have a sense if someone couldn't be found - I don't think that happened. Not sure what they would have done if someone couldn't be located but when I was working in the Medical Center, I did hear that the ship sotpped at sea for 15-20 minutes to assess damages and look for anyone overboard. That is second hand - since I was busy working.

 

As mentioned above, there was major damage to the interior of the ship - flooding, broken glass, store fronts, toppled potted plants, food all over, broken tiles, tossed pianos, water leaking from deck 15 down through the stairwells to deck 6, etc. But the crew made fast work of cleaning up this mess.

 

We are home now and glad to be passed this experience. But under the circumstances, from someone who has been on over 20+ cruises and never had anything like this happen, I have nothing but good things to say abiout Princess, the Captain, Crew, etc. They stepped up quickly to make this bad situation a distant memory.

 

For those of you that weren't there and are Monday morning quarter backing and have speculation about "the Captain stepping down", "you should get a free future cruise", "there was a delay in calling the Coast Guard" , etc, - quit stirring up trouble when you don't have all the facts. You weren't there - everything you are hearing is second or third hand.

 

I was there - I think Princess was very generous in the full refund, handling our return airfare, and meeting our immediate needs. They obviously had to cancel some events, but they still served lobster dinner to 3000 passengers and offered free wine to all. They were very accomodating!!!

 

The ship is beautiful, the crew is wonderfull, friendly, professional, and the cruise was one of the best.

__________________

Crown Princess - 2006 Western Carribean:)

RCL - Monarch of the Sea - March 2006 Mexico/Baja

NCL - Pride of America - 2005 Panama Canal:confused:

NCL Star - 2005 Mexican Rivera:(

Royal Princess - 2004 British Isles

Dawn Princess - 2003 Alaska

Golden Princess - 2002 Mediterranean

Disney Magic - 2001 Eastern Carribean

Disney Wonder - 2000 Eastern Carribean

Carnival - Elation - 1999 Mexican Rivera

Volterdam - Holland America 1997 Alaska

Crown Princess - 1997 Coastal

Royal Carribean 1996 - Mexican Rivera

Dawn Princess - 1995 Mexico

?? Princess - 1995 Eastern Carribean

?? Princess - 1995 Canada/New England

Royal Carribean - 1994 Mexico

Royal Princess - 1993 Panama Canal

NCL - Westward ??- 1992 Carribean

Dawn Princess - 1989 Mexican Rivera

Royal Carribean 1985 - Eastern Carribean

Plus 3-4 more 3 day Baja Mexico's in there somewhere!:confused:

[Nliedel]

Thanks Heather. Carol says I panicked (I did not scream, but screams were heard) and while I want to deny it, she's pretty levelheaded, so I will bow to her observation.

 

I have the FUNNIEST photo of the two of us strangling the Pirates Parrot. I will post it later today.

 

Life's back to normal here. My editor just sent me 300 changes she wants me to make on my book.

 

Yes, in answer to the question most frequently asked, this will end up in my next book. I am working on it now. One of the members of CC were in the spa having massages. She had an "experience" (I'll let Carolee tell it). Since I write romance novels I figure that would be a great way to meet someone. Of course this list will not be as bad, since they have to stay on the ship to fall in love. Out of lemons...

[Nliedel]

I was told by a crew member that this was Captain Andy's retirement cruise. He is leaving the fleet. NOT because of this. I am not sure if that was true.

 

Hillslife. I posted this elsewhere, but was told you did a fabulous job in the triage area. A passenger described you and said you were, "an angel." Carolee got a similar compliment. Bravo to you for pitching in and helping so many people. You are a hero in my book.

 

(Btw, she is also the nicest person in the world).

[curiouscat]

Nliedel

 

Hey if Anderson Cooper called me, I would have answered.... Oh, lala. ;)

 

I do understand about not answering the media, they tend to over exaggerate things and take things out of context.

 

But Anderson Cooper..................

 

Glad to hear you are so optomistic about sailing again with Princess

[flagger]

Yes, I saw that but I still thought it was interesting that Coast Guard thought that it was an important enough issue to investigate...and it might be interesting to know how much time did elapse between when the incident happened and when the Coast Guard contact was made and by whom...

Im not suggesting anything sinister here but am just curious of the process...

I am sure they will investigate EVERYTHING with regards to this incident. Just because it is investigated does not mean anything will be found to against procedure or regs. The media of course wants to make everything seem sinister. Reporting that the captain was "investigated" and/or had to submit to drug and alcohol screening almost implies to an uneducated reader that drugs and/or alcohol were involved. I mean after all why go after something unless their is suspicion and if there is suspicion there just HAS to be guilt (at least according to most media reporting).

 

The educated media consumer will realise that all such investigations are routine and required as part of the ENTIRE investigation. Usually the media will not banner headline and report on the front page the results of said investigation. At least not if there is nothing out of the ordinary.

[cnmiranda]

Nliedel

 

Hey if Anderson Cooper called me, I would have answered.... Oh, lala. ;)

 

I do understand about not answering the media, they tend to over exaggerate things and take things out of context.

 

But Anderson Cooper..................

 

Glad to hear you are so optomistic about sailing again with Princess

 

Oh my I'd to get a call from Anderson Cooper one day but only under positive circumstances. Whit whew!:D

[UTAH]

Outstanding posts, hillslife. Thank you.

 

Bill

[hill6]

hillslife thank you for offering your support and comfort to those who needed it. I am happy to read that everyone worked as a team.

[dagadget]

Thanks Carol & Nancy for getting us up to date the whole time. I have read your thread from begining to end and can't imagine what you went through. Luckily everyone is safe and made it home ok.

 

I see that you have been on both RCCL Mariner and also Celebrity Millennium. Could you tell me what difference if any there is between the two. I must admit I was surprised by this listing incident. I was in the US Navy for a long time and the discriptions I have read here lead me to believe that it was heeled over 30-40 degrees. Much further and the Crown Princess would have capsized and sank. I am glad the injury rate was not higher it surely could have been.

[hardingk]

I see that you have been on both RCCL Mariner and also Celebrity Millennium. Could you tell me what difference if any there is between the two.

There are quite a few differences between the two. First, they are 2 different lines. Celebrity is very classy & elegant (also the best way to describe the Millenium) where Mariner has a lot more activites to do on board. The Mariner was one of the best cruises I have even been on from the food, to the service, ship & entertainment. Millennium is a great ship, but we found it lacking in activites. Food & service were great.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions that I can answer. I can even send you pictures of both ships if you would like.

[madelinerose]

Nancy & Carol...Thank you so much for your posts. I'm glad you are home safely and continue with your remarkable and positive outlooks on life. You're to be applauded by all of us. ;)

 

hillslife...You know what they say "What goes around, comes around". Your turn is next. Another wonderful attitude and just what all of us on future Crown cruises need to hear right now. ;)

 

 

Karen

Baltimore

[GeminiA]

See what a 15 degree tilt looks like at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-19-cruise_x.htm

 

It is about 1/2 way down the page on the left. Click where it says for the tilt.

Thanx for the link, a 15 degree tilt looks pretty bad already & you can see it can do a lot of damage . . .

[madelinerose]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

I would have freaked!

 

Karen

Baltimore

 

 

fPeople on our cruise reliably (I know them and vouch for their reliablity) reported seeing water COVER the windows on Deck 6, as the ship dipped, i.e., below the surface level of the sea.

[dancer 2]

How long do you suspect before she is up and on her feet again??? I wonder how much damage?

I'm so thankful that more people weren't hurt, & Carol for your wonderful posts. Can you believe she will sail again on the 22? WOW, can they fix the technology that fast? I'm impressed!

Prayers and thoughts to all the cruisers, the crew must have been just as scared as the rest, what an experience. May everyone recover fully both physically and psychologically.

[zydecocruiser]

To answer your question.... MIT's Sloan Business School, Northwestern University's Kellogg, Harvard's Business School, and Penn's Wharton School of Finance, and one other have been rated the top five MBA programs for years.

 

How could you forget Stanford?

 

The point was credentials do not qualify poor advice, in this case.

[shirleygr]

hillslife, well said. And I'm sure everyone appreciated your efforts and hard work in the medical center. Glad to hear all your family was fine and accounted for.

[zydecocruiser]

to ask a question to the computer people .there were 2 captians aboard seas were like glass no problems ,i am heading north but am off the the mark auto piolt is off i do not relize that i am 2miles off corse i push the auto piolt and how fast will it respond to set me on corse?and when the ship lists i unplug the console to try to correct the problem but now have removed all steering?as we came in under power but had no steering only thrusters.just a question as i was also on this ride.

 

It will respond as programmed. It should be rate limited to prevent these kinds of things from happening. Also, should the autopilot have been engaged when this happened, it should have disengaged itself when it realized things weren't right.

 

Using only the thrusters may have been more of a precaution until they know exactly what happened.

[cruzinchris]

Carol and Nancy,

Like many others on this board, I followed your daily reports and felt like I knew both of you. Earlier on Tuesday, I had sent an email to Nancy wishing her well in the Princess Idol finals.

 

Learning here about the Crown incident - before seeing/hearing media reports - was surreal: I had a difficult time believing that this was really happening!

 

My thoughts and prayers were with you and your fellow passengers, and I hope that you are well and happy to be reunited with loved ones.

 

Nancy, so sorry that you won't be the Princess Idol, but I'm sure you did Michigan proud. I'm curious: What did you sing?

 

I'll look forward to your reviews of the Crown cruise. Carpe diem.

Chris

[Kat_in_Texas]

hillslife, you are to be commended for "stepping up to the plate" so graciously, especially in light of having family members elsewhere on the ship. Thank goodness there are caring people like you in the health care profession! :)

 

Thank you for your first-hand account, making us more clearly aware of what was happening. What a terrifying incident. Fortunately it sounds like Princess handled the situation well. I have only cruised once (so far!) and it was on Princess, and I definitely plan to cruise with them again!

 

Glad you're home safe and sound!

[Sky Sweet]

I appreciate all the posts from people who were on this cruise and have shared their first hand accounts of what actually took place. It must have been a terrifying experience, and I admire your strength and courage.

[kjunea]

Major Kudoos to all who sailed and has the tale to tell! I know it was a hairy thing and my thoughts are with you. I sailed in the old Regent Rainbow out of Tampa through a tropical depression and saw us list to the side so bad that things fell off our table in the dining room and empty chairs were sliding across the floor. Then the captain put on the stablizers and things calmed down a lot!

 

I've enjoyed reading all the first hand acccounts! Thanks for all the insight!

 

To answer your question.... MIT's Sloan Business School, Northwestern University's Kellogg, Harvard's Business School, and Penn's Wharton School of Finance, and one other have been rated the top five MBA programs for years.

 

Oh, and my hubby said the one you forgot is Michigan! (That's where he got his MBA and he doesn't let me forget that! I just keep reminding him that the only time my Vols and his wolverines played, they got whoopped big time!)

 

June