Costa Concordia

[DharmasMom]

The more I learn about this the angrier I get. The captain was apparently showing off for a "friend" (I hope that he was getting something good in return), was way off course and too close to the coast. After he hit the rock, he was one of the first ones of the ship abandoning his passengers to confusion and panic in the dark and left at least 11 to die (although I have little hope for those still missing). The Italian Coast Guard released the tapes today of them SCREAMING at him to get back on the ship and he refuses.

The rescue, recovery, and salvage are going to cost millions and beyond. People have died. A 450 million dollar ship is laying on its side, half submerged in the Mediterranean with a HUGE gash in it's hull.

This guy needs to never see the light of day again. Ever.

[LoveEcho]

Ahh! The last I heard was about the coast guard tapes... I had no idea about the "showing off".... apparently he's facing 12 years for abandoning ship alone, let alone now 11 counts of manslaughter, so hopefully he's done for...

[DharmasMom]

Yeah. Apparently he was so close the the coast so his friend (who they are saying is a waiter) could "wave" to his family who was supposed to be on the rocks. Supposedly they were going to blink the lights at them or something.

[LoveEcho]

I wonder if it'll put Carnival under?? I've been reading that they think all is said and done, they're facing $800M + in damages...

The fact that the crew were completely unprepared is scary...I was on a Carnival cruise like three weeks ago... ick.

I hate to think about how much money some Carnival insiders made selling off their stock shares before the value tanked, knowing what was going on before the media did...

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

There are still 29 people missing. The tapes of the coastguard appear to paint a picture that passengers w/ disabilities were left on board and he didnt see where as captain he had responsibility.His folks who were food service housekeeping tried their best to help and the purser. How do you leave people in danger b/c you waited an hour and a half to sound the alarms. Whata (word that will get me censored),Im thinking firing squad.

[DharmasMom]

I don't know if it will put Carnival under. They own several cruise lines. I honestly don't blame them though. This is totally on the captain. Unfortunately, they will have to foot the bill though since I doubt he has $800M lying around. I bet they want to KILL him.

I can't believe how he just abandoned EVERYONE. I can understand the wait staff, cabin staff and the like being unprepared and rushing to get off. They are usually poor and uneducated people from poor countries just trying to make money to send home to their families. But the officers and the captain- well, NO excuse. Although, from what Daisy is saying it sounds like it was the most unlikely people that actually stepped up.

I can even understand how the crew maybe unsure of how to go about an actual evacuation. Not like that happens everyday and these ships are freaking HUGE. But the captain should have been giving directions, leading everyone else, staying calm and HE should have known what to do. Everything else would have gone a little bit smoother. If your leaders stay calm and at least PRETEND they have a clue, everyone else will remain calm because they have faith that the person in charge knows what is going on.

I agree, he should just be shot.

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

one of the passengers who has been on carribbian cruises said that on this boat there was to be a drill but it was the next day. she stated any cruise she has been on its done within hours of being on board. She stated they the costa crew took their passports to gather info for passenger roster. On other cruises as you go through the drill you swipe your room key and a list is generated that shows who and where everybody is on the ship.That may be the reason they dont know who got on and off. the passenger also said that on other cruises you were shown the lifeboat you were assigned . Never been on a cruise but thats sounds reasonable .The not having the drill really contributed to the tragedy.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by Daisy&Lucky's Mom

one of the passengers who has been on carribbian cruises said that on this boat there was to be a drill but it was the next day. she stated any cruise she has been on its done within hours of being on board. She stated they the costa crew took their passports to gather info for passenger roster. On other cruises as you go through the drill you swipe your room key and a list is generated that shows who and where everybody is on the ship.That may be the reason they dont know who got on and off. the passenger also said that on other cruises you were shown the lifeboat you were assigned . Never been on a cruise but thats sounds reasonable .The not having the drill really contributed to the tragedy.

This is exactly what happens... I don't think I'd let my passport out of my sight at gunpoint, that's what they're supposed to do during inprocessing (where it's all attached to your cabin card). Your card also tells you where your muster station is.


Shot, or drowned...

[DharmasMom]

I have been on several cruises. On everyone of them, we had the emergency drill before the ship set sail. You have to take your life vest, go to your assigned muster station (this is where you will report in the event of an emergency) and they go over EVERYTHING. How to use your vest, what the alarms mean (including the "abandon ship" alarm), fire, and evacuation. Apparently in European ports they have 24 hours to do this drill. In the US they have to do it prior to the ship leaving the port - which makes more sense.

I know on my next cruise, I am going to pay a whole heck of a lot more attention to that whole drill than I normally do.

I was just reading on the cruise forum that I like to lurk on and some people were saying that you can put all your important documents- passport, ID, birth certificate, etc onto a secure online storage so that in the event of some sort of emergency like this, you still have access to it.