The Cruise Ship and Cruise Line Discussion Thread!

[robbalvey]

Wow! Thatis GREAT news! Not even just for RCCL and the cruise industry, but hearing that they think they can sustain another Oasis class ship, possibly two really speaks volumes for the economy getting better!

 

Really curious to see where these ships will be placed and their itineraries.

[Jew]

This is in addition to the "project sunshine" ships too! Royal Caribbean is building giant ships non-stop!

[gisco]

There was a segment the other night on 60 Minutes on how they are going to salvage the Costa Concordia.

 

60 Minute Segment

[Evanator]

Carnival's new commercial:

 

 

I can't tell what ship he is on, but if it is a carnival video he has good reason for making this video.

[ahecht]

It's a Princess ship, so it's technically Carnival. Don't know or care enough about Princess to be able to identify the ship.

 

EDIT: Reddit seems to think it's the Sapphire Princess (if you ignore the people that didn't see the logo in the pool and keep insisting it's an NCL ship).

 

EDIT: I watched some of his other videos. You can see

it's definitely the Sapphire Princess.

[Homeboy23]

http://www.wric.com/story/20565310/survivors-still-suffering-after-concordia-disaster

 

ROME (AP) -- One can't stand being in a mall: It feels too much like the ship, with no visible exits. Another dreams she's walking on a tilt - a memory of having crawled up walls as the cruise liner rolled onto its side. A 4-year-old boy talks obsessively about the meal he had to leave behind when plates started to fly across the dining room.

 

As if the nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety weren't enough, passengers who survived the terrifying capsizing of the Costa Concordia off Tuscany have come in for a rude shock as they mark the first anniversary of the disaster on Sunday: They've been told they aren't welcome at the weekend's commemorations.

 

Ship owner Costa Crociere SpA, the Italian unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., sent several passengers a letter telling them they shouldn't bother coming to the official anniversary ceremonies on the island of Giglio where the hulking ship still rests. Costa says the day is focused on the families of the 32 people who died Jan. 13, 2012, not the 4,200 passengers and crew who survived.

 

"We are sure that you will understand both the logistical impossibility of accommodating all of you on the island, as well as the desire for privacy expressed by the families at this sorrowful time," Costa chief executive Michael Thamm wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press.

 

He expressed sympathies to the survivors and said he trusted that their thoughts and prayers "will help lead us to a brighter future."

 

While some survivors said they understood that the families who lost loved ones deserved particular attention, many of those who are still struggling to get through each day said the letter added insult to their injuries - both physical and psychological. Some speculated that the letter was more about keeping disgruntled passengers, many of whom have taken legal action against Costa, away from the TV cameras that have flooded the island for the anniversary.

 

The letter has been a focus of discussions on the closed Facebook group that sprang up in the aftermath of the disaster, where survivors from around the world swap news articles and their personal ups and downs.

 

"This to our family has not settled well at all," said Georgia Ananias of Downey, Calif., who along with her husband and two daughters was among the last off the ship. "We're trying to deal with this day, and to get something as insulting as this - that there's no room for you there?"

[BeemerBoy]

"We are sure that you will understand both the logistical impossibility of accommodating all of you on the island, as well as the desire for privacy expressed by the families at this sorrowful time,"

As sure as the trust you put in your ship's captain?

 

Oh, Karnival.

[Xmeister]

This is sickening. Karnival Korp should not be telling passengers how impossible it would be to accommodate them at this service considering it's for an event that almost killed said passengers.

 

First they fail on their most important duty which is navigating the ship and it's passengers safely to it's destinations, they try to pass off the emergency as a simple power problem thus taking many innocent lives, then Karnival decides to offer the passengers 30% off their next cruise to make amends, on Costa's website they have a whole section about what great things the company is doing for the environment and now this.

 

Klassy, klassy, klassy.

 

The company is negligent, disrespectful, and I can't believe they have the nerve to even operate Costa after all this. Oh wait, yes I can, it's Karnival.

[ahecht]

I unfortunately have to agree with Carnival here. Most of the surviving passengers are very angry, and quite a few would probably plan to come and protest and heckle. While they definitely have a right to make their anger felt, this memorial service is neither the time nor the place. This is supposed to be a small service for the family of those that died, not an event for 4000 people, and a memorial service is a time to remember and honor the dead, not to bring back memories of a horrible night that you survived.

 

They survivors could, and probably should, organize their own remembrance event (if they really want to open old wounds) and visit the site if they want, but Costa has every right to hold a private memorial service.

[Jew]

^I think Carnival should hold a separate remembrance event for survivors. I agree with your sentiment regarding the memorial service, but I think Carnival should definitely host something for survivors as well. If for nothing else than to be a support group.

[BeemerBoy]

I unfortunately have to agree with Carnival here. Most of the surviving passengers are very angry, and quite a few would probably plan to come and protest and heckle. While they definitely have a right to make their anger felt, this memorial service is neither the time nor the place. This is supposed to be a small service for the family of those that died, not an event for 4000 people, and a memorial service is a time to remember and honor the dead, not to bring back memories of a horrible night that you survived.

 

They survivors could, and probably should, organize their own remembrance event (if they really want to open old wounds) and visit the site if they want, but Costa has every right to hold a private memorial service.

Both you and Karnival are making huge assumptions here.

[ahecht]

^I think Carnival should hold a separate remembrance event for survivors. I agree with your sentiment regarding the memorial service, but I think Carnival should definitely host something for survivors as well. If for nothing else than to be a support group.

 

Agreed

[jray21]

They should have just planned two events, and announced them at the same time. That way both parties would have had their own memorial services.

[gisco]

NAPLES, Italy -- The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner says he understands why some people "hate" him, but has no regrets about his actions in the aftermath of the shipwreck that left 32 people dead.

 

Francesco Schettino did not attend the unveiling of memorials in Giglio, Italy, over the weekend as survivors and victims' families marked the one-year anniversary of the accident. Instead, the luxury cruise liner’s former captain was at his home near Naples, where he lives under some court restrictions.

 

Accused of multiple manslaughter, causing the wreck and abandoning ship, Schettino told NBC News the toughest part of the aftermath of the crash was that people think he did not try to help the situation after he took the ship off course during a sail-by salute of the coast.

 

“Everybody believes that I was escaping from the sinking ship,” he said. However, Schettino contended he “tried to make an effort to make sure that I was the last one to leave the ship — from the sinking side."

 

Schettino, who described himself as a strict captain, insisted that other people should share the blame for the accident.

 

He said Costa Cruises told him before the wreck that he needed to share some authority with his well-qualified, lower-ranking officers who felt he was "breathing too much down their necks."

 

 

Francesco Schettino, former captain of the Costa Concordia, says he appreciated having the opportunity to share his side of the story with a survivor of the crash.

 

"And unfortunately I was relying, in the last three minutes, on an officer, when all of a sudden he was handing me the control of the ship without giving me distance — nothing," Schettino said.

 

That, he said, was when he noticed foam on the water — a sign of shallow water or something jutting from the surface.

 

"I regret that I was trusting (that officer). I was trusting him before the accident, and also after the accident. And I have been living with these things inside me. I will never trust anyone anymore because this was a very deadly mistake," he said.

 

Schettino claimed he had no way to tell how many people were still on board when he left the vessel.

 

"People don't understand that the ship is 58 meters (nearly 200 feet) wide, so you don't have a chance to see who else is left on the other side. And in the moment the floor started to become steeper, you have no other option: To die, or to swim," he said. “So, I regret nothing."

 

Schettino said he understood why people "hate" him — but added he did not think he deserved this.

 

Article

 

I can't understand why this guy is not in jail. He is so arrogant.

[Guy T. Koepp]

I'm taking wagers that he will have a book out by the next anniversary of the wreck. Actually, I'm shocked he doesn't have one out already. Seriously, that's all he has left, he's virtually un-employable. And the only reason people will buy it is because people have a fascination of the crazy, morbid, train wreck that could come from his side of the story. It seems in his mind that he had nothing to do with the entire incident, and he was the responsible captain throughout. I'm sure there are 4500+ people that would dissagree, but perhaps he was totally in the right?

[SharkTums]

LOL! That didn't take long. I wonder how many issues they must have had!

 

Carnival Cruise Lines has imposed an official 15 alcoholic drink limit on its Cheers! beverage program. According to a Carnival spokesman, "Guests are limited to 15 drinks total within the 24 hour period, which runs from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. the following day. Sodas and other applicable nonalcoholic beverages will remain unlimited and will not be counted toward the 15 alcoholic beverage limit."

 

There goes the 'unlimited' aspect of the program!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Hahaha, whats more funny is that the limit is still quite high. Which means people were ordering more then 15 drinks a day?!1 And there were so many people doing it, they had to limit it! LOL, what a bunch of boozers.

[robbalvey]

I can't understand why this guy is not in jail. He is so arrogant.

He needs to be on Celebrity Apprentice.

[robbalvey]

I unfortunately have to agree with Carnival here. Most of the surviving passengers are very angry, and quite a few would probably plan to come and protest and heckle. While they definitely have a right to make their anger felt, this memorial service is neither the time nor the place. This is supposed to be a small service for the family of those that died, not an event for 4000 people, and a memorial service is a time to remember and honor the dead, not to bring back memories of a horrible night that you survived.

 

They survivors could, and probably should, organize their own remembrance event (if they really want to open old wounds) and visit the site if they want, but Costa has every right to hold a private memorial service.

Both you and Karnival are making huge assumptions here.

Agreed with BeemerBoy - I gotta be honest, if some disgruntled passengers want to go to the island and talk to the press, I think they have every right to. I agree that Karnival is trying to keep people away and keep them from the press, because, let's face it, they handled this situation so poorly, that of course these survivors are disgruntled, and I'm not sure they voices should be silenced.

 

Everyone also has a different way of dealing with tragedy. I can't say that I would want to return to such a horrific situation, and it seems weird to me that anyone would want to, but that letter sounds a lot more like Karnival trying to do "damage control" more than anything else. They don't give two s**ts about the survivors, they care about what they might have to say.

 

They KNOW the f**ked up big time here, and they know that people are going to get in front of the cameras and make Karnival look bad. Personally... LET THEM! I would LOVE to hear some rants about how they have been treated the past year!

 

--Robb

Edited January 17, 2013 by robbalvey

[ginzo]

I can't understand why this guy is not in jail. He is so arrogant.

 

The Italian justice system is one of the strangest things on the planet. Examples: Amanda Knox and how Berlusconi was constantly being prosecuted, but just went about his business as PM as if everything was normal.

[Xmeister]

What do you guys think of Princess? My family's going on a cruise this year, but they're really pulling for a Princess cruise, while I'm trying to get us to go on either Allure or Oasis Of The Seas.

 

After three Karnival cruises I'm skeptical of anything the corporation runs. The only non Karnival cruise I've done was a Celebrity cruise and it was fantastic!!!

 

 

We haven't had a destination picked out, we just know we're doing a cruise

 

Is it weird that sometimes we pick a cruise based on the ship instead of the ports?

[SharkTums]

^Princess is very nice. Good food, nice ships, but geared to a much older crowd.

 

Princess was actually KT's first cruise!

 

Seriously though, it's much better than Carnival, but don't go in expecting any of the cool ship stuff Royal Caribbean or Disney have and activities much more geared to an older clientele.

[DirkFunk]

Princess is more "formal" than Carnival/NCL/RCCL and caters to an older demographic. That comes across most clearly in the decor and entertainment; think sedate neoclassical architecture and design on the ship with lots and lots of marble, white, and frills, and shows with music that generally doesn't get any edgier than 1970s era disco. If I had to slot them in as a cruise line, they'd be somewhere between Royal and Celebrity in terms of what they're offering but with passengers and activities far closer to what Celebrity or HAL bring to the table (i.e. don't expect a water slide or big arcade).

[Mr Stratosphere]

Elissa, have you ever considered doing a repositioning cruise? I have considered it, taking a long journey like a transcontinental cruise and flying back. My favorite days are the days at sea.

[SharkTums]

^We've done them before! Did an awesome Transatlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona in April of 2009. Would absolutely do one again as they're a great price, you can get amazing deals, and we love sea days! Only problem for us is they're only offered during school time and we don't want to pull Kristen out for two weeks.