Cruise Ship Crashing Fad

[Sunset]

I've noticed there is a sudden spike in cruise ship crashing.

There is the horrific Budapest one about a week ago where Viking river boat ran over a smaller tour boat, (7 dead, 20 missing).
This one was very surprising to me as having been in Budapest on the river, I considered it incredibly safe, obviously there are risks to be aware of.

Then in Vancouver BC , Holland America collided two of their own ships together.

In Venice a MSC cruise ship plowed into a smaller cruise ship and the dock, pretty dramatic video.

From on the ship

From the dock

 

[JoeWras]

Captains need to start reading the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Huge-Ships-John-Trimmer/dp/0870334336

 

[JoeWras]

In all seriousness, this is quite a troubling trend. I've heard all kinds of excuses for these various crashes. One has to wonder if the industry has just extended itself too far.

We had friends have to abandon ship in Santorini, where the ship eventually sank. By total coincidence, we found ourselves on the same cruise many years later as part of a bigger tour. What impressed me is just how carefully we came into Santorini. There's no room for "stuck engines" (as I heard for one of the excuses on a recent crash). In Santorini, you make a mistake, and the ship goes to the bottom of a caldera.

 

[candrew]

Imagine trying to drive the equivalent of a city of 5000 people on water and then realizing it won't stop on a dime.

Who woulda thought?

 

[gerntz]

More ships is small spaces = more contact. Sorta like auto racing?

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had no clue this was happened.

 

[CRLLS]

More ships is small spaces = more contact. Sorta like auto racing?

More ships means more pilots (captains?) More pilots means lesser experienced pilots, or more workload for those existing pilots. Or some mix of both. Combine that with the above and you have the recipe for disaster.

 

[Chuckanut]

Too much rum in the pilot's coffee?

 

[candrew]

Too much rum in the pilot's coffee?

Perhaps the Cap'n was distracted by the parrot on his shoulder? Maybe the eye patch was covering his good eye?

 

[mystang52]

A few months after the Costa Concordia mishap I was on a Caribbean cruise.
At a Q&A with the Captain, I asked about the Concordia Captain's hubris (my word) in causing that tragedy. My ship's captain politely refused to call it hubris and deferred placing blame.
I can't help but wonder, though, since these ships do the same itinerary every week if there is at least a bit of complacency be the crew.

 

[googily]

I heard that one time there was a cruise that went on a three-hour tour, but the weather started getting rough and they ended up setting down on the shore of an uncharted desert island.

[emoji41]

 

[travelover]

Texting.

 

[candrew]

I heard that one time there was a cruise that went on a three-hour tour, but the weather started getting rough and they ended up setting down on the shore of an uncharted desert island.

[emoji41]

Wow! I imagine that there must have been no lights, no phones, no motor cars. Not a single luxury!

 

[Mdlerth]

Why did Ginger and the Howells pack so many clothes for 3 hours?

Wow! I imagine that there must have been no lights, no phones, no motor cars. Not a single luxury!

I'd call being trapped on a tropical island with both Ginger and Mary Ann a major luxury.

 

[target2019]

We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam just after. Departure was delayed a short time, to allow for a navigation light repair. We sat at the restaurant window on third deck a few days later. No leaks!

 

[Koolau]

Minor in comparison to a crash, but when we went on a cruise (a big, middle-of-the-road line that you would recognize) they failed to have the evacuation drill for the passengers. We were told it would happen, then it never did. That didn't give me a lot of confidence in cruising. I enjoyed our one cruise, but not sure I would go again. If I did, it would be more for the destination rather than the actual cruising experience. YMMV

 

[target2019]

The disaster drill on H-A gave me more confidence. Those leading did not shy away from telling the giddy travelers to keep quiet and follow orders.

 

[Nemo2]

Pullmantur, (our favorite line), has always had pretty comprehensive muster drills, as regulated by the IMO.

 

[HadEnuff]

I thought this thread was going to be about a new fad of people "crashing" (i.e. sneaking aboard without paying) cruises, the way folks were crashing weddings a while ago. I thought there would be some interesting stories about what happens to the stowaways once discovered.

As far as the real content of this thread, a wise old boatman once warned me, about my boating, "don't come in any faster than you want to hit."

 

[sengsational]

I thought this thread was going to be about a new fad of people "crashing" (i.e. sneaking aboard without paying) cruises, the way folks were crashing weddings a while ago. I thought there would be some interesting stories about what happens to the stowaways once discovered.

As far as the real content of this thread, a wise old boatman once warned me, about my boating, "don't come in any faster than you want to hit."

In the 70's, our ship ended-up with a couple of stow-aways. They came aboard in a goofy bathtub boat with their uncle, the mayor of Nanaimo. Two girls, about 15 years old. We teenagers were hanging out and when the bunch of visitors were getting back in the bathtub boat, these two stayed on. They had one night and got off in the next port. Not remotely possible now due to the obvious. But it was a cool adventure, trying to figure out a place for them to sleep.

So although party crashing is what came to mind, I've never seen anything like the crashes above. We seemed to get close on a few dockings, and I always figured they knew exactly what they were doing. I picture calm, relaxed pilots and captains. From now on I will probably imagine a larger galvanic response.

 

[Sojourner]

In Venice a MSC cruise ship plowed into a smaller cruise ship and the dock, pretty dramatic video.

Wow... incredible. What's even more amazing (actually, dumbfounding) than the actual crash is how many people on shore were so casually milling around near the point of impact as that gigantic hulking ship is lumbering ever closer to them. Some of them were even walking towards it!

 

[Teacher Terry]

I saw the Venice crash on the news last night. Terrible.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

More ships is small spaces = more contact. Sorta like auto racing?

This x1000. So many of the smaller, interesting places I have enjoyed traveling to over the years have been overtaken by cruise ships with their hoards of people and it annoys me no end. Would you guess that I am *not* a fan of cruise ships?

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, sounds like the Venetians are really tired of these cruise ships and want them out of the canals.

Crazy - big ship has an engine failure near Venice. What are they going to plow into next? Apparently a cruise ship from the same company plowed through water and electricity lines to one of the nearby islands several years ago. People without for weeks.

 

[joeea]

I assume you meant to write "sad" rather than "fad".