Have Cruise Ships Become Dangerous?

[justjim]

This time it was a fire aboard the Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of The Seas Cruise Ship. It seems every couple of weeks you hear of another "troubled" cruise. These incidents seem to be escalating to the point where a person might want to think twice about cruising. What is going on?

[Trayderjoe]

IMO, no, cruise ships have NOT suddenly become dangerous. As with life, there is a risk in anything with we do. Communication is different today than in the past, so we are getting information quicker and more broadly. Add in our natural sensitivity to cruise line issues right now and I can understand your question. I would also put forth that the cruise line response to the event is crucial. Ask the RC cruisers how they felt about the incident and compare that to the feedback from the other cruise line recently in the news and I am sure that you will see a completly different outcome.

If anything, I would submit that cruising is actually safer. Technology allows quicker identification of storms, faster identification of ships in the area and even at greater distances in years past, etc.

I have been on 10 cruises, with #11 coming up and fully intend to continue cruising as much as possible.
:posting:

[Arctic Fox]

This time it was a fire aboard the Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of The Seas Cruise Ship. It seems every couple of weeks you hear of another "troubled" cruise. These incidents seem to be escalating to the point where a person might want to think twice about cruising. What is going on?

Considering how many cruise ships there are now and, given the size of the newer ones, how many people are cruising, the accident rate is very low and most are relatively minor bearing in mind the on-board emergency response facilities.

However, I do think that the cruise lines are cutting back on preventative maintenance - trying to keep the ships at sea earning money rather than dry-docking them on a regular basis - and this may well be contributing to accidents that would otherwise have been avoided.

[CWGUY]

I do think that the cruise lines are cutting back on preventative maintenance - trying to keep the ships at sea earning money rather than dry-docking them on a regular basis - and this may well be contributing to accidents that would otherwise have been avoided.

How do you support this broad statement.... other than the fact you stayed at a "Holiday Inn Express" last night? :shrug:

[Bonny]

We just took our 50th. cruise & have 2 more booked. We love cruising.

[Sparty6971]

I have absolutely no fear of cruises. We started back in the 1990s with the small cruise ships and are loving the bigger ones now. Our lines of choice are Princess and Royal Caribbean and both have had issues on cruises but I wouldn't mind living on one of their ships full time. Comfy staterooms, great food, super service. . . I know people can offer up horror stories concerning every cruise line. Same can be done for all the airlines, trains, cars, buses, resorts, you name it. Sorry for the almost rant.

In short, IMHO no the cruises are NOT getting dangerous.

[justjim]

We just took our 50th. cruise & have 2 more booked. We love cruising.

:beer3: Wow! 50 cruises----we have been on eight or nine over the years and never had any problems---well, on one had some rough seas the last couple of days and a lot of people were sick as they even closed down the dining room and casino because they couldn't keep the plates or the chips on the tables. It really was rough seas. Our last cruise was on The Oasis of the Seas, largest cruise ship at the time, and we had a very good time. I guess everything is great until "trouble on the high seas" happens to,you. On a ship you are at the mercy of the crew and staff.

[jdsl1998]

Just got back on Sunday from NCL Breakaway out of NYC. This was the second week for this new ship. She was beautiful and the staff was fabulous. The waves got up past 23 feet and I felt safe, unless I looked outside...haha. Everything was in working order and of the highest quality. Plan on cruising again before the end of the year on Holland.

[Arctic Fox]

How do you support this broad statement.... other than the fact you stayed at a "Holiday Inn Express" last night? :shrug:

While I don't understamd your Holiday Inn Express reference, I do know that on the past three cruises the company has undertaken fairly extensive work - including rewiring etc. - that we have never experienced in our previous decade of cruising.

On one cruise they closed down part of a deck so that they could dismantle some awnings. That ship was then heading to Bahamas for a week for a significant refit, so the only reason for starting work while we were still at sea on a cruise was so they could get a head start and spend less time out of commission.

[billethkid]

This time it was a fire aboard the Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of The Seas Cruise Ship. It seems every couple of weeks you hear of another "troubled" cruise. These incidents seem to be escalating to the point where a person might want to think twice about cruising. What is going on?

NO!

btk

[George Bieniaszek]

Love cruising!!! Been on 2 so far this year with one more scheduled in August, a destination wedding with a stop in Key West where my daughter is getting married :)

My wife and I did a cruise in late January and just for the heck of it, looked at the Royal Caribbean web site in April and saw a 4 day cruise out of Miami for $149 per person. Yes, it was on an older ship, but it was in beautiful shape and for $149 per person and the potential of eating 37 times per day HA HA HA, no brainer!! 8 days after we saw the ad, we were on the ship.

Living in Florida has its advantages that you are at most, 5 hours by car away from cruising and can get real good last minute rates.

[simpkinp]

I'm cruising again soon, so I don't think it's dangerous. This is 15th or so for me, and many more for my companion. I enjoy every one of them, no matter the weather or whatever. Everyone has its special times and memories. Nothing like it.

[Quixote]

....I would also put forth that the cruise line response to the event is crucial. Ask the RC cruisers how they felt about the incident and compare that to the feedback from the other cruise line recently in the news and I am sure that you will see a completly different outcome.

If anything, I would submit that cruising is actually safer. Technology allows quicker identification of storms, faster identification of ships in the area and even at greater distances in years past, etc.

I agree that cruising is safer nowadays because of technology. I have been on more cruises than I can remember, am doing four in 2013 alone, and will not hesitate to continue cruising in spite of recent incidents. There have always been--and always will be--incidents!

As far as the RC cruisers in contrast to passengers on "the other cruise line," keep in mind two things: (1) the fire on the RC ship did NOT knock out the ship's power, and (2) when it happened it was much closer to port than the ship on "the other cruise line." Major differences....

[Bonny]

I agree that cruising is safer nowadays because of technology. I have been on more cruises than I can remember, am doing four in 2013 alone, and will not hesitate to continue cruising in spite of recent incidents. There have always been--and always will be--incidents!

As far as the RC cruisers in contrast to passengers on "the other cruise line," keep in mind two things: (1) the fire on the RC ship did NOT knock out the ship's power, and (2) when it happened it was much closer to port than the ship on "the other cruise line." Major differences....
But, Royal Caribbean was way more generous to the passengers than the other cruise line !!!

[asianthree]

try not to worry about things i can not change...cruise on

[BarryRX]

There are people who reference plane crashes and question whether it is safe to fly. There are those that reference cruise ship accidents and question whether it is safe to cruise or not. Every day, 89 people are killed in car accidents in the United States. It is difficult to compare cruise ship fatalities because how does one categorize someone drowning because they fell or jumped overboard, or deaths due to norovirus or legionnaires disease, or heart attacks or other natural causes, or mishaps when on an excursion, or shipboard murders? My guess is that cruising, due to the longer length of time one is on a ship, would be quite similar to the safety PER MILE TRAVELED of other forms of transportation. So, statistically, you are probably in more danger driving to the airport or to the docks then flying or cruising.

[Quixote]

There are people who reference plane crashes and question whether it is safe to fly. There are those that reference cruise ship accidents and question whether it is safe to cruise or not. Every day, 89 people are killed in car accidents in the United States. It is difficult to compare cruise ship fatalities because how does one categorize someone drowning because they fell or jumped overboard, or deaths due to norovirus or legionnaires disease, or heart attacks or other natural causes, or mishaps when on an excursion, or shipboard murders? My guess is that cruising, due to the longer length of time one is on a ship, would be quite similar to the safety PER MILE TRAVELED of other forms of transportation. So, statistically, you are probably in more danger driving to the airport or to the docks then flying or cruising.

I agree for sure!

[Bavarian]

Have made ten cruises and have 4 Star status on Holland America. Eight cruises on HAL, one RC, and one Huertigruten.

Never shorther then 7 days, World Cruise was 113 days, Grand Asia Australia 70. Last ones the long ones had rough seas, but ship held up.

You are safer in a problem on a ship than on an airplane.

Seems to my wife and I that people do not take life boat drill seriously and when the problem comes they are not ready. They on the RC were in pajamas when they were told to go to stateroom, dress warm, put on life jacket and follow route to their station. Seems like people just go to lifeboat early before alarm, so they won't know how to act in real emergency. My solution is to have life boat drills unannounced. We followed the rules, were last at life boat, but we knew the route.

Booking a two week river cruise for next May on Donau, Bucharest to Nuremburg, should be interesting way to see Eastern Europe.

[justjim]

[QUOTE=Bavarian;684431]Have made ten cruises and have 4 Star status on Holland America. Eight cruises on HAL, one RC, and one Huertigruten.

You are safer in a problem on a ship than on an airplane.

:agree: I would rather be on a ship too. We were pretty "anxious" when the pilot announced that we were returning to Vegas after half hour in the air because of a mechanical problem. Life boats on the cruise ships but no parachutes on the plane!

[emc101]

Bavarian, would love to know more about how you liked world cruise as we are thinking of taking it.

as for safety we take holland america and love it. the crew always seems to be practicing safety measure with ship was in port or when anchored. few years ago some guy threw life preserver overboard at 4am. ship was stopped and crew sent out in tender to look for whoever went overboard almost immediately. turned out false alarm and guy was arrested by fbi when we got to port. think safety depend on line you cruise with.

[JourneyOfLife]

My wife and I were discussing the same question when we saw it on the news.

We were thinking that the number of incidents lately seems to have risen. It could be our perception and that we are just more aware of it.

[Arctic Fox]

Have made ten cruises and have 4 Star status on Holland America. Eight cruises on HAL...Seems to my wife and I that people do not take life boat drill seriously ...

HAL seems to be more conscientious than most when it comes to the drill (except that you now don't wear your lifejacket to it, which I think is a retrograde step).

We have also cruised on Celebrity, and all we did there was meet in a lounge. No sense of what you would actually do, or where you would go, in a real emergency.

[Bavarian]

Bavarian, would love to know more about how you liked world cruise as we are thinking of taking it.

as for safety we take holland america and love it. the crew always seems to be practicing safety measure with ship was in port or when anchored. few years ago some guy threw life preserver overboard at 4am. ship was stopped and crew sent out in tender to look for whoever went overboard almost immediately. turned out false alarm and guy was arrested by fbi when we got to port. think safety depend on line you cruise with.

We took World Cruise in 2008. Went up through Suez Canal, Istanbul, Sochi (saw site of next years Winter games, Sevastapol Santorini, Venice. Since then many World Cruises sail from India to South Africa, bypassing Egypt and all. I think 2012 went the big route. So, make sure you check itinerary before you go. Itinaries voted on by passengers on last cruise. We are happy we went when we did, saw much much more. Taj Mahal, Pyramids, Sphinx, Hong Kong, Sydney, New Zealand and much much more. Book early for the most benefits. Buy at least 100 shares of Carnival to get more shipboard credit.

2014 seems very bad, no New Zealand, just island hopping.

Many people take every year, say cheaper than nursing home, they don't leave the ship and do not care where the ship goes. But the most important thing is the ports of call. Many people meet on the World Cruise, get married in the Summer, take next World Cruise as Honeymoon.

[swrinfla]

Took my 22d cruise in March. My 23d begins in Venice on 11/17/13 and my 24 in Fort Lauderdale on 3/8/14. I am always looking for new cruising adventures.

Yes, there seem to have been an inordinate number of cruising "issues" recently, but, quite honestly, they are few and far between.

The Carnival Splendor in the Pacific some 18 months or more ago.

The Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy in January 2012. [Admittedly, the worst incident in years]

The Carnival Tempest (?) not too long thereafter, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Carnival Dream last March, in Sint Maarten.

The Grandeur of the Seas last week.

Consider the number of ships sailing every week, from ports all over the world, against just these five incidents.

You are far, far more likely to have a problem when you are out and about in your automobile than when you are crusing, flying or traveling by train!

SWR
:beer3:

[Arctic Fox]

The [I]Carnival Tempest

and what on Earth possessed Norwegian to call its newest ship the "Breakaway"?

[justjim]

Took my 22d cruise in March. My 23d begins in Venice on 11/17/13 and my 24 in Fort Lauderdale on 3/8/14. I am always looking for new cruising adventures.

Yes, there seem to have been an inordinate number of cruising "issues" recently, but, quite honestly, they are few and far between.

The Carnival Splendor in the Pacific some 18 months or more ago.

The Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy in January 2012. [Admittedly, the worst incident in years]

The Carnival Tempest (?) not too long thereafter, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Carnival Dream last March, in Sint Maarten.

The Grandeur of the Seas last week.

Consider the number of ships sailing every week, from ports all over the world, against just these five incidents.

You are far, far more likely to have a problem when you are out and about in your automobile than when you are crusing, flying or traveling by train!

SWR
:beer3:

:read: One reason you don't read much about Cruise Ship issues (unless it is a disaster or near disaster) is while most ships are based in the U. S. they are Registered outside the U.S. No one is systemically collecting the data according to the website CruiseJunkie.com. For example, CruiseJunkie reports 79 fires on board Cruise Ships 1990-2011 and 5,532 reported health issues in 2012 which was much better than 7,101 health issues in 2010. These data were just gathered from newspaper reports and passenger reports. Many problems such as rape and robbery are swept under the rug and everything else is under reported according to cruise junkie. Like most things on the Internet----take "them" for what they are worth.

[JourneyOfLife]

Here is an interesting article. I found a link to it on CruiseJunkie.com

Treacherous Waters (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/05/treacherous_waters?page=full)

[Mack184]

While I have never been on a cruise and have no interest in doing so, I would agree with all those who say that based on all the ships at sea at any given time their record is pretty good.

Now..why all the sudden "incidents"? One of the reasons is that you have multiple 24/7 news outlets that need content 24 hours a day. Back when most people got their news at 630pm from ABC, CBS & NBC those news shows only had between 18-20 minutes of content, so a ship with a dead generator was not likely to get even a mention, much less 24 hour coverage. But when the eye never closes, you have a whole different situation and they must have something to put in all that space! Hence, all sorts of things get elevated to "Breaking News" status that in years past wouldn't even rate a mention.

[rubicon]

"Have Crusie Ships Become Dangerous"

I would rather do another tandem jump then go on a cruise....that's my story and I am sticking to it.