Cruise Ship Collision in Italy -- Report by Dave About This Page:

[Jennifer Marx]

Dave wrote a very good article on the cruise ship collision that happened yesterday in Italy: Cruise Ship Collision: Costa Concordia Runs Aground (3 Dead, 14 Injured, 17 Missing) | PassPorter Blogs

Of particular note, at least to me, is that this cruise ship -- the Costa Concordia -- is LARGER than the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder, and Costa is owned by Carnival. Then again, Costa Cruise Lines also has a long history of issues. I don't see this happening with Disney personally -- and they don't skip safety drills as this one reportedly had!

Anyway, great reporting and commentary Dave -- thanks for sharing it!

[nurse_mom]

Thanks for the article Dave! I can't believe that the safety drill was not done prior to leaving....How sad for everyone........I have been reassuring the girls the chances of our ship crashing is very small, for our trip in June. However, they have tons of questions, so I'm taking this as a time to educate on safety drill.

[DawnK]

Great article , Dave!!

Truly sad! I have never been on a cruise before and it makes me nervous now to go on one.

for the families of those lost and missing.

[KathyL]

Thanks for the article. Having been on many cruises, I have been following this story since it happened. Once the investigation is over, I will look forward to seeing what really went wrong. I am glad that the cruise ships that I have been on have all practiced safety drills on the first day.

[chezp]

I read the article earlier and found it fascinating. I cannot believe safety drills were not done. There's going to be a heck of an investigation into this and I can see criminal charges from this.

[cfaletra]

We appreciate the article. It is scary but as we have experienced in the past, Disney makes safety a priority. Unfortunately our 11 year old asked if this could happen on our Cruise in April.

[lindadarrall]

I'm reminded of the muster drill on my December cruise on the Dream...

As we stood on deck listening to the instructions being given, I heard the unmistakeable sound of cell phone keys tapping. I saw the woman to my right playing Tetris on her phone during the instructions!!

I leaned over and said "You really ought to be listening to this.". Her husband, who was wearing a Gold Castaway Club lanyard around his neck, told me "This is probably the tenth time we've heard this. "

But have you ever had to use it? What if you need to remember it tonight? Will you wish you had listened?

[Colexis Mom]

On our RCCL Alaska cruise in July, they didn't do the muster drill until the next morning. We didn't leave the port until 9 PM (we boarded around 1:30). Although on the KTTW card the location was printed big on the card. You can bet the next cruise I'm on I'm going to find out as soon as I get onboard where my lifeboat is!

[queen2]

very sad indeed sending prayers. Just glad they were close to land. I read or heard the capitan usually goes in close so passengers may take pictures. Also heard the only do life drills every 15 days . Not sure how true that was. You know how things get started.

[Disneybine]

There is a lot about this incident in the news over here since many of the passangers were German. The latest I've heard is that the captain and some other crew members have been arrested (which doesn't surprise me one bit).

I just can't seem to get that horrible picture of the ship lying on its side out of my head Especially since I love cruising and always felt perfectly safe on the Disney ships.

[Tabitha34]

We have been on 3 cruises, all Carnival and always felt very safe. After reading about this and seeing pictures it does make me nervous to think about cruising again. We have been wanting to go on a Disney Cruise but while I was reading about this and seeing the pictures all I could think about was if we were in that situation how difficult it would be keeping our kids safe. Thinking of the people crawling down a hall. That would be very difficult for a person with a disability. I know the chances of this happening are very low but it still makes you have second thoughts.

[Papa Mouse]

I have read an article that 1. the captain was arrested partially because he violated the law of the sea where the captain is suspose to be the last person to leave his ship in case of disaster which is a 15 year offense. 2. That a local policeman recognized him on shore soon after the disaster and asked him to return to the ship which he refused. 3. That the cruise ship was 4 miles off course when it struck the rock near shore. 4. That the ship was within about 150 yards of shore when it struck the rock. 5. That over time various cruise ships come close to shore to sound their horns for the town. 6. A couple passengers claim the captain was showing off with ship movements. 7. A few passengers claim to have seen the captain hid below a blanket in one of the life boats. 8. That the ship was so close to shore that it could not turn around if it had to and a small list goes on.