When the starboard side of the Costa Concordia ripped open and listed in the waters off the coast of Italy this weekend, it was more than a wake-up call for cruise lines, captains and crews.
If any of us who feel so safe and secure on cruise ships (and we do) needed a wake-up call, we got one in reading reports of this deadly accident.
After all the finger pointing and investigations are done, the bottom line will be that we the passengers put our safety in the hands of cruise crews, and if they are not properly prepared to save us in such emergencies, we are less likely to cruise.
The size of the Concordia raises another safety issue. Capable of carrying about 4,000 passengers, it’s on the large size of medium, as ships go nowadays. This weekend’s load was 3,400 or so, and the early investigative indication is that the crew was overwhelmed in getting that many people off the ship…for whatever the reason.
Imagine if the same thing happened to Oasis of the Seas, with 6,000 passengers.
Accidents do happen, which is no solace to the loved ones of the people who didn’t survive this crash. Rarely is there a mishap of this magnitude involving a cruise ship and people tend to have short memories. A plane crashes…and we talk about not flying, for a while. A highway becomes a deadly road…and we’ll never drive it again, for a while.
This is the peak time of year for selling cruises, so the impact of this accident is likely to be severe. It’s also likely to be remembered by those of us who stand on deck 14, peering into the waters below and feeling more secure than we would on the 14th floor of a high rise.
DAILY DEAL:
Holland America Zuiderdam
10 nights
March 9, 2012
Fort Lauderdale (return): Half Moon Cay, Aruba, Curacao, Panama Canal, Colon, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica)
Inside $949
www.hollandamerica.com