cruise ship triumph disaster

Did the Carnival Cruise Ship 'Triumph' Overturn and Sink?

"jokes are created by users." but not necessarily good jokes., published nov. 7, 2018.

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On 7 November 2018, a brief article published on the "prank" web site React365 reported that the Carnival cruise ship Triumph had overturned and sunk off the coast of Mexico:

The Carnival cruise ship Triumph ran aground and overturned after striking an underwater rock off the coast of Mexico while coming into port the evening of November 5th 2018 resulting in 32 deaths. There may have been additional people not listed as on board, so the death toll could possibly be higher. The search for bodies was canceled after a small tropical storm came in and resumed the morning of the 6th. Scuba teams are still recovering bodies, stay connected for any new information pertaining to this devastating accident.

This was not a genuine news report, and the included picture did not show the Carnival cruise ship Triumph sinking off the coast of Mexico in November 2018.

This photograph depicts the Costa Concordia , a luxury cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, in January 2012. The disaster resulted in the deaths of 32 people:

On January 13, 2012 the Italian cruise ship, which was carrying 4,200 people, collided with rocks just off the coast of the Mediterranean island, Giglio. The impact tore a 230-foot gash into the ship's hull, eventually making it capsize. Thirty-two people died in the disaster, while the others were successfully evacuated. On February 11, 2015, the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, was sentenced to a prison term of 16 years and one month for, among other things, negligent homicide.

Carnival's website for their Triumph cruise ship does not show anything out of the ordinary. It lists no reports about an alleged sinking, and potential customers can still book trips on the cruise ship.

React 365 is a "prank" web site that provides users with a template to create their own fake news stories in order to trick their friends on social media. A disclaimer at the bottom of the site reads: "This website is an entertainment website, jokes are created by users. These are humorous jokes, fantasy, fictional, that should not be seriously taken or as a source of information."

Boesalager, Matern.   "Ship to Wreck: Grim, Beautiful Photos of the Costa Concordia."     Vice .   29 January 2016.

Fox News .   "Court Hears How 32 Died in Costa Concordia Shipwreck."     17 July 2013.

By Dan Evon

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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A Photo History Of Carnival Cruise Ship Disasters

In mid-February, an engine room fire onboard the Carnival Cruises ship Triumph left more than 4,000 passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, with no hot water and few working toilets.

A month later, just as the incident was fading from the public eye, the diesel generator in the Carnival Dream malfunctioned, while the ship was at port, and passengers were flown home.

The next week, Carnival Legend had a technical issue with its sailing speed, and was sent back to its destination in Tampa, canceling a scheduled stop.

This recent string of public relations disasters is not a new phenomenon for Carnival: Its first ship ran aground on a sandbar on its inaugural voyage. There have been fires on four ships since 1998.

The Costa Concordia, operated by a Carnival subsidiary, struck a reef of the coast of Italy in January 2012, killing 32 people.

But despite its checkered past, the increased cost of maintaining its aging fleet, and the need to cut prices to draw customers put off by recent fires and strandings, Carnival's bottom line has not badly suffered.

In fact, its quarterly earnings and revenue just beat market expectations, and Carnival executives say bookings have already bounced back in the wake of the heavily publicized Triumph disaster.

Problems started early for Carnival: The TSS Mardi Gras, its first cruise ship, ran aground on a sandbar during its inaugural voyage, in 1972.

Everything was fine until July 1998, when a fire started in the main laundry room of the Ecstasy, soon after the ship left Miami.

A fleet of tugboats fought the fire and pulled the ship to shore, but not before 8 passengers and 14 crew members were injured.

Repairs cost $17 million.

[Source: NTSB ]

A little more than a year later, a fire started in the engine room of the Tropicale (later renamed Ocean Dream). The ship was left stranded in the path of Tropical Storm Harvey, but no one was injured.

In November 2010, the Carnival Splendor lost power after an engine room fire, and was towed to shore by tugboats.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan brought supplies, including Spam and Pop-Tarts, when food supplies on board ran low.

[Source: CNN ]

The ship finally reached shore three days after the fire.

After spending three days without air conditioning and hot water, passengers finally escaped the ship.

Carnival's most serious problem came in January 2012. The Costa Concordia, operated by a Carnival subsidiary, ran aground off the coast of Italy and partially sunk.

32 people died.

In a show of sympathy, the flags at the Carnival headquarters in Doral, Florida were flown at half-mast.

Last month, Italian prosecutors officially sought to indict Captain Francesco Schettino on manslaughter charges.

[Source: The Guardian ]

The wrecked Costa Concordia is still sitting half-submerged in Italy. An incredibly complex, $400 million operation to remove it should be complete by next summer.

In February 2013, an engine room fire led to a power loss on the Carnival Triumph, stranding the ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

It took five days to tow the enormous vessel back to port, and its passengers were stuck on a ship with few working toilets and no power.

Some of the 4,229 passengers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Carnival, but because they signed waivers, they likely won't win.

In March, the problems continued for Carnival: The diesel generator in the Dream malfunctioned while the ship was at port in St Maarten.

Passengers were flown home, and will receive a refund equal to the equivalent of three days of the trip, plus half-off on a future cruise.

Just a week later, the Carnival Legend had a technical issue with its sailing speed, and was sent back to its destination in Tampa, canceling a scheduled stop. Passengers received a $100 credit.

The recent string of incidents has hurt Carnival's bottom line, but not seriously: Its quarterly earnings and revenue beat market expectations.

Now see how another company has faced disaster.

DON'T MISS: How America's Coolest Automaker Crashed So Hard, So Fast >

• Main content

Cruise damage control: Carnival’s reputation foundering along with stranded Triumph

Based on accounts by some passengers of fetid conditions aboard the stricken Carnival cruise liner Triumph, cleaning up the vessel is likely to take a lot of work. The job pales in comparison, though, to the all-hands-on-deck effort it will take to scrub the tarnish off the company’s reputation.

“With something this big, when it happens, it gets the enormous press coverage,” Peter G. Whelpton, a cruise industry consultant, said. “It definitely will affect Carnival… I think they’ll see a short-term dip in their bookings.”

The Triumph, being pulled by a trio of tugboats, is scheduled to limp into Mobile, Ala., sometime Thursday night. Its stranding is expensive for Carnival already.

The company canceled a total of 14 future trips during what would normally be the industry’s high season in the United States. Yesterday, Carnival announced that the cost of these disruptions and repairs will drive down earnings per share by between eight and 10 cents for the first half of the company’s fiscal year.

Related story: Stricken cruise liner limps toward port, should arrive Thursday night

In all likelihood, the cost will be higher because that calculation doesn’t factor in the business Carnival may lose because of the damage its reputation has suffered, said Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz.

“My guess is that there will be a few more pennies down the road thanks to the publicity,” she said. “It’s definitely going to cause a little bit of a PR headache for them.”

Carnival’s public image has hit some stormy seas over the past few years. An engine room fire that crippled the Carnival Splendor in 2010 and last year’s disastrous sinking of the Costa Concordia (a Carnival-owned line) were followed by another fire last March, this time aboard the Costa Allegra in the Indian Ocean.

Americans make up almost two-thirds of cruise travelers around the world, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Luckily for Carnival, only about one in five people associated the Concordia disaster with its parent company, according to Ipsos Loyalty, a division of market research firm Ipsos.

“The public’s memory is short,” Whelpton said, especially when an incident takes place a continent away.

The plight of the Triumph, on the other hand, is playing out in real time via anxious text messages and Tweets sent by passengers on their cell phones. One passenger told TODAY on Thursday t hat food was scarce, water was in the cabins and toilet facilities were virtually nonexistent, comparing the squalid conditions on the stranded ship to those inside the Superdome in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Related: Are you earning minimum wage? We want to hear from you.

Carnival has said that the crews are doing the best they can and it has disputed passenger accounts.

“Every decision we’ve made since Sunday morning is to ensure the safety of our guests and get them home as quickly as possible,’’ Gerry Cahill, CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, said in a news conference.

It has also confirmed that fewer than two dozen public toilets are working for the 4,000 people on board.

Of the 3,143 passengers aboard, most are Americans, which Whelpton said increases interest in the story.

“This seems to be a really high number of people that are affected,” said Andrea Stokes, vice president in the travel and leisure group at Ipsos Loyalty. "This is not good to have this many people affected.”

Another factor that will keep the incident in people’s minds for a while is plans by the National Transportation Safety Board, U.S. Coast Guard and the Bahamas Maritime Authority (where the vessel is flagged) to investigate the fire.

Some critics have charged in the past that the cruise industry is too lightly regulated, since the multinational nature of the business means that carriers often don’t need to comply with domestic rules and requirements on labor, safety and other issues.

Carnival’s latest incident comes at an otherwise positive time for the cruise industry. Bookings on CLIA member vessels rose from 16.3 million in 2011 to an estimated 17.2 million last year. “CLIA member lines have experienced an average annual passenger growth rate of 7.2 percent since 1980,” the group said in a report this month.

Whelpton said the cruise industry tends to be “recession-proof,” and Carnival still has plenty of ardent fans. Skirmishes played out on its Facebook page as loyalists defended the cruise line, suggesting that passengers on board the stricken vessel were exaggerating the severity of the conditions so they could angle for a bigger payout (passengers are already getting $500 in addition to refunds and a discount on a future cruise).

While this subset of customers won’t abandon it, less brand-loyal cruisers might be more likely to drift away from Carnival for their next vacation. Travelers who have never cruised — a “key market” for the industry, according to Stokes — are most likely to be put off the idea of cruising altogether.

“Where this might have a negative effect more would be on people who have never cruised,” she said.

Watch CBS News

After recent cruise disasters, Carnival tries to right the ship

September 6, 2013 / 2:25 PM EDT / CBS News

(CBS News) It's been a rocky ride for Carnival Cruise Lines after several high-profile mishaps in recent years. Now the company is spending more than half-a-billion dollars for improvements to right the ship.

Arnold Donald, the new chief executive officer of Carnival -- on the job for less than nine weeks -- recently sat down with CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg to discuss the company's recent issues and improvements in the works at the largest cruise line in the world.

Last year, Costa Concordia -- a Carnival-owned ship -- ran aground off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people on board. Speaking of that event, Donald said, "It was not any infrastructure or systemic problem that produced the Concordia. It was a one-off unbelievable error in judgment, and it was a tragedy."

"60 Minutes": Costa Concordia: Salvaging a shipwreck

Then, this past February, an engine room fire left the Carnival Triumph powerless and adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico without air conditioning or working toilets. It was a public relations disaster for Carnival.

Greenberg asked Donald, "How do you get ahead of that story?"

"Obviously we didn't," Donald said. "In the future, the way to get ahead of it is to not have it happen."

Donald took over as chief executive officer of Carnival after bookings fell, shares plummeted, and some passengers sued.

Greenberg said, "The good news with the Triumph is you got the fire out and nobody died."

Donald replied, "Not only did no one die, no one was hurt, no one was sick, so there was no safety health issue involved with the Triumph at all."

But it forced Carnival to take a hard look at the design of its ships and safety systems. As a result, the company is spending upwards of $600 million to upgrade its fleet.

Donald said, "In the highly unlikely event we should ever lose power again we'd be able to have a system to back that up and we'd have a process to keep from losing power in the first place."

Carnival Cruise Lines' new vice president of technical operations Mark Jackson -- a former Coast Guard commander -- came on board in April to turn things around. Jackson said, "What happened on Triumph is horrible for our guests and we never want that to happen again, but unfortunately it's something that we learned the hard way."

The first order of business -- rerouting 63 miles of cable, so that a fire would be less likely to take out both engine rooms, as it did on the Triumph. Jackson said, "If one room is lost, we don't lose the other."

Then it was fire suppression -- increasing the number of water mist nozzles from roughly 30 to about 500, and adding a 24/7 manned patrol to look for oil or fuel leaks. And finally, installing a second backup generator, nowhere near the engine room -- just in case. That way, basic services would stay up and running, which, for a ship that size, is no small task.

Despite the bad PR, the statistics are still overwhelmingly in passengers' favor. Donald said, "Keep in mind, these incidents represent far less than one percent of the experience with all our guests."

Still, as consumer confidence tumbled the line began offering deep discounts to get people on board, in some cases slashing fares to just $149 per cruise.

But cruise ship economics are unforgiving, it's not what the passengers pay to book their cruise that counts, it's what they spend once they're on board that moves the bottom line.

The bottom line for Donald now is to reposition Carnival, rebuild its reputation, and fill his ships.

Watch Greenberg's full report above. -->

More from CBS News

Investigation Reveals that Carnival Knew About Fire Risks on Triumph

According to an investigation by CNN, Carnival cruise line’s reports, inspections and maintenance records revealed a growing problem on the  Triumph  more than a year before the ill-fated cruise.

The company’s documents exposed a dangerous pattern of leaks emerging on other Carnival cruise ships in years leading up to the  Triumph  disaster. In February of 2012, Carnival’s  Costa Allegra  caught fire in the Indian Ocean due to fuel leaking onto a hot spot and catching fire. The incident left the ship without power for three days in conditions of nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is uncannily similar to what started the fire onboard the  Triumph  only one year later.

CNN discovered that the crew of the  Triumph  set sail with only four of their six generators fully working, knowing that the vessel had ongoing generator issues. The first problem with the  Triumph  was in diesel generator No. 6, the one that caused the fire. Starting more than a year before the  Triumph  left port, the faulty generator was overdue for maintenance.

Over 4,000 passengers and crew members were stranded aboard the  Triumph  after a fire knocked out the ship’s power. The ship drifted four days before it could be towed to shore, the entire time without air conditioning and mostly without lights, water, food and working toilets.

I Was Injured on a Cruise Ship and I Need Legal Representation

Whether you are staying at a hotel in Florida or a cruise ship anywhere in the world, Colson Hicks Eidson can uphold your right to seek compensation for personal injuries.  Call our firm  to learn about our experience working on behalf of sophisticated clientele in  resort and hotel premises liability  torts and our ability to gain successful  verdicts and settlements  for their claims. We handle cases throughout the nation and around the globe.

Colson Hicks Eidson  – Injury Attorneys

Source:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/travel/carnival-cruise-triumph-problems/index.html?

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Colson Hicks Eidson, P.A. and co-counsel BartlettChen LLC filed a complaint on behalf of a three-generation family who experienced a harrowing near-death incident on a United Airlines flight. The event occurred due to a miscommunication between the Captain and First Officer, resulting in the plane suddenly losing altitude and plunging toward the Pacific Ocean, coming within seconds of crashing and subjecting the passengers to extreme G-forces and terror.

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“To some extent, encounters with bad weather or turbulence are unavoidable when you fly, but no passenger should ever have to endure such a terrifying experience due to pilot error while traveling on a routine commercial flight.” Curtis Miner, Counsel for Plaintiffs said. “Our clients’ entire, three-generation family was subjected to this terrifying, near-miss incident.  We are committed to seeking justice and fair compensation on their behalf.'” Austin Bartlett, Counsel for Plaintiffs, commented: “This nearly catastrophic flight was horrific and traumatic. The Maltz family and all airlines passengers deserve better.”

The complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois where United Airlines is headquartered.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation firm serving clients in local, national, and international matters. Our multilingual team of highly experienced attorneys is dedicated to providing our clients with top-tier legal representation backed by a commitment to hard work, creative thinking, responsiveness, and professionalism. From our offices in Miami, we have handled a broad range of significant legal matters around the world for over 50 years.

About BartlettChen LLC

Based in Chicago, BartlettChen LLC represents individuals in aviation, wrongful death, and immigration matters across the nation and internationally. Austin Bartlett of BartlettChen has practiced aviation law for more than two decades and brings the unique perspective of a former aviation defense attorney to help victims and their families secure full compensation for their losses.

Colson Hicks Eidson is pleased to announce that nine attorneys have been named in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. Lawyers for this guide are selected through Lawdragon’s process of independent journalistic research and submissions.  Their selection process emphasizes lawyers who have demonstrated consistent excellence and have made notable impacts in their fields.

Click here to read the full guide.

The Firm’s recognized attorneys are listed below.

• Susan Carlson
• Stephanie Casey
• Dean Colson
• Lewis “Mike” Eidson
• Joseph Kalbac
• Julie Braman Kane
• Thomas Kroeger
• Roberto Martinez
• Curtis Miner

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation law firm based in Miami, Florida, serving clients in local, national, and international matters across multiple languages. Practice areas include complex civil and commercial litigation, catastrophic personal injury, medical negligence, product liability, class action, mass tort, and white-collar criminal defense for the most serious and challenging of cases.  Since 1971, the firm and its lawyers have consistently worked to be respected by the state and federal judiciary – securing numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of clients. Learn more at  www.colson.com .

MIAMI ( November 2, 2023 ) –  Colson Hicks Eidson  announced today that it has been named in the 2024 list of The Best Law Firms in America . The Miami-based firm has once again received this honor at both the national and metropolitan level. This follows a recent announcement where seven of the firm’s attorneys were named as  Best Lawyers in America” for 2024  across a range of fields.

“We strive every day to provide the best possible representation for our clients, and we are honored to continue to receive this recognition for our work,” said Dean C. Colson, Managing Partner of Colson Hicks Eidson.

Best Lawyers , a distinguished peer-review legal publication company, develops The Best Law Firms in America listings through individual lawyer and law firm surveys and firm recognition history. Colson Hicks Eidson is recognized in the following areas.

National Tier 2  (Represents national clients and smaller companies)

• Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs

Metropolitan Tier 1  (Scored within a certain percentage of highest-scoring firms in area)

• Bet-the-Company Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Criminal Defense: White-Collar
• Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Insurance Law

Metropolitan Tier 2  (Scored within a certain percentage of the next highest-scoring firms in area)

• Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
• Professional Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation law firm based in Miami, Florida, serving clients in local, national, and international matters across multiple languages. Practice areas include complex civil and commercial litigation, catastrophic personal injury, medical negligence, product liability, class action, mass tort, and white-collar criminal defense for the most serious and challenging of cases.  Since 1971, the firm and its lawyers have consistently worked to be respected by the state and federal judiciary – securing numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of clients. Learn more at  www.colson.com .

Colson Hicks Eidson (CHE) is proud to announce its recent involvement in a significant legal matter with statewide implications. Sabrina Saieh, an attorney at CHE, has filed an amicus brief in the First District Court of Appeal in the case of State of Florida, Agency of Health Care Administration v. Alfredo Ivan Murciano, M.D. in support of Dr. Murciano’s brief.

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The brief urges the First District Court of Appeal to recognize that Article V, Section 21 was added to the Florida Constitution to prevent executive branch agencies, such as the Agency of Health Care Administration (ACHA), from imposing their legal interpretations on the courts and ALJs. The Florida Constitution prohibits ALJs and the courts from accepting mandates from ACHA to adopt their findings of fact or issue orders based on ACHA’s interpretations of statutes and rules that contradict those determined by the ALJs or courts during a de novo review.

This amicus brief underscores CHE’s dedication to defending the integrity of the Florida Constitution and ensuring that judicial interpretation of statutes and rules remains impartial and independent from administrative agencies.

Colson Hicks Eidson Partner Recognized for Outstanding Leadership at the Southern District’s 6th Biennial Bench and Bar Conference 

Organizing committee appointee  stephanie casey formally honored by judge altman.

MIAMI ( September 9, 2023 ) –  Colson Hicks Eidson, a multilingual complex civil and commercial litigation law firm based in Miami, FL, today congratulated Stephanie A. Casey for her leadership as an ad-hoc organizer of the Florida Southern District’s 6th Biennial Bench and Bar Conference. She was recognized formally by Judge Roy Altman for her remarkable service at the event in Miami Beach on September 9, 2023. 

The Bench and Bar Conference of the Southern District – a collaborative effort between the US District Court and the South Florida Chapters of the Federal Bar Association – brought together legal professionals, judges, and experts in a sold-out event, attracting more than 1,000 attendees. Casey played a pivotal role in organizing this prestigious gathering, which featured a day-long program of engaging panel discussions with esteemed judges, legal experts, and members of the Southern District of Florida’s Bench and Bar.

One of the highlights of the conference was the “Supreme Court Roundup,” featuring distinguished speakers Miguel A. Estrada and Neal Katyal. Additionally, a thought-provoking panel discussion marked the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision, with Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams, and the Honorable Robert N. Scola, Jr. 

“We are immensely proud of our partner Stephanie Casey for her exceptional contributions to the 6th Biennial Bench and Bar Conference,” Senior Partner Curt Miner said. “Her leadership and commitment to advancing the legal profession are exactly in line with our firm values, and we look forward to her continued success.”

Casey was appointed to the Southern District’s Bench and Bar Committee by Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in May 2022.  

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com .

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The Real Stories Behind Scary Cruise Disasters

Need to get away from it all? Want to take a vacation from your problems? Well, perhaps you should book passage on a cruise ship . Or then again ... perhaps not. Cruise ships are basically floating disaster zones just waiting to happen, and over the years, thousands of unlucky passengers and crew members have found themselves at the mercy of pirates, nature, and incompetent captains.

The Carnival Triumph cruise from hell

The Carnival Triumph was anything but. On February 10, 2013, a fire broke out in one of the engine rooms, knocking out the ship's power and condemning the 3,143 passengers to endure the cruise from hell. The blaze began courtesy of a leaky fuel line, and making things worse, only four of the Triumph 's six generators were working in the first place. Now, they were all fried, and the boat found itself without some pretty basic amenities, such as air conditioning, working lights, and a functional sewer system.

This is where the story starts to get pretty nasty. Stuck at sea for five days, the passengers were forced to use biohazard bags to store their, well, waste. According to reports, the decks were jam-packed with these bags. The stench coupled with the heat made things absolutely unbearable. Hoping for some sort of reprieve, the passengers camped out on the open decks and hallways, desperate for a bit of cool air.

Eventually, four tugboats towed the so-called "poop cruise" from its position off the Yucatan Peninsula to Mobile, Alabama. Although, there were a few hiccups, with a tow line and some tugboat equipment breaking along the way. As to why the cruise line didn't have the passengers switch over to another ship, that scenario would've been much too risky. In the grand scheme of things, five days isn't too long to wait for a safe trip home, even if the smell is unbearable.

Hoping to make up for the nightmare, the cruise line gave its passengers a refund, an extra $500 per person, and best of all, a free future cruise . We can't say for sure, but chances are good most people didn't take them up on that offer.

The attack on the Seabourn Spirit

Modern-day pirates are not a jolly bunch. Instead of peglegs and parrots, they're notorious for packing AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Many of these 21st century buccaneers work out of Somalia, looting any ship that tries to sneak by. And in November 2005, a group of Somali pirates decided it was a good idea to attack the Seabourn Spirit, a cruise ship carrying around 300 people. But as the cutthroats approached their target, they quickly realized they'd picked the wrong ship.

The Seabourn Spirit was heading for Mombasa, Kenya , when the crew noticed two boats were heading their direction. That's when Ship Security Officer Michael Groves went into superhero mode. The 41-year-old ex-cop ran up on deck and was almost immediately knocked down by an RPG blast. After making sure he still had all his digits, he fired at the pirates with a high-powered hose, forcing the Somalis to back off.

Of course, the pirates weren't giving up so easily, and soon they were back for round two. This time, the liner's Master of Arms, a Gurkha named Som Bahadur Gurung, decided to go sci-fi on the swashbucklers. Under fire, Gurung tried to blast the pirates with a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a sonic cannon that can cause serious hearing damage. But as he tried to fire, Gurung took a bullet, dropping him instantly. Fortunately, Groves pulled his comrade to safety and began firing the LRAD at the pirates, causing the outlaws to beat a hasty retreat.

For their bravery, Groves and Gurung were presented to Queen Elizabeth , who awarded Groves with the Queen's Gallantry Medal and Gurung with the Queen's Commendation for Bravery. They also found themselves armed with one great story to tell at parties.

The hijacking of Le Ponant

A swanky ship called Le Ponant was between jobs and only carrying its 30 crew members when it sailed through the Gulf of Aden in 2008. The Gulf is prime pirate territory, so the crew readied itself accordingly, with pirate-repelling fire hoses and lookouts at port and starboard. Before the ship could make it safely out of the Gulf, it was attacked by a team of eight pirates.

When he spotted the pirate crafts coming his way, Captain Patrick Marchesseau ordered the crew to prepare for battle, but the veteran pirates expertly avoided his fire hoses and line traps (meant to tangle up their motors). Pulling up alongside the ship, the Somalis hooked a ladder to the side of the boat, and when Le Ponant 's doctor tried to knock the ladder off, the pirates began firing their machine guns. Soon, the Somalis were in charge, and the situation was made even more intense because the pirates were high on a stimulant called khat.

Luckily, the jittery pirates were only interested in money, and they directed Marchesseau to head for Somalia. Thinking on his feet, Marchesseau surreptitiously phoned CMA CGM, the Marseille-based company that owned Le Ponant , to let them know about the hijacking. Soon, the situation was being monitored by both the French and Canadian militaries , but this didn't deter the pirates for even one second.

As planned, Le Ponant anchored off the coast of Somalia, and soon, there were approximately 30 thugs on board, discussing how much ransom money they should demand. The pirates figured the crew was worth $3 million, but the folks at CMA CGM actually began haggling with the Somalis, convincing them to lower their price to $2.15 million. When all was said and done, the Somalis exchanged their prisoners for cash, and most of the outlaws escaped.

However, French helicopters chased down one vehicle carrying at least three confirmed pirates, and after shooting out the engine, the Somalis were taken into custody. Unfortunately, these three only possessed a fraction of the ransom money. The rest of the pirate band had disappeared, vanishing with the haul of a lifetime.

The disappearance of Rebecca Coriam

When you board a Disney cruise ship, you're hoping to find the happiest place on the ocean. But in 2011, things went from magical to mysterious when a Disney employee seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth.

Rebecca Coriam was a Youth Activity worker on Disney Wonder , a cruise ship taking tourists down the coast of Mexico. On March 22, 2011, the 24-year-old British citizen was caught on CCTV footage, talking on the telephone, appearing quite distraught. After hanging up and walking away, it was like Coriam stepped into another dimension. Hours later, after failing to report for work, Disney officials began searching the boat, but to no avail. Soon, both Mexican and American authorities were notified, and as Disney Wonder was registered in the Bahamas, a Bahamian official was sent to investigate.

The results were inconclusive. According to the investigator, it's likely Coriam was knocked off Deck Five of the ship by a wave. However, there's no CCTV footage of anyone falling overboard. Plus, journalist Jon Ronson wrote that it was unlikely she fell off Deck Five as a high steel wall would've prevented any such accident. And while some theorize she committed suicide, there are others—including high-ranking British politicians—who believe Coriam was murdered and possibly sexually assaulted. Some have even alleged that Disney knew of the killing and kept it quiet.

As for Coriam's family, they still hold out hope that Coriam is alive somewhere , but while they asked both the FBI and President Barack Obama for assistance, there haven't been any concrete answers. In 2016, the family reached an undisclosed settlement with Disney, perhaps ending the entire, enigmatic saga. Although there is one bit of additional info which makes the story stranger still: two months after after Rebecca Coriam disappeared, someone used her credit card.

The sinking of the SS Arctic

It was September 1854, and the steam-powered SS Arctic had recently left England, full of American tourists returning home. Near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship found itself plowing through dense fog, and instead of slowing down, Captain James Luce gave his paddle steamer, well, more steam.

As an employee of the Collins Line, Luce was simply following company policy. The idea was the faster you go, the sooner you're out of the fog. Evidently, the captain aboard the Vesta , a French steamer, had a similar idea, so the two ships were going pretty fast when they rammed into one another.

At first, everyone thought the Vesta was in worse trouble, so passengers began paddling to the Arctic for safety. But it quickly became apparent that the iron-huddled French ship had absolutely destroyed the Arctic 's wooden hull. As the American ship turned on its side, Luce ordered the ship to head for land, but as it chugged along, the boat quickly filled up with water. Soon, the Atlantic Ocean had washed into the furnaces, leaving the Arctic dead in the water.

That's when things descended into anarchy. The crew freaked out and abandoned most of the passengers, escaping in the lifeboats, and in the ensuing madness, many of these boats were capsized or destroyed. Now, the numbers are fuzzy, but of the approximately 400 people on board, it seems less than 90 survived. None of the women and children made it off the boat alive.

As you might've guessed, this tragedy marked the beginning of the end for the Collins Line, and perhaps the idea of Victorian gallantry, as well. If chivalry is dead, then maybe the SS Arctic killed it.

The Eastland tragedy

In 1912, the RMS Titanic famously struck an iceberg and went down in the North Atlantic. In total, 829 passengers were lost at sea. Then in 1915, in another well-known tragedy, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine, claiming the lives of 785 passengers. But just a few weeks later, the SS Eastland topped both the Titanic and the Lusitania in a horrific accident that ended with hundreds of passengers floating lifelessly in Lake Michigan.

The date was July 24, and it was supposed to be a great day for the employees of the Western Electric Company. The Eastland had been chartered to ferry workers and their families from Chicago to a nice park across the lake, where they could spend the day eating, playing, and hanging out with friends and relatives.

In total, there were over 2,500 people aboard the ship, and on top of that, the Eastland was loaded down with lifeboats ... too many lifeboats. Even worse, all this extra weight was stored in the upper decks of the ship, making the Eastland incredibly top-heavy. Throw into the mix that the ship had a history of a nearly capsizing, and now you've got a surefire recipe for disaster.

According to Smithsonian magazine, the vessel began to list before it was even untied from the dock. In a matter of minutes, the Eastland had turned on its side, causing complete mayhem. Water began flooding into the ship, passengers were forced to dodge pianos and refrigerators—some unsuccessfully—and almost everyone on the upper decks was hurled into Lake Michigan. In total, 844 passengers died that fateful day, an absolute tragedy made worse because around 75% of the victims were younger than 25-years-old.

The Costa Concordia disaster

You know how the captain is supposed to go down with his ship? Evidently, Francesco Schettino didn't get that memo. In January 2012, the Italian captain was in charge of the Costa Concordia  (above), a ship carrying over 4,000 people . As the vessel passed the Tuscan island of Giglio, Schettino decided to get a closer look. Like, a lot closer.

Evidently, the captain steered the ship so close to the island that the Costa Concordia was less than 1,000 feet away from land. According to Schettino, he meant this as a respectful "salute" to Giglio. According to authorities, he was actually trying to impress his girlfriend .

Whatever the reason, the Costa Concordia ran into trouble when it smashed into a rock. As Popular Mechanics put it, the wreck left a hole the length of an "Olympic-size swimming pool" in the port side. The ocean began flooding in, killing the generators and causing the vessel to list. Schettino then ordered the crew to tell the passengers they were simply having electrical issues. The crew complied, but in fairness, most of them didn't know what was happening either.

Eventually, the Costa Concordia hit the shore and began to seriously roll. It was here—over an hour after hitting the rock—that Schettino ordered an evacuation. This was no easy task, as the passengers hadn't yet been told where to find the lifeboats. Complicating things further, the ship was seriously tilted, making escape difficult. But then, in a shocking turn of events, Schettino sailed away in a lifeboat, leaving hundreds of passengers behind.

In total, 32 people died in the disaster, and Captain Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars , possibly for trying to wow his girlfriend. We're pretty sure she wasn't impressed.

The Achille Lauro hijacking

It was October 1985, and the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro , was floating near Alexandria, Egypt, when four passengers pulled out machine guns and took over the boat. They were members of the Palestine Liberation Front, and they wanted the state of Israel to free 50 Palestinian militants. If Israel didn't comply, they threatened to kill all the American and British citizens on board, and if anyone tried to stop them, they would blow up the ship.

The terrorists then ordered the ship to sail for Syria, but when the Syrian government refused to let them dock, the militants decided it was time to send a message. The group grabbed a 69-year-old Jewish-American, wheelchair-bound man named Leon Klinghoffer, shot him in the head and tossed him over the side of the ship. Shortly after the execution, Egyptian officials convinced the group to surrender, in exchange for an airplane ride to freedom. But before the terrorists could make their escape, American fighter jets forced their getaway plane to land at a NATO base in Sicily.

While they'd committed murder, the terrorists all got off with surprisingly light sentences. Three were given between 15 to 30 years in prison, while the fourth was convicted separately from the bunch because he was a minor. Believe it or not, the whole bloody incident inspired an opera called The Death of Klinghoffer which raised quite a bit of controversy when it finally made its way to the stage. Yeah, ya think?

The SS Morro Castle fire

When the Morro Castle set sail in September 1934, it was cruising straight into disaster. First, Captain Robert Wilmott mysteriously died of a " heart attack and nervous stomach ." Then, with unprepared Acting Captain William Warms in charge, the ship was hit by a violent gale. Making things worse, as winds battered the ship, a fire broke out in the Morro Castle 's writing room. Soon, the blaze spread across the vessel, devastating the ship and killing 135 people.

Shortly after the fire, the Morro Castle ran aground on the New Jersey shore, but in the middle of all the tragedy, a hero emerged from the ashes. His name was George White Rogers, and he served as the ship's chief radio engineer. As smoke billowed across the ship, he sat at his radio and bravely sent out SOS distress messages. After the fire, Rogers became something of a national hero and even spoke about his heroic actions on Broadway. But if you dig a little deeper, it turns out that Rogers might not be so courageous after all.

You see, Rogers was something of a lifelong criminal . Before stepping on the Morro Castle , he was a rapist, a thief, and a dog-poisoner. Afterward, he tried opening a radio store in Bayonne, New Jersey, but when the enterprise proved to be unsuccessful, the store mysteriously burned down. Next, he got a gig working as a radioman at the Bayonne Police Department, but he was arrested after trying to murder a coworker with an explosive device. Then after he was released from prison, Rogers took a loan from a man named William Hummel, and when the guy wanted his money back, Rogers murdered both Hummel and his daughter with a sledgehammer.

In 1954, the hero of the Morro Castle was sentenced to life in prison, though he died after four years behind bars. His passing left a great number of questions unanswered. Did this psychotic criminal set fire to the Morro Castle ? Did he murder Captain Robert Wilmott? It seems we may never know for sure.

But the answer is yeah, probably.

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The 9 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters

The Titanic may be the most famous ship disaster, but surprisingly, it’s not even close to being the deadliest wreck that ever occurred on a luxury liner. If you’re trying to dissuade someone from taking a cruise, you should show them this list of maritime misadventures presented in no particular order. Disclaimer: The vast majority of cruises sail without incident and are safe and not filled with poop. (Oh yeah, we’ll get there.) Get your plate ready for a buffet of high-seas horror.

1. RMS Titanic

F.G.O. Stuart (1843-1923) {{PD-old}} /Wikimedia Commons

The many experts in 1912 who considered the Titanic “unsinkable” were to be proven wrong on the boat’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Thomas Andrews had designed the ship to withstand head-on collisions and rammings from other ships. However, the North Atlantic Ocean iceberg that took down the vessel scraped through five of its 16 watertight compartments. The boat would have reportedly remained afloat if it had only gone through four. Like other systems at the time, the Titanic's lifeboats were designed to shepherd passengers to nearby rescue ships, not take them to shore. Unfortunately, help was many hours away in the wee hours of April 15 when the boat was going under. The poor crew organization also caused many lifeboats to leave the ship at far less than full capacity. Plus, they only had enough boats for about a third of the onboard. As a result, more than 1,500 people died — either on the ship or in the icy waters, waiting for help. A recent theory suggests a fire that started in the hull before the ship set sail weakened the vessel’s steel walls, making it susceptible to an iceberg that normally wouldn’t have caused as much damage.

2. Eastern Star’s Dongfang zhi Xing

In 2015, Dongfang zhi Xing was traveling on the Yangtze River in China when a thunderstorm struck, and the boat capsized. Ships in the area were warned that bad storms were coming and told to take precautions, but it is unclear if the Dongfang zhi Xing ever received the warnings and continued to sail. The ship was met with winds of up to 72-85 mph, and ultimately, a downburst (a strong downward wind) caused the ship to capsize and sink. Out of the 454 people on board, only 12 survived, making the total number of dead 442.

3. Carnival Cruise Line’s Triumph

DVIDSHUB/Flickr

A generator fire on Carnival Cruise Lines’s Triumph (now called Carnival Sunrise) left the ship powerless, and a late-night comedy punchline was born: “The Poop Cruise.” Without working bathrooms, passengers were forced to drop their payloads into red “hazardous waste” bags and stuff them into garbage cans left in the hall. Passengers described carpets soaked with more than two inches of raw sewage. News reports described the scene as a “shanty town” and a “new circle of hell.” One passenger reportedly called her husband and told him that their 12-year-old daughter had Skittles for breakfast. It took four days for the Triumph to be towed from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile, Alabama, where it was possible to smell the ship from the dock. Later, 31 passengers claimed long-lasting damage, including PTSD, and sued. After the verdict, 27 of them split $118,000, many earning less than $3,000 (minus legal fees) for their troubles.

4. Costa Concordia

European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr

One of the biggest passenger ships ever wrecked, the Costa Concordia had 17 decks, six restaurants, a three-story theater, and enough room for 4,200 vacationers. On January 13, 2012, Captain Francesco Schettino agreed to a request by the ship’s chief maître d’, Antonello Tievoli, and sailed closer to Isola del Giglio than normal. Why? Tievoli, a native of Giglio, wanted to impress and “salute” local residents. Unfortunately, Captain Schettino turned off the ship’s alarm for the computer navigation system and later admitted he thought he knew the waters well enough to navigate by sight. However, the ship’s first mate testified that the captain had left his glasses in his cabin and requested them. The Costa Concordia struck an underwater rock, capsized, and sank, killing 32 passengers. Schettino’s worst maritime sin? He abandoned the ship with 300 passengers still onboard. A Coast Guard officer in contact with the ship at the time of the sinking claimed he told Schettino to get back onboard. After being convicted of manslaughter and pursuing several appeals, Schettino only started his 16-year prison sentence in May of 2017. The salvage effort (the ship was completely dismantled) was the largest effort of its kind.

5. SS Eastland

Launched in 1903, the SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. Although the ship had noted listing (tilting) since its inception and some measures had been taken to rectify this, the SS Eastland was still suffering from being top-heavy when boarding for a cruise in 1915. The ship was meant to sail from Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana, carrying workers from Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works for a picnic. On July 24, 2,572 passengers boarded, with many congregating on the open upper decks. While still docked, the ship began to list to the port side, and reportedly, at some point, more passengers rushed to the port side, causing the ship to roll onto its side completely. Despite the river’s bottom being just 20 feet below and the shore being about the same distance, a total of 844 passengers and crew members died, including 22 entire families.

6. Royal Pacific

When the Royal Pacific was first launched as a passenger ferry in 1964, it could carry 250 passengers, 91 cars, and 16 trucks. Sold and converted into a cruise ship in the late 1980s, the boat’s maiden voyage was a two-night “cruise to nowhere” from Singapore and sailed by Phuket, Malacca, and Penang before returning home. At around 2 a.m., when most passengers were asleep, the crew heard a loud bang, and the plates on the buffet table crashed to the ground. A Taiwanese trawler, Terfu 51, had accidentally rammed the ship, leaving a six-foot gash in the side. As the trawler pulled away, there was a deafening sound of metal scraping against metal. The PA system wasn’t working properly on the boat, but the safety officer ran downstairs to survey the damage. When he returned, he told everyone to put on their life jackets. Reports vary about how many passengers were impacted — most tallies number 30 dead and 70 injured. Several passengers also complained that a mix of Greek-, English- and Mandarin-speaking crew members led to few people understanding what anyone was saying.

7. SS Morro Castle

The story of the SS Morro Castle is so dreadful it’s surprising no Hollywood producer has turned the tale into a horror movie. Director Fritz Lang collaborated on a script about the tragedy, and named it “Hell Afloat” (which is a pretty apt description), but it was never made. Between 1930 and 1934, the SS Morro Castle regularly shuttled 480-plus passengers between Havana and New York. While onboard, there was no Depression to worry about and no Prohibition, which meant plenty of booze-filled partying. However, the September 1934 return sail from Cuba to the Big Apple seemed cursed. On September 7, Captain Robert Wilmott complained of stomach trouble after eating dinner and retired to his cabin, where he later died of an apparent heart attack. Chief Officer William Warms took command, and a few hours later, around 3 a.m. on September 8, a fire started in one of the storage lockers. The crew’s attempts to fight the fire were haphazard and inadequate, and soon, the blaze couldn’t be contained. Many crew members abandoned the ship, leaving confused passengers to fend for themselves in the dark, smoky hallways. Some jumped from the deck to their death in the water. Rescuers lined up on the Jersey Shore to meet the lifeboats carrying passengers. The next morning, the burning, black hull of the SS Morro Castle ran aground at Asbury Park, New Jersey. Of the 549 people aboard the cruise, 86 guests and 49 crew members died.

8. Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas

A cruise can be an oasis of calm in rough waters, but it’s also a petri dish of disease where viruses ricochet from passenger to passenger. In 2014, the Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas cruise from New Jersey to the Caribbean earned the dubious honor of being the ship with more sick passengers than any other boat trip since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started keeping statistics more than 20 years ago. An estimated 700 passengers and crew members were sick at some point. Most cruise ship illnesses result from norovirus, that causes inflammation of the stomach and large intestines and regular trips to the “head.” If you’re wondering how to stay healthy on a cruise with sick passengers, plenty of handwashing (and avoiding ill people) is key. Bugs pass quickly through contact with ship railings, bathroom doors, and buffet food.

9. MTS Oceanos

Built by a French company and first launched in 1952, the MTS Oceanos was purchased by a Greek company in 1976. On August 3, 1991, Oceanos set sail for East London, South Africa, and headed north for Durban, led by Captain Yiannis Avranas. The ship reportedly headed into 40-knot winds and 30-foot swells, and thus, the typical sail-away outdoor deck party with British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills was moved to an indoor lounge. The sea conditions worsened that night, leading to the ship rolling from side to side, and eventually, an explosion was heard due to a lack of repairs for the waste disposal system. This all led to the ship losing power and water filling its generator room, so the generators were shut down and the ship was led adrift. A distress call was sent and answered by numerous South African helicopters and a Dutch container ship. Shockingly, the captain and many crew members were among the first to be airlifted to shore, leaving the entertainment staff to coordinate the rescue efforts and help passengers to safety. All 571 passengers and crew members were saved by the time the ship sank nose-first into the sea.

clock This article was published more than  1 year ago

Carnival passengers recount ‘nightmare’ cruise as storm floods ship

Videos showed the Carnival Sunshine cabins and hallways flooding and ceilings leaking

Matthew Branham and his fiancée, Madison Davis, were lying by a Carnival Sunshine pool on Friday aboard a cruise returning to Charleston, S.C., from the Bahamas when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The captain was expecting rougher weather that evening, but there was nothing to worry about. So Branham and Davis didn’t worry.

As the day went on, “We noticed it started getting cooler in the afternoon — much, much cooler,” said Branham, 25, of Castlewood, Va. “And then it was like a switch was flipped, and it literally turned into a nightmare.”

En route back to Charleston Friday night into Saturday, the Carnival Sunshine navigated into a strong storm system that battered the southeast over the holiday weekend. Videos emerged on social media showing cabins and hallways flooding, shop floors littered with destroyed merchandise and leaking ceilings . Passenger Brad Morrell snapped a photo of an automated instrument map reporting a 69 knot, or 79 mph, wind.

#CarnivalSunshine : Due to return to Charleston, South Carolina this Saturday, May 27, 2023, has been delayed due to severe weather. The ship is currently off the South Carolina coast and holding position, unable to return to the port because of high winds & rough seas. #cruise 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/2B6HlAn2yD — ∼Marietta (@MariettaDaviz) May 28, 2023

Carnival said in a statement that the weather was unexpectedly strong, causing conditions that were rougher than forecast, but that its fleet operations center team, which relies on outside meteorology resources for itinerary planning, “coordinated to keep the ship in its safest location.”

“Attempting to sail out of the large front could have been dangerous,” the statement continued. “The ship proceeded to the port as soon as the weather began to clear.”

Strong Southeast storm slams Carolinas

Carnival said the captain made “several announcements about the weather and the delay it caused in returning to Charleston, asking guests to use extra precaution while walking around the ship.” Additionally, “some of the worst weather occurred in the overnight hours when announcements are not typically made, but guests and crew were safe.”

The ship’s medical staff did help a “small number” of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance following the storm. Despite the significant damage and a delay in schedule, Carnival Sunshine embarked on its next five-day Bahama sailing on Saturday.

From their sea-view room, Branham and Davis watched as waves surged over their window and braced themselves as the 892-foot-long ship lurched in the storm.

“Waves were hitting the boat so hard that it was like an earthquake experience, jarring you like a really rough roller coaster — even in the middle floor,” Branham said.

They were told to stay in their cabins. Meanwhile, Branham said, TVs were falling off walls, and glassware was sliding off shelves and shattering on the floor. “You could not stand up in your room,” he said. “You could be thrown from the bed.”

They packed up their belongings when their floor started to flood and took shelter in a main lobby area.

“All of the employees were sprinting downstairs with life vests,” Branham said. “There were little kids besides us screaming and crying and throwing fits.”

Throughout the storm, Branham wondered why there weren’t more announcements from Carnival staff. Besides the warning of rougher seas earlier Friday and one Saturday morning after they’d weathered the storm, Branham said they weren’t given any official updates on their situation. When he asked workers what was going on, they told him not to worry.

⁦⁦ @CarnivalCruise ⁩ #carnivalsunshine still 75mph winds at 9:25am. Sitting and spinning in the Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/NITCO2l9Ss — FlyersCaptain™®© (@flyerscaptain) May 29, 2023

“But you see rooms flooded, and you can pick up a handful of sand and you’re kind of like, ‘What in the world? Why is nobody telling us anything?’” Branham said.

Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer and cruise industry legal expert, says his firm has been contacted by some Carnival Sunshine passengers who were injured during the storm, including a man who says he was struck by a door and broke his foot. Others have asked him about the potential for a class-action lawsuit.

While Walker said passengers should make their complaints known to Carnival, he doesn’t believe filing a lawsuit would be an efficient next step. Instead, impacted passengers can ask Carnival for a refund or a credit for another cruise, although there’s no guarantee the cruise line will grant such requests.

Pete Peterson, owner of Storybook Cruises , which is affiliated with Cruise Planners, said cruise ships keep a close eye on weather developments and will adjust their itinerary depending on the severity of the storm.

“Cruise lines monitor the weather all the time. They’re not going to put their passengers in harm’s way,” said Peterson, who has been a cruise adviser for more than 20 years and has sailed on nearly 60 cruises. “Obviously, some cruise lines are better at doing this than others.”

In 2016, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas returned to port after cruising into a “bomb cyclone,” which damaged the ship amid winds gusting to 100 mph. The ship sailed into the remnants of Hurricane Hermine seven months later, causing additional problems.

To ensure the safety and comfort of its passengers, a cruise ship can alter its course and circumvent the rough weather system. In stormy conditions, the crew can deploy the stabilizers, which will prevent the ship from rolling and bucking.

“You don’t experience the up and down,” Peterson said. “It’s not as rough a ride.”

Both approaches can add to a cruise line’s expenditures, Peterson said. Stabilizers slow the vessel, thereby consuming more fuel. Sailing around the storm can take longer than the original route and disrupt the company’s cruise schedule, leading to delays or cancellations. The cruise line may have to reimburse passengers or provide them with future credits because of the inconvenience.

“When they do something like that, it’s going to cost them money,” Peterson said.

Craig Setzer , a meteorologist and hurricane preparedness specialist, said that even with the hurricane-like conditions and flooding, “I would never be in doubt of the vessel’s integrity,” he said. “Cruise ships are structurally very, very sound and can survive a lot. They’re really rugged.”

Matthew Cappucci contributed to this report.

More cruise news

Living at sea: Travelers on a 9-month world cruise are going viral on social media. For some travelers, not even nine months was enough time on a ship; they sold cars, moved out of their homes and prepared to set sail for three years . That plan fell apart, but a 3.5-year version is waiting in the wings.

Passengers beware: It’s not all buffets and dance contests. Crime data reported by cruise lines show that the number of sex crimes has increased compared to previous years. And though man-overboard cases are rare, they are usually deadly .

The more you know: If you’re cruise-curious, here are six tips from a newcomer. Remember that in most cases, extra fees and add-ons will increase the seemingly cheap price of a sailing. And if you happen to get sick , know what to expect on board.