Acts by Concordia's cowardly captain may sink the entire cruise industry

 

Cowardly act by Costa Concordia's captain
threatens to sink the entire cruise industry.

Shock and awe and a horrible sick feeling in the pit of my stomach is what I feel as I watch events unfold in the sinking of the Costa Concordia.

Has there ever been a more cowardly act than the one committed by the Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino?

Hanging is too good for this bastard!

Just a few weeks ago, I was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean and now I wonder: What would my captain have done had his ship run aground and capsized?

The Concordia's cowardly captain has now cast doubt on all his colleagues.

And the immediate aftermath is not good for the cruise industry.

According to a poll conducted by SodaHead.com in the days right after the Concordia sinking, 26 per cent of the 1,000 people polled say they are now "less likely" to take a cruise in light of the Costa incident.

To put that in perspective, SodaHead.com says the 26 per cent negative response (based on the 18.8 million people who took a cruise in 2011) represents 4.9 million of last year's cruisers who may not take a cruise this year.

This kind of negative publicity and doubt now cast over the competence of captains and crew could sink the cruise industry, which contributes $18 billion (U.S.) and accounts for 176,000 jobs annually in south Florida alone.

Carnival, which owns the Costa cruise line, has watched helplessly this week as its stock dropped to record lows. And the free fall is not over - estimates of legal damage alone is nearing the $1 billion mark and confidence in Carnival's product line will be suspect for a long time to come.

The cruise industry, because of its emphasis on safety and security, was able to ride out the fallout of 9/11 and other terrorist events. But the Concordia sinking may change all that. The industry, as a whole, must weed out cowards like Captain Schettino - forever known as Captain Coward - and persuade people that when accidents happen - as they always will - that competent, trustworthy people are looking after their best interests.

How the cruise industry rides this storm out depends on how well Carnival handles the Concordia incident.

Hurricane Irene forces cruise lines to alter schedules for a dozen ships

Satellite view shows Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene is playing havoc with cruise shipping.

The first hurricane of 2011 is steadily increasing strength and heading for the U.S. East Coast – maybe even Miami.

The hurricane has forced Carnival and Royal Caribbean to alter itineraries for 12 of their ships because Irene is bearing down on popular cruise ports like the Grand Turks.

MSNBC reported this morning these changes to cruise itinerates:

- Carnival Pride, which left Baltimore on Sunday for a week-long Bahamas and Florida cruise, will sail a revised route. The ship will now visit Port Canaveral (Tuesday, instead of Wednesday) and Freeport (Wednesday), after which the line will determine the remainder of the itinerary based on Irene's projected path.

- Carnival Triumph, which sailed from New Orleans on Saturday for a week-long Bahamas and Florida cruise, is swapping its Bahamas calls for visits to Western Caribbean ports. The new route includes stops in Key West (Tuesday, as planned), Cozumel (Wednesday) and Progreso (Thursday).

- Carnival Destiny, which departed Miami on Monday for a five-night cruise to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau, will instead visit Key West (Tuesday), Cozumel (Wednesday) and Costa Maya (Thursday).

- Carnival Conquest, which left Galveston on Sunday for a week-long Bahamas and Florida cruise, will now sail a Western Caribbean itinerary. The new route calls for visits to Costa Maya (Wednesday), Cozumel (Thursday) and Progreso (Friday).

- Carnival Victory had to cancel Monday's call at St. Thomas and is proceeding to Barbados for its scheduled call on Wednesday. Spokesman Vance Gulliksen said the line is still evaluating the remainder of the itinerary. Victory is on a seven-night cruise from San Juan.

- Carnival Liberty, in the midst of a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Miami, is stopping at Grand Turk Monday instead of spending the day at sea as originally planned. The line is evaluating the remainder of the itinerary.

- Carnival Miracle, which embarked from New York Thursday on an eight-night Eastern Caribbean cruise, is sailing an altered itinerary. Instead of visiting San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk, the ship is now calling on Grand Turk (Monday) and Half Moon Cay (Tuesday).

- Royal Caribbean has reversed the itinerary for Oasis of the Seas, which left Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for a week-long Western Caribbean cruise. The ship is now visiting Cozumel on Monday; spending Tuesday at sea; calling on Falmouth, Jamaica on Wednesday; and visiting Labadee, the line's private peninsula in Haiti, on Thursday. Oasis will spend Friday at sea before returning to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday as scheduled.

- Freedom of the Seas, which left Sunday from Port Canaveral on a week-long Western Caribbean cruise, is sailing a reversed itinerary. The ship is now calling on Cozumel (Tuesday), Grand Cayman (Wednesday), Falmouth, Jamaica (Thursday) and Labadee (Friday).

- Oasis' sister ship, Allure of the Seas, is visiting all the ports originally scheduled on its week-long Caribbean cruise, but in a slightly different order. The ship will visit Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday (August 27) instead of Monday (August 22). Visits to St. Thomas (Wednesday) and St. Maarten (Thursday) will take place as planned.

- Royal Caribbean has scrambled the order for Serenade of the Seas' seven-night Southern Caribbean cruise, which left from San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday. The ship is now visiting Aruba (Tuesday), Curacao (Wednesday), St. Kitts (Friday) and St. Thomas (Saturday).