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If you are on that ship, you tough it out and make the best of it. What a bunch of whiners are involved. It's inconvenient and uncomfortable; nobody is going to die.
If any of you can not tolerate some discomfort and a lot of inconvenience, then you are in for an extremely difficult time if TSHTF.
While I have no interest in a Caribbean cruise, there are other possible scenarios where I might be on a boat. Or even, hey, something like a large city, because their sewers might stop working, too, when the electricity goes out.
^ this. It was not a life threatening situation, just an annoying one. Plug your toilet with a towel to (hopefully) keep it from backing up into your cabin, poop in a bucket, chuck your $&*! out the porthole from time to time, don't eat rotten food and make sure you ask Carnival for a refund.
....you only have what you brought with you and I would think you can buy or otherwise have access to what is in the ships store.
Assuming you are on this forum because you are innovative, self-sufficient and the type to make the best of a bad situation, what things would you have done to make those days as comfortable as possible for yourself?
Outside of having some appropriate clothes for the warm weather, I'm not sure what you could pack onto the ship, even if you were expecting this exact problem, that would do you much good.
One thing I would have brought to the party is a much better attitude than most of the whiners. You would think these guys were enduring the Leningrad Siege, given the level of moaning. Most modern day Americans, sadly, have no historical perspective on what a "bad day" is. Exception being people who have been to the "sandbox", work in emergency services, or like me can simply read and benefit from other people's experience. But these guys seemed to lose perspective that they were inconvenienced and uncomfortable, but not in mortal danger. Going out on the ocean, mortal danger can crash your party with very little warning.
I'm a little surprised that the loss of the main engine crippled the ship so comprehensively, I would have expected them to at least be able to keep the bathrooms working, possibly only using sea water, but backup systems cost money, and are typically not used, so they are hard to sell to the "boss" who is after all trying to run the outfit at a profit. I'm a little surprised they didn't have some outdoor type gas grills so they could at least provide hot food. If they could have provided hot food, if only hamburgers, and kept the heads working, maybe rig up some sort of shower, they could have kept morale onboard a bit better.
Final thought - having just one propulsion engine and having it knocked out in any sort of rough sea conditions could have got a lot more serious, a lot more serious.
Years ago I was on the same carnival cruise route and we were in some very rough weather, most of the passengers were in their cabins sick. They had barf bags ready to use everywhere. This was the time when people on cruises were in the news and getting sick from germs and I remember how gross things like banisters and hand railings were to touch. If I had to use a handrail to steady myself from the lurching of the sea I then made sure not to touch anything near my face until I could wash my hands. I was constantly washing my hands. The crew was good in their cleaning efforts but when you put 1000's of people in a confined area for several days it is tough to keep up with them.
I think Carnival tends to be a poor mans cruise and they could have better behaviour such as in this situation. carnival could have also handled things better as well. It might not have been a life or death situation but how about the great unwashed not going the bathroom on the floors like I heard had been reported?
I think you are right M3Mitch not many Americans know what a bad day is and the whiners certainly make a bad situation worse.
When in a situation like what happened you gotta make the best of it. At least no one died. It could have been alot worse remember during hurricane Katriona when all those folks were shoved into the stadium and they tore the place up and committed all kinds of crimes. I don't know why carnival couldn't have taken folks off the boat even if it was only a few hundred at a time. It would have eased the strain and tension a bit.
There are only a couple of actual ideas here but some of the replies do lead to this question.
Even with all your stocks and stores, which won't do any good if caught in a situation away from them, do you think it is those preparations that would do the most good or, as indicated above, is it attitude that would serve best?
How many 'preppers' would still become rather helpless 'whiners' without their stockpiles?(And maybe even with them?)
Having just returned from our 31st cruise last night (Emerald Princess wonderful 11 day SE Caribbean sailing), I have to tell you the experience that was had by those on that carnival ship is NOT the norm. Obviously, it made the news, and is truly unacceptable, but HELLO...you know what, not ONE SINGLE PERSON DIED! NOT ONE!!!! Unhappy, uncomfortable, put out, YES! Dead...not one.
The "risk" of cruising and trying to get home from work during rushhour in a major US city does not compare...if you don't get so damn drunk that you try to sit on the handrail for a photo or do something totally "hold my beer and watch this stupid" the chances of experiencing anything except being totally pampered and arriving safely does not compare to just trying to drive a major expressway in risk factor.
Having said that, do you fly?? Stay in hotels???? Do you travel at all. You can not name a form of "travel" that is more enjoyable, cheaper (overall for the food/travel/hotel aspect) and a better way to "totally escape" vacation...which is why we cruise. We LOVE getting out to where we don't get the news, papers, phone calls, and guess what, 11 days later the world STILL revolves. Puts everything you fret about into perspective.
While I am certain this was a difficult journey for those involved and I am sorry to hear that, again, NO ONE DIED and everyone got home...grumbling but home.
When a flight crashes (and unfortunately, as long as people fly it WILL occur)...no one says, thats it, flying is TOO dangerous!!! When you hear of a car crash, you don't quit driving... So why, when some people are put out with the discomforts suffered by those on board, but not a single person does not walk away from it, everyone jumps on it like 4,000 people DIED or something???????
A cruise ship breaking down in the water is much safer than one of those new Boeing airships, or any airplane, that could be flying 20+ hours over water to Australia and have an engine failure and no place to land, plop.
We've been on 9 cruises and have never experienced a single problem, most with Princess Cruise Lines. We'd go again, life's a crapshoot.
....you only have what you brought with you and I would think you can buy or otherwise have access to what is in the ships store.
Assuming you are on this forum because you are innovative, self-sufficient and the type to make the best of a bad situation, what things would you have done to make those days as comfortable as possible for yourself?
Smuggle aboard a couple jugs of Makers Mark.
It's only a few days. No one is going to starve or die of exposure. But lots of customers who paid full price for an aborted cruise are going to be looking for refunds.
BTW, how screwed up does your crew have to be in order to start a fire in the engine room? Was that ship run by a bunch of illiterates?
There are only a couple of actual ideas here but some of the replies do lead to this question.
Even with all your stocks and stores, which won't do any good if caught in a situation away from them, do you think it is those preparations that would do the most good or, as indicated above, is it attitude that would serve best?
How many 'preppers' would still become rather helpless 'whiners' without their stockpiles?(And maybe even with them?)
The most difficult thing in emergency or survival situations for many people is the psychological difficulty in dealing with the stress. People will fall apart in stressful situations, even if a reasonable solution is within easy reach. People get scared, they panic and they make poor decisions.
Knowledge can play a crucial role in keeping fear to a minimum. Even something as simple as being familiar with the ship's emergency procedures puts you at an advantage in a situation like this, as that's one less thing your imagination is left to deal with.
I suppose that leads into my answer to the initial question as well. When faced with a situation such as this cruise, where I'm unable to bring much in the way of preparations, I would attempt to go in with a basic knowledge of how a cruise ship operates, what to do in the case of emergencies, what crew members are responsible for which tasks, etc.
There are certainly preppers who have failed to mentally prepare for a situation, though a significant number, by the very nature of prepping, are more knowledgeable than the average non-prepper.
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Regarding the nature of cruises:
I think the likelihood of anything catastrophic happening while on a cruise is extremely unlikely. That said, it appears that the crews of cruise ships are somewhat less capable or less prepared to deal with unfortunate events than those in other maritime industries.
Sometimes you have to take risks. Personally, I don't have a problem with myself taking a risk to have a good time. I don't want to spend my life wrapped in cotton wool and never moving more than 1/2 mile from my home base, just in case something happens.
In a situation like a disabled cruise ship, you can not bug out. You can not carry a huge amount of supplies with you. You have to evaluate what is around you and make the best of it with what you have. A stanch spirit and a little innovation will get you through something like this cruise unpleasantness.
Whining and feeling sorry for yourself just makes the uncomfortable experience even more unpleasant. Adjust your attitude and set out to make the very best of it as can be made, because complaining does nothing to improve a situation.
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You're stuck on Carnival Triumph and......
