Today’s cruise industry exists and operates as it does in many ways as a result of the Titanic tragedy. This week we take a look at the legacy left behind in ways that affect cruise passengers on every sailing of every ship.
Titanic was the most advanced vessel of her day. Built with the best technology of the time, White Star Line which owned the ship thought her unsinkable.
Titanic was designed to compete with Cunard Line’s Lusitania and Mauretania and focused on high-end luxury travel, very much as depicted in the movie Titanic.
Out of 840 staterooms, almost half were first-class accommodations. The ship was built for pleasure and beauty. It was filling that order which would contribute to the loss of life just days after launching Titanic. The ship was designed to hold 32 lifeboats but only 20 were on board.
Cruise line management thought too many lifeboats would take away from the beauty of the ship. The 20 lifeboats on board Titanic could carry a total of 1,178 of the 3,547 the ship might have if fully loaded.
On that tragic night in 1912 when Titanic sank, the SS Californian was the closest ship to Titanic and many believe it could have easily rescued all on board. Unfortunately, the radio operator went to sleep not long before Titanic started broadcasting emergency distress messages.
After the Titanic sinking, ships were required to have enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship. Existing ships were refitted in a variety of ways and ship design changed to address safety issues.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life A Sea (SOLAS) is a treaty passed in 1914 in answer to the sinking of the Titanic. It addressed the lifeboat issue along with specifying emergency equipment and procedures including radio watches.
Today, advanced weather forecasting and navigational equipment on cruise ships take advantage of the great strides made possible by modern technology. GPS monitoring allows cruise lines to know where cruise ships are at all times. On-board video surveillance systems keep track of passengers and crew and are often called upon to solve cases of crime at sea.
Join us tomorrow as we take a look at one of the key figures in the Legacy of Titanic, the Captain of the ship. We’ll explore the Captain’s role then and now as more cruise ships sail more itineraries in more parts of the world than ever before.
This week marks the 99th anniversary of the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. If you have seen the movie, you know the basic story. Four days into a transatlantic crossing, the ship hit an iceberg just before midnight then sank hours later. In one of the deadliest disasters in maritime history, over 1500 people died in the icy water south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Today’s cruise industry exists and operates in many ways as a result of the Titanic tragedy. This week we take a look at the legacy left behind that affects cruise passengers on every sailing of every ship.
Going down this road, safety at sea comes up as a primary topic when thinking of the Titanic.
In the world of travel agents from which I came, “Titanic” is a word avoided almost as much as “torpedoes” and “pirates”. I remember being told when I started “If you say the word “sink” you better be talking about a place to wash out your coffee cup and if you say the word “sunk” you better be talking about basketball.” When asked what he thought would happen to the cruise business if a cruise ship sank today, a cruise line sales manager told me over lunch one day “Oh, we don’t even talk about that.” The mood of that luncheon became somber from that point on.
Those keywords are not what we want to think about. It’s not the pretty picture of a serene cruise vacation that marketers want us to buy into. Cruise lines, sellers of travel and the like, want those images to be as far from our minds as possible. Ninety-nine years puts a lot of time between us and the sinking of the Titanic when 1517 passengers died.
Still, there are people charged to never forget Titanic and make it their job to take lessons learned back then, build upon them and move forward.
It can be as simple as the intensity that today’s cruise ship crew members have during the typical safety drill performed at the beginning of each cruise. This is not a time for joking around and having a frozen cocktail. That came before the safety drill and will resume after. As passengers follow directions during a safety drill, now is the time to practice what to do if faced with the worst possible event at sea.
It can be as complex as set-in-stone rules regarding documentation needed to board a passenger ship. The requirements are strict and systems on board keep track of every passenger coming on or going off a ship. Behind-the-scenes activities performed by everyone from travel agents to embarkation staff at the pier help insure a safe voyage.
It can be as commonplace as a change in the itinerary of a cruise ship due to weather, safety or mechanical concerns. That topic has come up a lot recently as ships from all major cruise lines canceled calls to trouble-spots around the globe. Each year during hurricane season, itineraries are commonly changed to avoid major storms. Not long ago, a major cruise ship lost power and had to be towed back to port.
Cruise liners today are much bigger and better equipped. At 46,328 gross registered tons, Titanic was the largest and most advanced ship of her day. Today’s largest and most advanced ship, Allure of the Seas, is more than four times larger and carries almost twice as many people. Big ships are not nearly as “remarkable” as they were in 1912. Shipyards seem to crank them out as fast as they are ordered. Cruise lines deploy ships all over the planet now without hesitation to move one if an itinerary does not produce the anticipated results. Are today’s cruise lines operating as safely as possible? Is it possible to ever have another Titanic-like event?
Join us tomorrow and the rest of this week as we answer those questions and remember some mistakes made at the time that might have avoided the tragedy altogether.
Looking to be the best-dressed passenger on your next cruise? No? How about looking like you went on a particular ship but didn’t really make it? No? Hmm, well how about you want a cool gag gift to give your friend who hates even the idea of a cruise? Oh, that might work? Well now there is no need to sail anymore just to get all the cool cruise line swag that makes your friends green with envy (or about to be sick) because cruise lines are branching out and sell most all that stuff in advance, online.
Just this week, Norwegian Cruise Line set up shop online offering everything from ball caps to coffee mugs for sale. At the new Norwegian Cruise Line shop, you can order and have those hard-to-get items that would normally cost the price of a cruise vacation to get delivered to your home. Some real thought went into these items too. I like the Solar Powered Battery Charger as a cool bit of cruise gear. It’s kind of pricey at $43.75 but the 60″ Golf Umbrella for $15.85 is a steal.
Other lines do this too. Check Royal Caribbean’s Gifts and Gear pages where they offer a wide variety of products for at home or on the road. A Royal Caribbean Dual Sports Bottle/Thermos is a good deal at $15.00. Royal Caribbean breaks down their products into categories too like Luxurious Lounge Wear, Adventure Gear and Travel Essentials.
Surely, these are no SkyMall Monday offerings but there is some good stuff here.Royal Caribbean International announced not long ago the new Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection available for sale to anyone. You might never sail on one of their ships but can get these fine linens delivered to your home.
“In line with our Royal Advantage program, the Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection was chosen with care to offer the indulgent sleep experience that they enjoy onboard and longed and requested to bring home,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations.
Royal Caribbean’s collection offers not just sheets and pillows but full-size ma tresses as well made in Italy by Matermoll and Emmebiesse. The popular Royal Memory Pillows start at $79 (with $26.95 shipping make that $105.95. Kinda pricey. Remember that number, we’ll be coming back to it shortly.
Rival lines Carnival and Holland America also offer bedding for sale. I have a bunch of the Carnival Comfort Collection pillows that have done well over the 4 years we have used them. It makes sense too; this stuff is made both for durability and comfort. To make it to luxury-status in a commercial setting, they have to hit both marks.
The other cruise line products available online tend to be well-made too, especially the logo items. Cruise lines want you wearing that ball cap for years to come. Free advertising is pretty hard to beat.
As cruise lines branch out, we’re hoping for Royal Caribbean to open a Cupcake Cupboard right down the street. That would be…well…sweet!
There are a lot of great travel blogs out there but not a lot that deal exclusively with cruise vacations. Here is a list of my favorites, in no particular order, along with the names of their writers and what they have to say about themselves. These are 10 great cruise blogs that anyone half-way interested in cruise vacations should take a look at, probably every day.Some of these writers I have met, others not but all share a passion for cruise vacations that is undeniable. For good cruise vacation information, these are the ones to read. They’re also some of the best ones to follow on Twitter so I included their Twitter handles too. In fact, if you made a list called “Cruise Experts” every one of these would make great additions.
USA Today’s The Cruise Log-Gene Sloan- “I oversee USA TODAY’s Cruise Log (cruises.usatoday.com), an online site where cruise fans can blow hours at a time talking about cruising. It’s just my latest gig as a travel writer, an occupation that has kept me on the road more than 1,200 days over the past 15 years as I’ve written about everything from cruising to trekking in the Peruvian Andes” (@CruiseLog)
CruiseCritic blog-Carolyn Spencer Brown and a host of others- “Sometimes the juiciest info we come across as we report on all things cruise related simply can’t make it into the “real” stories we produce on the Web site every day. But we’ve got space here to share with you outtakes, random observations, occasional glimmers of inspiration, and other stuff – so we hope you’ll not only visit often but also join in the conversation.Who’s on the Cruise Critic team? Our key bloggers will be London-based Sue Bryant (SJB), Cruise Critic’s contributing editor, and Carolyn Spencer Brown (CSB), the site’s editor in chief. Jamey Bergman (JAB), Cruise Critic’s U.K.-based web producer, Dan Askin (DA) and John Deiner (JD), our managing editor, will also be jumping onboard as will occasional guest bloggers.”
John Heald’s Blog-John Heald- “I started this blog when a lady called Stephanie said “Oh John, please write a blog, it will only be for a week and won’t take up much of your time.” That was back in 1492 and here I am still writing in the same pair of underpants. I am Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director and Brand Ambassador, and I am here to share my life with you in all its boring and sometimes toilet-based glory.” (@CarnivalCruise)
Avid Cruiser– Ralph Grizzle- “I began my journalistic career at the age of 32, following the conclusion of my ‘sabbatical decade.’ From 1980 through 1990, I bicycled across America, pedaled through Europe and island-hopped the South Pacific. After backpacking through Bali, bussing through Java, hopping a boat to Singapore and crossing Malaysia to Thailand, I flew into Burma, tramped to Dhaka and endured a 32-hour train ride from calamitous Calcutta to bustling Bombay. From there, I hopped a plane for Greece and traveled to Switzerland before returning home, where I settled, quite naturally, into a career of travel writing.” (@avidcruiser)
Captain Greybeard– (this is the plus one- Sheesh, how could I forget?) “John Honeywell is a cruiseaholic and addicted to traveling the oceans. Any day at sea is better than a day in the office” (@CaptainGreybeard)
Expert Cruiser-“Anita Dunham-Potter is a cruise journalist and consumer advocate. Her articles offer advice and insight for travelers that want all the facts to be informed. Dunham-Potter is Tripso’s and MSNBC.com’s cruise ombudsman. In addition to the aforementioned columns on MSNBC.com and Tripso she has penned numerous columns for the Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Princess Cruises, Fodor’s , Smarter Travel, along with numerous trade publications.” (@ExpertCruiser)
About.com– Linda Garrison- “Cruises are a great vacation for almost everyone who loves to explore new places, meet new people, eat good food, and seek new horizons. My goal is to provide the About.com Cruises Web site visitor with all the information necessary to plan and enjoy the cruise experience as much as I do. In addition to general information on cruise planning, the site is rich in cruise news, cruise specials, and cruise photos and information on cruise ships and cruise destinations around the world.” (@AboutCruises)
Royal Caribbean Blog-“We’re big fans of taking cruises and over the years, we’ve grown fond of cruising with Royal Caribbean and our favorite thing to do when we’re not actually on a Royal Caribbean cruise is to share our passion for cruising on Royal Caribbean with other fans.Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more.”
Ship Critic blog– Anne Campbell- “ShipCritic Blog is a labor of love by Anne Campbell, a journalist who has been covering the cruise industry since 1993. Why a blog? This newfangled technology is the best way of interacting with cruisers, both first timers and veterans, who also share a passion for seeing the world by ship.” (@ShipCritic)
50 Essential Experiences, The Travel Bucket List– Princess Cruises- “Few people have seen more of the world than Princess Cruises’ own destination experts. In the past 45 years that Princess ships have been sailing to all seven continents, many of our longest-serving shipboard and shoreside employees have logged thousands of sea and air miles visiting hundreds of countries, cities and sites. We’re often asked, “You’ve seen it all. What places do I really need to have on my travel bucket list?” Below, on a weekly basis for the next year, many of our 15+ year employees will share their inspirational stories that make up our 50 essential travel experiences. Enjoy the journey!” (@PrincessCruises)
Frommers Cruise Blog– Matt Hannafin- “Matt Hannafin is a freelance writer, editor, and musician based in Portland, Oregon. Author of Frommer’s Day by Day Vancouver & Whistler and coauthor of Frommer’s Cruises and Frommer’s European Cruises, he also freelances for numerous newspapers, magazines, and websites and was a major contributor to the recent bestseller 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die. He still pines for his hometown of New York, NY, but is getting used to the Pacific Northwest now that he’s bought a good raincoat.
In the news, it seems we most often read of a Mexico that is unsafe to visit. Always with an eye on the safety of their passengers, cruise lines have modified itineraries for ships that call at Mazatlan on several occasions. While frequent visitors to Mazatlan stand up for it as a testament to it being safe, it seems the place just can’t get over the safety issue. Travelers want to go places to have fun, not to get robbed, beat up or shot at. Still, to discount the entire land of Mexico as unsafe would be wrong. There are some very safe places to visit in Mexico and Cozumel is one of them.
Cozumel is an entirely different place and to think for even a minute that it is unsafe to visit because it has a Mexico after it’s name is about as wrong as saying Martin Sheen is crazy because Charlie is.
First, let’s get our bearings straight. Cozumel is the biggest island in Mexico, located on the Yucatan Peninsula on the eastern, Caribbean side of Mexico. Mazatlan is on the west side of Mexico, way far away from Cozumel. It is separated from the Yucatan Peninsula by the Yucatan channel which is 12 miles wide.
The town of Cozumel is called San Miguel with a population of about 95,000 people. Most of the population of the island is in the town of San Miguel, on the west coast of the Island facing mainland.
On a land vacation, there are plenty of luxury hotels, first class facilities and services. Cozumel International Airport (CZM) is easily accessible from most major cities by many airlines and not far from hotels, beach and other attractions. Cozumel is world renowned for its diving because it hosts one of the largest coral reefs in the world, a big attraction for SCUBA freaks and snorkelers.
On a cruise vacation, one of the most attractive parts of the deal is that you unpack once but get to visit multiple destinations. As your floating hotel goes from place to place, you can choose to go ashore to get up close and personal with wherever it is you are visiting or stay on the ship. In most cases, it’s worth getting off the ship but if you’ve been there before there is a temptation to stay on board and enjoy the ship while most passengers are gone.
Cozumel, Mexico is one of those places that no matter how many times you have been there, the order of the day is to get off the ship. If you cruise much, odds are you will be seeing Cozumel from time to time and that is a very good thing.
That said, let me introduce you to a place I found in Cozumel years ago and return to almost every time we visit.
Paradise Beach is a short cab ride from the cruise terminal and a must-do destination when visiting either by land or sea. It’s a day at the beach like no other with crystal clear water and some of the best food and drink on the island.
Located 5 miles from the International Cruise Ship Pier, it’s about a $10 cab ride each way and there are plenty of cabs available. Once there, one of the first things you notice is how very clean the place is. From the parking lot to pretty much every square inch of the 300 foot-wide sandy beach, the place is spotless, much like you might find in a 5 star beach resort.
The next thing you’ll notice is that it is free. There is no admission here like many other beaches and prices for optional services, food and beverage are reasonable. You could probably just come here and sit in the sand on the beach for free but that would be a mistake. They have some of the best food and beverages on the island which really add to the whole experience.
Chairs are available to rent for only $2 (I paid $15 on Miami Beach not long ago) and the array of toys they have to play with is considerable. A trampoline, 14 foot-tall climbing iceberg, full snorkel gear, floating mats , kayaks, 10ft water slide, a Jungle Joe floating multi-tiered climbing structure, paddle boards, coconut trees to climb or a spacewalker bungee can be had for $12, unlimited use, all day.
It’s a good idea to get there early but only because more time at Paradise Beach is just a good idea. Once settled in, someone will be by to attend to your every need. They will bring you food from an extensive menu that does not get any more authentic than this. Try the Chicken Quesadillas or Guacamole and Chips. You will thank me later. Everyone does.