When cruise ships get in trouble anywhere close to the United States, government forces from a variety of agencies spring into action. To make sure those efforts are seamlessly coordinated, they practice, drill and practice again as they did in a complex exercise held this week. At stake could be the lives of thousands traveling via cruise ship.
We’ve seen the media accounts of ships without power for one reason or another, drifting for days at sea. It’s a rare occurrence but when it happens, agencies from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Salvation Army all have a role to play. In Operation Black Swan this week, emergency response teams from the cruise industry along with key Bahamas government agencies joined to test the system in place to handle emergencies.
The three-day exercise was designed to better understand the role each agency plays during a maritime mass rescue event. Testing emergency procedures looked deep into the entire process of a would-be catastrophe at sea starting with the actual abandon ship process and the way ships account for passengers and crew. Stretching search and rescue capabilities as if in an actual emergency along with landing site management and medical surge procedures, the results were good.
Coordinated by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard runs the show, but other agencies play a critical role in handling an emergency.
“The efforts of the local Red Cross and the Salvation Army at the landing site are to be commended. They were able to provide the passengers and support team refreshments at the site. The efforts of the medical teams from the Rand Memorial and the U.S. FAST Team who came to provide assistance to the injured persons are to also be commendable. I am also pleased with the support of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard air assets, which medically evacuated persons for care and attention,” said Director of NEMA Captain Stephen Russell in a statement.
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Just how complicated is the business of rescuing a cruise ship?
The Black Swan exercise included involvement from Royal Caribbean‘s Monarch of the Seas and Norwegian cruise line’s Norwegian Sky, both utilized for an evacuation drill of passengers and tendering to port. Carnival Cruise Line was there providing family guest care facilities and Norwegian provided landing site forward teams.
Coast Guard Cutters Joshua Appleby, Tarpon and Diamondback were fully staffed and on the scene along with crewmembers from the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) and Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) who also participated in the exercise.
While a full blown catastrophe at sea is rare, medical evacuations by the U.S. Coast Guard are not all that uncommon, as we see in this video:
If a tax refund is headed your way, common recommendations include paying off debt; making a major purchase and paying cash, rather than putting it on a credit card and other assorted common sense moves. Travelers can benefit too by using some of the same thinking about what we spend on airline tickets, cruise fare, gear and more.
“Set aside some money for vacation rather than using your credit card and paying interest long after you have returned,” financial experts suggest at Kiplinger in “Ten Smart Uses for Your Tax Refund.”
Looking beyond financial guru tips that can include beginning or adding to a retirement fund, throwing much of that refund into the never ending bog of student loans, maybe some immediate feel good uses would be appropriate also.
Load up travel cards and accounts
Going to be traveling sometime this year? Load up pre-paid travel cards, perhaps a gift card received as a gift that has a few dollars left but was handy to use at the time. Starbucks cards, gas cards or hotel cards some to mind.
MasterCard’s Travel Money Cards are handy. While you have the cash, avoid worrying about it down the road, in several ways with the MasterCard version or one of a number of other cards.
Registering your pre-paid card protects travel funds in case the card is lost or stolen, with no liability, just like a credit card. Starting with a nice chunk of cash from your tax refund, then add to it between now and travel is a good way to save too.
I do this with a dedicated card that is just for my travel fund and believe me, adding to and carrying my “travel card” is a whole lot more fun than a savings account up front. On the backside, eliminate post-travel blues of a new payment to make on a credit card too.
Known Expense Buys
Thinking ahead here is the key.
If, on your last trek through the mountains, one of the last thoughts was “I’m going to need to replace this old backpack before I go again,” but travel is not happening until the fall, get ahead of the game. Buy it now and buy it wisely. Shop and compare various sources with plenty of time, looking for a sale price on the perfect gear.
That works for just about anything and even small items like socks, shoes or more of the pre-paid cards noted above are fair game also. On cruise vacations some travelers choose to pre-pay shore exploration packages, gratuities or beverage packages that can add up quickly on a cruise ship.
Looking ahead to more efficient travel and making the buy you have been putting off is a good idea too. Time for a new digital camera? Buying before the peak travel months this summer can often find lower prices on models those going on vacation are apt to buy.
Buy Now, Travel Later
Cruise lines – between wave season (the busiest booking time of the year) and summer buying season (when many travelers finally get around to booking) – have some of the best deals around right now.
Carnival Cruise Lines Friends And Family event, just extended through the end of the month, offer the best rates we have seen so far this year with maximum upgrades and lower fares. Often, it’s one or the other.
Celebrity Cruises 123 Go offer new bookers a choice of a free beverage package, free prepaid gratuities or free onboard credit if booked before April 15.
Princess Cruises Spring Into Savings Sale has big savings on Europe cruises and Alaska cruises and up to $100 onboard spending money and up to $500 air savings per person. Seven-day Caribbean sailings and seven-day Alaska Inside Passage sailings are also on sale.
Not just the exclusive domain of cruise vacations, other travel options like hotel packages, resort stays and prepaid expenses at destinations around the world are possible too. In Rome, for example, a taxi ride from the air or cruise port can be arranged and paid for in advance. So can tour packages separate from cruise line offerings or hotel-suggested tours, both of which have some of the cost going right back to the source that suggested it.
Beware Of Bargains
Knowing that a great many Americans get a tax refund in the second quarter of the year, sellers of travel and travel-related services feature package deals with refund-laden travelers in mind.
Many are a great value, bundling airfare with car rental and hotel, cruise or resort packages. Some are scams that lie in wait for us to receive that chunk of cash, so check with your trusted travel source or Better Business Bureau before buying.
Bonus Tip: there really is no “Royal Cruise Line.” That’s an old scam by online thieves to get “just $99” to pay the tax on your otherwise-free ride.
Some taxpayers even make spending their refund on travel an annual event. This video shows a bunch of travelers on their third annual tax refund trip.
Carnival Cruise Lines fleet of FunShips have plied the oceans of the world for over 40 years, enabling travelers to sample a variety of destinations and cultures. Many of those travelers might not have ventured out of their own back yards without the affordable, normally safe and secure travel option largely pioneered by Carnival. Reporting this week from Cruise Shipping Miami, the South By Southwest of the cruise industry, Gadling was on the scene when the story broke: another Carnival ship in trouble.
Just days before reports of Carnival Dream, her passengers and crew stuck at the dock in St Maarten, Carnival’s President and CEO Gerry Cahill participated with other cruise industry leaders in a keynote panel discussion.
Addressing February’s Carnival Triumph incident, when an engine room fire knocked out the ship’s propulsion, Cahill updated the crowd on hand for the annual State of the Industry discussion. A signature event of Cruise Shipping Miami, last year’s event was dominated by the aftermath of the Costa Concordia grounding. Costa Cruises, like Carnival Cruise Lines, are sister brands along with others that fall under the Carnival Corporation umbrella.
“I can assure you since this fire has occurred it has been the number one priority for both Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation,” said Cahill of a comprehensive safety review in-progress on the entire Carnival fleet.
Bringing in experts in fire safety, naval architects, marine engineers, electrical engineers, experts from shipyards and more, Carnival seemed committed to raising the bar on safety as never before. The U.S. Coast Guard determined the cause of Carnival Triumph’s fire to be a failed fuel return line, one that had been properly maintained at correctly scheduled intervals.
“This review is very comprehensive, it will take us a little bit of time to complete it,” said Cahill “but you can rest assured that it is our highest priority throughout the entire organization.”
Doubling down on safety protocols while the detailed fleet review continues, Carnival is taking nothing for granted.
Carnival Dream‘s six massive diesel-electric engines offered over 84,000 in horsepower and were functioning properly. But before going to sea, all systems on the ship are tested and one of those is backup power.
Carnival Dream’s backup system did not pass the test. So with the Carnival Triumph incident fresh in their minds, the failed generator became a “no sail” issue. That’s the good part of the story. Carnival could have allowed the Dream to sail the over 1,100 nautical miles back to Port Canaveral; the ships propulsion system worked.
But taking a page from recent history, a mechanical issue that might not have caused concern before came under the microscope, much like Carnival Cruise Lines, if not the entire cruise industry.
What if some other unknown, unanticipated mechanical breakdown occurred half way between St Maarten and Florida’s Port Canaveral? Carnival has clearly adopted a laser-focused concentration on safety, looking for any issue that could disrupt what should be a fabulous FunShip cruise.
Dream Event Incomplete, Here Comes Another One
Just a day after Carnival Dream was held at the dock (the cruise line equivalent of being grounded, much like the Boeing Dreamliner recently), Carnival Legend was recalled to the port of Tampa, citing propulsion problems. The engines were working; the ship just did not have the ability to go fast enough.
This issue might sound a bit more familiar to frequent cruise travelers. Reduced propulsion issues happen with a bit more frequency on cruise ships from multiple lines and for a variety of reasons.
Design flaws aside, moving parts wear out and these engines and the propulsion systems they provide power for are moving all the time, every day of the year.
Even docked, ships engines are running, albeit at a reduced speed or with a different fuel, for environmental impact reasons. A handful of ships can “plug in” to a shore side power grid but the amount of reduction in emissions is debatable (the power still comes from somewhere) and plugging in only reduces emissions while in port (there are no extension cords).
In the case of Carnival Legend’s recall to port, that move too might not have happened pre-Triumph. Ships with limited (but reliable) propulsion issues commonly run modified itineraries that do not require the drive system to be quite as vibrant.
Carnival Cruise Lines and its sister cruise lines are not taking any chances. They have brought in experts to look for issues not thought of before and are taking quick action when safety concerns come up.
“It is the thing we are most focused on and we will come up with solutions we will implement across our fleet,” added an obviously committed, apologetic and humble Cahill.
The Big Question
But the ugly elephant question in the room is, fairly: “OK, so maybe these things are freak accidents or an abundance of caution. Why are they all happening to Carnival Cruise Lines?”
Results from third-party sources indicate that Carnival Cruise Lines is operating at a level that meets or exceeds that of regulatory organizations world wide, including the very picky U.S. Coast Guard. Believe that, and the negligence hat does not fit.
Maybe the other cruise lines have higher standards. That dog won’t hunt either. Carnival Cruise Line is just one of the Carnival Corporation family of brands that also includes Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and Cunard Line, none of which have Triumph-like events in their history.
Still, bad things happen to good travel options and cruise travel is no exception. Like the hotel fires that occurred with some frequency in the first half of the last century, right now is a time when cruise lines are addressing safety concerns as never before.
Cruise expert Stewart Chiron, CEO CruiseGuy.com put it well in a recent Huffington Post article:
“One of the many lessons I’ve learned in the industry over the past 24 years is that policies and procedures are constantly evolving. Nothing is etched in stone and improvements will always be made, especially when safety is concerned.”
When thinking of the post-Truimph era of cruise travel, who better to pioneer raising the bar, creating new protocols regarding the issue of safety than the organization that created the industry in the first place?
While shoddy journalism by a whole bunch of news organizations clearly focus on sensationalizing the story, I’d hate to forget the contribution to the world of travel that cruises have made. Carnival Cruise Line is shaking down their ships, looking for and trying to anticipate anything that can go wrong. We hope their efforts keep that door to the world of travel open to those who might not otherwise have seen it.
When Hong Kong‘s Kai Tak cruise terminal opens in June, the nearly quarter-mile long facility will be able to handle the biggest cruise ships in the world. Located at the site of the former Kai Tak International airport runway, the $1 billion terminal will source passengers from a pool of 50 million potential middle-class passengers in the Pearl River Delta provinces of China. The numbers are big, and so are expectations.
“Hong Kong is fully geared up to provide cruises of all sizes,” said James Tien, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board in a Travel Weekly report.
The ability to handle passenger vessels supposedly as large as two, 1,200-foot, Oasis-class cruise ships at a time puts the 985,716 square-foot Kai Tak cruise terminal in a world class of its own. Not even custom-built Terminal 18 at Florida’s Port Everglades (240,000 square feet), home to Royal Caribbean’s Oasis and Allure of the Seas, can do that.
Preparing for 37,000 passengers on 10 ships during the first phase of operation, capacity will double by mid-2014 when the second half of the terminal opens. That’s a huge increase over the old cruise terminal, able to handle just two, 50,000-ton ships at a time.
When complete, Kai Tak will have five passenger bridges, 100 check-in stations and the ability to process 3,000 passengers an hour. Those waiting to board will have no lack of things to do either with close-by local attractions Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden setting the stage for a unique sailing experience.
Think a trip to Hong Kong and maybe a cruise might go well together? Check this video with more details about Hong Kong’s Kai Tak cruise terminal.
Carnival Triumph was nearing the end of a four-night cruise when an engine room fire stopped the ship, about 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Without propulsion and running on only backup generator power, Carnival Triumph will be towed to closest port where passengers will disembark and be flown back home.
Carnival Cruise Lines, owner of the ship, posted a statement Sunday night on its website. Along with details on how passengers would get home, compensation they would receive and other pertinent information, the cruise line explained what happened and the current status of the ship.
“The ship’s automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was contained to the aft engine room. At this time, the fire is fully extinguished. There were no casualties or injuries to guests or crew. All appropriate authorities including U.S. Coast Guard have been notified.”
Meeting Carnival Triumph at the scene, another Carnival ship, Carnival Elation, transferred additional beverages and supplies to distressed ship as it drifted in open sea, waiting for a tugboat.
Expected to arrive in Progresso, Mexico, by Wednesday afternoon, passengers on board will make the best of what is now a free cruise with another free cruise coming in the future.
“All guests on the current Carnival Triumph voyage will receive a full refund of the cruise, along with transportation expenses,” reads the statement on the Carnival website. “In addition, they will receive a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage, as well as reimbursement of all shipboard purchases during the voyage, with the exception of gift shop and casino charges.“Meanwhile, booked passengers preparing to depart on the next regularly scheduled sailing of Carnival Triumph are being contacted by the cruise line with the bad news. The next two sailings of Carnival Triumph have been canceled. Those passengers will receive a full refund of their cruise fare and any non-refundable travel expenses plus a discount on a future cruise.
If this sounds a bit familiar, it is. Gadling reported a fire aboard Carnival Splendor in November 2010. At the time, it was believed that the ship would be out of service for several sailings. But once repairs were underway, additional issues were discovered and some needed parts where not available, causing Carnival Splendor to stay out of service until February 2011.
We will provide updates as this story develops. Visit the Carnival website for the most current information.