Abandon ship

In breaking cruise news, another large liner (Bahamas Celebration) has had to be evacuated with passengers having to abandon ship and make their way home early, courtesy of the cruise line, after their ship hit an unknown object as it headed back to Florida. Peeved passengers describe “chaos” on cruise ship. I suppose it is only natural that due to the increasing number of ships sailing the world the number of incidents and accidents will also be on the increase.  Most of them, thankfully, are controlled before any passengers or crew are hurt or injured, but how can anyone forget about the fateful Costa Concordia disaster that caused the tragic death of 32 people in 2012. My family boarded a cruise not long after the world heard about that tragedy and as delighted as we were to be heading off on a holiday, we did have some minor reservations for our safety and how we would be managed if disaster struck aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth. Coping with pirates was one thing  that we were prepared for, thanks to Cunard’s stringent security measures, but what would happen if we had to abandon ship? I tried to prepare my teenage daughter for an emergency of this nature by giving her strict instructions about not trying to find us, her parents, if we were told to evacuate or abandon ship.  I stressed the importance of getting her life jacket and heading to the top of the ship, or muster station if she could remember it, and making sure that she was seen by officials as my hope was they would be looking to save children first. As much as I love my fellow man, I was adamant that my daughter should not stop along the way to help any elderly people who were having trouble with ambulation (Cunard has a lot of these passengers), nor anyone heavier than herself.  I said she could stop to help a baby or toddler if she had the ability to carry them up to the top of the ship without impeding her own journey.  Luckily, children are not abundant on Cunard cruises so I doubted she’d have to make any life or death decisions about this. So, there you have it, my maternal instincts were very strong in regard to my daughter as no doubt, any parents would be. In light of this recent fire and evacuation of a large cruise liner, how do you feel about the possibility of a minor or major mishap on your cruise holiday? Are you prepared?  Do you know how you will react under pressure?  Who or what are your priorities if you are forced to abandon ship?  

About the author:

As a young girl I told my father I wanted to travel the world and write about it – he thought it was a crazy idea but he came from a different time. I have managed to defy his warnings as I have travelled far and written about it, and thanks to the internet I can share my adventures with others.
These days, I prefer cruising to flying and to take my floating hotel with me to each new port. I continue to read the travel stories of others, and of course, write my own.