cruise ships

[jimmys]

Hi Taff,

There is major sewage treatment plants, incinerators and compactors it is difficult. A lot of ports in UK and other places dont want to take waste because of the cost and if there is any hazard it can be £500 a skip load to dispose off.

I do not know if there has been a boatload of 150 launched in earnest yet. It is a 20 tonne load for the davits. The jolly boats embark and load differently. They do not normally launch full from the embarkation deck as in abandon ship. Need a lot of buckets after an hour in the 150 person one. I do not know how they will keep control, a lot of the passengers may be elderly.

regards
jimmy

[Tony Wilding]

hi, have allways said the modern cruise liner is a disaster waiting to happen, its ship design gone crazy, purely a hotel on a pontoon, the c of g must be so high, theres a video of one on this site in a cyclone, lack of deck areas to muster very dangerous, what happens if interior filled with smoke ,? saga ruby and saga rose are at least proper ships, yet i hear in danger of being scrapped because of new safety regs, same as unmanned engine rooms, only sailed on one, did not feel right, as ex engine room dept you know what could happen, it seems ship design now has no regard to safe ship operation and tried and trusted methods, the latest freighters have an accommodation right aft about ten stories high, dread to think what its like in a beam sea when rolling, the bulker derbyshire had no forcastle head , if she had more freeboard forward maybe would have survived, seems crazy with so called modern expertise a big ship sank because of a small stores hatch was broached by the sea and led to the next series of disasters, tony

[happy daze john in oz]

The modern ships are big but C.of G is low. Engine room, water and fuel storage, stores, recycle dept. etc all well down and many below water line. also majority of accomodation is on lower decks. Majority of upper decks are just large open areas such as lounges. But they do not fare well in even the slightest of seas despite all the stabalisers they have. Most of them have disposal systems where all waste including all food waste is minced to a pulp and fed to the fishes. So dont eat the fish!

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi Jimmy,Thank you for the information , Was not like that in my time a sea we had a proper Merchant Navy not just ship owners looking to make even more profit for the shareholders' by cutting corners and useing cheap unskilled labour what would happen if something bad happen? every one for him/her self, The Ship owners would lose milllions in courts around the world.

[jimmys]

When we conduct the initial heel tests on a ship to find CofG there is no passengers on board and as John says it it low in the ship.
When we get 2000 passengers moving around in upper lounges it can raise CofG quite considerably.
If GOD FORBID we need to fight fire at that height the water can again raise CofG.
In order for passenger comfort these ships use a combination of roll tanks, bilge keels and stabilisers and even at that they are not comfortable. I dont think there is a great excess of stability in these ships.
The systems that mince up the waste food are called macerator systems and use special pumps, look like rope cutters on a tailshaft.
The members are correct a lot of it is run by cheap labour now. They are there for money no pride in the job.

regards
jimmy

[Doc Vernon]

I know we have discussed this Topic about Modern Cruise Liners,and i still think that the old ones give more satisfaction as far as the actual feeling of being ar Sea goes,however this is not to discuss the old ones now,its the New one that has now come about,and is due to do her first Cruise on 12th December!
This is indeed a GIANT! I never thought that they would ever get so large!
WOW!!
Indeed a great acchievement of manmade construction! But Alas! to me still but a HUGE Floating Hotel! The Oasis of the Seas!
But impressive indeed!
I wont put any links on as there are so many so just Google it and have a gander!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

For the tourists of today who know nothing of REAL ships these new monsters are the way to go. The luxury they offer is still better than many shore side hotels, they like us get a room by the sea with an early morning call if they wish. Howver unlike us they have to pay for thta privelege. The other problem with some of the modern monsters they are not very seaworthy in as much as they do not ride well in heavy seas. Some have been designed to sail in only certain parts because of that. But for all their faults and virtues for most of us it is still the only way we can ever live the dream again, or at least part of it.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
I asked my wife yesterday if she would fancy a cruise. No WAY hosay she said, it was bad enough you telling me about all those storms you were in, I'd be terrified with only a few untrained seamen to lower the boats if anythiing went wrong.
Just think, everything is on computer, Mrs A goes on that seat MrB goes on that one. They don't allow for 2,000 terrified panic stricken passengers trampling over each other and swamping the two untrained East European seamen who probably by this time would be in a panic themselves and in the boat and away.
I decided not to book.
Cheers Des

[Anthony Atkinson]

I have read with great interest all the thoughts regarding large cruise ships. I would be very interested to see what kind of security these boats have in place in todays modern age, when it seems quite the norm for some faction or other to place bombs and the like with ease. Is security as tight as airports, are all bags whether hand held or not, x-rayed. I really should not think this way, but I do hope those responsible for operating these monsters have thought of the possibility of something happening along these lines. I have crossed the channel many times on ferries and I would estimate one in ten cars are pulled into the X-ray shed for examination. Walking passengers as far as I could make out are free to come and go. Regards R796905

[happy daze john in oz]

Not sure how they do it in Europe but down here in Oz it is strict. Before you board your cabin luggage is take away and xrayed, I know it works as we had an iron in one of our cases and they found it. We had to hand it in and get it back at the end of the voyage. Even the crew are not allowed such items in their cabins as the shipping companies claim they pose a fire risk. Hand luggage is xrayed as you board and each time you re-board at each port. Alcohol cannot be taken on board and certain items considered to be of a dangerous nature are held until the end of the voyage. There are masters at arms, now called ships security, all over the ship as well as CCTV just about everywhere. I believe it would take a very clever and intuative terrorist to do any damage on a cruise liner. Security is better than at the airports. As to the issue of life boats, there are enough for all but there are also enough inflateable ones for all. Most inflateables are at the stern of the ship and one of the first things I do is to find out just where. Lifeboat drill is held prior to sailing and all bloods must attend. All lifeboats are tested where possible in ports of call, few in each. Short of a torpedo or a mine hitting I believe the ships of today are very safe.
Des mate tell her to stop listening to your tales and go, she will b epleasantly surprised. I had the same problem with her indoors, but after the first night out she wanted to know why we had not gone sooner. Thye do not go looking for rough seas now.