Marco Polo

[Keith Tindell]

I see on the BBC news, the widow of the elerly passenger who was killed in the latest storm in the English channel, is really giving the company a slating , she states the crew were great, but the ship is in a bad state of repair, layers of rust every where, and just painted over etc. Will be interesting when the ship comes under inspection !!. It does not surprise me that the ship is badly maintained, especially with the situation of todays crew manning, KT

[robpage]

This quite surprised me , I have been in the Channel in Force 9 and 10 and seen windows take a hammering , they were all toughened glass oon the ferries never once did I doubt them , I am really surprised it gave way , I suspect it was flawed in someway , a small chip or something

[vic mcclymont]

A few years ago a P&O (may have been the Orianna) ship suffered a couple of broken port holes in a storm whilst crossing the Atlantic.

[cappy]

had a 14 day cruise on her about 10 years ago ahe belonged to the greek orient line if I remember......she wasn't stuffed with passengers and the food was topnotch Imy cabin was on the promenade deck and had a couple oflarge windows....she wasn't in bad nick then and it was a decent cruise recall one awfully posh wifey saying in an awfuuly loud voice but .......theres no gorf darling no gorf.....but I found it ok then norske and Briton the bridge and below and phillpinos on deck and catering food was likes of filet of beef or lobster and plenty of everything you would need ....but she wasn't a youngn then ......a good wine was about 12 quid a bottle and beers not silly money.....joined her in venice and did the adratic and ended up in Barcelona .....it was ok

[Chris Allman]

Sorry for her loss but I doubt that the Marco Polo is in such a poor state as she says she is. She will be rusty without doubt, any ship her age would be, but not dangerously so I would have thought. There are numerous incidents of this happening to newer ships than the Marco Polo and I would say its a risk on any cruise ship, especially in the weather we have been having just lately. As I said, I am sorry for her loss but if you go on a cruise then you have to expect the consequences and I feel she is hitting out in her grief and needs something to blame and the ship cant answer back. They are elderly people, often not so good on the legs and slow to react, the sea does get rough sometimes but some of these cruise passengers seem to think that it is the Cruise Company's fault in some way. How little they know about the sea, which is so very sad really.

[Jim Brady]

I was on the Empress Of Britain somewhere around early sixties.Crossing the Western Ocean was about the worst weather I had come across on that run,we had stabilisers on the Britain and we got a hammering.When we arrived in Montreal I think it was the Carinthia which was on the same run as us arrived in Montreal and windows were broken on the promenade deck Cunard never had stabilisers.I remember I thought how could the windows on the promenade deck be broken so high up.
Regards.
jim.B

[cappy]

same as going on safari they get attacked or eaten and then its someone elses fault ....but all sympathyto the old girl

[Keith Tindell]

I think the same, sorry for his wife, but the old blame game. My point was that the inspectors will be all over that ship, like a rash, we are all in this blame game, which i am sure we inherited from the Yanks. Thats why you have all the laywers in this country advertising their services to sue, no win no fee,, KT

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI Jim.
I was on an old rust bucket of a tramp around the early 50.s heading for Canada we were in a hurricane when we got a call from the old Queen Mary, her wheelhouse windows had just been smashed in by an enormous 90 foot wave, these things happen at sea whether the ship is old new or the biggest at the time.
Cheers Des

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[happy daze john in oz]

Happened on the Pretoria Castle I believe, hit some bad weather and a number of upper deck windows damaged.