Which ship’s voyage ended with fire?
Who had to wade through human waste during a family vacation?
Find out in “WORST Cruise Ship Events”!
11.
Pacific Sun
Traveling by boat is always a little rocky since the ocean is always on the move.
However, sometimes a trip can prove more frightening under certain circumstances.
In 2008, the Pacific Sun found itself in a raging storm about 400 miles off the coast
of New Zealand.
There were a total of 1,730 passengers aboard along with 671 crew members.
After a cruise lasting eight nights, the ship was heading back to Auckland.
Unfortunately, as people sat down to enjoy their nightly meals, things started going
awry.
As waves began rising and crashing into the Pacific Sun, the captain tried to turn it
toward the storm.
Many passengers stated that during this abrupt turn, they were thrown across the boat.
As the treacherous weather continued, anything that wasn’t attached to the floor was flung
around, and many slot machines ended up landing on top of people.
One person aboard the ship sent an email during the turmoil; it stated “We are nearly on
our side.
If we get out of this, it will be a miracle.
I won’t go to bed tonight, but will sit up by the life rafts.
Please give (my daughter) an extra big hug and kiss from me.
Make sure her life is fun.
I am so scared.”
However, luckily for everyone the Pacific Sun managed to make it through the terrifying
night and arrived 24 hours after its scheduled time.
Over 40 people sustained injuries including broken bones and open wounds.
10.
Star Princess
What’s one of the worst things that can happen aboard a cruise ship?
Some might find this surprising because its surrounded by water; nevertheless, the answer
is “fire.”
An open flame is one of the biggest threats on one of these aquatic vehicles.
In March 2006 during the early hours of the morning, a fire began in a passenger’s room.
Soon after the blaze took hold, the captain set off the emergency alarm.
People gathered in various stations within the ship, while crew members assisted with
any issues.
The lifeboats were lowered into the water; however, they ultimately proved unnecessary
since the fire was eventually distinguished.
The fire most likely began due to a lit cigarette left on a balcony.
There were approximately 150 rooms directly damaged by the flames and 100 more were heavily
affected by smoke.
One life was lost; a man named Richard Liffidge, who was 72 at the time, suffered from asphyxia
due to smoke and irrespirable gas inhalation and passed away.
There were an additional 13 people who experienced extreme smoke inhalation.
Although the fire was most likely caused by a cigarette, the Star Princess had several
issues that significantly advanced its rapid spread.
9.
Celebrity Mercury
This story could give the term “sea sickness” another meaning.
Most people consider the dangers of being aboard a cruise ship to be storms, fires,
or possibly even a rogue passenger; however, many of us don’t consider the possibility
of a viral outbreak.
Nevertheless, a 2010 trip on the Celebrity Mercury proved that the risk of this happening
is anything but fiction.
The ship began its voyage on February 15th of that year from Charleston, South Carolina.
Soon after setting sail, what seemed like paradise turned into a nightmare.
Norovirus took hold and spread like wildfire throughout the ship.
This virus is sometimes referred to as the “winter vomiting bug” and causes gastroenteritis,
resulting in the gastrointestinal tract becoming inflamed and causing its hosts to experience
stomach cramps, throw up, and have severe diarrhea.
Between 400 and 500 people out of 1,800 passengers came down with the illness as well as 27 crew
members.
The people who caught the bug had to stay in their rooms to avoid spreading it further.
They also all received vouchers to use toward another cruise later on; however, considering
their cruising history, it’s possible they won’t want to try again.
8.
Norwegian Dawn
Perhaps one of the biggest threats people tend to think about while aboard a cruise
ship is a giant wave crashing into it and toppling it over… or an iceberg.
Well, people’s nightmares were brought to life on a ship in April 2005.
The Norwegian Dawn sailed from New York on the 10th but the sea didn’t strike until
its returning voyage.
The vessel was sailing through stormy weather when it was hit by three rogue waves in a
row!
Although they didn’t knock it over, the 70-foot giants caused damage to the ship by
breaking many windows on the 9th and 10th decks.
They also caused a substantial amount of flooding to 62 staterooms.
Plus, the hull of the Dawn was bent when its extra anchor smashed into it.
Luckily, only four people ended up with small injuries.
The made a diversion to Charleston, South Carolina to fix the ship and continued shortly
after to New York.
Although they endured a frightening night aboard the Norwegian Dawn, the passengers
received half of their money back, half of the cost of a future cruise, and free drinks
for the remainder of the trip.
7.
Carnival Triumph
In February 2013, another unfortunate event took place aboard the Carnival Triumph.
Passengers delighted in pina-coladas and sunbathing when the ship began its voyage; however, about
halfway through the cruise, something adverse happened.
The vessel’s engine room caught fire, causing the Triumph to lose power in the Gulf of Mexico.
As you can imagine, losing power means losing just about every convenience a cruise ship
has to offer; the propulsion system went down, as well as the air conditioning, lights, and
septic system.
Passengers were stuck in the middle of the gulf without cool air, warm air, or any place
to relieve themselves that wasn’t disgusting.
Bags upon bags of human waste piled up around the Triumph, and people were forced to live
in the unsanitary conditions for four days as the ship was towed back to shore.
Carnival received a lot of backlash for this event as the fire was caused by negligence
and improper care of the vessel.
The Triumph ultimately earned the name “poop cruise,” which people still use to refer
to it today.
6.
Louis Majesty
This cruise ship was in the Mediterranean Sea near Spain.
The trip was supposed to last for 12 days; however, things took a turn for the worse,
and the ship had to return to Barcelona to be repaired.
On March 3rd, 2010, the weather was clear, and everything was seemingly normal.
Then, out of nowhere, three gigantic waves struck the side of the ship, each reaching
over 33 feet high!
The waves crashed through windows and flooded inner areas of the vessel.
Two people lost their lives and several others were injured.
5.
MTS Oceanos
Another holiday gone wrong occurred in August 1991.
The voyage began with a rocky start as the MTS Oceanos sailed into 30-foot swells and
about 46-mile-per-hour winds.
The stormy seas became more treacherous as the night went on; during dinner service,
the wait staff could hardly carry their trays due to the ship’s radical movements from
side to side.
When the vessel was near the Wild Coast, people heard an explosion and, soon after, the Oceanos
lost its power due to a leak in the engine room.
The generators were then shut down to avoid short-circuiting.
As the water levels within the ship continued to rise, the crew neglected to follow any
of the practiced procedures and fled the sinking vessel.
No warnings were made clear to the passengers, who only realized the ship was becoming submerged
after seeing the lower decks flood.
It is even noted that the Captain himself, Yiannis Avranas, as well as crew members,
left the Oceanos without helping evacuate the people onboard.
Fortunately, Lorraine Betts, the cruise director, assisted with getting passengers onto the
lifeboats.
Others were airlifted into helicopters piloted by the South African Navy and Air Force.
All 571 people were rescued due to Betts, South Africa’s servicemen, and Moss Hills,
who organized the evacuation via the helicopters.
4.
Royal Pacific
In August 1992, another seemingly-fun vacation went awry on the Royal Pacific cruise ship.
The vessel sailed out from Singapore for a small two-day holiday near the Malaysian coast.
There were 500 people aboard the boat, ready to enjoy a peaceful weekend at sea.
However, during the middle of the night, while most passengers were tucked in bed, the Royal
Pacific collided with a Taiwanese trawler, leaving a 6-foot-long gash in its side.
The crew didn’t help the passengers evacuate, and no warning was sounded due to a broken
PA system; many people have attributed the lack of help to the language barrier between
the crew and passengers.
People notedly threw their children into the dark waters before jumping in themselves and
awaited lifeboats to come to the rescue.
Ultimately, about 30 people lost their lives and around 70 sustained injuries.
3.
Costa Concordia
This Italian ship was the subject of news stories everywhere in January 2012.
It began its voyage at Isola del Giglio (Ee-so-la del Gee-yo) to embark on a seven-day-long
cruise and planned to stop at several ports along the way.
The vessel veered off its planned path and ran into a reef in an area called Le Scole.
The formation tore a 160-foot-long hole in the ship’s side underneath the waterline.
The engines and generators quickly became submerged by water.
The Costa Concordia capsized, and 32 lives were lost.
It is noted that there could have been more people who succumbed to the sinking ship due
to an incorrect count of onboard passengers.
The captain stated that the reason he took the ship off-course was that the managers
of Costa Cruises asked him to do a sail-past salute; unfortunately, a simple well-intended
task ended up in destructive misfortune.
2.
Seabourn Spirit
In November 2005, this vessel faced an unexpected foe.
Although most concerns come from things that aren’t human while aboard a cruise ship,
the Seabourn Spirit crossed paths with just that: people.
We’ve all watched the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and grown to love and accept the
peg-legged, hook-handed villains that are always on the hunt for treasure.
However, when the Spirit was about 100 miles off of Somalia’s coast, it was attacked
by pirates!
They were driving two speedboats that had been launched by a larger ship.
The crooks began firing at the ship with automatic weapons and explosives.
The 151 passengers aboard the Spirit were taken below deck into the dining room while
the captain changed direction to lose the pirates; he ultimately managed to evade them.
Luckily, no passengers were injured.
It’s safe to say that real-life pirates are much more frightening than the romanticized
nemeses we see on-screen.
1.
RMS Titanic
Although we’ve all seen the movie and know the tale of Rose and Jack’s young love aboard
the RMS Titanic, the true story of what happened to this vessel and the people within it is
anything but romantic.
This infamous ship’s initial use wasn’t meant for cruising; instead, the Titanic was
technically an ocean liner.
Whereas a cruise ship’s only purpose is for passengers to enjoy their time aboard,
an ocean liner’s purpose is to transport people to their final destination.
Unfortunately, the Titanic never reached its goal of New York City.
The ship started its maiden voyage on April 10th, 1912.
They were sailing through icy conditions and had received several warnings from other vessels
that there was ice drifting around the area of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
However, the Titanic assumed the normal practice at that time, which was to continue ahead
at full speed.
On the 14th, the lookout saw an iceberg directly in front of the ship.
Although they attempted to avoid the icy formation, it was too late, and they hit it.
The jagged structure created several holes underneath the ship’s waterline and five
of its watertight chambers filled - one more than what the Titanic was built to handle.
Due to the safety practices at the time, there were only enough lifeboats to save half of
the ship’s passengers.
After nearly three hours of sinking, the vessel broke in half, and people became submerged
in the cold water, which was only 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
Out of 2,224 people, 1,500 were lost.
It’s noted that only about 724 people survived, even though they could have fit approximately
500 more passengers on the lifeboats.
Would you board a cruise ship after seeing this video, why or why not?