Star Princess Cruises To Antarctica
Man Versus Iceberg, And The Winner Is . . .
December 3, 2007
Those in the later category fall under the title of, 'You can't fix stupid'.
Stupid is only dynamite waiting for a fuse and match. When arrogance and bravado are added, we have ignition. None of these ingredients should be present in the mind of a master and his crew of any vessel. Yet sadly that is not the case. Ideally those who guide a vessel from shore to shore should have the strong qualities of wisdom, respect and humility, as they face forces greater than any they personally possess.
When I heard that the Star Princess was booking for cruises to Antarctica, in a single hulled ship, what I saw was a floating treasure chest of dynamite, fuse and lit match, a volatile combination.
Now, if this was some other cruise line booking these voyages, I might stop to mull this over more than I have. But, this was Princess Cruises, famed for over-reaction and incompetence on the bridge of their vessels, in the most recent of times.
There was the Grand_Princess listing on February 4, 2006 and the Crown_Princess listing on July 18, 2006. Both which were entirely preventable and the result of incompetency on the bridge. Both cases tossed passengers and the ship's contents everywhere with injuries in the hundreds, breakages in the tens of thousands, and no doubt lawsuits in the millions of dollars.
The one thing these two incidents have in common, other than being listing incidents, is they are the one of a few types of events at sea where there is no danger of a lifeboat being launched. When a ship tips over, it is sudden, and not a single lifeboat will be launched.
Now, add icy waters, such as the Titanic passengers endured, but deduct the lifeboats and there is the possibility, a very real possibility that ALL passengers will become bloated, steel bound, human-made reefs for the amusement of the local sea life.
Human era resulting in listings and human error resulting in iceberg collisions make for the most dangerous combination at sea. When arrogance and bravado are added to the scenario, you have the RMS Titanic all over again. Titanic had a double bottom, but not a double hull when an iceberg pierced the hull of a ship that had been promoted as "unsinkable".
There are three types of people on this earth. They are, those who learn from the experience of others, not requiring the personal pain of their own blunders to prevent them from disastrous acts, those who learn from their own experiences after only one mistake, and those who simply never learn from the mistakes of others nor their own.
Norwegian Coastal Cruise Liner M/S Nordkapp ran aground off the coast of Deception Island, a coastal island off Antartica on January 30th, 2007, all passengers were evacuated and 500-750 litres of marine diesel fuel from the ship washed into a bay. She was ice-strengthened just like the M/V Explorer, but that didn't stop an iceberg from stabbing her in the gut.
Now, enter the arrogance of Princess Cruises with their Star Princess cruises to Antarctica on Thursday January 10, 2008 and February 19, 2008 roundtrip from Buenos Aires, Argentina in South America on the heals of this latest disaster. They are embarking on cruises that are 16 days long, with 11 ports of call, and are headed right to the area now known as M/V Explorer Ground Zero where only ice-strengthened passenger ships have gone before, with the exception of Princess Cruises.
For only $1699 and up, passengers can embark on the adventure of their lifetime, and it would seem, that good sense will not prevail at Princess Cruises nor with those who book the cruises.
I found it puzzling that the cruises to Antarctica were buried deep within the site. Through a series of links, that never once mention that destination. If you have any reasonable knowledge of geography, you 'might' happen upon it. They are billed under the heading "South America" which many less savvy travelers would associate with HOT weather, not icebergs submerged ready to gut the ship like a fish.
November 22, 2007 the M/V Explorer on a voyage to Antarctica rammed an iceberg with over 150 aboard her, she sank later that day in the icy waters, while passengers bobbed in freezing temperatures for six hours before being rescued. Explorer was built in 1970 and was ice-strengthened for the far southern hemisphere cruises amid the southern icebergs.
Reports say Explorer had a tiny fist size hole in her belly after being ripped open by a submerged iceberg?
In fact, in the photo Princess shows to represent that voyage, that is exactly what they show, calm water with no icebergs, no floating ice with not a single glacier in sight.
They talk about food, entertainment, food, swimming pools, and food. They don't give any average weather data for Antarctica, though they do for Argentina.
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M/V Explorer February 2005. The icy, dangerous ocean looks nothing at all like the promotion for Star Princess February "South America" voyages.
