Cruise ship BOB...(were ya gonna go)

[hunter63]

No sure where this should go, so if it's in the wrong place....please move.

I am really surprised that no one has brought up the stranded cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

I have never been on a cruise, not sure I want to,.....but does kinda make you wonder what to pack?

Are there rules? (gotta believe there would be)

Looks like TP and bio-hazard bags should be included, as well as rubber bottom boots, ...can't picture walking around in sewage in sandals....and plenty of Handy Wipes, and bleach.

Don't imagine a fire kit would be necessary, but maybe a FAK?

Anyone gave this a thought?

[oly]

Anyone gave this a thought?

I went for a cruse in Alaska and we shipped out at night and they expected you to shop all day. So no I haven't given it another thought about ever going again.

[hunter63]

I went for a cruse in Alaska and we shipped out at night and they expected you to shop all day. So no I haven't given it another thought about ever going again.

So did you bring a PSK?...what were the rules?

[Geek]

As unpleasant as the recent problem was, I'd be more worried about staying alive in the event of a sinking. For that reason I'd be inclined to bring along my scuba gear. (Wetsuit, fins, mask, snorkel, bouyancy devices and reels, etc.)

If I was really worried, I'd add an emergency locator beacon. Of course if I was worried enough to take an emergency locator beacon, I wouldn't go. Hmmm.

[oly]

I don't recall, basically same as hotel rules that nobody reads. but it was a mandatory abandon ship drill.

[Sarge47]

Went on a Caribbean cruise some years back when I was in Insurance sales...it was a convention that I'd earned enough points for, so I'm sorta an expert. You'll need sun tan lotion, lip balm, big, floppy, straw hat, camera with film or scan disc, credit card for drinks, sunglasses, and funny looking Bermuda Shorts! Then make yourself comfortable and just hang out on deck and wait for the rescue boat! If you complain a lot, liberally lacing your remarks with the phrase "my lawyers," they might even comp you more cruise tickets! ............

[hunter63]

So you never caught, Bear, Les, Mike and Ruth episodes on surviving cruise ship stranding?

I watch Survivor every week, so I learned all the skills you mentioned (you learn by watching the TV and youTube right?)

What about Gilligan and the 3 hour cruise.....Remember that?

[Solar Geek]

Hi took my mom on a CARNIVAL (!) cruise just recently for her 80th birthday. LOTS of rules! Here are some re food/water/alcohol OF COURSE NO WEAPONS ALLOWED:
Very strict (and I mean they look at the luggage and carryons) rules on bringing almost NO food on board. We assumed it was because of the ports of call country's rules on foreign foods.
We were only allowed to bring on a 6 pack each of waters. 2 bottles of wine. No beer.
So people could not really be adequately prepared for lack of food or water.
Here is a quote from the Carnival site.:
RESTRICTED ITEMS – SAFETY AND SECURITY POLICY
In order to maintain a safe and secure environment, Carnival prohibits bringing certain items onboard. Additionally, we reserve the right to confiscate (and destroy) any articles that in our discretion are considered dangerous or pose a risk or inconvenience to the safety and security of the ship, or our guests, and no compensation will be provided.
Confiscated Items
• Alcohol (hard liquor)/sealed, unopened bottles
• Beer/sealed, unopened bottles/cans
• Wine or champagne/sealed, unopened bottles - beyond the allowable limit of one bottle (750 ml. size) per adult 21 years of age (brought on at embarkation time only in their carry-on luggage)
• Clothing irons and steamers (all Carnival ships offer laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards. Fleet-wide valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.)
• Electrical and household appliances (i.e. coffee makers, hot plates, toasters, etc.)
• Candles
• Heating Pads
• Incense
• Hookah

Prohibited Items – will be disposed of prior to boarding
• Large coolers
• Alcohol in unsealed containers
• Firearms (Including, non-firing weapons and starter pistols)
• Ammunition (i.e., bullets, shot or missile that can be fired using a propellant)
• Imitation or replica weapons (Including., de-commissioned weapons or those not capable of being fired, toy weapons, or any other item made, intended or adapted to be used as a weapon)
• Explosives or explosive component parts, (Including, detonators)
• Fireworks or pyrotechnics (except those previously approved in connection with a company stage production which have been properly manifested)
• Taser or electronic stun guns
• Pepper or mace sprays
• Telescopic or regular batons
• Martial arts equipment (Including., flails, throwing stars, belt buckle knives, etc.)
• Handcuffs, brass knuckles
• Compressed gas bottles/cylinders
• Knives with blades longer than four (4) inches ( Recreational dive knives are allowed but must be held in the custody of the Guest Services Manager or Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for dive excursions during the cruise.)
• Dive tanks (empty or full), diver spears/slings
• Household goods or tools of trade
• Volatile and highly flammable liquids such as cigarette lighter fluid
• Scissors with blades longer than four (4) inches (Large scissors of the type used by scrapbook and quilting enthusiasts are at times permitted with prior notification from the Security Services Department, but are held onboard in the same manner as dive knives.)
• Medical Marijuana
• Bicycles
• Surfboards - (Boogie Boards no more than 42 Inches in length are allowed for use in port only)
• Scooters (only permitted if used for mobility – must be stored in guest’s stateroom)
• Boats/canoes
• Segways
• Any footwear with wheels, i.e. Heely’s type shoes
• Lasers
• Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)

[hunter63]

Thanks, that's kinda what I was getting at.....
Nice list, huh?

[Stiffy]

Don't forget your asteroid-proof headgear.

[canid]

Strongly agree about bags, sanitizer and would add medical face masks, immodium and a small travel stove. Given the several widely reported cases of norovirus breaking out on cruizes, I would not want to spend a week in such a situation without something for a stomache bug, stuff to help prevent getting one, including personal protection and a means to boil water and recook food.

[hunter63]

Went on a Caribbean cruise some years back when I was in Insurance sales...it was a convention that I'd earned enough points for, so I'm sorta an expert. You'll need sun tan lotion, lip balm, big, floppy, straw hat, camera with film or scan disc, credit card for drinks, sunglasses, and funny looking Bermuda Shorts! Then make yourself comfortable and just hang out on deck and wait for the rescue boat! If you complain a lot, liberally lacing your remarks with the phrase "my lawyers," they might even comp you more cruise tickets! ............

I hope you were kidding.........LOL
Bad shut happens.....

[randyt]

unless you're talking a canoe or perhaps a supply ship to one of the great lakes islands, the chances of getting me on a cruise ship is slim to none LOL.

[Winnie]

unless you're talking a canoe or perhaps a supply ship to one of the great lakes islands, the chances of getting me on a cruise ship is slim to none LOL.

+1 on that.

[kyratshooter]

I was seriously thinking about a cruise to see the Mayan ruins next year, but it does seem that there is at least one cruise ship disaster every year. It would be just my luck to be on the one scheduled for next winter.

As far as the restrictions on boardin g go, they are still more liberal than the airlines. I can still bring a lighter, 4" blade knife, 550 cord, my canteen cup and a poncho so I can take the 'big 4" and be ready for survival anywhere.

I could even save my empty waterbottles, lash them together with the 550 cord and make my own life raft!

As a budding conspiricy theorist I could claim this was sabotauge by the DHS to take over control of the cruise ship industry and oversee the boarding regulations!

It is notable that the passengers were exposed to this inconvinience due to the fact that some of them did not have passports, so the ship could not dock in Mexico, which was only one day towing time from the point of the instigating accident rather than the week of towing time to Mobile! It could have been over in 24 hours without the new regulations.

Mexico does not care if you have a passport, but the new U.S. regulations mean one can not get off the boat and back on without a passport if docked in a forign land. Sooooo! this was all the falt of the U.S. government and not the cruise line.

[Delta 5168]

IMHO cruises are nothing but soft targets. Thanks, I'll stay right here in the U. S. As far as some of the things mentioned above, it's a matter of money. Why let you have a small coffee maker in your 5x7 room when you could tip a steward to bring it to you? If you haven't been on a Carribean cruise, the first order of business when you order anything is to calculate the tip. I'm not talking about the inclusive stuff, but everything else. Crime is rampant in the islands - oh, didn't they tell you that in the travel brochure?

[crashdive123]

I went on one cruise a few years back.......wanted to see what it was like to go go sea and be able to go outside. We may go again - maybe an Alaskan cruise - outside of that it is highly unlikely.

When we went - Mrs. Crash and I each had little bags with....

FRS/GMRS radios
2 flashlights
extra batteries
bottled water
MetRX100 meal bars
small first aid kits
water purification tabs
signal mirror
whistle
lighter
glow sticks
gallon zip locks

I'm probably missing something - but that is what I remember off the top of my head.

[endurance]

Travel in general poses its own set of risks; the lack of gear, the lack of local knowledge, the dependence on others for transportation (even if you're renting a car, you don't know the maintenance record, etc.), language issues, etc. Then isolate that by a factor of a thousand, where you're utterly and completely dependent on the ship and crew for all your food, water, sanitation and energy needs and it's not a comfortable situation for me. My second wife and I did a cruise from Hawaii to Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati. Well off of major shipping routes, in the middle of nowhere, with over 1,000 miles covered between points (with nothing else in between)... it makes one think about the number of things that could have potentially gone wrong and how long it would take for aid to arrive. Then they deployed several of the motorized excursion boats to get us onto the island and we realized that these were the primary life boats (they also had auto-launching rafts). We were seated hip to hip with somewhere around 80 people. Imagine that for 500 miles at 15 knots (5-6 days at sea). Uggh, makes me shudder to even imagine.

If they decided it was safer to send a rescue boat to tow you to shore, think how long that would take to cover that distance, given the 4-5 days it took to get folks back to shore in the Gulf of Mexico? Weeks at the minimum. Given what's happened in the cruise industry in the last few years, I wouldn't do that trip again. The Caribbean, maybe, if my wife twisted my arm hard enough, but at least there you have islands all over the place. Still, it makes a hell of an attractive terrorist target, Norovirus runs rampant on those things (my mom and stepdad were taken off an Alaskan cruise because he got Norovirus. They restricted them to their room until they got near land, then escorted them to an excursion vessel and took them to shore before they even made port. As they walked to the excursion vessel, two staff members followed them and wiped down everything with sanitizer), and the fact that they control every aspect of your life just isn't attractive to me.

If I had to go again, I guess I'd focus on a solid first aid kit covering antibiotics, rehydration solution, pain relievers (specifically targeting gastro-intestinal maladies), basic over the counter comfort drugs (antihistamines, immodium, etc.), and bandaids and basic bandages. I'd cache as much water as I could in my room once aboard. I might even consider a couple dromedary bags if I couldn't get my hands on enough bottles of water. A roll of small kitchen garbage bags would help with sanitation if the system went down, but from what I heard about the recent mess, the tanks were full and the lower floors began flooding with waste from the upper floors. I can't even imagine trying to deal with a situation like that. Having a means to sterilize water like a Steri-pen might be good as long as the ship can still create clean water from contaminated water, but the likelihood of getting to the actual ocean for your own reverse osmosis system seem close to zero on the ship and such systems are inefficient and time consumptive for the low probability of needing it. Obviously the EDC of a good flashlight and spare batteries is priceless. Having a baggie full of $0.50 keychain flashlights could make quick friends, too.

My normal travel kit has evolved over the years and includes such random items as: mouse traps (ever had a mouse run over your head in the middle of the night? Not something that allows you to return to sleep easily), space blanket, 2 disposable rain ponchos, corkscrews, USB charger with 4100mah reserve battery (good for a couple cell phone/i-pod recharges even if you can't plug it in), playing cards, bailing wire, single AA headlamp (compact), PALight (great night light in an unfamiliar room), and of course, duct tape. TSA has taken my bailing wire once, but not a dozen other times. go figure.