We regularly island hop around the greek islands and have never had an evacuation procedure. We have been blase and have never looked for the lifeboats.What a wake up call.We had trusted the captain to look after us.
It’s time to reform the Cruise Ship industry in the United States. The industry estimates the 10 million passengers a year may sail out of American ports with the majority sailing from Miami and other Florida ports. Unfortunately, nearly all Cruise Ships are foreign owned and registered. Carnival Cruise Lines, the largest, is a Bahamian Corporation. And the crew, from the Captain to the Ship’s Doctor, to the youngest and least experienced members of the crew are foreign nationals. The Corporations do not pay U.S. income taxes and neither do the crew members. This could be changed by the U.S. Congress. If the vessels who sail out of American ports were required to be of American registry and the crew members were required to be American citizens or legal foreign workers, we would have a fiscal bonanza and the Congress could increase the necessary safety training to hopefully avoid a Costa Concordia disaster on a vessel sailing from an American port.
We regularly island hop around the greek islands and have never had an evacuation procedure. We have been blase and have never looked for the lifeboats.What a wake up call.We had trusted the captain to look after us.
It’s time to reform the Cruise Ship industry in the United States. The industry estimates the 10 million passengers a year may sail out of American ports with the majority sailing from Miami and other Florida ports. Unfortunately, nearly all Cruise Ships are foreign owned and registered. Carnival Cruise Lines, the largest, is a Bahamian Corporation. And the crew, from the Captain to the Ship’s Doctor, to the youngest and least experienced members of the crew are foreign nationals. The Corporations do not pay U.S. income taxes and neither do the crew members. This could be changed by the U.S. Congress. If the vessels who sail out of American ports were required to be of American registry and the crew members were required to be American citizens or legal foreign workers, we would have a fiscal bonanza and the Congress could increase the necessary safety training to hopefully avoid a Costa Concordia disaster on a vessel sailing from an American port.