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?
