_ My biggest question is why the cruise lines don’t figure out how to launch a lifeboat while listing to port or starboard.

Whether I will cruise again after the Costa Concordia, who knows?

_ I don’t know as much about the Titanic as about the Lusitania. With the Lusitania there was a mysterious second explosion. the cause of that has never been determined. There was a diver some years ago who had a… Continue Reading →

_ It’s very true that people don’t know what they would do until they are confronted with a dramatic event. I was part of an Amtrak train wreck in August of 1992. It was the Sunset Limited coming back from… Continue Reading →

_ I think you misunderstand where I’m coming from. I’m a suspense novelist. I look for sinkings, sabotage, and terrorist acts as grist for my creative mill. I do lots of historical thrillers. For instance I wrote a novel called… Continue Reading →

_ You didn’t read my post. I said the question is not whether a cruise is suitable for me. There are larger issues involved, many of them historic. It is amazing how many of the so-called updates are superficial at… Continue Reading →

_ It doesn’t matter if SOLAS standards have been updated. The standards on the Lusitania had been updated compared to the Titanic. For example, they had MORE lifeboats. On May 1, 1915 a representative of the Cunard line stood on… Continue Reading →

_ In Those Who Dream By Day the Lusitania sinks in 18 minutes. The heroine, Dora Benley, must jump off the sinking ship that is listing badly — just like the Costa Concordia. She swims to a lifeboat and lands… Continue Reading →

_ This was why I asked the question about lifeboats during the virtual Transatlantic cruise for the Queen Mary 2 last week. I wanted to know what training the crew had been given. One of the respondents was shocked, saying… Continue Reading →

_ The Costa Concordia, an Italian liner, went aground on the coast of Italy. They hit a rocky spur. Italians, Britains, and Germans had to leave the ship less than two hours after leaving port. Some leaped overboard and swam… Continue Reading →