Seems like the "Tour" ship industry is taking on the same characteristics as the "Tour" bus industry. Blatant disregard for human life in favor of the almighty $$$!

To the crew and family,

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you. Working on boats, we know all of the dangers that happen in a split second even with top of the line gear. Ignore all the so called "experts" on here expressing their opinions. As most have said, they really have no clue about ships besides what they have read on the internet or what they have gathered doing intel on one of their cruises.

From a family who makes their living on and from the sea

Obviously, most of you guys have no idea what you are talking about. I am not sure if it is because most of you guy have never cruise before or plainly ignorant and lack common sense. First of all,people lost their lives, regardless whether or not they are crew or guest on a cruise ship. I worked on a few cruise ships before and they are many accidents that happen to both crew members and guests on a weekly basis that are never reported. The cruise company will do what ever it takes not to be exposed to the public or the media. Everything on a cruise ship is a fahsaad,sorry if it is spelled incorrectly. Yes,majority of the crew members are from poorer or third world countries trying to provide the best for their families,also they are the bread winners. There is a lot that goes on those paradise cruise ships beyond everyones imagination;unless you work there you would understand. Do your research before slandering people,@!$%#S!!! If who so ever is that concern about what happen,check out how many money in taxes they pay to build your American economy then maybe your point would be worthy.

I have been on at minimum 20 cruise ships from around the world. Two of them long 14 day and 10 day cruises throughout the Mediterranean. . . You are correct in saying these cruise lines hire from all over the world but to equate that with poor training, poor service, and cheap labor is just being ignorant.

These foreign workers are dedicated and very well trained . . . I respect each and every one of them as they have proved to me to be trustworthy companions aboard ship.

I have not sailed with Thomson Majesty cruise lines but I would guess they are also dedicated to the safety of their passengers and crew . . .

Terrorist Attack - I have it on First Hand Basis - GOD Told me- Terrorists Thinnned the Cable Line by cutting Strands.................

My condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. Hopefully investigators will determine what went wrong and others will learn from this terrible tragedy.

Ok, some of you may not like this or disagree with this, but I guess that's life.

It appears too me, that with the rise of Cruise's and cruise ships being more and more popular, I suppose it's just a matter of time before there's some incident that claims a lot of lives. The cruise industry is a very large industry. I wouldn't mind going on one someday. But, I'm in no hurry right now.

What I'm trying to say is, with more and more ships hitting the water and cruising, it stands to reason, that some of these ships and there crews( not necessarily one in the same) will be unqualified. Therefore putting a lot of people at risk. Think about it. I'm not saying the entire crew would be unqualified or under qualified, but there would have to be some. Just like a ship. I suggest doing some research before you buy. Put it this way, when you board that vessel, how much do you know about it? How much do you know about the crew and the captain? Navigator? You see what I'm getting at? Good luck. And always, make sure you know where the closest exits are.

If everyone knew how to do their job and everyone actually did their job, the earth would be a totally different place...

Here's a clue: Salt water corrodes metal cables.

This is a horrible tragedy. One of those men could have been president of the USA someday.

Drills are good when you know what you are doing! Maybe they should have used "Water Drums" for the weight of people, if they needed to do a Drill Safety Check...(with possible faulty equipment)! Also, I hope the families of these victims get a Healthy Settlement! This Cruise-line need to come up-to-date with new equipment, along with Legitimate Safety Inspection Checks!

lot of threads regarding the pay on these ships. yes it is probably not top pay but i've been on a number of cruises and talked to many of the crew waiters, bartenders. cabin staff etc and they all will tell you as low as the pay may seem to us it is miles ahead of what they would earn at home,. not everyone makes 20 an hour plus bennies. as for the accident a cable snapped, sounds like a freak accident but lets not blow it up to be any more than it is. at least it wasn't some big pay captain pulling a stupid stunt to show off

Reason one hundred and thirty five Not to go on a cruise. Or else bring your own lifeboat.

Dang man!! It's just not safe on a boat no matter what!!! NO cruise for me and my spouse anytime soon!!

Yes, but I find it curious that the crew was from such economically distressed countries. I suspect the crew members were hired because they would work for extremely low wages. This make me wonder if the cruise line was cutting corners to the max on other things, like lifeboat and other safety inspections.

It's obvious that this Viner has never been on a cruise!

Most of the staff are from impoverished countries, except for the officers in the crew.

The "rank and file" personnel typically sign one year contracts and have to work straight through, 6 or 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It's not uncommon for them to work 10-12 hours a day from early AM to late PM. That's why it's important that passengers tip them well since they make most of their money off of tips.

Some cruise lines, like Carnival, have "mandatory tipping" because passengers were too cheap in the past! Tips for staff (stateroom & dining room) are automatically added to your tab during the cruise, which has to be settled before you disembark from the ship at the end of the voyage. Add in expensive alcohol and excursions, and your cruise can easily cost TWICE what it was advertised if it was a short-term, cheap cruise.

You know someone's going to post this, so I'll go ahead and save the RWNJs the trouble so they can stay comfortably at Faux Nation where they belong--

"Ban lifeboats!!!1!!!1!!"

Wow, wasn't that witty?... /sarc

the cables were rusted out, good inspection it about time

Everything onboard a ship needs to be replaced within a certain periodicity. It does not matter in this case where the crew was from or what they were paid. If the crew was not trained or if this was from a lack of maintenance those things lay solely on the Company that owns the ship. By everything I meant everything but the hull. Nothing lasts forever and when it comes to safety devices on a ship that means at least an annual check if not semi-annual checks and replacement within a specified period. If those records cannot be found or not properly kept then there should be jail time for the owners of that ship and the repair activity the ship was last at.

Can someone say discression is the better part of valor in safety drills. This was inacscusable(spelling).

I have been on Holland America & Princess Cruise lines and never had that kind of thing happen!!!

Deplorable and tragic.

The emergency cable release was probably pulled by accident. This can be done at any height.

Not that i needed another excuse to never go on a cruise ship, but hey....

My condolences to the families of the perished. I hope the lesson was learned by the cruise line.

I guess they should have had a safety drill for the safety drill.

Having sailed several times, i would like to address some of the trolls lack of info. First, yes these people are from other countries. They are paid well for the jobs that they do. My wife and I have really enjoyed meeting and knowing many. They love their jobs to the point that the work on average of 10 months on and 2 off. These people are a caliber higher than just illiterants as some here would have you to believe. I would like to mention that these safetu drills are seperate from the ones that the tourists take. The tourists take a drill that requires getting your lifevest from your cabins and reporting to designated areas. There you are checked off as being present. Ironically I have been irritated when 30-45 minutes after report time that we still wait for stragglers usually with mixed drinks in their hands and often without their lifejackets. These use to be done as we have departed from dock. However, with the cruise tragedy of last year this drill is now mandated to be done Before departure per USA maritime mandate. NOW the drill that the cruise was involved in a drill that for the most part is only for the employees of the cruise lines. They will board with their life vests, lower the life rafts as in this case. Usually when they are in the waters there is a 'slip' that tourists slide down via into the rafts and sometimes they may have several in tandoms whereas if in a real emergency you slide down into raft then crawl thru to the outer raft, then the closer on in as they fill up. Tourist are not typically part of this drill. Obviously there was an error for the cable to get caught and most likely was cut due to the cable being forced to keep moving. Unfortunately, there was loss of life in this case. However good thing this was not a real emergenct as more lives would have been lost. My heart and prayers with the families.

The cables "snapped?" Assuming for a moment this wasn't a deliberate act of sabotage, you are talking about extreme negligence by the shipowners. Cutting corners on something so basic as a lifeboat cables is simply unacceptable. Corrosion at sea is merciless. These cables must be inspected, greased, and replaced at regular intervals. Sounds like someone was pinching pennies on maintenance and pinched a little bit too hard.

I have learned that when you want to improve a product or service you have to see what the BEST product or service provider offers to copy it and then improve it to develop something EXTRAordinary. I have had the opportunity to travel throught different Cruise Lines, I like to talk and know the INSIDE of the waiters, the travel agents, the customer service desk, the cook, the entertainment staff,.....when I travel around I want to be happy seeing HAPPY faces around. Yes it is true that several crew members are persuing their happiness paying a high price in Life when they have to be far away from their families for long time (sometimes 6 months or more) many crew members do this because they need to feed their survival needs first (Maslow Needs Piramide). They also have to suffer sometimes a lot of not respectful situations from the clientes, many of them juniors, teens, that lack RESPECT towards them since leaving a mess at the cabins, at the tables, at the pool (drunked, .. lack of managing freedom). RESPECT towards them has to be encourage because customers a lot of time doesn't listen to their instructions and they have a schedule to accomplish to have some free time to visit the islands, or go to land during the day. Unfortunatly in most of the cruise lines waiters and everyone are shared the tips and that desmotivate them a lot because some work a lot and some not. Not all customers take the time to write or answer the customer service forms that encourage many crew members to get bonuses or recognitions. Yes, Life is Taugh but we have to evolutionate to a more Humanitarian stage of Life based on truthful Life Principles and returning to the basics, stoping abusive situations around the whole World. I start educating me and educating my family to treat ALL persons with respect in always WIN-WIN situations to end WIN-LOOSE situations following codes of ETHICS in all bussinesses and realtionships around the WHOLE WORLD. I advocate for taking seriusly that "ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE " because everyone deserves QUALITY, FREEDOM TO CHOOSE and RESPECT in the Marketing and Branding of this GLOBAL NEW BEGINNING as citizens of the World. Cruise crew is diverse, today you are offered the opportunity to model how to close (Check OUt) a positive Life Cycle, this is just a test to prove to yourself and the world that the most humble of your servants is given inmortality to rest in peace (Legacy to Families, sons and daughters that lack seeing their parents for long term and didn't had the opportunity to say good-bye, to close gaps and bless them and your company)

Example of EXEMPLARY TRAINING: VIKING is the leading Cruise Ship and Large Yacht Crew Management specialists primarily offering career opportunities globally for Officers & Crew of all positions.

Every customer service has made a promise to customers, employees, providers, a promise is a promise, my business......really accomplishes that promise, I always have to remember ..... I am accountable for that to the only Judge with a positive cash flow in all the concepts -labor, taxes, clean finances, clean environments, open books......? Is my business phylosophy aligned with reality? ....today customers seek Purpose and Mission in Life when choosing a service or product (Intangible added value of a brand....)

“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

“There are two things people want more than sex and money... recognition and praise.”
Mary Kay Ash recognition

How the Founding Fathers of your business would have recognized this Oriental Families for their looses, meaning of life and death in Asian Culture, to close a Healthy Cycle of Life with a Loving Heart? Invest in blessings (health, prayers towards you and your family), not hate......because that brings sickness and sadness in long term.

Sincerely,

Marcela Serrano