As vacations go, Titanic’s Jack and Rose certainly enjoyed all ends of the spectrum: luxury, romance, self-exploration … if it wasn’t for the tragic death at the end of the movie, you really couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying trip.
But Jack and Rose weren’t really on the Titanic, so in honor of the real-life passengers that inspired the film, let’s look at the top five cruise ship disasters that will make you record the phone number of a cruise law firm next time you cast off on an aquatic adventure.
1. Costa Concordia
There was no indication that the passengers aboard the Costa Concordia were destined for anything other than a rousing oceanic vacation when the huge ship pulled out of its port. Unfortunately, fanfare and smooth sailing didn’t account for much when the Concordia hit a reef and rolled onto its side. 32 of its 4,200 passengers were killed and 64 injured, and process of removing the half-submerged ship has been slow. One year later, the Concordia still rests on its side off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.
2. Celebrity Mercury
Though the cruise ship itself made the 2010 trip without incident, the same could not be said for more than 400 of its passengers that spent their vacations locked in the bathroom. The Center for Disease Control later diagnosed the illness as a norovirus outbreak. The isolated conditions of a cruise line vacation provided the perfect environment for the virus to spread among family and strangers.
3. Carnival Triumph
In 2013, unlucky vacationers aboard the Carnival Triumph spent eight days adrift at sea thanks to an engine fire that killed the power. The ordeal might not have been so terrible had the air-conditioning and septic systems not broken as well. Passengers of the Triumph are currently involved in a cruise ship lawsuit.
4. Norwegian Dawn
Not all disasters can be predicted or prevented. The gamble of a cruise ship vacation is that the ocean is essentially a wet abyss of unpredictability. The world’s best cruise law firm won’t win a lawsuit against Mother Nature, as much as passengers of the Norwegian Dawn might have wanted to try after their cabins were flooded in 2005. A 70-foot wave threw itself onto the ship during a storm at sea, causing approximately 300 passengers to disembark early.
5. Seabourn Spirits
Passengers of the Seabourn Spirits at least came home with the vacation story of a lifetime after Somali pirates attacked the ship in 2005. Despite taking damage due to machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the cruise ship was able to escape to the Seychelles for repairs. None of its passengers were hurt, though you can bet they’ll spend their next vacation with their feet on dry land.
Plenty of vacationers have a perfectly nice time on the water, drinking and breaking in their sea legs. For some, however, support systems like the one at Maus Law Firm are here to assist in cruise ship lawsuits (Read more about attorney Joseph Maus here). Call us today at 954-784-6310.