Escaping a Cruise Ship in a Lifeboat

[@amazingrandomproducts]

It was an absolute blast having you as a guest on the podcast! Looking forward to bringing you back to hear more stories

[@louanarose]

The amount of engineering put in every corner of the ship is incredibly fascinating. Including the life boats! Thank God someone came up with the amazing idea by adding engines to lifeboats as well so the passengers will be extra safe and be able to get to land. I hope those events will never happen, but if God forbid something horrible will happen, they are in good hands.

[@jpbpds]

Now I can see how difficult it would be to spot someone in the water - it was hard to see the life ring. Just imagine how anxious and frightened one would be as the lifeboat descended into the water with all the shaking and filled with scared passengers in the event of an emergency. Another excellent video.

[@kellybryson7754]

I can only assume it would be utter chaos, no matter how many drills you had onboard.

[@haroldanderson7327]

Thanks for the lifeboat video, a couple of years ago I was on the Carnival Paradise, and during the morning of our port visit to Cozumel (I usually wait until mid to late morning to leave the ship to avoid the crowds) I noticed several crew members working on one of the boats, so in my curiosity I started watching them, one of the officers saw me and asked If I wanted to see it up close and he gave me a tour of the boat and all of its features, so seeing your video of it in actual operation was really cool.

[@hollingworth75]

I’m just about to join my first cruise ship, as a Deck Cadet, so your videos are very helpful and exciting - thank you!

[@SameShipDifferentDay]

Thanks Richard and good luck!

[@joelroach416]

Thank you for sharing this. As an avid cruiser, it is nice to see how well prepared the staff is to make sure we all have a great time at sea. I appreciate all that you and the rest of the staff do for us.

[@capt.danieldavidson6291]

Simply can not have enough exposure to Emergency Procedures for both Crew and Passengers. Thank you for taking the time to produce this most informative video.

[@TisiGrey]

You're better marketing for Princess Cruises than any advertisement I've ever seen, to be honest. I've never had any interest in cruising but you add so many stories and so much depth and humanity to the experience that I would consider it now.

[@SameShipDifferentDay]

Thank you, that means a lot

[@hannahpumpkins4359]

I worked onboard a number of fishing boats in the Florida Keys - and every now and then I'd get an offer to be part of the crew to transport a boat someplace. This is from my blog- a story of how fast things can go wrong onboard a boat, and how sometimes it's the smallest things that can create the problem: I accepted a trip working a a 2nd Mate aboard a 50' Bertram yacht that required us to sail it from West Palm Beach down to Key West, which was to take at least 3 days. The owner of the boat was a multi-millionaire; the boat, named 'Blue Sea', was gorgeous - immaculately clean, and in every aspect a fine luxury vessel. On the boat were Captain Frank, Captain Jim, their wives, Trey the 1st Mate, and obviously myself. I had bought Kentucky Fried Chicken for all of us for lunch that first day - it was a superstition of mine since every time I bought KFC onto a boat we had a great trip. The boat was outfitted with enough food for the remainder of the trip, and I was going to be assuming the role of Ship's Cook starting the following day. Trey was the Relief Captain, and he would take the helm once we were out to sea. My job was to essentially being his back-up, and also required that I conduct navigation, be the lookout on 1st Watch, and monitor all the boat's gauges. Trey and I decided to pilot the boat from the Fly Bridge, which was around 15' up from the main deck. We starting eating lunch and chit-chatting small talk as the seas were only around 2'-3', which the boat just cut through effortlessly and smoothly. We were steaming approximately 6 miles E/SE of Miami Beach when things took a very fast turn for the worse. I saw the temperature for the starboard engine starting to rise - at first slowly, then very quickly. I looked over the side to check the exhaust and saw that steam was billowing out of it. Then a warning siren went off while a computerized voice repeated over and over, 'explosion imminent, explosion imminent, explosion imminent'. Trey looked at me and asked, "what the heck is going on"? I had no idea, but I shut off the starboard engine in the hope that somehow the situation would resolve itself. It didn't. In fact, a few minutes later the exact same thing happened to the port engine, and I shut that one down as well. Now we were adrift at sea... There was not even time to catch my breath when I saw one bilge pump gauge max out at 250 gallons per minute, followed seconds later by the bilge warning light meaning that the boat was taking on more water than it could discharge. Immediately the 2nd bilge warning light came on, and that pump became maxed out too. Trey and I looked at one another because we both knew we were in serious danger of sinking; Trey said to me, "you'd better go and get Captain Frank, and let him know what's going on". I quickly climbed down to the main deck, and then went into the fo'c'sle to wake him up (he was sleeping until his watch 8 hours later). After explaining what was happening, he instructed me to get life jackets on everyone, grab the flare guns, dye packets, strobe lights, and the rest of the rescue equipment. Captain Frank opened the hatch to the engine compartment and said I needed to contact the Coast Guard and tell them that we were in imminent danger of sinking, and that at the very least we'd need 2 portable bilge pumps from them. I managed to glance into the engine room to see a massive amount of water pouring in like a waterfall... I got everyone in their life jackets and made sure they stayed on the deck near the transom in case we had to abandon ship. I then went back up to the fly bridge, took a deep breath to calm myself down, and grabbed the radio to call the Coast Guard, "Mayday mayday mayday, this is the 50' Bertram yacht 'Sunset' located 6 miles south and 5 miles east of Miami Beach, taking on water and in danger of sinking; 6 souls aboard, and 2 dogs - requesting immediate assistance, and 2 bilge pumps". I repeated the message. The Coast Guard replied that they were sending a C-130 airplane, a helicopter, and a Cutter to assist. At this point there was so much water in the bilge that the boat deck was nearly at the waterline, and she was listing heavily 30-degrees, and at times would shake and lurch so violently to 45-degrees that Trey and I had to hang on with all our strength to avoid being thrown overboard. I looked down at the water to see it was filled with billions of small jellyfish, and all I could think of was being in the water and getting stung relentlessly by them! It was only around 15 minutes later when I saw the C-130 circling overhead, but that 15 minutes had felt like an eternity. Then I saw the helicopter, which began to hover nearby. I maintained radio contact with the Coast Guard helicopter, and they lowered a gas-powered bilge pump and a repair kit to us. The Cutter then approached us in case we needed to jump ship. I went to the engine room to check on Captain Frank: He was chest-deep in water connecting the portable bilge pump hoses while Trey got it started. As soon as the water started being pumped out the boat began to right itself, and a short while later I heard Captain Frank say he managed to patch the holes and stop the leaks. At that the C-130 and and helicopter departed, while the Cutter kept us company until the tow boat got there. It took us 6 very. very long hours to get towed back to the marina, where we were met by a mechanic. So what happened to cause the boat to nearly sink? Well, the owner never bothered to have the barnacles scraped off the sea-water coolant intakes. Because of this, the engine overheated (and seized), with some metal parts getting so hot that they melted off. When these parts melted, they fell onto the large rubber exhaust tubes - which were supposed to be covered with aluminum mesh (but again, the owner didn't bother to do this when they were last repaired), but since they weren't, the metal melted right through them, which opened up a direct line to the water. Both engines were blown, and the damage to engine accessories was also severe. It would have cost the owner around $100 to have the barnacles scraped, but now to repair both engines and other damage the price tag would be more than $100K. And that's how an irresponsible and cheap boat owner nearly sent a $10M yacht to Davy Jones' Locker. But the captain and the crew all knew their roles and acted according to their duties, and the guests followed our orders explicitly; because of that a chaotic situation was kept organized and controlled. Oh yeah, and thankfully, I had brought the lucky chicken! MORAL: FOLLOW THE ORDERS OF THE CAPTAIN AND CREW!

[@gwenmarshall587]

I'm used to NCL and know they normally do life boat practice of some sort every week and they try to make it serve two purposes when they can. For example, the captain of the ship I was on in Alaska back in August 2018, put some life boats (the tender sized ones) in to act as transport to get passengers, who didn't have ship shore excursions, into town in Juneau, Alaska when he was waiting for our turn to dock at the port. When we had to use our tenders to get in to the port near Dublin, Ireland we used all of the tender boats since it was an hour round trip from the port. I always think it is good practice for both the passengers and crew when the life boats are used in this way. When we were in Monaco and had to provide our own tenders, it was interesting to see the difference in experience level between the drivers of the different boats. We had some who needed multiple tries to dock whereas others were so good with controlling their boat that it was enjoyable to watch. When they are using the ship's tender boats that is when I most notice them using the DP positioning to shelter the tender boats as much as possible when they are landing on the ship's dock.

[@OBS3RVE]

I once sailed on Pacific Dawn as a junior engineer when a passenger jumped over the side on the top deck. Safe to see she was never to be seen again... Extremely sad for her family still onboard

[@dpmillerau]

That was cool. Always like watching the launches when I can see them. IT was great to see some of the proceedures.

[@lovecruisin6457]

Thank you for the video. I love that you show us things we do not get to see while in a cruise!!!

[@jimneufeld1073]

Always amazed at how well trained the crew are. Very professional. Good filming Alfie. Star was one of my favorite ships. Never been on the Dawn.

[@AlisonPickering1960]

Loving having the footage and commentary from your point of view - very poised and professional, sincere and interesting.

[@billyfearon941]

One thing I love about watching your channel Alfie you show us how everything works that is so cool appreciate you taking your time and your fellow mates For holding the camera for you can’t wait for the next one

[@jackfrohreich2400]

Couldn’t agree more.

[@marcusbarras5010]

this look like a good exercise to learn how lifeboats work and what to do when there an emergency on board

[@MrZola1234]

Important aspect of cruise ship prep, no one ever wants to have to use these in an emergency… but good to see the crew working hard at practicing the skill set.

[@sabrinamiller4405]

From seeing the movie Titanic. I am glad for the advancement of lifeboat technology. This looks a lot safer than back then.

[@pb1963]

It's hard to believe that all the passengers and crew will fit in those lifeboats. Nicely done.

[@shavedwookie699]

I've been in a full load as part of a drill. It's very cosy. Also we were all crew with a large number of smaller people (probably 60-80kg), I'd hate to be in there with 100+ tourists at 80-100kg.

[@criswisner8128]

@@shavedwookie699 It's not too bad as they are used to ferry folks into port when only anchorage is available. It's just really shoulder to shoulder and then wait in another line to embark and disembark.

[@maritameadows904]

Great video, have seen the life boats go out for the drills while cruising, great to be able to see it from the crews view. Got a little nostalgic when you showed the aft of the ship. Last cruise was on the encounter in February 2019.

[@kimcarr7409]

Loved it! I'm sure that I knew that you practiced this, but I've never seen it done. Thanks so much!

[@chuckcanady578]

Very interesting. I’ve seen crew do this same practice recovery on a Princess ship. Thank you!

[@mikebechley]

Makes you appreciate how difficult it can be to see someone in the water - add a very few wavelets and it would be even more difficult.

[@johndittmer8488]

Good job rescuing Oscar (it's what we call the life ring or dressed up dummy used for man overboard drills in the US Navy.)

[@lesliemckay2835]

Your video reminded me of my time (27 years) as flight attendant doing our emergency procedures and life raft drill. However our refresher course was every 12 months with random spot checks on every flight. Some stress but also some fun as well. Thanks.

[@lanimorgan2379]

Alfie, thanks for sharing. Knowledge is power. Something behind the scenes passengers usually don't see.

[@DannyBlack]

Fantastic video alfie! I learned so much from this. Is amazing how much goes into this!!!

[@petermartin8053]

Thanks Alfie for educating us on something we hope we never have to use! :)

[@kezzavicau]

Thanks Alfy! Been on Explorer a couple of years ago…Watching your vids is like keeping in touch for real. Thanks again.

[@tickticktickBOOOOM]

I was on one of those for a shore excursion in the Virgin Islands. It had enough engine trouble that I told the other passengers if they were traveling with any rich relatives or people they owed money to, point them towards this boat. We got to the shore...eventually.

[@johnslanicky]

Alfie, mate. Nice job! The decent to waterline looked nerve wracking to me, and you looked cool and in control of the vessel. Footage was very well done. 🙂 Thank you for sharing events like this. 👍👍 Very interesting and informative. Appreciate your time to record these videos. 👍👍

[@davidkalbacker6033]

Great to see this drill . The tanker that I served on the lifeboats were so rusted and the davits were in such bad condition that it took numerous mechanics to get one off in controlled conditions in port. I looked around for life rafts as they offered us the best chance to off the ship. Glad I never had to rely on either.

[@NathanS2022]

Great Video ! Was great to see how the life boats work from the inside, and how to reconnect to the ship ! 👍

[@vossyau]

I had a great time doing my life boat commander course with Royal Caribbean. Lots of hot sweaty days driving those boats around! Guest would always be watching from the balconies wondering what in the world we were doing!

[@ThomasGrillo]

This is a good video for passengers to watch, as well. Helps to know what to expect, in an emergency. Thanks for the video.

[@davidwilliams4865]

Very nicely done. Having taken 32 previous cruises, your demo was reassuring. However, let's see you do it at night, crippled ship, frantic passengers and confused officers and staff, like the Costa Concordia!

[@wendykoek6757]

Wow that was so interesting 🤔 and you were on my favourite deck 4 on the Explorer love that deck too and on the beautiful Explorer love her she is a beauty and Pacific Encounter looks great and she is a beauty too. I am waiting to see Pacific Adventure getting done up next can’t wait to see her either

[@jimsimpson2253]

What a great original video. Thanks for the behind the scenes view of things we never get to see.

[@SwimminWitDaFishies]

So cool!! And hearing all of you shouting with your "posh" accents 🤴🏻 Love that!!

[@lizeveritt9285]

Thank you for sharing. I like watching the drills when staying onboard on a port day and nice seeing it from your point of view.

[@nigeldawson8218]

Nice rehearsal in ideal conditions. Mill pond calm. Everything working. Try that in a serious sea, at night, failure cascading. Yeah, bad outcome.

[@QueenNoTeetha151]

One day onboard I got bored with the food options, so this is good to know I have options.

[@elaine1140]

thanks for the ride. Glad you passed

[@wendywilliams9334]

Another great informative video… I think sometimes we take for granted ( as vacationing tourists) all the hard work and training that the staff do on board cruise ships. All the best… White Rock, British Columbia, 🇨🇦 Looking forward to listening to your podcast…

[@lockingthroughlife2587]

This vlog takes me back to my days at sea and doing these exercises. Oh happy days 😀👍

[@ZanderRound]

Really great to see some of the work and training that goes on behind the scenes, Thanks for the shout out dude

[@mellowyellow9450]

Great stream, thank you.

[@glypnir]

I see she’s moored at a shipyard now. I last looked at that conglomeration of ships several days ago, and I could see an RB wandering around, because they have AIS too. I don’t think it was from your ship, but I don’t remember. Most of my Marine Traffic watching has been near where some grandchildren live. I finally visited them and managed to find a park with a 300 meter container ship just across the river and a bulk carrier bows on on our side. They were interested for a few minutes, but the playground was much more fun. Trying to start them young. Everyone in a democracy should know about ships and oceans.

[@curiouskitten1665]

You had photographer for this one... they did a great job 👏

[@cherylrucinski1386]

I love watching your videos, keep up the great work.

[@VisualApproach]

I think the MOB snuffed it at 08:29 😂

[@JCResDoc94]

masking indoors is fine. or if distance not maintained, is fine. but that is for this specific situation. masks indoors on land is only for an outbreak area. outdoors never. but that is medically, not the policy. & no perspex (!). stops air circulation, concentrates particulates & increases infection potential. also sub n99/95 is kind of stupid, if we were serious, both for stopping infection & spread. but nothing is perfect. if not in a covid (or actual serious illness war) ward, regular bit of cloth or paper is fine. gr8 vid. jc

[@criswisner8128]

I love the 'lifeboats' are 'tenders' when ferrying crew\guests whilst in port.

[@captneilmurray6055]

Thanks Alfie , good training exercise , well done.

[@myraweinstein396]

That was very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@brianstuart1867]

Nice one Alfie. That looks like a lot of fun! If I were 45 years younger, I could see myself out there with you :)

[@kevinhilbrunner3439]

Nice video to get behind the scenes view of man over board drills and the communication used. Great job. Bravo Zulu....

[@nmccw3245]

Congratulations on your new command :)

[@edward_grabczewski]

This video raises more questions than it answers!

[@ukapplefan]

Be interesting to know if the C-suite at P&O are aware of your channel. You are a credit to the company and I hope that given the filming you are able to achieve you are getting support from shoreside. It really paints the company in a positive light in such difficult circumstances. Your boat certainly puts my princess 39 in the shade

[@SameShipDifferentDay]

Hi Ian, thank you very much, that means a lot. I am slowly starting to liaise with the office. Let's see what the future brings

[@Kni0002]

Pacific explorer looks really good, first ever cruse ship I been on

[@robertocaluori6543]

Thank you for sharing how this all works! Stay safe!

[@stevec9669]

Good to have an opportunity to watch this exercise. New and interesting to me. Hope more to come. Thank you.

[@monwell27]

One of my goals is to get a tour of a lifeboat, or if possible even a ride, but I know that would probably never happen as a guest.

[@vonbradley5920]

Great video.

[@Rebekahlow]

That was fun and very interesting!! Love from Vermont

[@lindaperryman2888]

That was really informative. Thanks for sharing.

[@australianphotographer234]

Look at costa Concordia. Many were unusable, either broken down or can’t be launched due to the angle of the ship. What if it was in the middle of the ocean than on the shore? Would’ve had hundreds of deaths. Anyway that being said. Awesome video 👌

[@kellyacton5475]

Great video! Really interesting to see these things done as we never get to see this as a passenger.

[@paulatrahern1336]

This is such a great video for my son to watch as he’s off to Warsash in the summer! The masks are interesting bearing in mind you are all effectively in a bubble having been quarantined. Safety first, I guess.

[@mspalmboy]

Waiting and wondering how many more months it will be before our federal govt announces when domestic cruises can resume from Australian ports.

[@rager1969]

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@jacquelyns9709]

Life boat action was great. Nice to see some things up close. I've seen crew members take them off the ship and sail around nearby from a distance. You need to tighten your mask up. You shouldn't have to constantly adjust it. I noticed a lot of black marks on the hull. What are they? And lots of rust. I know rust is an enemy of ships. So how and when is rust removed and repainted? Also, your life vest was pretty dirty. Is it yours personally? How old is it? Do life vests get inspected; how often? When life boats are hanging up on the ship does someone inspect them or perform any maintenance on them. How often are they checked to see if food, water, and other emergency supplies are still good and haven't been pilfered. How are they refueled? What kind of fuel do they use? How many life boats are on your ship? Do you have rubber rafts as well?

[@spannerworks1]

Hi Alfie Fantastic video and seeing your smiling face ! You can be my Captan any day ! Warm regards Richard

[@stephenhope7319]

Nice one. Not many of that class of ship still have the Skywalker lounge. Some of the Princess ships had theirs removed.

[@catherineb6561]

ohhh, the Encounter looks all sparkly & new! Take care

[@iwayanbudiasa4444]

I'm very happy find this vidio because i will work on p&o cruise line,,please make other vidio about other drill sir

[@francoismontesinos7809]

We was using live boat of Msc seaview to visit Cannes in France with passengers cool !

[@stmiller8427]

Yes, very interesting. Watching from Los Angeles, CA Steve Miller.

[@benwilson9150]

You couldn’t have had a better day for it! Miss days out at sea like that

[@josefranciscolopezvega8869]

when i get back to the ship i'm going to renew my course

[@davidbartlett7344]

Hi Honorable Sir, Thank you for sharing this video. Learned so much. Maybe a tour next of the inside of these life boats. It seems easy to lower the boat down, but in case of emergency does it drop faster. The other ships out there were they cruise ships just kicking about and maybe oil tankers. Do you have to be alert to danger ships that could sneak up on your ship? I see the ship needs a little paint and I am sure that will happen before passengers are back on board. THANKS AGAIN!!!

[@stephniedaubermann6314]

Thx for the video. Interesting. Love to watch things on board like this.

[@zubayeralbillalkhan3679]

I am more interested in lifeboats. Planing to buy one and conversation to expedition boat.

[@carold8345]

Looks like a nice change of pace. Thanks for sharing.

[@StreakyP]

10:04 , hooking back on, I've never done one of these courses so treat my comments as uninformed amateur observations, but you were handling the chain shackle directly. In any swell a finger could easily get caught & with a lifeboat on one end & a cruise ship on the other you could easily loose that finger. It looks like they have added additional handles on the bottom shackle to keep your hands away from the pinch point.

[@SameShipDifferentDay]

Hi Ian, good observation, on the far side I tend to use a loose grip placing my hand on top of the handle so I can move it away and toward me faster should the blocks come a little too low or if there is a swell. On the far side you can't really see I was gripping the handle to give me directional control

[@thepackakaandrew3114]

On routes do you have to talk to earth stations as well as port authorities love the streaming thanks mate

[@vickyb5935]

Great video!! Thanks

[@DarrensCruiseTravels]

Sure looked like a perfect day for it, except maybe the sweltering temperature. You say that you don’t do much in the lifeboats now. Is there a reason why they don’t have you all doing tenders when they are needed, to keep up proficiency? Are you too senior now? Or is it just because they need senior cover to stay on the ship to fit in with roster patterns etc? (I would have enjoyed the powerpoints btw haha!!)

[@paulbearman4653]

Very interesting, surprised how fast you approached the ‘man overboard’, may be the vlog gave the wrong impression. Thanks for sharing.

[@Bigredtower]

Great work, crew! Interesting: confirmed. I'm curious how the lifeboats deal with staying fueled, and fuel expiring in the tanks when she's not in use for long periods?

[@runedahl1477]

Lifeboat drill is important but due to the number of accidents during these drills more people have been killed by conventional lifeboats like this than the number that have been rescued by them. To pick up somebody from the water is dangerous because the person maneuvering the boat don’t see anything in the water when it counts the most. Also the height from the waterline makes it hard to lift somebody onboard once you get the hold of them. Only a designated rescue boat should be used for this kind of operations.

[@andrewprice7373]

Another great video, thanks for sharing it.

[@joelafferma9330]

Was a great video thank you

[@russiandrivers9986]

Looks fun!

[@ghiser78]

I love closed lifeboats. Have you saw the costa concordia they hit a rock in itily and they boarded a yellow closed lifeboats and rafts three lifeboats got stuck on the side of the vessel because 30 peaple died thanks alot love it. I will give you 9.9 sexentillen $ to earn a lifeboats from whatever size.

[@JCResDoc94]

do you have drones, to scout for lost crew of inspect hull? small, cheap (ish) for the environment? you can use them for publicity shots too. a strange thing not to have. jc

[@grahamlofts428]

Great video, Alfie - seen the use of tenders many times for passenger disembarkation, but never seen training process as close as this - very beneficial for passengers to see this first hand. One question, when you are shouting distance, you all seem pretty accurate, but are you in effect guessing the distance countdowns, or do you just get better and better as seamen, in estimating the distances? Once again, thanks for showing us another part of your daily lives.

[@SameShipDifferentDay]

Thanks Graham. Yes it's best guess really. I tend to picture how many lifeboat lengths to the position which works for me. Most lifeboats are around 10m in length. This RB is a bit smaller at just over 8m

[@pbg1949]

Nice job ...gives us confidence...