With the recovery of the wreck of the Costa Concordia well underway, a lot of focus has once again been cast on safety measures in place aboard cruise ships. A cruise is one of the safest vacations you can take, but you may wonder how river cruising compares?
The question I hear river cruisers ask most frequently is, “Where are the lifeboats?” In most cases — speaking about European river cruising — river cruise ships don’t need physical lifeboats as such, for a variety of reasons.
First, the depth of water under the keel of your river cruise ship can vary from a few dozen feet to less than a foot. In the event of a hull breach, it’s entirely likely that your river cruise ship would ground out — also known as “hitting bottom” — long before it ever came in danger of foundering.
While many cruise ships have inflatable rafts — and every river cruiser has, by law, lifejackets for every person aboard and then some — the most likely method of rescue, should an issue ever arise, is to bring another ship alongside and simply step off one and onto another.
River cruise ships still boast the same advanced fire prevention technologies that are found on their larger, oceangoing brethren. This includes sensitive smoke detectors, fire doors, and fire suppression systems.
Alternately, in the event of a medical emergency, docking locations are placed conveniently along the waterways of Europe, even in between towns. This allows ships to tie up to meet ambulances, rescue vehicles, or otherwise arrange for help.
On my first river cruise experience, a passenger became seriously ill just after we had departed Melk, Austria. We’d sailed for about 15 minutes when we suddenly slowed and came alongside at a berth next to an even smaller village than the one we just left. After perhaps three minutes, an ambulance pulled alongside, paramedics came onboard, and the guest was taken off the ship and driven away for medical attention. Because of the quick action, the guest was checked out, treated, released, and able to re-join the ship at a later port.
This convenience eliminates the need for complex onboard medical centers like those found on oceangoing cruise ships, where help can be days away.
Cruising still is one of the safest types of vacations you can take, and river cruising is no exception. So get out there, explore, and discover — with the knowledge you can do so, worry-free.
graham watt says
Has a river cruise ship ever boached or lost rudder control and hit a bridge athwatship? would river current cause ship to then be pushed over?
theavidcruiser says
Not to my knowledge.
Best regards, Ralph