🕷️ Crawler Inspector

 [](https://www.ranker.com/)   vote on everything - [Watchworthy](https://www.ranker.com/tags/what-to-watch?ref=mainnav) - [Weird History](https://www.ranker.com/tags/weird-history?ref=mainnav) - [Graveyard Shift](https://www.ranker.com/tags/graveyard-shift?ref=mainnav) - [Total Nerd](https://www.ranker.com/tags/total-nerd?ref=mainnav) - [Gaming](https://www.ranker.com/tags/gaming?ref=mainnav) - [Unscripted](https://www.ranker.com/tags/unscripted?ref=mainnav) - [Lifestyle](https://www.ranker.com/tags/lifestyle?ref=mainnav) - [Music](https://www.ranker.com/list-of/music?ref=mainnav) - [Sports](https://www.ranker.com/list-of/sports?ref=mainnav) [\#2 Amarillo by Morningon The Best Country Songs About Traveling, Ranked]() [\#6 Ashevilleon The Most Underrated Cities in America]() COLLECTION 17 LISTS [Staying Alive](https://www.ranker.com/collections/the-art-of-survival?ref=collection_header)The dos, don'ts, and steps of survival in likely and highly unlikely, very dangerous situations. - [The Ship Is Going Down, But You Don't Have To](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-cruise-ship-sinking/melissa-sartore?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [How You Could Have Lived Through Pompeii](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-you-could-have-survived-pompeii/melissa-sartore?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [If You're Lost in the Amazon Rainforest](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-amazon-rainforest/melissa-sartore?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [What to Do in a Hostage Situation](https://www.ranker.com/list/hostage-situation-how-to/nathan-gibson?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [What to Do If Your Parachute Fails You](https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-do-if-parachute-fails/natalie-jonah?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [How to Escape a Kidnapper](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-escape-a-kidnapper/colleen-conroy?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [You Could Have Survived a Viking Raid](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-viking-raid/ryan-sargent?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [In Case You Get Stuck in a Walk-In Freezer](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-get-out-of-a-walk-in-freezer/jacob-shelton?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [Just in Case You're Stranded in the Desert](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-desert/quinn-armstrong?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [Survival Myths to Unlearn](https://www.ranker.com/list/dangerous-survival-myths/lauren-glen?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [Steps to Living Through the Black Plague](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-did-people-survive-black-plague/genevieve-carlton?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [If You Are Ever the Hunted Game](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-most-dangerous-game/zach-seemayer?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [Surviving Your First Castle Siege](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-survive-a-castle-siege/melissa-sartore?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [You Woke Up with Amnesia](https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-do-if-you-wake-up-with-amnesia/zach-seemayer?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764) - [Was That Mushroom Poisonous?](https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-do-if-you-eat-toxic-mushrooms/ashley-reign?ref=collections_top&l=2795093&collectionId=2764)  - Photo: - user uploaded image [Places/Travel](https://www.ranker.com/list-of/places-and-travel) # How To Survive A Cruise Ship Sinking  [Melissa Sartore](https://www.ranker.com/writer/melissa-sartore "View Melissa Sartore's profile") Updated July 3, 2024 11 items Cruise ships are an all-in-one vacation package. You have the opportunity to travel at sea while still experiencing many of the [pleasures of life](https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-simple-pleasures-in-life/desertrat89?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword) on land, including swimming pools, family activities, elaborate meals, entertainment, and luxurious accommodations. Cruise ships cart you from port to port, providing transportation while you get to enjoy the views, be entertained, and relax - an ideal way to travel. Except when your trip goes horribly wrong. There are dangers when it comes to boarding a cruise ship, whether it's the risk of [falling overboard](https://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-fell-off-the-side-of-cruise-ships/katherine-ripley) or of the entire ship sinking into the ocean - although such mishaps are rare. With that in mind, you may want to look into how to survive in the unlikely event of an emergency. Disclaimer: This list is meant for entertainment purposes only.  *** -  - Photo: - [U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Val Gempis](http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=27034) - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Life_raft.jpg) - [Public Domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) ## Stick Together - Don't Make 'Women And Children First' The Priority Going solo in the event of a sinking ship isn't a good idea. [Families should stick together](https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-05-15/cruise-ship-safety-tips-surviving-cruise-emergencies-accidents), making sure children are well aware of muster stations (the place where people gather during emergencies) and where to find help in case something goes wrong. If you're on your own, the odds are low that someone will know you've been thrown overboard or have some other impediment to reaching safety. The axiom of "[women and children first](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2012/jan/16/costa-concordia-women)" is more of a Hollywood trope or cultural notion than a recommended guideline. Ships are required to have more than enough space for everyone on lifeboats, so space rationing isn't necessary. When the [Costa Concordia cruise ship](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/05/costa-concordia-sinking-scandal-italy) ran aground in 2012 off the coast of Italy, the crew only "increased the panic level" when they put out a call for women and children to board lifeboats before all others, said Benji Smith, a passenger on the ship. Smith recalled how "families who were sticking together \[were\] being pulled apart." Women didn't "want to go without their husbands" and "the husbands \[didn't\] want to lose their wives." Another element of sticking together is linking lifeboats and rafts to increase visibility and combine resources. [According to Steven Gosling](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/how-to-escape-a-sinking-ship.html), a former cruise ship deck officer, "You’ve got a much better chance of survival and being spotted and rescued working together... than if you’re one little person floating around by yourself with nothing but water for miles and miles.” -  - Photo: - [UnCruise Adventures](https://www.uncruise.com/about-us/media/media-gallery) - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Safari_Endeavour_-_Deckplan.png) - [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) ## Know The Layout Of The Ship One of the first things you can do after boarding a cruise ship is familiarize yourself with the layout of the vessel. [Cruise companies like Royal Caribbean](https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships) have deck plans and other information about all their ships available online for travelers. With a general sense of where things are, how to get around, and which parts of the ship are safest, you're one step ahead in case of an emergency. You may even want to set up a meeting point where you and your friends or family can connect if something happens and the ship begins to sink. Ideally, making your way to the deck would work best, but you also want to look out for high waves if you're in the midst of a storm. Standing on deck might make you vulnerable to "rogue waves," [according to former cruise ship officer Jay Herring](https://www.express.co.uk/travel/cruise/1128622/cruise-ship-crash-sinking-danger-emergency-cruises-crew). -  - Photo: - [Gregory Varnum](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Varnent) - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bahamas_Cruise_-_ship_interior_-_June_2018_\(2108\).jpg) - [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) ## Map Out Several Escape Routes Once you've boarded the ship, reached your cabin, and visualized your surroundings, it's time to make an escape route. Or maybe more than one. Steven Gosling, a deck officer who worked on cruise ships for more than a decade, advises travelers to make note of exits, stairways, and signs you'd need in an emergency. To be truly prepared, [according to Gosling](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/how-to-escape-a-sinking-ship.html), know it with "your eyes closed. You should be able to leave your cabin, "take a left, then a right, then a left, there’s the stairs.” Knowing direct paths to lifeboats and where [backup inflatable rafts](https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-05-15/cruise-ship-safety-tips-surviving-cruise-emergencies-accidents) are located prevents confusion and may save your life. - ![Find The Life Vests And Practice Putting One On]() - Photo: - [AlMare](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AlMare/gallery) - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lifejacket_Instructions.jpg) - [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) ## Find The Life Vests And Practice Putting One On All cruise ships are equipped with life jackets. You should know where they are - and how to put one on. [Carnival's website states](https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2554/~/life-jackets) the following: > Every Carnival ship contains a surplus of life jackets well above the total number of passengers and crew, and above what is required by maritime law. Life jackets are located within passenger cabins, and there are additional jackets at lifeboat stations and on board the lifeboats themselves. Life jackets are available in adult, child, and infant sizes. Life jackets can often be found in individual rooms, but they're also at muster stations throughout the ship. Each guest is assigned a muster station upon boarding and is shown how to put on a life jacket during a [safety briefing when they arrive.](https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1200/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNTYwMzUzNDI3L3NpZC9mVV9wYjRxWGp6Y2hNYnpNWGIySW5Cd21aZ1NzdjJ6dW9MSVdvVDQyNjlTcHNuRW5EaUh6S1JfaXNYMkhkTmRGY3BpVHVFRDdXRGt0ZFdaZFRtaGFmZzBKVmlnV19DZW9DaXFIR0tkTUd5OHFSOTd4dnBzZGZzNEElMjElMjE=) Former cruise ship deck officer Steven Gosling said you should wait to put the life jacket on until you reach the deck of the ship. Running through passageways and milling among other passengers [in a bulky life jacket](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/how-to-escape-a-sinking-ship.html) could actually work against you when trying to reach safety. - ## Wear Several Layers Of Clothing If the cruise ship begins to sink, be sure you're dressed appropriately. Layering with warm clothing prepares you for being in a lifeboat - something that may last for "hours, days, even weeks," [according to Steven Gosling](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/how-to-escape-a-sinking-ship.html). With unpredictable weather and unknown challenges ahead, more clothing is better than not enough. Even if you're in the water, extra clothing may [help with keeping you buoyant](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45244269), trapping air, and helping you float. - ![Jump Into The Water Only As A Last Resort]() - Photo: - U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Brannon Hood - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coast_Guard_medevacs_cruise_ship_passenger_150516-G-AB001-003.jpg) - [Public Domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) ## Jump Into The Water Only As A Last Resort Jumping into the water to escape a sinking ship is one of the worst things you can do. Being in the water not only exposes you to harm from the ship's external features, such as engines, but also makes you vulnerable to descending lifeboats, propellers and oars on lifeboats, and potentially life-threatening water temperatures. [As a result of these potential dangers](https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-05-15/cruise-ship-safety-tips-surviving-cruise-emergencies-accidents), Kurt Heinz, chief of the US Coast Guard's Lifesaving and Fire Safety Division, "strongly advise(s) against diving into the water unless there is a horrible calamity." Should you find yourself in the water, however, you can take steps to increase your odds of survival. [Floating is key](http://www.survivenature.com/ocean.php) because it preserves energy. Similarly, finding a piece of detritus to hold on to can also aid in floating while increasing visibility for rescue. load more NEXT LIST 

Cruise ships are an all-in-one vacation package. You have the opportunity to travel at sea while still experiencing many of the [pleasures of life](https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-simple-pleasures-in-life/desertrat89?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword) on land, including swimming pools, family activities, elaborate meals, entertainment, and luxurious accommodations. Cruise ships cart you from port to port, providing transportation while you get to enjoy the views, be entertained, and relax - an ideal way to travel. Except when your trip goes horribly wrong. There are dangers when it comes to boarding a cruise ship, whether it's the risk of [falling overboard](https://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-fell-off-the-side-of-cruise-ships/katherine-ripley) or of the entire ship sinking into the ocean - although such mishaps are rare. With that in mind, you may want to look into how to survive in the unlikely event of an emergency. Disclaimer: This list is meant for entertainment purposes only.