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Re: Steve Sailer’s blog post Cruise Liner Captains Don't Go Down With Their Ships and James Fulford’s blog post Women And Children First? Not On Sinking Italian Cruise Ships
From: Brian Riordan (e-mail him)
Many decades ago—long before the 1991 Oceanos disaster—my father told me one should never choose a Greek or Italian cruise ship because the crew will shove the passengers aside in their rush to be first to the lifeboats. The other day, discussing the recent Italian ship disaster, my mother told me that my sister, who once took a job as a singer on a Greek ship, said that even in the lifeboat drills the Greek crew got into the lifeboats first.
My father said American, British, or Scandinavian ships were the ones to choose. Of course that was decades ago—before the rush for cheap labor. I have no idea who owns cruise ships today, but if any are American-owned, I am skeptical that real Americans crew them.
Note that on the Oceanos, it was an American magician and band leader who saved the passengers while the professional crew fled. [See Miracle from a Magician, By Robin Boltman, People Magazine, August 26, 1991] Maybe all Italian and Greek ships should be required to have American entertainers on board in case of emergencies.
