Titanic Syndrome what is it?

If you google Titanic Syndrome what do you get?

My favourite definition is in the urban dictionary. ‘The immense attraction Asian women have for Caucasian men that was spurred in part by the movie Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio’.

In my mind this should be ‘a fear of cruising, due to the loss of life experienced during the sinking of the Titanic’. The events have been covered many times by film makers and this has led to many potential cruisers never setting foot on a boat, ferry or ship.

When I get asked the question are ships safe my answer is yes. What can I do to put peoples minds at rest that ships are safe places when every month there is a story of high winds damaging a ship while docking or crew losing their lives in training drills. Or even worse the Costa Concordia disaster in more recent history. The media have bought all of these accidents to our living rooms and increasingly people are now afraid of these accidents happening to them.

The saying ‘worse things could happen at sea’ is true. The sea is a dangerous place, in the wrong conditions the elements are harsh with wind, rain, sleet, snow and icebergs causing hazards to any craft at sea. The good news is that ships are built to withstand the worst that nature can throw at them. No Captain will take a ship into dangerous waters on purpose. They will avoid storms if possible and there are look outs on the bridge to spot hazards as well as the latest technology to prevent loss of life at sea. SOLAS stands for safety of life at sea and all crew have training weekly to ensure the ship and its passengers are safe no matter what should happen.

I lived on various ships for 4 years and like every seaman you put your trust in the officers to keep the ship safe and I can assure everyone that has a fear of cruising, it is a great and safe way to see the world while being looked after in every way. The places you visit can enrich your life with the different cultures, people, history and food all playing a part in what makes cruising popular.

My advice is book a life changing experience and stop worrying. The worry is usually for nothing and there are many more important things in life than all the what if’s. I feel safer at sea than I do crossing the roads in my local town! Happy cruising! If you have a fear and want to discuss cruising call me on my direct line 0333 300 2480 Adrian Partridge.