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Modern lifeboats are impressive vessels that can keep hundreds of passengers alive for up to a week.

Some people love cruises to the point where they actually choose to live their lives on a cruise ship, while others are totally turned off by the idea of being on a boat out on the open ocean. We've all seen Titanic and have more than enough footage of storms and shipwrecks to inform a fear of being stranded at sea.

However, scenes with half-filled lifeboats—little wooden rowboats that would definitely not survive a storm—give us a totally outdated picture of what being evacuated from a cruise ship in 2025 would look like. Thanks to the YouTube channel Cruising as Crew, we can see how modern lifeboats differ drastically from those of the past, and it's giving cruise passengers (and potential cruise passengers) a little more peace of mind about the prospect of using them.

lifeboats, cruise ship, evacuation, cruise, emergency Modern lifeboats are nothing like they were in the olden days.Photo credit: Canva

To be clear up front, it doesn't look like it would be fun to have to use one of these lifeboats. If you've got claustrophobia issues, most definitely not. If you have emetophobia issues, it probably wouldn't be a good time. But you wouldn't bake in the sun, you wouldn't starve or dehydrate, and chances are good you'd make it back to shore and have a whopper of a story to tell.

Modern lifeboats look more like capsules, and they are designed to hold a lot of people (close to 300 passengers per lifeboat on large cruise ships). Host Lindsay demonstrates how people are seated in three tiers of plastic benches, none of which look particularly comfortable but which allow for lots of people to fit into limited space. She also shows where the drinking water and food are stored. Each passenger would get half a liter of water per day—not a lot, but enough to keep you alive—and some high calorie dry biscuits. There's enough food and water for each person to survive up to a week on the boat.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

There's also other life-saving equipment such as torches, smoke floats, axes, rope, warming blankets, first aid supplies, and medicines. There's even fishing tackle, not necessarily to catch fish to eat but to give people something to do, as life on a lifeboat can be quite boring. Seasickness tablets are a must, of course—you literally have to have take them—and there are seasickness bags as well.

All in all, it's quite an impressive setup. People were happy to see a thorough explanation of what they should expect if they ever find themselves in an emergency evacuation.

"For my entire life I have thought that lifeboats are what I used to see in Titanic movie. These ones are luxurious compared to what I thought they would be. I can't imagine the maintenance cost - I mean the food, the medicine, the batteries, the diesel fuel they all gonna expire at some point so you have to keep replacing them with some time intervals."

"Best video ever! I can’t imagine sitting on metal that cramped for an hour, let alone days. I would imagine things would get tense fast. Maybe anti-anxiety drugs should be added!"

cruise, cruise ship, lifeboats, open ocean, evacuation Cruise Ship GIF Giphy

"From the bottom of my heart, a huge thank you. I’ve spent 400 days at sea on ships and this was by far the most comforting video you have ever done. I had no idea of the lifeboats contents or that we could last a week. They should show it on the entertainment system in the rooms. Please thank your officers for allowing you to show this. By far the best public relations video ever! I can’t wait to get back on a virgin ship."

"I didn’t expect the lifeboat to be that big inside and also with all that stored supply, the only thing missing was a restroom!"

Many people inquired about the toilet—or lack thereof—and apparently how people relieve themselves depends on the lifeboat. Some larger modern ones actually do have a dedicated toilet room, but most do not. Some have the equivalent of bedpans that can be emptied into the ocean or tossed overboard, and some have holes on the vessel that empty out into the water. Theoretically, a rescue would usually happen within hours, not days, so hopefully the bathroom question isn't one many people have to answer with first-hand experience.

There is another ship evacuation system that passengers don't generally use but crew members might: the Marine Evacuation System (MES). This system is a bit more…mmm, exciting?…than the lifeboat toured above. With the MES, rafts are automatically deployed and inflated along with a long inflatable chute that you drop down into to get to the boats. That's right, a chute.

Watch the MES in action:


@cruise.spotting

Marine evacuation system in action 🧐 #evacuation #marine #engineering #cruiseship #vessel #mes

Hmm, yeah, no thank you. Hopefully, neither I nor any of you reading this will ever be in a position having to use any of these life-saving apparatus, but it's at least nice to know they're there and how they work.

Happy cruising, everyone!

A vintage piano at the Titanic Museum.

Musician Edwin Rivera from Jacksonville, Florida, was celebrating his honeymoon with his wife and as part of the trip, they visited the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The museum showcases over 400 pieces of memorabilia from the Titanic and features a breathtaking recreation of the ship’s grand staircase. It also features a large replica of the doomed vessel striking an iceberg.

Rivera’s wife turned her camera on to catch his reaction as he walked into the music room and saw an 118-year-old piano. She thought he would just twinkle the keys a bit, but he went much further than that. "The video was initially supposed to be Edwin's raw reaction to touching the replica piano," Staci McClure, a friend of the couple who posted the video, told Newsweek. "When he pressed the keys and it was tuned, he spontaneously decided to play. And what else to play other than ‘The Portrait’ from Titanic?"

@jlubabe904

#edwinriverathepianoman #titanic #titanicmuseum #pigeonforge #honeymoon #piano #music #celinedion #fyp

The video is impressive because he plays the beautiful piece without sheet music. A crowd of strangers at the museum was also impressed with his playing, breaking into applause at the end. “I had to do it, I had to do it,” the pianist said, with a twinge of bashfulness in his voice as he left the bench. The couple gave the video to McClure because she has over 4,000 followers on TikTok, and they thought it might help the musician book a few gigs. “Little did we know that 48 hours later it would have nearly 8 million views,” McClure told Newsweek.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


The video impressed a lot of folks on TikTok in the comments. “Omg, can you imagine being surrounded by those artifacts and hearing that? They'd have to take me out on a stretcher for uncontrolled sobbing,” one wrote. “The fact he remembered that song from memory without the sheet music, is pretty damn cool,” another added.


titanic replica, the titanic, titanic movie, titanic attraction, titanic museum, icebergA replica of the Titanic hitting an iceberg in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.via Titanic Museum/Media Page

The post also brought out a couple of jokesters. “I would've laid across the piano and told him to draw me like one of his French girls,” someone joked. "Should’ve followed it up with under the sea,” another commenter added. In a follow-up video, Rivera did just that.

@jlubabe904

Replying to @Imnotyourbabydaddy666 #edwinriverathepianoman #titanic #titanicmuseum #pigeonforge #honeymoon #piano #music #thelittlemermaid #underthesea @Edwinjrivera.music

“The Portrait” was initially written by composer James Horner to score the scene where Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) sketches Rose (Kate Winslet) wearing The Heart of the Ocean necklace. However, in the final film, a piano demo called “Sketch” by Horner was used for the scene instead due to a mix-up over the word “sketch.” However, “The Portrait” would later appear in “Back to Titanic” and the 20th anniversary soundtrack.

@scorethepodcast

James Cameron, Oscar-winning Director of Titanic, says the music for the famous Jack and Rose sketching scene was something he accidentally placed in while editing, leading to one of the most iconic music moments in cinema history by the late Oscar-winning composer, James Horner. #titanic #leonardodicaprio #katewinslet #jamescameron #jameshorner #celinedion #film #filmhistory #filmscore #filmmusic #composer #myheartwillgoon

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Tennessee is an interactive exhibit that allows people to get close to genuine artifacts from the Titanic and get to know its passengers and crew members as well. Upon entering the attraction, everyone is given the name of a real passenger on the boat, and by the end of the tour, they know whether they lived or perished in the icy waters where it sank. It puts a real human face to a tragedy that has become such a big part of American maritime history.

titanic replica, the titanic, titanic movie, titanic attraction, titanic museum, titanic grand stairwell A replica of the Titanic's Grand Staircase.via Titanic Museum/Media Page

There's one word you can't say on a cruise ship.

On December 10, Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas set sail on the Ultimate World Cruise—a 274-day global trek that visits 11 world wonders and over 60 countries. This incredible trip covers the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe with a ticket price that ranges from $53,999 to $117,599 per passenger.

Aboard the Serenade to the Seas is popular TikToker Marc Sebastian, who has been sharing his experience on the platform. In a recent video with over 4.3 million views, he revealed what he’s learned over his first few weeks aboard the ship; the biggest was the one word you’re not allowed to say: Titanic.

“Who knew that? I didn’t,” Sebastian said. “I brought it up to an entire room of people having lunch that our ship is only 100 feet longer than the Titanic — when I tell you that utensils dropped. Waiters gasped. It’s dead silent.”

@marcsebastianf

someone get whoopi on the line girl i have some goss for her #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #cruisetok #cruise #9monthcruise #titanic

After the unexpected reaction, his cruise friend told him, “You’re not allowed to talk about the Titanic.” It makes sense. Who wants to be reminded of the tragedy that killed around 1,500 people while sinking one of the most impressive engineering feats of the era? "When I went on a cruise, my mom told me saying Titanic was equivalent to screaming ‘bomb’ at an airport," Mikayla wrote in the comments.

Later in the video, Sebastian admits he was surprised to learn that cruise ships have godmothers and that the pools are filled with seawater.


This story originally appeared last year.

A beautiful ship crosses the ocean.

Bryan James has become popular on social media for documenting his time working on Royal Caribbean International’s Odyssey of the Seas. He boarded the ship on December 8, 2023, and will continue his voyage through April 9, 2024.

The Odyssey of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in operation. It is 1,138 feet long and has a gross tonnage of 167,704 with 16 decks.

In a recent video, he revealed the biggest threat to passengers on a cruise ship. While most people, citing the Titanic disaster of 1912, would say it’s icebergs, according to James, it’s fires. He recently shared a video that shows just how seriously the Odyssey of the Seas takes the fire threat. The ship has massive doors installed in the ship that can prevent fire from moving through the ship.


“All cruise ships have these things called fire doors and they do exactly what you think. They just help prevent the spreading of fire on a cruise ship. But if you are the biggest ship in the world, you need the biggest fire doors in the world. I've never seen these until this morning,” James explained in a YouTube short.

Look at these things; they are massive!" he continued, "They probably do a really good job at stopping fires."

While fires are rare on cruise ships, in 2013, a blaze aboard one grabbed the public’s attention. A power generator on Carnival Cruise’s Triumph caught fire, which knocked out most of the ship’s power and left passengers with no lights, air conditioning, or working toilets. The ship drifted for 4 days at sea before it could be towed to Mobile, Alabama.

Fire is the BIGGEST threat to a cruise ship, not icebergs or sinking like with the Titanic