However, whether a cruise ship is in any danger largely depends on its location. Experts agree that a cruise ship sailing out over a body of water is not likely to feel any impacts from a tsunami's waves.
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Cruise ships are made of heavy steel that's even heavier with a full load of passengers and crew onboard. With all that weight, they can roll with the waves.
A rogue wave is usually defined as a wave that is two times the significant wave height of the area. The significant wave height is the average of the highest one-third of waves that occur over a given period. Rogue waves can disable and sink even the largest ships and oil rigs.
The only way that it could happen is if the ship were in extreme weather and positioned sideways to a 70- to 100-foot wave that would have the potential of rolling it over, Bolton said. I guarantee you're never going to be in those kinds of waves anyway, he said.
Cruise ships are designed to be incredibly safe in storms. They have advanced navigation systems and stabilizers that help them stay on course, even in rough seas. The hulls of the ships are also built to withstand strong winds and waves, so they can handle most storms without any issues.
The cruise ships MS Bremen and MS Caledonian Star, both with Bahamian registrations, were both struck by a 100-foot rogue wave in the South Atlantic Ocean in 2001.
In calm waters, ships often can be towed safely to the nearest shore. In rough seas, other options would be considered. Abandoning ship really is a last resort, as moving passengers from one ship to another on the open sea can be dangerous, particularly in inclement weather. As is ordering passengers into lifeboats.
Weight. Cruise ships are made of heavy steel, making them quite weighty. Add passengers and crew, and the ship is even heavier. With all this weight, the vessel can easily roll through rough waters or a rogue wave.
If a hurricane hits unexpectedly, passengers can enjoy some peace of mind from knowing that cruise ships are designed to be able to withstand detrimental conditions. Cruise ships are built to outrun severe storms if necessary.
In such cases, cruise lines have two options: head to a different port up or down the coast to disembark passengers or remain at sea until the ship's home port reopens.
On average, a cruise ship generates 15 gallons of toxic chemicals each day. These materials come from on-board dry cleaning and photo-processing facilities, painting and other activities. Seven thousand gallons of oily bilge water are released into the oceans every time the ship empties its bilge tanks.
The majority of cruise ships do not have specific man-overboard sensors, but they are becoming more common. 30 cruise ships owned by Carnival and Disney have been fitted with V-MOB sensors used to automatically alert the bridge of a man overboard incident.
Some of the engines are always running, since the ship always needs power. Most of them are off in port, since we don't need propulsion (unless it's a tender port) and power demand is low due to most people being off the ship.
Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine described shattered glass, water pouring into rooms and hallways, the ship pitching about and a lack of communication from cruise staff. Some passengers and crew members needed minor assistance from medical staff, a Carnival cruise spokesman told CBS News.