>> they directed you to go back to your cabin. >> the despair. >> no women and children first. >> the grief. >> we found him and he was dead. >> the desperate search for the missing. >> steve! >> the captain risks the lives of thousands. >> it is obvious, the land is there, the rocks are there. >> why did he do it. >> heroism or extreme cowardice. >> absolutely.

>> fox news reporting, tragedy at sea. here's geraldo rivera. >> geraldo: good evening, behind me that is new york harbor and centuries, sea going vessels of all shapes and sizes have passed in and out of the harbor. and you know, it wasn't so long ago, when you boarded a ship, bound for the high seas you knew real risk was involved. well, this week in the mediterranean sea, came a staggering reminder. that the sea is still dangerous, and unforgiving. and, a cruise liner sunk by bad judgment and, compounded by possible cowardice and gross negligence and the race against time most passengers and crew were safely evacuated. but, not all of them. now, the costa concordia is synonymous with one of the e most infamous cruise line accidents, in cruise liner history.

disaster is always possible on the water and all too likely when you forget that. tonight, we still unfolding story of the concordia's short voyage, it started with high anticipation and ended in terror. ♪ >> oh, my god, how will i find lynn, how will i find her? ♪ >> they didn't know what to do. nobody knew what to do. >> yell out loud, guys... >> i thought i was going to die. >> i remember thinking to myself, there is a point in the

whole ordeal we're going to die, it will be on the life boat. [screaming]. >> we were told the electrical system was failing and at first we were told not to panic. >>... out of control, apparently a blackout, technicians are working to resolve the situation. >> we had a blackout and everybody was screaming, all the passengers were running up and down. >> we were fortunate we made it on a boat, because others didn't. >> didn't have enough room on the boat for us and we had to wait and they say they were coming back to get us and at that point the boat start sinking more and more. >> the ship was sunken and we had to hold on to barges or whatever we could so we wouldn't fall. >> that is the moment where you really start thinking about your

family, and your friends... >> there was a young woman, right next to me on the life boat who had two young kids and nowhere to hold. and i asked her, i said, hold my hand, hold my arm and she was latching on. >> i'm here now, so... >> everything was everywhere. >> it started falling on my feet and i said to my wife, let's go, we're going.

>> we thank god, we keep saying it over and over. >> can't believe it is actually happening now, it will hit me later, all of our stuff is on it but we are off of it and there are still people on there. >> geraldo: tales of terror that have many americans asking how could it happen in this day an age. that is a good question annual get answers tonight, first to greg bushirke in italy. >> reporter: this is greg burke reporting from rome, this past week the death toll rose to 17, they've set off controlled explosions to help with the search. and meanwhile preparations are made to stop a second tragedy, an environmental one. a barge with cranes, drills and pipes, salvage crews hope to pump off the half million gallons of gas, before there is any major leakage, and, the captain's wife, has recently

spoken out, claiming the global media has unfairly made her husband the scapegoat for the disaster. while this is going on, costa cruises is meeting with consumer activists, to created a compensation deal for uninjured passengers and it would reportedly include the cost of the ticket, travel expenses to get home, items lost on the ship, and, further damages for the ruined vacation and trauma due to the accident. back to you, geraldo. >> geraldo: april, 1912, close to 100 years ago, and the luxury liner titanic steamed out of southhampton, england, headed to new york city. and, of course never made it. the titanic hit an iceberg in the north atlantic and of the more than 2,000 on board more than 1500 perished in the icy waters and the early 20th century, sailing on the high seas was still a kind of adventure travel, icebergs, storms, hidden reefs, real

risks, far fewer people think of the ocean in that way today. well, will the tragedy make them think again? stranded on the rocks off the coast of tuscany, the behemoth is the remains of tragedy that has the world asking, how could it happen in 2012? sailing the seas, since 2006, the costa concordia was the first of a new class of ships created specifically for a division of carnival cruise line and it cost approximately a half billion dollars and measures 952 feet from step to stern and bigger than the titanic. and weighs 114,000 tons. heavier even than the uss enterprise. america's first nuclear aircraft carrier and is longer than three football fields and a football field was one of the few amenities not on board, it was the stuff of dreams for vacationers from around the world. the 65,000 square foot fitness

center, four swimming pools, five jaccuzis, and bars and casino and disco deck, multi-level theatre and 1500 cabins of various shapes and sizes. >> you look at the recent advertising of the cruise line, they have nothing to do with the boats anymore. >> geraldo: travel writer pauline smith. >> they don't want the boats to come out to it, on a vessel surrounded by water. >> geraldo: it was christened concordia, and, over 35 nations were represented among the 3,206 passengers and 1,000-plus kru members on board last week, 120 of those vacationers were americans. including jordan powell and nick hope of louisville, kentucky looking forward to the vacation of their young lives. >> you must have had a great sense of anticipation looking forward to this great trip? >> it was my first trip out of

the country, especially, my first trip to europe. >> geraldo: it was scheduled as a one-week cruise. and a town on italy's west coast, 50 miles north of rome they docked and, docking next at a seaport 20 miles west and it didn't occur to them they left port friday the 13th. but something else troubled them. >> we didn't have a life boat drill and i was alarmed that it didn't occur. i did inquire about it to a crewmember and they explained it would happen the following day. >> geraldo: the chairman of the marine board of the national research council. >> in the united states, a vessel that is carrying passengers is required to conduct their safety briefing normally before the ship pushes out to sea. the international regulations might stipulate that this is done within 24 hours. >> geraldo: it was 7:00 p.m. local time when the concordia set out to sea. at around 9:30 p.m., it was

scheduled to pass giglio, a small rocky island. and, there should have been no mistaking where the vessel was. in addition to her vast array of amenities the concordia was outfitted with state of the art navigation technology and every land mass, every out cropping and rock clearly visible on both electronic and paper charts and the perils of the island would be clearly visible to anyone paying attention and the captain, steered his huge vessel toward the giglio shore. several sources report that the captain wanted to sound his ship's horn as he passed the island. to salute a retired admiral of the cruise line, who lived ashore. i wouldn't want to be the captain of the titanic, or navigate between icebergs, the captain said in his interview in 2010. adding, these days, everything is much safer. thanks to modern technical instruments. but all the electronic

instruments in the world could not save the concordia, steaming toward disaster. when w w return, fine countriesl and if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

♪musicú ♪the more i search0forú my significance,♪ ♪seems0r ♪and0i0ú a0difference♪ ♪in anyú i've been0here♪ ♪and0i0ú laughter♪ ♪it's tp i've ever knownp♪

♪i0don'ú happensp♪ ♪but i0e ♪and0i0u ♪and0afú sometimes0i0see the truthp♪ ♪musicú

>> geraldo: returning to our story, the costa concordia headed for a close encounter with giglio island. the views from the ship and the shore would be spectacular. then, tragedy strikes. 9:42 p.m the passengers are just sitting down to dinner. >> i remember taking the first bite of my appetizer. and that is when i heard the first crash, like a wine glass hit the ground. and, then you heard more and more stuff hitting the ground. >> geraldo: and brian and his

wife joan and their daughter described the chaos, and what has been the elegant dining room. >> people were falling, waiters were tripping, glasses were breaking. and, people were screaming. >> geraldo: the vessel was mortally wounded. the hull gouged by a gigantic rock. fox news had access to a ship similarity at the maritime institute of technology outside baltimore, maryland. and, the director... >> i am getting too close, hard starboard and i feel the vessel listing a little bit... >> geraldo: beginning to list a bit. >> heeling over and we have hit bottom and running aground, and whatever is there, we run across it now and we have to abandon ship. >> geraldo: the catastrophe happened and now it is about managing the disaster. >> that's right.

that's right. >> back to concordia. it is 9:45, p.m., three minutes after impact and an alarm sets, and the electricity fails and the ship goes dark. >> they told you a lot of it it was an electrical problem. >> something with the generators and everything was under control. >>... under control, we're in a blackout and technicians are working to resolve the situation. >> don't panic, don't worry, stay calm and you could tell something is wrong. >> geraldo: five minutes later. 9:50 p.m. and passengers feel concordia list. some access the level apps on their iphone and know the ship is leaning at a perilous angle and the drama gets worse. >> people were sliding and people going to the crewmembers in a panic and people going up and down the steps, pushing and

shoving and trying to find a life vest, and the only way to really describe it is chaos. >> describe how it was walking on the deck. >> we were grabbing, you know, whatever we could, to pull ourselves up. >> they were on the cruise together. >> we need to get away from the tables and the falling things, and something over our head and we need to get to the room. >> and she said put on my socks and shoes and coat and lifejacket on and i said the jewelry out of the safe and she was prepared. >> geraldo: the damage to concordia is mortal and the rock tore a 160 foot gash along the part side. a hunk jutting from the punctured hull, still the crew tells passengers to return to their cabins. in desperation, the captain steers the dying ship back toward the harbor. many rush to the life boats. but not having had an emergency drill, most don't know where

they are. >> i had to physically shake a crewmember to tell me where the life boats are and i said you tell me where these life boats are now, because i had tried to ask him and once again, was directed to my cabin and i said, no. life boats, and, at that point he said, they are on the deck 4. >> geraldo: you're telling me they were directing you back to the cabin rather than the life boat deck? >> correct. >> geraldo: it may be because the captain has not given the signal to abandon ship and that happens at 10:10 p.m., nearly a half-hour after the crash and the panic gets worse. >> there were no women and children first. >> the families tried to get on the life boat and the teenage son wasn't kept up with them and i push out and said, let him go through. >> people were frantic and,

screaming and shoving and yelling and just fighting for their lives. >> they cannot disengage the boat. once they release one you are hanging, i mean, i'm on the outside and if we go down, i drown. >> and we waited and waited and waited and they began to lower us down and when we hit water, it was excitement, relief. but, then we look up and it is still leaning over us an panic begins to set in again. >> geraldo: and she leaves her life boat and gets into the water and the ship lying on her side, boats on the high side cannot be launched at all... >> i was crying and terrified and i told my husband, we're going to die here. >> geraldo: the water is chilly, mid 50s and passengers jump into swim the 150 yards to shore and some are seriously hurt. and a few don't make it and amid all the danger and panic, not until 10:20 p.m., 10 minutes

after announcing abandon ship, the vessel signals the alarm to the coast guard and it begins a recovery operation that is not over yet an helicopters arrive, to lift people out of the water and off the ship and private boats, too. and among the earliest to reach safety, a man whose duty was to remain on board. concordia's captain. his sad story, next. >> geraldo: shocking tapes and the story behind them. was the concordia captain a coward or something else? and why are some people calling him a hero? this and more, just moment awayq if you have high blood pressure, like me, and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart.

taxing, so free file from the irs does the hard work for you, with brand-name tax software or online fillable forms and it's free. so give yourself a break at freefile.irs.gov.

>> geraldo: back to our story,

tragedy at sea. it is total chaos at captain francesco schettino runs the 114,000 ton costa concordia aground, off the island of giglio and multiple survivors describe the scene the same way, something out of the movie, titanic. >> come on! >> at the stairwell was the titanic moment, and the people are screaming and crying... >> like you could imagine from the movie, titanic, people grabbing and pushing and shoving. >> this is like the titanic of the 21st century. >> geraldo: the difference, these are being shot in the dark of night by italian coast guard shoppers using infrared cameras or by panicked passengers on camcorders or cell phones. this amateur video shows passengers stranded inside. disoriented in the pitch black. and, searching for them and

can't tell a ceiling from a wall, from a florida and some are injured and the captain is far from danger, afloat on a life raft heading to land. we know because the coast guard captain speaks with schettino by phone and their heated argument cements in the minds of it italians and people around the world, the hero versus the coward, schettino. one man doing his duty and the other running away. >> look, you may have saved yourself from the sea but i will put you through a lot of trouble, it will be very bad for you.

>> geraldo: schettino never returns to concordia. instead, he begs for a pair of dry socks, at this hotel. >> geraldo: when you heard the captain had left the vessel before all of the passengers were off, your feelings? >> people are dead and missing and it is on his shoulders. it is not right. >> geraldo: italian authorities detained him and questioned him on charges of abandoning ship. failure to offer assistance. and, manslaughter. that you detained the ship as first officer. who also fled the sinking ship. and, more survivors arrive on giglio's shore without luggage, without direction, and, sometimes, without their traveling companions. >> lynn had gotten to the island before me, thousands of people

and to try to find her in the dark was unbelievable and i thought i'll go on the hill, and there's a wall... >> and there she is, like a beacon. karen! karen! >> i'm here, i'm here, i'm here! it was incredible. >> geraldo: soon the world learned the dimensions of the captain's terrible mistake. saturday, news of three confirmed dead. two french passengers, and a crewmember from peru. by early sunday, some think it will take a miracle to find more people alive but miracles happen. a korean couple, newlyweds, trapped in their cabin two decks above the water are found alive. 30 hours after the ship ran aground. shortly after, rescuers here hear cries from inside the ship, an italian crewmember, who had broken his leg and a helicopter flies him back to the mainland for treatment. by monday the death toll has reached 6.

by tuesday the news gets worse. rescuers pull five more bodies from the wreck of concordia and the toll reached 11 dead. the number missing is revised up toward from 16 to 29. among them, two americans, minnesota couple gerald hiel and his wife, barbara. they sent their entire lives raising four children and pin. ing pennies to put the kids through private school. and, retirement was going to be their time and their dream vacation has turned into a nightmare. the death toll rises on saturday when search eveers find a body woman and another body sunday and two more monday and another on wednesday. bringing the total to 16 dead. 19 missing. and little hope more will be found alive. coming up, a view from the shore. how the scene unfolded on

from america's news headquarters i'm claudia cowen in los angeles. former presidential candidate herman cain endorsing newt gingrich for the gop presidential nomination. cain making the announcement at a campaign dinner in florida saturday night. state's primary just three days away and gingrich running behind mitt romney in the polls. >> i had it in my heart and mind a long time ago but there are several reasons but one of the biggest reasons is the fact that i know that speaker gingrich is a patriot, speaker gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas. >> gingrich vows he will stay in the race until the republican national convention in august. new information now about a

plan to put a floating u.s. navy base in the middle east. officials telling fox news the military is converting an old war vessel into a mothership for elite seal teams. it will be a staging point for the special forces in the persian gulf. all in keeping with president obama's goal to make the military leaner and more agile. the plan also prompted by iran's ongoing threat to close the strait of hormuz. >> a deadly avalanche in utah. a 24-year-old man killed after he reportedly triggered the avalanche by snowboarding in an out of bounds area. the public was i had been orded to stay away. this is the 9th avalanche death this season in that part of the country. the risk of future slides remains high because of the icy snow there. i'm claudey cowen in los angeles. now, back to fox news reports

tragedy at sea. for all your headlines log on to fox news .com. that is it from los angeles, now... >> geraldo: welcome back to fox news reporting, tragedy at sea. i'm geraldo rivera. the island of giglio is at the center of the disaster, and, they were tracking the story from its shore. >> reporter: the tiny island of giglio sleeps and wakes to the dramatic image, the reminder of lives lost on a holiday cruise that ended in tragedy. >> for us it was our september 11th. our lives will never be the same again. i can't explain it. >> reporter: giglio was originally a fishing island with the clearest seas you can imagine. now, it is a tranquil tourist destination. and, nearly a week after the costa concordia tragedy, giglio

is also a grim hunting ground for answers, clues about what happened to those still missing. bereft family members from around the world make the journey here for answers. kevin's brother, russell, is missing. he was a waiter on the costa concordia and he made a personal appeal to the divers. >> i said, i am looking for my brother. if you see him, his brother is waiting outside for him. >> reporter: gillalso the home the maitre de. and, that haven't the only personal tie to the island, a colleague of the ship's captain was a former admiral of the costa concordia cruise line and is from the island, too, but ironically was not on giglio, that friday night. and, that is how the nightmare began, because captain schettino wanted to give a dramatic salute to mrpalombo and the island and

people knew it was coming, the maitre de's sister posted on facebook in a short period of time, the concordia ship will pass very close, a big greeting to my brother, who finally gets to have a holiday, on landing. and, the captain reportedly told her, look, come and see, we're right in front of giglio. right in front, way too close, people here immediately knew something was wrong. >>. >> translator: i was working on my computer and heard a strange sound and saw bright lights. >> reporter: paolo owns the hotel on the cost a few hundred yards from the wreck. >> >> translator: i went outside and the lights went out and they said it was an electrical problem and i knew it was more grave than that. >> reporter: and, soon, so did pretty much everyone else and residents realized faster and the passengers themselves how much trouble the ship was in. the locals rallying and gathering to do what they could

to prepare for the onslaught of survivors, most of whom, would have nothing but a lifejacket and clothes they were wearing when the ship ran aground. >> reporter: what struck me is how those with life vests would not relinquish them once they were on safe land. >> reporter: the first survivors were dry and ahead been in boats and next were wet, in their desperation they swam and in the dark it was hard to know who was who and who needed what. the only thing clear is nobody was in charge, and it was chaos. the ship as you can see, is really quite close to shore. debris is washing up on these rocks and that is why it is difficult for many people to understand why it has been so hard to locate those last unaccounted for passengers. fox news went out to see the ship with some of the first rescue crews on the scene. ricardo tells us about rescuing an elderly french woman who was swimming toward land. hy

hype ther mick -- hypotermic. and that's right they found him but he must have been dead and he tried to resuscitate him. >> you don't realize, you try to resuscitate him. >> reporter: the captain, some say now is the most hated man in italy, for abandoning ship before the others and not calling for an immediate evacuation of the vessel. >> translator: it is and in dignity the commander of the ship left while others stayed on. trying to help. >> reporter: the molina family from per sue searched for their daughter and sister, 24-year-old erika and they say the youngest child in their family, work for the costa cruise line, for three years, as a waitress. >> translator: we don't want her left as food for fish, or animals. >> reporter: the family has been told she helped others off the ship before jumping onto a life

boat and colleagues say her life boat listed and she fell into the water and has not been seen or heard from since wednesday. despite the seemingly damning audio tapes heard around the world, hotel owner, paolo, is not ready to condemn schettino. >> translator: he did not abandoned his ship. he was on a life boat. i think he realized he had really created a disaster, and, may have been in shock. >> reporter: he defends the captain saying he was unlucky and adding people on the island say, sailors sail and those on land judge, not so, for ricardo who describes how waitresses were left to manage the situation on the sinking ship. >> they were the only ones aboard. the head officer, they came, everybody out from the ship at the beginning. and this is absolutely... >> reporter: he said the captain, and top officers escaped to the rocks... >> they were on the rock, and,

we were here, and there was not a rescue ship with captain schettino. >> geraldo: people worry if the fuel from the ship leaks into the sea and meanwhile the rest of the residents must wake each morning to another glimpse of a nightmare, the disaster that will forever be linked to their home. >> geraldo: coming up, who is the francesco schettino, the captain? my mother froze everything. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was gng to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to prott it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

when i'm on overtime. when i'm in over my head. when i have to be sharp... no matter how many time zones i've crossed. when i'm on my feet for hours. when it's game time. when the day's only half over but my energy is all gone. when i need the energy to start exercising. every day. every day. every day is a 5-hour energy day. 5-hour energy. every day.

>> geraldo: he ran the cruise liner aground and ended up on a life raft while panicked passengers were still on board and some would not escape alive. is there any excuse for what cap than schettino did? this horrifying scene of panicked passengers on board the stricken coasta concordia is th direct of a reckless maneuver and the captain's callous and inept reaction according to investigators. the chairman and ceo of costa cruises. >> we believe it is human error here, the captain did not follow the authorized route. >> geraldo: this is the actual course taken by this doomed vessel anst tracking shows it making a sweeping left turn and

dramatic deviation from the scheduled course and a professor of navigation at new york's maritime college... >> as you and i look at this, you know, it is obvious, the land is there, the rocks are there, and how you come that close and take that particular risk in bringing the vessel to that point. >> inexcusable. >> yes. in my opinion. >> geraldo: and the captain's preposterous claim he grounded the ship on an uncharted rock. >> i don't know if it was detected but it was marked as water on the nautical chart at 100 to 150 meters from the rocks. we were about 300 meters from the shore. more or less. we shouldn't have had this contact. >> geraldo: having sailed the seas and using the same reliable nautical charts, any mariner worth his salt would steer clear of the rocks so obviously marked it screams stay away and it gets worse, concordia had been there

before, and transcripts of his interrogation, the captain admits he turned his massive vessel too late, according to italian media reports, he said, quote, i was navigating by sight i knew the depths well and had done the maneuver three or four times. but, this time, i ordered the turn too late. and i ended up in water that was too shallow and i don't know why it happened. >> geraldo: from lloyds of london on august 14th, 2011. last year, this blue line indicates the trip the same vessel took. barely missing the rocks. that would seem to indicate the cruise line had notice of these inherently dangerous maneuvers. according to leaked telephone transcripts the captain claimed he was literally ordered by an official at costa cruises to take the ship close to shore. as schettino puts it he was told, quote, go there, go there.

in addition the captain claims he informed his superiors immediately after the crash, that he had, quote, messed up. in response the company's ceo, admitted that cruise ships are sometimes allowed to go close to shore. but, in this case, costa cruises insisted it had not signed off on the captain's maneuver. the company rao refused to comment to fox news but, if schettino was in contact with his bosses in real time, could these communications shed light on his bizarre behavior? after the rec? at the height of the panic? water rushing into the stricken vessel, and the ill fated captain demanded he and a young blond female companion be served his dinner. >> the captain wanted us to cook for him at 10:00 or 10:30 and i asked the cook what the captain

was thinking and at that time everything was falling apart including our cooking. i couldn't believe what was happening. i asked myself, what was he still there, waiting for his companion's dessert with what was happening. >> geraldo: what earned the captain the title of the most hated man in italy was the indefensible behavior in the wake of the catastrophic accident he almost single-handedly caused. >> compared to the titanic, captain smith stayed for the duration of the evacuation and got off women and children first. >> geraldo: ignoring centuries-old traditions, women and children first and the captain is the last man often the vessel and the captain should go down with the ship and instead, he testified that he fell off the concordia by accident, and saying during the three-hour interrogation, quote, all of a sudden the boat listed 60 to 70° and i was trapped and ended up in one of the life boats, that is why i was there.

>> that is fine. but, why did you stay in the life boat? is the bigger question. >> it looks likes a coward. doesn't it? >> it does. he knew exactly what is happening there. that is where you judge, now e, a person's character, heroism or extreme cowardice are determined in an instant and in that instant he was found sorely lacking. >> yes. >> translator: i have heard in russian media the captain left the ship or among the first but this is not true. >> geraldo: few have come to his defense, one who has is this mystery blond who accompanied him to the strange dinner even as the ship sunk. she is 25-year-old dominiquea, a cruise ship hostess and former dancer and this is e woman witnesses say they saw dining with the captain just before he ran his vessel aground. >> he saved us. i believe he did an

extraordinary job. the whole kru thinks so. he saved more than 3,000 people. >> geraldo: the captain's drug and alcohol test reportedly came back negative. he faces multiple manslaughter charges, has been placed under house arrest. when we come back, has the wreck of the costa concordia change the way travellers feel about the cruise liners? should it? should it? that is next. [ male announcer ] indulge all you want. now there's no need to hold back. ♪ new revolutionary scope with dualblast technology obliterates strong food odors and kills bad breath germs leaving your breath minty fresh. hey. sorry i'm late, baby. i bet you're starving. [ male announcer ] so there's no trace of evidence... hey, i thought i did the dishes. [ male announcer ] blast away strong food odors and bad breath germs with new scope dualblast. also, try crest complete extra white with scope dualblast. why nature made? they were the first to be verified by the usp. an independent organization that sets strict

quality and purity standards. and that's why i trust nature made. nature made the number one pharmacist recommended letter vitamin brand. learn more at naturemade.com

>> geraldo: countless tales, men who sailed the 7 seas in search of adventure... these days you don't need to be adventurous as, as long as you have the price of a ticket you can leave from almost any port and, surrounded by opulence and be assured of a

safe return, why the red cross of the costa concordia has everyone asking, how could this happen? ♪ >> geraldo: everyone knows titanic's tragic tale. but the costa concordia recalls other notable disasters that the sea. 1956, the andrea doria goes down off nantucket, 51 lives are lost, 1975, the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald, on lake superior killed 29 people, 1989, the exxon valdez strikes a reef and spills hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil. >> every time there is a disaster at sea, regulations get fixed, after the titanic, it was the international standard there were enough life boats and after fires anyone 1980s an 1990s, it was international standard there were fire alarms in every room.

>> geraldo: mike bruno is chairman of the marine board of the national research council. >> what should in chicago now as a result of the disaster? >> i think there will be a close look at both manning and training of passenger vessels, as a result of this. >> since 2005. 100 million people have taken cruise vacations. >> geraldo: she says statistics show cruise ships are one of the safest ways to travel. >> if you look at ship-wide incidents by which i mean fires, turbulence caused by bad waves, storms, we have had less than 30 deaths by these same types of events we saw on the concordia. >> geraldo: no matter how safe the cruising industry still must contend with the heartbreaking story coming from the tuscan coast, and rippling in around the globe. like that tragedy involving the elderly couple from white bear

lake, minnesota who put off the dream vacation until retirement and it ended with this, four children, 15 grandchildren and lifelong collection of friends, holding a candlelight vigil back home, scenes lick this led toy a flurry of cancellations, according to gerri willis of fox business. >> one in ten of people said they were worried about the cruise, cancelled the cruise they booked and the entire industry is going to be affected. >> cruising was growing at a break-neck pace and i don't think it will stop it but in the short run the growth of the cruising industry is going to be slowed. >> geraldo: a great cruise liner gives passengers a holiday from their world. it takes them to far off places and at the same time it can shield them from the reality of where they are. at sea. aboard one of these massive engineering marvels, it is easy to forget the ocean is implacable and no matter how sophisticated the technology or

luxurious the sur surroundings or immense the vessel, nothing overcomes human misjudgment or