6 Cruise Ship Disasters That Changed Travel

1Costa Concordia

The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies partially sunk just a few hundred yards from the rocky coast of the Italian island of Giglio on Monday. Though the fallout from the disaster remains unclear, past luxury liner accidents—theTitanic shipwreck being the most infamous—have sparked new measures for keeping passengers safe and dry.

2 R.M.S. Titanic

"Rusticles" coat the railing of the sunken R.M.S. Titanic (file picture), which sank in the North  Atlantic during the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton, U.K., to New York City on April 15, 1912. More than 1,500 people died in the disaster, largely because the White Star cruise line outfitted the ship with only enough lifeboats for about half the people aboard.

3 Star Princess

Charred, the cruise ship Star Princess heads into port in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in March 2006.

The Star Princess fire, begun on a private balcony, was likely the victim of a cigarette burn gone very wrong. "The rubber matting that covered the balconies was fabricated from crude oil, and it was flammable," Maxtone-Graham said.

"What was amazing was that the fire spread the length of the deck, jumped from balcony to balcony, and then up two more decks."

4 S.S. Morro Castle

A barge sprays tons of water to douse the S.S. Morro Castle cruise ship after it caught fire in the early morning hours of September 8, 1934.

A coastal cruiser, the Morro Castle was sailing from New York City to Havana,Cuba, when it caught fire. The ship eventually made it to Asbury Park, New Jersey, where the vessel was beached.

5 M/S Explorer

The M/S Explorer became the first purpose-built cruise ship ever to sail the frigid waters of the Antarctic waters in 1969. The vessel was also the first to sink there—as pictured after hitting an iceberg in November 2007. (See "Special Report: The Sinking of the Explorer.")

All of the Explorer's 154 passengers and crew survived, but the accident caused several international shipping and cruise organizations to take a closer look at their rules and guidelines governing Antarctic voyages. (See video on the Antarctic Ocean.)

6 R.M.S. Empress of Ireland

The R.M.S. Empress of Ireland sinks in the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City,Canada, in 1914.

While sailing out of the port of Montreal on the foggy morning of May 29, 1914, the ocean liner was struck amidships by a Norwegian ship, the S.S. Storstad. The Empress sank very quickly and claimed 1,012 lives.