A colleague forwarded me this from a friend:

Your Gordon Lightfoot rendition of the Concordia disaster was right on. You are a talent.  

We did not have to swim to the port of Giglio from the beached ship.  Rather we experienced a horrendous boarding onto a lifeboat which was navigated by untrained cook and cabin staff, who were as frightened as we passengers. No official officer crew in sight as we soon learned that the Captain and his sr. crew had left. 

The launching of the lifeboat was difficult as it required hacking off layers of paint to release the mechanism that moves the lifeboat away from the ship after which it can be lowered to the sea.  These maneuvers resulted in much pitching and screaming along with directions to move to certain parts of the boat to counter the shifting.  We were afraid that the lifeboat launch was going to kill us all and it nearly did including a near miss crash of our boat onto the top of another lifeboat launching from the deck below and having exactly the same problems we were having.

We finally made it to the water which was rough and pitchy and for some reason our "navigator" kept circling our fallen cruise ship rather than heading straight to shore.  Many passengers threw up due to the heavy waves.  It was only after a man insisted that we go directly to shore because his wife needed immediate medical attention that we finally got to shore. 

We were dumped off onto this island of 700 inhabitants - no direction as to where to go and we just walked around watching our cruise ship tilt more and more  eventually laying on its side like a beached whale as one BBC newscaster described it.  We ended up being bused to the upper area of the hillious island and to a cold, cold stone church with one bathroom and hard wooden pews-no blankets, food and heat.  Others from the ship were bussed to other sites where there were better facilities, food and warmth.  As in life some ended with better and some with worse experiences. 

We tried to rest bu;t soon were told that a bus would return and take us back to the port for a ferry ride to a port that was north of Rome but on land not an island.  The open ferry ride was cold, cold and 2 hours long.  

When we embarked [I think she means "disembarked"] we were met by what seemed like the entire rescue , ETS, red-cross of Rome.  We were given warm blankets and hot tea - those of us who had injuries were treated. We then boarded buses fro a 3 hr. ride to Rome Airport and the Hilton where we were given rooms. 

That was the end of a twelve hour ordeal.  But our challenges were just beginning as Costa was inept at making arrangements to get us home.  Our passports had been collected at the beginning of our cruise and the U.S. Embassy was not helpful.  Embassies of Germany, Spain, Argentina, Australia, Philippines and Netherlands were present to help their citizens, but our embassy was MIA.

Can't write anymore- am getting weary and jittery just thinking about it.