You could fit the entire population of Bathurst or Marystown or Banff into some of the new mega-cruise ships. Are they getting too big to sail? In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster off the coast of Italy, we assess the risks involved in the new wave of giant cruise ships capable of holding thousands of passengers.

Part One of The Current

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It's Tuesday January 17th.

Tim Horton's has unveiled a new super sized coffee. The extra large is a whopping 24 ounces.

Currently, the good news is you'll never get tired of peeing.

This is The Current.

Cruise Ship Evacuation Safety - Allan Graveson

We started this segment with a clip with how the evacuation sounded from inside the Costa Concordia cruise ship on Saturday. As you've heard on the news, the search for bodies and the salvage effort continues, the search and rescue continues. 11 people are now dead, another 24 are missing ... the Costa Concordia lies grounded just off the Tuscan coast. At 114, 500 tonnes it is the biggest passenger vessel ever to be shipwrecked.

And the union representing ship masters, officers, navigation workers and harbourmasters says the industry needs some changes because many cruise ships simply can't be evacuated quickly or safely enough.

Allan Graveson is the Senior National Secretary with Nautilus International, the union that represents maritime professionals. He was in London, England.

Cruise Ship Evacuation Safety - Michael Crye

Canadians love cruise vacations. In 2010 -- the last year for which numbers are available -- nearly 700,000 Canadians embarked cruises. Janet Perry lives in Calgary. She's getting ready to set sail this Sunday with 3,000 other passengers in the Caribbean . And she's not letting the news about the Costa Concordia worry her.

Michael Crye is the Executive Vice President of Cruise Lines International Association, the industry group representing cruise operators including Carnival, which owns the Costa Concordia. Michael Crye was in Washington.

Cruise Ship Evacuation Safety

There has been a lot of criticism about how the evacuation of the Costa Concordia was handled. Ed Galea is the Director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich. Among other things, he studies the best practices involved in evacuating a ship. Ed Galea was in London, England.

Related Links:

• Cruiseship accident should be a wake-up call to regulators, says union - Nautilus International
• The Costa Concordia disaster highlights the dangers of super-sized cruise ships By: Andrew Linington - The Guardian
• Costa Concordia cruise ship captain 'went off course' - BBC News
• What caused the cruise ship disaster? By: Josh Levs - CNN
• Costa Concordia: The rules of evacuating a ship By: Tom de Castella - BBC News Magazine