Website reviews show slew of past safety concerns raised by Costa Concordia passengers

As authorities probe what caused the Costa Concordia luxury ship to run aground off the Italian coast Friday, killing at least 11 people, an inspection of several consumer review websites reveals a slew of allegations of safety issues on board the 5-year-old ship – including a reported hole in the boat's side and delayed safety drills.

The ship, operated by Genoa-based Costa Cruises and owned by Carnival Corporation, was carrying more than 4,200 people when it struck a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio late Friday. The death toll rose to 11 on Tuesday after divers pulled five more bodies from the rear of the vessel, while several passengers remain unaccounted for.

The cruise ship’s owners have since blamed the captain for making a “human error” by deviating from the boat’s scheduled route.

A careful review of online cruise ship reviews, however, suggests the Costa Concordia may have been plagued with safety problems prior to Friday’s accident.

In a posting on the website “cruisereviews.com,” a passenger identified as Jorma Jarvinen raised alarming concerns in recalling a Mediterranean cruise on board the vessel in November 2008.

Jarvinen, who wrote in the review about a family vacation on the ship from Nov. 23 to 30, reported seeing a hole in the boat’s side after it allegedly crashed into a pier in Palermo, Italy. Jarvinen also complained that a young family member did not receive a life preserver until the second day of the cruise .

“Despite several comments about this it took day 2 before we got a life-jacket to our 4-year old in the cabin and this first night on the sea was the first time in my life when I have actually been afraid of the seas,” wrote Jarvinen, who also reported not sleeping much due to flickering lights, rattling glass and swinging doors as a result of high winds.

“The big hole on the right side of the ship which I noticed the next day didn’t really relieve me of my fears!” Jarvinen added. “The ship had crashed into the pier at Palermo the night before the cruise started and I guess that the safety was not really the best at these rough seas.”

Another review posted on the website “cruisecritics.com” claimed the ship did not conduct its safety drill until “near the end of the cruise.” The drills are required within 24 hours of the cruise’s start.

“Amazing!” the unnamed post read. “Smoking is allowed in several public areas on one side of the rooms, but pervades whole areas, irrespective of health, safety, children etc. I will not return to Costa to experience this again.”

“If smoking and eating ashes are you [your] game, please reserve on the Concordia,” wrote another person on the same website.

In another instance, a passenger accused the cruise line of lying after it cancelled an already-booked cruise and offered the person an alternative.

“A few weeks before we were set to go, we were called and advised the cruise had been cancelled and we were offered alternatives,” the individual wrote in a posting on “cruisecritics.com” titled “Awful Experience from beginning to end.”

“Turns out (a staff member advised me on the new cruise) that our initial cruise ship was damaged as it bashed into a dock,” the person wrote. “The captain ran it for a few days and they patched it up and at every port until they could run it no further. Costa of course, lied and stated this was not the case, saying it was in dry dock the whole time.”

Another passenger described embarking and disembarking on the ship as a logistical nightmare.

“Costa is something that can only be compared to ... freighter travel,” the posting read. “This is the only itinerary that has new passengers getting off and departing at every port of call. It's a disaster in the making at every port. Baggage always in the hallways...”

Costa Cruises declined to comment on the matter when contacted through its public relations firm on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Carnival Corporation also did not provide a statement when contacted via phone and email by FoxNews.com. The Miami-based Carnival Corporation owns Costa Cruises as well as Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Carnival, among others.

During a press conference Monday, Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi reportedly said the ship had passed required inspections by Italian and U.S. Coast Guards. He also said the ship was in compliance with all safety regulations prior to Friday’s crash.

Overall online ratings for the ship -- which include categories such as food, service, entertainment and value -- are more favorable than individual reviews that refer to safety issues.

Cruisecritic.com, for example, reports that 56 percent of its users who traveled on the ship "loved it," and the website gave the cruise a 4-star rating.

The travel website, Expedia, boasts that the ship is one of the "most exciting and innovative" to debut in Europe, saying the boat is "very much a ship designed to placate passengers representing a range of nationalities."

"Indeed, Costa Concordia caters to folks from Italy, Spain, Germany, Britain, France, North America -- even Japan," Expedia says on its website.

Travelocity lists the ship's two-level spa as one of its main attractions as well as the vessel's four pools -- two with retractable glass roofs. The travel website appears to give it a 4 out of 6-star rating.