WTF was a ship that big doing so close to the shore?
They get quite close to the shore in the caldera at Thera, too - it all depends on the water depth.
They look top heavy to me and I would never want to be on a ship that has a huge open area prommande because that's just a place for water to enter a ship very quicky and capsize her.
If the water's getting inside the atrium you have a whole other problem - they are generally above the hull proper. By that time either the ship has capsized or bodily sunk anyway. Remember that the upperworks of a cruise liner are generally aluminium, (or sometimes aluminum) so they are lighter than they look. That being said, the level of internal outfitting is high which pushes the weight up. Cruise liners also have diesel engines, or "free ballast" as we call them, low in the ship.
- RP1