Despite compensation offer, Italian cruise ship survivors sue for damages

"Also, I helped people quite a bit, to calm down on the boat, as well as leading them to shore and to cars awaiting above, quite a while later. My wife assisted a lady with blood all over her face (my wife is a nurse)," Plath wrote in an e-mail to CNN.

"I am not a fan of class-action lawsuits, but I think that Costa needs to take individual experiences and actions into account."

And Bern, the New York lawyer tied to Friday's lawsuit, called the compensation offer "an insult."

"This was not an incident that could possibly be covered by the ticket limitations," he told CNN's Erin Burnett. "This is an act of horrendous negligence."

At the same time, Bern said that the compensation requested in his firm's lawsuit -- $10 million for each plaintiff plus punitive damages around $450 million -- are high in part to get "the attention of the defendants."

"We do not know the nature and the full extent of the damages that these people have suffered," the lawyer added.

Roberto Corbella, president of the tour operators association, said the compensation offer "aims to give, after such a serious disgrace, a quick, concrete and adequate answer."

The 11,000 euro lump sum reflects Italian and international law, he said, with Costa likely to pay out about 3,000 euros more per passenger on top of that in refunds and travel costs.

He estimated the total cost of the offer at more than 40 million euros ($59 million), not counting separate agreements with the injured and families of those missing or killed.

Even after the incident, Corbella said cruise cancellations are only running about 10% higher than average.

Costa has said anyone who booked before January 13 for a future cruise and wishes to cancel may do so without penalty, provided they get in touch by February 7.

Meanwhile, the captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest and faces possible charges of manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Prosecutors on Friday questioned Ciro Ambrosio, Schettino's deputy on board the ship.

Entering the tribunal, his lawyer told reporters: "We have many arms to defend us with honor. We don't feel responsible."

Schettino has admitted to prosecutors, defense attorneys and a judge that he made a "mistake" in colliding with the rocks off shore. But he has brushed aside suggestions that he was going too fast, as prosecutors allege.

In a 126-page transcript, Schettino said he ran the ship aground to keep it from sinking and limit the tilting.

Efforts were under way Friday to open up new passages in the ship's hull so rescuers could access more areas, said Gabrielli, of Italy's civil protection agency.

Operations to remove 2,400 tons fuel from the liner's tanks will begin Saturday afternoon or Sunday, after a slight delay, he told reporters.

Weather and sea conditions are expected to worsen Saturday, leading to higher waves, Gabrielli said. While this will not prevent the removal of fuel, it could present more risk to the environment if anything goes wrong, he said.

Residents of Giglio island near the site of the shipwreck have complained of seeing white filaments in the sea, he said, but further testing is needed to confirm the origin of the substance.