I'm assuming they know what they're doing. This whole thing is bizarre....how could the ship ever have been so close to land? Besides that, you'd think a ship that immense with so many people on board could've handled scaping some rocks.
My understanding is that it was close to land twice. The first time, the captain went well out of the designated lane to do a "fly-by" of an island where he had some friends. On that pass, he hit a submerged rock and gashed the hull. Then he went to dinner.
An hour or two later, the crew convinced him that they were taking on lots of water and in danger of sinking. At that point, he deliberately ran the boat aground to prevent sinking in deep water.
At least, that's how I remember the story.
Ships are surprisingly fragile.