Cruise ship towed ashore after fire on board
Carnival Cruise Lines has been forced to tow its ship, Carnival Splendour, back to shore after a fire on board.
The ship, with 4,500 passengers and crew on board, was 200 miles south of San Diego off the coast of Mexico.
A statement from Carnival said tugboats are currently en route to the ship to tow it back to shore.
It said a fire was detected in the aft engine room and was extinguished. There were no injuries to guests or crew.
It said the cruise had to be terminated because engineers have been unable to restore additional power to the vessel.
Guests are being taken to Ensenada, Mexico and then transported home.
According to UK reports, there were 16 Brits on board.
Air conditioning, hot food service, and telephones are not currently available.
"Last night, the ship's engineers were able to restore toilet service to all cabins and public bathrooms, as well as cold running water. The ship's crew continues to actively work to restore other services," said the company's statement.
Bottled water and cold food items are being provided.
The cruise line said all guests on the current voyage will be receiving a full refund along with reimbursement for transportation costs.
Additionally, they will receive a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount paid for this voyage.
"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines.
"Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologise for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible."
Carnival Splendor was on the first leg of a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise that departed on Sunday from Long Beach, California.
The ship's normal itinerary includes stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
With permission from Travelmole
Beleaguered Carnival Splendor to dock tonight
Carnival Splendor, which suffered an engine room fire on Monday and lost power, will arrive this evening in port at San Diego.
In a week where there has been no hot water, no hot food and no air conditioning, passengers will be relieved to disembark and have already been telling friends and family via their mobile phones of the bizarre on board conditions.
Instead of lavish meals, the unlucky passengers have been eating spam and poptarts flown in by US Navy Seahawk helicopters as they waited for tugboats to pull them ashore.
Passengers report long queues for the cold food - there are almost 4,500 guests on board - and an interesting bonhomie having emerged as there was nothing much to do except stand around and chat.
Carnival Splendor went onto auxiliary generators on Monday after the engine room fire. Engineers could not restore power so the ship's facilities ground to a halt, including the use of the swimming pool (no way to pump the chlorine).
Carnival UK and Ireland sales and marketing director Lynn Narraway said: "The ship is expected to arrive in port at around 8pm and as it gets closer to the shore the passengers have been able to use their mobiles. The ship's phone system is also working so passengers can make calls free of charge.
"We have a large team in San Diego working on hotel bookings and transportation for the guests."
With permission from Travelmole
Carnival Splendor, which suffered an engine room fire on Monday and lost power, will arrive this evening in port at San Diego.
In a week where there has been no hot water, no hot food and no air conditioning, passengers will be relieved to disembark and have already been telling friends and family via their mobile phones of the bizarre on board conditions.
Instead of lavish meals, the unlucky passengers have been eating spam and poptarts flown in by US Navy Seahawk helicopters as they waited for tugboats to pull them ashore.
Passengers report long queues for the cold food - there are almost 4,500 guests on board - and an interesting bonhomie having emerged as there was nothing much to do except stand around and chat.
Carnival Splendor went onto auxiliary generators on Monday after the engine room fire. Engineers could not restore power so the ship's facilities ground to a halt, including the use of the swimming pool (no way to pump the chlorine).
Carnival UK and Ireland sales and marketing director Lynn Narraway said: "The ship is expected to arrive in port at around 8pm and as it gets closer to the shore the passengers have been able to use their mobiles. The ship's phone system is also working so passengers can make calls free of charge.
"We have a large team in San Diego working on hotel bookings and transportation for the guests."
With permission from Travelmole
For the real story, read the CD's account, here :-
http://johnhealdsblog.com/ Scroll down to part 1...
It's a great account of a scary situation, handled well.
http://johnhealdsblog.com/ Scroll down to part 1...
It's a great account of a scary situation, handled well.
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