Fire-disabled Carnival cruise ship to stay dry docked longer
Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – Carnival Cruise Lines has cancelled additional departures of the Carnival Splendor’s voyages to allow for additional repair time following an engine room fire aboard the vessel in November. The ship is now scheduled to re-enter service in late February.
Engineers conducting tests on the ship discovered additional issues, according to a statement released Wednesday by Carnival. The Splendor is currently undergoing repairs in San Diego, CA. The vessel is slated to set sail in January for San Francisco for completion of repairs.
An engine room fire disabled the vessel in November when it was about 150 miles off San Diego. While it was being towed to shore more than 4,000 passengers endured four days without power.
The incident left food scarce and the boat powerless. With no refrigeration, the smell of rotting food soon mixed with the unpleasant aroma of smoke and overflowing toilets. The Coast Guard and Mexican Navy delivered pallets of food and water to the ship during the emergency.
The Miami-based company said some of the needed parts are not readily available and are being manufactured in Europe. Therefore the ship’s scheduled departures on Jan. 16, 23 and 20 as well as Feb. 6 and 13, have been cancelled. Feb. 20′s departure however, is still scheduled, the company said.
“We sincerely apologize to our guests for having to cancel these additional cruises,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO. “We made our best effort back in November to estimate the necessary repair time with a strong goal of not having to modify it at a later point in time. Unfortunately, as the repairs have progressed and we have discovered additional issues, it is now clear that we need more time. We know this is extremely disappointing for our guests and particularly disheartening for those who already had their vacations cancelled once and are now being affected again.”
Guests booked on the cancelled voyages will receive a refund or credit for a future cruise, along with reimbursement of air transportation-related change fees. Those who re-book may also receive a 25 percent future cruise discount onboard credit depending on the ship and sailing date of the new booking, according to the statement.
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