Fire on Carnival Triumph. No engines, running on emergency generators.

[Jtd724]

Bummer, Carnival has bad luck near Mexico. If memory serves me correct I recall at least 2 other Carnival mishaps in the Gulf or near Mexico in the last few years. I'll never forget that laundry room fire 10 years ago shortly after leaving Florida.

[ducklite]

Do you really believe that? Do you realize the public relations nightmare that a partial refund would cause them at this point. Don't believe me, just watch the news reports. The media is having a field day with this - First Splendor, then Concordia, now Triumph. Can you imagine if they went on to say that the company was only refunding two days of cruise fare. I agree that a strict interpretation of the cruise contract would dictate that they are doing more than required, but c'mon...in reality, the company is doing exactly what it has to do in a situation like this which is great. However, the notion that Carnival is being overly generous is lost on me.

 

You forgot the QV propulsion issues last fall.

[zactak]

The chicken littles assigning blame are really quite unbelievable.

 

There was an accident on one ship in which no one was injured and everyone is getting refunded plus a free future cruise and free transport home as soon as logistically possible.

 

Meanwhile here in the Northeast thousands of cars had accidents in the recent snowstorm...not to mention thousandsmore every week in dry sunny conditions

 

Shame on Automakers!!!! Prosecute Ford GM and Toyota!!!!!

 

The only problem with this fallacy is the accidents aren't caused by the car manufacturers and aren't responsible. If they were responsible, then they would give compensation to the consumer. IE. Firestone and Ford.

 

The blame does land on carnival here. We'll find out later to what extent.

 

this thread has been an interesting read this morning. i think i will call it historical fiction for the most part. what i know for fact is that the carnival triumph had a fire in their engine room which was distinguished and the ship is without propulsion. it is operating on emergency power, is drifting, is in contact with authorities, will meet up with a tug today, will be towed to Progresso, and passengers will be flown to houston on Wednesday. anything else is pure speculation, comments about phone calls or communication from unsubstantiated sources, and a whole lot of what ifs and what nows.

 

the cruise was a 4 dayer on day three. the ship has a passenger capacity (based on state room occupancy of 2 people each) of 2758 with a reported 3100 passengers on board. Indicates, to me, that not a lot of children on board (especially since it isn't a holiday weekend). I would also hazard a guess that this being a weekend cruise that there aren't a lot of much older passengers. I am also of the opinion that there aren't a lot of people on board with major medical issues, these type of cruises don't usually cater to that subset.

 

i have no way of knowing what will happen once on land but, through logic, i believe that carnival is chartering several planes to fly everyone to houston (a one and a half hour flight) from there they will be flown home or transported to galveston to pick up their vehicles. passengers will be bused from the dock to the airport in Progresso, they will not be visiting the town or going on scheduled flights necessitating a need for a passport.

 

i am sure there is a team working on flights for all out of town passengers and buses have been lined up. also, since this cruise is a 4 dayer i would hazard a guess that a good portion of the passengers drove to galveston.

 

i also suspect that carnival will have all passengers fill out a cost analysis sheet that will list their expenses such as unrecoupable work time, child and animal care for the extra days. i think we would be surprised at how fair the cruise line will be.

 

i am sure that many of the passengers will be miserable the next couple of days and that many will be, rightfully, upset with the circumstances, but just like those interviewed after the Splendor incident they will enjoy telling the story after the fact and will look back on this as a most interesting experience. humans are, if anything, pretty adaptable.

 

Most of this post is also speculation.

[rjackieb]

And put their kids through collage too.

 

Exactly what I'd been thinking. Pretty sad we've become a society that expects a windfall for every inconvenience, annoyance, accident or mishap in their lives.

 

Another question I have...isn't this where travel insurance comes into play? I've been licensed in Iowa to sell property/casualty & life/health insurance, but I've never purchased travel insurance so I'm not sure of the details. What I do know about insurance has me thinking that some of those extra expenses, like lost wages or vacation time and pet care, could be compensated by their policies.

I'm SURE someone will correct me if I'm wrong. ;)

[ducklite]

And put their kids through collage too.

 

I'm not sure why you are being sarcastic. A measurable number of guests will have true economic loss as a result of this cruise, and CCL needs to make them whole for whatever verifiable costs their travel insurance doesn't cover.

[Cruisegirl6]

For me personally....its a cruise in early February its not hot, can be comfortable without ac this time of year, I would have balcony stateroom so open my door it be very nice, extra days on the ship/at sea and cruise fair returned or credit back I be very happy.

[waldocruiser1]

It would be nice to hear from someone that was on the Splendor to give a more realistic account of what is probably happening.

 

I have a question, if everyone is having to stay in the open/public areas, did they assign seats, areas for different decks so the have some control of where everyone is? or was if first come first serve on the lounger chairs out on deck?

 

Are the entertainment crew having trivia contests and things like that, playing music and trying to keep people going?

 

What is the current rule on Chair Hogging? are they still removing your stuff if you leave your chair for more than 20 minutes? I'll bet that would be much more interesting.

 

For the people that say they talked to their family, how did they make a cell phone call, if the power was out? wouldn't the Carnival cell phone signal also be out? if not how did it get to be that high on the power priority list, I think lights in the hallways or toilets would be better use of the power than the cell phone signal, but then again you can still charge for the cell use.

[ducklite]

The chicken littles assigning blame are really quite unbelievable.

 

There was an accident on one ship in which no one was injured and everyone is getting refunded plus a free future cruise and free transport home as soon as logistically possible.

 

The "free future cruise" will have strings attached and will have costs associated with it that some might not be able to afford. In some cases, people might not live long enough to use that offer.

 

Meanwhile here in the Northeast thousands of cars had accidents in the recent snowstorm...not to mention thousandsmore every week in dry sunny conditions

 

Shame on Automakers!!!! Prosecute Ford GM and Toyota!!!!!

 

Your analogy is completely irrelevant.

[MissMeggieMurphy]

Or maybe the first hand accounts texted from pax onboard?:rolleyes:

 

more than likely carnival has contacted all passengers emergency contacts to let them know that the ship has been delayed, and as plans are finalized these contacts will be made aware of the plans.

 

i, personally, look with skepticism, upon any post that says: my sister, mom, husband, friend, cousin twice removed called or texted from the ship. could it happen, most certainly. is it happening, much more unlikely.

 

considering how few people who cruise a particular ship show up on cruise critic and how few participate in a roll call (I bet less than a half of a percent) we, on these boards, aren't going to be actually hearing from many of the passengers.

 

also, i read a post that contemplated that the passengers would be in full revolt and would be little savages (my words, not theirs) by the time wednesday comes around. personally, i'll give humanity (outside of a few of the constant complainers on cc) a lot more credit than that. i am sure that these passengers are making the best of a horrendous experience and will behave like the adults they are.

[hftmrock]

Originally Posted by MissMeggieMurphy

, they will not be visiting the town or going on scheduled flights necessitating a need for a passport.

 

The need for a passport is for the US not Mexico. If you are in Mexico and you need to fly to the US, The US is the one that requires a passport. They dont really care if you visited the town or stood in one place. The United States requires a passport to fly to the US from another country.

[Cruisegirl6]

waldocruiser1 I not think that they tell you where you have to go or can't go, and I am sure there are activities aboard these extra days. One can make a call anytime they wish on their cell phone some may have roaming charges though. They suppose to have backup generation for lighting but I always prepared I carry small artificial candle the battery operated one and a small flash light you never know because I have been in places such as stores before where they lost power, I usually prepared for things like this. lol

[Tapi]

Excellent post!! Let reason prevail instead of speculation

 

Huh? IMHO, that entire post was also pure speculation...:confused:

[waldocruiser1]

Conspiracy theory,

 

Did this really happen, or was it really the filming of the movie "Splendor days at sea" the behind the fun look at the Splendor Engine Fire Cruise?

 

Carnival wanted to make it really look real, so they did not use trick photography for the fire, they really set the engine on fire.

 

That is why Carinival is so willing to pay out the big bucks, they are planning on making a mint on the film.

 

Is it real or film?

[garycarla]

Sorry if this has been posted already, I didn't read all 15 pages. I just saw on the today show that the next 2 sailings have been cancelled....

 

Part of the reason there are 15 pages is because folks repeat what has been posted (like this) many times. Pretty obvious that are going to have schedule problems anyways.

 

Adding to 15 pages are the number of folks speculating and passing rumors and thinking the cruise line should do this, or do that. Some of the postings here make me wonder how the human race has survived.

[Cindy]

I am going to call back later. Perhaps things will change. Certainly they can't expect them to live in common areas until Wednesday?

 

I would think that having 3,000+ people in common areas for upwards of 3 days would make a tense and uncomfortable situation worse. Just think about how crowded it is right before the cabins open, and imagine doing that for several days when people can't bathe, change their clothes, or take care of their other basic needs.:(

Hopefully once the officers were satisfied that the ship was stable at the very least passengers with balconies or natural light were allowed back in their cabins.

[ducklite]

I agree that Carnival will reimburse for certain items, like extra airfare charges, etc. but really, do you really think they should pay for lost pay??????? When was the last time an airline reimbursed anyone for lost pay, due to a plane cancelled due to mechanical failure. Never, that I have ever heard......let's get real here....

 

When was the last time that someone missed four or more days of pay because of an airline mechanical failure? The longest I've ever been delayed due to mechanical issues with a plane was 12 hours--and that was only because I missed my connecting flight and had to spend the night. I arrived at my office two hours late the next morning--and I've flown over a million miles, so I have some significant experience to draw from.

[PIM463]

[dwjoe]

i, personally, look with skepticism, upon any post that says: my sister, mom, husband, friend, cousin twice removed called or texted from the ship. could it happen, most certainly. is it happening, much more unlikely

If someone says they got a text from someone on board I give that much more weight than dismissive speculation like yours.

 

Did you actually read the posts of first hand accounts?

[ducklite]

Exactly what I'd been thinking. Pretty sad we've become a society that expects a windfall for every inconvenience, annoyance, accident or mishap in their lives.

 

Another question I have...isn't this where travel insurance comes into play? I've been licensed in Iowa to sell property/casualty & life/health insurance, but I've never purchased travel insurance so I'm not sure of the details. What I do know about insurance has me thinking that some of those extra expenses, like lost wages or vacation time and pet care, could be compensated by their policies.

I'm SURE someone will correct me if I'm wrong. ;)

 

I wouldn't be asking for a windfall, only to be made whole for verifiable lost income and expenses. Made whole means just that. You want what an incident has cost you financially, nothing more, nothing less. It does not mean compensation for pain and suffering, just verifiable out of pocket costs and losses. I don't think that is too much to ask for in a non-force majeure event.

 

Travel insurance should be the first position indemnity, Carnival should pick up any financial loss or incursion that is not covered by the travel insurance.

[Cruisegirl6]

Im sure that the info that everybody has to remain in the common areas be an error or rumor unless there is fire damage or flooding in the decks below. I would also assume they not do this because its in Carnivals best interest to have people to have access to their cabins for their personal items (meds and such), to keep them in a safe place and not have crowds in the main areas.

 

Cindy I agree with what your saying.

 

ducklite- emergencies happen and I am positive any job would be understanding, one may not be paid thats another story but nobody can loose their job because of being stuck at sea due to a ship breaking down.

[texast518]

I wonder where & what food service/bar service offered?

[MissMeggieMurphy]

[/i]

The need for a passport is for the US not Mexico. If you are in Mexico and you need to fly to the US, The US is the one that requires a passport. They dont really care if you visited the town or stood in one place. The United States requires a passport to fly to the US from another country.

 

when did common sense fly out of the window on these boards. if you think that this incident will be considered normal travel by the immigration department, i think you need to think again. if a cruise line is allowed to not require passports for a close looped cruise then the department of immigration isn't going to change the requirements mid cruise. it is insane to think that our country would abandon a couple of thousand folks in mexico because of a technicality beyond their control. errrrrrr.

[takeshi]

For the people that say they talked to their family, how did they make a cell phone call, if the power was out? wouldn't the Carnival cell phone signal also be out? if not how did it get to be that high on the power priority list, I think lights in the hallways or toilets would be better use of the power than the cell phone signal, but then again you can still charge for the cell use.

See post 581 in this thread.

[MrPete]

I disagree with two free cruises. This one is a total bust, no matter how much fun they had before the fire, the 4 days until off the ship are really not a "cruise". So the one they offer to take the sting out this one is really just a wash, something to neutralize the anger over having their expensive ship be towed around the Gulf because of possibly something preventable..........but I retract that as we will not be told the truth. I wonder where they get all the water that over 4000 people need each day? Reality is people will question safety (serious fires on two ships in last few years) and want to know the reason why. If not told, it's reasonable to think it could happen again.............and it did.

 

The worst part of ANY cruise is that last morning when everyone is basically up on deck and everything is shut, and there's nothing to do.

 

Now imagine doing that for 4 days.

 

Yes, I imagine there must be ONE person that would enjoy it. I guess it's not to hard to find.

[declansdad]

I just read 25 pages of mostly BS. There were a few good posts mixed in. First off, I am going admit I have a "soft spot" for Triumph since my wife and I spent part of 2 week honeymoon on her back in '04. I would also like to add that I worked in the Marine Industry for 10 years and while my work was mostly with the non-commercial side( I did a lot of work with mega-yachts, you know the stuff we all oggle over, usually over 100' in length) my company did alot of commercial work, including the cruise industry. So while that doesn't qualify me as an expert, I have seen ships fail and the parts on them fail. The average commercial vessel will dry-dock approximately every 5 years. The cost, as already mentioned, can be hundred's of thousands of dollars just to lift the ship out of the water, plus any repairs and/or modifications done. Companies don't like to do this, but realize it is a necessary evil . To say Carnival is delaying these dry-docks to help the bottom line is downright clueless statement. Ships are dry-docked on a regular basis not because the company may want too, but because doing so is also part of CG certification process to allow the ship to carry passengers.

 

There appears to be alot of "experts" here when in fact we really don't know any of the facts. All WE know is the ship is without power and floating adrift 150 miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico. We know it is being towed to Progesso, and we know that the Carnival Elation has come along side and transferred supplies. We don't know the reason why, we don't know how, we don't when it will be fixed. That also means we don't know if this incident is related in any way to the issues described by posters back in December. It could be, it could not be.

 

In reference to those generators, most don't realize that those generators have been running non-stop almost since they were put in service. Even when the ship is docked, swapping out passengers between trips, or in dry dock, the generators are running to provide power, so to have one fail, it CAN happen. If that was the case here, what can you say? Yes, it sucks that people were inconvienced, I feel bad for those have had their plans changed, lost vacation, pay etc. but it is a mechanical part and will eventually fail. To say Carnival has been negligent in maitanance is just not fair. Not until we know the true cause of the siuation and that is proven as the truth.

 

I like that people are on here talking about this, discussing it, but let's sort fact from fiction , truth from fairytail and see what plays out over the next few days, weeks etc.

 

For the record, I also think Carnival is being fair in their compensation. I am sure no one will walk away from this trip feeling as if they haven't been compensated. For those who think I am drinking the Carnival Kool-Aid, so be it. I am just not one to start posting or making speculation till I have all the facts of an incident.

 

Scott

 

Well said!

 

However if everyone was as logical in their thinking this thread wouldn't be as long as it is. :)