INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Carnival Cruise Cut Short In Industry’s Fourth Fire — Disappointed Guests Flying Home

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 04:15 PST, Sep 9, 2015

Passengers aboard the Carnival Liberty were a mere day into their one-week cruise when a fire broke out, abruptly ending what should’ve been a relaxing week at sea.

Now, those 3,000 passengers are starting to be flown home as the ship is docked in St. Thomas, as yet unable to return to the open ocean, USA Today reported.

A fire blazed through the ship’s engine room Monday night while it was in St. Thomas, getting ready to explore ports in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. It was extinguished by the ship’s automatic suppression system, and neither crew nor passengers were hurt.

“I could feel worse but I still see it as a free cruise,” student and passenger Elaine Myers told Reuters. “What is important is that nobody died or got hurt in the fire.”

When the fire erupted, everyone — 3,346 vacationers and 1,150 crew members — were evacuated. A Reuters reporter was on board and saw thick black smoke emerge from the liner. But Carnival still pampered its guests — they were sent to hotels nearby, treated to movies and a buffet, and then were able to return for the night.

And to make up for the inconvenience, Carnival handed out $150 in credit to spend on board.

Luckily, all the necessary systems were still intact and undamaged; air conditioning, elevators, toilets, and galleys were all working. And the leisure activities one expects on a cruise kept going as well. On Tuesday, everyone could even tour St. Thomas, with Carnival setting up shuttles for the purpose.

However, the company is tight-lipped about whether the engine room was damaged, but one thing is clear: the U.S. Coast Guard and other experts went aboard to inspect the ship and have yet to give its clearance to sail. Once that happens, it’ll head to its home port in Puerto Rico.

Cruise Industry News confirmed that the company is starting to fly its disappointed passengers home. There aren’t many commercial flights on the island, so chartered aircraft is stepping up to the job. In addition, everyone is getting a full refund and a 50 percent discount on their next sailing.

Such events seem to be par for the course in the cruise industry lately, however, and a Carnival spokesman said this latest inferno and its associated financial loss will have a small impact on the cruise line.

But this is the third such incident in recent years — and the second in three months.

In 2010, another engine fire aborted the sailing of the Carnival Splendor off the coast of Mexico; the blaze knocked out power and the ship’s propulsion system. Then came the infamous “Poop Cruise,” the Triumph, in 2013; guests were stranded for days in the Gulf of Mexico without power or toilets. The same year, a blaze erupted on a Royal Caribbean vessel and it was forced to dock. And just this July, the line’s Freedom of the Seas suffered another fire near Jamaica; one crew member was hurt.

[Photo Courtesy gary yim/Shutterstock]

Share this article: Carnival Cruise Cut Short In Industry’s Fourth Fire — Disappointed Guests Flying Home
travel
More from Inquisitr