Thousands of people on board the Carnival Triumph, stranded in the Gulf of Mexico since a weekend fire led to a loss of propulsion, will have to spend an extra day on the cruise liner in deteriorating conditions.
Carnival initially planned to tow the hobbled ship to the Mexican port of Progreso and fly passengers back to the U.S. However, the cruise line said strong currents pulled the ship 90 miles north where it is about the same distance to America as Mexico. Overnight, Carnival said the ship will be towed to Mobile, Ala. -- a decision that means an extra day on board for travelers, but will make it easier for those who are traveling without passports.
The ship is expected to arrive to port some time Thursday.
Passengers on board are reporting 90-degree heat, no air conditioning, few working toilets and long lines for food.
Limited onboard systems remain functional, though the sewage system did go down again last night for a short period, Cruise Critic reported. Technicians were able to gets "some of them (toilets) back on line this morning," Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said. Passengers "are doing well under the circumstances," and the ship's entertainment staff has planned various activities to try and keep passengers entertained.
"The rooms are very hot unless you have a balcony room and then you can kind of get air and light, but if you have an interior room like mine, it's pretty dark in there and it's very stuffy -- especially if someone used your bathroom because you can't flush it," Donna Gutzman, on a girlfriends cruise, told KPRC, NBC News' Houston affiliate.
Gutzman said the ship was listing: "We were at a pretty good tilt ... to walk you literally walked sideways."
Willie Miller told NBC News that his wife and three kids were on board the Triumph. "They had staked out some deck chairs and had built a makeshift tent over it and were going to sleep on that during the night."
"We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience, discomfort and frustration our guests are feeling," Carnival said in a statement. "We know they expect a fantastic vacation and clearly that is not what they received."
Some passengers tried to keep the mood light. Bethany Fasnacht tweeted: "Bucket list item accomplished: marooned at sea. I wouldn't recommend it. "
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The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the engine-room fire.
The fire broke out Sunday morning as the Triumph -- with 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members on board -- was sailing about 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement.
The flames were put out without any injuries to passengers or crew, but the incident left the ship without propulsion and operating on emergency generator power. Efforts were under way to make conditions less miserable for the passengers.
The ship left Galveston, Texas, on Thursday, and was scheduled to return on Monday. Passengers will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit, Carnival said.
The ship?s next two voyages, scheduled to depart Monday and Saturday, have been canceled. Passengers scheduled to sail on either of those voyages will receive a full refund and a discount on a future cruise.
The incident comes more than two years after another Carnival ship, the Splendor, was crippled at sea by a fire in the engine room.
But the current mishap is "a little bit less complicated" because the Triumph is much closer to shore than the Splendor was at the time of its accident, said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com.
The fact that two Carnival ships have had such similar problems gave her pause, but it didn't make her question the cruise line, she added.
"It?s just unfortunate," Brown said. "Carnival is known for taking safety, security and maintenance very, very seriously ... certainly, ships have mechanical issues."
The incident likely will not put people off from booking a cruise, Brown said,noting that things can go wrong on vacation, whether someone is at sea or on land.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/fire-leaves-carnival-cruise-ship-adrift-gulf-mexico-1B8325828
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