Carnival ship dead in the water after fire in engine room

[Dennis Donovan]

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/11/carnival-splendor-cruise-ship-fire-coast-guard-san-diego/130360/1

An early morning fire on one of Carnival Cruise Lines' biggest ships, the 113,000-ton Carnival Splendor, has left the vessel dead in the water off the coast of Mexico.

Carnival says the fire, since extinguished, broke out at about 6 a.m. Pacific Standard Time in the two-year-old Splendor's aft engine room and brought about the shutdown of the vessel's main generators.

No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.

"The fire has been extinguished, however there continues to be smoke in the area and the ship's fire crews remain on the scene," the line says in a statement.

Carnival says announcements began at approximately 6.30 a.m. PST advising passengers of the situation and asking them to move from their cabins to the ship's Lido Deck, which is an upper level deck with outdoor space.

[backscatter712]

1. At least it looks like modern ship safety features & protocols worked.

The ship's stranded, but nobody's hurt. Ruined vacation for a lot of people, but they get to come home afterwards.

A few decades ago, that ship would have burned like a roman candle, sunk, and taken hundreds of people down with it.

[Merchant Marine]

10. Probably killed it with a C02 dump

Most big ships have fixed suppression systems covering the engineering spaces.

[WolverineDG]

11. What ruined vacation?

they're probably getting free drinks, on board credit, AND a significant discount on a future cruise, not to mention a couple of extra sea days. :)

from the Carnival website: 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.


dg

[progressoid]

17. And a great story to tell when they return! nt

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Took the same route to Mexico last August.

Except it was with Mariner of the Seas with the Royal Caribbean - you bet your bippy we'll do another RC cruise in the near future.

Hawkeye-X

[AC_Mem]

15. I've cruised 7 times

It is an AWESOME vacation and a real bargain if you think about it. Every morning you open the curtains (get a balcony!) and view another island, free food, sun, relaxation, beautiful ocean. I only experienced bad weather on one day of one cruise - not bad!

When I think about my most happy and peaceful vacation memories, it is sitting on a cruise ship at night with the wind, the stars, the ocean, a glass of wine, and wonderful conversation.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Dupe

weird

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. But but what about the buffet?

[Dead_Parrot]

8. Now has plenty of smoked cheese. nt

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. Nicely done.

:D

[AnnieBW]

5. I have a friend on a Carnival Cruise in the Pacific right now

I'm not sure which ship he's on, though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Well this one is 55 miles from Punta San Jacinto

http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/mexico/map/m5022356/punta_san_jacinto.html

And though off Mexican Territorial Waters, i am sure the Mexican Navy has gone on alert, with both choppers and vessels.

[Man_with_a_plan]

7. scary

Super scary!!

[regnaD kciN]

16. Probably wasn't that scary to the people on board...

Most likely, by the time the announcement was made, the fire was long out. It would be more a massive inconvenience than a disaster-in-the-making.

[bluedigger]

9. I don't recall any of my flat tires making the "news". n/t

[pipoman]

13. Do you usually carry around 4500 people?

and drive in 500 feet of water?

[bluedigger]

14. I'll give you one out of two.

I suppose it is a question of scale, but you have no idea how harrowing my flat tires may have been.:rofl:

[grahamhgreen]

18. Zombies!

[BeeBee]

19. Hmmm. I'm supposed to be on that ship in a week and a half.

We'll see what happens I guess.

[Dennis Donovan]

20. **UPDATE** USS Ronald Reagan is set to rendezvous with stranded cruise ship

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/09/cruise.ship/index.html?hpt=T2

(CNN) -- A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier was scheduled to rendezvous Tuesday afternoon with a stranded cruise ship off the coast of Mexico, according to a Navy spokesman.

The USS Ronald Reagan was receiving 10,000 pounds of food and supplies by airlift for the cruise ship Carnival Spendor, with its nearly 3,300 passengers and nearly 1,200 crew members, Cmdr. Greg Hicks, spokesman of the U.S. Third Fleet, said. Those provisions were made available by Carnival Cruise Lines, he said.

<snip>

Tugboats were en route to the ship, off the Mexican coast about 200 miles south of San Diego, California, and would tow the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico, "in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible," Carnival said. The tugboats were expected to arrive Tuesday, the cruise line said.

At the request of the U.S. Coast Guard in San Diego, the Navy diverted the Ronald Reagan from training maneuvers to assist the Carnival Splendor. Thirty-five pallets of supplies for the ship were being delivered to the aircraft carrier from a nearby Naval air station, officials said.
</snip>

[Dennis Donovan]

21. **UPDATE 2** Tugs towing disabled liner to Mexican port

http://maritimematters.com/2010/11/carnival-splendor-fire/

UPDATE: Two seagoing tugs contracted from Mexico are now towing CARNIVAL SPLENDOR to Ensenada, Mexico, where all the passengers will be landed and bused back to Long Beach, CA. Reports say that the ship’s air conditioning, hot water and telephone service were not working but auxiliary power allowed toilets and cold water to be restored by this evening (Nov. 8). Bottled water and cold food were being provided.

The cruise ship is being escorted by a Coast Guard cutter and should arrive on the morning of November 10 at Ensenada. After the passengers are dropped off, CARNIVAL SPLENDOR will be towed to Long Beach, CA ( this will several take days, which is why the passengers are being landed in Mexico first). Supplies, including bread, utensils, cups, milk, canned food and other items, will be flown to the USS RONALD REAGAN, where helicopters will transfer them to the CARNIVAL SPLENDOR. The cruise line announced that all the passengers would get refunds, reimbursement for transportation costs and a free future cruise of equal value.

</snip>

[Rhiannon12866]

22. If I ever contemplated going on a cruise, I sure wouldn't now...

:scared:

[Rhiannon12866]

23. Update #3: Carnival Splendor cruise ship arrives in San Diego

A disabled cruise ship that caught fire off the coast of Mexico has arrived in San Diego and disembarked most of its 4,500 passengers and crew.

Passengers said they had endured limited amounts of food and backed-up toilets during the three nights they spent adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

The Carnival Splendor was 200 miles (310km) from San Diego when the fire broke out in its engine room on Monday.

"I love being back on land," passenger Ken King told the Associated Press.

The 952ft (290m) ship, which is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines, was pulled into San Diego Bay at about 0830 local time (1630 GMT) by six tugboats and escorted by several Coast Guard vessels

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11739570


Video of giant Carnival Splendor cruise ship towed to San Diego harbor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww_H4xTFcAE&feature=player_embedded