FYI Fire on Carnival Splendor

[dkjretired]

Thanks! We are looking forward to it. It looks like a great ship. I have sailed Princess before, and looking forward to trying something new as well.

 

As an added bonus you are going to be in port with "Allure of the Seas", brand new biggest ship in the world..

[2SeaWithMe]

I'm curious...does something like this change anyone's mind in how they pack?

 

For instance, do you always prepare, by taking along extra medication, etc? I usually do that, but maybe only 50% of the time might throw in things like energy/protein bars because I rarely use them. This makes me think that instead of taking 2-3 bars, maybe I take something like...ten bars, because I have the room, and it's not like they go bad.

 

This happened to be on the news (does anyone else think the coverage is excessive?) and they were saying the waits for sandwiches were over two hours long. I would certainly hope they fed the elderly first, etc.

 

Of course, my other question I thought of...will Carnival have to reimburse the government for having them deliver food and supplies to the ship? Wouldn't that be expected of a commercial operation experiencing a problem versus, say, hurricane victims?

[brazilgirl]

I am just really , really glad the Celebrity Infinity didn´t have a fire when we were in Antarctica.......that would have been BAD.

[emileg]

I am just really , really glad the Celebrity Infinity didn´t have a fire when we were in Antarctica.......that would have been BAD.

The reality is that fire represents the greatest hazard and risk to a ship. When we take a cruise, we take that risk.

 

However, we can reduce such risks by being careful. For example, the devastating 2006 fire on the Star Princess was started by someone who chose to flick a lit cigarette onto a balcony below. Simply choosing to use an ash tray would have prevented that fire. One reason we don't sail Carnival anymore is that numerous people, day after day, night after night, chose to flick their ashes and butts onto our balcony whether we were on it or not.

 

Of course the fire on the Carnival Splendor was not due to cigarettes. Such risks are outside of passenger control. But smoking related fires, including a major fire in our apartment building, are risks that people have some control over. As Smokey the Bear says, "Only you can prevent forest fires." At least those not caused by lightening.

[carolinagal]

OMG. I just went snooping on the Carnival forum to see if anyone from the ship had been able to make communication with family. Just reading the posts over there makes me happy that I am now a committed X cruisers. These folks are about ready to battle and they are not even on the disabled vessel. AMAZING. For laughs, take a peep.

 

Before you start waxing poetic about Celebrity, read the posts on Century 10/13 cancelled cruise in Nice!!

Celebrity treated & continues to treat their passengers like garbage!

[London25]

Before you start waxing poetic about Celebrity, read the posts on Century 10/13 cancelled cruise in Nice!!

Celebrity treated & continues to treat their passengers like garbage!

 

I totally agree. From what I've read Carnival outshines Celebrity.

[WineDown17]

Emile makes an excellent point...

 

The next time folks debate if they might get caught smuggling an iron on board, or some other contraband that is on the naughty list due to the hazard it may pose...remember this incident.....

[npb]

Comparing Carnival's response to Celebrity's is comparing apples to oranges.

[Winedown2]

"Gina Calzada, 43, of Henderson, Nev., said her diabetic sister, Vicky Alvarez, called her Wednesday on her cell phone and started sobbing. She said she has not been able to take her insulin for her diabetes because she is not eating enough.

 

She told Calzada all that she had eaten was some bread, cucumbers and lettuce.

 

"She said it stinks of rotten food and smoke," Calzada said. "It's dark, and it's cold.'"

 

Alvarez's husband said that when he went looking for food for his wife, a crew member told him to give her a Tic-Tac."

[2SeaWithMe]

I read that...prompted my protein bar strategy. LOL

[izzy19]

we always travel with about 15-20 protein & fruit bars no matter where we go...given the amount of luggage you take on a cruise it hardly takes up any room...

[Nonna and Papa]

We also always travel with a few snacks. Depending where our destination might be, we've packed things such as beef jerky, Lance cracker packs, and/or cereal bars. Sometimes we've eaten them as a snack as we're touring, and sometimes they've come in handy when flights have been delayed and food concessions are closed or just not available.

 

Mary

[cookiejarvis]

The sip is docking as I write...you ca catch it live on the Harbor cam./

[spammie]

We also always pack some protein bars, peanut butter crackers and Rick Krispy treats.

[Freecall]

The things you find out at times like these.

 

I had no idea that my fellow cruisers were packing all this contraband food.

 

Bizarre!

 

.

[Nonna and Papa]

Contraband?? How is it contraband? Everything is individually wrapped, and with the exception of the jerky, which we mainly use in airports, none should be considered a health menace if taken into town.:) It tend to come in handy once in awhile. I'd have to place it as a choice ahead of Spam!!!:D

 

Mary

[Freecall]

Contraband?? How is it contraband? Everything is individually wrapped

 

Wow, serious today!

 

I use the word contraband in its declamatory sense.

 

.

[cookiejarvis]

Bet your booty we will have a small cache next cruise.

[Bob & Sandy]

Contraband?? How is it contraband? Everything is individually wrapped, and with the exception of the jerky, which we mainly use in airports, none should be considered a health menace if taken into town.:) It tend to come in handy once in awhile. I'd have to place it as a choice ahead of Spam!!!:D

 

Mary

 

Ahead of spam? Maybe ... but what about Pop-Tarts??:D

[Nonna and Papa]

Wow, serious today!

 

I use the word contraband in its declamatory sense.

 

.

Not that serious....didn't you like my smileys???:)

 

Mary

[Nonna and Papa]

Ahead of spam? Maybe ... but what about Pop-Tarts??:D

 

I think I'd rather the pop tart than the SPAM!!:D

 

Mary

[ccletzgo]

I was reviewing this list of cruise ship fires and noticed that Carnival had a large number of fires in recent years. Assuming I counted right, there are 9 fires listed from 2007 through the present. Six of those were Carnival ships - that works out to 66% of the fires. The other brands within the Carnival family don't seem to have this problem (HAL, Princess, Cunard, etc.)

 

 

 

I think you have to take into consideration the amount of ships each line has. Carnivals fleet is huge.

[2SeaWithMe]

If the poptarts aren't toasted, I'd rather have the aforementioned cucumbers.

[mccljp]

Having spent many years at sea on Navy ships and experienced several fires, it is not something taken lightly. One would expect the crews to be trained, and hold drills regularly. Just like passengers have to experience the horrors of an abandon ship drill, the crew goes through drills on a regular basis.

 

The one thing that peaks my interest in this case is that the fire was in a generator in the after engine room. That implies that there is more than one engine room. If that is the case then there should be generators and propolsion engines in the forward engine room as well. Yet the ship is on emergency power without propolsion. This fire must have been very drastic, and the crew and passengers very lucky.

 

So instead of bitching about eating spam, they should be thanking the crew for doing their jobs and saving their lives.

 

I will put my soap box away now.

[Mercruiser]

I think you have to take into consideration the amount of ships each line has. Carnivals fleet is huge.

 

I did.

 

According to the just-released Berlitz "Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2011", Carnival has 23 ships. The Berlitz book lists about 250 cruise ships total. By my calculations, Carnival represents less than 10% of the cruise ship fleet.

 

I am glad to read that the NTSB is going to conduct an investigation.