Splendor, Splendor, Splendor Combined Thread

[Cruising89143]

I really feel for the guests on board. No A/C down below and add to that non working toilets does not make good living conditions. Plus no hot food. This is not an easy task for any cruise line to have to deal with. I feel for all involved including Carnival.

 

I remember in June of 1995, we had just left Miami on the Sensation for a seven night cruise and our waiter told us the Celebration had an engine room fire that afternoon on her way to San Juan and was dead in the water. At first they thought that we might be changing our course to go and pick up the guests but Carnival came up with another plan. She spent two days adrift waiting on help to arrive. The situation on board the Celebration was the same as the Splendor.

 

Once the Celebration was able to be towed in, it took a while to get her back in service. Not only did they have to deal with the engine room situation but the ship needed work as many toliets had overflowed and carpet was ruined. People drug their mattress out on the upper decks to sleep due to no A/C. The ship was a mess.

 

It will be interesting to read the comments from those on board Splendor. They will range from "Carnival did a great job considering the situation" to "They totally ignored our needs". From what I have read, Carnival is offering a very fare compensation package.

[zqvol]

The problem is that Carnival has quite a few ships that cannot go through the Canal, meaning it is quite a journey to the west coast. It would have to be Spirit class or smaller. It doesn't mean that they won't do it, but I am sure it will depend on how long Splendor will be out. With so much speculation, I think it will be some time before it is known for sure.

 

The disruption that would be caused by moving a ship means that it will not happen for any cruises that have already been announced. There is too much involved in canceling two ships worth of cruises. The earliest that you could expect such a move would be sometime in 2012.

[Sargent_Schultz]

It took Splendor some 50+ days to go around South America - of course there were numerous port stops.

 

As bad as things might be for passengers, they are bound to be worse for the crew, most of whose cabins are a deck 0 or below.

[KevinKing]

This story really illustrates to me where today's pirating fails in comparison to the pirating of days gone by.

[Sargent_Schultz]

It's pretty funny that Carnival, which like all cruise lines; dodges US taxes, regulations and labor laws at every opportunity calls up the Coast Guard when things go bad.

 

Of course Carnival pays taxes. They also generate lots of US jobs and tons of cash for the ports where they base ships.

 

No doubt they will also be receiving some hefty bills as a result of the fire.

[wadethegringo]

It's pretty funny that Carnival, which like all cruise lines; dodges US taxes, regulations and labor laws at every opportunity calls up the Coast Guard when things go bad.

 

The coast guard is more concerned with the thousands of U.S. citizens than who owns the ship.

[ruskatab]

Heres a new story from California with some video...not sure if some of the pictures are from the ship or just stock...

 

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=7772438

[big_duck]

I wonder if Carnival will reposition another ship to take the place of splendor while it's being repaired? would make sense for them to do that.

 

The California cruise market is really soft it makes no sense to move a ship from elsewhere were it makes more money, especially having to compensate the guest who would be cancelled.

[epixx]

Carnival reacted the way a service industry should respond. They announced a reasonable compensation package immediately and in public. Check out the fiasco of the Celebrity Century from 10/13/10: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292056

 

The passengers are still trying to figure out their reimbursement, and Celebrity did not agree to refund their original airfare until many days after the discussion of their ineptitude appeared on CruiseCritic.

[BeachChik]

Yep. I more than sure that this situation will not stop some cruisers from asking for a refund. Passengers will be dissapointed and they will demand refunds, credit, free things etc, etc. BUT it is what it is. Things happen and thats just it.

 

I was on the Splendor last December and it didnt make it to Mazatlan because of some crashing incident but I still made the best of it. Heck, sure Beats a day here at work!

 

Uh please explain to me how being trapped on a ship with no electricity, no AC and broken toliets beats a day at work? And they did get a refund and a free cruise as they should. You people are unbelievable.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Ever see Dirtiest Jobs? :p

[Fazzdaan]

This is just terrible. I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone on the Splendor.

 

Our Splendor cruise is 12/5/2010. We booked this cruise last Feb. If the Splendor is unable to sail will Carnival refund our credit cards so we can book another cruise? I was so ready for a vacation.

 

If you can juggle a few days you can join us on the Carnival Spirit out of San Diego on 12/10. They still show vacancies.

[Fazzdaan]

I wonder if Carnival will reposition another ship to take the place of splendor while it's being repaired? would make sense for them to do that.

 

It isn't cheap to re-po a ship, plus the ship in question will have folks already booked on it and they might be a wee bit upset that their cruise ship is being yanked.

 

With the limited information that is available I suspect that the Splendor is out of business for 6 to 24 weeks. There is probably a lot of things that need to occur before she sails with passengers again.

[JayS]

And John Heald posted on his facebook page that he hoped this would be an "uneventful cruise". Seems every cruise since he has been on the Splendor, something strange happens.

 

I just heard of the fire and haven't gone throught the 16 pages to see if someone else mentioned this.

 

I was on the third leg of the repo cruise from FLL to SFO. (the cruise stopped in Long Beach then ended in SFO) On my first sea day out of Varpariso someone jumped over board. The ship, with the help of the Chilean aurthorities, started a search. We were a half day late to the next port.

[Sargent_Schultz]

If you want your 15 minutes of fame...

 

"IF YOU KNOW ANYONE ONBOARD THE SPLENDOR, CONTACT US AT WXYZDESK@WXYZ.COM"

 

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/world/carnival-cruise-ship-splendor-adrift-off-mexico-after-engine-fire

 

[Fazzdaan]

During debarkation from the last cruise on Carnival Splendor, the US Coast Guard ordered a snap exercise that required switching from main to auxiliary generators. As a result some services like the ship's elevators were out of action for 30 mins, greatly inconveniencing the 1,000+ passengers still waiting to debark. Hours later, a fire breaks out - in those very generators. Did the surprise exercise and the rush to restore service have something to do with the subsequent fire...?

 

My understanding is that it wasn't those emergency generators that failed, but rather something with the main power plant. Those emergency generators appear to have worked fine to provide limited power so that some lights and other critical systems could function under emergency conditions.

[CruisefromNY]

Not to mention the pier-kissing incidents last year...

 

YEP and the Swine flu last year!

[Karysa]

I wonder if people are lining up at the Medical Center with all sorts of "ailments" trying to get off of that ship sooner rather than later.

[Unknotted]

Kudos to you, splendor bride, for keeping such an upbeat attitude. I'm a minister and deal with brides all the time, and am impressed that you are looking at options and keeping your cool. (although I do appreciate your post saying you wish the feeling that you're going to throw up would go away!) Someday, this will make a great story.

 

Prayers going out to everyone on the Splendor tonight, and gratitude that all are safe.

 

That is so true! Splendor Bride, some day one of your grandbabies will be saying, "Granny, tell us about when YOU got married!" You woudn't want a boring story to tell them would you? (OK, maybe you would, lol.)

 

But I do agree that you are to be commended for your positive attitude.

[RYPERO]

I just read on U S A today. C om that the Toilets are working.

[Jolimont]

From USA Today:

 

UPDATE, 8:01 AM ET: A Carnival spokesman tells USA TODAY engineers on the Splendor have restored power to the ship's cabin toilet system, and running cold water also has been restored to cabin bathrooms. Other systems remain down.

 

Toilets and cold water is a great start. Hot water production probably takes too much power. One point for solar and wind emergency power generation on cruise ships. I have no idea if they have such equipment, but it would have come in handy today.

[BeachChik]

I agree, but there will be people wanting more.:rolleyes:

 

So easy to judge when you are not the one dealing with it. You don't know what the environment is really like right now on that ship to even say that a refund and free cruise is enough for what is happening. I'm not saying it is or it isn't because I'm not there to determine that.

[firefly333]

From USA Today:

 

UPDATE, 8:01 AM ET: A Carnival spokesman tells USA TODAY engineers on the Splendor have restored power to the ship's cabin toilet system, and running cold water also has been restored to cabin bathrooms. Other systems remain down.

 

Toilets and cold water is a great start. Hot water production probably takes too much power. One point for solar and wind emergency power generation on cruise ships. I have no idea if they have such equipment, but it would have come in handy today.

 

I wonder if Carnival is giving them a full refund and announced what they are giving to these guys. No toilets flushing .. on a cruise ship. Im trying to imagine.

[Jolimont]

No toilets flushing .. on a cruise ship. Im trying to imagine.

According to USA Today cabin toilets are working again.

[NEMMRRC]

It's pretty funny that Carnival, which like all cruise lines; dodges US taxes, regulations and labor laws at every opportunity calls up the Coast Guard when things go bad.

 

One hand washes the other. 3 years ago on our cruise aboard Valor the Coast Guard asked Carnival to aid with the rescue/recovery of rafters from Cuba.