CNN reporting another Carnival Ship having trouble (The Dream)

[RRLLAL]

You are absolutely right Mark. But the planted Carnival Cheerleaders WILL NOT acknowledge this. They would argue that the cockroach was entertaining, crunchy, tasty, and full of protein, and you are full of hate and greed if you want a full refund.

 

My in-laws went on an RCCL cruise and at dinner one night my MIL found a bone in a pasta dish. I don't remember them getting a full refund.

[Cruizinman]

You can leave me stranded in St. Maarten for 2 days. Yes please!

Yes I miss Marigot

[RRLLAL]

What specific lies did CNN tell? Because outside of a few cheerleading "Everything was wonderful! Why were people complaining?" type responses, according to passengers, most of what they said was completely correct.

 

You're welcome to go back to the threads on here that exposed CNN, including many from people who were on the ship.

[cruise luvr]

I would take 2 extra day in St Martin over sea days anytime. They are flying them. I think it's generous that they are compensating them at all.

[Aquahound]

Yep your over here stirring the pot arnt you:p:D

 

 

Hola' shipmate! :D Yeah, I got hooked when the USCG was first mentioned and haven't been able to look away since. It sucks! But hey, as long as I only make up 94% of my ramblings, I'm ok. ;):D

[ducklite]

My in-laws went on an RCCL cruise and at dinner one night my MIL found a bone in a pasta dish. I don't remember them getting a full refund.

 

That warrants a new dish and a free drink, nothing more.

[Litewait]

Our news here just said they are getting refunds for 3 days and 50% off a future cruise. I think thats pretty nice..

[MrPete]

Oh come on. CNN was so FOS during the Triumph incident with their embellishments and lies that were proven mostly false when the passengers got off.

 

Sorry. I don't watch CNN at all, but I was transfixed watching it all that day, and the video showed it all. I didn't feel dirty watching it, but watched in amazement at some trying to vilify CNN while protecting CCL. From what, I still don't know.

[fuddrules]

If you are not reconsidering a Carnival cruise, or worried about your upcoming cruise, I admire your ignorance.

 

Thank you, thank you very much!

[airmj2123]

Per CCL FB:

 

"Q: What is going on with Carnival Dream? What happened?

 

While at dock in St. Maarten yesterday, the ship’s engineering team conducted a regularly scheduled test of the ship’s emergency diesel generator. A malfunction occurred which has rendered the emergency generator inoperable. At no time did the ship lose power and the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power sources were not impacted. However, for a period of time last night, there were interruptions to the elevators and restroom services. Toilets and elevators are currently working, and have been since about 12:30am.

 

 

Q: Where was the ship when the problem occurred?

 

The Carnival Dream was at dock in St. Maarten during a regularly scheduled port of call visit and remains there currently. All passengers are safe and comfortable.

 

Q: Did the ship lose power?

 

At no time did the ship lose power and the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power sources were not impacted.

 

Q: Why is the ship not able to sail back to Port Canaveral?

 

While the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power source were not impacted, in an abundance of caution, we prefer not to sail with guests on board without an operational back up emergency generator.

 

Q: Are the toilets and elevators working?

 

Toilets and elevators are currently working, and have been since about 12:30am.

 

Q: Is it true that toilets were overflowing and sewage on floors, in hallways, etc.?

 

We have had multiple conversations with the ship’s management team. Based on the ship’s service logs and extensive physical monitoring of all public areas, including restrooms, throughout the night, we can confirm that only one public restroom was taken offline for cleaning based on toilet overflow and there was a total of one request for cleaning of a guest cabin bathroom. Aside from that there have been no reports of issues on board with overflowing toilets or sewage. The toilet system had periodic interruptions yesterday evening and was fully restored at approximately 12.30am this morning.

 

 

Q: Are guests allowed to get off the ship?

 

Guests have the option to get off the ship to visit the port of St. Maarten until their scheduled return home. We have also arranged complimentary water taxi service for guests who wish to explore other areas of the island.

 

Q: What is going to happen with the guests from here?

 

All guests are being flown via a combination of commercial and private chartered air to either Orlando, which is the closest air gateway to Port Canaveral, or to their final destination depending on their individual needs.

 

Q: Is it true that Carnival is flying everyone to Miami and putting them on buses?

 

No.

 

Q: What kind of compensation will they receive?

 

Guests on the current voyage will receive a refund equivalent to three days of the voyage and 50 percent off a future cruise.

 

Q: Are you cancelling future cruises?

 

We have cancelled the ship’s next voyage which is scheduled to depart on Saturday, March, 16. Guests scheduled to sail on this cruise will receive a full refund and 25 percent off a future seven-day cruise. Guests who re-book will have their current rate protected on the future sailing. Additionally, any non-refundable transportation related expenses will be reimbursed.

 

Q: How many passengers and crew are onboard?

 

There are 4,363 guests and 1370 crew on Carnival Dream.

 

Q: What are you doing to help passengers without passports?

 

We have already addressed this issue with the relevant authorities and the guests will not have an issue traveling without passports."

[MissKIA]

Our news here just said they are getting refunds for 3 days and 50% off a future cruise. I think thats pretty nice..

 

Careful what you say. You might be flamed and labeled a Carnival Cheerleader.

 

(I agree with you)

[sakapfet]

This is just more ammunition for the plaintiffls from the Triumph who are suing or planning on suing Carnival.

[emelvee]

I am a numbers guy. I look at trends, swings, percentages and movement on a daily basis. If you look at Carnival alone, your probability of having an issue is low. But an issue happening on Carnival vs a competitor is now becoming a considerable difference.

Based on recent events and the relative cost on Carnival vs other lines, I agree that there is a greater chance of having a major issue on a Carnival cruise.

 

Carnival has, what, a bit more than 1,000 sailings per year - 52 weeks x 23 ships IIRC, less some drydock - or engine failures ;), at least based on 7 day cruises (many are shorter, some are longer). If they have two major events EVERY year, that's a 0.20% chance of something happening like Dream, Triumph, etc. Let's say RCI had the same number of sailings but a major event happens only once per 5 years - that would be a 0.02% chance, or 1/10 as frequent as Carnival.

 

Of course, I'm using very arbitrary numbers, but the difference between 0.02% and 0.20% isn't likely to make me stop sailing on Carnival. I'm not loyal to Carnival, though overall we've enjoyed our Carnival cruises the most. The issues Carnival has had does certainly enter my mind and is a part of the decision of whom to book.

[chengkp75]

I wonder if they really do have a 59GS trip for their bus ties? Would make sense, except for the shunt trip part - most likely to just open the trip coil and maybe lock out the affected bus with an 86 relay. Shipboard electrical systems can get tricky due to their grounding schemes. A phase-to-phase short seems more likely, depending on their transformer connection.

 

Okay, you asked for the technical (I was just spouting off as an example). there are normally two breakers between the main bus and the emergency. The breaker on the main bus side has low voltage trip, so when the ship blacks out, it opens. The emergency side breaker senses the loss of voltage on the "tie" section, and drops out as well. Once the emergency bus senses loss of voltage, the emergency generator will start, and its breaker will close to power the emergency bus. It is not required to have the capability to "feed back" from the emergency bus to the main bus (mainly because the emergency generator could not power all of the ship's hotel), but some do. When power is restored to the main bus, by the main generators, the sequential automation will trip the emergency generator breaker and close the two bus tie breakers.

 

Going from main power to emergency must be done in less than 60 seconds, and going from emergency to main is usually only as long as it takes for the breakers to cycle, a few seconds. Anything in the voltage sensing circuit could account for the failure of the bus ties to remain closed, or it could be a mechanical fault in the breaker.

 

Yeah, due to the floating ground on ships and the ground forcing circuits, grounds will normally not shut down an entire bus. But a phase to phase short would be repairable by opening all circuits on the bus, closing the bus tie, and then sequentially closing breakers until you find the one that "pops the fuse". I'll put my money on either the electromechanical closing/charging circuit in the breaker itself, or the voltage sensing circuit.

[Boston Bill]

I have only been here a few days but I think it is safe to say that some of the authors here are the kings and queens of conspiracy. They are engineers, lawyers, immigration officers, company CEOs and the biggest cruise experts in the world and are armed with a big wooden spoon. I thought classic car enthusiasts were bad enough but my God this web site is ......................I dont have the right words.

[scubababy]

Say what you want to, but it will be a logistical nightmare for most cruisers trying to get home now. Your last days of relaxation are being spent trying to figure out how to get home - how to make flight connections, etc. . I know that would be my first priority. It wouldn't be sitting on a beach sipping a tropical drink. Guarantee Carnival will start flying passengers out ASAP, so those that were looking forward to relaxing for two sea days are screwed. I would definately try to make lemonade out of lemons, but it won't be fun to begin with.

[wildcatlh]

You're welcome to go back to the threads on here that exposed CNN, including many from people who were on the ship.

 

I saw those threads. And I know many of those posts came from the "It was a vacation! A bad day at sea is better than a good day at work!" types. I also saw what passengers were saying elsewhere. That was an entirely different story.

 

Look. You can cheerlead all you want. But the fact of the matter is, CC members make up a very miniscule portion of the cruising public. Most are just everyday people. This does not keep happening to RCCL. This does not keep happening to Disney. This does not keep happening to NCL. This keeps happening to Carnival, and to other ships in the Carnival Corporation & plc family (Costa Concordia, Costa Allegra). That kind of thing is going to stick in the public's mind, and it's going to hurt Carnival unless something changes. Fair? Maybe, maybe not. But to continue to cheerlead, to continue to stick your fingers in your ears and say "LA LA LA NOTHING'S WRONG", or to act like Baghdad "The Americans are not in Iraq" Bob, is just silly. Carnival's feet need to be held to the fire until the problem, whatever it may be, is figured out. Otherwise this is going to keep happening.

[taszmom]

Passports were not an issue for the Triumph passengers because they came back to the U.S. These guests in St Maarten are flying from outside the U.S. and a passport is required. As a TA I tell all my clients that a passport is not required but I highly recommend getting one because what if.... just what has happened on the Carnival Dream. They are going to have to go through international customs at MCO so I guess they will have to single out the particular flights they are coming in on and process them separately.

 

The other issue also is baggage. If they drove to the port, they packed for a cruise not for a flight. Extra bags (baggage fees), contents, etc.

 

I would imagine it is going to take days to get 4000 people home. How many flights can there be in/out of St Maarten?

[WillWorkToCruise]

What do I have to add to this thread?

 

Issues with passports? Done.

Bashing Carnival? Done.

Saying Carnival is awesome? Done.

Bashing CNN? Done.

 

I will have to see what I can come up with. All the good comments have been taken.

[crusinpsychRN]

That phrase is not int the cited article. Nor is there any suggestion that such might be required.

 

Didn't say it WAS in the article. It'd sure make it easier in this type of circumstance.

[sparks1093]

Passports were not an issue for the Triumph passengers because they came back to the U.S. These guests in St Maarten are flying from outside the U.S. and a passport is required. As a TA I tell all my clients that a passport is not required but I highly recommend getting one because what if.... just what has happened on the Carnival Dream. They are going to have to go through international customs at MCO so I guess they will have to single out the particular flights they are coming in on and process them separately.

 

The other issue also is baggage. If they drove to the port, they packed for a cruise not for a flight. Extra bags (baggage fees), contents, etc.

 

I would imagine it is going to take days to get 4000 people home. How many flights can there be in/out of St Maarten?

 

If CCL is chartering the flights (as is my understanding) I am sure all of this will be taken care of.

[halos]

They need to be held accountable. Their preventative maintenance program isn't working - this is either just bad timing or a sign of things to come.

 

This is basically a new ship though..which makes this incident a bit more sad.

 

Didn't know that this thread was only open to past CCL cruisers.

 

I am here b/c what happens to CCL affects the whole industry since they are the largest cruise line.

 

And, FYI, I do not wish CCL ill.

 

I agree with these statments 100%

[jmcsk8]

I makes me happy when I read all the posts how "I will never sail Carnival again" and "That's the last straw" and so on.

That's great news. Less mongs to deal with.

Good riddance.

[mitsguy2001]

Does Carnival have any estimate as to when the Dream will be back to normal? I am scheduled to be on the Dream in July. Did the dream have toilets overflowing with sewage like the Triumph? If so, will it be completely cleaned by July? I hope so. Thanks.

[NCbmwmom]

That's how I feel! Less people to deal with on the Lido!:D