CNN reporting another Carnival Ship having trouble (The Dream)

[pmoniz]

I went to the Carnival facebook page and they have been giving all kinds of updates.

 

There are some passengers who have requested to stay on board when the ship sails back to it home port. I would have done the same.... not because I'm afraid of flying but because I would not be in that big a hurry to go back work. :D

 

So for those of you who want more information straight from the horses mouth and not CNN or whoever... I suggest you go there.

 

I'd stay onboard too!! I just looked at the webcam and some people are in the pool. I had thought they made everyone get off the ship, but I guess not!

[Carol_Hill]

And I hope there are more than 20... That'd not enough to get everyone home :)

 

20 planes isn't enough to get 4000 people home? Ok, if you say so...

[Boytjie]

I like flight aware too.

 

It is great for tracking flights but I like the map on flightstats better. :)

[Blurgh]

I'd stay onboard too!! I just looked at the webcam and some people are in the pool. I had thought they made everyone get off the ship, but I guess not!

 

They're using the ship as a hotel. It makes more sense than throwing everyone off and finding hotels for them.

[Floridian821]

Ok, I'm going to try to change the subject for now. I'd like some advice. I'm going on the Dream in November to St. Thomas. I've been there many times and usually run off to St. John and Trunk Bay. This time I'd like to stay on St. Thomas. Any advise on the best beach and a nice restaurant near it for lunch?

[Heirloom]

Can't wait until tomorrow !

 

We'll be visiting family for a grandchild's birthday. Over the past several years, have been enthusiastically recommending that EVERYONE book a Carnival cruise, how awesome they are each and every time !

 

Well, it started to work, some began to experiment.....others were beginning to lean in that direction....as "mr. carnival" will have to answer lots of questions this time. My response will have to be:

 

FORGET what I told you previously. And we're sorry that the value they used to be.....has lost OUR confidence. Yes, family.....as is always the case over time......you get what you pay for. Try another line if you're gonna cruise.

 

By the way, as Micky Aronson told his board......2/3 of all Carnival cruisers are repeats. That's guaranteed to drop.....ALOT.......wonder what their financials will be looking like over the next couple of years.

[Boytjie]

I just heard on a short blurb across the tv, during a commercial..that there is yet another Carnival ship (the Legend?) in trouble besides the Dream!!!!! At this point, I am wondering if sabotage is involved. An awful lot of Carnival ships in a VERY short period of time. Waiting for the news to see if I just misunderstood..or???? They did say "2 Carnival ships now in trouble at sea" like it is new today. Although I have never sailed Carnival I have considered it, just recently in fact, and do follow all cruise lines on CC...hope I just misunderstood. It's sad for the cruise industry all around.

 

Well, it is only one Carnival ship at sea with problems (the Legend had azipod issues but is sailing back to Tampa) and on docked (Dream in St. Maarten). I doubt its sabotage. ;)

[Eng23]

20 planes isn't enough to get 4000 people home? Ok, if you say so...

And I'm betting that these 20 planes are making multiple roundtrips each day to get these people home. Plus a bigger factor is in how much air traffic the airport can actually support. The airport in St. Maarten isn't exactly huge although the terminal is new and modern. It has a limited number of gates and even fewer remote parking stands for large aircraft. That's why it is going to take multiple flights for the next few days to get everyone back to the U.S.

[reallyitsmema]

It is great for tracking flights but I like the map on flightstats better. :)

You can get a map on flight aware too. Live flight tracking, browse by airport and then flight tracker. Below will be a list of scheduled arrivals and departures too.

 

I use it a lot when my DH is traveling to track his flights plus a few other websites too.:)

[dwjoe]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/?src=nav

 

Update, 2:51 p.m. EDT: Carnival has arranged for a combination of about 50 commercial and private chartered flights to take the 4,363 Carnival Dream passengers home, the line said in its most recent statement.

 

According to Cruise Industry News, those flights began departing St. Maarten 9 a.m. today and will continue through Sunday. A total of 10 Delta Airlines flights are expected to carry more than 2,000 passengers today, while another six Delta flights will take some 1,300 passengers Saturday. The last group of passengers will be flown out on four flights Sunday.

 

Passengers with cars at the Port Canaveral dock will be bused from Orlando to the pier.

[Boytjie]

Ok, I'm going to try to change the subject for now. I'd like some advice. I'm going on the Dream in November to St. Thomas. I've been there many times and usually run off to St. John and Trunk Bay. This time I'd like to stay on St. Thomas. Any advise on the best beach and a nice restaurant near it for lunch?

 

You have a better chance of getting information on the Ports Of Call boards than have it buried here in this discussion about a Carnival ship with problems in St. Maarten. :D

 

Look here: St. Thomas/St. John

[Tapi]

And I hope there are more than 20... That'd not enough to get everyone home :)

 

Uh, they are not sending regional jets down to St. Maarten. They are sending airplanes with 180-250 pax capacity. 20 planes should be more than enough.

 

Lookin at flight stats, there's an hourly flight from SXM to MCO from 11am to 500pm today

[Blurgh]

You can stuff alot of people on a 767, when we've used Delta out of the Caribbean, that's what they've used.

[toberman]

I wonder if someone wanted to go to St Martin if there are any super low fares for the trip? with all the extra planes going that way, it would be a win to fill some of the seats of the empty planes.

 

Great thought.... Unfortunately, once a plane is Chartered no one can buy a ticket on it. So you have a lot of empty planes flying down. Thankfully DL had enough planes and crews available to get this done.

[toberman]

You can stuff alot of people on a 767, when we've used Delta out of the Caribbean, that's what they've used.

 

Depending on the 'version' - 180 to 350 per plane. Doubt they'll be using the 180 model.

[mek]

So you would approve if Delta Airlines cut back on their maintenance program to keep the cost of our flights down?

 

Not even close to the same thing. Mechanical failure on a flight in progress probably has a 99.999999999999% chance of involving deaths. Mechanical failure on a ship, even if not in port, is a PITA, and you are almost 100% sure of arriving safely at your destination.

[sharonny]

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'd be "stuck" there. Free food, accomodations set up and chillin on the beach waiting for my flight home, that they're scheduling for me. If you think I'd be running all over like a chicken in a damn hen house, worrying and fretting and acting like Chicken Little, you are out of your mind. Life is too damn short. No one was hurt, everyone will LIVE. Cuz see..this wouldn't be the first time I'd be forced to make lemonade with lemons. Getting to an airport at 4 am isn't much worse than coming into port at 6:00 am.

 

Tell the people on the boat to take a xanax

 

:):):)

[Tapi]

Mechanical failure on a flight in progress probably has a 99.999999999999% chance of involving deaths.

 

Huh???? Are you referring to CATASTROPHIC mechanical failures that cause a crash??? Because what the Dream experienced (a faulty auxiliary generator) happens (and quite often) on airplanes without a single loss of lives.

 

As an airline pilot, I can tell you that if a generator failed in the air, the flight would continue to the final destination without disruption. In fact you would probably NEVER know that something failed in flight.

 

Mechanical problems happen every day on flights. Many are handled without passengers ever knowing.

[StrangeBrew]

How about the people on the next cruise, who have had their vacations crushed by Carnival, and the people on the next cruise after that, wondering if they are next to be axed.

 

Carnival needs to do a hell of alot more than throw discounts on future cruises and sending planes to get the people they are abandoning in St. Maarten.

 

I was on the next cruise that got cancelled , what did I do , I booked the very next sailing , and what will I do if this one gets cancelled , I will have to book at a later date , will it be an inconvenience ? sure it will . Will I bash Carnival ? NO ! no one can control everything , stuff happens .

 

Am I expecting something extra from them ? again NO , I feel they are doing enough for me by allowing me to transfer my booking to another date without any additional costs , if by chance the 23rd gets cancelled as well , I will book my next one on the Breeze in a higher priced month for what I have paid on this one ,, it is that simple .

 

Happy Cruising to Everyone

[Carol_Hill]

And I'm betting that these 20 planes are making multiple roundtrips each day to get these people home. Plus a bigger factor is in how much air traffic the airport can actually support. The airport in St. Maarten isn't exactly huge although the terminal is new and modern. It has a limited number of gates and even fewer remote parking stands for large aircraft. That's why it is going to take multiple flights for the next few days to get everyone back to the U.S.

 

There are only about 4 jetways, yes, but they can park planes on the tarmac and roll stairs. They do that all the time on the weekend now. The Delta planes seem to be staggered about every hour or so, so they may well be able to have all of them on a jetway, don't know. Today is Friday and there are less planes normally on Friday than on a weekend in SXM. For purposes of outgoing AND incoming into the US immigration and for outgoing baggage screening, it would be crazy to have all of the flights scheduled at the same time, even if they COULD have several planes on the ground at the same time. Staggering planes every hour or so makes sense. I count approximately 9 planes which have either left SXM or scheduled to leave soon, from SXM to Orlando. I didn't see any Delta jets going anywhere else today, other than the regularly scheduled Delta to Atlanta. Don't know if they put any cruise ship folks on that regular flight or not.

[halos]

If I were on this ship, I doubt I would see this incident as a bad thing.

If I were employed by CCL corporate or a CCL stockholder, I would not feel very good....not at all.

[deborahjo]

They can "ruin" my cruise in St. Maartin any time they want. Inconvenienced? Yes.. Ruined? No.

 

Agree 100%. Could always use more time there.

[alligirl78]

1. Who hired the captain? Costa in 2002. He was later promoted again and again.

 

2. Who administered psychological tests? Or weren't there any? Whomever was responsible (if anyone is at all) for assuring this is done for any crusie line.

3. Who trained the captain?

"He graduated from the well-regarded Nino Bixio nautical institute in Piano di Sorrento, in Naples province, 30 years ago" source: news agency Adnkronos. Additionally, he grew up on teh sea he was widely respect among his fellow mariners.

 

4. Who instilled a "safety first" corporate mentality? Or isn't there any? The captain deviated from the computer generated path. It was HIS CHOICE. You'll have to ask him why.

 

Sure, you can lay it all on the captain, but the corporation who hired and trained him also has to bear responsibility!

 

Do you think they pulled some random guy off the street and gave him a 6 week crash course on sailing? Do a little research. It's not hard.

I answered your questions. So here's mine..again. What do you hope to accomplish with all of your negativity? Why are you EVEN on the CCL boards if you are so anti-CCL? Makes zero sense.

[yogimax]

I was on the next cruise that got cancelled , what did I do , I booked the very next sailing , and what will I do if this one gets cancelled , I will have to book at a later date , will it be an inconvenience ? sure it will . Will I bash Carnival ? NO ! no one can control everything , stuff happens .

 

 

Very easy to say if you live in Florida!:rolleyes:

 

Not so easy for those who live in Colorado, or Minnesota, or Vancouver!

[floridabum]

Passengers returning to Orlando International and the media are pissed!!!!

They cant believe the passengers are saying it was no big deal and worse thing could happen in life!

 

I think the one passenger that made a call to the media reporting toilets overflowing and and sewage everywhere needs to be called out.