Carnival Liberty Evacuation

[pauleydm]

We have a letter in our cabin that states we will not be leaving St Thomas until at least 8:00am tomorrow morning. We have to go to Barbados next since we have passengers disembarking and new passengers embarkng. Beyond that, there is no further information as to how our itinerary will be modified. At the moment, Carnival has opened the restaurants and is providing free wifi and free in cabin phone service.

[jk928]

That's not true. The person who started this thread is already back onboard. It has been reported that dinner is being served onboard at this time too.

i am finally on the ship now after waiting it out at the Marriott. The person originally posting this never went to the hotel and remained at the port. The communication at the Marriott was horrible. But, they tried to do their best.

[tea4ular]

pauleydm, I have no idea what you do for a living, but this has been one of the best jobs of reporting live about an incident I have read is several years. No speculation, no if on the one hand this, if on the other hand that. You reported what you knew. You were concise and chose words to tell exactly what you knew and did not elaborate on that.

 

I congratulate you for doing such a fine job. In my opinion Carnival needs to offer you a good job in PR.

 

Doc

 

My sister is a reporter and let me tell you, this guys calm matter of fact means of communication is spot on! I was riveted reading his posts and blew past all the other stuff.

 

Dude (OP) hats off to you!:)

[cccer]

We have a letter in our cabin that states we will not be leaving St Thomas until at least 8:00am tomorrow morning. We have to go to Barbados next since we have passengers disembarking and new passengers embarkng. Beyond that, there is no further information as to how our itinerary will be modified. At the moment, Carnival has opened the restaurants and is providing free wifi and free in cabin phone service.

 

Sounds good that you are back on board. Thanks for keeping us informed and good luck with the rest of your cruise.

[Sh1035]

The view of st Thomas is the best at night, so all those people that complain the ship leaves too early, shut up!!

 

But honestly, hope it works out, and please don't beat up the guest services folks.

 

Lifes an adventure....otherwise sit at home in your matching lazy boys?

[mcatmcat]

http://ships.carnivalentertainment.com/#ship/carnival-liberty/cameras

 

...Appears to be normal whisps of black exhaust coming from both exhaust vents of the whaletail. Very good sign. Pauly, thanks for the updates. Best wishes for your cruise to continue on as scheduled.

 

 

 

Either the website is down or cameras are offline

[Dymediva]

Thank you for posting and keeping us all informed. I am glad everyone is ok and that you are back onboard. I've been glued to this thread all day. We sail Sunday so I'm a little nervous.

[europe14]

We sail this Sunday also and my stomach is in knots worrying if they will cancel our cruise. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will sail as planned.

[DaytonCruiser]

Either the website is down or cameras are offline

 

Working fine for me

[moniquea93]

We sail this Sunday also and my stomach is in knots worrying if they will cancel our cruise. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will sail as planned.

 

I've also been following this thread all afternoon...we're also sailing this Sunday so my fingers are crossed with you!!

 

I'm glad the passengers are all back onboard and hopefully the rest of the cruise will be successful.

[Cruiseboy06]

This is why the crew does safety drills every week, and at about every port. Including muster drills for passengers before the cruise set sail. On my last cruise a couple OF people who I cruised with were bitching how the crew were doing safety drills at Catalina and Ensenada? One of them even asked if we can skip muster drill? *** I said no!!!!!! I'm glad that everybody is okay and it sounds like there is no major damage as now..

[ksy8384]

I didn't realize that carnival did the cruises where people got on/off at different locations through the cruise. I get round trip and one way. What is this itinerary?

[gone_cruisin]

Carnival sells this itinerary from two different departure points. Most popular is the 7 day cruise from San Juan. For our European friends, they offer a 7 day cruise departure out of Barbados. Yes, both on the Liberty.

Edited September 8, 2015 by gone_cruisin

[Firefighterhoop]

Thanks to the OP and the other cruisers on the ship for real time info of what is going on.

 

As far as people questioning the evacuation of a ship... that is on fire... What happens to any business/building - or more appropriately hotel on land when it is on fire? They EVACUATE it. On other ships that have experienced a fire, usually they are at sea, where the evacuation process would be much more cumbersome and risky. In this case, instead of having everyone muster, and then be escorted off board all they had to do was scan off the ship, and then they are out and away from the ship rather than standing on the muster deck... and also the crews know who is still on the ship yet that needs to be found and accounted for.".

 

I hope the OP and other folks on this sailing are able to enjoy the rest of the week and thankfully no one was hurt or worse.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Firefighterhoop

[littlekid58]

Pauleydm, Thank You! You're updates were amazing!!!! Thanks for taking the time. I hope everything goes well for the rest of the cruise!

[Cruise life]

What a learning experience for everyone; so glad there were no injuries and the cruise can progress! Technology is amazing...reading everyone's take on what was going on in real time over the last 24 hours has been insightful.

Thanks for posting all. This was good to read, especially with the outcome being so positive.

[Karlou]

Oh wait...I didn't realize you were ON Liberty when that happened. We were on Liberty in April 2014 and felt some vibration, but it was a western Caribbean cruise and to be honest, the roughest water we've ever experienced. Not saying it was extremely rough seas, just rougher than we'd ever had, including our first missed port. Our cabin was mid-ship, so we didn't really feel vibration there, but did feel the rockin' and rolling the day we missed port. We had been very lucky with weather and sea conditions on our first five cruises.

 

 

It's odd that you should say this. We were on the Liberty November 2013. We were leaving St. Thomas (coincidently) and you could hear the engines trying and trying, then shut right off it seemed. We were almost an hour late leaving.

No one had any answers and everything else was fine after we left.

It was the first time we saw St Thomas at night. It is a beautiful island!

There have been quite a few issues with Liberty. I hope that yesterday's fire wasn't connected to all the problems.

[jenne252]

I didn't realize that carnival did the cruises where people got on/off at different locations through the cruise. I get round trip and one way. What is this itinerary?

 

This is a southern itinerary. It starts in San Juan on Sunday night OR starts in Barbados on Weds morning depending when and where you embark. It hits up San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Martin and Barbados

[jkloni]

How are things this morning?

[pghsteelerfan]

It's odd that you should say this. We were on the Liberty November 2013. We were leaving St. Thomas (coincidently) and you could hear the engines trying and trying, then shut right off it seemed. We were almost an hour late leaving.

No one had any answers and everything else was fine after we left.

It was the first time we saw St Thomas at night. It is a beautiful island!

There have been quite a few issues with Liberty. I hope that yesterday's fire wasn't connected to all the problems.

 

Just checking for updates since we're scheduled in 12 days. The vibrations I felt in April 2014 just seemed normal cause I'd felt it at times on other ships. I saw a post about the Pride having vibration at the back. On our cruise last year, I just chalked it up to the water being rougher than we'd experienced. Our cabin was deck 6, mid-ship and I don't remember feeling vibrations there, it was mainly in the dining room but wasn't constant. What you experienced IS weird and I do hope they find out what's going on with Liberty and are able to get it fixed.

 

St. Thomas IS beautiful at night! We got an extra 2 hours there on Glory in 2010 since we were two hours late getting into St. Thomas due to a medevac, so we got to see a gorgeous sunset and see it at night.

[Maleeni]

I smell nothing but full refunds, or full credit toward a future cruise.

 

Maybe more, as there were some of the omnipresent posters on John Healds page, as well as the Carnival page, stating none of this was happening as it did. I took that for granted till coming back today to read here. I guess this is why some lists are and links are not working to there. They are gone.

[pe4all]

Hoping all onboard had a restful night. Pauleydm did a fantastic job of keeping everyone updated. (We were on the Liberty for the June 28th sailing.) Webcam is showing ship still in port - hopefully will get clearance to set sail soon. Very important: we always carry an extra week's worth of meds for dd and dh with us when we travel. DD is on seizure meds, and while we might be able to get some from a "local" pharmacy, it might not be the same ones she takes now, and can't take the chance of giving her a generic brand. DH is on heart meds, which are easier to get, but who wants to take a chance? I always carry one dosage of her pills off the ship just in case- but will now begin taking a full day's worth for both, as dd takes her meds 3x a day. Sounds like CCL did a great job in handling this situation. I wish them smooth sailing for the rest of their cruise - they have a very port-intensive itinerary.

Edited September 8, 2015 by pe4all

[Maleeni]

Hoping all onboard had a restful night. Pauleydm did a fantastic job of keeping everyone updated. (We were on the Liberty for the June 28th sailing.) Webcam is showing ship still in port - hopefully will get clearance to set sail soon. Very important: we always carry an extra week's worth of meds for dd and dh with us when we travel. DD is on seizure meds, and while we might be able to get some from a "local" pharmacy, it might not be the same ones she takes now, and can't take the chance of giving her a generic brand. DH is on heart meds, which are easier to get, but who wants to take a chance? I always carry one dosage of her pills off the ship just in case- but will now begin taking a full day's worth for both, as dd takes her meds 3x a day. Sounds like CCL did a great job in handling this situation. I wish them smooth sailing for the rest of their cruise - they have a very port-intensive itinerary.

 

Problem is, you may not be carrying that around as you are simply lounging pool side, and suddenly given an evacuation order, go and get what you need.

[megr1125]

John Heald posted that tbe ship is still alongside and they are still inspecting...

[cruiser fanatic]

CARNIVAL LIBERTY STATEMENT

September 8, 2015 – 8AM EDT

 

While docked in St. Thomas yesterday Carnival Liberty experienced an engine fire that was extinguished by the ship’s automated suppression system. There were no injuries to guests or crew. Guests re-boarded the ship yesterday evening. All hotel services including air conditioning, elevators, toilets, galleys, etc. are fully functional and the ship's normal array of activities, entertainment, dining options and programming are being offered.

 

 

A team of experts is in the process of conducting a deeper technical assessment of the affected engine area. In the meantime, the ship remains alongside in St. Thomas.

 

We apologize to our guests for the inconvenience and appreciate their patience.

 

Carnival Liberty departed San Juan for a seven-day Caribbean cruise with 3,346 guests and 1,150 crew on board.