Ship on fire in San Juan NOT the Carnival Fantasy

[Aviator of the Seas]

Initial reports mistakenly identified a cruise ship on fire in San Juan as the Carnival Fantasy. IT IS NOT. The distressed vessel is the Caribbean Fantasy, a ferry owned by America Cruise Ferries that runs between San Juan and Santo Domingo.

 

I initiated a thread on the Carnival boards, which I have asked the mods to pull. In the meantime, I've posted some pics of the vessel in question there and will do the same here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2391264

[Aviator of the Seas]

At the entrance of San Juan Harbor. Passengers evacuated. Ship at anchor.

 

Photo credit: passerby Ada Del Pilar Ortiz, via endi.com

 

Edited August 17, 2016 by Aviator of the Seas

[Aviator of the Seas]

America Cruise Ferries runs a twice or thrice weekly ferry between San Juan and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

 

[Aviator of the Seas]

No one hurt so far.

 

[Aviator of the Seas]

The Oasis of the Seas is inside the harbor and here's hoping its departure is not blocked by the Caribbean Fantasy.

 

[Aviator of the Seas]

Aerial photos of the distressed vessel, credit: Puerto Rico Police Department Air Unit facebook page.

 

Edited August 17, 2016 by Aviator of the Seas

[TLCOhio]

Appreciate all of these pictures and details. From the AP Newswire in the past few hours, they have this headline: "Cruise ship catches fire off Puerto Rico; more than 500 evacuated" with these highlights: "More than 500 passengers were being evacuated on Wednesday from a cruise ship that caught fire about a mile off Puerto Rico’s north coast. The fire was still burning aboard the Caribbean Fantasy as the U.S. Coast Guard prepared a mass-rescue craft to bring passengers safely to the San Juan harbor. No injuries have been reported and no one is missing. The fire erupted in the engine room and is currently spreading to the rest of the ship."

 

WOW!! Sad. Not good publicity for the cruise business in general. But is this more of a "ferry" ship, not a cruise ship?? Will follow with interest and see how all of these situation works out.

 

This AP story from late morning did correctly label the ship as the "Caribbean Fantasy". Not as a Carnival ship. Right?

 

Full story at:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2016/08/17/0817-cruise-ship-fire.html

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 152,792 views for this posting.

[Aviator of the Seas]

Hi Terry,

 

Yes, the Caribbean Fantasy is more a ferry than a cruise ship. It runs several times a week between San Juan and Santo Domingo. A very popular overnight route. The ferry is full of cruise ship-like amenities, to include staterooms, restaurants, bars and a casino.

 

The initial report of it being a Carnival ship came from local emergency services dispatches, as reported by a Police-linked information website. It was quickly corrected.

 

Regards,

[SeagoingMom]

A headline reading "More than 500 evacuated from cruise ship" will undoubtedly attract more attention than a headline referring to a ferry, even though that is what the ship is.

 

Getting a story out as fast as possible to gain the most reader attention seems to be more important to news outlets than getting the story right.

 

And ironically, though the website has a report of the fire onboard, the following taglines are still the feature of the American Cruise Ferries webpage:

 

"PREPARA TU ESCAPADA DESDE SOLO $159 p/p

Celebra a bordo del renovado Caribbean Fantasy"

("Get ready for your escape from only $159 pp. Celebrate on board the renovated Caribbean Fantasy")

 

In a sadly comical way, this could be interpreted as a warning from the ferry line!... :eek:

Edited August 20, 2016 by SeagoingMom

[sail7seas]

Wow, that is awful to look at.

 

Very thankful there are no injuries, thus far.