Carnival Dream having problems now

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/14/travel/cruise-ship-trouble/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

At least the ship is docked.

Yes, at least it's docked. Maybe they'll let those with passports even get off there if needed... but for those without, well they may be in for a long wait.

Right now, they're keeping everyone on board.

People keep insisting on traveling without passports. Yes, legally, they can. Is it wise? Absolutely not.

Right now, they're keeping everyone on board.

 

People keep insisting on traveling without passports. Yes, legally, they can. Is it wise? Absolutely not.

There is an ongoing thread on the Carnival board for the best info as this develops.

I was so sad to see this! I have friends onboard. They were so excited that the dates worked out that both of their grown sons could go (along with their fiances) and now this happened :(.

There is an ongoing thread on the Carnival board for the best info as this develops.

Yes, I know. But not everyone goes to the Carnival board. If I hadn't seen it on the news this morning I wouldn't have.

Just finished reading the 17 page (maybe longer now) thread on the Carnival boards. What seemed like a relatively minor problem has ended in passengers being disembarked in St. Maarten and flown home.

From what I was able to gather, the issue involved the back-up generator. Some elevators and toilets were apparently being powered by that emergency generator. (I'm not sure why, but apparently this process if fairly standard, according to a former cruise employee who weighed in.) The sewer and elevator service was restored relatively quickly. They've reportedly had full power on the ship since just after midnight last night. The over-flow of toilets has to do with the unique vacuum operation on ships. There is some debate about whether a power outage causes whatever is in the bowl to leak out, or if it is a function of people trying to REFLUSH when the original flush is unsuccessful. A second flush without power supposedly ADDS water to the bowl without the vacuum removing the dirty water, thus overflowing the contents.

I read that ships are not allowed to sail without a functioning emergency generator. Since the Dream's back-up generator could not be repaired where she sits, the ship could not complete it's itinerary. The next cruise, scheduled to depart on Saturday, has been cancelled.

This was apparently nowhere near as serious as the Triumph issue. It would not have been as serious, even if Dream had been at sea. Nonetheless, it's not going to be good for Carnival PR. I've cruised on Carnival six times and, while I've become a Loyal Royal in recent years, I would not have hesitated to book a Carnival cruise if I found one with a significantly preferable itinerary. Now, however, I'd be unlikely to book a Carnival cruise. I have many other options. Maybe this is just a nightmare of coincidental bad timing. But the Splendor fire, Concordia disaster, the Triumph fire and now Dream (a NEW ship), all occurring within a couple of years, is simply too much for me to shrug off.

Just my opinion, but I believe Carnival has a long road ahead trying to restore consumer confidence.

Yes, all the passengers are being flown by private charter out of St. Maarten, according to Carnival's web page. All things considered, it could have been so much worse. There was no fire and at least they found the problem and are working to fix it. I went on the Breeze in January, and can appreciate the stress the passengers must be going through. I pray that they all have safe travels home and that it doesn't ruin their cruising experiences. I'm worried that this will reflect badly on Carnival too, I hope not.