Crippled MSC Opera limps back to Southampton!

[jaceyar]

My friends are on this ship at the moment. Half the ship has no power, the loos are out of order and there is no hot food!
They're doing just 8.5 knots and were supposed to be docking in Copenhagen but the Captain is heading straight back to the UK.
Not good.

[Goldryder]

According to AIS she is currently just under 9 miles off Visby...

MSC OPERA

Flag: Panama
Ship Type: Passenger
Status: Underway
Speed/Course: 0.6 kn / 105˚
Length x Breadth: 253 m X 32 m
Draught: 6.8 m
Destination: VISBY
ETA: 2011-05-15 06:30 (UTC)
Received (737): 0h 2min 41s ago
(AIS Source: Oskarshamns Sjofartsforening)

Visby webcams here...the ferry is the Gotland in the capture....the cams update every few minutes.

http://www.webbkameror.se/webbkamero...yhamn2_640.php

If you keep an eye on the camera, you may well see Opera at some point in the next few hours.

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

According to Swedish media the cruise is cancelled and MSC Opera will be towed to the Swedish city Nynäshamn. The UK passengers will be flown home by a charterflight leaving tomorrow.

[AmoMondo]

What a way for a cruise to end...the passengers must be gutted and it can't be much fun being onboard with things not working.

Wonder what went wrong?

[Alessandro]

Yes, swedish media claim that the towing boat arrived 1 hour ago, the distance Visby-Nynäshamn takes around 3 hours with a speedferry
averaging 35 knots. I dont know how fast a towing will take, being without water, hot food and electricity since yesterday. I wouldnt been to keen to continue my journey with a flight tomorrow evening.

[Alessandro]

The company will fly home people tomorrow and offer a voucher for future
trips with them as compensation according to swedish press, how grand of them....

[4nlalaland]

We are contemplating a cruise on the Opera in July.. I realize that by then the ship's current problems will have been taken care of... although I am concerned about the condition of the ship since it is a older ship and whether this has happened before?? Thanks

[Goldryder]

Originally Posted by 4nlalaland

We are contemplating a cruise on the Opera in July.. I realize that by then the ship's current problems will have been taken care of... although I am concerned about the condition of the ship since it is a older ship and whether this has happened before?? Thanks

I wouldn't be too concerned. I was aboard Costa Victoria a few weeks ago and she had a blip off the Brazilian coast which was quickly dealt with and we were underway again in 20 minutes.

These breakdowns are quite common and only rarely hit the headlines....and the age of ship makes no difference either...Carnival Splendor had her breakdown caused by a fire last year and she is barely 3 years old, QM2 has had breakdowns...most ships get them every so often, nowt to be worried about

Cruise Industry News have the Opera incident listed...

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cr...under-tow.html

Looking at it, they seem to have everything in hand and have made arrangements for the passengers pretty quickly.

[Greghouseo]

Originally Posted by 4nlalaland

We are contemplating a cruise on the Opera in July.. I realize that by then the ship's current problems will have been taken care of... although I am concerned about the condition of the ship since it is a older ship and whether this has happened before?? Thanks

I think the most important thing is not the actual problem, which, lets face it can occur, but how MSC deal with the passengers both in terms of repatrication and also compensation.

Personally, knowing MSC as I do, I have my doubts. Future cruise credit doesn't cut it.

[SouthernCalCruiseGuy]

Direct Links to the AIS pages...

MSC OPERA
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shi...MMSI=357627000


Being pulled by this TUG!
SVITZER TRYM
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shi...mmsi=219014875

All AIS Cruise Ships
http://shiptrackingais.blogspot.com/...ackingais.html

[sverigecruiser]

We had a blackout on the new Norwegian Epic less than three weeks ago and we were drifting for awhile in the Caribbean.

[monas queen]

This was supposed to be a "no fly" cruise.

How are they dealing with those passengers who are unable (for whatever reason) to fly?

I bet they'll be pleased to get off - days without working toilets, showers, etc.. Doesn't bear thinking about.

[Massich]

My brother was on the ship with his family. They were a bit scared but the crew and msc staff are looking after them now...

[keltic]

I was on the Opera and she was in an inmaculate state. I had a wonderfull holiday in the Brazilian waters.

[LisaTalkingTots]

My Father was supposed to be on the cruise tomorrow, which has obviously now been cancelled by the company ... but at present they are only offering an upgraded replacement cruise. Is he not entitled to a full refund????
Wondered what people's experiences were please?
Thanks, Lisa

[AmoMondo]

Originally Posted by LisaTalkingTots

My Father was supposed to be on the cruise tomorrow, which has obviously now been cancelled by the company ... but at present they are only offering an upgraded replacement cruise. Is he not entitled to a full refund????
Wondered what people's experiences were please?
Thanks, Lisa

The only time I've not been able to have my cruise with MSC was last year due to the volcanic ash situation. the cruise still operated, I just could not get to it. I was offered an alternative cruise to the same value or a refund, if I could not get something else that suited. Circumstances were different to this one, so I don't know if it is comparable or not.

You'd need to see what the terms and conditions on their website say.

[KirkNC]

Yikes not good, hope everyone gets back ok.

Kirk

[LaBelle]

Looks like an evacuation going on earlier -

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

On this link from a Swedish shipsboard you can see some photos of MSC Opera today as well as loads of buses, waiting for the passengers going to Stockholm Airport, Arlanda for their flights home to UK.

http://www.landgangen.se/forumsmf10/...?topic=20488.0

[Goldryder]

UPDATE MSC OPERA TECHNICAL ISSUE

Following the technical problems to an electrical panel experienced on May 14th, MSC Opera has been towed to the port of Nynäshamn (close to, Sweden) where she arrived this morning around 11 am.



Since yesterday afternoon, most of the services have been restored and this morning passengers have been offered a hot breakfast. All ship’s bars were open with a complimentary beverage service. The whole crew, together with a team of technicians from STX Yards have been working around the clock to solve the electrical problem and an additional technical team has just embarked in the port of Nynäshamn.



MSC Cruises' team ashore is working closely with the port of Nynäshamn and the port of Stockholm to welcome and repatriate all guests from Stockholm. MSC Cruises is issuing all passengers with a credit voucher for the whole amount of the 10-day cruise valid until December 2012.



As the work of the electrical team is not yet over, MSC Cruises has taken the precautionary measure of cancelling the next MSC Opera cruise which was due to sail out of Southampton tomorrow May 17th, in order to maintain its high standard of security, quality and comfort. All affected passengers will be contacted and offered compensation.



If you wish to contact MSC Cruises (UK) about this issue we have a dedicated team available on: 0800 121 8630.



Alternatively, you can email us on: emergencyuk@msccruises.co.uk

http://www.msccruises.co.uk/uk_en/MS...ra-Update.aspx