Crippled cruise ship reaches San Diego Passengers recount three days at sea without hot food, show

[nadinbrzezinski]

Source: LA TImes


Crippled cruise ship reaches San Diego
Passengers recount three days at sea without hot food, showers, air conditioning, laundry service or any of the pleasures of a luxury cruise after an engine room fire disables the Carnival Splendor.




By Tony Perry, Richard Marosi and Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times
November 12, 2010
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Karen Blocker, an early riser, was about to head off for an elegant breakfast of eggs Benedict when the walls of her stateroom aboard a cruise ship bound for the Mexican Riviera began to shake. Then the public address system crackled to life, summoning the crew of the Carnival Splendor to the engine room.

She opened her door onto a smoky hallway. The ship slowed, then stopped. At that point, the 50-year-old human resources manager from Phoenix was certain of just one thing: She had to get out of her room — and fast.

What she did not know until later was that a fire had erupted in the Splendor's aft engine room, rendering the 952-foot vessel with nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members aboard powerless and adrift in the ocean about 150 miles southwest of San Diego.






Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cruise-ship-20101112,0,2021196.story

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On to the admiralty board... and fire, shmire, they had an explosion in that engine room.Ok, technically that includes fire... Which explains why the Mexican Navy sent ALL assets from Ensenada and why we sent a Carrier, and two USCG cutters. I want you to read this, and realize that ship was actually in danger of going down... which WAS in the Mexican press. Yes the Navy down there did release that.

Like all situations, people assumed worst case, and a cruise ship that size... nothing but a Nimitz Class Carrier could receive that many passengers...which was nearby. The Mexican Navy has Navy Troop transports... but not close to the scene. I guess somebody in the Admiralty will consider moving at least one to the Third Naval Zone, or hope we don't have another one of these large ships having what seemed like a critical failure in our lifetime... or at least in their area of responsibility...

In other words, kudos to the crew... they kept people calm and... they really have no idea just how bad it was or why they sent all the damn assets that were sent and why the Carrier trailed them all the way to port.

Oh and that crew kept the ship afloat, though a cryptic note from the Mexican Navy makes all the sense in the world. This WAS a golden PR opportunity, and they were going to load a PIO on one of the choppers, but instead they loaded gear... now it makes sense. They were fully on emergency mode... and closest to the scene. And can you imagine being the Officer of the Day... and receiving that SOS? I don't envy the Officer to be honest. In fact, don't envy the OOD on the USCG station either... or the USN OOD who had to tell the Admiral Sir, we have a major emergency... a cruise ship MIGHT go down.

And yes, at times I wish I did not know how to read tea leaves from emergency scenes...

[HillbillyBob]

1. I served aboard the USS Enterprise (same class size as Nimitz)

and fire is the worst fear aboard a ship.
We were shown 'Remember the Forrestal' repeatedly.
Nimitz and Big E both boast crew and flight personnel in the 8 9 thousand range.
The idea of a fire on board ship just scares the bejeezuz out of me.
I am glad they are back ashore safely.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Oh absolutely

and the description of the decks shaking...

One of the photos I've found of the ship coming to port is interesting... from your POV, and explains the Monterrey joining the three Mexican Navy Tugs... it shows the Cruise Ship, the Carrier, two USCG Cutters, and a gray small boy that IS NOT US Navy, or Coast Guard... (The Mexican Navy Ship)... it is small enough that would have been very useful to load people from boats, onto her and from mer to the larger ships...

I am glad there is cooperation though.

I'll have to go looking again, our media has been going out of it's way to make this only a US operation.

[EmilyKent]

3. 3 days. The horror.

:eyes:

[BlueJazz]

17. Ain't it the truth?....for 95% of the passengers, probably the most exciting thing....

...that will ever happen to them.
(Yeah...I remember way back in 2010....it...it was hell..pure hell...842 of us got on the ship that day.. and only 842 of us got home safely)
:)

[XemaSab]

24. +1

n/t

[xor]

41. hehehe...no kidding...

I don't get why this is still in the news... It's not like they were stranded out in space or anything.

[txlibdem]

4. "Up on cripple cruise ship she sends me. If I spring a leak, she mends me."

"I don't have to speak, she defends me. A drunkards dream, if I ever did see one."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EisXJSsULGM

Or did just I see the wrong youtube video?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Lordly looking for that wide pan photo, wish me luck

and it is funny...

I am wondering what kind of sick jokes are about now being told by multiple crews who actually get it.

[HillbillyBob]

8. OI haven't heard that in a very long time.

reminds me of summers 72-79, camped out along the South Branch of the Potomac

[txlibdem]

37. Reminds me of a whole bunch of times I can't quite remember...

eom

:smoke:

[jb5150]

6. 3 days........give me a break

I went 10 days without hot food during the last hurricane in Florida.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. You realize that this is spoiled people syndrome?

I agree... but they did not realize just how close they came to very real danger... so if they bitch, they bitch...

And I can imagine the true professionals of two navies and one coast guard just shaking their heads... makes me wish they did give them SPAM for real. (From report that was for the ship's crew)

[HillbillyBob]

9. I learned to keep easy prep food, kero lamps&fuel, and sterno

or butane stove.. I can make coffee on a gas grill if I have to from when H Andrew came through So Fla.

We live in NC now so we keep some canned stuff, stuff we have grown and put up, a kero heater and wood for the fire place. We can do a couple of weeks no sweat if the power is gone and we can't get out. Not that it snows much here its just that our access road turns into such a mire or 1/4 mile of ice through a hollow that you can't even walk out of. On the other hand it keeps missionaries and salespeople out.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Good for you

I need to get my earthquake kit AGAIN. My problem, no, not spoiled person syndrome, is finding things I can live on that are canned and don't have gluten in them.

Will be checking MREs... I figure anything based on rice or breakfast should be good enough.


Hubby and I have a unique set of skills though if we got stuck in a situation like this. I used to do disaster relief for real, this is one... and he is a retired USN Chief who has a few useful skills on this.

Yes, we would have identified ourselves to the crew and offered the help...

But reading on between lines.... and having done disaster relief yes I can get it why people were complaining. Though on a very serious note... the sanitary conditions were quite dangerous. They could have had an epidemic develop easy... and one more reason why they should have stopped at Ensenada... And yes County Health should go through that bucket of bolts, HARD...

[tortoise1956]

23. I read the story about 3 whole days without hot food or showers

and thought to myself,"Welcome to the Navy!"

[Bobbieo]

10. Nadin - You always bring things up to the top.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. What do you mean?

[StarsInHerHair]

13. yet another reason to avoid cruise ships

yuck

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Like planes, 99% of the time

they will get out, and come home safely. It is just that these failures, like planes, are impressive.

Now perhaps the press (American) will start reporting the Mexican Angle. Some of the people interviewed thanked them for the help... hard to hide things...

[StarsInHerHair]

16. I meant the explosive diarrhea & violent vomiting, & now this. It doesn't make it sound very appeali...

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. As I said, 99% don't have problems

this one... health dept dropped the ball. Given what was described on board, seniors especially and young children should have been given a full physical.

Damn perhaps that's the other reason they refused to go to Ensenada. I am betting EMS was ready to do that.

[StarsInHerHair]

20. yeah, I don't have the healthiest immune system

so things like that matter to me.

[Skink]

15. Cruise ships were you board as guests and leave as cargo.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Technically you are cargo all the way

why Lloyds insured them, and their cargo. It is major, media is also reporting (British) that this ship will be out of commission for months.

[Lagomorph]

21. There isn't anything manmade that can't...

...be destroyed or destroy itself. It takes a lot of people doing everything right to keep things working, but just one person can turn it all into junk.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. And given this bucket of rust is two years old

I am almost willing to bet they might have an itsy bity design flaw.

Now here was one that was fun.. I was looking for stories from crew (that would be a treat, none), and passengers. Well I found two different repair stories that are like amazing... because they are mutually exclusive. US Press saying this bucket of rust is going to return to Long Beach under it's own power by Monday...

Then there is one from the Mail (UK) where they are saying the damage is so extensive it will take months, and yes Lloyds is already there due to the insurance policy... as well as MTSB and a few others, even from the Court of Enquiry.

Now personal stories are always amusing because we humans are interesting. And under stress we are even more interesting.

[Lagomorph]

32. Might be possible...

to run the engine with less than all the cylinders working. Those things are huge.

I ran a V8 engine on four cylinders from Seattle to San Francisco and back, in the early eighties. There were kits that allowed you to do so, back then. They replaced the pushrods with shorter, spring loaded pushrods that kept the valves closed. I only gained another 2 mpg, but that was my first effort to go "green" (on a very tight budget). I didn't have the money to get a cheaper car or smaller engine, I was driving used 70's gas guzzlers and going from 12 mpg to 14 mpg was cause for celebration.

Just the same, it might be possible to fire up the ship engine and limp to Long Beach.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. They have back tracked this already

between the investigation, Panama takes lead, and the repairs, they have walked this back.

And now I am off to look for some you tube videos... I am sure there will be some posted from passengers.

At this point it is a rich mine for a possible fiction story.

[crikkett]

33. I hope you post what you find

'reading tea leaves' for us along the way. This is a fascinating thread, thanks!

[Missy Vixen]

25. Nadin, thanks for posting your thoughts on this story

Our first and last cruise was in 2001, for the near future at the least. I won't get on another that doesn't stop daily, for instance.

There was a scandal a few years back involving Washington State Ferries and insufficient life jackets for passenger loads. When we cruised from Vancouver, BC to Hawaii, most people treated the emergency lecture shortly before the ship shoved off from the dock as a joke. I wonder how many of the people who disembarked in San Diego today knew how much danger they were in.

Again, thanks,
-MV

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Nope and that is thanks to the crew

They did a great job in keeping people calm and telling them there was not really any trouble... and then the beer started flowing.

We just watched video on the 'puter, both AP and BBC... she came in with a slight list... hubby is a retired submariner.

Now what was funny was, the AP feed was taken from the Mexican Navy Vessel that was first on scene, and came to the Port of San Diego as part of the package. But they never bothered to mention THEM! I guess they got a Public Information Officer later on when things calmed down.

The Passenger interviewed by the BBC mentioned the OTHER boats and assets (That other Navy, I forgive him for not realizing it was the Mexican Navy).. and he was thankful for all the help. He never realized just why they had so much help... it wasn't because people wanted to interrupt normal operations. This became an exercise, thankfully, for everybody... and nobody died or got seriously hurt.

We went on one to Alaska oh two years ago... and we paid attention to the safety brief. Now i know what ELSE I will pack if we get on another... a couple flashlights with fresh batteries. Oh and due to my diabetes and gluten free diet... EMRATS... that's easy. A couple boxes of glutino bars, to be exact.

Oh and if I happen to find any of those Mexican Sailors, if (and they should get it) they go on a regular port call... I will thank them for this. Hell, willing to buy them dinner. At least they will know some of us did pay attention.

[joshcryer]

27. I myself would be terrified by a lack of shows!

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Oh the horror and NO gambling!

I know, trust me... a few sailors from two navies and one coast guard are telling some jokes tonight... the gallows humor kind!

[joshcryer]

29. I do apologize for my flippant response, and I reiterate kudos for your interesting commentary.

I ashamedly admit that I made my response due to the forum software cutting off your topic, without having read one thing within it. Good topic. Rec from me. :)

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Oh no problem I worked

EMS and disaster services for ten years... trust me there are gallows humor that work in my mind every time we have something like this, that are not fit for print!

Heck when the explosion near San Fran went off, I worked San Juanico... so the bad jokes really started flying (and the flashbacks)

So no worries about flippant comments.

[Democat]

31. Three days without hot food or showers? They will need therapy for life!

What percentage of the world's population gets hot meals and showers every day?

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Even better question, what percentage dies

from lack of food!

Now it was a diet cruise... having been in one for our ten year anniversary, I can see it, why they were complaining they got salads and fruit. Yes one lady in particular was complaining about the food... you see the PORTIONS at the buffet were NORMAL... like a slice of pie not half a pie. She was bothered by that, TOO LITTLE food. Now I usually do not judge, since I know people can be overweight for a multitude of reasons that have little to do with calories consumed, but in this case... her obesity did NOT come from hormonal issues. If she said it came from psychological issues, as in addiction, I'd nod.

People gain weight... not us, but we were not there for the food... Alaska cruise... oh the vistas, and the walks through the forests... yep I think we actually lost some weight... and we had a blast doing it.

But next time we go on any cruise... perhaps another eight years... take flashlights and ERATS...

[Mz Pip]

38. Diet cruise

sounds like an oxymoron. THe only cruise I took was an Alaska cruise. Loved it. It was a perfect introduction to Alaska. We avoided the buffets and had most of our meals in the dining room where the portions made sense. Much to easy to walk along the buffets and just start taking a bit of everything.

THis won't stop me from going on another cruise, just like airplane crashes don't stop me from flying or car accidents don't stop me from driving. At least on a cruise there are life boats and hopefully enough for everyone.

[Kingofalldems]

36. I hope Captain Stubing, Gopher et al are okay.

[tonekat]

39. I've only been on one cruise in my life

And that was a comparatively small Cruise West ship that had a maximum of something like 75 passengers. It was in Alaska (this was 2005), and we were there for the nature, not for the food or shows.

The captain referred to the huge Holland America, etc liners we'd see now and then as "troop carriers". "Yep", he'd say, "just you and 5000 of your closest friends".

He told us a story about being in an area where whales might breach, the big ship nearby got tired of waiting and sailed off. "We all yelled, hey, come back, but, y'know, I guess it was time for bingo".

It was a great cruise, we could go where the behemoths couldn't and saw glaciers calve. Got to know a lot of fellow passengers too.

You could set your cabin intercom to let them wake you, if something worth watching was happening, like a whale feeding frenzy, and run to the deck at 5:30 am pulling your coat on over your pajamas!

[boppers]

40. Rich people have to be not rich, the horror!

Yeah, my sympathies for people on a self-indulgent luxury cruise are weak. Maybe next time they'll stay on land, and spend the money on, oh, their fellow neighbors who could use the money for something practical.

[lynne]

42. Carnival Cruise = Rich? Not hardly -

- as they are some of the least expensive cruises around. Cruising is very affordable if done with friends and family sharing staterooms. Considering that your food is included, cruising is one of the most economical ways to vacation. Much cheaper than shoving the kids in the wagon, heading to the beach or amusement park, paying for a hotel room and eating all meals out.

[boppers]

43. That's so helpful for people living on a dollar a day!

Maybe in 120 or 180 years, their descendants can afford a vacation!

Wow.

Not to slag on Carnival, but their rates are targeted to the rich, not the poor.

Hint: if you make over $30K a year, you aren't just rich, you're filthy rich, compared to most of the planet.