Carnival Cruise Line: A Fiery Year in Review!

by

CruisingBrad

Published on 04-26-2011 09:16 AM

Carnival Cruise Line has been dubbed the largest in the world which comes as no surprise considering their twenty two ship fleet. They have been commended on their enormous value that their cruises uphold, but they have also been prone to negative criticisms for their cheap feeling and frequent issues. Their newest ship—the Carnival Dream—debuted in 2009 and their next one is slated to be released in May of 2011; so it would seem there isn’t much to say about Carnival’s year in review, but this is a mistake. On November 8, 2010, Carnival fulfilled one of the biggest fears of cruise lines, a total ship shutdown.

At approximately 6:00 a.m. Pacific time, the Carnival Splendor experienced an engine fire that shut down all electricity for the ship. Granted, none of the 4,500 passengers aboard the vessel were hurt, but the problems for Carnival were expansive. The crew was unable to restore power to the ship, which consequently meant that air conditioning and refrigeration were inhibited. The means of food then diminished quickly for many of the items were perishable. In order to provide for the antsy and stranded passengers, the U.S. Navy as well as the USS Ronald Reagan was used to transfer necessities to the dormant ship. Stranded at the Mexican Riviera, a tugboat was issued to pull the ship to the port of San Diego in California. On November 11th—three days after the incident began—the Carnival Splendor reached San Diego and the passengers finally could touch land and head home.

The media had a firestorm and news of the incident convoluted airways for nearly a week. Radio stations, television news, and print began to immediately pull apart Carnival for the mistake. Though the accident was one of the most trying and difficult than that in cruise history, people needed to be reminded it was an accident. Every cruise ship is susceptible to problems and many supporters found it unfortunate that Carnival received ignited criticisms for the matter. But it was not only Carnival that garnered negative opinions, but the whole idea of cruising. Many of the passengers swore they would never board a cruise ship ever again, and some of the public also agreed with the stance. This singular accident constituted questions of safety for potential tourists and cruise travelers, which many cruise activists believed was ridiculous.

The negative light shone on Carnival polluted their swift response to the matter and the things that passengers aboard that ship received. All of the passengers were given a full refund on their cruise, but furthermore they received a voucher for another cruise for free as well as the alleviation of every travel expense the passengers had. Though they had to live in an, as chief executive Gerry Cahill would say, ‘extremely trying situation,’ they left with more than they came with; and this was not commended in any sense. The media continued to pinpoint the problems that Carnival brought about and evidently tarnished some of Carnival’s reputation.

Whether or not it is justified is to the matter of the opinions of many; but one thing remains clear, the Carnival Splendor fire will remain one of the most interesting and detrimental times in all of cruising history.

Editor-In-Chief CruisingBrad (Brad Lenz)