Carnival cruise ship fire leaves guests stranded on Caribbean island





Greg Roumeliotis, Reuters

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 2:09:27 EDT PM




ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands - About 4,500 passengers and crew were stranded in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a second day after an engine fire on board a cruise ship operated by Carnival Corp.

The company said on Tuesday that a team of experts, including representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, had boarded the Carnival Liberty to assess damage to the engine area. There were no injuries to guests or crew.

Passengers and crew were told to evacuate onshore on Monday after thick black smoke was seen rising from the ship while it was docked in St. Thomas, a Reuters reporter on board the vessel said. Staff distributed water and snacks in the port.

The fire was extinguished by the ship's automated suppression system, Carnival said. The cause has yet to be determined and the company has yet to inform passengers of its plans beyond Tuesday.

The Carnival Liberty set sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday with 3,346 guests and 1,150 crew on board, Carnival said. It was a day into a week-long Caribbean cruise when the fire broke out.

Passengers were transferred to nearby hotels, where movies were screened and a buffet was served before returning to spend the night on the ship. On Tuesday, every passenger was offered $150 credit to spend on board and free transportation into town.

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement that marine safety investigators were on the scene in St. Thomas to assess damage and to determine the cause of the fire.

Engine room fires have disrupted other cruises in recent years. In 2013, the Carnival Triumph was rendered out of service, leaving about 4,000 people adrift in the Gulf of Mexico without power or adequate sanitation.

Later that year, a fire aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ship forced it to dock at Freeport in the Bahamas.

In 2010, an engine fire crippled the Carnival Splendor's propulsion system and knocked out most of its power off the Pacific coast of Mexico.

To be fair...there are WORSE places to be stranded

Seriously, Carnival doesnt have the best track record the last few years.

I wouldn't get on a Carnival cruise ship unless I had a chopper on standby to come pluck me off the ship 24/7.

I'd also take a hazmat suit and biowar gear because Carnival ships have become floating petri dishes for at least a decade now.

Go back and take a look at how many cruise companies have had outbreaks on board of stuff like Norwalk B virus, contaminated foods, kitchen sourced outbreaks of food poisoning, etc.

Bring your own peanut butter and jelly with crackers and just drink your face off all week. lol

Add to those issues the constant engine room fires, dead propulsion systems, gyro failures and you become a floating barf bag for 4,000 people.

So, gimmie a beach, sunscreen, nude volleyball, and a place that provides cold Corona, Red Stripe, or Asahi Dry beer. Ok, I'll drink Heineken or DAB if forced to. lol

Ok.. Flying to the Caribbean it is then.

no problems St. Thomas is one of the best places to get stranded.!!!

I love Carnival service, I have been three times now and only once did we get stranded,,,lol

unfortunately in the middle of the ocean and not an island but I was still incredibly impressed with how they handled such a situation


hate to see them having such bad fortune with so many ships though...

and did you every wonder why they have such bad fortune with so many ships

I dont know, I believe the maintenance on their older ships isnt kept properly. We were stranded due to engine fire too, but the ship was an older one,, as are most that have these problems.

yup cuz they are too cheap to upgrade or overhaul

I wonder, if anyone on the Carnival board of directors, has suggested having their vessels built by a different shipyard.

i don't think they could find a lower bidder