Stranded Carnival Passengers Won't Reach Land Until Thursday

Yesterday we told you about the 3,300 passengers stranded off the coast of Mexico in a Carnival Cruise ship left without power following a fire in the engine room. Originally, the cruise line had hoped to have the boat towed back to port by yesterday afternoon. Well, that plan didn’t work out.

The ship will now reach port late Thursday, says Carnival. The reason for the delay — rather than have the Carnival Splendor towed to the Mexican port of Ensenada, the tugboats are going to San Diego.

From USA Today:

Carnival says some shipboard programming, including children’s programs and entertainment, are being provided, but air conditioning on the vessel remains down and there is no hot food service. Some cabin toilets also remain inoperable, though engineers have been able to restore toilet service in most cabins and all public bathrooms.

The USS Reagan arrived on the scene yesterday and has begun ferrying thousands of pounds of supplies by helicopter.

As mentioned yesterday, all passengers on this trip will receive a full refund plus a voucher for a future Carnival cruise. The line has canceled the Splendor’s next planned trip and is giving those passengers a full refund plus a 25% discount on a future cruise.

Passengers on fire-damaged Carnival Splendor face another trying day [USA Today]

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