Cruisers’ Nightmare

By Mike & Darlene Jordan

By now everyone is aware of the recent problems aboard the Carnival Splendour. The dust has settled, everyone’s home safe and sound, and the details are emerging about what really happened on board this otherwise magnificent ship.

To recap, the Splendour experienced a fire in the engine room. This is a highly unusual occurrence, and Carnival currently has technicians and engineers on board the ship to determine what, exactly, happened and to make repairs. No information has been released as yet.

The fire onboard was extinguished very quickly, but smoke did circulate around the ship, and the electrical systems were damaged.  As a little background, cruise ship propulsion systems operate in a similar fashion to a diesel locomotive. The diesel engine turns turbines which generate electricity that powers not only the ship’s propellers, but the electrical system as well.

The lack of an electrical system was the main source of the passenger discomfort during the ordeal.

The bulk of the reports we saw from passengers returning from the cruise were fairly positive, given the circumstances. Most reported that the crew was well-trained to deal with the situation, maintained control of what could have become a panicked passenger population, and provided their services as best they could.

From most reports, the most serious problem was the lack of working bathroom facilities. Most on-shore bathrooms work with water and gravity, but a ship’s sewage system is a complicated, vacuum-driven operation that incorporates only a small amount of water. There is a notable sucking sound when flushing, and almost every shipboard comedian’s act features at least one joke are about being “sucked” down the sewer system by accident. No power means no vacuum system which means…well, you know.

One of the myths that surfaced about the whole ordeal is that passengers were forced to eat Spam (which the late-night comedians continue to exploit). Most of the passengers we saw interviewed said they never ate spam, that the helicopters that flew in food brought a variety of options; they just had to be foods that could be eaten cold. Indeed, many passengers disembarking from the ship said the thing they looked forward to most was a hot meal.

There’s no denying that this was a vacation destroyed. We are not huge fans of Carnival but, in their defense, they have accepted full responsibility for the enormous inconvenience to its passengers and have been more than generous in their offers of compensation. All will receive a complete refund and a free cruise for their trouble. The refunds encompass not just the money paid to Carnival, but any money paid by passengers in association with their cruise—like airfare and hotel arrangements, taxis and the like.

Lost in all of this discussion are the folks that were booked on future cruises aboard the Splendour. Carnival has cancelled all of the ship’s cruises for the next 9 weeks while they make repairs. Even those people will be compensated. Their payments will be refunded, of course, but they’re also offering to reimburse airline change fees and 25% off the cost of a future Carnival cruise taken within the next 2 years.

This was obviously a cruise line incident and Carnival is right to offer compensation, unlike a weather delay over which they have no control. We are often asked what kind of compensation clients will get if their cruise is re-routed during a hurricane or other natural disaster. In those cases, the only obligation of the cruise line is to keep their passengers safe and to refund money if the cruise has to be cancelled or shortened for a weather or natural disaster-related problem—which rarely happens.

According to CruisePage.com, there are more than 235 active cruise ships over 10,000 tons afloat today. These ships sail week-in, week-out all year long to and from ports on oceans and rivers all over the world. It is extremely rare, but, every once in awhile, one is going to break. Stuff happens.

In our minds, Carnival has done everything it could—and then some—to make it right.

Until next time…get out the map!

Mike and Darlene Jordan are registered agents of Cruises Inc., and are based here in Southern Colorado. You can contact them at 800-267-7613 or by email at cruisesinc@gojade.org.