Hi All,
It’s Stephanie again. Below is the latest update on the Carnival Splendor.
Miami, FL — November 9, 2010 (9 am EST) — At approximately 6 am Monday morning(U.S. Pacific Standard Time), a fire was detected in the aft engine room aboard the cruise ship Carnival Splendor. The fire was extinguished. There were no injuries to guests or crew.
The ship has been operating on auxiliary generators and engineers have been unable to restore additional power to the vessel. As a result, the current voyage is being terminated. Tugboats are currently en route to the ship which is located off the coast of Mexico, approximately 200 miles south of San Diego. The tugs are expected to reach the ship around midday local time today and will tow the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible.Currently several key hotel systems, including air conditioning, hot food service, and telephones are not available. Last night, the ship’s engineers were able to restore toilet service to all cabins and public bathrooms, as well as cold running water. The ship’s crew continues to actively work to restore other services.
Regular announcements apprising guests of the situation began at approximately 6.30 am yesterday. Guests were initially asked to move from their cabins to the ship’s upper open deck areas. At this time, guests have access to their cabins and are able to move about the ship. Bottled water and cold food items are being provided.
The vessel’s command is in contact with the U.S. Coast Guard which has deployed aircraft and cutters to the cruise ship’s location.
Guests on the current voyage will be receiving a full refund along with reimbursement for transportation costs. Additionally, they will receive a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount paid for this voyage.
“We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience. Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible,” said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines.
Carnival Splendor was on the first leg of a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise that departed Sunday, Nov. 7, from Long Beach, Calif. Monday was a scheduled day at sea. The ship’s normal itinerary includes stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The ship, which measures 113,000 gross registered tons and first entered service in July 2008, is carrying 3,299 guests and 1167 crew.
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
Thank you for the updates.
Thanks for that, been wondering. Our best to everyone involved…
So glad to hear that everyone is ok. Can someone please check up on John to make sure he is eating properly. We need him to be ok and healthy. Also I know that I would be absolutely unhappy if in this situation but here’s hoping that the passengers realize this was an accident and are behaving nicely and not being rowdy loud or nasty. Stephanie – please let John know we are thinking of him and his staff. Thnx for the updates.
John, know that we are all thinking of you during this trying time.
Carolann
Thanks for the update, Stephanie. If you are able to talk to John, tell him we know he is taking very good care of the passengers and crew, but we need him to be taking care of himself just as much. Gotta watch that diabetes during stressful times.
We’re praying that everyone is patient and understanding and doesn’t make the crew’s job even more difficult than it already is during this.
Thanks for the updates. This is a trying time indeed. Praying for everyone on board to make it back home safely.
Thank you for the updates. Thankfull is this cruiser that no one was hurt. John we have you, the guests, and crew in our thoughts and prayers.
As an aside remark, I wonder which Stephanie of the 200+ (according to John H.) is posting here?
Seriously, I hope all is as well as it can be and keep plugging away. I know that everyone at Carnival is doing all that they can.
That would be Stephanie Leavitt, she handles all this stuff for John.
Thanks for the update and I hope everything turns out alright for everybody on board. And I hope they can get everybody off the ship today. It’s a shame that there vacation was ruin but at least nobody got hurt.
Thank you for the updates Stephanie. Please let John and the Crew know we’re thinking of them as I’m sure things are hectic. As bad as it may seem to those on board at least no one was hurt. And IMHO I think Carnival is doing a great job and what they are doing for those on board is outstanding.
John – shall I call the Southend RNLI for you? Hope you are ok, what a drama, glad we managed to miss it!
Much love from the Adkins and Masons xxxx
Send Alan to the rescue.
Stephanie #1.
Thank you very much for keeping us posted. We are sure that John has his hands full. Our thoughts are with the crew and passengers on board.
Tim and Diane
Cruises Inc
Lakeland Fl
Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people on the Splendor. Please tell John we are thinking of him and hoping for the best! Can’t wait to hear from him again!
Stephanie – thank you for the updates, I am sure John has his hands full. My prayers go out to him, his stafff, the passangers and crew.
San Diego news just said the tugboats are there and should start the towing soon. They also mentioned John and this blog and how we are all being kept updated through the blog. Thanks Stephanie and Mary for the updates! And praying that all goes well today.
Thank you for keeping us all posted. My heart goes out to all on board and I hope everyone arrives back home safe.
So glad for the update. I agree with Elaine and hope the passengers are behaving. John doesn’t need to have that headache on top of everything else. Wishing the best for all the crew, passengers and John..
Thanks for the updates. I’m so thankful no one was injured. Take care, John.
John, the Stephanies are filling us in while you deal with the emergency. We wish you were having a “normal” week of complaints rather than this. Hang in there. Thank heavens there were no injuries. Janet and Gary
Thanks so much for updating us Stephanie! Hopefully John and his crew are all safe along with the passengers.
We just got off that ship on sunday, hate to hear what has happened. Glad everyone is well
Thank you for the update, Stephanie. With the mix of personalities on any cruise, I can only imagine the chaos that a handful of the guests are causing. As others have posted, please remind John to take care of himself. Our thoughts and prayers continue, for all involved.
Maybe John will get a chance to visit his family back in England now. I’m sure that the ship will be out of action for a few weeks.
I imagine he will have lots of work now. Think of all the poo stories he will have now.
So saddened to hear this and so grateful no one was hurt. Everyone on board the Dream with us this week is praying for all affected.
Prayers and positive thoughts to all thos aboard the Splendor and all those at Carnival trying to juggle all of this.
We were on the Splendor last week. We had a great time, so sorry to hear about this horrible event. I’m sure Carnival will take care of its passengers.
If you are related to David Skouson tell him hello from the engineer from MFG/West.
The Cruzin2some
My children are on this cruise and I am not able to reach them. I hope to hear some ETA in Long Beach.
Dear Mr Heald.
I hope the whole splendor team is a united in its most trying time. I can imagine what your going through.
I recall your blog on me recently for the paradise.
My prayers and best wishes for the Splendor.
I am waiting to see the news when you reach Ensenada.
I got a few pictures from kansas city website .
I thought to share the link.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/09/2413185/relief-efforts-headed-for-stranded.html
it shows a rescue swimmer goin up the ship.
Prayers and Kudos the firefighters on the Splendor.
the chief engineer, Staff chief , captain sure would have been in the front .
Dr Prakash
Carnival Elation
John is probably keeping everyone entertained with a bingo party extraordinaire or a limbo party on the Lido Deck while the ship’s in limbo…
Thinking good thoughts for everyone’s safety John!.
Hoping you are safely back in port soon.
Thanks Stephanie. Thoughts and prayers are with all onboard. I know it has to be a difficult situation for both the crew and passengers. I am sad since our South America adventure for 31 days gave her a special place in my heart.
Cheryl
(i wrote this on the usa-today travel page’s article on the splendor emergency)
“i was just on this ship october 17th. our group of 24 had a great time, and the crew really took care of us.
this emergency is a total bummer, no doubt about it. but carnival will take care of the people onboard, i’m sure.
stuff happens, even really bad stuff like this. i’m just glad there was no loss of life and that the fire was contained. sure, i can’t speak for those passengers onboard who are undoubtedly peeved at carnival right now, but our group will be back with them. and i know that john heald, the cruise director on the splendor, will do everything he can to make the passengers as comfortable as possible.”
we know you all are working hard to repair everything and keep the passengers safe.
thanks,
ken
Dear John & Stephanie L.,
Please let everyone know that we bloggers have them in our prayers.
Please pass along my condolances to Ketut for having to handle John underpants after this.
The Cruzin2some
I feel terrible for all the guests who have had their vacations cut short. I would be terribly disappointed if this hapened on one of my cruises.
Hopefully they will all remember that cruise ships, like every mechanical device ever made, will sometimes fail despite the best efforts of the professionial crew who do their very best to prevent that.
The main thing is that everyone is safe and it sounds like CCL is compensating the passengers appropriately for the problem.
So happy to hear that things are improving. We were just on the Splender last week with 100 of our closest friends. We are sad for these people for they will not experience the amazing time we had on this cruise last week. Our prayers go out to everyone involved. God Bless!
We are saddened indeed about the fire on Splendor and hope everybody is safe. In July, 2008 we were onboard Splendor for its maiden voyage out of Dover, England and it was a wonderful cruise.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you as this event plays out. The great crew of all Carnival ships will surely do a good job of seeing to the security of all onboard.
See you on Magic in June, 2011.
Thank you for the update Stephanie. Hope the passengers are understanding and not making things worse than they have to be. Have been keeping all in my prayers. Thanks Stephanie, for the great job you do.
Thank you so much for the updates. Please let John and the crew know that they are in our prayers… If anyone that would handle the situation and the guests, it would be you John. I am sure you are doing a great job keeping people at ease. Please take care of yourself , can’t wait for you to let us know how it went.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all aboard the Splendor. Hope everyone has a safe trip home.
Thanks stephanie for the updates we do appreciate it !
Frank and Bridie
so glad no one was hurt, and kinda wish i was there to enjoy the adventure. Think it’s awesome what you are giving the passengers.
John, i know you are in overdrive trying your best to entertain and placat your guests I sure hope they appreciate it. i hope you get rest. After the last couple cruises on Splendor I’m sure you are ready for some Carnival Magic
My heart goes out to you and the outstanding crew aboard that ship, tell atak (my cabin steward) I miss him and his ever smiling face ( i cruised on 10/10 cabin 7312)
I am slowly, patiently trying to get my husband on a cruise and if all goes well it will be the Magic, i can not wait to cruise carnival again. Much love to you for all you do, and to Heidi for allowing you to
When my five year old heard about the fire, she said, “oh, no not our beautiful pink boat!”
In my opinion, Carnival has done a great job of communication and updating the status of the Splendor to the public. I’m sure John and his team are doing the same on the Splendor.
John, it’s offical. The engineers will not let you fart near the engine room again…
All joking aside though…this is sure to put a lot of stress on the front office and engineering staff. I wonder– what will happen with the crew when the passengers disembark in Ensenada?
I hope the ‘easily disgruntled’ pack does not riot or cause headaches on board. Best of luck to the people onboard.
PLEASE REPLY. So sorry to hear about the fire. Nice to see Carnival Corporation stepping up so quickly to take care of the guests. But what about the crew? Are they being compensated in any way for their loss of revenue while the ship is out of commission?
Could be call adventure as long as everybody is safe
i hope you guys have safe travels back! Thinking of all of the crew and passengers!
As horrible as this all must be for all of the men and women on the Splendor, the silver lining is that at least they have John- he is the Carnival head CD for a reason and is absolutely the CD I’d want in charge if I were one of those poor passengers…he knows what to do, has the clout to get it done and will make sure everyone is as ok as they can possibly be under the circumstances.
Thinking of and praying for all the crew and passengers. Special thoughts and love to the newest social host aboard! Know you are super busy. Nothing like training in the “real deal”. Pls. call home as soon as you can safely do so. Love, Mom
My parents are on this ship now, I really wish I could hear from them. I know everyone is safe and that phones are down, but I’ll sure feel better when we can hear from them.
Prayer for everyone and hopefully they’ll all be home soon!
Please keep this updated, I check it often.
Linds:
Most of us on here know John personally. Your parents are in great hands.
They are safe. The toilets were only out about 12 hours and are up and running.
No Air Conditioning should not be an issue. That area has HIGHS this time of year in the 60′s.
They have food and water and the USS Reagan is loading more provisions on just to be on the safe side.
And even though we have not heard of any medical emergencies, there are helicopters right there if needed.
Carnival regularly buses passengers from Ensenada to San Diego who sail on the Spirit (LA will be a couple of hours longer) …so they are experienced at that.
The bus ride will be a few hours but again they will be safe during that process as well.
They are on a “slow boat” to Ensenada…then a bus ride home and will have a great adventure story to tell !
(plus a full refund AND a free cruise)
Try not to worry. Let us know when they get home safe and sound.
Linda (Mom of DJ)
everyone take care.
thanks for all the updates.
thinking of you all
michelle and gang
Just imagine if the nutty proffessor was on this week?? He would probably try to blame this on his wierd 2012 thoughts!
Thanks Steph for the updates. Glad to hear everyone is OK. We’re praying for the crew and for the passengers onboard (wish there was more we could do). Congrats to the crew for effectively managing what could have been a real tragedy. Tell John we know he was right there in the middle of things doing what he does best, and that we’re thinking of him too.
I have been thinking how hard it has been for the crew. Not only are they still providing services to the guests, but just think what it is like to be below the ship with no A/C. It must be a sweat shop down there.
This may not be the time to post this, but I don’t think anyone, especially John would mind. John always talks about how he is writing this blog in his underpants, well I just keep seeing this in my mind. John is busy writing this fantastic blog, gets the call there is a fire in the engine room, so without thinking he takes off down the hallway to the bridge and that is when he sees everyone staring at him, he realizes that he left his room in just his underwear. Everyone laughs and John runs back to his cabin to get some clothes on.
John, I will be keeping you and the crew in my prayers.
Thank you for the updates, keeping all the passengers and crew of the Splendor in my prayers..thank goodness that there were no injuries
Thans for the updates. Carnival is being very forthright with regard to this unfortunate marine casualty. I’m glad everyone is all right.
Poor Ketut is probably having to wash John’s underpants by hand with cold water….
So glad to hear updates thinking how hectic things must be for the crew,Thinking of you all…..
-Sandra
NB Canada
Sounds like Carnival is doing a good job under tough circumstances.
I was wondering if maybe John is the problem. He was on our Cruise on the Conquest out of Galveston last Easter when our wonderful Customs Agents took over the ship and delayed the exiting crowd and we could not board until Midnight.
Keep smiling John.
thanks Stephanie for the message, please tell the staff we are thinking of them, and truly hoping that the passengers do understand what happened could not be prevented. My thoughts to all on ship staff and passengers
There is alot of conflciting information on this crisis..Stephanie can you tell us who is paying for the US Navy’s invovlement in this crisis?
Thanks for the update. While their vacation may be gone, at least no one was hurt.
WOW
I know John probably would rather be somewhere else, but he’s certainly the best CD to deal with that situation and take care of it!
How many calls to the bridge did passengers make on the 911 line?!
To everyone aboard the Carnival Splendor:
For those of us who have sailed with John Heald as our Cruise Director, I’ve got to say things aren’t all that bad. You are on the ship with the funniest man on the high seas. Enjoy him! There will be future Carnival cruises and after 19 I can tell you, things like the fire in the engine room are not the norm. Most Carnival cruises are divine. Again, enjoy John. It’s a rare privilege to cruise with him.
John please talk to us. We got off the ship on 11/07 and i guess timing is everything… With the USS Ronald Reagan there you sure have a photo op. I am trying to make light of a pretty nasty situation…Hope you get back on line soon , to get your thoughts to us Regards
Wish to subscribe to this site.
Past Cruiser with you and booked on the cancelled cruise
All the best with the emegency safe passage for all onboard
Thankfully, no one was injured. It is sad that what should have been a happy time has turned sour. I am sure Carnival is taking very good care of all the passengers, and, I hope they will be able to enjoy another cruise real soon.
Safe travels home to all, and safe travels to the Carnival Splendor and its crew to your homeport.
Marie
my thoughts go out to all the crew. While I would hate to be a passenger I have a hunch it is much worse for the crew as some people will go out of their way to make things miserable for the crew.
Hope the passengers are behaving John and you have great stories of how folks pulled together when you are back on line.
Knowing that Carnival has the best crews on board, I know that the passengers and crew of the Carnival Splendor are in good hands.
I’m glad to hear that no one was hurt–I’m sure that it is very scary–according to the news tonight it said there was no phone contact–at least Carnival has let everyone know that the guests and crew are OK. Please, John–take care of yourself and your diabetes–I know that your choices of food are not optimal–but be careful!
I was on that same cruise 9 days ago and loved it. Asked if I would cruise again…yes! I pray that everyone has a safe return to their homes.
Hi John,
We are so sorry to hear about the fire and all the problems with the Splendor. But at least no one was hurt and help is on the way. Our prayers are with you and the rest of the crew as well as the passengers. And we wish all a safe trip home.
BTW… we also saw to it that a pallet load of SF Jelly Beans and a couple of cases of SF Root Beer are going to be air lifted to you to help calm your nerves!!! Just becareful not to sit in chairs with wheels on them!!!
Can’t wait to get John’s take on all that has happened the past few days. Of course there are always going to be some complainers. Even though it’s a sad thing that has happened, and people’s vacation has been cut short, there has to be some fun stories come out of this. Who knows…maybe Ketut started the fire by trying to burn John’s undies!!!
So glad to hear everyone is ok. Does anyone know if the 11/21 cruise is still scheduled to deploy? I have read that the 11/14 trip was canceled. We are unable to receive a direct response from Carnival Customer Service and are anxious to receive news about our upcoming cruise. THANK YOU!
Good Morning America just quoted John’s last post on facebook and put a picture of his facebook page. Thinking of everyone on the ship and praying for a safe return.
Thanks for the updates Stephanie. I know this has been hard for the people on the ship and their families. But dont throw Carnival under the bus for this. If you were on a road trip and your prized Chevy broke down, would you never go on a vacation again? Or never drive in a chevy again? Probably not. It was an accident and it happened. Carnival is taking care of it and the customers will be compensated. I saw on tv someone comparing this to getting food poisoning at a restaurant and saying they would never go on a carnival ship again. Thats just rubbish.
Good Luck to John and everyone on the Splendor!
We were on the ship last week. The crew, for the most part, was sweet and fun. I’m sure they are working even harder during this ordeal. I’m glad no one was hurt. My thoughts and well wishes to all on board.
Please keep updating.
John,
are you still on the ship or floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean?
What’s the latest on splendor I’m sailing feb 27th last I heard was the 20th