SAN DIEGO – SAN DIEGO -- The former fun seekers of the Carnival Splendor are cruising again -- but just barely.

In a scenario likely none of its more than 3,000 passengers pictured when they planned their seven-day jaunt on the Mexican Riviera, the disabled cruise liner was being towed to San Diego by tugboats. Instead of a lavish seafood buffet, passengers were subsisting on Spam.

After two days adrift, the ship began moving again Tuesday when the first of several Mexican tugboats arrived. Rocking gently with the waves, the ship was pulled along slowly with a Coast Guard boat along one side and the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier on the ship's other side.

There were no visible signs of damage.

The 952-foot (290-meter) vessel was expected to arrive in San Diego on Thursday night, Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement.

The ship was 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of San Diego and about 44 miles (71 kilometers) off shore when an engine room fire Monday morning killed its power and set it adrift.

No one was hurt, but the nearly 4,500 passengers and crew were left without air conditioning, hot water, cell phone or Internet service. The ship's auxiliary power allowed for working toilets and cold water.

U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters were ferrying supplies, including Spam, crab meat, croissants and Pop Tarts to the ship from the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that reached the Splendor after it was diverted from training maneuvers to help.

The Splendor only had enough food to last through midday Tuesday because refrigerators on the ship stopped working after the power was knocked out, Navy Commander Greg Hicks said. But thousands of pounds of food was delivered by Tuesday night.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy also sent resources to the ship.

The tugboats were originally set to take the Splendor to Ensenada, Mexico, but the cruise line changed its plans and will attempt to have it towed to San Diego, where hotel and flight arrangements would await the passengers, Carnival said.

If the process moves too slowly, it may still be taken to Ensenada, the statement said.

As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Splendor was about 190 miles (305 kilometers) south of San Diego, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The ship was being towed by one Mexican tugboat while a smaller counterpart helped the ship maneuver. A third tug boat, the U.S.-based Monterey Bay, was scheduled to arrive late Tuesday night, the paper said.

Carnival Corp.'s stock was down about 1 percent Tuesday.

The situation will be costly for Carnival, which is refunding passengers, offering vouchers for future cruises and may have to dry dock the ship if the damage is extensive.

"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said in a statement.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/09/tugboat-reaches-ship-stranded-mexico/?test=latestnews

Wow, yesterday I read it was the Ronald Reagan and two Coast Guard vessels, a Cutter and a smaller one. That is a lot of security for one cruise liner. I wonder if maybe it is because of the Cartes and drug war?

I still don't see the need for a carrier though.

Thousands on Stranded Carnival Cruise Ship Eating Spam Provided by Navy
by Fran Golden Subscribe to Fran Golden's postsPosted Nov 10th 2010 09:29 AM


It is Day Three for the thousands of stranded passengers and crew onboard the damaged Carnival Splendor, which is slowly being towed to San Diego after a fire knocked out the cruise ship's engines. And the U.S. Navy has airlifted in food supplies, including Spam.

Both the Navy, with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, and the U.S. Coast Guard, with two cutters and aircraft, have been assisting the $700 million ship, which became dead in the water about 200 miles south of San Diego, and 55 miles from the coast of Mexico.

Some 4,500 pounds in supplies, including Spam, canned crab, dinner rolls and plastic cups, was delivered to the ship by Navy Seahawk helicopter.

The 113,000-ton cruise ship, with 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members onboard, has been operating on auxiliary power since the engine room fire early Monday morning, which forced passengers out of their beds.



The fire knocked out hotel systems including air conditioning, hot food preparation, refrigeration and telephones. For more than a day toilets were also not functioning and there was no running water – toilets and cold water have since been restored, Carnival Cruise Line says.

Passengers were initially restricted to the ship's open Lido deck, but later allowed to return to their cabins and are now able to move about the ship, the cruise lines says. Some shipboard programming including children's programs and entertainment has even been restored.

There have been no injuries to passengers or crew, the line says. There were reports the Navy offered to airlift any passengers who needed to leave the ship, but no one did.

A tug boat arrived at the scene yesterday, and under slow tow the ship is now expected to arrive in San Diego late Thursday. Additional tugs are expected to meet the ship to expedite the towing. Earlier plans to bring the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico, were scrapped.

Carnival says it is making hotel and flight arrangements for guests in San Diego. The ship had set sail Sunday on a weeklong Mexican Rivera cruise from Long Bach, Calif.

Carnival says guests on the Splendor will be receiving a full refund along with a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount they paid for the voyage.

The cruise line says it has canceled the ship's next cruise which was supposed to depart next Sunday. Guests scheduled on that voyage will receive a full refund of their cruise fare and air transportation costs, along with a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.

"We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unfortunate situation and offer our thanks for their patience and cooperation during this challenging time. The safety and comfort of our guests is our top priority and we are doing everything we can to allow them to return home as quickly as possible. We also apologize for having to cancel the next voyage of the Carnival Splendor. We realize how much guests look forward to their vacations and we know how disheartening it is to have their plans disrupted," says Gerry Cahill, Carnival's president and CEO.

There have been other unusual incidents on the two-year-old Carnival Splendor, leading at least one website to question whether the ship is "cursed."

A Carnival spokesman confirms the ship has been the scene of two suicides. In March 2009, a 63-year-old passenger disappeared off the coast of Chile after leaving a suicide note. And then on Oct. 13 of this year a male crew member was witnessed jumping overboard by several fellow employees, while the ship was en route to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In addition, on Oct. 31, a crew member with a serious medical condition was airlifted off the ship by the U.S. Coast Guard.

UPDATE: Carnival says thanks to "favorable sea conditions," the ship is now expected to arrive in San Diego midday on Thursday. As the ship gets closer to coastal areas, guests are beginning to receive intermittent cellular service. The ship's phone system is also working on a limited basis, and guests are able to make complimentary calls home, the line says.

UPDATE, 2:45pm: Now that passengers are able to call out, they are giving first-hand accounts. David Zambrano, who works for 9News in Denver, says passengers on the stranded ship are waiting in line for two hours to get Spam, crab meat and Pop Tarts, ferried in by the U.S. Navy, and propping open their cabin doors to let in air and light.

"People are playing cards. People are standing around just kind of talking. They're getting to socialize," Zambrano tells the station. "It's not what you would expect on a normal cruise, of course not, but it's -- they're doing their best." He says the crew has been working around-the-clock to help out passengers and try to keep everyone satisfied.

Still, he says most passengers he's talked to say they don't plan to take Carnival up on the free future cruise offer.

GOD DAMN MILITARY! THEY SPAMMED THOSE POOR PASSENGERS!

How could they?

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM...

SPAMMITY SPAM, WONDERFUL SPAM! SPAMMITY SPAM, OH WONDERFUL SPAM!

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM...

If you cannot see the humor in that you are in need of a eye exam.

"big government" doing the work of the free market. I just wish the government would get off peoples backs.

Usually they only send one smaller Coast Guard vessel to escort when something like this happens. Two Cutters(Some of the Largest and most heavily armed vessels in the CG), the USS Ronald Reagan (One of the newest, largest, most heavily armed(weapons and aircraft) and other vessels escorting them to San Diego.

There must be a credible threat or concern on this Ship. Maybe the cartels or pirates or even terrorists?

The air dropped a lot more then Spam.

I just read it was a couple more Navy ships escorting this ship too. I wonder what they are so concerned about.