Carnival Cruise Lines Cancels a Dozen Trips
Cancellations follow more than a month of mishaps for Carnival Cruise Lines.
March 20, 2013— -- After more than a month of mishaps, Carnival Corp., the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, has announced the cancellation of more cruises.
The cruise line will cancel an additional 10 cruises on the Carnival Triumph and two on the Carnival Sunshine.
RELATED: Triumph Passengers, Undaunted by Stranding, Will Cruise Again
The cruise line said in a statement that the additional cancellation of cruises was the "first implementation phase of its fleetwide comprehensive operational review."
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill first announced the plan for a fleet-wide review at a cruise industry event in Miami last week, after a fire on the Triumph ship and just days before the Dream and Legend incidents that disrupted more vacations.
The 10 additional cruises canceled by Carnival affect itineraries through May. It will return to service, the cruise line said, on June 3. Guests on the affected voyages will receive a full refund, reimbursement for non-refundable transportation costs and a 25 percent discount on a future four- to five-day cruise.
Carnival Sunshine is in a previously scheduled dry dock for a full-ship makeover. It will now enter service May 5, 2013, following the cancellation of two European cruises. Guests on the canceled Carnival Sunshine voyages will receive a full refund, plus reimbursement for any non-refundable travel costs. Additionally, they will receive a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.
"I would like to provide continued assurances that all of our vessels have fully effective safety systems, equipment and training in place," Cahill said in the statement. "Additionally, our ships receive regular inspections from the United States Coast Guard and other regulatory authorities.
"The changes we are implementing are focused primarily on improvements to better support continued power and hotel services should unexpected issues arise.
"In addition, we are applying new learnings and making enhancements in the area of fire suppression and extinguishing. Going forward, the review will focus on the balance of our fleet. While this process will take time, it is our highest priority and has the full support and resources of Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation."
It was the Carnival Triumph engine fire and subsequent stranding of passengers at sea for five days that kicked off a series of events for the cruise line. Next it was the Carnival Elation, which had an issue with one of the two units used to steer the ship, prompting the cruise line to give it a tug boat escort down the Mississippi River.
Next, the Carnival Dream lost power in port on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, requiring all passengers to be flown home rather than completing their itinerary.
Finally, the Carnival Legend had a technical problem that prevented it from cruising at its optimal speed and causing passengers to miss one port of call.
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