Miami-based operator said more time needed to implement improvements on ships
Carnival Cruise Lines announced Tuesday it is canceling 10 more sailings for its CARNIVAL TRIUMPH ship, which was pulled from service last month after an engine room fire knocked out its propulsion and power, stranding passengers and crew for days at sea.
It will also extend the dry-dock and renovation period now in progress for CARNIVAL SUNSHINE in Italy, the Miami-based cruise operator said.
The move will allow Carnival to make improvements to both ship’s operating redundancies, emergency power capabilities (to run more hotel services) and enhance their fire prevention, detection and suppression systems.
It also marks the initial implementation phase of a fleet-wide comprehensive operational review started following the TRIUMPH incident, and made more critical with at least two other Carnival ships—DREAM and LEGEND experiencing technical problems that affected their sailings in the past week.
“We sincerely regret canceling these cruises and disrupting our guests’ vacation plans,” said Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill, in a statement. “We are fully committed to applying the recommendations stemming from our fleetwide review and to make whatever investments are needed despite the difficult decision to impact people’s vacations.”
TRIUMPH will return to service June 3 and guests booked on the canceled cruises will receive a full refund, reimbursement for non-refundable transportation expenses and a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.
SUNSHINE (the former CARNIVAL DESTINY), which entered a 49-day drydock in Italy last month, will now re-enter service May 5 instead of in April, Carnival said.
The delay will result in the cancellation of two of SUNSHINES’s European voyages and passengers booked on those cruises will receive similar compensation.
“Our team of experts has worked virtually around the clock to determine the best set of solutions and rapidly develop an effective implementation plan for both of these ships, added Cahill. “Moving forward, we will have the ability to source materials and schedule improvements much more expediently, thus minimizing the scheduling impact on other vessels.”
TRIUMPH is based in Galveston, Texas and operates year-round four- and five-day cruises to Mexico. SUNSHINE is slated to sail nine- and 12-day Mediterranean cruises from May 5 to October 20 from Barcelona and/or Venice, before repositioning to New Orleans in mid-November for year-round 7-day voyages to the Caribbean starting Nov. 24.
