Three Carnival cruise ships suffer technical problems

Carnival Cruise Lines has confirmed a fleet-wide review after being hit by technical problems on three more cruise ships only a month after an engine fire on Carnival Triumph left passengers stranded.  

Carnival chairman, Micky Arison, had just finished saying support from the travel trade had helped it recover booking levels following the Carnival Triumph problems when three further issues emerged.

The cruise line had to fly 4,363 passengers home last weekend after cancelling a cruise on Carnival Dream, Carnival Legend had to cancel a stop in the Cayman Islands and make its way slowly back to Tampa and Carnival Elation suffered a ‘minor technical issue with a steering function’.

Carnival confirmed its comprehensive review  will encompass multiple operational areas, systems and training.

The cruise line arranged for around 50 special commercial and private flights from St Maarten for Carnival Dream passengers stranded after technical problems on the ship during its last leg of a seven day cruise.

Guests who were on board will receive a refund equivalent to three days of the voyage and 50% off a future cruise, while passengers scheduled to sail on the cancelled cruise due to depart this week will receive a full refund and 25% off a future seven-day cruise.

The Carnival Legend arrived back in Tampa slightly earlier than scheduled yesterday after technical issues – this time with its propulsion system – led to it cancelling its stop at the Grand Cayman Islands.

The cruise ship reduced its speed because of the problem.

Passengers will receive a $100 per person credit and a full refund on pre-purchased shore excursions for Grand Cayman, plus 50% off a future Carnival cruise.

But Carnival Cruise Lines said the ship was still scheduled to head out for its next voyage on time.

A Carnival statement said: "Carnival Elation also experienced a minor technical issue with the steering function of one of its two redundant Azipod propulsion units and a tug is trailing the ship while it travels on the Mississippi River purely as a precautionary measure.

"The ship is scheduled to return on time from its current voyage on Monday.  Repairs are expected to be fully completed prior to the ship’s departure for its next cruise on Monday afternoon."

It added that Carnival Dream will sail back to Port Canaveral with the crew on board once all guests have left the ship.

It said: "It was our decision not to sail with guests on board without a functioning back-up emergency generator.  Upon arrival in Port Canaveral, we will install a replacement emergency generator, followed by the appropriate inspections and approvals to operate our next scheduled voyage on Saturday, March 23rd."

Unveiling the group’s first quarter results last week, chairman and CEO, Micky Arison said: "Despite considerable attention surrounding the Carnival Triumph, we had been encouraged to see booking volumes for Carnival Cruise Lines recover significantly in recent weeks.

"Attractive pricing promotions, combined with strong support from the travel agent community and consumers who recognize the company’s well-established reputation and quality product offering, were driving the strong booking volumes."

Even without these additional problems, Carnival admitted cumulative advance bookings for 2013 are down on last year and said economic uncertainty in Europe continues to hinder yield growth.

In the first quarter, Carnival swung to a quarterly profit but posted lower revenue per cabin and cut its profit and revenue forecast for the year.

Its shares fell 2.3% to $34.90.