Thursday, April 22, 2010

Carnival Ecstasy Avoids a Collision

Statement From Carnival Cruise Lines:

Yesterday, April 21, at approximately 12.55 pm U.S. central time, the cruise ship Carnival Ecstasy was forced to perform a maneuver to avoid an object in the water which resulted in the ship listing 12 degrees to the starboard side. The object was a large buoy which was adrift and mostly submerged thereby preventing it from being detected by the ship’s radar. The Carnival Ecstasy was on the final leg of a 5-day cruise that departed Galveston, Texas, on Saturday, April 17 with stops in Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico and was carrying approximately 2,340 passengers and 900 crew.

The movement of the vessel resulted in minor injuries to 60 guests who were treated at the ship’s infirmary as well as some minor damage to merchandise and unsecured objects.

The vessel docked this morning in Galveston, Texas, as scheduled. All proper authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard have been notified.

Carnival sincerely apologizes for the distress and discomfort this occurrence has caused our guests. The safety, comfort, and care of our guests and crew is our top priority.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I was on this ship at the water works deck 12 and this was the scariest thing that was ever happen to me while cruising! I will never cruise again! Total kaos! My 3 yr old granddaughter was on her 1st cruise and thank god taking a nap at the time!!!

Anonymous said...

I was on this cruise,too, along with my husband and 30 other family and friends. This was not my first cruise. However, it will be my last cruise! This incident was the scariest thing that has ever happened to us! My husband and I were eating when the ship began to turn. People were screaming and hurrying to get out the door! My husband has a pace maker and suffered chest pains and a light seizure. I am so thankful for the man that gave me Nitro and to the Houston doctor that never left our side throughout the whole ordeal and to his wife. The infirmary was not equipped to handle this sort of chaos. The infirmary crew did't seem very knowledgable either! They never once called our room to check on the condition of my husband! It takes more than an "I'm sorry" statement from Carnival to correct this situation! At this point in time, I don't even think a free cruise to anywhere would have a sufficient enough price tag to make up for the fear that we felt! What was the captain and his crew doing way before the bouy got to be 5 feet in front of the ship?