PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — Passengers from the cruise ship Carnival Dream headed to the airport Thursday instead of sailing home after an on-board generator problem halted their trip in the latest maintenance headache for the world's largest cruise line. The Dream was in St. Maarten on the final stop of a Caribbean cruise when the crew announced it would not be sailing home to Port Canaveral, Florida, because of a mechanical issue with a diesel generator, passengers said. Carnival Cruise Lines later said another of its ships has experienced problems and is heading back to the Port of Tampa. The company said Thursday “a technical issue” affecting the sailing speed of the Legend forced the cancellation of a stop at Grand Cayman Islands. The Tampa Bay Times reports the ship is expected to arrive in Tampa as scheduled Sunday following a seven-day cruise. Passengers will get a $100 credit, refunds on pre-purchased shore excursions in Grand Cayman and half off on a future cruise. Earlier, Carnival Cruise Lines said the Dream had a “technical issue” with its backup emergency diesel generator that was discovered during a test Wednesday. A company statement said that the ship did not lose power but that there were periodic interruptions to elevators and restrooms. Carnival said all systems were functioning normally Thursday but the company decided to get the passengers home by air. Passengers strolling about the Dutch Caribbean town of Philipsburg told The Associated Press that the power and water were out for 10-20 minutes, contradicting media reports of longer outages and unsanitary conditions. “We have toilets. We have water. It's no different than a regular day at sea,” Tasha Larson, 31, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said after disembarking with her boyfriend to spend the day in St. Maarten. An engine fire last month crippled another Carnival ship, the Carnival Triumph, leaving 4,200 people stranded for five days without working toilets or power. Passengers Mary and Terry Washington of Tampa, Florida, said they were grateful because the malfunction gave them an additional day to spend in St. Maarten. “The plumbing is fine. The food is fine. Everything is fine,” Mary Washington said. Another passenger, Tammie Knapper of Hedgesville, West Virginia, said she also preferred another day in St. Maarten to the risk that the ship could encounter problems as sea. “It's better that we are here than in the middle of the ocean,” she said. St. Maarten offered to assist with police escorts for moving passengers to the airport. “We would not want them to encounter any delay, discomfort or setback,” said Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin, who visited the ship Thursday. The Dream was on a seven-day cruise of the Caribbean with 3,646 passengers. The ship's March 16 voyage from Port Canaveral has been canceled. The incident is the latest black eye for an industry battered by problems ranging from outbreaks to the Costa Concordia accident in Italy in 2012 that killed 32 people. Carnival Corp said it was arranging to fly the passengers, via charter flights and regularly scheduled flights from the Caribbean island, to Orlando or their final destination. Passengers will get a refund equal to three days' worth of travel and half off a future cruise. The Carnival Dream is being held at dock while company engineers work on the problem. The company said passengers were free either to leave the ship and go into port or to remain onboard until their flights. The cruise industry has proven resilient in the face of a series of disasters. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) projects that the number of people taking cruises this year will rise 3.3 percent. Carnival Corp and its smaller rival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, have said bookings are recovering from a slump following the Costa Concordia accident. But a slew of headlines about mechanical problems and passengers stranded at sea without functioning toilets — coming at the busiest time of the year for bookings — could take a toll, especially if it deters potential first-time passengers. The company has assembled teams of fire safety experts, naval architects, electrical and mechanical engineers and engine manufacturers to conduct its own investigation, Carnival Cruise Lines President and Chief Executive Gerry Cahill said on Tuesday. Over the weekend, another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, had to get a tugboat escort down the Mississippi River after a mechanical problem.— Agencies
