Passengers list gripes with cruise cut short
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
A Carnival Cruise Line ship cut short its tour of Hawai'i yesterday because of problems with the air conditioning, leaving many passengers hot under the collar.
Photo by Chopper 8 • Special to The Honolulu Advertiser
The Carnival Spirit left Ensenada, Mexico, April 21 for a 12-day cruise to Hawai'i. Passengers said the ship left port late and the dream cruise soon went bad.
The Carnival Spirit cruise ship was tied up at Pier 10 in Honolulu yesterday, where it docked two days ahead of schedule for air conditioning repairs. Some passengers said the 12-day cruise from Mexico was plagued with problems from the start.
"It was a disaster," said Mary Jane Sheets of Ohio. "It was a mess from the start."
Sheets and her party met the Spirit at San Diego, Calif. But she said the ship was four hours late and passengers had to wait on the steps of a convention center.
Carnival officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. Waldron Steamship Co., Carnival's agent in Hawai'i, declined to comment.
Several of the Spirit's 2,161 passengers said the ship's air conditioning was on the blink from the start. By Monday, there was no cool air aboard, the elevators were out, and many passengers slept on the deck.
Once in Hawaiian waters, the Spirit made scheduled stops in Hilo, Kona and Lahaina. But a trip to Port Allen on Kaua'i was canceled, and the Spirit docked at Honolulu Harbor's Pier 10 yesterday, two days early.
State Harbor's Division operations supervisor Alan Murakami said he had received a call from the ship's agent Monday saying the Spirit needed to come to Honolulu for repairs. Murakami said the 959-foot-long, 84,000-ton ship would be in Honolulu at least through Saturday.
"They're trying to repair it as soon as they can, but I haven't been given any estimate of when they think it will be done," Murakami said. "I've never heard of it happening before."
Yesterday, busloads of passengers were being taken to several Waikiki hotels, courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines. Many people will be flying home Friday.
One passenger said his cruise, about $2,500, would be reimbursed, but not his airfare.
Carol Collins of Ohio said the experience was stressful for the passengers.
But Don Little of Evansville, Ind., took events in stride. He said it was his first cruise and he had nothing to compare it with.
"They did have a few problems, but they made it right, gave us credits to make up for it. So I'm not disappointed," Little said.
