I received the following information early this morning (Miami time): ” My parents are on Thomson Majesty. Last night on the way from Livorno to Corsica, the cruise ship lost all power . . . It was drifting in the Med, with passengers in pitch black, without the use of toilets, without any great communication from staff.”

The cruise ship regained power but returned to the port in Livorno. AIS websites like Marine Traffic show that the ship drifted for several hours late last night before returning to Livorno.

Power failures in the cruise industry have been relatively common lately. The Thomson Celebration suffered an engine failure in July as the cruise ship was departing the port in Valletta, Malta.

October 22, 2016 Update:  Receiving word that there was a fire in the engine room. The cruise ship will head straight to Barcelona, skipping Corsica and Marseille. I am aware of no official statement from the cruise line.

October 23, 2016 Update: After undergoing unspecified repairs, the cruise ship finally left Livorno today heading for Barcelona. ,

A couple of passengers have commented that there appears to be a gastrointestinal outbreak on the cruise?

October 24, 2016 Update: In the article Majesty back on course after engine room fire, Thomson Cruises trots out the “it-was-a-small-and-immediately-extinguished-fire-with-quick-minor-repairs” explanation. Written by cruise fan John Honeywell, the article minimizes the considerable delay and inconvenience to the passengers. It even denies that the sister ship, Thomson Spirit, ran aground in the harbor of Portimão which we reported a day earlier.

October 30. 2016 Update: A Facebook group has been “created for and on behalf of passengers of the Thomson Majesty who were on the cruise on Western Mediterranean from 18th to 25th October 2016 and others who were affected by the incidents experienced.” The group is member-only so you have to ask for permission to be added to the group.