CNN reports this morning that passengers aboard the Dream contacted the news channel, stating that there are power outages and overflowing toilets on the cruise ship which is in port at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in the eastern Caribbean. The ship was supposed to leave port yesterday at 5:00 PM.

CNN quotes a passenger from North Carolina saying:

"We are not allowed off of the boat despite the fact that we have no way to use the restrooms on board . . . The cruise director is giving passengers very limited information and tons of empty promises. What was supposed to take a hour has turned into 7-plus hours."

Another passenger tells CNN: "There’s human waste all over the floor in some of the bathrooms and they’re overflowing — and in the state rooms. The elevators have not been working. They’ve been turning them on and off, on and off." 

CNN quotes the U.S. Coast Guard saying that Carnival notified it that the Dream is experiencing "generator issues." 

The incident occurs while the cruise industry is conducting its annual convention, "Cruise Shipping Miami." Carnival President Gerry Cahill told the convention audience that disabled cruise ships are "very rare."

Early this morning Carnival released a statement saying: "At no time did the ship lose power but there were periodic interruptions to elevators and toilets for a few hours last night . . . At present the ship has full power and all hotel systems are functioning normally and have been functional since approximately 12.30 a.m."

If the ship never lost power why is it still in port 16 hours past schedule? 

A webcam link posted by a Cruise Critic member shows the Dream still in port as of 9:00 AM this morning.

The Dream’s webcam is here.

Reuters quotes Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss in Miami saying “Right now the passengers are being kept on board the ship for accountability reasons.  They were scheduled to leave today so the captain has decided to have everybody remain on board at this time.”

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Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (Kuloskulos)