Mechanical problems are affecting the speed of the Carnival Victory cruise ship which departed yesterday from the port of Miami.
The Carnival cruise ship was supposed to sail from Miami to Key West arriving this morning around 7:30 a.m., and then sailing on to Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Miami in October 26, 2018.
However, yesterday Carnival stated that an unspecified “issue” is affecting the ship’s “maximum cruising speed.” A letter to the ship’s guests signed by the Master of the cruise ship stated that although technicians were doing the “necessary work,” the ship would operate on a modified itinerary. The ship would sail to Nassau in the Bahamas where it would arrive at 10:00 a.m. today and it would then spend the day tomorrow at its private destination in Princess Cays in the Bahamas. The Carnival Victory would then spend a day at sea on Thursday and would return to Miami Friday morning.
AIS shows the ship in Nassau this morning after sailing at an average speed of around 11-12 knots.
Carnival was offering a $50 onboard credit or a refund for anyone who wished to cancel the cruise.
The propulsion issue facing the Carnival victory comes at a time when Carnival announced that the ship is part of a $2 billion enhancement program where the cruise line is rebranding a number of its ships. The Carnival Victory will be dry docked before returning to the fleet as Carnival Radiance in 2020. The ship will undergo major refurbishments including specialty dining facilities, aqua parks, and enhanced accommodations and amenities.
USA TODAY writes that the overhaul of the Victory will “take place over 38 days at a dry dock in Cadiz, Spain and cost $200 million – one of the priciest cruise ship makeovers on record.” The makeover will include the “addition of more than 100 cabins, the revamping of existing cabins and the addition of nearly a dozen food and drink outlets.”
We were first notified that the cruise ship arrived in port in Miami with the assistance of tugs yesterday.
Power losses of cruise ships are a relatively common occurrence. In 2016, there were at least 18 power losses of cruise ships operated by the major U.S.-based lines, including problems with the Carnival Elation, Carnival Legend, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Vista as well as the Carnival owned Adonia, Caribbean Princess, Emerald Princess, and Costa neoRiviera.
2017 saw a number of Carnival cruise ships experiencing engine problems, such as the Carnival Dream, which was forced to miss a port in Mexico in August and then limped back to New Orleans, as well as propulsion issues plaguing the Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Splendor.
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Photo credit – Carnival Victory (in Nassau): Justinpolanco – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons / wikimedia.