The fire that has put the Carnival Splendor out of service through mid-January left travel agents scrambling last week to reaccommodate clients, and it had marine experts scratching their heads about how one engine fire could have blacked out a modern cruise ship carrying almost 5,000 people.
"Clearly, something that was supposed to work didn't work," said Richard Burke, chairman of the engineering department at the State University of New York's Maritime College. "The ship is designed with two engine rooms that are essentially duplicates, and they should have been able to provide power to the ship from the other engine room."
Burke said there were several possibilities as to what might have gone wrong.
"It could be there was equipment damaged in one of the engine rooms that was necessary to parallel the two power systems," he said. "If that's the case, that's a design error. Or, the equipment that was supposed to shift the load from one set of generators to the other didn't work the way it was supposed to. The investigation will bring it out."
The investigation into what caused the fire and why its repercussions were so severe is being headed by the Splendor's flag-state, Panama.
From the U.S., the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard are assisting, and Panama's Maritime Authority will release all information on the investigation's progress.
Carnival Cruise Lines said that a generator caught fire in the aft engine room about 6 a.m. on Nov. 8, preventing the transmission of electricity to the ship's propulsion system and knocking out power to the ship's main switchboard. That blacked out much of the ship's hotel systems, including air conditioning, hot food service, phones and most of the interior lighting.
There was also no hot water, and for the first day, the ship's toilets didn't function.
Carnival said last week that damage to the ship was limited to the aft engine room and control rooms.
"The focus is on the No. 5 diesel generator in the aft engine room, but at this time the exact nature of the malfunction is still under investigation," said Carnival spokesman Tim Gallagher. "In our nearly 40-year history, this is the first time that we have had this sort of issue with a diesel generator. We don't believe other vessels are at risk."
Still, Carnival and other cruise lines were taking no chances last week and were inspecting their ships' engines and generators.
Celebrity Cruises CEO Dan Hanrahan said last week that he had consulted with his hotel and marine groups.
"Once we learn more, we'll further evaluate our systems," Hanrahan said. "We have redundant systems, so if there is a fire, we know we will still have power."
He was quick to add that Carnival had succeeded in meeting any cruise ship's main objective: safely returning passengers to port.
"Carnival achieved that," Hanrahan said.
Meanwhile, travel agents were working overtime to accommodate clients who had been booked on the Splendor through Jan. 16, when the ship is expected to resume service from Long Beach, Calif., on cruises to the Mexican Riviera.
Carnival protected agent commissions and gave passengers on affected sailings a refund of their cruise fare and air costs, plus a 25% future cruise credit, if they could not be accommodated on a different Carnival sailing.
Travel agents reported various reactions from clients.
Laurie Tullock of Montrose Travel in Montrose, Calif., said most clients wanted to be booked on the Carnival Spirit, the only other Carnival ship sailing the Mexican Riviera during that time.
She added that the clients understood that with limited availability, they needed to be flexible in terms of accommodations.
"They say, 'My heart is set on a Christmas cruise and a balcony cabin,' but which is a bigger desire: the Christmas cruise or balcony cabin? It seems to be the Christmas cruise," she said.
Tullock said that trying to book people on other cruise lines was not a good option because, being so close-in, prices were quite high.
Anthony Hamawy of Cruise.com found that most of his clients were taking the refund and discount on a future cruise.
"In most cases, our clients want the full refund," he said.
Hamawy said that there was an upside in the situation occurring this time of year and in this region. The fourth quarter is relatively slow, he said, and the Mexican Riviera is a cruise destination that has been soft and thus has availability.
"If it were summer in Alaska, it would be a big problem," he said.
Both Hamawy and Tullock praised Carnival's compensation and said the line was being as helpful as it could be to accommodate passengers. But they added that the situation had created a lot of extra work.
"One by one, we are calling the customers, and obviously there will be follow-up down the road," Hamawy said.
"We will contact them to make sure they book another cruise before the offer expires."
Tullock said Montrose agents reported that Carnival was being "extremely nice and accommodating" but that in some cases, agents had to wait on hold for more than 30 minutes to get through.
"It makes perfect sense," she said. "With that many passengers and agents impacted ... Carnival is trying to do everything they can to reaccommodate people and make sure they are being taken care of. It's increased work, but that's the nature of the beast."
Several travel sellers noted that during events like this, clients realize how much the agent can do to help them.
"These are the times that tend to show why agents come in handy," Hamawy said.