Miles upon miles of sea all around them, but still there’s nowhere to go.
Nearly 4500 people are onboard the stranded Carnival cruise ship Splendor, among them several New Yorkers.
”The cruise ship is still disabled, dead in the water, the passengers are being monitored closely, they're in good care”, described U.S. Coast Guard Captain Thomas Farris.
The ship, which sailed out of Long Beach, was only on the water for about a day when on Monday evening a fire broke out in an engine room, knocking the Splendor out of commission. The passengers were left adrift without phone communication, running water, or working toilets.
The ship, which was floating off the waters of Mexico, is now slowly being towed back to San Diego.
Among the stranded, Westchester County Legislator, Bernice Sprekman, who was leading a group of 50 seniors on an adventure at sea. It’s a melodrama her boss, the Westchester County Board Chairman, Ken Jenkins, says he wont let her forget.
“No she’s not going to live this down. First she missed out budget meeting to be on cruise… I can’t wait to see how the staff will decorate her office when she comes back” laughed Jenkins.
Donna Marques’ mother, is just one of the seniors with Sprekman,
“Well we know she’s safe, but we are worried, obviously it’s hard to be stuck on a ship,” said the Cortlandt, New York resident.
In San Diego, the navy loaded eight planes worth of food and supplies for the Carnival Cruise Line, which will be flown to the aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan and then transported by helicopter over to the Splendor as it sits adrift off the coast of Mexico’s Ensenada.
"The first planes that went out this morning had about fifty-five hundred pounds of bread, water, food, plates,” said Petty Officer Anthony Moreno.
Not to mention, can after can of Spam. Carnival Cruise Lines says it will refund each passenger both their cruise ticket and airfare to San Diego, adding in a statement that “conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring.”
