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| Carnival Cruise Lines President Gerry Cahill // All photos by Andy Newman for Carnival Cruise Lines |
Carnival Cruise Lines President Gerry Cahill conducted a brief press conference in Miami on Tuesday evening, to provide reporters with an update on the stricken Carnival Triumph, which is now being towed to Mobile, AL, for a Thursday arrival.
“First, it’s very important that I apologize to our guests and their families that have been affected by this very difficult situation,” said Cahill.
“At Carnival our promise to our guests is to provide a great vacation experience," he stressed. "We try very hard to do that all the time. So obviously, in this particular case, we did not deliver on that promise and we are very sorry that occurred.”
Cahill said the company mobilized its response to the incident immediately after the fire occurred in Carnival Triumph's engine room on Sunday, knocking out the ship's propulsion. “I want to assure you that every action we are taking is to get our guests home as quickly as possible and make them as comfortable as they can be," Cahill emphasized.
He said that tresponding to guests onboard the ship is the number one priority for the 3,000-plus Carnival team members located in Miami as well as other cities around the United States.
What's new? Cahill told reporters that Carnival has finalized arrangements of more than 20 charter flights to fly Carnival Triumph guests from either Mobile or New Orleans to Houston on Friday.
“The plan is to accommodate guests in either Mobile or New Orleans on Thursday [night] once we get in, and give them an opportunity to rest and relax and to fly them home on Friday,” Cahill said.
“We’ve reserved more than 1,500 hotel rooms in Mobile and New Orleans and also secured transportation from Houston to the Port of Galveston, so our guests who had driven to the ship can get back to their cars,” he said.
Alternatively, for those guests who feel they need to get home right away, Carnival is in the process of securing motorcoach transportation for Thursday evening; that will take Carnival Triumph guests from Mobile to either Houston or Galveston.
Cahill said embarkation, guest logistics, operations and Care Team members from Miami and New Orleans are arriving in Mobile on Wednesday to help manage the disembarkation effort.
In addition, Cahill briefly addressed what happened in the initial period following the fire being extinguished. He said the company mobilized early Sunday.
“We were hoping to restart the diesel generators,” said Cahill, but as a back-up plan he said Carnival simultaneously contracted for the use of two tug boats – one from Mobile and one from Progreso, Mexico, in case the engines could not be restarted.
He said that decision allowed the line to then deploy the tugs as soon as possible to the stricken ship, when it was determined the engines could not be restarted.
Carnival Triumph is now being towed to Mobile, AL, for a Thursday arrival. Originally, the ship was to be towed to Progreso, but ocean currents caused the ship to drift further north.
He also addressed the guests onboard and their families. Many negative media reports have surfaced as guests tweet, text and post Facebook comments about difficult conditions onboard.
“No one here from Carnival is happy about conditions onboard the ship,” Cahill said. “We obviously are very, very sorry about what’s taking place. There is no question that conditions onboard the ship are very challenging.”
But Cahill said everyone onboard and everyone shoreside is doing everything they can to make guests as comfortable as possible. He also said, “I’d like to commend our guests onboard the Carnival Triumph. They’re doing a very great job in dealing with a difficult situation.”
“I think somewhat it’s the nature of the Carnival guests who happen to be very optimistic people and enjoy life," said Cahill, who also thanked the families of guests for their patience.
In addition, Cahill thanked the U.S. Coast Guard, other federal agencies, various port authorities that have provided or offered assistance. He also credited the crew members onboard Carnival Legend, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Elation for their help in providing food and supplies to the Carnival Triumph.
The press conference statement by Cahill is available for agents and consumers to view on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIQRLYNX1yA&feature=youtu.be.