Carnival Cruises Canceled for 30,000 as 2 Ships Being Overhauled

A dozen Carnival cruises have been canceled so the company can make changes to its Sunshine and Triumph vessels' power and fire suppression systems following the much publicized February fire that left travelers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico.

The cancellations will extend the overhauls of the Carnival Sunshine and Triumph ships, which were already in the repair yards, and follow in line with the recently announced review of all Carnival fire safety and power systems.

"The cruise line is making significant investments to enhance the level of operating redundancies and the scope of hotel services that can run on emergency power, and further improve each ship's fire prevention, detection, and suppression systems," the cruise line said Tuesday in a statement. "Given the necessary lead time to source needed materials and implement the enhancements, Carnival will extend the current out-of-service period for these two ships."

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The more than 30,000 customers who had booked the canceled cruises will receive a full refund, reimbursement for non-refundable transportation costs, and a 25 percent discount on a future four- to five-day cruise, the company said.

Two sailings are canceled for the 2,642-passenger Carnival Sunshine (until recently known as the Carnival Destiny), which is in the midst of a total makeover. The ship is set to be back on the water May 5.

Ten additional trips have been scrapped for the 2,758-passenger Triumph after the Feb. 10 fire left the vessel essentially dead in the water. The fire knocked out the propulsion system and the emergency backup power system was found to be inadequate, leaving the stranded passengers floating in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident resulted in 14 cancellations and now an additional 10. Repairs are scheduled to be finished June 3.

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"Our team of experts has worked virtually around the clock to determine the best set of solutions and rapidly develop an effective implementation plan for both of these ships," Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said in a statement. "Moving forward, we will have the ability to source materials and schedule improvements much more expediently, thus minimizing the scheduling impact on other vessels."

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