Skift Take
Carnival's latest fiasco comes one day after its president promised a thorough review of its ships. That review couldn't come soon enough for Dream passengers.
Carnival Corp & Plc said on Thursday it is making arrangements to fly home all passengers on its Carnival Dream ship, now stuck in port in St. Maarten in the Caribbean, by private charters and will give them a refund equivalent to three days of the trip, plus a 50 percent discount on a future cruise.
Carnival said its engineers are still looking into the technical issue that affected the Carnival Dream’s backup emergency diesel generator Wednesday night.
Previously
A Carnival Cruise Lines ship was stuck at port in St. Maarten in the Caribbean on Thursday with equipment trouble, a month after passengers spent nearly five days trapped on another disabled Carnival vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.
The captain of the Carnival Dream reported a problem with the emergency diesel generator, which controls the ship’s propulsion, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.
The Coast Guard learned of the problem from a passenger at about 3 a.m. local time, said Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss in Miami.
The ship was scheduled to leave port on Thursday and was due back at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, he said.
“Right now the passengers are being kept on board the ship for accountability reasons,” Doss said. “They were scheduled to leave today so the captain has decided to have everybody remain on board at this time.”
Carnival Corp & Plc , which operates Carnival Cruise and a number of other cruise lines, was not immediately available for comment.
CNN reported that passengers aboard the Carnival Dream had contacted the cable news channel complaining of power outages and overflowing toilets, tales reminiscent of the troubles aboard the disabled Carnival Triumph in February.
Doss said the Carnival Dream’s captain had not confirmed the reports of malfunctioning toilets or power outages.
“And we asked,” Doss said. “The captain has reported that the main generator is still working. That generator is what controls everything else on the ship, such as power (and) sewage.”
Copyright (2013) Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions. 
The Daily Newsletter
Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch