Stricken cruise ship expected to be towed into Ensenada on Wednesday

Los Angeles Times ^ | Nov. 9, 2010 | Tony Perry

[La Enchiladita]

A cruise ship left powerless by an engine fire is expected to be towed into Ensenada on Wednesday morning, and buses will meet passengers for the trip back to Southern California, the cruise ship company and the U.S. Navy announced Tuesday.

Tugboats are scheduled to bring the ship, with its 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members, into Ensenada, where it will undergo emergency repairs before returning to its home port of Long Beach.

...The Morgenthau, a high-endurance Coast Guard cutter out of Alameda, will stay with the 952-foot-long Carnival Splendor until it reaches Long Beach, officials said.

[La Enchiladita]

The U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan was ordered into the area to help with the delivery of relief supplies. Planes from North Island Naval Air Station at Coronado are taking 70,000 pounds of food and other items to the carrier, which will transfer the supplies to the cruise ship by helicopter, the Navy said.

...The company is paying the military for the food and supplies, officials said.

[Don Corleone]

When the going gets tough..the tough get rowing. //snicker
Can you imagine the logistics with the buses in Mexico and at the port of entry?

[ComputerGuy]

I know those cruisers are having a bad time of it, but I remember one time in Cozumel. The authorities made the Carnival ship leave a day early. Things were sure rocking down-town, at least for a while. What a crowd!

[libstripper]

When there’s a big mess with a cruise ship the name “Carnival” is the first thing to come to mind, just as when there’s a terrorist bombing, “Muzzie” always comes to mind.

[dancusa]

A cruise should be great. I went on one in 1989. Gained 17 pounds in 7 days. The passengers should get a rebate.

[humblegunner]

I had an absolute BLAST on the Carnival Ecstasy.
The crew was awesome, too.

Partied with ‘em below decks.. and the chow was actually better
down decks with the staff. Nice folks. I imagine a towed cruise ship
even without power is STILL pretty nice.

[Thrownatbirth]

It’s going to be tough to unrep those ice sculptures aboard.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

buses will meet passengers for the trip back to Southern California, the cruise ship company and the U.S. Navy announced Tuesday.

There you go! That should be the highlight of your cruise!

[Viking2002]

'with its 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members'

Whoa. That's a lot of human cargo on one of those suckers. I've never seen one up close - they must be bigger than pictures make them out to be. I bet you'd need a reel with a really big spool if you wanted to fish over the side of the rail.

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for his name is Obama."

[truth_seeker]

Tie in with missile off SoCal?

Terrorists showing how easy to take out a tourist ship, under our noses?

[Deaf Smith]

"the logistics with the buses in Mexico"

I'm sure that the news of the buses is being considered and car loads of bandits are converging on the area to collect their 'tolls' when the passengers head north.

[La Enchiladita]

I wonder how many stow-away illegals will succeed in making the trip too.... LOL.

[DefeatCorruption]

When the going gets tough..the tough get rowing. //snicker
Can you imagine the logistics with the buses in Mexico and at the port of entry?

*****************************************************
Hope the bus caravan isn’t ambushed by the drug cartels.

[La Enchiladita]

I think they’re gonna remove the passengers before they tow, though.
I’ll bet it wasn’t fun when the fire broke out...

[red-dawg]

Let's see if I have this right.

The average Greyhound bus has a capacity of 49.

4500 people that have to be transported 50 miles =

92 busloads.

I wonder how many buses they plan on using to reduce the number of trips per bus. Also, are there going to be some passengers waiting on board the ship for their turn? What about on board security for the banditos?

[AngelesCrestHighway]

All those tourists with all that money they didn’t get to spend on the cruise?....Nah!...No target there! (sarc. extreme)

[AngelesCrestHighway]

"Where do you stink'in Gringos think you are going?....the border?"...

[nascarnation]

We went on the Carnival Dream (another big ship) to the Caribbean last spring.
Loved it. Because of the size, things never seem crowded.
Only downside is the availability of awesome grub 24/7.
It’s definitely hard on the waistline.

[Rio]

They should have it towed into Long Beach Harboor. Not Ensenada.

[The Great RJ]

I am sure passengers will be met by an army of lawyers passing out business cards.