| dd/mm/yy |
2010 |
Incident |
| 1.5.10 | The Freeport Tribune reports police in Grand Bahama are investigating the apparent drowning of a 71 year old woman who was snorkeling at Deadman's Reef yesterday. According to reports, the victim - a woman from Baltimore, Maryland - arrived in Grand Bahama onboard the Carnival Pride cruise ship.She was among a group of visitors who went on a snorkeling trip at Deadman's Reef. A passenger writes: I'm not sure if Carnival will release this to the press ... several details of the Carnival-recommended excursion were outstanding in the lack of safety or precaution. Carol (the 71 year old woman) and her husband Harry, were on a snorkeling excursion with us. This was to be a 2.5 hour 'moderate activity' snorkeling excursion. In the Carnival description of moderate activity, it describes walking for periods of time or stairs, etc. We drove out (around 9:15) on a boat ~ 45 minutes from the ship with 50-75 people (very rough estimate). We later found out that some of the people there were from another excursion that was supposed to go out an hour before ours, which had been canceled due to ocean conditions (Carnival confirmed that there were excursions canceled due to weather conditions). When we went in the water (off-shore in an exposed area of the sea over a coral reef), we were quickly swept up away from the boat in a strong current, and the waves were extremely rough ---- even we (strong swimmers in our 20's) were struggling to swim against the current and keep from getting cut on the coral. ' Even for us, this quickly exceeded 'moderate activity', and we found ourselves exhausted from the short time we were in the ocean. After we got back to the boat (after only a few minutes), we noticed several other people were coming on board cut and bleeding (no medical attention or bandages were given). Within a few minutes of getting back on board, Carol was pulled from the water, unconscious and not breathing (we were told that it was a fellow passenger that first noticed her floating in the water, although others said she may have been yelling for help before). When the crew (5 or 6 young men) pulled her on board, they yelled for anyone with CPR training, and fellow passengers lept to try an revive her. The crew did not touch her for CPR or any other rescue breathing during the whole time. When Carol was not immediately revived, they hurriedly called for everyone left in the water to come back in - this took over a half of an hour to get everyone in from so far out - at one time all but one of the crew members had to go in the water to pull the last few out so that we could leave for shore. When we finally were able to move, we continued to shore. By now, alternate breathers had to be used, and at no time, even when we were moving, and no one else knew CPR, did the crew help try to revive Carol. There was also no working ship to shore radio or communication at all. About an hour into the ordeal, a fellow passenger was able to get cell reception and alerted the ship. My estimate is that CPR was done on her for an hour and a half to two hours. We did not reach shore until ~12:30, at which time medics were able to give her oxygen and compression. She was taken to a local hospital. Later that afternoon, we learned that she was not revived. We feel that, although Carnival makes no guarantee on the safety of these excursions, that they have an obligation to offer a certain level of screening and oversight, as they are directly recommending them. We were outraged at several obvious points that are taken for granted, but were in obvious deficiency in this case: 1) That the excursion is described accurately (level of activity, value, quality); 2) That the crew is adequately trained to deal with common emergency issues (cuts, loss of consciousness, heart attacks, breathing, etc) - IE - be CPR trained, offer basic lifeguard services (water activities), etc; 3) That the transportation is safe and equipped to handle emergencies (shore radio, life vests, adequate crew-to-passenger ratio, etc); 4) That the excursion will be canceled when conditions are unsafe - the safety of the passengers should ALWAYS come before the bottom line. Carnival should be responsible for ensuring this! See news story here. | Death on shore excursion |
| dd/mm/yy |
2009 |
Incident |
| 18.12.09 |
From a reader: I was aboard the Carnival Pride on the 12/13 sailing out of Baltimore. We missed our call at Freeport on Friday, December 18 due to high winds and rough seas. |
Missed port |
| dd/mm/yy |
2007 |
Incident |
| 12.8.07 |
The ship was delayed for two hours on Sunday after a "suspicious" boat was spotted near the ship. Crew members reported a 15- to 18-foot-long metal skiff loitering near the front end of the Carnival Pride at 11:30 a.m. Witnesses said the skiff had three men and one woman aboard, and was towing a small, bright orange inflatable dingy. One of the people aboard reportedly dove into the water near the pier's pilings and was observed by a witness pulling himself back into the boat. The vessel left the area before authorities arrived. The Port Operations Dive Group searched the pier and cruise ship hull but found nothing suspicious. The cruise ship departed at 6 p.m. Sunday. | Security |
| 5.7.07 |
A 56-year-old man went missing from the Mexican Riviera cruise, July 1-8 (port calls at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas). He was apparently last seen by his cabin mate at 1AM on July 4. His body was found off Puerto Vallarta on July 10. The FBI was notified and is investigating. The incident was made public July 16 after family members contacted Cruise Bruise. Carnival Cruise Lines says it is not normal practice for it to disclose such events to media unless specifically asked by a media source. | Missing |
| 4.2.07 |
Reports from the ship state the vessel is experiencing
unspecified mechanical problems and has reduced her speed from 20 to 10
knots, delaying her arrival in Long Beach by one full day. The
cruise scheduled to begin today will operate a modified 6 day schedule
(cancelling Puerto Vallarta) and will leave from San Pedro instead of
Long Beach, but return to Long Beach. Passengers opting to sail
received a 15% refund and a $50 shipboard credit. |
Mechanical problems - Delayed arrival & departure |
| dd/mm/yy |
2006 and earlier |
Incident |
| 27.7.06 |
From a reader: Carnival
Pride is here in Vancouver today (!). It normally only cruises
Mexico, and it took me forever to figure out why it’s here. Someone
posted saying there’s a tropical storm headed for the Mexican Riviera,
so the sailing was forced to come to Canada instead (possibly due to
the Jones Act?) Someone has posted on Cruisecritic in a ‘live
from the Pride 7/26) thread, but it keeps getting lost. Most
people thought it was some kind of joke. No info is on Carnival’s
site about the matter, so I am guessing they were told when they
boarded the ship. |
Itinerary change |
| 5.12.04 |
A 37-year old woman disappeared from the ship late Saturday
evening while 30 miles off the Mexican coast. A search proved
unsuccessful. There is question regarding whether there foul play
was involved. See
here for more info. |
Person overboard |
| dd/mm/yy |
2006 |
| March.02 |
Gastrointestinal outbreak reported
to CDC -- Details unknown (Norwalk-like virus) |