Crippled cruise ship expected in San Diego Thursday
November 10, 2010 10:09 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- Thousands of passengers on a towed cruise ship will disembark in San Diego, California, Thursday with their own tales from a three-day ordeal that left them without air conditioning and hot showers. Their diet became Spam and Pop Tarts rather than steak and chocolate mousse.
And while Carnival Cruise Lines said Wednesday that most passengers knew that the Carnival Splendor's crew was doing the best it could, there were reports of passengers pledging not to take up the company's offer of a free replacement trip.
The vessel, which became stranded Monday after an engine-room fire off the coast of Mexico, is expected to arrive early Thursday, Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill said at a press conference.
Because the ship is without most of its power, the company decided to wait until daylight for five tugboats to deliver the Splendor to a dock, probably around midday, Cahill said. Nearly 4,500 people, including crew, are on board.
Carnival noted that as the ship gets closer to the coast, passengers are increasingly able to receive "intermittent cellular service."
The ship's crew set up a call center for passengers to make urgent calls.
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"Obviously, with eight phones and 3,300 people. you are going to have a pretty big backup," Cahill said.
One passenger, David Zambrano, a KUSA-TV employee, called his Denver, Colorado, station Wednesday from his cell phone on the ship and said many passengers are in the dark in their cabins and have to wait in line for two hours to eat the cold meals, which are being delivered to them by helicopter from the USS Ronald Reagan.
"Many of the people I have talked to said that they will never take another cruise again, especially with Carnival," said Zambrano, who was able to enjoy some sunlight because he has a stateroom with a balcony.
"It's nothing like anyone expected, no," Zambrano said. "You stand in line for two hours just to get your food because everybody goes to the same place to pick up their food. And, so you stand in line and you wait, then once you get your food, you leave and you look for something to do.
"People are playing cards. People are standing around just kind of talking. They're getting to socialize," Zambrano said. "It's not what you would expect on a normal cruise, of course not, but it's -- they're doing their best. The crew is doing their best to keep everybody satisfied and make sure that they're watching everything.
"The only thing that made it really tough was when the facilities were all broken down and all the bathrooms weren't working and people were starting to get uncomfortable," Zambrano said. "But now that they
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