Archive

Carnival Cruise Disaster and More Cruises from Hell

An ill-fated Carnival cruise finally docked this week after an engine fire stranded the ship at sea for days without power. From swarthy pirates to malicious flus, read luxury liner horror stories.

galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-4_wialin
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-4_w3zs4s

This could have been an instant hit reality show. More than 3,000 passengers were treated to the ultimate cruise from hell this week when a fire on the Carnival Splendor cruise ship caused boat-wide power loss. The guests—or should we say inmates, including 100 magicians attending a floating magic convention—spent three days adrift at sea amid smells of human refuse and rotting food. They wiled the hours eating Spam courtesy of the U.S. Navy, boozing for free at the cruise liner’s bar and playing trivia games, while six tugboats hauled the ship back to shore.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-3_aakchd

Ask someone to describe the opposite of a relaxing pleasure cruise, and you might get a response like this: hundreds of passengers—one fifth of those on board — stricken with a nasty flu virus, spending their high-dollar days bent over a toilet, cramping, vomiting, and suffering from diarrhea. It happened in February 2010, and, according to the CDC, it’s not that uncommon. Eight cruise vessels had flu outbreaks in 2009 and 14 in 2008.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-2_esc8xz

Bad omen, anyone? Passengers aboard a Carnival Splendor ship (yes, the same company behind the recent debacle) departed from Long Beach, California, on April 26, 2009, looking forward to the sunny beaches of Mexico. But the next day the swine-flu scare went into high gear, as the Centers for Disease Control warned travelers to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico. The ship briefly anchored off Cabo, then turned around and headed for San Francisco. The company issued no refunds for the failed $2,000 cruise.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-5_kh2zep

The Lusitania was a technological wonder for its time, and clocking in at 25 knots, a speed demon on the high seas. After war broke out between Britain and Germany, the ship was secretly loaded in 1915 with American munitions bound for the U.K. But six days after leaving New York Harbor, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania. It sank so fast that life boats crashed into crowds of people on deck. Of the nearly 2,000 aboard the Lusitania, 1,119 never saw dry land again.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-1_y8wndr

Shirley McGill had just turned 55, and went on a cruise with her husband, Robert McGill, to celebrate. While on their idyllic journey between San Diego and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the couple got into a fight in their cabin. In a fit of rage, Robert Shirley, according to investigators, killed his wife with his bare hands. Cruise security found her body in the shower, and the FBI made a special trip out to sea to intercept McGill.

AP Photos (2)
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-7_y8fqmg

An island day trip near Athens turned tragic for the 471 people aboard the ship City of Poros, on July 11, 1988. After a bomb exploded on a nearby pier, killing two, Palestinian gunmen with the terrorist organization Abu Nidal boarded the boat with concealed automatic weapons and hand grenades. When the attackers opened fire, some on board tried to escape by jumping overboard and got caught up in the ship’s propeller. When the violence ended, 11 of the boat’s passengers were dead.

AFP / Getty Images
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-6_hqli0s

The Titanic was already a cultural icon when it departed on its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, bound for New York City, on April 10, 1912—but not for any association with celebs like Leo and Kate. The hulking ship was the biggest passenger steamship of its time. When it sank after striking an iceberg, a disproportionate number of men went down with the Titanic, as the already-insufficient rescue boats were loaded with women and children first.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-8_xokmmf

Thwarting a swarthy crew of pirates must be among the most satisfying triumphs for a ship captain. When pirates tried to ransack one of Seabourn Cruise Line’s vessels 100 miles of the coast of Somalia, the captain threw his ship into high speed and changed course, evading the would-be hostage takers. The 151 passengers aboard were thrilled, no doubt, not to have become pirates booty, but the episode surely put unwanted stress on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-9_e61evh

We may have big, fancy, high-tech boats, but the high seas are as unpredictable as ever. The Louis Majesty was nearly at the end of its Mediterranean voyage this year when 25-foot-high waves crashed into the front of the ship, scattering water and humans around the deck. Two people lost their lives as a result, and 14 were injured.

AP Photo
galleries/2010/11/12/cruises-from-hell/cruises-from-hell-10_mfkf8b

Cruise-goers of the world, unite! After stops were canceled last year on a round-the-world, 93-night British luxury cruise, and the vessel stopped at only two ports in 22 days, passengers took matters into their own hands. An emergency meeting of the 600 on board was called, and the cantankerous vacationers formed a protest committee. The passengers had paid up to $65,000 for the cruise, and were not inclined to take the unraveling of their dream vacations lightly. “So many people worked hard for so many years to afford this cruise. It is truly unforgivable,” said one disgruntled committee member. The group lobbied for a refund and even threatened legal action.

Anton Meres / Reuters