Image Source: DVIDSHUB, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What Was the Accusation?
In February 2013, Carnival Cruise Lines faced intense criticism after an engine-room fire disabled the Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico and left more than 3,100 passengers aboard a ship with severely limited hotel services. The four-day cruise had departed Galveston, Texas, on February 7 and was scheduled to return on February 11. Early on February 10, however, a fire broke out in the ship’s aft engine room. A later joint investigation by the Bahamas Maritime Authority and the United States determined that a flexible pipe in a fuel-oil return line failed, allowing fuel to spray into the engine room and contact a hot surface. The resulting fire damaged generators and electrical cabling, causing a major loss of electrical power and disabling the ship’s propulsion. Although the fire was extinguished and no passengers or crew members were injured by the fire itself, the ship could not return to port under its own power and had to be towed across the Gulf of Mexico.
As the voyage stretched several days beyond its scheduled return, passenger accounts focused national attention on deteriorating conditions aboard the ship. The loss of electrical power affected air conditioning, food preparation, elevators, toilets, and other basic services. Passengers described oppressive heat, sewage problems, long waits for food, makeshift sleeping arrangements, and people sleeping on open decks to escape the conditions inside the vessel. Carnival reported that some auxiliary power and sanitation services were gradually restored, but news reports and communications from passengers presented a highly unfavorable picture of life aboard the disabled ship. The incident quickly became a major corporate crisis for Carnival because a vacation marketed around comfort and leisure had become an extended emergency in which thousands of passengers were dependent on the company for food, sanitation, information, transportation, and their eventual return home.
Carnival Cruise Lines President and CEO Gerry Cahill publicly apologized as the crisis unfolded. He acknowledged that conditions aboard the Triumph were difficult and that Carnival had failed to provide the vacation experience its customers expected. The company arranged tugboats to bring the vessel to Mobile, Alabama, where it arrived on February 14. Carnival then arranged buses, hotel accommodations, charter flights, meals, and other transportation assistance to help passengers return home. Carnival provided passengers with a full cruise refund, reimbursement of transportation expenses and most shipboard purchases, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the voyage, and an additional $500 per person. The company also canceled 14 upcoming Carnival Triumph voyages through April 13 while the ship underwent assessment and repairs.
The controversy extended beyond the passengers’ immediate ordeal because the fire raised questions about the resilience of cruise-ship electrical systems and the ability of a large passenger vessel to maintain basic services after a major engine-room casualty. The subsequent government investigation found that damage in the aft engine room contributed to a loss of power from generators located elsewhere on the ship and identified a potential single-point-failure problem. Carnival later rerouted electrical cabling and made other changes to reduce the possibility that a similar casualty could again cause a total loss of power. The company also undertook a broader fleetwide review of operating redundancies and backup systems. Carnival’s image-repair response therefore combined repeated apologies and acknowledgment of failure with passenger compensation, logistical assistance, repairs, and longer-term corrective measures intended to prevent a recurrence.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Corrective Action, Bolstering
Video
Transcript
Gerry Cahill Remarks as Carnival Triumph Arrived in Mobile — February 14, 2013
“All of us at Carnival deeply regret the hardship our guests had to face during their days on board the ship. Our number one concern was to ensure the safety and welfare of our guests and crew and to get them home as soon as possible. Our shipboard and shore side teams worked tirelessly to take care of them and minimise their discomfort and inconvenience. We also focused on making sure their loved ones had a direct link to our Family Support Center where they could obtain round the clock information on their family and friends on board.
“Now that all the guests are safely home, our efforts are firmly focused on the ongoing investigation into the root cause of the fire and what measures we can take to ensure this does not happen again. These efforts are taking place in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Bahamian Flag Authority and other independent parties. We know, however, that preliminary investigations indicate the cause of the fire was the result of a leak in the fuel return line for the number 6 diesel generator.
“The safety and security of our guests remains of the utmost importance to all of us here at Carnival. All our ships are safe and secure. All of them meet, and in many areas exceed, all regulatory standards. I promise we will continue to investigate in order to understand what took place and to learn what steps we can take to improve going forward.”
Gerry Cahill Statement Following the Return of Carnival Triumph — February 15, 2013
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH UPDATE
Arrival/Guest Logistics
The Carnival Triumph arrived at the Port of Mobile via tug assistance at approximately 9:30 U.S. central standard time yesterday evening, February 14, following an engine room fire that occurred on Sunday, Feb. 10. The 3,141 guests on board were debarked from the vessel by approximately 12:50 am CST and the majority were transferred via motor coach to either New Orleans or Galveston.
Carnival reserved approximately 1,500 hotel rooms in New Orleans and the company is covering all travel and meal expenses. Carnival has charted multiple flights from New Orleans which were scheduled to begin departing for Houston at 8 am CST.
The buses from Mobile that headed directly to the Port of Galveston, which was the ship’s original departure port, began arriving in Galveston at approximately 7 a.m. CST this morning. Guests are retrieving their cars and proceeding home.
Compensation
All guests on the Feb. 7 Carnival Triumph voyage will receive a full refund of the cruise and transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the voyage, reimbursement of all shipboard purchases made during the voyage, with the exception of casino, gift shop and artwork purchases, and further compensation of $500 per person.
Carnival has also canceled 14 voyages of the Carnival Triumph through April 13, 2013. Guests on the affected sailings will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, as well as non-refundable transportation costs, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities, and government fees and taxes. Guests will also receive a 25 percent discount on a future three- to five-day Carnival cruise or a 15 percent discount on a six- to seven-day cruise. Travel agent commissions will be protected.
Damage Assessment/Next Steps
The ship is being towed this morning from the cruise terminal to a shipyard in Mobile where a detailed damage assessment will occur. It has not yet been determined whether or not it will be necessary to place the ship in a dry dock facility. The investigation process has begun, as well, in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board and the Bahamas Maritime Authority.
Remarks from Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill:
“I want to again apologize to our guests and their friends and families. The situation on board was difficult and we are very sorry for what has happened. We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this case.”
Letter Distributed to Past Guests on February 18, 2013
Dear Carnival Past Guest,
We realize many of you have been following last week’s events on the Carnival Triumph and I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with some information. Additionally, I wanted to thank many of you who have taken the time to write to me personally to express your support.
Let me begin by saying that all of us at Carnival deeply regret the hardship our guests had to face during their days on board the ship. Our number one concern was to ensure the safety and welfare of our guests and crew and to get them home as soon as possible. Our shipboard and shore side teams worked tirelessly to take care of them and minimize their discomfort and inconvenience. We also focused on making sure their loved ones had a direct link to our Family Support Center where they could obtain round the clock information on their family and friends on board.
Now that all the guests are safely home, our efforts are firmly focused on the ongoing investigation into the root cause of the fire and what measures we can take to ensure this does not happen again. These efforts are taking place in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Bahamian Flag Authority and other independent parties. We know, however, that preliminary investigations indicate the cause of the fire was the result of a leak in the fuel return line for the number 6 diesel generator.
The safety and security of our guests remains of the utmost importance to all of us here at Carnival. All our ships are safe and secure. All of them meet, and in many areas exceed, all regulatory standards. I promise we will continue to investigate in order to understand what took place and to learn what steps we can take to improve going forward.
During the past week, so many of you have written letters, emailed, posted on Facebook or tweeted to show your support for all of us here at Carnival during this difficult time. Your thoughtful comments and words of support are so greatly appreciated. Thank you. It has really meant a lot to us.
We know you can choose from a vast variety of vacation options and that you expect a fantastic vacation from us. We are very sorry that this time we did not deliver. I want to personally acknowledge how much we appreciate and value that you have chosen to spend your vacation time with us at Carnival in the past. We hope you will continue to do so in the future and are committed to doing everything we can to provide you with a fun and memorable vacation experience.
