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Nov 28, 2009 11:49 pm US/Eastern
Passengers Frustrated By Cruise Ship's Power Loss
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A power outage onboard the Norwegian Dawn 95 miles off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico caused the cruise ship to run on its damaged twin engine just to be able to dock on the island Saturday.
"At noontime today it was over 100 degrees in there," said passenger Ofelia Ugalde of Miami. "I mean the food -- there was a food shortage, the lettuce was totally dilapidated, the water was hot you could drink tea with it."
Once they arrived at San Juan, passengers complained that they were not allowed off the ship.
"So we were expected to sleep on the ship which had no air conditioning." said Diana Rodriguez, a passenger from Miami.
The ship lost power sometime Friday night leaving 2,357 passengers onboard with no air conditioning and forcing many passengers to spend the night outside on one of the ship's 15 decks. It also caused cruise officials to cancel all onboard activities.
The cruise ship left the port of Miami on a nine-day voyage to the Southern Caribbean, which included stops at the following countries: Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbados and St. Kitts.
The cruise ship made arrangements for international passengers to travel back to Miami on chartered flights, while others weren't allowed to exit the ship.
Many people from Miami got tired of waiting for the cruise line to fly them home and did so on their own dimes. But not everyone was livid when they arrived.
"The staff was wonderful. They were really helpful," said Jackelen Boyer. "The cruise company did compensate us but getting out of there was a nightmare."
Norwegian Cruise Lines issued the following
statement on their website:
"Please be advised that Norwegian Dawn's 5-Day Western Caribbean sailing from Miami, Florida on Sunday, November 29, 2009 is cancelled. Guests can call Norwegian at 1-800-327-7030 Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 9pm Eastern Time and Monday to Friday from 8am to midnight Eastern Time and a Norwegian Cruise Line representative will be available to assist in answering questions."
Courtney Recht, a spokeswoman for the cruise line, said "
The cruise line is doing everything possible to assist guests during this time. The company apologizes for this unforeseen situation and appreciates its guests' cooperation and understanding. "
Recht added that all passengers would return to Miami by chartered planes early evening Sunday.
The cruise line has also agreed to give passengers a 70-percent refund on this trip and a 50-percent off deal for a future cruise.
Those expected to board on Sunday's cruise would be given a full refund and a 50 percent credit to book a future cruise.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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