Valley residents recount stories from disabled cruise ship

There are 180 steps from the bottom of Carnival Splendor to the main dining hall on the ship's ninth floor.

North Las Vegan Marva Kent counted them as she climbed every day to get food while the ship floated helplessly in the Pacific Ocean.

"It's probably the only cruise where we can say we lost weight," Kent joked from the comfort of a Southern California hotel room. "We had to keep going up and down those steps every day."

The elevators had been knocked out along with the rest of the ship's power by an engine fire early Monday morning. The 952-foot cruise liner had been on a seven-day trip to the Mexican Riviera, but the power outage set the ship adrift about 200 miles from of San Diego and 44 miles off the coast of Mexico.

The nearly 4,500 passengers and crew finally got to dry land on Thursday morning when the ship manually docked at San Diego. Tugboats towed the ship the entire way.

"The odor got to be rather scary at one point," Kent said. "It took half a day to get most of the plumbing working to the point where the toilets would flush."

Kent and her family will return to North Las Vegas on Saturday. They have to drive the four-hour trip back home.

"The cruise director did a tremendous job of keeping everyone calm and doing everything he could to accommodate everyone," she added.

For Las Vegas resident Peg Fisher, getting by without working toilets on the first day was the biggest challenge. After 15 hours, she couldn't wait any longer and hoped for the best as she flushed her cabin toilet.

"I ran out in the halls, 'The toilets flush!' People were like, 'Are you kidding?' They went running into their cabins," she said.

For food, Kent and her four relatives ate mostly cereal and sandwiches. There was chocolate milk and soda. They ate Pop Tarts on the last day. The cruise employees opened up the bars and served free wine and beer on the second day of the trip.

If she never sees another ham or vegetable sandwich again, that would be OK, Kent added.

Her daughter, Melita Hughes, said the hardest part was talking to her toddler daughter Sianna about the food.

"We've got this 3-year-old watching the helicopter bringing the food, and she goes, 'I want french fries,' " Hughes laughed. "I told her they can't bring anything over here they have to cook, so she pointed to the USS Ronald Reagan," an aircraft carrier that floated nearby, "and said, 'They can cook them over there.' "

To pass the time the group played charades. About 250 magicians also were on board for an industry convention and entertained the guests for hours. Live bands played, including one that drew chuckles by breaking into a song from the movie "Titanic."

Carnival canceled Splendor's next cruise, which was scheduled to depart Sunday. The cruise line promised it will give refunds to everyone who holds reservations for that trip and offer them a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.

The passengers who were on the stranded ship get a refund, including airfare, and a free cruise.

Several of the passengers said they would take Carnival's offer for a free cruise.

"I'm a math person. What are the chances this would happen twice to the same person? I'm going with the odds. We're from Vegas. We're coming back," Fisher said.

About 75 buses took passengers to locations including Long Beach, where the Splendor is based. Passengers also were given the option of staying overnight at San Diego hotels.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.