A cruise ship, Carnival Liberty, carrying more than 3,000 passengers has been stranded in St. Thomas after an engine fire broke out.
However, no one was injured by the Monday morning blaze on the 10-year-old Carnival Liberty, which was extinguished by the vessel’s automated suppression system, the line said. But as of Tuesday morning, the ship remained tied up to a pier while experts assessed the damage. It originally was scheduled to depart St. Thomas on Monday afternoon.
The Carnival Liberty was docked in St. Thomas when the fire broke out Monday morning and passengers were evacuated to the pier. They weren’t allowed back on board until Monday evening.
Carnival says all hotel services on the ship including air conditioning, elevators, toilets and galleys are fully functional and the ship’s normal array of activities including entertainment and dining are proceeding as normal. Passengers on Tuesday were being given the option of spending the day ashore in St. Thomas, and Carnival has set up shuttles to take them to sites around the island. The line also has issued passengers a $150 per person shipboard credit.
Carnival Liberty is on a seven-night Southern Caribbean cruise that began Sunday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It had been scheduled to spend today at sea on its way to Barbados, where it’s due Wednesday morning. The ship also is scheduled to visit St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten this week before returning to San Juan on Sept. 13. There are 3,346 passengers and 1,150 crew on board, the line The fire is the second in three months on a large cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean.
A fire on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas as it sailed into Falmouth, Jamaica, in July left one crew member injured.
