Carnival Cancels More Voyages as Ship Repairs Continue

Carnival Cruise Lines, the company whose boat sat disabled off the coast of Mexico last month, said it has cancelled additional voyages of the Carnival Splendor through January and most of February as it continues the ship’s repair.

Departures of the Splendor are expected to resume on Feb. 20.

The Splendor, which operates year-round, seven-day Mexican Riviera voyages from Long Beach, Calif, left some 4,500 crew and passengers stranded for days without power in early November after a fire broke out in its engine room.

In November, the company said only nine sails from November to January would be cancelled, however testing of damaged components led to the discovery of additional issues, leading the company to cancel another five voyages on Jan. 16, 23, 30 and Feb. 6 and 13. Also, some needed parts have not be readily available and are still being manufactured in Europe.

In mid-January, the ship, which was tugged to San Diego while disabled, will sail to San Francisco, where repairs will be completed at a dry dock facility.

“We made our best effort back in November to estimate the necessary repair time with a strong goal of not having to modify it at a later point in time,” said Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill. “We sincerely apologize to our guests for having to cancel these additional cruises.”

The news sent shares of Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL), its parent company, down nearly 2%.

Guests booked on the cancelled trips will receive a refund or future cruise credit equal to the amount paid, along with reimbursement for cancelled air transportation.

Those who re-book may also receive a 25% discount on a future cruise as well as an onboard credit, depending on the sailing date.

Carnival said it is contacting travel agents and guests affected by the new cancellations.