A Carnival Corp. cruise ship finally set sail from Long Beach, Calif., on Sunday night after sitting in port for more than 24 hours due to an engine-related issue.
The Carnival Splendor, originally scheduled to depart on Saturday afternoon, was also forced to juggle its itinerary, according to cruiseradio.net.
Passengers were told of the delay and expected to leave later on Saturday, but woke up Sunday morning to a letter from the ship's captain saying departure was delayed until later Sunday. The Splendor moved out of dock area to make way for another ship but remained anchored in the port.
According to the letter, the captain said the problem was an "issue which is impacting the ship's maximum cruising speed. A technician will be arriving (Sunday) morning to assist with the work that is needed. We will remain docked until 5 a.m. At that time, it will be necessary to move the ship away from the pier to clear the way for another vessel which will be embarking guests."
The ship remained anchored until the work was completed late Sunday afternoon, and the Splendor was off and running to Mexico with a slight change in itinerary.
Instead of making three stops, Carnival advised passengers the ship would be skipping its visit to Mazatlan and making a two-port stop in both Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta."
Carnival gave every person a $50 credit to their sail and sign onboard account, and refunded related taxes, fees and shore excursions.
Fortunately, other than the delay, there were no other issues.
"Our activities and entertainment are in full swing and we hope you are already enjoying all the fun my team has prepared for you," the captain wrote in his letter. "We are committed to providing you with a fun and memorable cruise. We are sorry for the impact this unexpected delay has had on your cruise and thank you for your patience and understanding. I will be back with another update [Monday] morning."
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