Magician marooned on the Carnival Splendor

"We've just received another report from another marooned passenger aboard the Carnival Splendor /

this is the story!"

A well-known magician who has made a name for himself in Millville , MD is one of 4,000 passengers stranded on the Carnival Splendor cruise ship that lost power Monday off the coast of California.

A small fire in the engine compartment caused the electrical loss just one day after the ship launched.

"I saw the smoke outside of our window and I said, 'This is serious,' " said Rich Bloch, owner of the Dickens Parlour Theatre and a magician for more than 60 years. "We didn't realize we'd be stranded in the middle of the ocean."

The ship, which was supposed to travel from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera and back, is Carnival's annual Magic Cruise, where professional magicians gather to enjoy a week of enchantment.

"I think it's just been a huge inconvenience and disappointment to passengers," said Cheryl Debois, Bloch's friend and theater manager. "Thank goodness the fire wasn't bad and it wasn't an actual rescue or a real tragedy."

Tug boats that have been towing the ship since Tuesday are expected to arrive in San Diego this afternoon.

Despite the unfortunate situation, Bloch said passengers have been positive and upbeat.

"I don't think anyone was ever seriously concerned," he said. "We all knew the Navy and the Coast Guard were coming and we were assured that the ship hadn't been fundamentally damaged, it was just without power."

On Tuesday, the Navy airlifted thousands of pounds of food to the passengers.

Without power, the restrooms on the 952-foot boat were out of commission for some time, Bloch said.

"People will not only be traumatized, but ... there are sanitary conditions and illnesses that may plague them," Debois said.

Bloch said other inconveniences included the loss of heating and air conditioning, temporary phone loss, cold food and the cancellation of performances.

To keep busy, passengers have been entertaining themselves with cards, games and sleep.

"There's no lighting available other than minor emergency lights so it's a very quiet atmosphere, particularly at night because everything goes dark," Bloch said.

Bloch has been working and performing on cruises for the past 15 years, so he wasn't hesitant at all when he boarded Carnival's ship.

But Debois said this incident could be distressing for others.

"For a lot of people, this might be their first cruise or their first vacation," she said. "That is probably disheartening to them."

Passengers will receive a full refund from Carnival, along with free transportation home and an offer for a free cruise.

Bloch is looking forward to stepping foot on dry land.

"I won't mind having a hot cup of coffee and hot shower (when we get back)," he said.

Carnival Splendor Stricken off the Coast of MEXICO in heavy seas / NEW PHOTOS!

This is a Live Boat USA breaking news bulletin on 
The Carnival Splendor engine room fire which has forced left the ship stricken and adrift.

Supplies were airlifted in on Tuesday and a Mexican tug began towing it.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Rick Foster says a second tug was linking up with the 952-foot vessel Wednesday morning.

As various reports continue to flood in from across the globe
MSNBC reports that 4 out of the 5 tugs managed to reach the ship due to rough seas.

While no one was hurt, the nearly 4,500 passengers and crew were left without air conditioning and hot water. There's also no cell phone or Internet service. Auxiliary power has been enough to keep the toilets working and provide cold water, but the refrigerators are among the things that have stopped working admist the chaos aboard.

We still have no word from anyone aboard as even the ship's dual webcams are down as well offering no live view of the crisis taking place.

U.S. Navy helicopters from the Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Regan has since been ferrying supplies, including thousands of pounds of food, though not the lavish fare typically offered on a cruise

Holidaymakers who paid $5,200 (£3,200) per couple to drift down the Mexican Riviera on the "floating city" have instead been left stranded 50 miles off the coast of California for three days straight.

The emergency food did include crab meat and croissants, along with Spam and Pop Tarts.
Carnival is refunding passengers and offering vouchers for future cruises. It also may have to dry dock the ship depending on the extent of the fire damage.



The USS Ronald Reagan, was diverted from its current training maneuvers to a position south near the Carnival cruise ship to facilitate the delivery of the 4,500 pounds of supplies

The boxes, containing a total of 60,000lb in supplies, were airlifted on to the Splendor by a Navy Seahawk helicopter, which made 15 round trips.
The humble fare was quite a comedown from the on-board Gold Pearl Restaurant and "Manhattan-chic" Pinnacle Steakhouse.
The Splendor's dining rooms are forcefully promoted alongside its miniature golf course.

Carnival  & the United States  Coast Guard says the Splendor is expected to arrive in San Diego tomorrow night.

The cruise line says if it starts taking too long to get to San Diego, the ship will have to be taken to Ensenada,Mexico.

The ship which departed from Long Beach, California, and was due to call at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during a seven-day tour. on Sunday and was 200 miles south of San Diego when  the engine room fire cut its power early Monday.


Heres the video & a few photographs from this disaster.








Gerry Cahill, the president and chief executive of Carnival Cruise Lines, described conditions on the ship as "very challenging".
"We sincerely apologise for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring," Mr Cahill said.
"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience."
The ship is currently being towed to shore by three tugboats. A Carnival spokesman said that guests were expected to be returned to San Diego at some point today [THURS]. No passengers or crew were injured in the fire.

The spokesman declined to say what guests had paid for their tickets but said the regular brochure price of a suite was $2,619 per person.
The passengers will have the price of their tickets and transportation refunded – and if any are keen to return, they will also be able to claim a complimentary future cruise.

The incident marks the end of a bad month for the ship. On the night of Oct 12, a crew member jumped overboard and was never found.
John Heald, Carnival’s senior cruise director, described the search for the staff member on his blog.
“I advised the guests that we had lost a valued and dear crew member to the sea,” Mr Heald wrote.
“We lost one of our own tonight, someone who just a few hours earlier was serving the guests and who now is lost to us forever.”

On Oct 31, off the coast of San Diego, another crew member had to be airlifted to hospital from the ship after becoming seriously ill.

One of the passengers posted video footage of the incident, which took place during strong winds, to YouTube.
A spokesman for Carnival declined to elaborate but said the crew member had since recovered.
She said the incidents were “very unusual” for the company.

Here is the video of that rescue.







As the world watches and waits our hearts go out to all those stranded aboard the Splendor
who are in the worse scenario , many are first time cruisers who were given the hope of a beautiful vacation which has now been turned upside down.

From reports on board  the situation seems to be stable as passengers sit tight but everything is still up in the air as of now , reports on TV have described many passengers with inside cabins on the lower decks have had to go to the upper decks to use the restrooms and they have had to sleep with their cabin doors open due to the humidity and no air conditioning.

It is hell on the high seas ,

rumors have spread about fights and commotion and of total anarchy and no order but these are still unconfirmed and are only rumors.

This is Byron Huart here reporting for Liveboat USA ,

we will continue our coverage of the story in the coming hours.

Stay tuned!

This Byron Huart sinning off!