More tales from the Carnival Cruise ship, Splendor, which is currently being tugged to San Diego, four days after an engine room fire knocked out power to the 113,000-ton luxury ship: The San Diego Tribune reports, "The casino and bars, where free drinks were offered, remained open, and a piano man played. But many passengers chose to sleep in hallways, where the ventilation was best, in the aftermath of the fire that knocked out propulsion as well as air conditioning, food refrigeration and other small conveniences." And the Coast Guard says what people really want is coffee.
Yesterday, it was reported that Westchester Legislator Bernice Spreckman, along with her husband and other seniors from Yonkers, were on the cruise, which was supposed to be a seven day Mexican Rivera jaunt that soon turned into an endurance test. As the ship has been creeping back into areas with cell service, Spreckman, 75, was able to leave a message for her assistant, who said, "She sounds like her spirits are high." One of Spreckman's friends told the Journal News, "If I was stuck on a cruise ship, I would want to be stuck with Bernice and Harry. I'm sure she's leading the seniors in song right now because she loves singing."
On the other side, one couple who boarded the ship probably could use from cheering up from the Spreckmans. Cynthia and Maurice Harold's daughter tells Fox 5 that the Harolds' luggage was dropped into the water so they have been wearing the same clothing since Sunday. Carnival apparently recovered some of Cynthia Harold's clothing and medication, "She was trying to dry out her medication and has been washing her same under garments each day and hanging them on the door knobs to dry... To make things worse, Cynthia Harold has sleep apnea and needs an oxygen machine to sleep. With no power on the ship she was only able to take naps."
While Carnival is offering a full refund to passengers plus a free cruise ticket in the future, the Harolds' daughter says they're not taking Carnival up on that offer and they may sue.
