In a scenario likely none of its more than 3,000 passengers pictured when they were planning their seven-day jaunt on the Mexican Riviera, the disabled cruise liner was being towed to San Diego by tugboats, and instead of a lavish seafood buffet they were subsisting on Spam.

After two days adrift, the ship began moving again Tuesday night when the first of several Mexican tugboats arrived. The 952-foot vessel was expected to arrive in San Diego on Thursday night, Miami-based Carnival ( CCL - news - people ) Cruise Lines said in a statement.

The ship was 200 miles south of San Diego and about 44 miles off shore when an engine room fire Monday morning killed its power and set it adrift.

No one was hurt, but the nearly 4,500 passengers and crew were left without air conditioning, hot water, cell phone or Internet service. The ship’s auxiliary power allowed for working toilets and cold water.

U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters were ferrying supplies including Spam, crab meat, croissants and Pop Tarts to the ship from the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that reached the Splendor after it was diverted from training maneuvers to help.

The Splendor only had enough food to last through midday Tuesday because refrigerators on the ship stopped working after the power was knocked out, Navy Commander Greg Hicks said. But thousands of pounds of food had been delivered by Tuesday night.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy also sent resources to the ship.

The tugboats were originally set to take the Splendor to Ensenada, Mexico, but the cruise line changed its plans and will attempt to have it towed to San Diego, where hotel and flight arrangements would await the passengers, Carnival said.

So much for glistening filet mignon and mouth-watering lobster. The new menu on the disabled Carnival Splendor this week appears to be Spam, with a side of croissants.

With provisions on the fire-damaged ship running low due to a lack of refrigeration, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy have mounted an airborne relief effort to bring food to the vessel’s 3,299 passengers that includes the delivery of cases full of Spam, boxes of croissants and other easy-to-transport goods.

The supplies are being airlifted onto the Splendor by a Navy Seahawk helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which arrived on the scene on Tuesday

Posted by Drew458     on 11/10/2010 at 08:48 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Military •  
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