Safety Rules Strand Cruise Passengers

About 1,400 passengers were stranded last week in Port Canaveral, Fla., when the U.S. Coast Guard refused to let Premier Cruises’ Oceanic ship set sail on a four-day Bahamas cruise. The 32-year-old ship, known as the Big Red Boat, had missed two deadlines for filing paperwork to show it conformed to new fire and safety rules, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Tom Kaminski in Jacksonville, Fla. The ship passed the inspection and was allowed to sail four days later. Premier said passengers were offered full refunds, plus a free three- or four-night cruise.