Rough Sailing for Two Cruise Liners

It’s been a tough two weeks for the cruise industry, with Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Sky getting mired on a sandbar in the upper St. Lawrence River in Quebec, and Carnival’s Tropicale left drifting for two days in the Gulf of Mexico after losing power in an engine fire.

As of last week Norwegian still hadn’t confirmed when the Sky will next sail following the Sept. 24 accident, which damaged the stern. Last week’s cruise was canceled, and the next cruise is due to depart Friday. The luxury ship, which had debuted only a month earlier, was the line’s second ship to be damaged in an accident at sea in a little over a month; in August, the Norwegian Dream collided with a cargo carrier in the English Channel, causing minor injuries to 21 passengers.

Meanwhile, the Tropicale is scheduled to resume cruising Oct. 18 after undergoing repairs following the Sept. 20 fire. Tropicale passengers complained of overflowing toilets, lack of drinking water and other problems after the fire. Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz acknowledged there were toilet malfunctions, but attributed other problems to emergency safety measures.