As of Tuesday evening, the 3,346 passengers and 1,150 crew members on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship remained aboard the ship still in port at the West Indian Co. Ltd. dock on St. Thomas.
The ship had been there since a Monday morning fire in the engine room caused evacuation of all passengers and nonessential crew. No one was injured in the fire and the passengers spent the day at two St. Thomas hotels.
The passengers were allowed back on board the ship Monday night, and according to a Tuesday morning Carnival press release, many spent the day on board or being shuttled on Carnival’s dime to various St. Thomas attractions. Carnival gave passengers each a $150 on-board credit.
At 5 p.m., Carnival said that if they could not depart St. Thomas on Tuesday night, plans would be put in place to fly the passengers home from St. Thomas.
If the ship can leave, it will return to its San Juan homeport. Passengers will then be given the option of staying aboard the ship for the rest of the week to explore San Juan or to travel home.
According to Carnival, all hotel facilities on the ship are fully functional and it was business as usual Tuesday for activities, dining, entertainment and programming.
Carnival said the passengers will receive a full refund of their fare as well as a 50 percent discount on future cruises.
At mid-afternoon on Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. The fire was put out by the ship’s automatic suppression system.
“Our investigators are working with the crew,” Castrodad said.
The ship left San Juan on Sunday for a seven-day Caribbean cruise.