Stranded in a Storm: The MS Tropicale Fire

[@paid4c4]

A great video about what was once a great ship. I was lucky enough to sail on her several times including her maiden voyage out of Florida. No matter how she ended up she was once a fine ship.

[@shanejohnston1768]

I was in the band on the Tropicale when it caught fire. Great job telling the story! Me and a guitar player named Dan were the first crew members to our muster station - back then the muster stations were inside in the lounges for the shows - not outside like they are today. One fascinating detail is that the alarm was not sounded at first. We were eating in our dining room and the smoke came in. We heard the captain on the ships PA say “Alpha team to the Marshalling area” and then he said “closing the fire screen doors”. We could tell there was fear in his voice so we ran up the back stairs of the ship and saw hundreds of feet of billowing smoke. We ran down Promenade deck yelling for people to go get their life jackets. If we had to lower the old fashioned uncovered life boats down the side of a listing ship into those waves - it would have been tragic. The weather reporting that next day said 17 foot seas with swells to 30. After the fire, with the sewage flood on Main deck and the toilets not working (so the rooms all started to smell) many guests and crew slept outside on lounge chairs. And there was no AC after the fire. To top it off - they tried docking outside of Tampa (it was a dock we’d never been to before - presumably to avoid media) and didn’t allow crew off until a day after we had docked - I’m guessing to avoid us knowing more and talking to the many media trucks assembled. Crazy days. Also - you mentioned the possibility of a dry dock that was possibly upcoming. Well the week before the fire the Trop had been in Wet Dock - where the ship sat in Tampa while many workers came to do repairs. The crazy thing is - the repairs apparently didn’t get finished in time. So those extra workers all stayed on during this cruise. Many of them sleeping in halls because there wasn’t enough beds. So all those toilet malfunctions you reference were no doubt due to the ongoing ‘real time’ repair work. Thanks again for telling the story. There seems to be no footage on KZbin although we watched ourselves on CNN because of the footage from the Coast Guard helicopter. Glad we lived to tell the story. I owe a big thank you to the young Alpha team guys who would have fought that fire at risk of their lives. 💙🙏

[@HistoricalHarbors]

Thank you so much for your comment! In researching the video I was shocked by the lack of information on the story. I had been hoping the video would be seen by someone who was onboard. Cheers!

[@Trackside05]

I remember some of what you said but not everything and I worked on the ship as well as Youth Director. We were not kept on after for a day. Yes we dropped the guest in port manatee yes to try to slow down the TV, but once they were all off we moved to a dry dock area in Tampa. Once docked only a few hrs later we were off and either heading home or new ship temporarily. Maybe your dept was slower. I went for a few weeks to the celebration and was so glad to go back to my tropicale

[@Trackside05]

I have to add my 2 cents. I worked on the Tropicale at the time. I remember it well. It was dinner time and we heard the alarms. As staff we went upstairs to be prepared. I was department head and called the bridge to allow them to know my area was clear. Alarms were rang, Guest were mustered. No doors were ever blown out cause of the fire. My room was not very far from the area . Toilet issues were not an issue till after the fire as they had to manually flush. Yes I remember someone needing milk but I remember my staff going and getting that and not that many hours later. They forget to mention we had numerous ship circling us ready to respond if needed, one being one of our own Sensation. I never felt my life was in danger and felt Carnival trained me well. I still years later sail with Carnival with no worries. I know what I was taught and learn that the crew have things taken care of

[@HistoricalHarbors]

Thank you for sharing your story. While researching this video I had conflicting reports from news sources and I was hoping people who were onboard could clarify. I am glad to hear Sensation was circling nearby and that you felt secure during the incident.

[@jiddo4440]

Your very good at this , more please 🙏

[@SeaTravelr123]

thanks so much for making this video.. Tropicale was Carnivals "trend setter". the ship that all the others morphed out of. I had no recollection of this story, and because there was only disgruntled passengers and no deaths, that is probably why. If youre interested in ships, no doubt you know the countless ships lost to fire from the 30's to the 70's before the SOLAS regulations took hold. A fire like this on an older ship would have been a disaster. The fact that the passengers mustered and didnt have to abandon ship is a testimony to how well the ship was built and the watertight/fireproof structures of the ship held. Likewise with the Ecstasy. Her stern was badly scorched but it could have been career ending in the 60's. Just for trivia and info I'll see if i can list 10 ships that met their end with fires from "engine room" or other places: Morro Castle, 1934, Yarmouth Castle 1965, Lakonia 1963, Bianca C 1961, Fulvia 1970, Antilles 1971, Georges Phillipar 1932, Lafayette 1938, Paris 1939, Normandie 1942 Pallas Athena 1994, Rasa Sayang 1977, Homeric 1973 and Queen Federica 1978... Those are just off the top of my head.. But definitely look into them if you dont know them. Many of the ones from the 30's through the 60's were instrumental in the SOLAS regulations being upgraded in 1966, and again in 1972 I think... Well done.. Im going to look at some of the other videos...

[@BigAl38]

Really good video hopefully a lot more videos to come

[@merhbass]

Well done. Do be encouraged to make more!

[@ghiser78]

I love it a few days agoon charolston south carolina I saw carnival sunshine and a big fan of ships and boats thanks

[@OceanChannelProductions]

this is an amazing video! one of the top underrated channels on youtube!

[@ironiczombie2530]

Fitting name for a ship stuck in the path of a tropical storm

[@RichardHorwell]

You should do a story on the complete safety record of Carnival Cruises, it is disgusting. I have sailed with them twice and both times the ship I was on caught fire. Most of their ships have more than one fire. You take your life in your hands sailing with Carnival.

[@ChickenUltraPro]

Hope you get more popular, great quality ❤

[@ThiccCato]

This was a great watch, not the knowledgeable about ships so I hope I can learn more through your channel

[@FlaminwheelsYT]

Love these illustrations of the ship

[@greg7577]

Awesome animations, love the video

[@aventurero1]

Nice video and the animations

[@Brock_Landers]

Thinking about this story, I lived in Tampa at this time as I was only around 16 years old and I remember seeing this story on WFLA news, but I also remember thinking that it must've been related to Tropical Storm Harvey. Man, this was a long time ago. I'm 40 now and live near Pittsburgh.

[@Brock_Landers]

Carnival is not the only cruise line who have had issues like this, RCCL's ship Granduer of the Seas caught on fire off of New Orleans. I actually sailed on the Granduer's 50th voyage back in 1997 and our suite was right above where the fire burned. Also, take a look at the Achille Lauro and her fire at sea. We ALL know about the Costa Concordia, but that wasn't an issue of fire. There was also a RCCL ship a few years back that had lost all power at sea and it took quite a while for the ship to regain power. My point is that ships have issues and go through problems in their careers, but they bounce back. Carnival has almost cornered the entire cruise market nowadays. They still own Cunard, which is a shipping line that was started back in the 1860s by Samuel Cunard (who were direct competitors of the White Star Line who built the Olympic Class oceanliners, which included the Titanic). As a matter of fact the Olympic Class liners were built as a direct response to Cunard Line's superliners Mauretania and Lusitania (which was sunk during WWI in 1915 by Germany's U-20). White Star's last Olympic Class liner Britannic which was built AFTER Titanic was sunk, fell victim to a German mine off the shores of Greece in the Kea Channel while she was serving as a hospital ship. Maritime history is full of sad stories of beautiful and well-designed ships.

[@budwhite9591]

6 months ago I was on a royal Caribbean and there were 4 different ships docked at Nassau. The carnival boat was the only one covered in rust. The other 3 boats were pristine. I’ve never been on a carnival, but visually it stood out and not for a good reason

[@Brock_Landers]

​@@budwhite9591That's what I'm saying, as well as the author of this video, Carnival grew too quickly and they put both their reputation and the maintenance of their fleet to the wayside in the process. It's sad actually, because I used to live in Tampa in the late 90s, early 00s and I still remember how beautiful and revolutionary their ships were (but I always personally hated the design of their smokestacks). Then again, I also remember the Big Red Boat fleet and Disney Cruises...and I'm only 40 years old. Does Disney still operate cruise ships? Their early ships were beautiful and well designed and fitted out!

[@wogfun]

I can't help but wonder if there's any passenger footage floating around?

[@gregd5686]

There is. I just cant find it for the life of me and have been searching for about a decade. The only known existance was on a travel channel special called Incredible Vacation Videos.