Port Canaveral-based Carnival Vista cruises canceled, modified due to cruising speed issues

Thousands of people who were planning sail on a southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Port Canaveral -based Carnival Vista this week instead stayed home. Their eight-night cruise was canceled because of ongoing propulsion issues the ship has been experiencing.

"Carnival Vista's engineering team is working to resolve a technical issue that limited the ship’s cruising speed," said Matt Lupoli, Carnival's senior manager of public relations. "The ship is out of service this week for the repair, and we have every reason to believe we will operate the next cruise as planned on Sept. 15."

Lupoli said passengers on the cruise that was schedule to leave Port Canaveral on Sept. 7 received a refund, plus a future cruise credit.

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Mechanical issues related to the Vista date back to Aug. 10, when Carnival changed its eight-night itinerary on the ship from a southern Caribbean cruise to a Bahamas cruise because of the ship's reduced cruising speed. Some passengers didn't find out about the change until they boarded the ship for their cruise.

A video of upset passengers confronting Vista crew members was broadcast on the television newsmagazine "Inside Edition," with the show describing the confrontation as being "on the verge of a mutiny."

Lupoli said the confrontation was taken out of context.

"Video taken on Aug. 10, when guests first learned of a revised itinerary, did not capture the fact that guests were given a choice of disembarking with a full refund, or staying for the cruise and receiving an onboard credit plus a future cruise credit," Lupoli said. "The vast majority chose to stay onboard and continue with the cruise."

Lupoli said, when it was determined that additional work would be required, the ship’s Sept. 1 itinerary also was partially revised, with passengers receiving a future cruise credit.

"We appreciate our guests’ understanding, and sincerely apologize for the necessary changes to the ship’s sailing schedule," Lupoli said.

The Carnival Vista has a double-occupancy capacity of 3,934 passengers; a full capacity of 4,977 passengers; and a crew of 1,450. It began sailing in 2016.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com , on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Port Canaveral-based Carnival Vista cruises canceled, modified due to cruising speed issues