Carnival troubles cause cruise concerns

OSHKOSH - Carnival Cruise Lines has run into yet another problem with one of its ships.  This time, with the Carnival "Legend."  The company says an issue with the ship's thrusters is affecting its sailing speed.  It resulted in a cancelled stop for the 7-day cruise, which is due back in Florida on Sunday.  The incident comes just days after the Carnival "Dream" had trouble with one of its generators.  That ship remains docked in Saint Maarten - with some passengers still on board.  They are waiting to be flown home.

At Ambassador Travel in Oshkosh cruises are becoming increasingly popular, but owner Susie Leib told FOX 11  recent trouble for the Carnival Cruise Line does concern her customers.  She told us first time cruisers especially will call her about it.

"Now they have questions or concerns about 'is this really for me?' or 'should I really take a cruise?  Is it safe?'" Leib explained.

Leib said she is honest about the risks of cruising, but said on the whole they are minimal.

"Do things happen?  Yes.  But statistically cruising is very safe,' said Leib.

According to Lieb people rarely end up cancelling.

Steven Jahnke owns Blue Avenue Travel in Appleton.  He agrees with Lieb, saying accidents are as as likely to happen on a resort as they are on a ship.

"You look at the number of cruise line passengers in a year, it's about 25 million.  So the percentage it affects is very, very low," explained Jahnke.

In a statement Carnival Cruise Line told FOX 11 each time something goes wrong on a ship a team of experts will assess the incident, saying "Their assessment will identify new solutions and measures that we can implement to further ensure the safety and reliability of our fleet.  This is the highest priority for our company and spans the fleets of both Carnival Cruise Lines and the entire Carnival Corporation."

The travel agents told us they are comfortable working with Carnival.

"Tthey certainly take care of their passengers on the ships and they certainly do the best they can when they're faced with some of these situations," said Jahnke.

Leib told us if you do book a cruise, just be sure to get travel insurance and always bring your passport.

"If something were to happen whether on the ship or at home and they need to fly back to the U.S., a valid passport is very helpful," she said.

According to Leib some customers worry about getting the norovirus, or food poisoning on cruise ships.  She told us you hear about a lot of cases like that, because cruise lines are required to report norovirus, while resorts on land are not.