Carnival Passengers Protest After Millennium Cruise Problems

About 200 passengers on a millennium cruise to the Caribbean protested at dockside in Nassau on Tuesday, complaining that engine problems on the Carnival cruise ship Paradise had turned their celebration into a nightmare. Paradise, carrying 2,600 passengers, developed an engine problem after leaving Miami on Sunday for a seven-day cruise, forcing Carnival Cruise Lines to cancel visits to islands in the eastern Caribbean in favor of stops in the nearby Bahamas and in Mexico. Passengers expressed concerns about the safety of the ship and complained the change of itinerary disrupted planned meetings with family and friends, crimping their millennium celebrations. The unspecified problem with one of Paradise's propulsion motors slowed the vessel to about 80 percent of its normal speed, forcing Carnival Corp. to cancel visits to the United States and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. A Carnival spokesman said the ship was safe and would carry out all of its planned millennium celebrations. Passengers reportedly noticed shaking on the vessel after it departed from Miami.