Local

Group from Iceland stranded after Carnival Cruise Ship debacle

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — They flew from Iceland to central Florida for a dream vacation, but instead of cruising with Carnival, they're spending the week in a Cocoa Beach motel.

The group expected to see the Carnival Dream cruise ship waiting on them, but the ship still hasn't returned to port. Now they're spending their vacation and their money waiting for a return flight home from what has been a disappointing week.

On Sunday night Carnival Dream was docked 1,300 miles from Florida, in St. Maarten, with a damaged generator.

It should have been at Port Canaveral, and Greta Erlingsson should have been on it.

"The notification was that the trip was canceled," said Erlingsson.

Erlingsson and his wife, Elisabet, are now calling a Cocoa Beach motel home.

They arrived Tuesday night, 36 hours before ship ran into problems in St. Maarten. The problems forced the ship out of service.

"I'm stuck here. It's a nice place to be stuck in, but still," said Erlingsson.

Their flight back to Iceland isn't until next Tuesday. Erlingsson said it costs about the same to stay at the motel as it does to book a new flight to Reykjavik.

"The people here in Florida are very friendly and they try to recommend things for me to do," said Erlingsson.

For its part, Carnival has offered Erlingsson a refund and 25 percent off a future trip.

He and his wife aren't the only ones stranded in Cocoa Beach. Ten other people, all from Iceland, are waiting for flights home.