W. Islip family survived cruise ship ordeal

Stephanie Drew said she and her son, Max Gingher, and her mother, Priscilla Drew, were sleeping in their cabin aboard the Carnival Splendor about 5 a.m. on Monday when they heard a loud boom and felt the bed shake "like a giant was standing above and shaking our bed."

Soon, they would smell what seemed like burning plastic.

"We all go outside on the balcony and all this smoke is pouring out," 9-year-old Max said by phone Friday from a San Diego hotel.

Stephanie Drew, a West Islip resident, called her husband, a former Navy lieutenant, who told them to get their life jackets on and get out of the cabin and onto the deck. "We were really scared," she said.

Soon, they and other passengers were told there was a fire in the engine room, Stephanie Drew and her mother said, knocking out electricity, toilets and most of the amenities for which cruise ships are known.

The Carnival Splendor left Long Beach, Calif., on Sunday for a seven-day trip to the Mexican Riviera, only to return days early without ever reaching the beaches vacationers had hoped for, according to The Associated Press.

On Thursday morning, three days after the fire, six tugboats pulled the 1,000-foot vessel to shore and the ship's 4,500 passengers and crew disembarked amid cheers from friends and family, the AP reported.

Other passengers described the conditions as a "nightmare," but Stephanie Drew said her family made the best of it, adding the staff was especially helpful and passengers mostly stayed calm.

At night, passengers would sit by dim lights powered by the ship's backup generator, playing cards or just talking, Drew said.

Food - usually plentiful on a cruise ship - was only three meals a day, but more than just the Spam, Pop-Tarts and canned crabmeat dropped by Navy helicopters as widely reported, the women said. They also had fresh fruit, salad and cold-cut sandwiches.

Also on the ship was Margaret Assante of Yonkers, traveling with about 50 others as part of a senior group. Assante didn't tell her family what ship she was traveling on, but once the news hit the Internet, her children started calling the cruise line, which confirmed she was aboard, said her son, Michael Assante of West Islip.

She was happy to be on dry land, she told her family in a brief conversation after the ordeal. "First thing she wanted to get was a cup of coffee, a shower and a massage, in that order," Michael Assante said.

When his mother got off the ship, she and the group took a chartered bus to Las Vegas, the second leg of her trip.

Lacking the traditional midnight buffet or a hot tub to soak in, the passengers still had plenty of entertainment. After all, the cruise was also host to a magician's conference - among them the aspiring magician, Max.

"Max has done magic since he was 4 years old," said his mother. "He had several little tricks, and he got his applause."