Cruise Passengers Still Questioning Predawn Jolt

A violent jolt that awoke hundreds of vacationers just hours before their cruise liner docked at San Pedro has left many of the passengers wondering nearly a week later just what occurred in the predawn darkness.

Carnival Cruise Lines, operator of the Jubilee, told The Times that the sudden lurch occurred when the ship maneuvered to avoid a fleet of fishing boats that entered its path about 2 a.m. last Sunday.

The incident 25 miles off the coast of San Diego was not reported to authorities because there was no collision or injuries, a Carnival representative said.

But some passengers of the weeklong Mexican cruise remain angry that their questions about the incident have gone unanswered. Little was done, they say, to calm the near hysteria that swept the ship after the sudden shift caused beds to crash together and plates to smash onto the floor.

“I thought I was going to die,” said passenger Kristen Angle, a 24-year-old San Mateo bartender. “You spend a lot of money to go on this boat, and this is how they take care of things?”