Carnival Splendour has returned to the Gulf of Mexico following three months of repairs in the aftermath of an onboard fire.

The vessel was left adrift for three days in November 2009 as fire swept through engines rooms off Mexico.

A new diesel generator has been fitted to the vessel, with three hundred miles of cabling also replaced, allowing her to return to a regular itinerary of Mexican Riviera cruises.

“These are not the things you expect to happen, especially not in a ship only two years old,” explained Carnival president Gerry Cahill.

“There are two engine rooms and you do not expect to lose both aft and forward.”

Splendour was left 150 miles off the coast of San Diego as fire melted miles of electrical cables which would have allowed a backup engine room to take over following the accident.

Pithy observers immediately dubbed the disaster the Spam Cruise as the United States Navy airlifted in supplies - including boxes of the processed meat.

Passengers complained power failure saw toilets overflow, air-conditioning malfunction and refrigeration breakdown.

Carnival denies the Span was ever served to passengers, with refunds and future cruise credits dutifully doled out.

Improved sensors, stronger insulation protection and the creation of a fire safety task force across the fleet – including better trained crew and stronger communications with land-based response facilities – have all be added in order to improve safety.

The incident is believed to have cost Carnival $65 million in repairs, reparations for passengers and lost revenue.

A further 47,000 passengers were hit, with the vessel out of action for over three months.