Guests aboard a Carnival Sunrise cruise reported room temperatures over 80 degrees as the air condit

• While at sea, the air conditioning on a Carnival Sunrise cruise failed on certain portions of the ship.
• Passengers on board reported temperatures as high as 80 degrees in their cabins.
• Impacted travelers were offered a 50% refund of their ticket price, and buckets of ice to keep cool.

Passengers aboard a Carnival Sunrise cruise to Jamaica had more than just seasickness to contend with after blistering heat caused some air conditioning systems on the ship to fail last week.

The cruise departed Miami on July 24, stopping in Jamaica and Grand Cayman before returning to port on Saturday. It is unclear when the air condition problem began but, during the 5-night Western Caribbean voyage, vacationers reported their cabins were uncomfortably warm — some taking photos to share online of their rooms hovering over 80 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Outside, the heat reached over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures above 82 degrees Fahrenheit require people to take "extreme caution" to prevent heat-related illness, Dr. Sterling Ransone, a practicing family physician told Healthline. Over 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the weather becomes dangerous, where heat illness is likely and heat stroke becomes possible, Ransone said. 

A Carnival Cruise Line representative confirmed to Insider that the Carnival Sunrise, which sailed its maiden voyage in 1999, experienced an air conditioning "issue," adding that the AC failure "affected a limited number of staterooms and some of the public areas of the ship."

"The extreme heat and record-setting ocean temperatures have put added stress on air conditioning systems on land and sea," the representative told Insider in an emailed statement, adding that the ship's technical teams "are keeping a close eye" on the company's fleet of ships to keep passengers comfortable. 

The company did not clarify how long the air conditioning and other services including in-room refrigerators were impacted and did not respond to questions about what solutions were offered to affected guests.

Ocean temperatures this week appeared to break new records with sea water reaching 98 degrees Fahrenheit in South Florida.

Guests on board were quick to post on social media to point out just how many of the ship's passengers were impacted, sharing pictures of long lines to speak to guest services. The company said that the AC issues had impacted a "limited" number of people.

"Currently sailing with @CarnivalCruise and I must say that I'm very disappointed. Hot rooms, broken light, and refrigerator," one passenger posted on Twitter.

Another wrote: "Nothing like having ZERO air conditioning in your room on a cruise! Went to guest services and called with no luck. Some of the line from last night at midnight. Also had a broken fridge and was given a bucket of ice as a remedy."

The cruise line offered impacted passengers a 50% refund of their ticket price, industry news outlet Cruise Hive reported. Some were also given buckets of ice to try to keep cool. 

Tickets on board run upwards of $294 dollars per person per night, depending on which itinerary and room they book. 

"I haven't received any refunds for this cruise nor been offered any," one impacted passenger, who preferred not to be identified by name, told Insider in an emailed statement. "I contacted customer service and was told I needed to email them my concerns. A representative couldn't handle my concerns. The reply email I received said that I could expect an email reply on upwards to 45 days from now."

Despite nightmarish tales of widespread illness on cruises and reports of ships struggling to maintain their amenities, travelers have been surging back to sea this year, Time reported, breaking pre-pandemic travel records.

Watch: The rise and fall of the cruise industry

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