I had a dentist appointment for today, but it was canceled......my dentist is on that cruise! I am re-booked for Monday, so will get his take on what it was like...but I can imagine that it has been a horror.

A lot of people from around here, cruise that line because you can board in Galveston. I hear they are going to be offered a free cruise. I just wonder how many of them will be willing to take it. This may put an end to that cruise line.

A lot of people cruise with their whole families....can you imagine what it would be like to be on that ship with small children?

It's so sad--they could have been rescued days ago. Carnival had a couple of ships in harbor, ready to be boarded. Rather than using them to rescue the stranded passengers, they proceded to board them with their new passengers.

There should definitely have been a way to send ships (cruise ships, naval vessels, whatever) to get those people off

And now that the tugboat line has snapped on one of the tugs, they're down to moving 1 mph, they can't be towed in after dark--it's not looking good for them to reach port tonight, at this point, unless something turns around very, very quickly.

Just horrible.

I hear the patrons have been offered a full refund+$500 and another cruise. It still isn't enough. I also heard that it was the 2nd fire on the same ship! But Carnival says they have nothing to do with each other (I actually typed "doo" instead. Freudian slip? Maybe). Yea right. It's just plagued by fires "sometimes".

"Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen acknowledged the Triumph's recent mechanical woes, explaining that there was an electrical problem with the ship's alternator on the previous voyage. Repairs were completed Feb. 2.

Testing of the repaired part was successful and "there is no evidence at this time of any relationship between this previous issue and the fire that occurred on Feb. 10."

I really feel deeply for these people. Like the one passenger said, "Happy Valentine's!" Poor things!

Here is a link that might be useful: CNN article.

�Posted by azzalea (My Page) on
Thu, Feb 14, 13 at 15:05
It's so sad--they could have been rescued days ago. Carnival had a couple of ships in harbor, ready to be boarded. Rather than using them to rescue the stranded passengers, they proceded to board them with their new passengers.
There should definitely have been a way to send ships (cruise ships, naval vessels, whatever) to get those people off

Do you have any idea of the difficulty of the logistics and the safety issues that it would entail to transfer passengers from one ship to another while at sea?

Looks like they are stranded again. Feel so bad for those people. And their loved ones waiting for them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tow Line Breaks

And they've gotten sick from the food. In your article angelaid. UGH! What more do they have to suffer?!

But there is talk beginning for a Passenger's Bill of Rights much like airplane passengers have now. Maybe, just maybe we can quit having stranded cruise ships, and their turmoil will not be fruitless.

I've cruised on the Triumph twice.

Really feel for those cruisers :o(

How could the logistics and safety issues POSSIBLY be any more detrimental than what they've been subjected to? I don't doubt it would have been a challenge, but not an insurmountable one in this day and age. I'm not the only one saying this--while I HAVE been saying it all week, just this afternoon, I've heard the question asked, by someone far more expert on this than either you or I, on TV. At which point my husband immediately piped up, "Exactly what you've been saying".

There are going to be people who end up with serious, life-threatening illnesses from the conditions they've been subjected to. There are going to be many who have longterm phychological issues. Those risks could have been greatly reduced by a quicker rescue.

azzalea, I;m not unfamiliar with large ship to ship transfers..
To transfer these people by either helicopter or chase vessel would be difficult and dangerous, not to mention the time it would take.
I will be interested to see if they attempt it.

I don't think they are going to attempt anything now....just going very slowly as they make their way into Mobile. I see that the cruise line has buses standing by........I hardly think anyone who has been on that ship is going to want to take a bus from Mobile to Galveston, where they probably left their car!

what about helicopters

It is my understanding that the people will be taken to hotels to be put up for a couple and days with medical people avaiable and each one will get a medical check up --per the TV--not sure if true or not. They have taken someone off due to medical problem, but did not say anything else. One thing there is not a single cruise line registered in the US, so basically they can do anything they want to. Even Holland-American is registered out of US. Also the help they use I have heard does not even get minimum pay because the are told to depend on tips.

I've been on seven cruises, and, on each one, there is a drill the first day (attendance is mandatory) to instruct passengers on evacuation procedures. Why couldn't they have used those procedures to evacuate the passengers from this ship? There might be a rational reason, but it makes me wonder. If the fire hadn't been put out, would they have just let the people stay onboard ship and burn up? This is not only an uncomfortable environment, but also a very unhealthy one. Raw sewage can cause serious health issues.

And IMO there is absolutely no acceptable excuse for those poor people to go hungry or without water. Helicopters or boats could deliver all the food and water needed. Heck, they could even delivery porta-pottys! I will never consider Carnival Lines after this fiasco!! Let's also not forget that Costa Concordia (the ship that ran aground last year, killing 30+ people) was owned by Carnival also.

I saw on TV the passenger they took off was put on a Coast Guard boat. That passenger had a medical condition and was being taken to a hospital. Also heard the passengers that will be taken by bus will go to New Orleans to catch flights. Also have hotel rooms for them in NO. They just said the passengers would not have to sign any waivers to take advantage of the transportation or hotel rooms Carnival is offering. Ship is scheduled to dock between 10 pm and midnight and then it will take 4 to 5 hours for embarkation. Customs officials are aboard now to speed up the customs process.

It's an icky situation, but anyone with a *life-threatening* illness would be air lifted to a hospital. I'm sure the medical ward on board is busy! We've never sailed Carnival, but have enjoyed some of the Princess Line's smaller ships several times -- now owned by Carnival, I believe. Never had a problem in about ten cruises over the years. Most go smoothly, but when something does go wrong in the middle of an ocean...no fun for anyone on board.

No way would you want to be put into a lifeboat on the ocean unless the ship was actually sinking!

CNN is interviewing people as they disembark now. One lady said the first day was bad foodwise, but after that there was no problem and they had pretty good food. Got a grill going and had chicken and other good food. Said there was a few people at first being greedy and piling their plates high but settled down shortly.

Most of the people were very understanding and said the employees were outstanding in helping everyone.

All passengers are getting full refunds.

marie-ndcal Thanks for your post I heard somrthing like that this morning they wanted to stay away from US Jueisdiction etc

We had a problem in 2007 on our Princess cruise to Hawaii when our ship broke down. We got to see 4 islands, not five. After repairs were made (took 2 days) we were on our way again. As compensation, we got a $100 coupon to use on a future cruise. I'll never travel on Carnival or Princess again.

I have always preferred a land vacation - Cruise ships are just too much about the ship and a very small part about the destination. I wouldn't want to be restricted to a few ports of call (and the itinery is subject to change regarding weather, emergencies, etc. as we see here). Even the boarding and disembarking procedures would get on my nerves. I feel for those people who spent good money and anticipated having a good time - not an endurance test!

They weren't "limping" - they were being towed.

And then a tow line broke, so they couldn't pull hard with the remaining (one?) so were moving at a very slow rate.

When they evacuate a ship, they do it into some other floating object, almost always a small craft, such as a life boat.

I doubt that they would evacuate such a cruise ship into life boats unless the main ship were either sinking or at risk of doing so ... and such would not include overflowing toilets.

I don't know how easy, or not dangerous, it would be to move another large vessel alongside, then tie them together and move the 4,000 people from one to the other, even if the sea were calm. Perhaps it could not even be done at all.

Even to move 4,000 people from one ship to another a few hundred feet away would be a huge, and somewhat, risky, enterprise ... and the helicopters would need to travel to land, or have another ship with fuel aboard to sit nearby, in order to refuel.

Even though sometimes I need to flush my john up to three times in order to get the job done ...

... I prefer that to the conditions dealt with by the people on that ship ... 'cause my john hasn't overflowed yet.

(And it'd be much easier to deal with, even were it to do so).

ole joyful

PR would indicate it a good idea to pull into a nearer port and disembark as usual, put folks in hotels and send another ship.

I smell a few lawsuits coming. The owner didn't seem to concerned as he sat courtside watching his basketball team.

We have sailed Carnival a few times and always had a great trip but the truth is, like anything else, sheet happens....We have sailed 3 different companies and there wasn't a whole lot different about any of the three...Holland America was the best that we have had but Carnival and Princess were great too...

I've reached VIP status with Carnival. Love cruising and having a balcony.

Enjoy Princess as well!

The reason they said they didn't go to the much closer port in Mexico was not many people had passports on this cruise so there'd be problems getting back into the US.

The food many spoke of was onion sandwiches. There's fine fare!

They're back. The comments go on. At least one lawsuit filed already but in reality, they won't get much if what the maritime lawyers interviewed were accurate. When you sign on for the cruises you waive any right to class action lawsuits for one thing and apparently about the limit people have received from a cruise line is about $60,000.

If they'd had Captain Schettino there, the passengers would have probably been off the ship, and into the water. And he's suing to get his job back.

I like your post cynic....so true.

It is cheap vacation. I would not go on a cruise if I won it for free or I received a Cruise as a gift. I prefer freedom.....to walk, fly and go where I want to go and eat when and where I want to. Cruises are not for me....I would get very bored...BUT....some people like them...so off you go and don't complain when something like this happens...

Good info Cynic. Makes sense.

I was just looking through some images from my Semester-at-Sea voyage in 2011, and found these pictures of the Triumph docked next to us in Freeport Bahamas, and the next day in Nassau, Bahamas.