The cruise ship Carnvial Triumph left port at Galveston last Thursday, destined to cruise the Gulf of Mexico. Instead it site, disabled, with passengers aboard complaining of flooding and feces on the luxury cruiseliner, about 150 feet miles of the Mexican coast. A fire broke out in the Triumph’s engine room and turned the ship into a sitting duck. No serious injuries have yet been reported from the stranded cruise ship.
The U.S. Coast Guard had planned to tow the luxury liner to Progreso, Mexico but because it has drifted so far off course in the Gulf of Mexico currents, cruisers are now destined for Mobile, Alabama. Along for the ride are more than 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members, many who claim the stench and limited access to restroom facilities are making them ill.
This isn’t the first time that Carnival cruise ships have been disabled by mechanical difficulties, leaving travelers and crew stranded at sea. Just a few years ago, 4,500 passengers spent three days aboard a Carnival ship with limited power after an engine fire destroyed the ship’s ability to progress to its destination.
Carnival has already promised a full refund to stranded passengers aboard the Triumph. Travelers who were planning to embark on and adventure on the Triumph over the next week have had their travel plans cancelled. Carnival will be investigating the cause of the fire and repairing the ship in the meantime.
Source: Fox News, “Feces, water reported on floor of disabled Carnival cruise ship in Gulf of Mexico,” February 12, 2013