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Cruise ship passengers tell of 'inhuman' ordeal after docking in Alabama Cruise ship passengers tell of 'inhuman' ordeal after docking in Alabama
(35 minutes later)
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph has been towed into the port of Mobile, Alabama, after spending days adrift in the Gulf of Mexico due to an engine room fire that knocked out power, left its sewerage system broken and created what passengers called hellish conditions. The Carnival Triumph finally made port on Thursday night, after what should have been an idyllic four-day cruise, turned into a grueling week-long ordeal for more than 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew.
More than 4,200 people on board the 893ft (272 metre) Triumph were told they might have to wait several hours before disembarking after reaching Mobile. Passengers waved towels and flashlights from the railings to show their relief. Some kissed the ground as they disembarked the ship, while others swore never to go on another cruise again. Many spoke of the well-documented unsanitary conditions on board the 272-metre Triumph, which lost power in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.
Tugboats pulled the Carnival Triumph into port in a drama that played out live on US cable news stations, creating another public relations nightmare for cruise giant Carnival Corp. Last year its Costa Concordia luxury ship grounded and capsized off the coast of Italy, with 32 people killed.
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/>Over the last four days Triumph passengers had described an overpowering stench on parts of the ship. After the fire, toilets and drainpipes overflowed, soaking many cabins and interior passages in sewage.
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/>"Just imagine the filth," said a passenger, Jacob Combs. "It was inhuman." 		"It was horrible, just horrible," said Maria Hernandez, 28. She had been on a "girls' trip" with friends, she told Associated Press, and had woken to smoke in her lower-level room after the fire broke out in one of the engine rooms. Although swiftly extinguished, the blaze left the ship listing helplessly.
During the drama at sea passengers contacted relatives and media before their phone batteries ran out to say people were getting sick and passengers had been told to use plastic biohazard bags as makeshift toilets. "I just can't wait to be home," Hernandez said. She faced a bus journey and flight to get back to Angleton, Texas.
Smoke from the engine fire was so thick that people on the lower decks in the rear of the ship had to be permanently evacuated and slept the rest of the voyage on the decks under sheets, passengers said. As the ship was towed into port on Thursday, passengers transmitted details of the grisly conditions on board. Joy Dyer, in texts shared with the Guardian, said "floating waste is all over the place" and described the smell as "rank". Passengers were forced to conduct bodily functions using showers, sinks and red bags, Dyer said. She was among a number of passengers who had taken to sleeping above deck to escape the stench of the rooms below – where "slick floors are usually human waste overflows".
Operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of Carnival Corp, the ship left Galveston a week ago carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew. It was supposed to return there on Monday. Carnival Cruise Lines, which owns the Carnival Triumph, now faces the costly process of paying out compensation to the 3,143 passengers. The company has promised to fully reimburse all travellers, provide a full cruise credit for another Carnival voyage and to give an extra $500 in compensation.
A coast guard cutter escorted the Triumph on its long voyage into port since Monday and a coast guard helicopter ferried about 1,360kg (3,000lb) of equipment including a generator to the stricken ship late on Wednesday. Even so, some passengers did not seem keen to take to the seas again.
Terry Thornton, a Carnival Cruise Lines senior vice-president, said additional provisions had been taken to the ship and by Wednesday it was "in excellent shape".
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/>Passenger Donna Gutzman said those aboard the ship were treated to steak and lobster for lunch on Thursday afternoon. "Our basic needs are being met. For the most part they are making us happy," Gutzman told CNN.
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/>A senior Carnival official said it could take up to five hours to remove all the passengers from the ship, which was left with only one functioning elevator. Carnival said it would greet the passengers with warm food, blankets and cellphones.
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/>Once off the ship many passengers still faced a lengthy journey ahead. More than 100 buses were lined up waiting to drive them 490 miles (790km) back to Galveston, Texas, while others elected to stay overnight in hotels in Mobile before flying home, Carnival said. 		"This is my first and last cruise," Kendall Jenkins told reporters. Deborah Knight, 56, from Houston, said she would not be boarding the buses provided by Carnival. Her husband drove in to collect her instead and the pair had checked into a downtown Mobile hotel.
The Carnival Cruise Lines chief executive, Gerry Cahill, said that apart from other measures the company had decided to add further payment of $500 each to help compensate for "very challenging circumstances" on board.
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/>"We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure," Cahill said. 		"I want a hot shower and a daggum Whataburger," said Knight, who was wearing a bathrobe over her clothes as her bags were unloaded from her husband's pickup truck. She said she was afraid to eat the food on board and had become sick while on the ship.
One passenger participated in a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' live chat as the ship neared port, providing proof via photographs that he was onboard but not giving his name.
"People are getting sick because sewage [everywhere]; urine on the floors, waste in bags, and undercooked food. Strong fecal and urine stench near the cabins and just a poor environment. The workers rushed a lot of the processes. My mom is actually sick," the passenger wrote in the Reddit "aks me anything". He said he would go on a cruise again, describing the trip as: "Just like camping. Except crowded and unhygienic."
Those hoping to jump straight into a hot shower and comfortable bed after leaving the ship were disappointed as Carnival had booked hotel rooms in New Orleans, two hours away, and Houston, a seven-hour drive.
CBS News reported that the woe further continued for some passengers, as one of the buses broke down on the way to Louisiana.
As people arrived in the early hours at the Hilton in New Orleans, many people were tired and did not want to talk, Associated Press reported. After the extended time at sea those checking in faced long lines to check into rooms, with some becoming emotional as they described the deplorable conditions of the ship.
"It wasn't a vacation any more, it was like survival mode. Eat what you can. Snack when you can. It was awful," said passenger Tammy Garcia.
Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill was on the scene in Mobile as the ship docked. "I know the conditions on board were very poor," he told reporters at a news conference as passengers unloaded. "I know it was difficult. I want to apologize for subjecting our guests to that," he said.
"We pride ourselves with providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this particular case," Cahill added.
The Triumph is a Bahamian-flagged vessel and the Bahamas Maritime Authority will be the primary agency investigating the cause of its engine room fire. Earlier this month Carnival repaired an electrical issue on one of the Triumph's alternators. The company said there was no evidence of any connection between the repair and the fire.The Triumph is a Bahamian-flagged vessel and the Bahamas Maritime Authority will be the primary agency investigating the cause of its engine room fire. Earlier this month Carnival repaired an electrical issue on one of the Triumph's alternators. The company said there was no evidence of any connection between the repair and the fire.