Over 4,000 people aboard The Carnival Triumph are reported suffering from a lack of food, power, and bathroom facilities as the ship slowly makes its way back to port via four tugboats which are towing the ship to safety.
According to Carnival Cruise Lines, the ship will arrive on Thursday evening in Mobile, Alabama where passengers will get a choice of taking substantial bus rides to New Orleans, Houston, or Galveston.
The hapless voyage’s problems began on Sunday when an engine room fire stranded the ship 150 miles off the coast of Mexico. No one was injured during the fire and the flames were extinguished, but passengers have endured a variety of serious occurences that go beyond mere inconvenience ever since.
Passengers are reporting sewers and water backing into cabins and hallways, four hour waits for meals that are sometimes a tomato slice on bread, and having to use cabin trash cans for toilets that they then empty into larger trash cans placed in hallways.
All of these issues have combined to exhaust and frustrate passengers—some of whom claim they have to congregate on deck to avoid some of the unsanitary conditions.
According to Carnival, passenger accounts of the difficulties are overblown and their crews are doing the best job possible.
And, Carnival is offering to reimburse the full cost of the cruise plus $500 to the affected passengers.
The engine room fire is being investigated by The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board.