What Was it Really Like Aboard The Disabled Carnival Triumph?

A Dallas realtor told a Royse City Rotary Club audience in Texas that she likes talking about her experiences aboard the Carnival cruise ship, Carnival Triumph, that was disabled 150 miles off Southern Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula last month after an engine room fire.

Jim Hardin reports in the Royse City Herald-Banner of Greenville, Texas, that it wasn't exactly the total disaster related on CNN and other media outlets.

“I like talking about it because I like people to hear the true story,” Vicki White, whose brother is Royse City Rotarian Tom Shelton, told club members last Thursday morning.

“It was an experience I will never forget,” White said. “It brought out the worst in humanity, but they were few and far between. Believe me, the best of humanity far prevailed.

White said she can’t understand why some passengers are telling horror stories about food shortages. “We ate very well,” she said. “Once the cruise ship started taking over serving the portions themselves, lines went fast,” White said. “There was plenty of food. We had everything from grilled chicken, to steak, to chocolate mouse, to cake and fruit, and bagels and cream cheese, eggs and sausage. “So, all this stuff about living on pickles and onions, it’s just a lie. I mean, we all ate at the same place.”

The crew tried to entertain the passengers, she said. And they all pitched in to help. She said the women who did facials and massages went out on night security patrols. The man who was the headliner at the ship’s comedy club grilled chicken. And the entertainers who performed in the Broadway show served meals. “Everybody was working,” White said. “Everybody on the crew was doing something. Passengers volunteered, but they (crew members) said, ‘We’ve got it covered.’ They always had a smile on their faces no matter what.”

What bothered her most, she said, was the lack of communication.

For more of Vicki White's observations, click on the link above for the complete story in the Royse City Herald-Banner.