Carnival Triumph Limps Into Mobile

The drama ended as Carnival Triumph made it to Mobile, Alabama last night—the largest ship ever to dock there. Passengers began to debark at about 11:15pm EST. As the ship approached Mobile the staterooms were dark, but some emergency lights onboard were visible. With over 4,000 passengers aboard, some crowded the rails cheering and waving. While an ambulance met the ship and a passenger was carried off in a stretcher, no one died during the crisis on board.

Eric Robles and his 6-months pregnant wife were to be among the first passengers to debark and he said they couldn’t wait to get off safely. Their family members were waiting ashore to meet the pregnant “raging Cajun.” They must be from Louisiana!

Larry Poret, who was on board with his 12-year old daughter for a father-daughter vacation said it was a perfect bonding experience, although Carnival clearly failed to deliver a great vacation for the pair.

Greta Van Sustern on Fox News spoke to Amy Weber, whose boyfriend was onboard for a bachelor party. He and his buddies were helping others and reported the crew was performing an amazing job by doing all they could for passengers.

Another passenger stated that people were “dying of heart attacks and strokes,” but that report is less than credible. Passengers with serious medical issues were previously evacuated, including one earlier in the day on Thursday who reportedly suffered a stroke.

Most passengers told the media that they though Carnival Cruise Lines was doing a good job, especially employees on board, despite tho horrible odors and darkness they endured.

Passenger Brenda Colon said it was a challenging experience. They made the best of it, but the lack of bathroom facilities was the worst. She said some passengers took their cabin mattresses outside on deck to sleep on until it got too chilly last night and there was only one day when lines for food were lengthy. Another passenger stated that the ship was unpleasant, but the company onboard was good. Others said they passed the time by playing cards, reading books, and “played scavenger hunts to charge cell phones.”

A hundred coaches were at the ready to take passengers to New Orleans for the night, where 1,500 hotel rooms awaited. Twenty chartered planes will fly them to Houston on Friday. In the alternative, those who want to go straight to Galveston will also be provided with transportation from Mobile. Some passengers plan to take the busses to Galveston to retrieve their vehicles and then head home where they will enjoy hot showers, use toilets that flush, and hug family members.

Many passengers were seen debarking Carnival Triumph wearing ship’s bathrobes—it was a chilly night in Mobile—no doubt those robes will be a memorable “souvenir” of a cruise gone wrong.