The cruise ship bus that was transporting Carnival Triumph passengers home broke down, adding more trouble for the passengers who went through a hellish ordeal on board the ship.
After days of being dragged following an engine-room fire, the Carnival Triumph finally made it to a port in Mobile, Alabama. The 4,000 passengers and crew members thought there couldn't be any more trouble after that, but for some passengers, their nightmare didn't end on the cruise.
Some passengers were placed on charter buses to take them back to New Orleans. After dealing with limited food, toilets and horrendous conditions on board the ship, the bus ride home should have been a relief. The bus broke down, leaving guests stranded for over an hour.
"The bus literally breaks down," passenger Clark Jones told Live at Daybreak. "It comes to a stop in the middle of the highway. We have to pull over to the side. It's dark. All the lights on the bus go out."
For Jones, the situation was funny at that point, but others didn't take it so lightly.
"My son Jacob and I, when we pulled over and realised the bus was broken, we just started laughing. People were giggling. Other people were not happy," he said.
The incident was just a minor setback in the long trip home.
Another charter bus was sent to the area. The passengers got on the other bus and continued their trip to New Orleans. Jones still has to fly to Houston, pick up a car in Galveston and then drive back home to Dallas.
This incident was nothing compared to what passengers dealt with on board. The engine-fire caused the power and water to shut off, leaving the cruise ship adrift. The boat then had to be tugged by two other boats as the passengers on board were subjected to an awful situation.
Some claimed that urine covered the carpets as the toilets weren't working. They were told to defecate in bags. Many slept in hallways and on the cruise deck as the air conditioning wasn't working and it was too hot. Food included things like cucumber sandwiches and mustard sandwiches. Being that food was limited, many fights broke out on board.
Carnival Cruise Line President Gerry Cahill apologized for the experience that the passengers went through while on board.
"No one here from Carnival is happy about the conditions on board the ship," Cahill said according to NPR, "and we obviously are very, very sorry about what is taking place. There is no question that conditions onboard the ship are very challenging."
Passengers will be given a full refund on their cruise and they were offered 15-20 percent off a future cruise, in case they want to do this all over again.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
