The Carnival Triumph has finally docked in Mobile, Alabama. The cruise ship that was left adrit when an engine-room fire caused the power to shut down reached the port on Friday night after being tugged for five days.
Carnival Triumph passengers literally kissed the ground when they got off the ship that was a living nightmare for day. More than 4,000 passengers and crew members were subject to horrendous conditions when the power went out on the ship.
The ship docked after 9 pm in Mobile and the last passenger disembarked just before 2 am.
Passengers greeted loved ones, took hot showers and downed hot food, which were things that they were left without on the troubled ship.
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.
"The hallways were toxic," passenger Norma Reyes told CNN. "Full of urine. It was horrible. If that ship caught on fire and they had not contained it, where would we be? Floating in the ocean or dead." She vowed to never board a Carnival cruise again.
Others thought the staff did a pretty decent job in dealing with the situation.
"They did a good job of managing expectations," Brett Klausman told CNN. "The information that trickled out was probably well-thought-out to kind of keep people safe and calm.
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."
"We pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case," Cahill told CNN before the ship docked.
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
