As Cruise Ships Age

Photo courtesy or US Coast Guard/Reuters

I apologize that this post is neither gargoyle nor graffiti, but the Fire on the Carnival Triumph has really dampened many cruisers' plans. How much is true and how much false will be sorted out over the next few days, but the bottom line is that things cannot be fun on one of the fun ships! The stench is supposedly awful from rotting food and the bathrooms are backing up, leaving a horrible mess.

It is hard to understand why they can't somehow get these people off the ship before Thursday. As the cruise ships begin to age, I wonder if this is going to become more and more common. I remember being on a cruise ship in 2008 when a small fire broke out. I had heard a weird noise at dinner, and I commented about it to my niece. Our cabin steward said that was the location of the fire, under the main dining room, but it was put out quickly and caused no damage to the ship. 

My niece and I stood at our cabin door with our life jackets on. I had our passports and money securely stowed on me, and we had our cabin steward take a photo. Luckily for us, that was as bad as it got. With about fifteen minutes of alarms going off and some simple instructions, we were sent back to our cabin to sleep.

I wish all the cruisers on the Carnival Triumph prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes. Having survived on the island of Cozumel after Hurricane Wilma, I know how inconvenient and messy things can get. We had no electric and no running water for weeks, so trying to keep the house clean and bathing were really challenging. We'd been stuck inside with four dogs through the 63 hours of the storm, also a nightmare. So again, my best wishes. Carnival Cruise Line, do your best to get these people off the ship please!