Fire on Carnival Triumph. No engines, running on emergency generators.

[wmowan8485]

Ok, they are 150 miles from land am I correct?

 

They are waiting for a tugboat, correct?

 

Now...let's digest my next question very carefully before anyone chews it up and spits it up...because there may just be some validity to it and I know the fine folks here at CC will let me know if that is so...

 

 

Why don't they just manually lower the lifeboats and go to shore?

 

Why not just leave enough crew onboard to wait for the tug and offload the pax to the lifeboats?

 

The lifeboats are motorized so who long would it take to reach shore?

 

If begun at 6am, it would still be light when they reach shore I would think.

 

I doubt anyone is sleeping anyway and the kids are probably desperate by now and I would think putting pax in a lifeboat would shut up most of the big mouths.

 

The pax of course could also voluntarily stay behind with crew and then take a slow tugboat ride into port on a smelly ship.

 

Ok, experts out there, go to town!:D

 

I think that would be a great idea but I read somewhere that they had brought on additional staff. Of course, there would have to be at least one staff person for each lifeboat launched to shore. Then there is the issue of luggage, lifeboats are for emergencies where you wouldn't mind leaving belongings behind. Obviously, it is not pleasant but humans are capable of making the best of a bad situation. :confused:

[MissMeggieMurphy]

i thought lifeboats were to get people off of a ship and wait for rescue not to traverse 150 miles of open ocean. if it was feasible to remove passengers to another ship while both are bobbing along on open seas without putting people's lives at risk i am sure they would have done it already.

[Wmiller86]

I just rec'd a text from my wife. - NO POTTIES ARE WORKING!

That was all it said. My friends wife sent him a text that was broken up in the middle and di not complete.

Sounds like Carnival is blowing smoke up everyones #ss to me.

[Crusin6]

putting people in lifeboats makes people panic/worry more then just staying in one place. Also, by allowing everyone stay onboard it allows carnival extra time to set up transportation in port

Your second thought is probably the reason they are keeping them onboard...timing pure and simple

 

 

as for panic...true as well...but the ship is disabled and lifeboats are there for a reason. Keeping people on board for political correctness because they don't want to upset them? It is disappointing if it comes to that. If they need to use lifeboats..use them and go into safety mode and have crew do what they SHOULD be trained to do.

 

The ship is not sinking and as I posted pax could voluntarily stay onboard if the choose. just my 2 cents.

[Baylee]

We just got a text from daughter-in-law. She said she was miserable but no worries.

 

Awwww ... bless her heart. She's coping instead of complaining. Gotta love her!

[reallyitsmema]

Compensation info here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5193

The link is only half fixed, still says Liberty in final paragraph.:)

[Crusin6]

I just rec'd a text from my wife. - NO POTTIES ARE WORKING!

 

That was all it said. My friends wife sent him a text that was broken up in the middle and di not complete.

 

Sounds like Carnival is blowing smoke up everyones #ss to me.

nevermind

[okiecruzer]

I just rec'd a text from my wife. - NO POTTIES ARE WORKING!

 

That was all it said. My friends wife sent him a text that was broken up in the middle and di not complete.

 

Sounds like Carnival is blowing smoke up everyones #ss to me.

 

I received a similar message from my parents earlier this afternoon (we were texting back and forth quickly) but got flamed for saying the US Coast Guard and Carnival are lying. Be prepared for the flame.

[berryberry]

I just rec'd a text from my wife. - NO POTTIES ARE WORKING!

That was all it said. My friends wife sent him a text that was broken up in the middle and di not complete.

Sounds like Carnival is blowing smoke up everyones #ss to me.

 

So sorry to hear that. I hope you don't get flamed and called a liar like the other poster who said he received a similar text by some of the folks here

[amyaphiiz]

I just got off the phone with Carnival's Care Line. They said that they are en route to Progreso (they are being towed). They expect to be there Wednesday and then be flown to either Houston or Galveston (no certain plans yet).

[broberts]

OMG, that makes sence. I wonder why they don't.

 

Likely because the ship is some 150 miles from shore. Probably at least 10 hours away. Add to that the inherent risk involved in lowering the boats (see Thomson Majesty) and the risk of lifeboats getting separated. Factor in things like approaching weather systems, currents, etc. Then, factor in how upset the Mexican government would be having to round up and separately process all the boats. And finally, add in how disorganized things would be trying to round all the people up and get them home. I expect too that CBP would not be happy and would balk at the loss of supervision - making things more difficult for those without proper documentation, i.e. passports.

 

Oh, and let's not forget the utter misery 150 passengers would experience in each of the boats. Spending 10 hours in a space more confined than a small airplane with neighbors who have not bathed in two days would not be my choice in this situation.

[LauraS]

Please keep things civil.

 

This means no harassing other members.

A tip: try eliminating the word "you" or "I" or similar in your posts.

 

Stick to the issue; don't address the individual.

 

Laura

[truecruiser]

http://www.globalpost.com

 

oh my heck, this is a friggin blog. and people are posting it like its legit. get real.

 

oh dear god, give it a rest.:rolleyes:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/travel/cruise-ship-fire/index.html

 

is CNN a blog too?:rolleyes:

 

(Just because CNN doesn't print every quote the guy said doesn't mean he didn't say it.)

[mmbrocker]

Evacuating to lifeboats is not the safest thing either. There are a lot of things that can get screwed up. If I recall, there was another cruise line that had five crew injured or killed in a lifeboat drill just last week. So you would only want to engage with this as an absolute last resort. Plus, no one gets to take their luggage. You also have a combination of boats and rafts. The rafts can't make a 150 mile journey. They aren't designed for it. If you think the food and bathroom facilities are rough on the ship, just wait until you are on the lifeboat.

 

Completely impractical. Unless there is a serious health reason, it makes zero sense to depart the ship by another method, no matter how bad the situation is on board. It's not fun on Triumph right now, but there aren't any really acceptable alternatives.

 

YES. There is inherent danger just in deploying the lifeboats. I mean, obviously better than being on a sinking ship. BUT she isn't sinking.

 

Then you're taking all of your passengers and splitting them into dozens of different rafts, each that would need to be piloted by people who would not be really trained to do anything other than get them away from a sinking ship .. not navigate or travel long distances over open ocean.

 

While being on board seems like it would be hell, all on board should live to see the port. Deploying the life rafts and the risk is much higher that not everyone will.

[Crusin6]

Since no one (except the dialysis patient) is in life-endangering condition, I think staying with the ship is a much safer option. 150 miles isn't exactly a short distance, and the life boats do not have near the supplies as the ship has- what if something were to happen to one of them? (Not to mention, if you think everyone on deck is crowded, lifeboats at capacity are surely miserable.)

 

I don't know what kind of lifeboats they have, but wikipedia says a 36 ft lifeboat can travel 17 km/h, that would be a 14 hour trip.

oh it would be a horrible trip no doubt.

 

but just putting out the suggestion.

 

I am not a ship's captain LOL but just asking some questions, that are actually quite sensible on the surface.

 

Remember, you don't need to know all the answers, you just need to be able to ask the right question!

[jimboridesmtb]

dwjoe- I read those posts, as I have read every other in this thread. First hand accounts are good, but let's get down to facts and not what people are writing. I agree those are probably the closest things we are getting to the truth, but not 100%.

 

One post I read said people are being told to sleep outside, one of the quotes we got said they slept outside by choice. See the confusion here? All I have been saying is let's wait for ALL the facts to come out before we jump on the banwagon.

 

Scott

 

That is exactly what I was thinking. If those with a balcony were to sleep in their own rooms with the door open it would give passengers with inside rooms more space on deck. Still can't figure out if all staterooms are banned or if it's a choice to remain on deck.

[OKCruiseMan]

oh geez get these people in lifeboats and get to shore.

 

I wouldn't want to get in a life boat unless the ship was in danger of sinking, fire or people getting sick.

[caribill]

Just broadcast on a Houston TV station:

 

o Tugs 17 miles from ship

o A second person was evacuated, this one with a broken leg, cause not given

o Passengers to be flown to Houston Thursday

o Passengers who need to return to Galvestion will be bussed there from the Houston airport.

 

(By the way, the airport would have to be IAH. HOU does not have immigration and customs personnel.)

[Baylee]

i thought lifeboats were to get people off of a ship and wait for rescue not to traverse 150 miles of open ocean. if it was feasible to remove passengers to another ship while both are bobbing along on open seas without putting people's lives at risk i am sure they would have done it already.

 

I'd rather take my chances on the BIG boat than the little one. Unless it's going down .. I'm riding it out!

[dwjoe]

didn't see the references to "savages" and people fighting over food on legitimate news. or did i just miss it.

No, you are correct. I rechecked and the "savages" remark is missing from CNN and ABC. You have a point.

[MissMeggieMurphy]

guess if i was ever put in the situation of a boat without sanitary facilities stalled on the open seas i would be among the few who would be able to deal with primitive bathroom facilities. i've been to a few places where an outhouse was a real luxury and squatting was the norm.

 

not to make light of the situation but without much food people will be drying up pretty fast and as long as they can piss at an open drain things will be ok. pleasant, hardly, but doable.

 

and i do find it interesting that probably half the posts in this thread are about the bathroom issues. we sure have come a long way when elimination is more an issue than in-take.

[Sargent_Schultz]

So have you have backed off the word "alleged" then? Since the propulsion issues have been raised over and over on CC?

 

If a ship has persistent mechanical issues over two months but is kept in service... and subsequently has an engine fire and goes adrift... I call that reason to ask tough questions.

 

Propulsion is such a broad topic as to be meaningless. Lots of things are raised on CC that turn out to be false, if not deliberate fabrications.

[truecruiser]

I just got off the phone with Carnival's Care Line. They said that they are en route to Progreso (they are being towed). They expect to be there Wednesday and then be flown to either Houston or Galveston (no certain plans yet).

 

Just broadcast on a Houston TV station:

 

o Tugs 17 miles from ship

o A second person was evacuated, this one with a broken leg, cause not given

o Passengers to be flown to Houston Thursday

o Passengers who need to return to Galvestion will be bussed there from the Houston airport.

 

(By the way, the airport would have to be IAH. HOU does not have immigration and customs personnel.)

 

so i wonder if the tug has really reached them yet and they are "en route" or if the tug really isn't there yet still.

 

btw, did i miss a post on the tugs? what caused their delay to begin with?

[Wmiller86]

Just got another text from Kelli, onboard Triumph. I had texted her back telling her what Carnival says about half of the bathrooms working. Here was her reply-

"BULLSH#T! The cabins are overflowing with pee!"

[LauraS]

The link is only half fixed, still says Liberty in final paragraph.:)

 

Sorry about that, the editorial team is fixing it.

 

L