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

[dwjoe]

I have something I'd like you all to think about...

 

While it's incredible and a bit scary that there have been two similar incidents in a roughly two-year period (Splendor and Triumph) I think Carnival has demonstrated that they did at least learn something from the Splendor fire.

 

It was FIVE HOURS after the explosion on Splendor before the Captain finally manually activated the carbon dioxide fire suppression system in the engine room... and when he did activate it, there were major malfunctions with the system. (I read the US Coast Guard report on the lessons learned.)

 

This time the system activated immediately... and it worked. That's a big deal, and I think it probably shows that after the Splendor incident they did some serious training (and probably some preventive maintenance) on the fire suppression system.

Fair point. At yesterday's press conference, Gary Cahill mentioned they had learned lessons from Splendor and put them into action fleetwide.

 

And one other thing...

 

I think I may be able to explain the "onion sandwich" thing. I think it's a little bit of a misunderstanding, much like the Spam thing was on Splendor. I read (somewhere, sorry I can't remember where) that there was a gigantic (like four hour) line for hamburgers on the Triumph on Monday. Unfortunately, they eventually ran out of hamburger patties and all that was left was everything else for the hamburgers... buns, onions, tomatoes, pickles, etc.

 

That part I read... the rest is my interpretation of what probably happened...

 

After waiting in line for hours, people weren't just going to go away empty handed once the meat ran out, so they made themselves meatless hamburgers... or as one passenger put it "onion sandwiches". It was an unfortunate choice of words, which got picked up by the media... and when we all heard it we imagined that Carnival was intentionally serving sandwiches made simply of bread and onions... but actually it was just people hoping to get a hamburger but who were too far back in line to get one while there was still meat.

I think your interpretaton is plausible.

 

My take is that first hand accounts are almost always true with regard to what that particular pax experienced... but not necessarily indicative of general conditions on board. Unless you get multiple accounts saying the same thing.

[chill6x6]

Especially for Fox News, :rolleyes:

 

Just thankful it wasn't the spew from CNN/MSNBC.

[red-rose]

How could they keep them out of cell phone range?? No power for 3-4 days so it would seem logical that most phone batteries are dead.

 

not if you turn your phone off to conserve batteries...

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Probably a class action suit would net each passenger a total of $600 cash and a coupon for $500 off a future cruise. The lawyers would get $5,000,000 cash.

 

Sounds about right. (You have to love our legal system!)

 

Tom

[broberts]

How could they keep them out of cell phone range?? No power for 3-4 days so it would seem logical that most phone batteries are dead.

 

Carnival reported power restoration in the forward part of the ship on Tuesday so there may be opportunities for at least some people to charge batteries.

[ducklite]

How could they keep them out of cell phone range?? No power for 3-4 days so it would seem logical that most phone batteries are dead.

 

If they had kept their phones turned off, they should have some battery life left.

[Blurgh]

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/02/12/feces-all-over-the-floor-of-disabled-carnival-cruise-ship/

 

LOL, why would someone think people were lying about the number of McDonald's employees on a ship?

[Smokinguntoo]

How would somebody know there are 500 McDonald's employees on this cruise??

I'm beginning to think that 95% of the information on this thread is a bunch of CRAP!

They are 500 or so Houston area McDonalds employees being rewarded for their service according to a Houston news report. That's how.

 

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/02/12/feces-all-over-the-floor-of-disabled-carnival-cruise-ship/

[lady_cruiser]

I have never been, nor do I see myself in the future being, what some would categorize as a Carnival Chearleader. HOWEVER,

 

It "irks" me (I really think it is an appropriate word for how I feel) that the news media has put the spin on the Triumph story that they have. So many of the major TV stations have talked about "Kaos" and how unorganized the crew of the ship have been.

 

And YET, I read the Carnival boards and the reports coming from my fellow CC'rs and I don't read things like, it was total Kaos...I hear that the conditions are not appealing and certainly not what they had thought their "vacation" was going to be like. The majority of the posters also talk about how wonderful the crew has been. How they (CCr's) realize the crew is "in the same boat" as they are, that when you are on a ship you are your own community and helping and supporting each other is what keeps everyone safer, more comfortable, and hopeful.

 

It is so unfair to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and other cruise lines that the media has targeted as being some evil, money sucking, unsafe, crime ridden entity....We have no reason to believe that this situation with the Triumph was anything but a bad piece of machinery.....And until otherwise proven, we cannot and should not give the opportunity to anyone looking for an unjustified hand out to determine what is printed or reported as the truth.

 

Keep on reporting your experiences my fellow CC'rs and let's report the TRUTH. Be kind to each other....you may need that fellow CC'er to help you someday :)

This might be something that you might want to twitter to CNN, Fox News, Headline News, etc.

[Donna_In_India]

I guess well just have to disagree. I don't think it reasonable to blame the crew for passengers violating the guest conduct policy they agreed to before they boarded. It seems to me that it is not unreasonable to expect people to act responsibly, especially in exceptional circumstances. That there were some who didn't is a very sad comment on our society.

 

Totally blown away by your statement. What you expect and what you get are usually worlds apart. If there was ever an emergency where people had to get off the ship by lifeboats do you think people would be reasonable and act responsibly? Oh wait, wasn't that the case with the Concordia?

[dwjoe]

I have been reading posts about the ship getting close to areas where there may be cell phone reception. Since there are no new updates here, I am assuming that has not happened yet. Do you think Carnival would keep them out of cell phone range on purpose? I am sure they are not looking forward to the reports that will come out.

No. The stories will come out anyway, so that theory does not hold water.

 

There was a report that the ship will stay overnight near Dauphin island, about 50 miles offshore, then enter the harbor in daylight tomorrow.

[broberts]

I believe in the brochure it is listed as "Fun day at Sea."

 

Are you sure it wasn't "Fun* day at Sea"?

[caribill]

 

 

As it normally is. You'll get off the ship, claim bags, go through Customs. Those with passports should pass right through. Those without might have additional screening as this is no longer a closed loop cruise.

 

 

One news report said that they will send immigration/customs agents to the ship so that much of the processing can be done before the ship reaches port.

[jonbgd]

Holiday Inn Mobile complaining that CCL didn't call them to book rooms. Only one hotel cited, though.

True

BUT Carnival could have had everyone stay in Mobile

 

 

Carnival notified Mobile officials Monday about its plans to tow Triumph to the city, Mayor Sam Jones said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. He told company officials the city would be ready to host the tired passengers and crew - thousands just left the city's Mardi Gras celebrations after all - but he was told Carnival had already made plans for the buses and planes.

Carnival officials announced plans Tuesday that guests would be put up in rooms Thursday night in Mobile and New Orleans. Wednesday, the cruise line released details of the accommodations in a statement, which said all of the 1,500 hotel rooms reserved would be in New Orleans.

[peanutzmom]

if I had kids on board WITH ME in which case I would be ready for the nut house. Can you imagine trying to keep kids occupied, upbeat, fed, and not frightened? Here, honey, go pee on this bag? And can you imagine the sunburn right about now?

 

I have a very good friend on the Triumph right now with her 3-yr-old. She was able to call her teenage daughter (who was at home in school) very briefly on Monday to say they were OK, but that's all we've heard so far. I can't even imagine how tired, frustrated, and miserable they are at this point. They're going to have some serious stories to tell when they get back.

[broberts]

Totally blown away by your statement. What you expect and what you get are usually worlds apart. If there was ever an emergency where people had to get off the ship by lifeboats do you think people would be reasonable and act responsibly? Oh wait, wasn't that the case with the Concordia?

 

A buffet line and an abandon ship situation are entirely different. Rules of behavior for buffet lines are very well known and practiced frequently by all involved. I don't think it unreasonable to presume that people would continue to observe the rules they observed just the day before and the day before that.

[dwjoe]

Last night I watched a very competent media relations person for (I believe) the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department give a press conference regarding the running to ground of Christopher Doner.

 

Later, while monitoring this thread I wondered why Carnival, a corporation that could pay the Sheriff's entire annual budget out of petty cash, didn't have a professional providing the media with facts and answering questions.

Excellent point.

 

CCL, and most large corps for that matter, haven't figured out that the best way to defuse a media frenzy is to get ahead of it. Instead of leaving the media to speculate on what's going on, they should provide hourly updates via, say, twitter. And have someone available to answer questions. Most corporations see a media storm and try to take cover... which only feeds the storm.

[kwbound]

Not to mention the stench of crap, piss, puke and people who haven't showered for 3 or 4 days. Man, what am I missing out on?

 

Some people here are just beyond dense.

 

Agree! Absolutely unbelievable what some people will say.

[broberts]

I can't deal with how dramatic the news is making this this story. Give me a break! Stuck in the gulf of Mexico with beers, booze and nice weather instead of waking up at 5am for work tomm. I wish I was that unlucky!!

 

Would you feel the same without the beers or booze? No alcohol is being served on Triumph and they've had no ice since Sunday.

[Donna_In_India]

Before you label me as kind and generous, I would ask you to please READ the post I responded to. The question was the amount of days lost and that people were planning on attending work on Monday and would not lose a day of work. If they were planning on attending work that day, it is possible that they could attend work Friday... But oh well, lots of us just post without reading :)... I wasn't saying they should do that, just an option.

 

Oh, I DID read it. So you're saying that going to work on Monday after returning from your nice cruise on Sunday is the same thing as going to work on Friday after returning from the cruise from hell on Thursday is the same thing? Don't think so.

[caribill]

I could be very wrong, but because Carnival made such a big deal about the triage tents and medical personnel being available for passengers at the port, it makes me strongly suspect that there is at least one illness raging through that ship.

 

Per the port spokeman:

 

"The cruise terminal will have EMTs on stand by for any passengers that need care, said terminal manager Sheila Gurganus. She said it's common for people with diabetes or heart problems to overdo it while on a cruise, which is why the on-site paramedics are standard procedure."

 

So they do this for a normal cruise also.

[dwjoe]

True

BUT Carnival could have had everyone stay in Mobile

 

 

Carnival notified Mobile officials Monday about its plans to tow Triumph to the city, Mayor Sam Jones said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. He told company officials the city would be ready to host the tired passengers and crew - thousands just left the city's Mardi Gras celebrations after all - but he was told Carnival had already made plans for the buses and planes.

Carnival officials announced plans Tuesday that guests would be put up in rooms Thursday night in Mobile and New Orleans. Wednesday, the cruise line released details of the accommodations in a statement, which said all of the 1,500 hotel rooms reserved would be in New Orleans.

Thanks for that info. I came away from watching CCL's press conference with the understanding that the rooms would be in a combination of Mobile and NOLA. Now it looks like NOLA only. Wonder why?

[dockmaster]

Not to mention the stench of crap, piss, puke and people who haven't showered for 3 or 4 days. Man, what am I missing out on?

 

Some people here are just beyond dense.

 

There are reports of running water. If thats true, I would find a way to brush my teeth and take a sea shower or bird bath.....Gotta improvise.

Hell some people don't shower when water is unlimited!!

 

billd

[airmj2123]

Oh, I DID read it. So you're saying that going to work on Monday after returning from your nice cruise on Sunday is the same thing as going to work on Friday after returning from the cruise from hell on Thursday is the same thing? Don't think so.

 

I wasn't saying they were the same thing... I was saying that if it was possible for you to get to work on Monday, then it is also possible for you to get to work on Friday. Nothing more, Nothing less... It was response to the $500 not covering a full week of missed pay.

[bigwalt0176]

Carnival Triumph cruise passengers getting free booze as crippled, stranded 'shantytown' ship is pulled toward Mobile, Ala.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/passengers-crippled-cruise-ship-free-booze-article-1.1263013#ixzz2Kptqo4fe

 

Problem solved.