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Passengers from Disabled Carnival Cruise Return As Galveston Fears Economic Impact From Lost Tourism

Posted byHoumanitarian
Video Link: Canceled Galveston cruises could mark trouble for the island economy
KRIV 26 News

Jayme Fraser & Anita Hassan,
Houston Chronicle
The weary passengers who experienced the cruise from hell this week arrived back on land vowing to never again take for granted the small things – a cool breeze, a slice of bologna, the sound of a flushing toilet.

Out of food, deprived of usable plumbing and forced by suffocating heat out of rooms that no longer had air-conditioning, the 4,000-plus passengers of Carnival Triumph that arrived under tow in Mobile, Ala., Thursday night had reason to be angry at Carnival Cruise Lines and bitter over a vacation spoiled by an engine fire that knocked out power.

Instead, most seemed happy merely to have their old lives back, in some ways better for an experience that showed how people under the worst circumstances can learn to make the best of it.

Katy resident Donna Torres said the overall behavior of the ship’s suddenly miserable population “gives you faith in mankind” because most people were helpful and considerate. Torres, accompanied on the cruise by Roberto Torres, said that guests who slept on the deck set up camps and socialized to pass the time, trying to keep a sense of humor amid trying circumstances.

Roberto Torres named his deck area Block 1 “because it felt like a mini-prison.” Only with worse food. Passengers survived at one point on onion, pickle and zucchini sandwiches after the ship ran out of food other than condiments.

Across the Gulf states Friday, former passengers made their way home or into airports that would get them there. Many arrived in Galveston, where the cruise originated, or made connecting flights elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Triumph was towed from the cruise terminal to a shipyard in Mobile for a detailed damage assessment. Carnival’s CEO, Gerry Cahill, earlier had boarded the ship to apologize to passengers, who received full refunds, credit for a future cruise and transportation expenses home.

At least one passenger did not think that was compensation enough and filed a lawsuit against Carnival in Miami federal court Friday. Texas resident Cassie Terry is seeking unspecified damages, saying she feared for her life or that she might suffer serious injury or illness because of the presence of raw sewage and spoiled food.
(Read more of the story at Chron.com)

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