IAmA Carnival Triumph passenger; Ask me anything!

You must have beaten me to the cell service. I went to post and saw this. Enjoy the karma.....jerk

Haha I was the one wearing the reddit shirt if you saw me.

I was on the Carnival Elation. We stopped by and gave you guys supplies!

Haha wow thanks, yeah I saw everyone waiving and I waived back. Y'all were the first helper ship. Thanks for the cold hot dogs and onion burgers!

Edit: I was being facetious. I really am thankful.

I spent 3 years aboard ships in the US Navy.

We got food poisoning at least once a year (Shitting yourself and puking at the same time!), once our RO (Water) unit broke and we spent a month at sea with no laundry and VERY limited showers, I've seen drinking fountains put out brown water (from rust), fire in an ammo mag (Thankfully it was empty!), ships power outages, VERY bad weather (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AGEpBjcZ4s <-- I was on board for this), all sorts of other shit.

Dude. The crew members on that ship saved your ass. A fire on board is NO JOKE. Before anyone rags them about cold hotdogs and no toilets--Think about this: The staff on that ship saved everyone from the shitty choice of "Would I prefer drowning or should I die in the fire?".

Just saying. I think they did a great job. If the ship was shitty and caught on fire--Management's fault. The crew still got the fire out and their ship back to port which is all that matters. Count your blessings--It could have been a LOT WORSE.

Wow I didn't know actually how vital that was, thanks for telling me. My situation definitely wasn't as bad as yours. I was joking about cold hot dogs, no they gave us food and that's what we needed.

Proof

http://i.imgur.com/IbzOXoE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/w0SgbkS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2LkjaWj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yv9Hyxi.jpg

The charging station http://i.imgur.com/vekZ5lI.jpg

Where I slept from the 10-13th

http://i.imgur.com/Y6oY6L1.jpg

You brought a Reddit shirt on the boat with you? Am I the only person without one?

Yes, I love that shirt! Apparently there are at least 3 other redditors on the boat, because of the 3 comments referring to my shirt.

Any pictures of the mattresses outside or mess in the hallways? I was on the Triumph back in November and even then I remember it was a bit stinky out on the deck.

Not on my phone, they're sending us off to New Orleans and I'll post more pictures and videos from our camera and gopro. But yes, it's smelly near all of the cabins.

Edit: http://i.imgur.com/ApOOtLi.jpg

That's what was in my phone.

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Chicken.

Did you at any point get a fear boner?

ಠ_ಠ

Did the band play on?

Yes.

How long did it take for you to go from "Shit, this sucks" to "Finally, something to do an AMA about!" I know for me it would be about 19 seconds.

About a day, we had to get comfortable first.

Why's everyone pissing on the boat instead of just pissing over the side?

Men in the sink, I don't quite get how a woman would piss over the edge...

Are they still serving alcoholic beverages to passengers?

On the 11th (2nd survival day) they had an open bar until people took advantage so that ended pretty quickly.

I would assume that at least a small portion of the passengers would choose to endure this ordeal in a sort of Dionysian, hedonistic revelry. Or am I not fully appreciating how bitchy everyone is probably feelings?

I think that you assumption is correct!

Will you ever go on another cruise again?

Yes, definitely! It really isnt nearly as bad as they're talking about. I actually had a good time.

Yeah, I feel a lot of people are just being overly dramatic to get on the news. On CNN they would have one person crying about how awful everything else was, and then another person that sad it wasn't too bad

That's how a lot of it was. I saw a few people crying but honestly, without the dirtiness, it wouldn't be too bad. It was like camping on a cruise ship.

I'm going on a cruise in a month or so on carnival and If the same thing were to happen i would kinda take it as extra vacation time also you got a free cruise where are you gonna go?

Yeah, it's my second carnival cruise and they aren't too bad. Me and my father are going to use the voucher and we haven't really made any plans yet, but I've heard that the Alaskan cruise was really fun, but that's a different cruise line.

It wouldnt be the end of the world for me except the toilets. That might get to me.

That was the response of most people.

So, ah, did you just do it off of the side of the boat, or what?

Sink.

what about poo?

Red bag.

I was sitting here thinking it'd be a pretty neat adventure. I've worked on a cruise ship and taken a cruise before, so I can kind of imagine how it'd be.

Just like camping. Except crowded and unhygienic.

So... how much is Carnival paying for you to do this AMA?

Haha no we're getting into a class action against them. I'm just making sure reddit is in "the know"

I love how you say it isn't that bad and you're going to use the free voucher for another cruise but you're jumping at the chance to sue them. I'm sorry but I just find that hilarious.

It was unsanitary and not what we intended to spend our 4 extra days doing. It was uncomfortable and unsanitary along with just satisfactory food. I just like to think of it as an experience and enjoy the positive things, but I get what you're saying.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking you. I was reading through the your AMA full of "it wasn't that bad" and I stumbled upon your first answer of "we're suing" I thought it was funny.

I respect your positive outlook and wish you the best with future cruises and vacations.

Yeah no, I don't really care about airing but hey, we were miserable if we get more money. Some little things pissed me off but it was an enjoyable experience if you looked at it in the right way.

So he should lose out on compensation for not getting what he paid for, wasting his time, and being made to live in unsanitary conditions because he's an optimist?

Exactly.

So don't be a sue-happy American and just accept that shit happens. Show those around you that they can be Good People too, by not joining the class.

Source: American, who cruises, and has Shit Happen.

Edit: reading more... shit shouldn't happen in bags, and sounds like the Shit Happens plan is insufficent (unsurprising). Emergency power can't cover plumbing? A couple of 2kW generators can turn pumps. Hmm...

I know, I wont

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Hey, do you want to hear the truth or not?

Is anyone taking advantage of the situation? If so, how?

Yes, a woman fake falling and crying in pain. Also people are suing. On a few of the working outlets a couple of laptops have been stolen, there and in the pitch black rooms.

How do you feel about Carnival piling you all onto buses to have to ride a further 3 hours to New Orleans as soon as you all get off the ship instead of being put in a hotel 10 minutes from the Cruise Terminal in Mobile, all because Carnival has a personal vendetta against Mobile? (hometown btw)

I don't think that it's right. I heard that Mobile's mayor was getting pissed off about that, and I really would like to take a nice hot shower and lay in a normal bed. It makes me a little mad, but I'm off the ship, I can't complain much more.

Welcome to Alabama also lol

Haha thanks!

Judging by the news, it sounds like you all had a shitty vacation.

Not sure if pun...

What will you spend your $500 on?

100 duck-sized horses...

Hey man, I used to be a crew member for CCL... thanks for doing this AMA!

Yeah! It seemed interesting and something I would want to get more inside information about so I did it!

Are you taking one of the chartered flights back to Houston tomorrow?

Yeah, first a bus ride to New Orleans and stay in a hotel and fly out Tomorrow or Sarurday.

Hi, glad you've almost made it back. After reading the news, I do have a couple of questions. Why are the people getting sick? I also read there were serious food shortages, is this true? What happened to make it still be bearable for you and for you to still have fun? How has the crew acted?

Thanks and yeah, people are getting sick because sewage everyone; urine on the floors, waste in bags, and undercooked food. Strong fecal and urine stench near the cabins and just a poor environment. The workers rushed a lot of the processes. My mom is actually sick. No food shortages, we've had 3 other carnival ships come by and one of the three again and they used a helicopter to drop a generator and just recently (today) we got a delivery of sterno. People are throwing food away so we have enough. It's fun to make new friends, people watch, and they have movies playing now. Mostly just relaxing. The crew is working harder than ever and the lower level workers are so nice and overworked and underpayed. The upper workers work hard and are being dressed 4x as nice for the media when we dock. It's still pretty unsanitary thought the ship and I am just now having the first meal of the day because of how long the lines are. I hope that answered most of your questions.

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I don't think it ever got that bad, the engine fire was scary and the boat was at 7° tilt or 7% something like that; a very dangerous level. I don't think that other cruise ships had enough room for all 4500 of us. It wasn't practical and very dangerous because people could fall, get hurt, etc. We are participating in a class action so yes.

Are they giving you free internet?

No wifi, but all of our Internet usage charges are covered.

Edit: We also only had Internet in the gulf when another cruise ship came by, but that was only cellular.

Hello,

Thanks for the Iama.

I used to work on a cruise ship for 4 years.

I am very glad I never had to have anything like that happen to me.

My question is did you notice what this was like for the crew. Different jobs they had everyone doing etc. Did the crew get yelled at by guests every time they were seen?

The crew worked very hard and seemed exhausted by the extra work load. We brought them meals when we had the chance and thanked them for all that they were doing constantly. Yeah, I love answering all of y'alls questions!

What was your initial reaction? Did you think you were sinking?

My initial reaction was just weariness. I slept on a bunk type bed that pulled out from the ceiling and smelled smoke and heard yelling. I was pretty pissed to wake up that damn early on my birthday but we then walked outside and Jen (cruise director) told us about the engine fire. I didn't know what to think but I wasn't very scared.

happy late birthday

Thanks, it's going to be hard to top next year.

Maybe you can get stranded in the desert or experience a avalanche.

You sure wish me the best of luck don't you?

Are they really making you go to the bathroom in bags? How hard is it when you have to take a dump?

Yea they were handing out bags for us to poop in, I didn't since our toilet worked for the most part. But there were red bags all I've the hall way and whilst sleeping outside someone through there bag over and it got caught next to our area and smelled it up until we finally knocked it over the edge with a rope and pole.

Proof, perhaps?

If possible.

Upvote for visibility (it's near the bottom).

What is your best story?

Someones sick and being taken off of the boat at the moment. I witnessed one woman falling (lightly) and crying in "pain" and another cruise ship came within 30-40 feet of us doing a water burn out. On the top deck there were tents everywhere and that was where people were living.

Im watching you guys on the news now! But anyway, in your opinion, how do you think the captain and officers handled the situation?

It seems like it could have even handled a lot better, but it definitely could be worse. A lot of everything was fending for yourself; unprepared and unorganized. A rescue boat was trying to rescue a woman and got smashed up. The coast guard intervened. She needed dialysis I believe.

Was the pool still open and swimmable, or had it turned into an above ground cesspool at some point?

No, they just threw a net over it.

Also, not much waste up top.

Did they have to ration out the food? What was there and what was that like? Thanks for the AMA!

Not really. They had a worse buffet, but a buffet none the less. Toward the end they started giving you the good themselves to ensure that we weren't stockpiling it. There was a lot of random sandwiches. Sometimes tomato and lettuce, zucchini mayo, onion lettuce, cheese bacon mayo, etc. they weren't particularly good, but you made do. There was also a lot of fruit and cheap deserts. Yeah, anytime!

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The media is making it sound worse than it was, I'm sure it was bad for people who missed work or had people watching their kids etc., but it was enjoyable if you looked at it in the right way. Me and my family did stay outside for the first 2 nights and 3 days. The weather was great and it was amazing waking up and seeing the ocean whilst under blankets and a mattress shoved into a lawn chair. No fear for my life. We were actually hoping it'd be a little worse (tip over) so we could have a more interesting story to tell, but it never came to that. I didnt really hear anything crazy. Someone through their red crap back over and it landed near a lot of us. That was crazy. Yeah thanks!

Thank you for doing an AMA so soon after arriving home. What was it really like concerning the sanitary condition of the ship? I've heard that the bottom 2 floors were submerged in feces. Did they serve you onion sandwiches? Was there alcohol available? Did somebody die?

Yeah, it's my first one and pretty fun! Its my first chance to actually give to the reddit community so I though "why not?" Sanitary was very poor. It smelled throughout the halls. Up top and where I slept it wasn't nearly as bad, but you fought a whiff of it every once and a while. The bottom two floors had a lot of piss on the ground and an awful stench, but not exactly submerged. One day they did serve onion sandwiches but no, the food was fine. Alcohol one day, but they figured out that it was a bad idea so they stopped after that. No one died, two people had to be taken off the ship though due to sickness.

Did anybody go crazy or totally loose their cool? Fights etc ?

A few people were crying, a few fights over food and the long lines, and a few fights over the outlet/ charging station situation.

What little things did the crew and passangers do to make the best the situation?

Also, was there tension between the crew/staff and the passengers.

The passengers were always thankful of the crew which was always really nice. One time some 15yr old girl started arguing with our cruise director (Jen) while recording herself, but got booed away by the crowed. Not much tension, we all were just trying to be friends with each other for the most part.

No question, just wanted to say thank you. All I've heard so far is how much of a horror story it is and it's refreshing to hear about it realistically.

Yeah, everyone has been over exaggerating about most of it and it really was just an interesting experience.

i think of the cruise ships as the petri dishes of the sea, is my assumption confirmed after your experience?

I'm sure! Yeah I heard someone call it that a "floating petri dish." it made me giggle. There's going to be a lot of mold. I heard they're taking it to orally after they fix the engine and completely redoing it and renaming it.

(I know you probably won't answer this until after the fact) Are you going to stay in New Orleans for however long, or taking the bus straight back to Texas? I've been following the situation, and my parents are criticizing every decision Carnival makes, and all I can say is "They are trying to do their best with everyone in the world angry at them." We are actually looking at cruises, specifically Carnival as well, for my high school graduation, guess I'm not going on the Triumph. I think we are looking at either Liberty or Freedom, I forget which.

We are taking a bus to New Orleans and staying in a hotel for a night and taking a flight back to Texas. Have fun! I hope you haw more luck than I!

Hi, Glad you're doing Ok. And thanks for doing the AMA btw. Anyway, i've got a couple of questions if you don't mind:

• Is it really so bad that there is "sewage flowing down the walls"?
• What's going on with the medical center at the bottom of the ship? Does it have power? Are the doctors sitting up on deck? How are they dealing with all of the sick people?
• What do you, and your fellow passengers, think about Carnival's response to this incident? Do you think that they are doing all that they can or do you think that they could have done more?
• How relieved are you to be getting off the ship soon?
• How are the elderly and the people on the lower levels of the ship (1, 2) holding up (as far as you can tell)?
• Has crime been rampant? I know you mentioned that people have been stealing laptops and such, but do you think that it has increased since there is no power and room locks aren't working and such?
• What are you guys doing for entertainment?

Oh and by the way, happy late cake day (Although not very happy, but i'm sure you made the best of it :) ).

Thanks and hope you get off safely!

There are some parts of the ship where sewage was leaking down the walls and from the ceiling (especially on level 0) The medical center (0) has been crowded with sick people and crew. A lot of the waste seeped down there and that is why a large number of the crew is sleeping on higher levels. It has power and they have been dealing with it all pretty well. Most people aren't too pleased with carnivals response. We heard from another passenger that there was another carnival incident a bit worse in which they handled much better. All of the crew did their absolute best, but I think that they could have managed the situation more efficiently. The tugs took forever to get here and I think that it's partially because of how tug boat companies get 10% of the scrap value of whatever they are tugging and being a very expensive boat, I'm sure they were hesitant. I will be very relieved to get off. I'm looking forward to seeing my cats and dogs and just land in general. Most people moved to different cooler and more hygienic places. There is an old couple who are pretty nice and seem comfortable enough. The locks are working fine but because of how hot the rooms have been without a/c people have kept their doors open. I only heard of a few instances and that was closer to the beginning. Entertainment has been movies, people watching, electronics, and relaxing on a cruise!

What did you do to pass the time? Did you see my friend? She's very muscled!

I saw a broad shouldered woman.. And a fit works woman. Most of the time I just relaxed and was on my phone and iPad. Also people watched and movies and people watched.

I thought you didn't have power. How were you able to charge your phone and iPad? Oh, you'd recognize her...she's a female bodybuilder and she looks every but the part. I can't wait to hear her stories!

A few outlets were working and the main lights. Just no cabins had electricity and no ovens or stoves.

I'll go ahead and give you my comments from the AMA Request I just did due to not noticing this one:

-How would you describe the horrid conditions? -What were your reactions when you were told about the fire? -How much were you told about the fire? -Would you ever take a cruise again? -How did you cope with the lack of power? -How bad were the lines for food? -Do you feel the crew could do anything more? -Did you ever feel that you were in immediate danger?

The conditions were horrendous and are still unsanitary. They are going to have to replace a LOT of their items and do a major cleaning. My reaction was more stable than most people. My family wasn't overreacting so I followed their reaction. The halls were full of smoke and people were yelling and crying in panic. We were told immediately but they didn't give us as many details as to not cause too much hectic reaction of passengers. I will take a cruise again for sure, I still think that they are enjoyable and a good deal. We took the strobes off of some of the life jackets and dipped them in water to activate them and placed them in our room. Everyone crowded the outlets and had 20-40 people per plug. Cold food wasn't very good either. We had descent irrigation though.

Definitely post some proof if you can.

If you can upvote it for visibility (it's at the bottom)

I saw the comment about the poop and bags but were there really people urinating on the floor?

No but we were told to urinate in the shower (women) and when the boat tilted it didn't go into the drain and overflowing toilets. All of it went into the hallway.

How ya holding up, champ?

Pretty damn great

Good for you. I'd probably start throwing people overboard.

Yeah.. We started joking about a pretty impaired guy (fish food)

heard some lady on the radio today talking about only getting tomato and mayo sandwiches by the time she got there in the lineups. (whaaah! total first world problems)

wacha eating?

That. Tonight we had a piece if beef and lobster though! Wasn't too bad.

Would you take advantage of the free cruise and go with Carnival again? Or are you done with cruises for a while?

Taking advantage! I hope it was just a fluke so I plan on going on another cruise, just not anytime soon. I'm vacationed out because of this.

Currently living in Mobile, and it was kind of cool to get to see the ship slowly come in. But I hope all is well for you! and safe travels to New Orleans!

Thanks! Yeah I didn't even care about any other sight than land.

How'd you enjoy the clubs? O2 if you're underaged.

No clubs. It looked like the kids has fun though.

Do you know why they made you use plastic baggies to go to the bathroom? To be fair, you were traveling on the "world's biggest toilet" couldn't you have just thrown it over the side?

Some did, but there would be worse media if they had us do that.

Do you have any technical details regarding the power systems? Some basic reading (Wikipedia) said that your ship had like 6 engines; were all incapacitated by the fire?

Only one engine was gone and they had the power to you all of the other ones but no way to get the power to them. The wires were fried. Does that answer your question?

This is a pretty solid AMA :D Thanks for your time! I have a question: What was a funny incident which happened?

Thanks i appreciate that. One time a Poop bag landing next to us that was dropped 6 levels up. Also a woman lightly falling and almost in tears (trying to get more money). My dad being the comedian that he is fooled a lot of gullible people with his jokes.

How come they couldnt transfer people to the other ships that came by?

Already answered this question a little higher in the thread.

What sorts of entertainment are they providing you guys to pass the time?

They had stuff for the small kids on the main top deck and movies for everyone else.

Were crew members attempting to stop people from taking the bathrobes and/or defacing them at all at any point during the ordeal?

No, I'm wearing their ($45) bathrobe as we speak. Not very comfortable but a nice souvenir.

Yo man, I've frequented plenty of cruises and this would definitely be a buzz kill for the trip, but I'm glad everything's working out. My parents are on a Carnival cruise in the gulf right now and got freaked out when I heard about this on the news, had to remember which ship they were on. How do you enjoy sleeping on the deck? I fell asleep out there once and it was great besides it getting a little chilly at night. Is getting food really as hard as I've read? Three hours for a burger?

I really did enjoy the deck. Perfect weather until yesterday. It got cold and rainy so we set up or HOA in a dining area. Hell yeah! The first time there was warm food (burgers) the lines were 2-3 hours long! It was crazy. Needless to say I didn't eat burgers.

I was on the triumph Last week. I feel so blessed. Also, sorry for whoever had to stay in 2299 after me and my wife...

I was in 1406 and level two was pretty bad.