Brownwood residents, Michael and Sandra Richardson, recently stranded on the disabled Carnival cruise ship Triumph are counting down the hours until they can step foot on dry land.
According to Michael Richardson, the guests aboard the ship have been told sometime around midnight they should dock in the port of Mobile, Alabama. Currently they are being slowly pulled toward the Alabama shoreline by tugboats, but had not reached the port’s channel as of 3:00 PM Thursday.
Conditions on the boat have not been luxurious but according to the Richardsons, things could have been much worse. They, in fact are counting their blessings. Thanks to their travel agent, they booked a room in the right part of the ship.
“We are very fortunate that our travel agent Shari Speck talked us into a room with a balcony,” said Richardson. He explained having a balcony gave them some fresh air and a place to get away from the stuffy room and some light during the day.
Richardson reflected the day of the fire, when Sunday morning around 5:40 AM, the fire alarm sounded. By 6:00 AM, the power to the ship was gone.
“We were dead in the water for about 24 hours and drifted about 90 miles north, which was a good thing,” said Richardson. He stated that Carnival had announced plans to have tug boats pull the cruise ship to Progresso, Mexico, but changed those plans to Mobile, Alabama once the boat had floated further north.
When asked their reaction to the alarms that morning, Richardson stated that he and wife Sandra stayed pretty calm.
“We were just thinking, ‘Is this for real?’ and were wondering if this was serious,” said Richardson. They heard that the rooms on the first floor were pretty smoky and that they eventually had some flooding, probably due to plumbing issues that developed, he said.
The rumors in the mainstream media, according to the Richardsons were not completely true. They stated that initially an announcement was made that the ship had lost power and a request was made by the crew for the guests not to use their toilets. Richardson explained that he thought that probably made everyone want to use the toilets one last time, causing some plumbing issues, which caused the ship to be without service for a full day.
Richardson stated that the crew was amazing and that they worked extremely hard, even having to clean out some of the clogged toilets in guest rooms to get the system working again.
“It was unbelievable to me how hard the crew worked to accommodate us. They were in the same boat, and worked unbelievably hard to help us out,” said Richardson. “They were always smiling.”
Richardson stated what made the situation the worst was just rude guests who complained about everything, even when guests were served steak and lobster today for lunch.
“There were some really rude people that were complaining that they fed us steaks today and that the crew was cleaning up the ship, for what they felt was for the media,” said Richardson. “We (the guests) were the ones that made the ship unclean, the crew was working really hard for us.”
Richardson stated that during the whole ordeal the ship had plenty of food and drinks for everyone, which were restocked by three other Carnival ships that pulled alongside the Triumph to provide supplies and the Coast Guard, also brought necessities.
“We had lots of cold cut or cucumber sandwiches, and yes you can get tired of them if you have had three meals of sandwiches. But at least we had something to eat. We didn’t go without. You just can’t make everyone happy,” said Richardson. “Some of the crew really took some hard chewing out by unhappy guests.” No matter what they tried to do, some of the guests weren’t satisfied, he explained.
Richardson said that the crew gave announcements in the morning, mid-day and in the evening as to the situation. He also stated that there was very minimal electricity available, just enough to run the toilet system and safety lights, no television, no cellular service until the other cruise ships were nearby. There was no entertainment because of the lack of electricity, so they laid in the sun a lot, which was hot until they got closer to Alabama.
“Yesterday it was cold,” he said. “We got into cooler weather as we neared the coast, and the attitudes of everyone began to improve.”
When asked about how the situation was handled, the Richardsons were impressed with the crew who were willing and ready to help, but didn’t think that Carnival Cruise Lines as a corporation handled the situation very well.
“I was pretty impressed with the crew. Anytime something happened, they were there to clean it up,” said Richardson. “My feeling though was that they (the corporate side of Carnival) didn’t react soon enough. Logistically, things weren’t handled well, I think they were underprepared.”
When asked if they would ever go on another cruise, the Richardsons said they would.
“Yes,” they said enthusiastically. “It was great until the ship broke down. We’ll go again, as long as it’s a newer ship,” said Sandra. “It’s not a carnival, it was a circus,” she joked.
They advised other travelers who book cruises should bring flashlights or reading lights, extra water just in case, and be sure to get a room with a balcony.
The Richardsons have been informed that Carnival plans to refund the guest fares for this cruise along with offering them a free cruise in the future. They have also been given the choice go to New Orleans via charter bus and stay overnight before going back to Galveston, to fly out from New Orleans or take the bus all the way to Galveston.
“It’s been an adventure,” said Richardson. He explained that he and Sandra plan to send notice to Carnival commending the crew and cabin steward for their excellent service during the ordeal.
“As fast as we can, we are getting on a bus and heading home,” said the Richardsons. They stated that they have been in contact with their kids periodically when they were near the other cruise ships, but that they are ready to be home and see their family.
