Then The Unthinkable Happened.

I, like many people, have been following the events surrounding the problems confronting passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph. They had pretty much finished their short cruise and no doubt were already getting excited about being home and sharing their cruise stories with friends and neighbors.

Then the unthinkable happened. There was a fire in the engine room and the ship lost all power. Suddenly things changed. Certainty now turned to uncertainty and for many that produced fear.  No one wanted this to happen. Certainly the passengers did not and neither did the cruise line. But there they are . . . . Stranded at sea!

The best advice I can give them right now is, “go with the flow.” (No pun intended).  Getting angry will not help. In fact, it will only make a bad situation worse. There will be plenty of time for anger when they get home and fortunately they will get home! Right now it's make the best of a bad situation.

Passengers need to do the best they can. Try and take things as they come . . . in stride. I know that toilets not working; foul air and bad odors; food not gourmet; rooms not cool; and other passengers grumpy, some angry and some down-right belligerent. The crew will generally do everything they can to make the inconvenience of the moment bearable. But remember, they are literally in the same boat.

Try to keep in mind that the cruise line is trying to resolve issues with the ship and the problems that passengers are facing both on board the ship and will face when it does arrive in port. I can assure you that the ships engineers are working as hard as they can to restore electrical power and that passenger discomforts are minimized. Just keep in mind that without power nothing works . . . no cooking, no A/C; and no flushing toilets. Add to these a whole host of other things that we have become accustomed to always being there that we didn't even notice them until they are gone. Sounds like there might be some life lessons in all this.

The ship staff is also trying to get all the legal and paper work done on behalf of the passengers for when they do arrive in port. For example, if the ship had actually gone to Progresso, Mexico as first announced 900 passengers would not be able to immediately leave the country because they were not traveling with a passport. They would face additional scrutiny at the airport. 

When the ship arrives it must be cleared by Homeland Security and the passengers will still have to clear immigration and customs. Those that drove to Galveston then have to be bused from Houston Airports to Galveston to pick-up their cars. Those who flew in from faraway places would have to deal with rescheduling flights and that cost.

Carnival may give these passengers both a new cruise and full fare refund and arrange many of these details but I can promise you that most passengers will face some additional costs.  Under the rules of portage the cruise line is exempt from many of the things for which people might think they should be liable. 

I started to spend some space talking about how to make the best of a miserable situation. You know, “What to do when the toilets don’t work?”  Here’s a hint . . . try and book you cabin as high up on the ship as you can.

Instead I want to one more time say to anyone and everyone who plans to travel and especially if you plan to cross an international boarder . . . .

GET A PASSPORT!  Everyone has a birth certificate and everyone will eventually have a death certificate but for everything between these two certificates you need a passport. Whether it’ by plane, train, ship automobile or even foot if you cross an international boarder make sure you have your passport in your pocket. (It will not hurt to have a credit card that is not maxed out as well.)

GET TRIP INSURANCE!  You may never face anything as severe as the folks aboard the Carnival Triumph have this week but you might miss a flight, get sick and have to return home early or even miss the boat. Trip insurance will not remove the physical discomfort but it will help alleviate the fiscal pain.

I do have a third piece of advice. Don’t let this incident keep you from experience just how wonderful a cruise vacation can be.   Keep in mind that these four and five night cruises are just introductory cruises. They are designed to introduce the first time cruiser to what a cruise vacation is like. It is too bad that for many first time cruisers aboard the Carnival Triumph their great cruise experience turned so badly. Believe me this is the exception not the rule. I have been cruising since I was a child and I have never been on a cruise that had these kinds of problems. I must confess that I was on one where we couldn’t raise the anchor and our 7 night cruise turned into an 8 night cruise.

Seriously folks; to be alive is to be at risk. I must tell you that having your cruise vacation ruined by an event like that we’ve been hearing about this week is pretty minuscule. Don’t be afraid to book a cruise. In fact, book yours today and plan to enjoy today. Chances just got better that yours will be a flawless vacation.

Check out our Dancing With The Stars Cruise on Holland America cruise set for next January.