Could you make the best out of the Carnival Cruise from Hell?

[Embel]

I wouldn't do particularly well on my own, and if I had my husband there - forget it! He'd wouldn't handle it well, and that would make me very tense.

I understand it was a freak accident,and I wouldn't be mad at someone. I'd just be tense and unhappy. I honestly can't imagine feeling any other way.

Hysterical?- I don't think so, but I'm not making any promises, and I hope I never have to find out.

 

[DisReno]

My attitude would depend on if they were still serving alcoholic beverages.

Does anyone know if they were?

 

[Southernmiss]

My attitude would depend on if they were still serving alcoholic beverages.

Does anyone know if they were?

I heard a passenger say this morning that when they opened the bar that's when people went nuts.

 

[MIGrandma]

My attitude would depend on if they were still serving alcoholic beverages.

Does anyone know if they were?

No, they cut the alcohol consumption off right away. They didn't need drunk passengers to deal with.

This is quite a hot topic over on Cruise Critic, with many, many threads about it. Some are quite heated, especially the one where the OP asked if anyone would sue Carnival.

I know it wouldn't be fun to be on such a cruise as the Triumph just had, but we would make the best of it, as it looked like most of the passengers actually did. We love camping so wouldn't be as upset about the conditions as some might be. And we generally get a balcony room. We were on the 1/27 sailing of the Carnival Conquest, and we had an aft balcony so that would definitely be the place I'd probably spend the most time at if we had problems like the Triumph did.

 

[WDSearcher]

I'm thinking if I had a balcony- I might be ok- having a place to get away for it all.

But trapped in an inside room with no window and no toilets. Um yeah I wouldn't be happy.

We survived Hurricane Sandy's 12 days without power or water(4 kids 2 dogs!). While it sucked , we didn't turn into animals. We powered through.

I don't understand why they couldn't have another ship out there for those people to board? To get back? The tug boat thing would have maybe made me go nuts too.

I would imagine it would be pretty difficult to do a ship-to-ship transfer of everyone, particularly when one of the ships was listing. You'd have to transfer everyone -- kids, elderly, wheelchair, etc. from one ship to another at sea.

Plus, I guess if I were stuck at sea, I'd rather be stuck at sea with all my stuff. I'm not sure I'd be too thrilled if someone said, "OK ... we're going to take everyone off this ship and put them on another one, but you can't bring all your bags and can only take essentials." Because then I'm on another ship, but don't have my stuff and don't know when the crippled ship is going to show up or how long it'll take to offload everything.

 

[hereyago]

A cruiser who called in(in CNN he was holding a bio haz bag) said that there were other cruise ships around. So if it had been a true emergency,sinking etc. somebody have has have had to pick them up in lifeboats.

 

[Chelley00]

DH laughed at me when we were talking about this because I have lots of food allergies and when we cruise I take a carry on full of food/snacks. He said we'd be the only people not eating cold waffles and Skittles

I think we'd handle it well if it was just DH and I, but our last cruise was with all 4 kids. I couldn't imagine having something like that happen and having to take care of the kids plus ourselves with no food, water, electricity etc.

 

[Planogirl]

I would like to think that I would make the best of it. I never see much purpose in getting all upset even though I know that it's hard not to at times. I would be quietly angry though.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm a natural-born problem solver and generally a pretty optimistic person. And, being in medicine, I can take pretty gross stuff.

So, I think I would do pretty well, but I would not be happy about it.

Aside from the medical career, this would be me. Honestly, I think even my wife (who doesn't do well with changes of plans) would handle it pretty well as long as we knew we weren't in danger.

 

[CandleontheWater]

If it was just me and DH we'd be fine, he's in the military, I'm an archaeologist, we're used to roughing it. However, if our kids were with us, I don't know what we would have done.

I've been thinking about this since it happened because we are considering a Disney cruise. We would have run out of diapers! There is no way we could have slept out on deck with the two kids, I couldn't trust DS #1 not to wander away, get lost or hurt or fall overboard. I guess DH and I would have had to sleep in shifts so one of us could always be watching the kids. Also what on earth would my older DS have eaten? No way he would eat vegetable sandwiches. I'm sure we also would have run out of baby food for DS #2, and he would be at an age where he couldn't even eat solid food. I can handle a lot, but if I was unable to feed my kids and they were hungry, I would have lost it!

Maybe we won't be cruising with the kids any time soon.

 

[JessicaR]

It has been interesting seeing the interviews with the passengers. I've seen some who said it was horrible but they powered through. They seem composed and didn't make it into the end of the world type event. Others have been hysterical.

Every single person interviewed agrees that the conditions were deplorable. However, the way in which some handled those conditions versus others is night and day.

Where do you think you would fall? Do you think you would be hysterical, laid back, or somewhere in between?

For me, I'd do much better if I could either be by myself (with my family, assuming they were there) or with a positive group of people. I know I would feed off of negative energy so if I was with a group who was hysterical, I would jump on that bandwagon, as well.

The conditions on that ship tested everyone on board and some likely have come off much stronger individuals and others will need therapy and medication for life.

Honestly I don't know my reaction. I would have to experience the situation first hand. I can say I hope to NEVER experience what they did. I would make the best of it provided that was an option.

I am so sorry for those that experienced this first hand.

 

[Squidgyness]

Anger at the world, frustrated because deep down I know there isn't anyone to blame for it happening, grossed out by the sanitation thanks to my intimate knowledge of what can spread in those conditions if people aren't careful, and probably a gnawing feeling of hunger since I'm a pretty picky eater. That would be my guess at a reaction from me.

Seriously, if I had to eat the mustard and ham sandwich they showed on tv as the food on offer I'd probably have just brought it up again (tmi?) so not much point. I'd still get it and give it to my family to share though. I could stand to lose some weight though.

 

[ebtbmom]

I think that I would be OK because I'd know there's absolutely nothing that could be done! I've been through some fairly serious natural disaster situations in my hometown. I know that it's not an equal comparison, but I have been through not having power/water for 4+ days, and I've been through emotional distress of having my actual home severly damaged in Irene. Me and DH tend to suck it up and get done what we have to get done, of course, privately we'd probably tear each other's heads off. But we'd keep it in the bedroom.

While it was a serious situation I think the media was dramatizing it times 1000, acting like their very lives were in danger and families were waiting to see if they'd ever see their loved ones again.

 

[StephMK]

If we went, we'd be in a cheap cabin so the enclosed space would bother me as well as the smells. I'd be fine up on deck but the number of people surrounding us would wear me out. I like my privacy! I am a naturally optimistic, positive person and am sure despite being annoyed, I could handle it calmly.

I know pretty much how it would go down if my family was there. DH does not do well in heat, with delays, or anything that creates a big problem. I know we'd have at least one short shouting match where I told him to buck up and deal with it. Then he'd be able to joke for awhile. He is naturally negative so I'd get sick of hearing him complain. Our kids are old enough that they'd be ok & play together. As long as the ipods & kindles were working, we'd be able to pass the time a few days.

I think the worst would be the bodily function issues and odors.

 

[ilovemk76]

I would do fine until I got hungry, then all hell would break loose!

 

[joviroxx]

If it were me with my friends or with my extended family, i would be fine. I tend to be able to make the best of it when in good company.

If it were just me and DH, bless him, I might go nuts. He tends to be, while calm, insufferable in a bad situation. He doesn't do well if hungry and tired. But who knows, he might surprise me.

Like a PP poster said, these are first world problems. What the heck, I'd put up my shanty town, learn to poop in a bag and spend the time thinking about where Im going to go on my free cruise!

Now, if I were with a small child...

I saw alot of passengers disembarking saying Carnival did what they could. I have a feeling the media, being what it is, dramatized this story and then found those passengers that were on the edge. While Im sure the conditions were awful and a huge PITA, smelly, hot and rather gross, no one starved, died or where in danger of it. But Im thinking that people are reconsidering that bumper sticker that says, A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work!

I do, however, have a question. What exactly is "loss of enjoyment of life"?

 

[allison443]

I do, however, have a question. What exactly is "loss of enjoyment of life"?

It's an element of damages in personal injury cases. Usually refers to inability to enjoy activities, etc. that a person did before the accident. Like if the injury affects someone's ability to play sports, dance, walk for long distances, travel, do things with their kids, etc. Not quantifiable in an economic sense like lost wages or medical bills, but still an element of damages. Has to be proven just like any other aspect of the case.

I heard on the news that there is a lot of fine print in the cruise documents that will make lawsuits more difficult. Also any lawsuit will have to be brought in Miami, per the documents.

 

[horseshowmom]

I tend to be a suck it up and deal with it kind of person. I can almost mentally remove myself from the unpleasantness when I don't have a choice. It just is what it is. Falling apart wouldn't change anything and would really only make it worse. I would be disgusted and frustrated, but I'd deal with it.

We were without power for 11 days several years ago after an ice storm. Living in a rural area, we were on a well which meant no water - no electricity to pump it (now have public water, thank goodness). No water meant no toilet. It was a long drawn out annoyance, but at least I wasn't confined to a ship!

ETA: If I understood correctly, they loaded them on buses and took them to New Orleans. Personally, I would have wanted a room in the nearest hotel to take a bath and to have a good dinner. They could have taken me to New Orleans the next day.

After a little more thought, I have to admit that if I had been on that bus that broke down on the way to New Orleans, that might have been close to putting me over the edge. LOL!

 

[PeterPanic]

I'm usually pretty good at dealing with stressful situations. The key for me is that I am kept informed as honestly as possible. If you tell me what we are dealing with, how long they expect things to take, even if I don't like the answer, I can deal with it fairly well. Keep me in the dark and I'm liable to become extremely anxious and distempered.

 

[Talking Hands]

As long as I could keep my blood sugars in control I would be fine. My diabetes would be my primary worry. Roughing it would not be a huge deal. We survived after Hurricane Andrew so I could probably survive the cruise from hell.