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Will Cruise’s Woes Change Your Vacation Plans?

Passengers of the cruise ship Triumph endured filthy conditions for nearly a week after power was lost due to an engine-room fire. Tell us if the incident will make you rethink traveling on a cruise liner.

Overflowing toilets, bad smells and food shortages aren’t the typical features of one’s dream vacation, but for passengers of the cruise ship Triumph last week, it was a reality.

About 3,000 passengers endured those conditions while the Carnival cruise liner was disabled for five days, the Associated Press reported. The problems arose after the ship lost power due to a fire in the engine room.

Carnival has offered the affected passengers a full refund on their cruise and transportation expenses, credit for a future cruise, $500 per person and more, the AP reported Saturday, but one passenger has already sued the company, seeking unspecified damagers.

Since families may have vacations on their minds this week, if not already on them—students in some school districts, including those in Douglas and Paulding counties, are on winter break—we wanted to know if the headlines originating from this story have impacted you:

Will the malfunctions on the Triumph make you rethink traveling on a cruise?

Share what’s on your mind with us, and then return here to see what your neighbors in Paulding, Douglas and Cobb have said.

Sean February 18, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Nope... won't alter mine at all. I don't cruise. Too many instances of shipboard issues, last minute fees & costs, illnesses that can & will run rampant.
I'll still be Mexico in two months, but it won't be by ship. I'll watch them steam by while drink a beer on the beach.
Debi Dugger February 18, 2013 at 12:52 pm
I love to cruise and am going to be looking for great deals to pop up! Do you quit flying because a plane crashes or quit driving because there is a 20 car pile up in the fiog somewhere? This was a dreadful situation but won't keep me from panning my next cruise!!
Marlene Mitchell February 18, 2013 at 01:06 pm
Won't rethink whether or not I cruise just the quality of the cruise line.
Can someone tell me why the passengers weren't taken off the ship once they started having problems?? Cruise ships do it all the time when at a destination that won't allow the ship to pull into port. They just shuttle the passengers back and forth. Been there, done that.
Lisa Cooper February 18, 2013 at 02:07 pm
I've never wanted to take an ocean cruise. Vacationing with four to five thousand folks is NOT my idea of a vacation, and there are too many things that go wrong. If I was ever going to take any type of trip by ship or boat, it would be a Viking River Cruise or something smaller and more intimate. I've never heard of any of their passengers being held captive for days while the company decides how to handle the situation.
Sandra Lloyd February 19, 2013 at 08:51 am
It actually did make me re-think cruising...or at least the cruise line; but then I thought about all the successful, uneventful cruises that take place daily and realized that like a plane crash, this was an abnormality. I did wonder about the length of time that it took for "rescue"...to make all those people suffer like that for that long is unthinkable! Having said that, my Women's Ministry group has booked a cruise for this September so...I'll go cruising away!
Michele Cox February 20, 2013 at 12:01 am
Being the wife and caregiver for a quadriplegic, I can tell you that I deal with bodily wastes on a daily basis. I'm sorry for those folks who had to experience bad smells, dirty floors and being really inconvenienced. They should live a few days in my shoes--these are a way of life.
We went on a cruise of a lifetime recently, and it was wonderful. I will go on one again. Possibly a more upscale cruise line like we were on would have treated them better, but it did sound like the staff went out of their way to take care of them.
Bob February 25, 2013 at 09:15 pm
I also heard that the staff was wonderful, It was upper management who made the decisions as to what to do with the passengers. Is anyone really surprised that the least costly solution (at least in the short run) was the one chosen by these guys?? Got to protect profits and management's bonuses, don't you know.

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Slick Hickman June 19, 2013 at 09:44 am
Sun Valley Beach. Buy it now, before it's in the MLS. It's a deal. Selling for less than land value.Read More Appraised for 3.3 million in 2009 (see attached exhibit). The Park was foreclosed last year and has been closed during the 2012 season. 33.78 Acres located in West Cobb County. Has been opened as an amusment center & water park since 1964 (see Park History attached). Zoning is mostly commercial with some R-15. All utilities including sewer on site along with over 20 buildings, 1.5 acre pool, including 2,100 sq. ft. office, several pavillons up to 5,300 & 4,200 sq. ft., baseball fields, putt putt golf or go-cart tract, etc.Utilities are being turned back on. Build your church here, summercamp, childcare, event facility, subdivision, your own "Beverly Hillbilly "Cement Pond"? We will even subdivide into two tracts. 20 acres & most of the park for $410,000 and 14 acres to the north with 5,300 sq ft pavillon for $170,000. Short term financing with 30% down payment. Get it off our books. Will pay the property taxes for the next two years for you! Just come take a look - only $17,000 per acre.
Slick Hickman June 19, 2013 at 09:46 am
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THE TRUTH June 19, 2013 at 09:06 am
My point exactly!!! At that time hooters and red lobster were also shown the back door. these areRead More the businesses that bring change and money to a town.
Jon June 19, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Big chain restaurants like Applebees, Red Lobster, and Hooters don't bring money to a town. TheyRead More bring (dead-end minimum-wage) jobs, and the profits get funneled elsewhere. It is interesting, though, that there is only one full service restaurant that I'm aware of in the city limits - La Parilla further up Marietta St from the square. (I'm using the industry definition of a full-service restaurant: a sit-down restaurant, serving at least two meals six days per week, with a beer/wine license) I'm not in that business, so I really don't understand the conditions that would create a situation like that, but it is interesting to note.
THE TRUTH June 19, 2013 at 01:46 pm
I am not necessarily speaking about the jobs it will bring in jon, however, there are a lot ofRead More people in powder springs that will be thrilled with those "dead-end minimum wage" jobs. The fact is these restaurants draw people into town and those people in turn be exposed to businesses in powder springs. Ask yourself, if you and your family wanted to eat out or go shopping, where would you go? The answer would be hiram or austell rd. (east-west connector). Think about how many people from powder springs alone are drawn to these areas. Customer traffic, that's what these businesses bring, which in turn brings customers, that's the bottom line.
Greg T June 7, 2013 at 09:56 pm
Joel, the speech in front of the Woodrow Wilson Center is even more ironic and scary. Wilson was aRead More scary president because he jailed his political opponents for opposing the war after campaigning to keep us out of WWI. Also, his hatred of black Americans showed no humanity even after blacks voted overwhelmingly for him.
Ambo June 11, 2013 at 05:05 pm
This is exactly why I talk about my inflamed hemorrhoids on the phone every time I call someone! IRead More usually blame it on the IRS!
Marlene Mitchell June 13, 2013 at 06:49 pm
Pam J, Please don' t assume that Verizon is the only company.....it is everyone of them. VerizonRead More is the only one we have been told about. :(
CLUBFV June 6, 2013 at 04:42 pm
New cartoon show coming soon to a channel near you "NAMBLA Man" This superhero fightingRead More against all the evil powers that would deny him and his ilk of young male bodies.
EthelToffelmayer June 6, 2013 at 07:18 pm
And yet there has to be something that made you develop that opinion. I'm fascinated to hear whatRead More makes someone develop a personal belief that is so utterly reductive. The "anecodotal (sic) and opinion evidence (whatever that is...)" that created my belief is informed by empathy, compassion, understanding, and open-mindedness. What have you got?
Christopher Straub June 13, 2013 at 09:08 pm
Might recheck history; this nation was founded on religious freedom. You write as if you haveRead More disdain for other faiths, such as the one Jesus was a part of - you might remember, it was Judaism. Thought that was in the Bible - all the iterations, even the politically re-written versions.
Joel Clark June 11, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Most people don't know that the Trident originally had no eagle on it until the Navy made it anRead More exclusive Seal emblem... as a UDT member from the EOD side it pi$$ed a lot of us off that it was taken away. Seals had buds, basic underwater demolition and we had studs, strategic tactics underwater demolition. Anyway, we should have a cup of coffee, I bet we swam some of the same waters. Nihil Obstat, brother..
MA Evans June 12, 2013 at 12:22 am
Our youth are engaging in acts before their minds and bodies are ready for the acts.
JB June 12, 2013 at 11:57 am
@KJL: My have three children. It never ceased to amaze me the stories they would tell about friendsRead More having oral sex because "that isn't sex"- and about how young the friends were when they started. If information will help us to combat this problem then, yes, we should obtain it. For parents who think this will lead to your children thinking they are abnormal, think again. The fact that their friends are and they aren't already makes them feel that way. And if you think that this battle can be handled in the home, it should- and on every other front we can find.
exe May 24, 2013 at 05:12 pm
Frankly, I don't believe anyone NEEDS or has the RIGHT to expect a Bible or any religious book at aRead More state park. I go to enjoy the outdoors. Anyone who wants to bring their own religious text is free to do so. It is not right for the state parks to give the impression that they are in favor of certain religions and beliefs and not others.
stephen m george jr mpa May 24, 2013 at 05:43 pm
that book also explicitly states: "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor aRead More SODOMITE of the sons of Israel," -Deuteronomy 23:17
Richard Pellegrino May 25, 2013 at 06:52 am
Stephen: Just because a text explicitly states something does that mean there is only one meaningRead More and interpretation of that verse or biblical text? For example the one you quoted have many different interpretations and meanings, most of which do not even indirectly relate to homosexuality. On another note...you seem to be a student of the Bible and ancient texts, as well as someone who is versed in many subjects. We have small group discussions on some of these topics, sometimes at my home, other friends' homes, and sometimes at coffee shops or other public places. And I often seek out those whose opinions or understandings may be different than mine to participate--not to debate whose opinion is right (though certainly some of that takes place) but to learn from each other and try to find some commonalities. If you think you might like to participate sometime feel free to contact me directly at pilgrim1@mindspring.com (and this goes for other bloggers too).
ray jay May 20, 2013 at 06:13 pm
Look for all you obama supporters y'all need to shut up. There was a ton of evidence, speculationRead More and everything else showing this president and his administration were and are as crookex as a dogs hind leg. Y'all idiots voted him back in at least that what they say I'm still not sure it wasn't a rigged election you know the kinds they have in russia? If there was a picture of president obama snortin coke off the oval office desk and a whore under each arm and him toasting the leader of iran y'all would still worship this creep.
ray jay May 20, 2013 at 06:14 pm
Bush was a honest and loyal president who had morals!!!!
Andrew Blawat May 20, 2013 at 08:55 pm
Spout all your usual lies and propaganda you want as no one believes your lies anyway libtard.