All they need is some stomach virus and it will deliver the whole cruise package! And let´s not forget running aground while being towed into port!

Compensation will be a voucher for another cruise!

Would they rather be on a sinking ship?

Would they rather be at sea in a lifeboat.

Man up!!!

On the bright side -- a boon for trial lawyers.

They should think positive. Make it an adventure. They will have something else to tell the grandkids about.

Getting angry and pouting will not improve their situation. Plus, I´m sure the cruise line will compensate them adequately.

Of course, the media will make them all victims, who are so traumatized that they will never be whole again....

On the brighter side, the EBT cards don´t work.

Makes me want to go on a cruise! Not.

This is not the Titanic - nor the Donner party, yet.

Noro virus. Coming soon to your town compliments of Carnival.

This ship appears to be a timely metaphor for Obama´s America.

They are receiving a full refund for this cruise and another free cruise. Of course there will be conditions on what their free cruise can be- probably certain ships, cabins, and dates only. Cruiselines never compensate with anything but a full or partially discounted future cruise and maybe a small amount of on-board credit to spend on the next cruise. Certainly there will be negligence lawsuits.

Maintanence is suffering on most cruiselines in these economic times as cruise fares have mostly all been discounted to get people on the ships. Carnival Corp makes billions in profit every year so no need to feel sorry for them.

On the bright side... If indeed they get back to port on Thursday, it might be the happiest Valentine´s Day ever, for the passengers!

Why is there urine in the hallways. Don´t they understand they are in the Gulf. Make do with what is available. Maybe they are worried the EPA will fine them.

Thanks # 12 - needed a good chuckle. I thought it was closer to Mexico to tow the cruise line and they were to fly passengers to their homes from there. What made that plan be aborted?

But is the booze holding out?

I have cruised over 40 times. I don´t buy the onion sandwich story. The ship has plans for this type of unfortunate event, and p&j sandwiches, or cheese sandwiches with chips most likely are available along with fruit, at the very least.
It always pays to book a private balcony, both for sleeping and to dump the wastebasket after emergency use.s/ Bottled water for washing hands.

Maybe this particular boat doesn´t have a Poop deck. Why would the place be awash in sewage when all you need do is hang IT (whichever it need be) over the side?

Why are they stuck there until Thursday? This whole saga seems unnecessarily drawn out. Is someone trying to save some money?

Some of the stories do seem over-the-top. I´m sure there is an effort being made to portray it as twice as horrible as it is in order to build grounds for lawsuits.

They can´t pee and poo into the water? Is the UN EPA following and making shure they don´t?

I thought it was a preview of
Obama´s State of the Union speech until I saw "cruise ship"

I don´t know if these stories are accurate or not, but being on a cruise ship is not like being on a fishing boat. The ocean is many feet below the deck, and there are balconies all the way down.

This situation sounds totally unacceptable to me, and I would sue their pants off. No voucher for another cruise would cut it for me.

After only a couple of days, the people are living like caged monkeys? Why are the carpets soaked in urine? Why is sewage running down the walls? That makes absolutely no sense. Are people actually peeing any and everywhere or is it because their sewage system overflowed everywhere? Even so, that makes no sense. If they have an emergency generator, why don´t they use it to ensure the basic sanitary conditions? Why are people living like cavemen when they know better? There must be better ways to handle human waste! Or is it that people just don´t care these days??? For some reason, I can´t see people letting stuff like this happen some years back...

Part of the fun of a cruise has to be peeing over the side and into the water.

Thanks #15 for a logical reason to always get a room with a balcony.

church member´s wife, daughter on the ship. Rec´d call yesterday. Daughter thinks its an adventure, wife (dare I say high-maintenance) not faring so well. Expecting great stories upon their return. This is why I will never get on a ship.

Sounds like the tugboat is running on ethanol.

#16 beat me to it. I too was wondering why they didn´t just use the poop deck. I mean, that´s what it is for, right?

For a second or two, I thought the lede was about the scumbama White House.

#´s 15 & 23, make sure it´s a top deck balcony - lower ones could be unpleasant if timing is off.

Carnival.... a great reason not to take cruises

This can happen to any of those cruise ships at anytime. Once they have a fire in or near the engine room that knocks out the power they are usually done. The passengers are lucky that they were sailing in fair weather, because a high profile ship like that, without power, sailing in high wind, would turn either bow on, or stern on, into the wind and start rocking back and forth.

I was on one last year South of Aruba when an engine went out. They had to stop for several hours until they could get the power up and running, lucky we were in calm seas and did not end up in Venezuela.

So apparently it is not unusual for those cruise ships to break down, and you can bet that with the economic situation being what it is, the cruise ship companies are allowing a lot of heavy engine maintenance to slide.

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure
Your mind on a new romance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmUlKPthrag

Geez!!! Use the poop deck!! : )

OK, first I read #15 which said that having a balcony would be an huge advantage in a situation like this.

And then I read #20. YeeeesSSHH!

"Inside stateroom, please!"

Yuck.

Bet each passenger is offered $50 their next Carnival Cruise. Things could be worse. ØDumbø and Plugs could be in charge of the boat.