I just saw this article and thought I'd share it
As Henry Blodget states on Thursday's Daily Ticker covering the merger of U.S. Airways and American Airlines, "Everybody hates flying." And, yes, commercial flight -- with its frequent delays, security line indignities, cramped spaces and rubbery food offerings, to name just a few -- can be a rather unpleasant experience.
But flying isn't looking so bad these days compared with cruising, at least not when you consider the latest disaster brought to you by Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL).
Since Sunday, Feb. 10, when a fire on board damaged the propulsion system of the ironically named ship Triumph, the planned four-day voyage to the Caribbean has turned instead into a nightmare of Dante-esqe proportions. With the ship unable to sail and lacking power, sewage systems, air conditioning and heating, the 3,142 passengers and 1,086 crew members aboard have been stranded in the Gulf of Mexico -- hungry, sickened and, according to reports, reduced to defecating in plastic bags and urinating in showers. The New York Times describes an almost "Lord of the Flies"-like quest for survival, complete with food hoarding and wine-bottle stealing amid increasingly frayed nerves and a revolting stench.
The on-board horror may come to an end late Thursday, as three tugboats have been pulling the 900-foot boat toward shore in Mobile, Ala. But even that's turned into a disaster -- the tow line broke, delaying the ship's arrival in port. As of now, Carnival has made the move of canceling a dozen planned cruises aboard Triumph, which the company admits had suffered other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.
Read more at http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/carnival-triumph-anything-215218023.html
I just took my first cruise (on Carnival) last summer and I know quite a few people on TPF love cruises. I thought it'd be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions in light of all the cruise incidents lately. Have they changed your outlook on cruising? Would you just stay away from certain companies, ships or sizes? Do you think the media is making it out to be more than it is? Mods feel free to move this to "up to the minute" if you need.
As Henry Blodget states on Thursday's Daily Ticker covering the merger of U.S. Airways and American Airlines, "Everybody hates flying." And, yes, commercial flight -- with its frequent delays, security line indignities, cramped spaces and rubbery food offerings, to name just a few -- can be a rather unpleasant experience.
But flying isn't looking so bad these days compared with cruising, at least not when you consider the latest disaster brought to you by Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL).
Since Sunday, Feb. 10, when a fire on board damaged the propulsion system of the ironically named ship Triumph, the planned four-day voyage to the Caribbean has turned instead into a nightmare of Dante-esqe proportions. With the ship unable to sail and lacking power, sewage systems, air conditioning and heating, the 3,142 passengers and 1,086 crew members aboard have been stranded in the Gulf of Mexico -- hungry, sickened and, according to reports, reduced to defecating in plastic bags and urinating in showers. The New York Times describes an almost "Lord of the Flies"-like quest for survival, complete with food hoarding and wine-bottle stealing amid increasingly frayed nerves and a revolting stench.
The on-board horror may come to an end late Thursday, as three tugboats have been pulling the 900-foot boat toward shore in Mobile, Ala. But even that's turned into a disaster -- the tow line broke, delaying the ship's arrival in port. As of now, Carnival has made the move of canceling a dozen planned cruises aboard Triumph, which the company admits had suffered other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.
Read more at http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/carnival-triumph-anything-215218023.html
I just took my first cruise (on Carnival) last summer and I know quite a few people on TPF love cruises. I thought it'd be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions in light of all the cruise incidents lately. Have they changed your outlook on cruising? Would you just stay away from certain companies, ships or sizes? Do you think the media is making it out to be more than it is? Mods feel free to move this to "up to the minute" if you need.
