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I was shocked at how much media attention this story got. I was asked by CNN to contribute and, since I don't watch TV, had no idea I would be part of such a circus. At the very least, every single passenger interviewed upon landing had nothing but praise for the crew. That, at least, I'm happy to help get out.

The Carnival Triumph safely returned to port after an ordeal at sea. I’m happy to say that, during the intense media coverage on CNN and other networks—which I was corralled into—passengers unanimously praised the tireless hard work and positive attitude of the crew. There were many horror stories about poor sanitation on the crippled ship. Alas, these are not always relegated to disaster. Allow me to share a particularly gross ship I worked on for months. We crew endure this for you, dear passenger. Gross things are common on cruise ships. No, not the gastronomic atrocities occurring nonstop at the buffets—horrifying as that may be to quantify—but what lies below the waterline. Not the slimy, oil-tainted waters of the bilge, either. I’m talking about what life is like on the crew decks. Carnival Triumph recently made the news when a fire left it without propulsion, little running water, less electricity, and utterly bereft of sanitation. One passenger reported “sewage running down the walls and floors” and said travelers were being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers because toilets weren’t functioning. Understandably shocking, considering how rarely passengers endure such privations. The crew deal with it every day. It should be noted they bring it on themselves. Crew are generally denied food in their cabins because it invariably ends up in the toilets in a most nonbiological manner. Hiding evidence of a smuggled, late night snack is always the same: flush it. After all, there are no portholes twenty feet below the sea. But ship toilets are very, very sensitive. The crew? Not so much. When working on RCI’s Majesty of the Seas, fish bones backed up the sewage system so often that the entire aft crew deck smelled like feces. Literally. And this was where the crew kitchen and dining room were located! Oddly enough, this disposing of contraband was the only time many flushed the toilets at all. This can be partly explained by the wide variety of nationalities that compose the crew. Hygiene standards vary radically from nation to nation, but are all but absent in some developing nations. Such is the resource pool from which the cruise industry hires its labor. When first indoctrinated into crew, on day one, everyone is educated on what is required for first-world hygienic standards. They are ordered to wash daily and to use deodorant, whether they ‘need’ it or not. Many even comply. But when working a minimum of eighty hours a week without a day off for ten months straight, focus flags. On Majesty of the Seas, these men—for they were invariably so—lived in tiny, shared cabins along the main corridor leading to the crew mess. Tucked between were communal showers and toilets. Everything was crowded, everything stank. And it was stiflingly hot. Because the cooling system was also spotty, all doors were always open. Three times a day, on the way to every meal, I passed dozens of overworked zombies brushing their teeth beside toilets filled to the brim, lids wide open. A perfect appetizer for a enjoying a meal in a latrine. I learned about such things in dramatic fashion upon signing onto Majesty as a junior officer. After returning to my cabin, I discovered a man wearing officers’ whites bent over my desk, examining the contents. While there was no pretext of privacy on a cruise ship, having my own cabin had given me delusions of it. Upon hearing me enter, the man shoved the drawer shut and irritably snapped, “Cabin inspection. I have reports that you routinely order room service. This is highly improper and will not continue. We have a cockroach problem in the stern deck, and I will not have it spread into this section of the ship.” I didn’t have time to explain that I had just arrived because he brushed me aside to search my shower. Because cabin inspections were conducted by each department head and, since I was a department head, I suddenly realized the man searching my toilet was the most powerful officer beside the captain himself! He dropped the toilet lid with a slam, trying to hide his disdain behind a professional countenance. His grimace worked through. “No fish bones,” I said cheerily. He glared at me and replied, “I am seeking a shoe.” “Um… shoes?” I asked, confused. He corrected me sharply, “A shoe! The entire sewage system is backed up ship-wide because a crewman flushed a shoe down the toilet this morning.” Brian David Bruns is the best-selling author of Cruise Confidential and Ship for Brains, the latter from which the above story is taken.

I have heard the (what I call) excuses about evacuating the passengers to another ship as well. But, when the Titanic sank and the life boat survivors were rescued by the Carpathia, they were in the coldest part of the Atlantic Ocean with rough currents and yet no passengers that were rescued perished when boarding the Carpathia from their life boats. Their main reason to not abandon ship was because of an accident that killed 5 crew members during a life boat drill on another vessel a week prior to this occurance. My thought is if the life boats aboard cruise ships are so dangerous to use in an emergency, then they carry no purpose. Just my opinion!!

While I agree with what has been said regarding what Carnival should have done after the incident, what needs to be addressed is what they should have done before the incident. Considering Carnival had a similar incident (fire in the engine roon) just a year ago off San Diego, one would have thought they they oul have learned a lesson on redundancy or the lack thereof. On a vessel carrying over 4,000 crew and passengers, some form of redundant power sould be in place to provide emergency, in house power if not propulsion. Many of us have our own generators to protect our homes from power outages, and ships should be no exception. Emergency power for toilets, ventilation, and basic food production to support the population should be built into the ship's design.

It's like a car crash or a plane crash...there is a kneejerk reaction "I'll never cruise again" or "I'll never go on Carnival again"...but the truth is that thousands of ships sail with NO problems every year. I DO think there were other options of offloading the passengers...but because they were so close to the states, they probably figured it was easier to tow the ship in. Considering the legality, safety, and logistical problems...they probably did the right thing. I WOULD like to know how other cruise lines would have handled it...maybe they should share ideas amongst lines ....did ANYONE have an empty ship they could have sent??? Could Disney or Royal Carribbean have a ship they could have sent to bail out Carnival??

Sensational news coverage at its best ... playing off other people's misery. The sorry thing is that the general public sitting at home on their couch eats this stuff up, only encouraging more of this.

I agree, Tim. I would prefer to take my chance in being evacuated than be further subjected to horrid, unsanitary and very smelly conditions.