Local Couple Relate Travel Nightmare Of Being On Stranded Cruise Ship
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — A Sherman Oaks couple is happy to be back on land Saturday after enduring eight days aboard a stranded cruise ship that didn't have power or working toilets.
Devin Marble and his fiancée Teresa Vasquez were two of the thousands of passengers stranded at sea on the Carnival Triumph for the last week.
Marble told CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Bobby Kaple, "We were wondering how such a high tech ship could be stranded for so long."
What was supposed to be a relaxing, four-day jaunt to Cozumel, quickly turned into an eight-day nightmare … an engine fire on board knocked out power and, more importantly, working toilets.
Marble said, "The ship was listing so much that the sewage would build up on one side, and then it would start to go on to the carpet and coming out of the showers and coming out of drains."
Officials on the ship handed out large red bags for passengers to go to the bathroom in. Says Marble, holding up the bag, "This is what we had to use if you had to do a number two – because the toilets wouldn't work and the showers weren't working. So, they recommended we pee in the shower and use the red bag."
With the ship's listing, Vasquez said waste coming out of the drains would soil the room's carpets. "After a couple of days, the carpets got a little squishy. Don't let anything touch [the floor.]"
There was no power so there was no air conditioning. The couple also took their mattresses out on deck to sleep when their rooms got too hot. "Our room got so hot we had [no choice]. We had to sleep outside," said Vasquez.
Marble shot a video of just how bad the conditions got.
The Triumph was finally towed back to Mobile, Alabama late Thursday.
The couple says Carnival gave them $500 and a full refund for their trouble. They also gave them credits toward a future cruise.
Kaple asked them if they planned on taking a cruise anytime soon? Marble quipped, "Not this week!" Vasquez added, "We need a break."
