Carnival Cruise Ship Passengers Describe Conditions on Disabled Ship
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Passengers from a disabled cruise ship have arrived at a hotel in New Orleans after a days-long odyssey in the Gulf of Mexico that was marked by overflowing toilets, food shortages and foul odors.
Buses arrived at the Hilton in New Orleans early Friday and were greeted by paramedics with wheelchairs to roll in passengers who were elderly or too fatigued to walk.
Many were tired and didn't want to talk. There were long lines as they waited to get checked into rooms.
For 28-year-old Maria Hernandez of Angleton, Texas, the hotel stay is only part of her journey home. Hernandez, like hundreds others, will have a brief reprieve at the hotel before flying home later in the day.
The cruise ship lost power after an engine fire. The ship spent an extra five days at sea, then had issues with a tow line as it was brought to shore.
Passengers say they were forced to use toilets as bathrooms. They commend the crew, saying workers would clean up messes as quickly as possible by hand and then wait for the next person who needed to use the bathroom.
