<p>I wonder if the cruise companies know they are bannering ads of themselves atop such a gross thread.</p>
<p>I wonder if “forever” to get off would have been as bad as “forever” left on board.</p>
<p>I would have rather been in line to exit than just sitting there in the muck.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, they have to dock in Mobile Alabama. </p>
<p>Kidding - sort of.</p>
<p>I also read that it is very cold on board.</p>
<p>I’m listening to a passenger talk, and he said they have been helo dropping food, and three other Carnival ships have brought food by. They had lobster for lunch and dinner today.</p>
<p>Oh no! I just heard that they’d closed the bars for the last couple of days. Now that really stinks.</p>
<p>I love cruises. Something could go wrong, but for the most part, everything has been great for all of our cruises.</p>
<p>I like my vacations as far away from crowds of people as possible, so you’ll never get me on a 3,000 passenger poop deck.</p>
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<p>The following site has cruise ship job descriptions and pay levels:
[Cruise</a> Ship Jobs & Working on Cruise Ships | CruiseShipJobs.com](<a href=“http://www.cruiseshipjobs.com/]Cruise”>http://www.cruiseshipjobs.com/)</p>
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<p>Some older people look at cruise ships as alternatives to assisted living and nursing homes:
[Introduction</a> | Silver Planet](<a href=“http://www.silverplanet.com/lifestyles/retirement-living/cruise-ships-different-way-retire/46559]Introduction”>http://www.silverplanet.com/lifestyles/retirement-living/cruise-ships-different-way-retire/46559)
[Cruise</a> Ship or Nursing Home: The 5 Essentials of a Maximized Life: Ben Lerner, Greg Loman, Charles Majors, Chris Pellow, Eric Shuemake: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Ship-Nursing-Home-Essentials/dp/1933936991]Cruise”>http://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Ship-Nursing-Home-Essentials/dp/1933936991)
[Cruising</a> Through the Sunset Years | Sage Crossroads](<a href=“http://www.sagecrossroads.net/node/255]Cruising”>Y9 Games - Play Free Online Games at Y9FreeGames.com)
[Cruise</a> ship care: a proposed alternative to… [J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004] - PubMed - NCBI](<a href=“Cruise ship care: a proposed alternative to assisted living facilities - PubMed”>Cruise ship care: a proposed alternative to assisted living facilities - PubMed)</p>
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<p>I have been thinking a lot about that. One time my sister’s ex had a wreck in Mexico and was told that if he ever wanted to see his vehicle again, he needed to stay with it unti it was fixed. He had to absolutely beg to keep his job.</p>
<p>My H had an employee who wrecked his car on his way home from vacation. He was out of vacation days. My H was sympathetic and tried to work with him, the company was not and it was quite a mess. He had to take unpaid time off and I think had to be written up. Not a fun time when you are stranded somewhere. My H felt bad but his hands were tied also.</p>
<p>If I wanted to be stranded somewhere without bathrooms, I’d rather be trekking in Nepal. That said, I’ve enjoyed the few cruises I’ve taken and couldn’t say enough about the extraordinary staff on each boat.</p>
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<p>I have read that the absolute worst place to have a car accident is Mexico.</p>
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Reminds me of my son.</p>
<p>When DS was in 7th grade he went on a 2 week wilderness/canoeing camp with his friend. The pair was responsible for carrying their canoe and backpack from base to base when there wasn’t any water. They had to take turns setting up camp, cooking, etc. No running toilets, showers, etc. </p>
<p>The first day they got the lowdown on survival tips. —> Before going no.2, gather as many pine cones as possible. Do what you are set out to do. When you are done, use as many pine cones as needed and make sure they are facing the right way… * ouch *. To this day we refer to that camp as the “pine cone camp”.</p>
<p>Well, our trekking company in Nepal made sure our food and water were safe. I suppose we were stranded because there were no roads, but I felt taken care of always.</p>
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While the waivers may not stand up in court (too many facts to guess at the moment), it’s not because of travel agents. When you book with a travel agent, you give them actual authority to enter into contracts for you, and that includes all terms of those contracts. They become, in legal language, not just your travel agent but your agent in fact. That’s why the airlines, for example, must honor your ticket even though it was booked by your agent. And why you can’t just cancel your trip (if there are cancellation penalties) by saying, “Sorry, I never booked this. My travel agent did.”</p>
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<p>How incongruous…eating lobster while surrounded by human excrement.</p>
<p>I’ve never been on a cruise, and this is reason number 759 why I never want to go on one.</p>
<p>I wonder whether individual passengers could have arranged for a helicopter airlift at their own expense to get out of there? I would be very, very concerned about the health risks from the lack of sanitation and would have paid a very large amount to rescue my family members from such a situation. Wonder if that would have been allowed, and, if so, how much it would cost?</p>
<p>I just heard a doctor on the radio saying that all these passengers should be seen by an infectious disease doctor immediately. It sounds like the hygiene issues were overwhelming. I was in a hotel once that lost power (and therefore the water pump). The public bathrooms were disgusting in a matter of hours (we werre all corralled in the ballroom for safety reasons). I cannot imagine what it was like on the at ship after 5 days! </p>
<p>We have cruised four times. Three with Royal Carribean were great. Chose departure ports so we would have no full days at sea and visited a different port everyday so we did not feel like prisoners! The one Carnival cruise we took was awful. Bed bugs, rowdy guests, horrible child activities. I wrote a letter (including doctor diagnosis re: the bed bugs) and was offered 10% off my next Carnival cruise. No thanks. </p>
<p>Hubby thinks this event will lead to price reductions across the industry. I don’t think I will be cruising again anywhere now that so many stories across multiple lines are becoming more known. I wonder how the bond and stock prices of cruise companies have performed this week…</p>
<p>these poor people…</p>
<p>[Worst</a> Vacation Ever Continues as Cruise Ship’s Bus Ride Home Breaks Down - Yahoo! News](<a href=“Worst Vacation Ever Continues as Cruise Ship's Bus Ride Home Breaks Down”>Worst Vacation Ever Continues as Cruise Ship's Bus Ride Home Breaks Down)</p>
<p>Here is an article that discusses what was in the cruise contract, etc. Basically, the ship can change or omit the ports of call, extend or shorten the length, etc. all without liability. Also, no liability “for emotional distress, mental suffering/anguish or psychological injury of any kind under any circumstances, except when such damages were caused by the negligence of Carnival and resulted from the same passenger sustaining actual physical injury, or having been at risk of actual physical injury.”</p>
<p>[Five</a> things we’ve learned about cruising - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/travel/cruises-five-things/index.html?hpt=hp_t2]Five”>http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/travel/cruises-five-things/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)</p>
<p>It would be great if this siutation resulted in a public awareness of what they are agreeing to when they pay for a cruise.</p>
<p>missypie, you are an attorney. I thought you could not actually sign away your rights in situations like this. But, you would know better.</p>
<p>I read that Carnival’s CEO go onto the ship when it docked to talk to the passengers and see for himself what was going on. I guess that is why they pay him the big bucks… but I probably would have taken a bodyguard or two with me if I were him!</p>