A couple from Keller, Bill and Jenni Hill are among many Texans aboard the crippled cruise ship Triumph which is being slowly towed into the Port of Mobile.
Now that the ship is closer to shore, cell phone service is better and photos of conditions on board are flooding Twitter. Several media outlets are compiling the Twitter pics.
A Carnival Cruise Line official says a snapped towline has delayed the disabled ship’s arrival in Mobile. At a 3:30 p.m. CST news conference, Terry Thornton said that the cruise ship was seven to 10 hours from port. It had been expected to arrive this afternoon.
Thornton says upon arrival, passengers will have to carry their own luggage. And ship officials report that only one elevator is functioning on the 12-deck ship.
An engine-room fire Sunday left the ship powerless. More than 4,000 people are on board. Passengers report overflowing toilets, sewage backed up in showers and people getting sick. Most have been sleeping on deck because of lack of ventilation in the rooms. One passenger described the availability of food as “sporadic.”
Once docked in Alabama, passengers can board buses for Galveston, the port of departure, or Houston. Or, they could bus to New Orleans, spend the night in a hotel and take a charter flight on Friday.
Carnival will pay for all travel. Passengers will each receive $500 and credit for another cruise.
A look at the Carnival Triumph in statistics from www.carnival.com:
- Length: 893 feet.
- Width at widest point: 116 feet.
- Number of decks (include spa, sky and sun decks): 12.
- Gross tonnage: 101,509.
- Cruising speed: 21 knots, or about 24 mph.
- Amenities: Eateries, bars, dance club floor, giant LED movie screen, 9-hole mini-golf course, waterslide, padded jogging track, sliding sky dome, gymnasium, steam saunas.
- Home port: Galveston, Texas.
- Registry: The Bahamas.
