In February 2013, a sunny cruise vacation took a dramatic turn. After a fire broke out in the engine room, Carnival Triumph lost power in the Gulf of Mexico, stranding thousands of passengers on the vessel for roughly four days.
Now, 12 years later, a new show on Netflix is revisiting the disastrous voyage, dubbed the “poop cruise” because the toilets stopped working and sewage flooded parts of the ship.
Called “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise,” the 55-minute episode looks back on the chaotic situation—and the media frenzy that surrounded it.
Everything was going as planned for the Carnival Triumph. It had departed from Galveston, Texas, and sailed to Cozumel, Mexico, where guests enjoyed a quick getaway in the sun. But as the vessel was making its way back to Galveston, a fire in the engine room caused it to lose power.
Passengers and cruise members survived for the next four days without air conditioning, refrigeration, lights or working toilets. Guests began dragging mattresses out onto the open decks as raw sewage began to back up in some areas. Access to food and water became limited.
Eventually, the ship was towed to Mobile, Alabama. Passengers received a refund, $500, transportation reimbursements and a voucher for a free cruise.
Afterward, Carnival Cruise Line conducted a thorough investigation, which revealed a design vulnerability in the ship, according to a statement shared with USA Today. The company invested more than $500 million across its entire fleet, in hopes of avoiding a similar nightmare scenario in the future. It described the incident as a “teachable moment for the entire cruise industry.”
The updates included “comprehensive fire prevention and suppression, improved redundancy, and enhanced management systems, all in support of our commitment to robust safety standards,” the cruise line said in the statement. “This is in addition to our vigorous Health, Environmental, Safety and Security (HESS) protocols that guide the entire Carnival Corporation fleet as we maintain our commitment to industry leadership in this area.”
Carnival Triumph, meanwhile, is still sailing—albeit under a different name, Carnival Sunrise.
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