GALVESTON (KHOU) — Buses carrying Carnival Triumph passengers from Mobile, Alabama rolled into Galveston early Friday.
The first group pulled in around 7:10 a.m. after an overnight drive.
The Roberts family from Gainsville, Texas was just one of many who were unloading as the sun came up.
"I'm ready to just get home," said mom Elaine Roberts, who took the
cruise with her two kids and husband. "It was like a cesspool. The
stench and everything was just incredible. I think there's a lot of
people that are sick right now because of just being in that situation
of not having toilets or water — I mean we had bottled water in some
areas, but the toilet situation was terrible."
The Roberts said they still have a five-hour drive ahead of them to get home from Galveston.
Carnival is in the middle of transporting more than 3,100 passengers from Alabama after its disabled cruise ship had to be towed from the Gulf of Mexico.
The ship was floating around at sea for most of the week with reduced
electricity and water service. It was supposed to arrive in Galveston
last Sunday.
Carnival is offering all of the passengers a full refund for the cost
of the trip and expenses (except money spent in gift shops and
casinos). The company is also giving each passenger $500.
The company is also offering discounts to future travelers whose
trips were affected as Carnival Triumph cruises through mid-April have
been canceled.
