Carnival’s ‘Triumph’ Is Anything But

Since Sunday, Feb. 10, when a fire on board damaged the propulsion system of the ironically named ship Triumph, the planned four-day voyage to the Caribbean has turned instead into a nightmare of Dante-esqe proportions. With the ship unable to sail and lacking power, sewage systems, air conditioning and heating, the 3,142 passengers and 1,086 crew members aboard have been stranded in the Gulf of Mexico -- hungry, sickened and, according to reports, reduced to defecating in plastic bags and urinating in showers. The New York Times describes an almost "Lord of the Flies"-like quest for survival, complete with food hoarding and wine-bottle stealing amid increasingly frayed nerves and a revolting stench. And memories are still fresh of last year's Costa Concordia disaster, in which a partial sinking of the Italian cruise ship (also operated by Costa Crociere) led to the loss of 32 lives and multiple manslaughter charges against the captain, Francesco Schettino, who reportedly fled the scene in a lifeboat.