A Bunch of Texans Just Sued Carnival Over Last Month's Feces-Soaked Cruise From Hell

By Eric Nicholson Thu., Mar. 14 2013 at 1:59 PM

Wikipedia

A helicopter airlifts supplies to passengers on the stranded Carnival Triumph.

You only thought you'd heard the last of the nightmarish Carnival cruise-turned-floating toilet ride that gripped the global media for days last month and exhausted every imaginable "poop deck" pun. But no. In Dallas federal court today, 17 Texans who were aboard that ill-fated voyage have filed suit against Carnival alleging gross negligence, malice and fraud and demanding unspecified damages.

The 29-page suit is mostly comprised of a very detailed description of what each of the plaintiffs went through following the engine fire that stranded the vessel, and why they feel they're entitled to compensation. Just for an example, we turn to the Blaylock family of Gun Barrel City. Kelly Lee and Kelly Ann Blaylock -- who both have the same name, which has to be confusing -- had taken their four children, including 8-year-old Rickey, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.

They were having a wonderful time, until their their cabins "overflowed with the ship's urine and feces." Their shower didn't have a lip around it, leaving the sewage to pour into and stay in the cabin as the ship listed.

The family was forced to set up a makeshift tent outside, which was better than enduring the filth and stench of the cabin but was still fairly miserable during the cold nights. Eight-year-old Ruby caught a 102-degree fever, which lasted for two days. Post-rescue, they racked up various expenses treating Ruby, buying a wheelchair to replace the one that broke from being hauled up the stairs because of non-functioning elevators, and getting home from Mobile, Alabama. And that's not even counting the mental anguish they suffered and continue to suffer.

Today's complaint is latest of several lawsuits filed in the wake of the decidedly not fantastic voyage. My money, which is backed by no legal expertise whatsoever, is that Carnival will settle with the families and begin referring to the poop deck as happiness zones, if only to put this whole sordid mess behind them.

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oakclifftownie

1 Like

You could sue till the ship comes home .....To bad you sign away those rights . Before you get on the Boat . And really yes you do .

ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul topcommenter

What I don't understand is why Carnival towed the ship to Mobile rather than the Mexican port where they left from? It was about 3 to 4 times as far to Mobile than back to Mexico.

Scruffygeist topcommenter

@ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul If I remember right there were wind and weather factors involved in towing to Mobile, as well as avoiding customs issues.

BushwoodSmithie

@ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul Thanks to George W. Bush cruise ship passengers without a passport can't fly back to the U.S.

JustSaying

@BushwoodSmithie I have a friend that is a tour director. He said that Carnival was full of shit when they said that passports were the issue because everyone on a cruise ship has to have a passport or they can't even get on the boat. Makes sense. Those fuckers have to dock somewhere along the way. A cruise isnt just a boat ride.

JustSaying

@ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul I'm guessing that Carnival didnt want to buy airfare for everyone out of mexico when they could just put them on a greyhound in alabama.

crimjunkie

1 Like

@ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul According to a class action suit filed in Miami, Carnival towed to Mobile because that is where their ships are repaired. That suit alleges that this decision added more than 300 miles to the journey (500-plus miles to Mobile versus 200-plus to nearest Mexican port) and reflects the sort of conscious indifference to passengers that would justify a punitive damage award. The suit also challenges the decision to tow to Mobile instead of Galveston, which (I think) is where the cruise departed from and was supposed to return to.

Montemalone topcommenter

They should wait and hook up with the latest batch of cruisers currently suffering in the Caribbean on the Dream.

cantkeepthetruthdown

Maybe bringing a child with cerebral palsy on a boat in the middle of the ocean isn't the best idea?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQUcGJjY-GI

mcdallas topcommenter

@cantkeepthetruthdown I never knew is was Milli Vanilli who did the hijacking...

duanewmurphy

So am I to understand they left their "poop cabins" to go live on the "poop deck" in make shift tents? all the while being served shitty food under crappy lighting conditions. Sounds like a bunch of ca ca to me.
"

Myrna.Minkoff-Katz topcommenter

There's no value in the rotten cruise experience Carnival puts out. They're cheap cruises, yes. But the food sucks, the ships are jammed packed with drunken low-life, and it's filthy.

crimjunkie

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz And women who breast feed right there in front of everyone, too. Damn Carnival cruises!

Oh, sorry, Myrna.

Anna_Merlan topcommenter

I googled "poop deck" because I realized I didn't actually know where it was located (ON THE SHIP, I MEAN) and now I'm immersed in the incredibly heated argument about Homer Simpson on the talk page of the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Poop_deck

James080

3 Like

There is currently another Carnival cruise ship dead in the water.

Maybe they should film the next season of Survivor on a Carnival ship.

deep-sigh

@James080 I read that too, they're stuck on the boat in St. Maarten and are not being allowed to disembark. Some thing about the sewage overflowing...generators not working etc etc. I guess it's a crap shoot if you get a functioning ship that can get ya home.

casiepierce

@deep-sigh @James080 On Carnival, they don't say "disembark", the say "debark".

CogitoErgoSum

I'd prefer "feces-encrusted," thanks. Good, proper, fiber-rich feces prevent proper soaking unless water is introduced. Also, doesn't Carnival have their passengers sign some sort of waiver in case "shit happens"?