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Carnival Poop Cruise Lawsuit Dumped by 11th Circuit Court

An August 30, report on Law360.com states that the 11th Circ. Dumps Carnival Passengers’ Suit Over ‘Poop Cruise’.

According to the report : “ The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday tossed a suit brought by more than 100 former passengers of the Carnival Triumph who were stranded at sea for five days in a 2013 incident known as the “Poop Cruise,” saying the passengers’ ticket contract required notice of a personal injury claim within 185 days. “

The Carnival Poop Cruise made national headlines in 2013 as Carnival Triumph passengers were stranded at seas after a fire knocked out the ship’s power.

As the Business Insider reported in How Carnival Went from Fun Ship to Poop Cruise : “The testimonies from the passengers are truly disgusting: Hallways were flooded with human waste, there was no A/C or running water, and passengers were left to survive on limited food and water. The Triumph was given the nickname “poop cruise” because passengers were forced to use the bathroom in bags.”

Not all injury claims or lawsuits against the cruise lines are successful, even when real injuries can be articulated to the cruise line claims departments, defending attorneys or the Federal Court in Miami.

Questions about an incident on a Carnival Cruise Ship ? Contact our firm today.

For more information, read our pages Can I Sue a Cruise Line and Personal Injury on a Cruise – What is That?

Passengers on Carnival’s Infamous ‘Poop’ Cruise Are Having Their Day in Court

Curt Anderson, Associated Press

March 6th, 2014 at 7:00 AM EST

It's worth repeating that Carnival's contract of carriage reads the cruise line, "Makes absolutely no guarantee for safe passage, a seaworthy vessel, adequate and wholesome food, and sanitary and safe living conditions.”

Jason Clampet

About three dozen passengers who sailed on the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise ship that drifted at sea for days are hoping to collect thousands of dollars apiece as a result of lingering medical and mental problems they say were caused by their nightmarish experience.

Their lawsuit, the first to go to trial since the February 2013 cruise, is being vigorously defended by Miami-based Carnival Corp. , which contends the passengers cannot show such problems as kidney stones, post-traumatic stress disorder and scratchy throats are linked to unsanitary conditions or the fire that disabled the engine.

At stake is perhaps millions of dollars, as well as the industry’s restrictive policy — printed on each ticket — that governs the kinds of lawsuits passengers can file. Two maritime law experts also said the trial already set an important precedent in cruise line cases when the judge ruled Carnival was negligent simply because the fire broke out, regardless of the reason.

“Ships shouldn’t catch fire in the middle of the sea for no reason,” said Robert Peltz, a Miami maritime attorney not involved in the Triumph case.

Passenger Debra Oubre, of Friendswood, Texas, who said she has worked in cruise line shore operations and has enjoyed a dozen cruises, said she joined the suit to hold someone accountable.

“Many of us, if not all of us, were physically or emotionally hurt,” she said. “I just want the truth to be told.”

Again and again during the three-week trial, Triumph passengers have told their story to Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Graham, who is hearing the case without a jury. Testimony wrapped up Wednesday, and Graham said he would take written closing arguments and issue a decision later on whether the passengers deserve any damages.

Some Triumph passengers testified on Carnival’s behalf Wednesday, including James Ede, of Houston, who said the crew kept them well-informed and provided plenty of water.

“I got almost a little tired of people saying, ‘How can I help you?'” Ede said of the crew.

According to Carnival, at least nine other Triumph lawsuits are pending in South Florida federal court, including a proposed class-action that seeks to represent all of the roughly 3,000 passengers aboard the ship. Attorneys involved in the current trial say its outcome could affect what happens in these other cases, although the legal claims are somewhat different.

Carnival tickets require lawsuits against the world’s largest cruise line to be filed only in South Florida federal court. The tickets also state that passengers agree they can’t bring a class-action lawsuit, but some lawyers are challenging that based on negligence claims.

The 893-foot Triumph left Galveston, Texas on Feb. 7, 2013, for a four-day cruise highlighted by a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. After departing Cozumel, a fire broke out at about 5 a.m. in the ship’s engine room Feb. 10. It left the ship without engine power and most of its electricity, forcing passengers to endure human waste running down hallways, limited water supplies, noxious odors and extreme heat.

After about five days in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship was finally towed to Mobile, Ala., and the weary, bedraggled passengers disembarked Feb. 14. Carnival sought to make amends by offering each passenger a $500 check, a voucher for a future cruise, refunds of most on-board expenses and reimbursement for transportation, parking and so forth.

For many of the passengers, those offers were an insult and multiple lawsuits were filed seeking millions of dollars in damages. In the current trial, Judge Graham has ruled that passengers cannot collect punitive damages and may only get damages for past and future medical costs that are conclusively linked to what happened on the Triumph.

Many of the 33 passengers involved in the trial complain of lingering emotional issues such as PTSD, anxiety and depression; some have physical ailments they blame on squalid conditions, including leg pain, diarrhea, upper respiratory problems and even aggravated hemorrhoids.

Larry Poret, of Lufkin, Texas, who took the cruise with his then-12-year-old daughter Rebecca, said he remains scarred by how frightened she was, especially trying to sleep out on deck in pitch black nights.

“Something that was supposed to be so much fun turned out to be a nightmare. I felt like I let my daughter down,” Poret said. “You just can’t get it out of your mind.”

Most of the passengers are seeking $5,000 in damages a year from Carnival for the rest of their lives, claiming they will need continuous medical monitoring because of what happened aboard ship. They want the money in lump sums based on government tables estimating their life expectancies. Poret, for example, would get about $115,000 and his daughter, who is much younger, an estimated $345,000.

An expert witness for the passengers, Dr. Ernest Schiodo, testified that each person’s health problems were “caused by the exposure or aggravated by the exposure” to the Triumph’s horrific conditions, including the human waste. That prompted a pointed question from the judge.

“Does that mean if you use a portable toilet you need this special testing for the rest of your life?” Graham said.

“Not if you use one, but if you fall in and wallow in it for a couple of days, yes,” Schiodo said.

Carnival attorney Curtis Mase has asked Graham to reject all of the damage claims. In court papers, Mase said the passengers either haven’t proved their health issues are linked to the Triumph cruise or haven’t shown they suffer from any lingering problems at all.

The passengers, Mase wrote, “are not entitled to damages simply for experiencing the conditions on the vessel.” And, he added, “they failed to prove that Carnival’s conduct was the legal cause of the injury.”

In the aftermath, Carnival announced a $300 million program to add emergency generators, upgrade fire safety and improve engine rooms on all 24 of its ships. The cruise line also said it would repay the U.S. government an unspecified amount for the costs to taxpayers of responses to disabling accidents on the Triumph and a previous disabled ship, the Splendor .

As for the Triumph , it was repaired and refitted in Mobile, but not before it broke free during a windstorm and sustained about $2.7 million in damage and a dock worker drowned. It was returned to service last summer.

Carnival’s final witness Wednesday was Suzanne Vazquez, director of guest claims and litigation. She was asked which ship is currently the cruise line’s top-ranked vessel based on customer feedback.

“The Triumph ,” she said.

Associated Press writer Tony Winton in Miami contributed to this story.

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter

Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Tags: carnival , health , lawsuits , safety , triumph

Photo credit: People wave and hang signs at the side of their balconies on the cruise ship Carnival Triumph cruise ship in this video frame grab from NBC News taken off the coast of Alabama, February 14, 2013. Three tugboats were hauling the disabled cruise ship Carnival Triumph cruise ship slowly into port in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday where its arrival with more than 4,220 people aboard was expected later in the day, authorities said. Reuters

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High Court Is Asked To Revive Passengers' 'Poop Cruise' Suit

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The Carnival Poop Cruise Is Finally Over

The Carnival Triumph pulled into the Port of Mobile at about half past nine, local time, bringing an end to the days-long, feces-filled journey. Sort of.

The Carnival Triumph pulled into the Port of Mobile at about half past nine, local time, bringing an end to the days-long, feces-filled journey. Sort of. Despite being adrift for almost a week with no running water, passengers were told that they would still have to wait on board for hours before they could set foot on dry land.

And even then, it was either a two-hour bus trip to New Orleans or a seven-hour trip to Galveston or Houston. An earlier plan had called for the ship to be towed to Mexico, but Carnival decided heading to Alabama would make travel home easier for the passengers. Easy does not equal comfortable.

And  then who knows how long it'll be until Carnival coughs up the we're-sorry dollars. The company said that it will give $500 to every passenger in addition to a full refund of the price of the cruise and discounts on future cruises which is probably the worst consolation prize these folks could imagine.

"And then," The New York Times explains , "there is the matter of potential litigation by passengers, although the ability of passengers to sue cruise ship operators is sharply limited, lawyers said." Said one passenger of the $500, "We think it's hush money."

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The Two-Way

'cruise from hell' was a mix of 'survivor' and 'lord of the flies'.

Mark Memmott

As they finally came off the Carnival cruise ship Triumph late Thursday and early Friday in Mobile, Ala., passengers from the ill-fated cruise told stories that call to mind TV's Survivor and literature's classic Lord of the Flies , the Los Angeles Times writes .

According to the Times , "Debbie Moyes, 32, of Phoenix said she was awakened Sunday by a fellow passenger banging on her door, warning people to escape." An engine fire had left the ship stranded off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula.

"Soon after, she said some passengers panicked. 'People were hoarding food — boxes and boxes of cereal, grabbing cake with both hands,' she said. "Toilets stopped working and the 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew had to urinate in sinks, she said, and eventually red plastic bags. She saw sewage dripping down walls. Sometimes people slipped on it, she said. Soon, the ship began to smell. " 'It was like a hot port-o-potty,' Moyes said, and when the ship tilted, 'it would spill.' "

CNN writes that "the frustration that many felt was typified by Janie Esparza, one of the first passengers to get back on land. 'It was horrible. Horrible,' Esparza told a scrum of reporters. 'The bathroom facilities were horrible and we could not flush toilets. No electricity and our rooms were in total darkness. Honestly, I think that this ship should have [never] sailed out.' "

The Associated Press says that passenger Deborah Knight of Houston, "had no interest in boarding one of about 100 buses assembled to carry passengers to hotels in New Orleans or Texas. Her husband Seth drove in from Houston and they checked into a downtown Mobile hotel. 'I want a hot shower and a daggum Whataburger,' said Knight, who was wearing a bathrobe over her clothes as her bags were unloaded from her husband's pickup truck. She said she was afraid to eat the food on board and had gotten sick while on the ship."

After finally getting off the Carnival cruise ship Triumph, this passenger waited for a ride early Friday in Mobile, Ala. Mark Wallheiser /EPA /LANDOV hide caption

After finally getting off the Carnival cruise ship Triumph, this passenger waited for a ride early Friday in Mobile, Ala.

The wire service adds that another passenger, Maria Hernandez of Angleton, Texas, had "tears welling in her eyes as she talked about waking up to smoke in her lower-level room Sunday and the days of heat and stench to follow. She was on a 'girls trip' with friends."

" 'It was horrible, just horrible' said Hernandez. ... She said the group hauled mattresses to upper-level decks to escape the heat. As she pulled her luggage into the hotel, a flashlight around her neck, she managed a smile and even a giggle when asked to show her red 'poo-poo bag' — distributed by the cruise line for collecting human waste."

NBC News says that "passenger Janie Baker told MSNBC's Ed Schultz that people managed the situation well and that the crew was 'fantastic,' but on the final night, 'people's tempers started flying.' She described one incident where another passenger tried to disrupt a movie, and was taken away by the crew. 'If we had gone any longer, it could have been much, much worse,' she said."

On Morning Edition , NPR's Greg Allen reported about the $80 million the debacle is expected to cost Carnival and the blow suffered to the cruise industry's image. As for the passengers, he said, they're now getting "a full refund, credit for a future cruise plus $500 in cash."

Reuters add that "for all the passengers' grievances, they will likely find it difficult to sue the cruise operator for any damages, legal analysts said. Over the years, the cruise industry has put in place a legal structure that shields operators from big-money lawsuits."

Update at 9:45 a.m. ET. And On The Ride To New Orleans, At Least One Bus Broke Down:

CBS News reports that among the "caravan of buses" that Carnival chartered to take passengers to New Orleans, "at least one ... became stranded on the way."

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Suit: Fire Risk Known Before Carnival's Triumph Sailed

December 18, 2013 / 12:21 PM EST / CBS Miami

McALLEN, Texas (CBSMiami/AP) — Was it a disaster waiting to happen?  Recently obtained court documents have revealed some new information regarding the troubled voyage of the Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph where 4-thousand passengers were stranded aboard what's now known as the "poop cruise" after a debilitating fire knocked out the ships power.

The court documents reveal Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines knew about the risk of leaks from engine fuel hoses and recommended taking precautions on the ill-fated ship that later caught on fire at sea.

A compliance notice report sent to the Triumph one month before it departed Galveston on Feb. 7 for what was planned as a four-day cruise recommended spray shields be installed on engines' flexible fuel hoses, according to the documents filed Tuesday by Carnival Cruise Lines in federal court in Miami.

A leak from a hose on engine No. 6 led to a fire early on Feb. 10 as the ship returned from a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. No one was injured, but the fire disabled the ship. More than 4,000 people aboard endured a nightmarish tow to Mobile, Ala., that the plaintiffs' attorney called a "floating hell."

The documents, first reported by CNN, are part of a lawsuit that was filed in February against Carnival Cruise Lines and its parent Carnival Corporation on behalf of dozens of the Triumph's passengers.

Frank Spagnoletti, a Houston attorney who represents some of the passengers, said Tuesday that Carnival was negligent in maintaining the ship and allowed it to sail knowing there was a fire risk.

In a response filed Tuesday in Miami, Carnival said the ship's engines passed inspection before departure and its own recommendation to install spray shields on flexible fuel lines was beyond any required safety measures.

Carnival issued a statement calling the lawsuit frivolous and noting that the U.S. Coast Guard inspected and cleared the ship before its departure.

"The accident in this situation was just that - an accident, "Carnival said in the statement emailed to The Associated Press on Wednesday. "To claim otherwise is simply unfounded and inconsistent with the facts."

It was the recognition of the problem — with a two month repair deadline — along with the decision to let the Triumph sail before it was corrected that galled Spagnoletti.

"You've got 4,000 souls on that ship. You know that there's a propensity for fire if these fuel hoses break and yet you give them two months to fix it?" he said.

In a Nov. 22 deposition, ship captain Angelo Los said he was first notified by Carnival about problems with fuel leaks from flexible hoses in January. During the deposition, Spagnoletti showed Los the compliance notice report dated Jan. 2 that cited nine fuel leaks on Carnival Corporation's ships during a two-year period.

The compliance notice report said Carnival together with the engine manufacturer was investigating the problem and that installing spray shields would be an effective safety barrier. It described an incident on another ship outfitted with the spray shields that avoided a similar fire.

The company gave the ship until Feb. 28 to come into compliance.

Los said in November that he believed Carnival had known about the problem since March 2012. The spray guards were partially installed on Triumph, but not on engine No. 6, Los said. The hose that leaked was less than six months old.

"The spray shields for the flexible fuel hoses were an additional Carnival Corporation recommended best practice to avoid fuel fires," the company said in its response Tuesday, and not otherwise required by any regulation or statute.

Carnival Cruise Lines also argued the notice sent to the Triumph was only for fuel lines above the engine room floor plates. The leak occurred on a fuel hose beneath the engine room floor. However, the January notice to Triumph does not specify that or differentiate between hoses above or below the floor.

"The leak in the flexible fuel hose was a completely unexpected accident that took place," the company said. What ignited the fuel is unknown, it said.

Passengers described unsanitary conditions after the fire, as toilets stopped functioning and an unbearable stench drove many to camp out on the decks. The weary travelers finally disembarked in Alabama on Feb. 15.

Spagnoletti echoed many of the passengers in crediting the crew with putting out the fire and making the best of a horrible situation.

"It was unbelievable to me that you would take 4,000 people and put them in a situation of basically Russian roulette," Spagnoletti said. "Basically every time that vessel went out they never knew whether they were going to have a fire or not."

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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DISASTER TIMELINE: How Carnival Went From 'Fun Ship' To 'Poop Cruise'

Over its 41 years, Carnival Cruise Line has had a checkered past. In its heyday, Carnival was the cruise brand known for innovation, but more recently it has become known as the brand with PR disasters to deal with.

Click here for the disaster timeline >

Last week, Carnival's 'Triumph' ship was towed into Mobile, Alabama after almost a week stuck at sea due to an engine fire.

The testimonies from the passengers are truly disgusting : Hallways were flooded with human waste, there was no A/C or running water, and passengers were left to survive on limited food and water. The Triumph was given the nickname "poop cruise" because passengers were forced to use the bathroom in bags.

But do these PR crises have a lasting effect? According to Jaunted , trips aboard 'Triumph' can already be booked for as early as April of this year. That's only two months after passengers said that the floors were "flooded with sewer water."

This type of disaster is not new for Carnival. It experienced very similar situations in 1998, 1999, and 2010. And let's not forget about the Costa Concordia disaster in Italy last year in which the ship capsized, killing 32 passengers . (Carnival owns Costa Concordia).

It has also had to deal with circumstances of passengers jumping overboard to their deaths. 

But with every PR disaster in Carnival's history, it has also experienced record-breaking good moments.

Carnival was the original brand to pioneer the concept of shorter, less expensive cruises. It built the first ship to weigh more than 100,000 tons, as well as the world's first non-smoking ship.

The cruise company's on-board service has won numerous awards , including three Cruise Critic Editor's Picks —best new ship, best bar, and best value in 2012.

Carnival Cruise Lines was founded by Ted Arison in 1972.

Ted Arison, the son of a multi-millionaire shipping magnate, was born in Israel in 1924. He immigrated to the U.S. in the early 50s and co-founded Norwegian Cruise Lines in 1966.

He then went on to found his own cruise company, Carnival Cruise Lines, six years later.

Carnival was originally a subsidiary of American International Travel Service (AITS), but in 1974, Arison bought Carnival for $1 , along with $5 million in assumed AITS debt.

By the late 1980s, Arison was reportedly one of the world's richest men , with a personal fortune estimated to be between $6 and $10 billion.

His family still  owns the Miami Heat . He was the man responsible for bringing the team to South Florida.

Carnival's first-ever voyage got off to a bad a start.

According to Carnival's website , in 1972 " the company’s first cruise ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, runs aground on a sandbar during its inaugural voyage."

But by the early 80's, things started improving.

In 1984, Carnival became the first cruise line to advertise on network television. Kathie Lee Gifford, then Kathie Lee Johnson, was the company's first spokesperson.

The 1980s was a great time for Carnival.

In 1982, the 'Tropicale' ship debuted, representing the first new ship the industry had seen in years.

Two years later, Carnival launched the first network-wide advertising campaign in the industry.

This video  is one of the original commercials Carnival ran. It features Kathie Lee Johnson, aka Kathie Lee Gifford.

In the late 80s, Carnival was carrying more passengers than any other cruise line, making it "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line." The brand still uses this phrase as its tagline.

In 1987, Carnival completed an initial public offering of 20 percent of its common stock.

The cruise line was able to generate around $400 million from its IPO . 

This money would help it buy new ships, as well as acquire other brands.

In 1989, it made its first acquisition — the Holland America Line.

In the 90s, Carnival began launching newer, bigger ships, including the world's first non-smoking vessel.

In 1997, Carnival launched 'Destiny,' the first cruise ship in the world to weigh more than 100,000 tons. 

One year later, Carnival launched 'Paradise,' the first non-smoking cruise ship in the world.

But with these breakthroughs also came the company's first major PR nightmares. 

In 1998, there was a fire onboard the Carnival 'Ecstasy.'

In July 1998, soon after 'Ecstasy' departed from Miami, a fire started in the main laundry room .

As the ship was attempting to re-dock at the Miami port, it lost propulsion power and began drifting off course. Sound familiar?

It took six tugboats to fight the fire and pull the ship to shore. Eight passengers and 14 crew members were injured. It cost $17 million to repair the ship .

Then there was another fire on another ship in 1999.

A little over a year later, the Tropicale's engine room caught fire, leaving the ship in the path of Tropical Storm Harvey.

The ship's captain, Vito Riccio, told the St. Petersburg Times that he didn't relay information about the fire to the passengers for fear that they would then panic and jump overboard.

In 2005, the company was both praised and criticized for its Katrina-related efforts.

While the early 2000s were relatively uneventful for the brand, things changed after Hurricane Katrina when the U.S. government signed a six-month contract with Carnival . Under the agreement, Carnival received $236 million in exchange for three ships to be used as temporary housing for Katrina victims. 

The ships were docked along the Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas coastlines.

Despite Carnival's honorable intentions, the contract was highly criticized because Carnival was earning more money than it normally would have had the ships been used as vacation spots. Many of the ships were also mostly empty.

Between 2006 and 2007, two separate passenger deaths caused another PR dilemma for the brand.

In May 2006, a Philadelphia man jumped off his balcony on Carnival's 'Legend' after an argument with his wife. The tragedy happened off the coast of Bermuda. 

A little over a year later, an 18-year-old from Houston also jumped to his death from a Carnival ship. According to the Houston Chronicle , his jump may have been premeditated.

The economic downfall of 2008 did not bode well for Carnival or the rest of the cruise ship industry.

In April 2008, Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corp. & plc, announced that the brand would not be ordering any new U.S. ships until the American economy improved.

In 2009, Carnival's largest "Fun Ship" was retired.

'Dream,' the largest of the "Fun Ship" line, was retired in 2009. It was also the largest ship ever built by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri.

In November 2010, another Carnival cruise ship had a fire on board.

The generator room on Carnival's 'Splendor' caught fire, causing the ship to lose power.

According to CBS News , 4,500 passengers were trapped at sea for over 24 hours with very little food and no A/C or hot water.  The ship was towed to San Diego.

Once again, sound familiar? 

For the next couple of years, Carnival avoided major PR disasters.

In October 2012, 'Spirit' launched, becoming the company's first ship to sail through Australian waters, as well as the largest ship to cruise to Australia year-round.

'Spirit' is too large to fit under the bridge to Carnival's cruise terminal , so it is docked separately.

The brand also signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for both a 99,000-ton ship for its Holland America Line and a 135,000-ton ship for its Carnival Cruise Line. 

According to Breaking Travel News , Giuseppe Bono, chief executive of Fincantieri, said, “These additional orders bring the total number of ships we have built for Carnival Corporation to 61 and confirm Fincantieri’s world leadership in the cruise ship sector even at a time of slowing demand.”

In January 2012, a Costa Concordia ship owned by Carnival struck a rock off the coast of an Italian island.

Thirty passengers aboard the Costa Concordia lost their lives, and as of December 2012, two were still missing.

Because the ship wreckage is in a nationally protected marine park and coral reef, removing the wreckage has proven difficult and costly . 

According to 60 Minutes, the cleanup will cost $400 million.

Hundreds of passengers and up to 1,000 businesses on the Italian island have sued or are in the process of suing Carnival . 

Carnival's most recent PR fiasco may be the last straw for many of Carnival's loyal customers.

After almost a week of being stranded with no running water or air conditioning, passengers who suffered aboard the 'Triumph' ship are already starting to sue Carnival over the conditions they endured.

Making things even worse, one of the buses carrying rescued passengers from Mobile to New Orleans broke down.

Carnival has already offered passengers a refund, cruise credit, and $500, but this disaster may prove too big to be solved with money. 

The engine fire that caused the horrible conditions is still under investigation, and it may take months to find the cause.

Despite Carnival's recent problems, the brand is still used by almost 50 percent of worldwide cruise passengers.

According to Cruise Market Watch, the worldwide cruise industry is an estimated $36.2 billion business.

Current data shows a 4.5 percent increase in revenue from 2012 figures.  

There has also been a 3.3 percent increase in yearly passengers since 2012.

This chart shows the revenues of the worldwide cruise industry. Each color represents a different parent company. Subsidiaries of Carnival  Corp. & plc (CCL) are the red dots. Subsidiaries of CCL's major competitor, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL), are shown in dark blue. All other brands, including MSC Cruises and Norwegian, are shown in light blue.

CCL serves 48.4 percent of total worldwide cruise passengers. RCL serves 23.3 percent, and all other brands combine to serve 28.3 percent of cruisers.

You've seen how Carnival has operated over the years...

Now see the augmented reality campaigns brands are using today  →

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DISASTER TIMELINE: How Carnival Went From 'Fun Ship' To 'Poop Cruise'

Carnival cruise lines was founded by ted arison in 1972..

Ted Arison, the son of a multi-millionaire shipping magnate, was born in Israel in 1924. He immigrated to the U.S. in the early 50s and co-founded Norwegian Cruise Lines in 1966.

He then went on to found his own cruise company, Carnival Cruise Lines, six years later.

Carnival was originally a subsidiary of American International Travel Service (AITS), but in 1974, Arison bought Carnival for $1 , along with $5 million in assumed AITS debt.

By the late 1980s, Arison was reportedly one of the world's richest men , with a personal fortune estimated to be between $6 and $10 billion.

His family still  owns the Miami Heat . He was the man responsible for bringing the team to South Florida.

Carnival's first-ever voyage got off to a bad a start.

According to Carnival's website , in 1972 " the company’s first cruise ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, runs aground on a sandbar during its inaugural voyage."

But by the early 80's, things started improving.

According to Carnival's website , in 1972 the company’s first cruise ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, runs aground on a sandbar during its inaugural voyage.

In 1984, Carnival became the first cruise line to advertise on network television. Kathie Lee Gifford, then Kathie Lee Johnson, was the company's first spokesperson.

The 1980s was a great time for Carnival.

In 1982, the 'Tropicale' ship debuted, representing the first new ship the industry had seen in years.

Two years later, Carnival launched the first network-wide advertising campaign in the industry.

This video  is one of the original commercials Carnival ran. It features Kathie Lee Johnson, aka Kathie Lee Gifford.

In the late 80s, Carnival was carrying more passengers than any other cruise line, making it "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line." The brand still uses this phrase as its tagline.

In the late 80s, Carnival was carrying more passengers than any other cruise line, making it The World's Most Popular Cruise Line. The brand still uses this phrase as its tagline.

In 1987, Carnival completed an initial public offering of 20 percent of its common stock.

The cruise line was able to generate around $400 million from its IPO . 

This money would help it buy new ships, as well as acquire other brands.

In 1989, it made its first acquisition — the Holland America Line.

In the 90s, Carnival began launching newer, bigger ships, including the world's first non-smoking vessel.

In 1997, Carnival launched 'Destiny,' the first cruise ship in the world to weigh more than 100,000 tons. 

One year later, Carnival launched 'Paradise,' the first non-smoking cruise ship in the world.

But with these breakthroughs also came the company's first major PR nightmares. 

In 1998, there was a fire onboard the Carnival 'Ecstasy.'

In July 1998, soon after 'Ecstasy' departed from Miami, a fire started in the main laundry room .

As the ship was attempting to re-dock at the Miami port, it lost propulsion power and began drifting off course. Sound familiar?

It took six tugboats to fight the fire and pull the ship to shore. Eight passengers and 14 crew members were injured. It cost $17 million to repair the ship .

Then there was another fire on another ship in 1999.

A little over a year later, the Tropicale's engine room caught fire, leaving the ship in the path of Tropical Storm Harvey.

The ship's captain, Vito Riccio, told the St. Petersburg Times that he didn't relay information about the fire to the passengers for fear that they would then panic and jump overboard.

In 2005, the company was both praised and criticized for its Katrina-related efforts.

While the early 2000s were relatively uneventful for the brand, things changed after Hurricane Katrina when the U.S. government signed a six-month contract with Carnival . Under the agreement, Carnival received $236 million in exchange for three ships to be used as temporary housing for Katrina victims. 

The ships were docked along the Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas coastlines.

Despite Carnival's honorable intentions, the contract was highly criticized because Carnival was earning more money than it normally would have had the ships been used as vacation spots. Many of the ships were also mostly empty.

Between 2006 and 2007, two separate passenger deaths caused another PR dilemma for the brand.

In May 2006, a Philadelphia man jumped off his balcony on Carnival's 'Legend' after an argument with his wife. The tragedy happened off the coast of Bermuda. 

A little over a year later, an 18-year-old from Houston also jumped to his death from a Carnival ship. According to the Houston Chronicle , his jump may have been premeditated.

The economic downfall of 2008 did not bode well for Carnival or the rest of the cruise ship industry.

In April 2008, Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corp. & plc, announced that the brand would not be ordering any new U.S. ships until the American economy improved.

In 2009, Carnival's largest "Fun Ship" was retired.

'Dream,' the largest of the "Fun Ship" line, was retired in 2009. It was also the largest ship ever built by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri.

'Dream,' the largest of the Fun Ship line, was retired in 2009. It was also the largest ship ever built by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri.

In November 2010, another Carnival cruise ship had a fire on board.

The generator room on Carnival's 'Splendor' caught fire, causing the ship to lose power.

According to CBS News , 4,500 passengers were trapped at sea for over 24 hours with very little food and no A/C or hot water.  The ship was towed to San Diego.

Once again, sound familiar? 

For the next couple of years, Carnival avoided major PR disasters.

In October 2012, 'Spirit' launched, becoming the company's first ship to sail through Australian waters, as well as the largest ship to cruise to Australia year-round.

'Spirit' is too large to fit under the bridge to Carnival's cruise terminal , so it is docked separately.

The brand also signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for both a 99,000-ton ship for its Holland America Line and a 135,000-ton ship for its Carnival Cruise Line. 

According to Breaking Travel News , Giuseppe Bono, chief executive of Fincantieri, said, “These additional orders bring the total number of ships we have built for Carnival Corporation to 61 and confirm Fincantieri’s world leadership in the cruise ship sector even at a time of slowing demand.”

In January 2012, a Costa Concordia ship owned by Carnival struck a rock off the coast of an Italian island.

Thirty passengers aboard the Costa Concordia lost their lives, and as of December 2012, two were still missing.

Because the ship wreckage is in a nationally protected marine park and coral reef, removing the wreckage has proven difficult and costly . 

According to 60 Minutes, the cleanup will cost $400 million.

Hundreds of passengers and up to 1,000 businesses on the Italian island have sued or are in the process of suing Carnival . 

Carnival's most recent PR fiasco may be the last straw for many of Carnival's loyal customers.

After almost a week of being stranded with no running water or air conditioning, passengers who suffered aboard the 'Triumph' ship are already starting to sue Carnival over the conditions they endured.

Making things even worse, one of the buses carrying rescued passengers from Mobile to New Orleans broke down.

Carnival has already offered passengers a refund, cruise credit, and $500, but this disaster may prove too big to be solved with money. 

The engine fire that caused the horrible conditions is still under investigation, and it may take months to find the cause.

Despite Carnival's recent problems, the brand is still used by almost 50 percent of worldwide cruise passengers.

According to Cruise Market Watch, the worldwide cruise industry is an estimated $36.2 billion business.

Current data shows a 4.5 percent increase in revenue from 2012 figures.  

There has also been a 3.3 percent increase in yearly passengers since 2012.

This chart shows the revenues of the worldwide cruise industry. Each color represents a different parent company. Subsidiaries of Carnival  Corp. & plc (CCL) are the red dots. Subsidiaries of CCL's major competitor, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL), are shown in dark blue. All other brands, including MSC Cruises and Norwegian, are shown in light blue.

CCL serves 48.4 percent of total worldwide cruise passengers. RCL serves 23.3 percent, and all other brands combine to serve 28.3 percent of cruisers.

You've seen how Carnival has operated over the years...

Now see the augmented reality campaigns brands are using today  →

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A year after the “poop cruise,” Carnival is having one of its best sales years yet

As vacationers hoarded snacks and human waste dribbled down the walls of last year’s “ cruise from hell ,” many expected Carnival, the world’s biggest cruise operator, had suffered a business-wrecking hit.

But new numbers show the stink from the cruise line’s high-profile disaster last year has already begun to fade. Carnival just logged one of its best summers in history, beating projections by posting nearly $5 billion in sales of tickets, tours and on-board goodies. It’s on track to earn $16 billion in sales this year, breaking a company record.

Many more people bought tickets, with Caribbean cruises booking nearly 20 percent more guests this summer than the year before, company filings show. And once those cruisers were sailing, they spent nearly 10 percent more on things like vacation trinkets and fruity drinks.

The good fortunes for the vacation giant that was so recently a laughingstock surprised not just analysts, but Carnival itself. Chief executive Arnold Donald said Tuesday on a conference call that the cruise line’s “recovery is probably a little faster than we had a right to believe it would be.”

Last year was one nightmare after another for Carnival, the $31 billion cruise behemoth that runs its namesake cruise line and 10 other big-ship brands worldwide. A fire in the Carnival Triumph’s engine room in February stranded the ship’s more than 4,000 passengers and crew for four days with no power or running toilets, turning the floating resort into a “ hot port-o-potty .” A month later, mechanical problems aboard the Carnival Dream and Carnival Legend led the cruise line to cancel scheduled stops and, in the Dream’s case, fly passengers back home.

In the months since, Carnival has emptied its pockets and cranked up its marketing to win back grossed-out passengers. The cruise line spent $300 million installing emergency generators and upgrading ships’ safety systems, convened a board of outside experts, including two retired U.S. Navy rear admirals, to review the fleet, and built new rum pubs, game shows, cocktail bars and water slides through an initiative they called “ Fun Ship 2.0 .”

The Miami megafirm also slashed ticket prices — by more than $80 million in one quarter last year, according to corporate filings — and offered cruisers full refunds, plus 10 percent on top , if they didn’t leave leave satisfied. All the spending and cutting, though, carved deeply into their profits: The cruise line is expected to pocket $1 billion less in profit in 2014 than it earned in 2008.

Carnival has bounced back from messy vacation fiascos before. In 2010, the same year an engine fire stranded the Carnival Splendor off San Diego’s coast, the company reported an 11 percent jump in income over the previous year.

YouGov BrandIndex said last year Carnival suffered “one of the steepest drops in consumer perception for a brand” since BP and the Gulf oil spill. But index analysts now say in  their mid-year report that “no company has made greater strides in perception than Carnival.”

The cruise line’s breezy summer was fueled by big growth in China, which executives said could one day become the “largest cruise market in the world.” As for now, though, Americans rule the seas: Half of the 21 million cruise passengers this year hail from the U.S., data from Cruise Lines International Association show .

Next year could prove tougher for Carnival, which will have to drydock many of its ships to upgrade fuel systems and install exhaust-cleaning “scrubbers” to meet new pollutant rules, dinging Carnival’s revenue. But analysts said the cruise line will likely continue to leave the worst of its “poop cruise” days behind — as long as it can avoid another embarrassment.

“It just takes time to get the confidence back from the cruising customer that they’re not going to have some horrible experience,” said C. Patrick Scholes, a senior lodging and leisure analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. “The best thing they can do is stay out of the news.”

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Cruise Ship Law Blog

How Much Will Carnival Triumph Passengers Be Compensated After Enduring Unsanitary Conditions Onboard?

Written by LM&W Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. is made up of attorneys who are nationally recognized industry leaders in the field of maritime and admiralty law. Our team of cruise lawyers has well over two centuries of combined experience, has successfully handled over 3,000 cases, and has recovered over 300 million dollars in damages for our clients. Several of our attorneys have even been selected to “Best Lawyers” ® by US News & World Report every year as far back as 2016.

It’s no secret that no one on the Carnival Triumph had a good time on the cruise vacation. After setting sail last week from Galveston, Texas, over 3,000 eager and excited travelers thought they were going to experience a relaxing, fun-filled Caribbean trip, but unfortunately, what they got was nothing short of a nightmare.

A fire erupted in the vessel’s engine room last Sunday, leading the vessel to lose power and become stranded at sea. The ship finally made its way back to land on Thursday, but while some passengers were more forgiving of the situation than others, the conditions experienced by everyone onboard the vessel were horrifying.

Between the non-working toilets, overflowing sewage and plastic bags that were handed out for defecation purposes, it is highly unlikely that Triumph guests will be giving any positive reviews about their cruise ship experience. But while Carnival has announced it will compensate passengers for the botched itinerary, is it going to be enough to cover all the damage that was done?

According to Gerry Cahill, President and CEO of Carnival, passengers who were onboard the Triumph when it lost power will obtain the following compensation for the cruise ship accident :

• A full refund for the cruise
• Future cruise credit to book an additional vacation
• $500 per person
• Free flight home
• Refund for most onboard expenses

However, some passengers, like Norma Reyes, have stated they will never be going on another Carnival cruise vacation again after experiencing the horrendous conditions onboard, so future cruise credit isn’t very appealing, nor is it sufficient compensation.

There has yet to be a tally of how many Triumph cruise passengers became sick from the unsanitary conditions onboard. Waste from clogged toilets overflowed from one deck to another, even into some passenger cabins, creating the ideal breeding grounds for disease to spread.

Norovirus and Hepatitis are just two of the diseases that could have broken out amongst passengers on the vessel. These illnesses can lead to severe medical complications and even death.

The compensation offered by Carnival Corp. seems meager compared to the life-threatening situation everyone on board was placed in. In addition to the illnesses that could – and may – have been transmitted, passengers also went hungry from lack of provisions. All that was available to eat on the over 101,000-ton vessel were sandwiches made of onions, cucumbers and condiments. The stifling heat and lack of oxygen onboard due to the lack of electricity was also enough to lead passengers to faint or experience other medical complications.

To add to all this horror, the vessel docked in Mobile, Alabama when it was supposed to return to its homeport in Galveston, TX. While Carnival is offering guests a free ride home, are they going to compensate each passenger for lost wages due to a delayed return home to work? What about for any other important events passengers may have missed because the ship was three days late?

Carnival has yet to release information regarding injured or ill passengers, but the first thing Triumph travelers should do is seek medical attention on land and consult with a Carnival Triumph Lawyer to determine the full extent of the compensation they qualify for.

One of our attorneys, Michael A. Winkleman, discussed the right that passengers who were onboard the Triumph have to receive better compensation, saying the $500 Carnival has offered victims is “laughable.”

On an interview this morning on the Fox Network show Fox & Friends seen HERE , Mr. Winkleman explained that due to the hazardous conditions passengers were subjected to, including overflowing toilets and the risk of illness, they be able to obtain a larger recovery than Carnival has offered.

Our experienced attorneys here at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. have been brought many cases against Carnival Corp. over their negligence and wrongdoing, which has led to severe and fatal accidents onboard their vessels. If you or someone you love were involved in the Triumph accident or another cruise ship accident, contact our firm today to discuss your options in filing a Carnival Triumph Cruise Ship Lawsuit.

Photo Credits:

Top Left: Triumph Passengers Told To Defecate In Bags – salon.com

Middle Right Gerry Cahill, Carnival CEO & President, Discusses Carnival Triumph Accident During Press Conference In Mobile, AL – breakingnews.ie.

Bottom Left: Carnival Triumph Lawyer, Michael A. Winkleman, on Fox – Fox News Network.

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Published on February 15, 2013

Categories: Cruise Ship Accidents , Cruise Ship Fires , Cruise Ship Law

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The “poop ship” becomes Carnival Sunrise

Carnival made a pretty big announcement recently.  They have decided to spend 200 million dollars transforming Carnival Triumph to Carnival Sunshine.  They are performing a top to bottom makeover adding new venues and refurbishing all of the staterooms.  To read more click the link

What I find so interesting about this move is Carnival Triumph was the ship in the headlines dubbed the “poop ship.”  In 2013 an engine fire took out the electrical system and rendered the ship dead in the water.  Cruise ships rely on electricity for everything from food services to propulsion.  So when the power was lost the plumbing system also started to fail this caused raw sewage to back up.  There were reports of passengers having to use the restroom in buckets. 

Now as bad as this must have been for the passengers some good did come from this.  Shortly after the incident, the cruise industry as a whole really took a step back on how they designed their ships and begun incorporating more redundancy’s to prevent a failure like this from occurring in the future.  Carnival even went a step further and installed generators on the top deck of all their ships so they could always fail over their critical systems in the event of another outage.

So why the name change?  I think the name change is a smart move.  Currently, if you type in Carnival Triumph into cousin google, you do not have to scan very long to find a reference to the 2013 incident.  With a new name comes a new history and so the average passenger will have no idea that they are sailing on the same ship that caused the cruise industry to change.

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Monster growth! The cruise boom at Carnival continues with debut of another new ship

Make that five new ships for Carnival Cruise Line in just 18 months.

The world's second-biggest cruise brand on Thursday welcomed the first cruisers aboard yet another new vessel, the 4,126-passenger Carnival Firenze, in Long Beach, California.

The 135,156-ton ship is debuting just four months after Carnival unveiled the even bigger 5,374-passenger Carnival Jubilee and 11 months after the line began operating the 4,090-passenger Carnival Venezia .

For more cruise news, guides and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

The latter two ships operate out of Galveston, Texas, and New York City, respectively. Carnival Venezia also spends part of the year sailing out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

Over the past 18 months, Carnival has also added the Miami-based, 5,374-passenger Carnival Celebration and the Australia-based, 2,260-passenger Carnival Luminosa . Carnival Luminosa also spends part of the year sailing out of Seattle.

The addition of the five ships to the Carnival fleet over such a short time span marks one of the fastest expansions of any cruise brand in the history of cruising.

With the addition of the five ships, Carnival now has a record 27 vessels in its fleet.

A new ship with an asterisk

Scheduled to sail year-round out of Long Beach, California, Carnival Firenze is a new ship for Carnival, but it's new with an asterisk. The 15-deck-high vessel has sailed before for another cruise line, Italy-based Costa Cruises.

Originally called Costa Firenze, the vessel sailed its maiden voyage for Costa, a sister brand to Carnival, in July 2021, making it nearly three years old.

Carnival Firenze is just one of several Costa vessels that Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Costa and Carnival, has transferred from Costa to Carnival in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic and its aftermath hurt the Costa brand much more than the Carnival brand. This was in part because the Costa brand had big operations in China, where cruising shut down during the pandemic for far longer than it did in North America.

Carnival operates most of its ships out of U.S. ports and draws a lot of the customers for these ships from the states near these ports — a segment of close-to-home cruising that has been booming since cruising resumed in 2021.

The result has been a stronger demand for Carnival ships than Costa ships.

Carnival Firenze's first sailing for Carnival, starting Thursday, will be a seven-night voyage to the Mexican Riviera that includes stops at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

Carnival cruising with an Italian twist

Like Carnival Venezia, which also is a former Costa ship, Carnival Firenze is something of an outlier in the Carnival fleet as the vessel retains much of its Italian theming from when it sailed for Costa.

The ship also still has its original, distinctive gold-and-blue funnel that is a trademark of Costa's vessels.

That said, Carnival Firenze won't be devoid of Carnival's signature shipboard venues. In recent months, the ship has undergone a significant overhaul in a dry dock in Spain that included the re-theming of many interior eateries and bars, as well as top-deck attractions to make them more consistent with the Carnival brand.

For instance, the ship will have a Carnival Waterworks water play area and a Steakhouse — a signature Carnival venue.

Related: The 8 classes of Carnival Cruise Line ships, explained

Other venues now on the ship that will be familiar to Carnival fans include a Guy Fieri-inspired Guy's Burger Joint, a Bonsai Sushi eatery, a Chef's Table, Lido Marketplace, Seafood Shack, a Pizzeria del Capitano pizza outlet and a Heroes Tribute Bar.

The ship also will have a new crew made up of Carnival staffers.

In short, Carnival Firenze will combine elements of both Costa and Carnival ships.

Carnival originally planned to call the ship a "Costa by Carnival" product to differentiate it from the rest of the Carnival fleet, but it eventually switched to marketing Carnival Firenze as a vessel that offers "Carnival Fun Italian Style."

Carnival Firenze, notably, was originally purpose-built to sail out of China with Chinese travelers but with Italian theming that played up Costa's Italian roots. Its theming is specifically tied to Florence, Italy — Firenze is what Italians call Florence.

The Carnival and Costa brands have long had similarities that make a transfer of ships between the two lines less complex than one might think. Ships for both Costa and Carnival often are built on the same platforms — that is, they share the same basic structural design and rough interior spaces. In such cases, the main difference between the ships of the two brands is the theming of specific spaces.

As of this week, fares for Carnival Firenze sailings start at $214 per person, not including taxes and fees, for a four-night sailing from Long Beach to Mexico.

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