What are Triumph cruise passengers entitled to after disaster?
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Carnival says once the troubled "Triumph" ship docks in Mobile, Alabama, it will take four to five hours to get all the passengers off the ship. Passengers are being refunded for their trip, given $500 and a voucher for another cruise. As the ship was headed to shore on Thursday, February 14th, FOX6 News looked into what exactly these travelers are entitled to, after all they've been through.
On the first day of the Triumph cruise, Gene Albanese of Milwaukee snapped a picture as she and her daughter were ready to set sail.
In the days that followed, the Albanese family and thousands of others on board endured an engine room fire, unbearable temperatures in their rooms and sewage backed up into the ship halls.
"There's so much sewage and the smell, it's like walking in a swamp," Albanese told FOX6 News over the phone on Thursday.
Carnival is refunding passengers and offering vouchers for a free cruise, but the Better Business Bureau says the cruise line probably didn't have to offer passengers anything.
"The cruise line is probably not obligated to any compensation for the consumer," Liz Frederichs said.
Frederichs says the reason for this is likely in Carnival's terms and conditions.
"Most people aren't thinking about the fine print of that obligation when they're signing up. They're thinking about the vacation and the cruise," Frederich said.
Frederichs says having travelers insurance wouldn't make much of a difference in this case.
"It's not gonna cover mechanical failure on a ship," Frederich said.
The owner of Travel Market Vacations admits this is a PR nightmare for Carnival.
"We've gotten a few calls ourselves here at the agency wondering, you know, I'm cruising next month, what do you think?" Lynn Goelzer said.
Goelzer says she expects the impact on the cruise industry will be short term.
"It's an unfortunate thing but I think people will go back to cruising," Goelzer said.
Albanese may not be one of them.
"Nothing like this has ever happened, nor have I ever thought I'd be in this spot. I don't know if I want to take the chance of this happening again," Albanese said.
The Better Business Bureau says if you're considering a cruise, research the cruise line online before booking, and consider finding a travel agent who can read all the fine print for you.
However, despite this disaster, the BBB says cruise ships are generally safe.