Passengers on the Carnival Splendor may not think the current situation is very funny. And yeah, being adrift in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico while you’re supposed to be on a vacation isn’t probably anyone’s idea of a good time.
In short, for anyone who hasn’t heard the story, an engine room fire knocked out the ship’s main power sources, including the engines. And while the cruise line has gotten toilets working again, they have no hot food and no air-conditioning.
On the other hand, everyone appears to be safe. Carnival has already promised passengers a full refund. Plus, the passengers’ fares are being credited towards any future cruise.
If the line is smart, they are being most generous with nonperishables aboard including things like beer and rum.
In fact, Carnival’s “Fun Ship” slogan actually originated after their first ship, the “Mardi Gras,” ran aground on her maiden voyage while leaving Miami and was stuck, within sight of the port, for 24 hours on a sandbar.
As the story goes, the cruise line, however, decided to open the bar, and passengers later said they had a great time.
Admittedly, being stuck on a sandbar near Miami was probably more relaxing than being adrift, but no doubt years from now this will be an interesting, and maybe even funny, story for many if not most of the passengers.
There may be a silver lining to this story. Passengers are without cellphone service, another casualty of the power loss. This probably means some passengers are taking a break from work for the first time in years.
In the meantime, here are a few potential new Carnival slogans.
“When you’re hot you’re hot.”
“A three-hour tour.”
“Row, row, row your boat…”
“The hottest experience at sea.”
“When you really want to get away…”
“Come drift away with me.”
“Smoke on the water.”
“Carnival cruising – unplugged”
“Escape from the ordinary. We’re really not kidding this time.”
No doubt readers can add to and perhaps improve on these ideas.
This experience may, however, help eliminate one of the most frequently asked bizarre onboard questions (have heard this from more than one cruise ship employee) — “Where do they plug the ship in at night?”
Wonder if passenger with medical marijuana prescriptions are allowed to cope with the stress by lighting up. If so, it will really be “Splendor on the Grass.”
And finally, many passengers have to think, it could be worse, Kathy Lee Gifford could be stuck on board with them.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
