Life is anything but a Carnival for the world's biggest cruise line. In fact, it's getting to be a joke…
On Sunday, a tugboat sinks in the Mississippi River. The waterway is closed for 10 miles, starting at the mouth. Fifteen ships line up, waiting to go up the river. Carnival, which has had lots of practice when it comes to being up the river, turns its Conquest in another direction and heads for Mobile, the nearest cruise-ship port.
Passengers who expected to disembark in New Orleans are now disembarking in Alabama, which is okay if you're a fan of the Crimson Tide but not so much fun if yourcar is parked in New Orleans. The passengers are shuttled back to their cars by bus, about a three-hour ride.
Said one passenger with a sense of humor: ""We planned on having Po Boys and it messed our day up."
Just another anecdote, for people who should know better, to blame on the cruise line.
Back in Mobile, people really were happy.
The Conquest was the first ship at the Alabama Cruise Terminal, where ships once
made regular calls, since the Carnival Triumph showed up in February, on the wrong end of a tugboat. A fire had disabled the Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico, and it was towed to Mobile for extensive repairs.
They're hoping cruise ships in Mobile get to be a habit again, but not like this, although they are getting to be Carnival fans. On the other hand, being a back-up shows the cruise business that Mobile's capable of being a starter again.
One person's pain is another's gain, right?
– Conquest photo by Norman Einstein
Celebrity Millenium
7 nights
September 6, 2013
Anchorage, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, Vancouver
Inside: $499
Cost per day: $71
www.celebritycruises.com