‘Very glad to be home’ Residents among passengers of stranded cruise ship

The ship was slowly towed back to a port in Mobile.

The ship’s original port was in Galveston, Texas.

Enduring the conditions were Enterprise residents Margaret Mayo and Elaine Aplin, as well as Aplin’s daughter Paula Crouch and friend, Angela Salinas, who live near Galveston, Texas.

The four were taking a vacation together before things went horribly wrong.

Mayo said she could smell the smoke from the fire before she and the others were moved to the fourth floor from the first floor, where the fire broke out.

Mayo said that is where they stayed for the remainder of the “cruise.”

“To begin with, (we) were frightened, but I never felt as though I was in danger,” Mayo said. “You had to make the best out of a horrible situation.”

As other media outlets reported, Mayo said the toilet situation was bad, with sewage backing up within the cabins.

“The smell of urine was unbearable at times,” Mayo said.

A tent city formed on the deck of the ship for passengers to escape the conditions inside the ship.

Mayo said food was delivered from another ship, some days they did not have drinking water and for fluids they drank warm sodas passed out by the crew.

“The crew was absolutely fantastic,” Mayo said. “We can’t say enough about them. They really made the best out of (the situation).”

Aplin said she has been sick ever since she got off the boat.

The conditions, she said, were as bad as the media made it out to be.

“When I got off the boat and saw my son standing there, I just lost it,” Aplin said. “I’m very glad to be home.”

Aplin said it would take some time for her to be comfortable going on another cruise again.

However, Mayo said if she can convince her husband, she would go on a cruise again, and even on board the same ship.

That’s after they finish re-doing the entire boat, she said.

While his wife was on board the ship, Buck Mayo said Carnival called daily with an automated message informing family that passengers were safe and the mileage they had left to port.

He said they also had a crisis line, which family members could call at any time to speak with someone with Carnival Cruise Lines.

Buck Mayo said friends, family and members of his church, Hillcrest Baptist Church, were very supportive during this time.

In response to the ordeal, Carnival Cruise Lines has offered the passengers aboard the Triumph a refund on the cruise, a free cruise voucher and $500 compensation.