'Take the bathrobes'
ROBED SURVIVOR. Kendall Jenkins celebrates after stepping off the Carnival ship Triumph at the Alabama Cruise terminal in Mobile, Alabama, on February 14, 2013. The stricken Carnival cruise ship Triumph arrived back in port late February 14th, ending a nightmarish ocean voyage for some 4,000 desperate passengers and crew after it lost power over the weekend. AFP/Dan Anderson
WASHINGTON, USA - The 4,000-plus exhausted passengers who lived a hellish four-day ordeal aboard the powerless and drifting Carnival Triumph cruise ship won't be left completely empty handed.
The cruise company is making a gift to the travelers of the bathrobes they were using on the ship, the company announced Friday.
Of course the bathrobes for the Carnival Triumph are complimentary.
— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) February 15, 2013
"Of course the bathrobes for the Carnival Triumph are complimentary," it said in a tweet on the official @carnivalcruise account.
But the announcement has been received with less than full-throated cheers.
"Who wants a stinky robe?!" tweeted a reporter in North Carolina, Astrid Martinez, while another user of the social media site, Natalie Eshaya, enthused sarcastically, "Oh how generous."
Another skeptic, Paul Nather, wondered "What do you think the going rate for a Carnival cruise bathrobe will be on eBay tomorrow?"
Twitter user @joeschmosalerno also chided the company for spinning the 'complimentary bathrobes' as a positive thing.
New Carnival Cruise marketing campaign "Stranded at sea? No heat? No AC? No food? Keep the bathrobe...no charge!" haha #areyakiddingme
— Joe Salerno (@JoeShmoSalerno) February 16, 2013
The white bathrobe has become an unlikely symbol of the nightmare of the cruise-goers, who donned them to attract attention as they stood on the drifting ship.
Others used the white terrycloth as a canvas to write messages, with one passenger proclaiming, "I survived Carnival's triumph redbags" -- a reference to the plastic bags that substituted for toilets.
CAMPING OUT. An Instagram photo provided by a passenger of the Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph identifying herself as Chasemaclaskey shows passengers sleeping on the deck of the ship as it is towed by tug vessels toward Mobile, Alabama, on February 13, 2013. AFP PHOTO / Chasemaclaskey
The Triumph docked Friday morning in the port of Mobile, Alabama. It had originally been scheduled to return to port early Monday after a weekend stop in Cozumel in Mexico, before an engine room blaze left the large vessel without electricity to power the kitchens, toilets, and other necessities.
"I want to again apologize to our guests & their friends/family.The situation has been incredibly dfficlt & we're sorry for what happened."
— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) February 15, 2013
On February 15, the CEO of Carnival Cruise Line Gerry Cahill apologized to passengers and their families for the incident. Carnival Cruise Line said each passenger will receive a full refund of their trip and monetary compensation for their ordeal. – Rappler.com
