Triumph...

I’ve been in the travel industry a while. Long enough to know that there was really nothing Carnival could do to get their passengers home quickly. They did not have another ship. They did not learn from the engine fire that disabled the Carnival Splendor in 2010 on a West Coast Mexico cruise. They could not pick and choose passengers to be “saved” and “not saved” other than the one who had a pre-existing condition.

But the blame need not be entirely Carnival.

The United States does not require a U.S citizen to carry a U.S Passport when they leave the country by car (driving in and out of Mexico or Canada) or ship (roundtrip from the same U.S port). However, they do require U.S citizens to have a U.S Passport to fly into the United States from a foreign country. Had the United States required all U.S citizens leaving the United States to have a U.S Passport – Then the Carnival Triumph could have docked in Mexico, which was about 150 miles away from the Yucatan Peninsula when the fire broke out. The passengers would only have perhaps a day of discomfort as they traveled back to Mexico and be flown to the United States from there.

But unfortunately, 900 passengers did not have U.S Passports to fly into the United States from Mexico. Rather than split everyone up – Carnival decided to make the 5-day trek to a U.S port, being towed by tugboats going roughly 7MPH. The same decision they made in 2010 when it took 3 days to get the Carnival Splendor to San Diego (200 miles away) vs. Ensenada, Mexico (which was only about 50 miles away).

Now the thing is, all U.S citizens who are passengers on a cruise ship, need to have a U.S passport for the cruise line to make the decision to port in a foreign country and fly everyone back home. This means EVERYONE. It is not enough that I have a passport or my family all have passports. If the couple in the stateroom next to me does not have a passport – We’re screwed. We have to stay. A cruise line isn’t going to just save “some” of their passengers and make those who do not have passports stay behind. It could have made conditions on the Triumph a little more bearable having less passengers taking up food and bathrooms, but I don’t believe it would have been ethical.

If the United States government required every U.S citizen to have a U.S passport to travel – Then accidents like this wouldn’t have been a drawn out mess.

“Hey look, we have had a fire and now we have no power. There’s land, let’s have the tug boats head for that!”

“Aw crap, it’s Mexico. We can’t. We need to be towed 5-days by tug boats to the United States since they don’t require its citizens to have passports to be on the ship, but they need them to fly home from Mexico.”

“But Mexico is right there! I can throw a rock and hit it!"

 “Oh well.”

As a travel agent – I always recommend a passport for any cruise or even if you’re just flying to Hawaii/St. Thomas/Puerto Rico/American Samoa/(insert other U.S territory here). You never know if for some bizarre circumstance you find yourself stuck because you do not have any documentation to get back home. Hawaii flights can get re-routed to Canada or Mexico or the U.S borders could close while you’re in the air or on a cruise (think 9/11). You can even be on a cruise shore excursion in Mexico/Jamaica/Belize/(insert other cruise destination here) and become involved in an accident and end up in the hospital – The cruise ship will not to wait for you. Once you’re well enough to travel, you’re going to have to find the nearest U.S Embassy or Consulate to get back home and sometimes the nearest, isn’t in the same area you are stranded.

Now, if you are a U.S citizen and you are “stuck” outside the United States in a foreign country, like Great Britain, because you lost your U.S Passport – It doesn’t mean you can’t come home. It just means you may be staying a few extra days as you locate the U.S Embassy or Consulate. They will be able to assist you in getting back home. But that’s different – You already have a U.S passport.

I cannot imagine what the passengers and crew of the Carnival Triumph had to go through. I refuse to look at pictures of sewage or read detailed stories of what happened. I get sick every time. There are no words to describe the horror, disappointment, or the unsafe conditions these passengers endured. There is no way I would be ok if I had this experience.

I’ve been blessed to have sailed on 7 cruises on 4 cruise lines (Holland America, Celebrity, Carnival and Royal Caribbean) and the worst thing that ever happened to me was getting a little seasick. Even being re-routed and having all my shore excursions cancelled due to Hurricane Norbert did not hinder me having the time of my life.

I hope the U.S Government will make revisions to the Western Hemisphere Initiative to allow either one of two things:

• Allow U.S citizens to fly into the United States from Canada or Mexico with the documentation that was required for them to leave the United States (proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate + government issued photo id) when the transportation that was used to leave the United States (such as car or cruise ship) has been damaged beyond reasonable repair or has been deemed unsafe for use 

OR

• Require all cruise lines with cruises that embark from a United States port, regardless of destination or itinerary, ensure that all U.S passengers have U.S passports to sail on their vessel. 

http://fox43.com/news/stories/carnival-triumph-cruise-engine-fire/#axzz2LJESOGhK
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_2223.html
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/international_travel_tips.xml