Really? An aircraft carrier?
113,600 tons of military vessel with 5,600 souls aboard (in other words, consuming a big hunk of tax money) were redirected in order to help a commercial vessel (in other words, fully insured, paid for by investors and clients) survive for fewer than three days less than 150 miles from mainland?
Oy.
And according to Gerry Cahill, CEO of Carnival, "this was an extremely trying situation for our guests." Yes, it's rough being deprived of shuffleboard after 8:00pm (because you're only on auxiliary power). Can you imagine the game of hide-and-seek-in-the-dark you can have on thirteen decks?
Man, give me a week on a luxury cruise ship only on auxiliary power, with a "next cruise free" ticket in hand. Now that's a vacation. These are the most blessed 4,000 alive this week.
Why did they need the DOD to chip in again?
~emrys
1 comment:
I suspect that the passengers weren't put out because of not being able to play shuffleboard, but because the auxiliary power didn't extend to the casino and slot machines or the "Las Vegas showgirls" act. Back in 2004 John and I went on a 3-day trip on a Carnival cruise ship, along with several members of our extended family, on a Baja California route similar to the stranded ship's route. While we had a good family reunion time, most of the other passengers seemed to be college students or others interested mainly in boozing and acting out. If the Splendor's passengers were like that, maybe the crew were thinking they might need the Navy's support for riot control?! But you're absolutely right-- diverting an aircraft carrier to the scene was a colossal waste of taxpayers' money.
Cheers, Barbara S.
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