WWLTV.com
Email: webteam@wwltv.com | Twitter: @WWLTV
GULF OF MEXICO -- Carnival Cruise Lines are working to accommodate passengers aboard a severely disabled ship, Carnival Triumph, once it is brought to shore after an engine-room fire left the vessel powerless in the Gulf of Mexico.
Carnival Triumph 3,143 guests will be given the option of boarding buses directly to Galveston -- the port of origin -- or Houston, Texas, or allowed to spend the night in a hotel in New Orleans to rest before flying out on private charters the following day.
According to a spokesperson, Carnival will cover all travel related and incidental expenses.
"Carnival has reserved and arranged the following: approximately 100 motor coaches; more than 1,500 New Orleans hotel rooms; multiple charter flights from New Orleans to Houston on Friday; and transportation from Houston to the Port of Galveston so that guests may retrieve their cars if they drove to the port," said a statement from Carnival.
Two hundred representatives are expected to be awaiting the passengers when the ship is towed to Mobile, Ala. on Thursday. A third towing vessel is being sent to assist bring the ship to port, according to a Carnival spokesperson.
