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Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's the media doing what they do best and that's stirring the pot. Alright, so if y'all have been following our trusted media sources here in the States, then you've been well aware that Carnival Cruise Line is back in the spotlight yet again. Here's the spark notes version: Carnival Dream, Carnival Legend and Carnival Elation were all reported to have somewhat similar issues with propulsion systems on their respective ships. This comes to light after the fiasco with Carnival Triumph last month where thousands were stranded at sea for about 4 days. So, now we all want to know the same question: What's going on with the ship in Carnival's fleet? THEN before I closed my eyes for bed last night, guess what? Yet another cruise ship was reported having issues, P&O Cruises' Ventura. Then this morning I saw a report stating Regent's Seven Seas Voyager is also experiencing some propulsion problems. And so what? Seriously people, there comes a point in our lives we have to decide if we're going to cower and live in fear or step out and travel the world we've dreamed about and seen on Google Images. What's the worse that can happen? You get a free cruise out of the deal? Hmm... sounds like a bargain to me, right? If you are a fan of my Facebook Fan Page, you may have seen me post this picture from when I sailed Carnival Pride last November. Instantly, the comments began pouring in and you can see many cruise fans like you and me are still sailing and not allowing any of this to set us back from enjoying high seas adventures - including on Carnival Cruise Line vessels. In fact, I'm still sailing Carnival Glory with my hot mess of a family for what's going to be THE family cruise of the year coming up in May. Past, present and future cruise ship incidents will not stop me... ever! I know who holds tomorrow and He'll never let go of my hand. So SHOULD something happen to one of the ships I'm currently booked on, know I'll be alright. In fact, I'll be the Black guy running around on the deck praising God and shouting (be sure to get some good stills of me)! Like I said in My Thoughts on Carnival Triumph, I am no stranger to cruise ship incidents. In fact, I remember back in 2006 when I tried my second attempt at a cruise to Grand Cayman, Carnival Imagination was docked in Miami with a propulsion system that wasn't at 100%. They told us we would sail to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas instead - staying oversight in each port (where they were going to work on the ship while we were having fun, LOL). We got to pick if we still wanted to sail or go back home. What do you think I did? Yup! Sure did, and had a blast! Carnival took real good care of us: gave us on-board credit and money back on pre-booked shore excursions. It's not stopping me, it hasn't stopped me and it never will. That's my piece and I'm sticking to it! LONG LIVE CRUISE VACATIONS! As always, you're cruisetacular for reading! Until we talk ship next Monday--Shon! P.S. Please keep the two passengers who were sailing P&O Cruises' Adonia in your prayers. The husband and wife duo were injured with gun shot as they were walking en route back to their vessel in Bridgetown, Barbados. They have been taken to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Barbados and are being treated for their respective wounds according to Cruise Law News. Get the full story here.

Carnival Triumph re-entering U.S. waters in Mobile, Alabama. Photo Credit: gCaptain What happened was truly unfortunate. The conditions on-board I can't even begin to fathom -- from having no air conditioning, to the exposure many had to bodily waste, and having to use bags as lavatories truly could evoke testing times... but let's look put things in perspective. This was an incident that falls back on Carnival Cruise Line 100%, no doubting that. But Carnival handled this like the crisis management pros they are.Carnival Conquest, Carnival Elation and Carnival Legend --who also sail Western Caribbean waters-- were dispatched to aid Carnival Triumph with food, supplies and even transportation of passengers with pre-existing medical conditions that needed assistance. They gave everyone their money back, transportation back home and post-cruise hotel arrangements, motor-coach bus service and even additional monetary compensation for this disaster. Did I mention Carnival's CEO Gerry Cahill flew to Mobile, Alabama, boarded Carnival Triumph and personally apologized to the passengers and crew in person, can you say cruise hero? Truly amazing! Now Here's My 2 Cents... One report I read stated there were about 45 people on-board who had Bible Study and said the encouragement they had in their time with the Lord while stranded at sea, gave them hope that they would return back home just fine. I was so elated to hear of this because as a cruiser who has also been on ships where catastrophes have happened and being a follower of Jesus Christ, I know there's is something special and incomparable that happens between people and God while on the high seas. I've been on ships where engines have stalled, ocean waves have turned violent, passengers have died and had medical emergencies and hurricanes have shown their ugly side. But the one thing I know works and has helped me in my time of peril while at sea, is prayer to and worship of the Lord. It may sound crazy to some, but to me it's an innate reaction. Whenever I'd hear that "unknown" noise on a ship, see waves come closer than I was planning, or hear the Captain come over the PA system with a late night announcement, I do just what I was taught growing up -- stop, drop and pray! I've learned in my life that unexpected problems is not the issue, but WE are. Stop hoping for your problems to change and YOU change -- change your perspective, outlook and decide to speak encouraging and positive words over your situation. God set the Isrealites free from Pharaoh and wanted to take them into the promise land He had for them... then they wandered in the wilderness for a whole 40 years. Why? Because their attitude and mindset put them there! God knew their mindset wasn't ready to take on the enemies they'd have to battle for full possession of the Promised Land so instead of leading them the way of 11 days, they kept making donuts in the desert for 40 whole years. Now I am in no way saying that the mindset and attitudes of the persons on-board Carnival Triumph caused this incident to happen, but I do think had an optimistic and positive atmosphere been birthed, both on land and at sea, their deliverance could have come sooner than it played out. I'm not negating the harsh conditions aboard the passengers experienced, I'm not suggesting that this cruise was a good one, nor am I saying these people shouldn't be mad with Carnival about what happened. But what if the 45 people who gathered for worship turned into 450 or even all 4,000 people on the ship, standing together in praise and worship; making the best of their conditions and keeping a positive mindset awaiting a miraculous happening. And on the contrary, what if all the sources bad-mouthing Carnival and this cruise turned their hot air into prayer (yes, this includes the media). What could have happened? Could you imagine? Millions gathering in prayer and not pointing their fingers? I could keep going on with this BUT, I'm glad to say it's over, see everyone disembark fine and get back to living life as they know it. They're all back safe and sound -- with Triumphant bath robes! Photo Credit: NY Daily News Some of y'all think what I just said is crazy, "off the deep end" or even unreal. But I do believe that when we band together in courage and faith, hoping for the impossible, God will honor that act. So next time all hell breaks lose instead of getting worked up and looking for someone to blame, begin to pray and trust God to make the impossible possible. For with man, things may look grim, but with God ALL THINGS are possible! Next time you hear of a high seas tragedy, stop bad-mouthing and being a negative Nancey, but start believing the best -- your negativity won't help anything, but your positive thoughts will be infectious and be more beneficial than you'd know. That's my piece and I'm sticking by it. Until we talk ship again--Shon!

The Carnival Triumph safely returned to port after an ordeal at sea. I’m happy to say that, during the intense media coverage on CNN and other networks—which I was corralled into—passengers unanimously praised the tireless hard work and positive attitude of the crew. There were many horror stories about poor sanitation on the crippled ship. Alas, these are not always relegated to disaster. Allow me to share a particularly gross ship I worked on for months. We crew endure this for you, dear passenger. Gross things are common on cruise ships. No, not the gastronomic atrocities occurring nonstop at the buffets—horrifying as that may be to quantify—but what lies below the waterline. Not the slimy, oil-tainted waters of the bilge, either. I’m talking about what life is like on the crew decks. Carnival Triumph recently made the news when a fire left it without propulsion, little running water, less electricity, and utterly bereft of sanitation. One passenger reported “sewage running down the walls and floors” and said travelers were being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers because toilets weren’t functioning. Understandably shocking, considering how rarely passengers endure such privations. The crew deal with it every day. It should be noted they bring it on themselves. Crew are generally denied food in their cabins because it invariably ends up in the toilets in a most nonbiological manner. Hiding evidence of a smuggled, late night snack is always the same: flush it. After all, there are no portholes twenty feet below the sea. But ship toilets are very, very sensitive. The crew? Not so much. When working on RCI’s Majesty of the Seas, fish bones backed up the sewage system so often that the entire aft crew deck smelled like feces. Literally. And this was where the crew kitchen and dining room were located! Oddly enough, this disposing of contraband was the only time many flushed the toilets at all. This can be partly explained by the wide variety of nationalities that compose the crew. Hygiene standards vary radically from nation to nation, but are all but absent in some developing nations. Such is the resource pool from which the cruise industry hires its labor. When first indoctrinated into crew, on day one, everyone is educated on what is required for first-world hygienic standards. They are ordered to wash daily and to use deodorant, whether they ‘need’ it or not. Many even comply. But when working a minimum of eighty hours a week without a day off for ten months straight, focus flags. On Majesty of the Seas, these men—for they were invariably so—lived in tiny, shared cabins along the main corridor leading to the crew mess. Tucked between were communal showers and toilets. Everything was crowded, everything stank. And it was stiflingly hot. Because the cooling system was also spotty, all doors were always open. Three times a day, on the way to every meal, I passed dozens of overworked zombies brushing their teeth beside toilets filled to the brim, lids wide open. A perfect appetizer for a enjoying a meal in a latrine. I learned about such things in dramatic fashion upon signing onto Majesty as a junior officer. After returning to my cabin, I discovered a man wearing officers’ whites bent over my desk, examining the contents. While there was no pretext of privacy on a cruise ship, having my own cabin had given me delusions of it. Upon hearing me enter, the man shoved the drawer shut and irritably snapped, “Cabin inspection. I have reports that you routinely order room service. This is highly improper and will not continue. We have a cockroach problem in the stern deck, and I will not have it spread into this section of the ship.” I didn’t have time to explain that I had just arrived because he brushed me aside to search my shower. Because cabin inspections were conducted by each department head and, since I was a department head, I suddenly realized the man searching my toilet was the most powerful officer beside the captain himself! He dropped the toilet lid with a slam, trying to hide his disdain behind a professional countenance. His grimace worked through. “No fish bones,” I said cheerily. He glared at me and replied, “I am seeking a shoe.” “Um… shoes?” I asked, confused. He corrected me sharply, “A shoe! The entire sewage system is backed up ship-wide because a crewman flushed a shoe down the toilet this morning.” Brian David Bruns is the best-selling author of Cruise Confidential and Ship for Brains, the latter from which the above story is taken.

A Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean is operating on emergency power in the wake of an engine room fire.The 102,000-ton Carnival Triumph was sailing approximately 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula earlier today when the blaze broke out in the aft engine room. The fire was extinguished with the help of the ship's automatic fire suppression systems, but the vessel is now without propulsion. In a statement sent to USA TODAY, Carnival says no casualties or injuries to passengers or crew have been reported. "The ship's technical crew is continuing to assess the damage and attempting to restore power," Carnival says in the statement. "In the meantime, a tugboat is being dispatched to the ship's location in the event it is needed. All appropriate authorities including U.S. Coast Guard have been notified." There are 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew on board the ship.Today's incident comes two years after a fire left Carnival's 113,000-ton Carnival Splendor without power and adrift for days off the coast of Mexico. Passengers on that ship went long periods without air conditioning, hot food and working toilets in what Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill called an extremely trying situation. The vessel eventually was towed to San Diego. Carnival says passengers on the Carnival Triumph have been asked to remain in the ship's public areas and open decks. They're being provided with food and refreshments. Carnival also says that all passengers on the vessel will receive a full refund for the trip, a four-night sailing to Mexico out of Galveston, Texas. The voyage began Thursday and had been scheduled to end in Galveston on Monday morning. The next voyage of the Carnival Triumph, scheduled to begin tomorrow, has been delayed. "Carnival has contacted guests booked on the next voyage ... to make them aware of the situation and advise that tomorrow's voyage will not depart as scheduled," the line says in the statement. "Guests have the option of cancelling now and receiving a full refund or waiting for further information to determine if a shortened, partial voyage may be possible. Further updates will be provided as information becomes available." SOURCE: UsaToday