Over its 41 years, Carnival Cruise Line has had a checkered past. In its heyday, Carnival was the cruise brand known for innovation, but more recently it has become known as the brand with PR disasters to deal with.
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Last week, Carnival's 'Triumph' ship was towed into Mobile, Alabama after almost a week stuck at sea due to an engine fire.
The testimonies from the passengers are truly disgusting: Hallways were flooded with human waste, there was no A/C or running water, and passengers were left to survive on limited food and water. The Triumph was given the nickname "poop cruise" because passengers were forced to use the bathroom in bags.
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But do these PR crises have a lasting effect? According to Jaunted, trips aboard 'Triumph' can already be booked for as early as April of this year. That's only two months after passengers said that the floors were "flooded with sewer water."
This type of disaster is not new for Carnival. It experienced very similar situations in 1998, 1999, and 2010. And let's not forget about the Costa Concordia disaster in Italy last year in which the ship capsized, killing 32 passengers. (Carnival owns Costa Concordia).
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It has also had to deal with circumstances of passengers jumping overboard to their deaths.
But with every PR disaster in Carnival's history, it has also experienced record-breaking good moments.
Carnival was the original brand to pioneer the concept of shorter, less expensive cruises. It built the first ship to weigh more than 100,000 tons, as well as the world's first non-smoking ship.
The cruise company's on-board service has won numerous awards, including three Cruise Critic Editor's Picks —best new ship, best bar, and best value in 2012.
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