Floridians have long enjoyed the perks of living near major bodies of water, and living near ports where cruises arrive and depart have been a part of the Florida-dream. Carnival is one of the biggest cruise lines that departs from the Port of Tampa, and given their recent issues, people from all over the world are rethinking the way they vacation.

  Carnival’s ships “Dream”, “Triumph”, “Legend”, and “Elation” have all been experiencing difficulties in the past few weeks, the worse of it being with the aptly named “Triumph” ship. The “Triumph” was stranded at sea for days following a fire in the engine room, causing the over 3000 passengers on board to live in unsanitary conditions. Many were sleeping on deck of the ships, unable to shower or even use the bathroom. Passengers were forced to defecate into bags and leave them in hallways to be picked up.

  Merely weeks later, carnival’s “Legend”, “Dream” and “Elation” all had similar issues. While none were stranded at sea for nearly as long, all of the cruises were cut short and many passengers felt angry that crew kept them in the dark about what was really happening.

  One cruise, the “Legend”, had departed from Tampa and was scheduled to arrive back in Tampa. After experiencing difficulties with the engines, the cruise was cut short, which meant that cruise goers missed two ports of call.

  “We’ve got tugboats behind us folks, Carnival Legend is about to lose our engines!” said Ashley Buchanon on her Facebook page. Buchanon is local USF student who was on this ship for her honeymoon gone awry. “I am just mad that they kept us in the dark for so long, and that we are missing two ports of call but they are only saying we missed one.”

  Many others on-board the ships posted angry comments to the cruise-lines Facebook page, demanding refunds and discouraging anyone from going on a Carnival cruise. Many are questioning the maintenance of the cruise ships, as they are not regulated as strictly as airplane maintenance or even train maintenance.

  To those considering a cruise in the future, these recent events have changed many minds. “I wouldn’t buy a ticket for one [cruise] mainly because I don’t want to be trapped on a boat with thousands of people,” said John Emery, an HCC math tutor. To others, the cruise issues will not stop them from enjoying the sea. “I had a really great time. I got to meet great people and had a blast,” said Franky Jackson, HCC student and recent passenger of a recent Carnival cruise that went off without a hitch. “It [ship issues] sucks, but it happens.” said Jackson.

  Whether or not the recent national cruise-line mishaps will help you decide on your next vacation destination, one thing will be certain: parking at the port of Tampa will be much better in the coming weeks.