It's been a long week for the Carnival Cruise passengers and their families back home who were worried about their safety on board. Deon and Anna Harrelson of Carmi, IL say their son Robert Miles, who lives in Texas, has been on the ship since last Thursday. They say they've been scared to death, because their son has been stuck in the misery at sea.
It's been a long journey for Robert Miles and the 4,000 plus passengers on board this Carnival cruise ship. It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation to Mexico with his three friends, but it turned into cruise ship chaos. Robert's mother, Anna Harrelson says on Sunday, she got a recorded message from Carnival saying the ship's engines had caught fire.
"Everything in the world, I thought oh Lord, I've lost my child. Is the boat on fire? I didn't know what all exactly to think," Anna Harrelson said.
She says her son called Monday to say that he was okay. But what wasn't okay, were the sick conditions at sea.
"No shower. They had to use the restroom for the first two days in baggies and put it outside the door for someone to pick up and go throw away," Harrelson said.
The room was too hot, so Robert pulled the mattress out on the balcony to sleep. Harrelson says they had food, but there wasn't a way to keep it hot or cold.
"They would stand in line for four hours for a hamburger and then when they got there, some of them didn't get a hamburger, they got an onion sandwich and I was thinking, oh Lord is my child one of those that got an onion sandwich? And it really shook me up," Harrelson said.
"Pretty upsetting. It seems like they would have a back-up plan and this and that. Somebody said they had emergency stuff, but the emergency stuff was in the engine room which burned up," Deon Harrelson said.
The nightmare will soon be over for these passengers, but Harrelson says it won't stop her son from going on another cruise.
"I asked him that this morning. He said yes, he would, but that's the way Robert is. I mean he just likes, he likes adventures," Harrelson said.
And this is one adventure he won't soon forget.
Harrelson says when Robert gets back on land, he plans to thank God, kiss the ground, shower, and eat a steak dinner. Meanwhile, Carnival officials tell Robert, they will refund his money and pay for his hotel and travel expenses Thursday night.
It's been a long journey for Robert Miles and the 4,000 plus passengers on board this Carnival cruise ship. It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation to Mexico with his three friends, but it turned into cruise ship chaos. Robert's mother, Anna Harrelson says on Sunday, she got a recorded message from Carnival saying the ship's engines had caught fire.
"Everything in the world, I thought oh Lord, I've lost my child. Is the boat on fire? I didn't know what all exactly to think," Anna Harrelson said.
She says her son called Monday to say that he was okay. But what wasn't okay, were the sick conditions at sea.
"No shower. They had to use the restroom for the first two days in baggies and put it outside the door for someone to pick up and go throw away," Harrelson said.
The room was too hot, so Robert pulled the mattress out on the balcony to sleep. Harrelson says they had food, but there wasn't a way to keep it hot or cold.
"They would stand in line for four hours for a hamburger and then when they got there, some of them didn't get a hamburger, they got an onion sandwich and I was thinking, oh Lord is my child one of those that got an onion sandwich? And it really shook me up," Harrelson said.
"Pretty upsetting. It seems like they would have a back-up plan and this and that. Somebody said they had emergency stuff, but the emergency stuff was in the engine room which burned up," Deon Harrelson said.
The nightmare will soon be over for these passengers, but Harrelson says it won't stop her son from going on another cruise.
"I asked him that this morning. He said yes, he would, but that's the way Robert is. I mean he just likes, he likes adventures," Harrelson said.
And this is one adventure he won't soon forget.
Harrelson says when Robert gets back on land, he plans to thank God, kiss the ground, shower, and eat a steak dinner. Meanwhile, Carnival officials tell Robert, they will refund his money and pay for his hotel and travel expenses Thursday night.
