The Voyage of a Lifetime

What was billed as a dream cruise and seven days of fun on the Mexican Riviera turned into a nightmare this week for the 3000 "guests" aboard the Carnival Splendor, when a fire in the engine room cut off all power on the ship. Looking forward to tucking in to "lavish seafood buffets", the distraught passengers instead had to contend with tins of spam. Survivors spoke of no toilets and no water, of people being sick and of vomit spreading everywhere, including to what was referred to as the "food area". One passenger said that the food area was a horrible sight "vomit-wise", and a potentially dangerous situation was only averted by the management's decision to provide free alcohol to everyone.