In February 2013, the Carnival Triumph cruise ship set sail from Galveston,

 In February 2013, the Carnival Triumph cruise ship set sail from Galveston, Texas, bound for the Caribbean with over 4,200 passengers and crew on board. Two days into the trip, a fire broke out in the engine room, disabling the ship’s power and leaving it stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. With no electricity, air conditioning, or functioning plumbing, what was meant to be a luxury vacation quickly turned into a nightmare at sea.

As the days went on, toilets overflowed and sewage began flooding the lower decks, soaking carpets and walls. Passengers reported human waste leaking into hallways and dripping from ceilings. 

They were forced to sleep on the open decks to escape the unbearable stench and heat, using makeshift tents out of bed sheets. Crew members rationed food, handing out dry cereal, onion sandwiches, and warm water while the ship drifted helplessly in the Gulf.

The U.S. Coast Guard eventually dispatched tugboats to tow the disabled ship more than 500 miles to Mobile, Alabama, but the process took days. Passengers described conditions as “deplorable,” with overflowing toilets, limited food, and raw sewage collecting in buckets and trash bags. News outlets began calling it “The Poop Cruise,” as photos and videos surfaced of passengers waving signs begging for rescue.

When the Triumph finally docked on February 14, passengers had been stranded for five days in worsening sanitary conditions. Dozens filed lawsuits against Carnival, citing physical and psychological distress. Carnival later apologized and provided refunds and travel credits, but the incident became one of the most infamous maritime disasters in modern cruise history, a floating hotel that turned into a biohazard zone adrift at sea.