Two days after Mardi Gras in 2013, national media descended on the Alabama Cruise Terminal, awaiting the nighttime arrival of a crippled cruise liner carrying 4,229 weary passengers.

Hundreds of miles away in the Gulf of Mexico, what began as a dream voyage to a Mexican paradise had turned into a nightmare. The Carnival Triumph, stranded after an engine fire on February 10, was adrift without power, air conditioning, or functioning toilets. Passengers used blankets to shield themselves from the sun while seeking refuge on the open deck. Food ran scarce as passengers told stories about eating tomato-and-onion sandwiches.

Red biohazard bags were handed out for defecation—a grim image that earned the vessel its infamous nickname: the “poop cruise.”

For Mobile, the spectacle became an unexpected stage. As the world watched, the city stepped in with calm and coordination, offering Carnival a safe harbor—and showcasing its readiness to reclaim a cruise industry that had walked away two years earlier.

“They said that Mobile is the closest port they could get into,” recalled State Rep. Sam Jones, Mobile’s mayor at the time. “At that time, we didn’t have a cruise ship. We were trying to recruit one back to Mobile.”

Documentary reactions

More than a decade later, the crisis and the ship that stayed a memorable 82 days in Mobile is back in the spotlight Tuesday in Netflix’s documentary, Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, which revisits the chaotic voyage through the eyes of some of those who were on board.

It’s unclear if anyone from Mobile was included in the 55-minute documentary. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office, through a spokesperson, declined comment.

“We thought, more than anything else, it was a humanitarian crisis,” Jones said. “It got national attention when the ship was starting to have issues. People felt they were going to be stranded on the ship.”

Carnival Cruise Line, appreciative of the role Mobile played in assisting the Miami-based company during the crisis, noted the incident occurred over 12 years ago and was a “teachable moment for the entire cruise industry.”

The company was not a participant in the Netflix episode.

“A thorough investigation following the incident revealed a design vulnerability which was corrected and led Carnival Cruise Line to invest more than $500 million across our entire fleet in comprehensive fire prevention and suppression, improved redundancy, and enhanced management systems, all in support of our commitment to robust safety standards,” the company’s statement said. “This is in addition to our vigorous Health, Environmental, Safety and Security (HESS) protocols that guide the entire Carnival Corporation fleet as we maintain our commitment to industry leadership in this area. We are proud of the fact that since 2013 over 53 million guests have enjoyed safe and memorable vacations with us, and we will continue to operate to these high standards.”

Mobile’s moment

Mobile was the chosen site for the Carnival Cruise Line to tow the Triumph, even if the city’s downtown terminal had been mostly dormant since 2011, the last time a cruise ship had sailed from Alabama.

Jones said proximity was the reason why Carnival Cruise Line reached out to the City of Mobile and asked for assistance. The cruise terminal, which opened in 2004, is a city-owned facility.

The ship had been drifting for over four days when it was towed into Mobile. The engine fire occurred on the third day after the cruise ship had departed Galveston, as it sailed to Cozumel.

For several days, the ship and the conditions on board it became part of a media sensation. CNN led the way in the coverage with anchor Erin Burnett reporting from Mobile to lead its wall-to-wall focus of the cruise ship. Other stations were also in Mobile, including Telemundo, Fox, MSNBC, among others.

As the ship arrived, passengers stood outside on balconies screaming, “Thank you, Alabama.” As the thousands departed, a few stuck around to be interviewed by the media throng. Approximately 100 buses were parked nearby, ready to take passengers to New Orleans where they would be able to catch a flight to Houston, and back to the cruise terminal in Galveston.

Problematic stay

After the frenzy, the ship remained in Mobile.

But more problems loomed.

On April 3, with wind gusts reaching 66 mph, the ship broke its moorings at BAE Systems, where it had been docked for initial repairs.

The nearly 900-foot cruise ship then floated uncontrolled across the river toward Mobile where it slammed into a pier and sent two shipyard workers plunging into the river. One of those workers, John R. “Buster” Johnson, died from the incident.

The Triumph then floated across the river and into the side of a marine vessel owned by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was being repaired at Signal Ship Repair. The incident left visible damage to the Triumph’s right stern.

The ship was then docked at the cruise terminal for the remainder of its stay in Mobile.

Before its departure, there was yet another moment of drama associated with the vessel. On April 24, the Triumph had to be evacuated after two barges containing gasoline at Oil Recovery Co. exploded. The multiple blasts injured three people but caused no damage to the vessel.

Finally, after 82 days, the ship departed Mobile on May 8. It sailed to the Bahamas for its final repairs before it was returned to service later that summer. In 2019, the Carnival Triumph underwent around $200 million in upgrades and was renamed the Carnival Sunrise. It currently sails from Miami toward Caribbean destinations.

Positive impact

During its stay in Mobile, the city generated over $350,000 for the vessel’s docking in Mobile, a hefty amount that helped provide a rare boost of revenue from the mostly abandoned cruise terminal.

Jones said the city’s performance in assisting the cruise company during the Triumph crisis had a “positive effect” on the industry returning to Mobile.

Three years later, Carnival Cruise Line resumed regular cruising out of Mobile. The activity then halted in 2020, during the pandemic. Three years after that, in May 2023, the Carnival Spirit began seasonal excursions from Mobile. Starting in 2027, cruising through Carnival Cruise Line will return to a year-round schedule with a yet-to-be-named ship.

Stewart Chiron, a longtime cruise industry analyst who goes by the name, “The Cruise Guy,” said he doesn’t believe the city’s handling of the Carnival Triumph crisis resulted in the cruise industry resuming in Mobile. However, he said that both Jones and Stimpson have, over the years, “fought very hard” to ensure there was a cruise ship sailing from the city’s cruise terminal.

“Does it get the highest revenue? No,” Chiron said about cruising from Mobile, something that he has long commented about. “The highest rates? The ship could do better and probably could increase occupancy and have higher rates in another city. Yet, (Carnival Cruise Line) continues to utilize Mobile which has a lot to do with the local support and the hospitality that is offered and continues to be shown.”

He added, “Mobile has shown, time and again, that it’s a great friend of the industry.”