What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I was blocked, stymied, brain-dead. Between being cooped up inside because of cold, sleet and freezing rain and fighting the bureaucracy that is the Mass. DUA (department of unemployment administration), All I could see was a blank screen when I tried to prepare a post for yesterday but today the news has dropped a topic right in my lap.  It seems that Carnival Cruise lines is still on the “sick list”.

Just a couple of days ago Carnival Fascination received a surprise inspection from the CDC. According to the article in USA Today, all cruise ships that dock in American ports are subject to surprise inspections twice per year. The article states the ship failed due to cleanliness.  Citing live flies, dried food waste and even a “roach nymph,” inspectors for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fascination a failing health grade. (To read the whole article click here http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/04/11/carnival-fascination-cdc-health-inspection/2074175/

But that wasn’t the only cruise ship mishap in the news this morning. The one that made me perk up my ears was the name PRINCESS. We will be traveling on a Princess Ship when we sail to Alaska.

So what now? What has plagued the Princess ship?

A news station in Houston is reporting that the Carnival-owned Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess experienced a blockage within the vacuum toilet system which affected some 410 staterooms in the aft part of the cruise ship. The news station quoted a passenger saying “by the bathroom, it was flooded, it was wet in the carpet.” Another passenger said the ship “smelled of backed-up sewer.” Many passengers couldn’t use the toilets in their cabins. Passengers had to get up in the night and take elevators to use the public restrooms.  One passenger told the Houston news station: “I will never, ever, ever, ever cruise with Princess again, ever.

Carnival, especially since the Triumph disaster, has been dubbed the “poop” ships. Princess cruise lines is owned by Carnival but treated as a separate entity with its own management but this may be the first glimmer that the same problems that plague the parent company may be “trickling down”. (pun intended)

The Crown Princess has had problems before. About 2 months ago it made the news when a passenger went overboard. The article I found states it was the Coral Princess but Cruise Law News  reports it as the Crown Princess…typo error or multiple incidents? I don’t know. Just be sure to hang on to the rails! It was also the Crown Princess that was hit with the dreaded norovirus on a transatlantic trip from Venice, Italy.

So it appears the cruise ship industry continues to be plagued with problems. One thing is sure, get ready for deep discounts as the cruise lines attempt to lure back skittish travelers. Carnival has already introduced fares as low as $38.00/day for 4 day Caribbean  cruises. My guess would be to expect more to come on the heels of this negative publicity.

My limited experience so far has been positive. In about a month my sister and I will be off on our Alaska adventure which starts with a 7 day cruise on Princess Lines. It is my sister’s first cruise and the longest one I will have taken. Here’s hoping my positive experiences continue.