Winners & Losers (March 18, 2013)

Carnival, a perennial CB Loser, stepped in it again when a fire broke out in the engine room of the Triumph cruise ship on Feb. 10, knocking out not only the ship’s propulsion, but also its support systems. The accident left 4,200 passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for four days without food or toilet facilities. Vacationers were forced to sleep on the decks and in hallways as cabins reportedly became “ankle deep” in sewage. No, you’re not reading an old issue of Canadian Business—the exact same thing happened last year to the Allegra, a ship run by Carnival’s Costa subsidiary, while sailing in the pirate-plagued Indian Ocean. That accident came only a month after the Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy, killing 32 passengers. Which once again raises the question: Why are people still paying $1,600 a pop to travel on these floating (if you’re lucky) disaster areas? Granted, sleeping in sewage gives you a story to tell and makes your cruise a little more interesting—but come on. At least this time, Carnival had help ruining its customers’ vacations. After the ironically named Triumph was finally towed to shore, the bus transporting passengers to the airport broke down. Actually, that turned out to be fortunate, as the airplane they were scheduled to take was then delayed two hours following an electrical failure. Thanks for another trip to remember!