Travelers reflect on Carnival Cruise ship nightmare
/ Tom Eschen
SYRACUSE -- As passengers cheered getting off the disabled Carnival cruise ship, Evelyn and Ron Snider prepared for a cruise of their own. Although aware of the dismal conditions, the Snider's waited for their flight in Hancock Airport this afternoon, undaunted by the recent cruise ship issues.
"If you're going with a good cruise line, maybe their maintenance is better, I don't know, we're not too worried anyways," Ron Snider says. Evelyn Snider added, "I always look for a ship that's upgraded, and fairly new."
The Sniders say human error could happen at any time, on a flight, on a ship or at a resort, which is why, as veterans of going on cruises, they say they are not too worried about it. They say "you get what you pay for", and to pick the right cruise line.
Amy Benson Jarvis, a travel consultant at The Travel Store in Fayetteville, agrees with the Sniders, saying some of the older cruise ships are not updated, and that investing some more money will provide for a safer and more comfortable experience. But, Jarvis says this latest cruise ship issue has cut her cruise sales in half in recent years, something she does not believe is going away.
"So many things have been happening with cruise ships in the last few years that this is going to stick around for awhile," Jarvis, who has been in the business for 30 years, says. "It's not going to be one of those, 'oh, it just happened once', this seems to be a pattern, and people are going to keep thinking about that."
Several travelers at Hancock Airport were thinking about it, and say the recent events could affect their decision to take a cruise down the road.
"I love cruises," Jackie Nyhan says. "I went for Christmas last year to the Bahamas, it was amazing, I actually took Carnival, but now I'm not so sure, it does make me a little nervous."
Nyhan said she could not imagine being on a cruise ship without food or water and in a place where the toilets could not be flushed, saying it would ruin her vacation. Shawn Dodd agreed, saying he is worried about his grandparents and parents who enjoy cruises.
"It's kind of terrifying," Dodd says. "When you go on vacation you don't expect to deal with all that..all the sanitary issues and things like that."
Amy Benson Jarvis says she believes people will gravitate toward higher end cruise lines to try and avoid anything bad from happening on their vacation.
