Smelly Sailing

In February of 2013, thousands of people prepared for a vacation to Cozumel, Mexico. Everyone was thrilled to spend a little over a week exploring places in the Gulf on the Carnival Triumph. For some, this was time to spend with friends, a getaway from reality, or a bonding experience for their future family. 

However, on the fourth night of the cruise, a fire broke out. Guests thought this was the worst part of the trip, although that was only the beginning. 

Come with MyKenna and Tori as they share their own thoughts on cruises, hear about the smelly stories of the Carnival Triumph, and if given a free cruise, which one would they choose?

References: 

“‘Poop Cruise’ Passengers Relive Infamous Trip 12 Years Later – From Going Number 2 in Bags to Sewage Spills,” People (2025)

“The True Story Behind Trainwreck: Poop Cruise” Time (2025)

“Trainwreck: Poop Cruise,” Netflix (2025)

“Carnival knew of fire danger before cruise, documents show” CNN (2013)

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Imagine being on island time, traveling to Cozumel, Mexico, preparing thousands for first-time adventures, family time, or maybe even eats that many may have never had before. Guests boarded Carnival Triumph in February 2013 to rest, relax, and make memories on a four-day cruise. Despite the beautiful beginning of the trip, the ending turned a little crappy.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

I'm McKenna. And you're listening to True Crime Teacher Time. Hola, emigos. Oh wow. Changing up the intro. Hi. Hi. Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Welcome to True Crime.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

Teacher Time.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

We are actually bulk recording right now. And I didn't think it would be this chaotic, but apparently we're going for it.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

All right. You guys might witness our school closing.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

So y'all almost got an announcement. We say, oop, gotta go. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

So what's the worst smell you've smelt in your classroom? Poop. Yes, same.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Um, two years ago. We so we have bathrooms in our classrooms because we have young ones. Not, you know, we have a bathroom door at the back, and they go into the bathroom, like a single, single bathroom.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Please, I know the story.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

You know what my story is? For like a week at least. I don't remember how long it was. We were smelling.

unknown 2:01

Poop.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

And we could not find the source. And we were like, you know, the bathroom was clean. And it wasn't, my principal came in and she was like, I'm gonna tell your custodian to clean your bathroom. And I was like, okay, but we've been searching. Searching for the source. It's not the bathroom, it's been cleaned since we started smelling it. Well, it's kind of a big room, and I had that year I had a box in there.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

With extra backpacks that they had given us, and I didn't have anywhere to put this box where it would fit. So I just put it in the corner. The bathroom was nowhere near the toilet. I mean, they're big bathrooms.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Yeah. I had mine. I had like a little table in there, and it sat. The box of book bags sat under the table.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Yes. So at one point we moved the box, and behind it, we found a few things. We found snack wrappers. Love it. Um, like from the cheese sticks. Yeah. That we get up for breakfast. And we found some dirty underwear that had not just dirty as in like worn dirty, but dirty as in dirty. Someone had gone in them. So now the question was who had gone in them?

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Yeah. Who's the pooper?

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Yeah. Oh, and there was also toilet paper where they had wiped and not put it in the toilet. So we're trying to figure out, and we narrowed it down to two kids that we figured, yeah, you know, and we're trying to figure out for the longest time because we're like, who did this? Well, something happened with one of my kids, and I don't know. I don't even know how to tell this part, but at one point, this child ended up with it on their shirt, like a streak down the front of their shirt. And they tried to tell me it was ice cream, right? It's like recess time for us, and it's like 12:30. And I said, I can see why that might feel like a good excuse, but we have not had ice cream today. And they're like into it, and I'm like, it's okay. I said, but we have to figure, you know, it out.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

We gotta fix this.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

We you need new clothes today.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Like and we also, you know, and at this point I was able to ask about, well, I was able to ask about other types. The underwear. Yeah. And it was admitted. But ironically, the cheese wrappers that were in there were the other student who we thought it might be. That student had been going in and having snacks.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Extra snacks. Because they get snack time. Yeah. But so that's the worst smell, and that's how that came to be.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

So what's yours?

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Well, so mine, I've already told this story, but it really is the worst I've ever smelled. The day that the toilets flooded, and I walked back in my classroom and opened the bathroom door, and there was poop all over the floor from when the bathroom, the next door, had flushed and it sit all of it into my classroom bathroom. I literally died.

SPEAKER_03 5:51

Oh, I forgot that that happened when that yes. So that was recently.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Yeah, that was a couple months ago.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

It was like January.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

But yeah, that was the absolute worst smell. And it's so funny that both of our experiences are with poop.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Because it's not surprising though.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

No, because that is the most foul thing.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

But also I don't know. Kids, I guess you never know. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

So listen, one year, my first year, and then I'll get started. But um, my first year, I had a kid that wasn't sure how to wipe. And the toilet paper, of course, is one ply, and so he's already struggling. And he walked out the classroom with it on his hands. And he was like, What do I do?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

And I was like, please wash your hands. That's what you do not touch anything. I will turn the water on. I will squirt soap in your hand. Please don't touch anything.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Do you have poop streaks on your wall?

SPEAKER_03 7:04

No, but I feel like just from stories of generally really the people on our hall.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

I feel like I'm the only one.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Congratulations. Because when you walk in my classroom, they're on the handrail, they're on the wall, they're everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Yes. They're everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Yikes. And you you use that bathroom sometimes. I have never once used. I have used that bathroom when we moved into this building before we had kids because we had like we worked for like three weeks before our kids came to school. Uh-huh. I used it then and haven't used it since six years.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

I chlorox every time. Okay. I really do. I chlorox before I go in every time.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

I have not used that. The only time I go into that bathroom is for lockdown drills.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

So being on track with the worst smell being poop, um, there was a cruise in February of 2013, and it was the Carnival Triumph. Guests were boarding in Galveston, Texas, and I mean guests by the thousands, like 4,000 people. And they were getting ready to go to Cozumel, Mexico for a four-day cruise. The first three days, absolutely amazing. They went to Cozumel, they got to explore the island, they got to enjoy the luxury of the boat. However, on that last day, the fourth day, the ship's engine room caught on fire. All aboard were woken up in the early hours of the morning to a loud alarm in their rooms. And all I can imagine is like the same fire alarm that we have here the day that the kids the fire alarm.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

I don't even think ours is that bad compared to some.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Oh. So it's gonna be ten times times worse.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

I've heard worse ones than that.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:28

Not here.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

But like out.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Yeah, like where they're like more ear piercing.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

This one just says fire. Exit the building, right? Yeah, but it's not, I don't think it's ear piercing.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

Okay. See, it it it makes me struggle. It psyches me out.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

Oh, I can't imagine like a really bad one.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

Huh.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

So that's what I imagine, because that's scary for me. Um, so they heard the alarm in their rooms, and it's going off everywhere. A chef on the cruise ship, Abby, remember seeing smoke coming through the drains of the kitchen. And so, like, he was hearing it, he was seeing the smoke come up. The cruise director, Jen, ran to the bridge and saw people on phones, radios, and realized, oh, so this was like serious. Like, I guess Jen, the director, thought maybe this was a false alarm or something along those lines. Right, exactly. But when she got out there, she realized that it was actually a fire, not just a drill or a false alarm. Oh, Jen. A guest named Ashley said that she remembered seeing flames shooting out of the big red fin, which is seen on all of the carnival ships. Okay. And so she saw flames coming from there.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

Oh, that's not good.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

Oh, and they're in the middle of the ocean.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

They sure are. You can't you can't leave. Mm-hmm. Shortly after the chaos, the crew announced that everything was under control. Was it? So guess we're like going back to their bedrooms and was just like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

Just saw fire, but alright, I'm gonna go back to sleep now. Right, exactly. And this is the last night. Right? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Although, due to the fire, many of the ship's electrical cables were destroyed. Leaving the ship ship, sorry, leaving the ship without power and drifting further into the Gulf of Mexico. Oh, we're not moving now. I mean, we are but not where we're supposed to go. Correct. Along with the drifting in the ocean, the no power mitt, no lights, no Wi-Fi or service, no air conditioning, no refrigeration, nor any working toilets.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

I mean not to go on a cruise. For I fear this would happen to one that I was on.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Guests heard the announcement, and seconds later, the air conditioning was turning off. So like they were.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

See, that's what gets me. That's not a vacation. Right.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

That's the 1800s.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm sure there was a little bit of wind, but uh still Carnival better be giving me my money back. So everyone kind of thought that that was enough chaos. They said, okay, that was chaos enough.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

Like I bet it's not.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

We're we're good now. We're just gonna have to figure out how to get the power back on. Only a short while after the air conditioning was off, the cruise director, Jen, realized that the toilets were unusable. They had to think of something to allow the guests to use restaurants.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Someone told me I couldn't use the bathroom. I would have to go worse than I have ever had to go before.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Well, that's okay. Because she didn't tell them they couldn't use the bathroom.

SPEAKER_03 13:36

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

She came up with a plan.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

And I don't think it was a good plan, Jen.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Their fix follows. Quote So, folks, um, if you do need a number one, everybody, you can do it in the shower. And if you do need to do a number two, what we're going to do is well, we're going to deliver some red bags to all the bathrooms on board. And if you do need to do a number two, we ask that you please do it in the red bag and drop it off in the bins in the corridor. Unquote.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

I'm I'm speechless. And I was about to ask if that was a quote, how it was said.

SPEAKER_02 14:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Who came over and said that? Was that Jen? Jen. Oh, Jen.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

The first director. Yes, yes.

unknown 14:32

Did Jen.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

So anyone, if this seemed like a good plan. I I think she did.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

At this point? I think she did. They might as well. And more than one person. But at this point. Because she had to talk to the captain about it. They might as well have just gone over. Overboard.

unknown 14:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:55

And I don't mean I just meant like go to the bathroom.

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Right. Just hold them over.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Most guests, but not all.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

You can't stop there. Continue. Because I don't know. I don't know. This can't be real.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Most guests, but not all, followed the new guidelines regarding bathroom use.

SPEAKER_03 15:32

So what are the ones that didn't do?

SPEAKER_02 15:34

However, the ones that were using it were super concerned about the cleanliness of this decision. After only one day of no restrooms, guests aboard could see, smell, and feel the sickness, quote, in the air of the lower decks.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

I can right now.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Along with the restrooms being out of order and turned into an unsanitary mess, the perishable foods began to quickly go bad in the heat. Because they're just out there. And the doo-doo. So this caused passengers to hoard the non-perishable items.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

So now it's like hunger games.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

It's like when snow hits in South Carolina and you can't find anything.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

Yes. Yeah. No toilet paper, no bread. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Yep. And to make it even worse, guests began building tents outside the decks because it was too hot to sleep in their rooms. Because remember, the rooms of a And now it smells. The rooms are down below. So they don't even get to feel the air that's going through that's filled with the sickness now.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

Um we're still just drifting.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Most of the guests referred to these as tent cities. Now these tents consisted of like sheets or towels being draped to cover an area from the sun, but to leave enough room for air to circulate during the evenings while people slept.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

And this is a vacation.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Correct. A rest and relaxation.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

R and R. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

R and R and P. Ew. So when everyone aboard the Carnival Triumph was dealing with the repercussions of no electricity, the crew was making contact with tugboats to bring the cruise ship into Mobile, Alabama. There's a port there.

SPEAKER_03 17:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:47

And if you thought that it couldn't go from bad to worse, it's that was worse.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

The worst.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

No, no. It's not. It's not though.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

I'm sitting down.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

So the cruise crew members were desperately trying to make the cruise worthwhile and at least manageable. So they decided to hold an open bar.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

I know where this is going.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

Maybe. I don't know. The cruise director Jen states she was definitely against the idea, considering that people would go nuts over it. Ultimately, an open bar was held, and many crew members recall it going well at burst. Although passengers began urinating off the side of the ship and throwing. They should have done that to start. And throwing the red poop bags onto the lifeboats.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

I'm judging so hard. But if I was in this situation, I would have to be at the open bar to cope.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:59

I don't know about going near the poop bags, though.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Oh, just wait. You didn't know towards them. The cruise chef, Avi, the one who saw the smoke come up. Um, he remembers that one of those red bags was meant to be thrown overboard, but the wind grabbed it and flung it back on someone sitting on the open deck below.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

And I'm I'm also picturing like a dog doo-doo bag.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

That's about it. Like one of those bags you would see in the hospital that like collette the needles.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Yeah, it's kind of similar. Like a mix.

SPEAKER_03 19:42

Yeah, and like a dog doo-doo bag when you that you take to imagine being that person.

SPEAKER_02 19:54

Eventually, fights began breaking out at the open bar, and the crew decided to shut it down.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

And that person couldn't shower. Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

So we went bad to worse, and you said worse was I don't know what this is. Well, this is worse to abhorrent. Okay. Okay. Guests began to calm down when they saw the tugboats ready to save the day. They were so excited. Although the weather did take a turn for the worse, causing the ship to rock aggressively against the waves while the tugboats were towing them. Would you like to make a guess? No. Okay. I gave everyone think time. The movement of the rocking boat caused the sewage from the drains and pipes to come out and flood the floors. People said that you would be walking down the hallway and suddenly hear just quish, quish, quish. This was urination, but also some feces from guests that did not follow the red bag guidelines.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Blink blink. That's literally what Tori just did. Blink blink.

SPEAKER_03 21:20

I this is like worst case scenario to me. Very much. Like therapy after this vacation.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

I need a vacation from my vacation.

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yes. But I don't know that I would go on vacation again after this.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

No. I think I've ruined boats for you.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

I really have.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

And I was like, oh, tell me it's better than the last one. A cruise sounds nice. No.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Is it over? I'm sure it's not. Well, so after days of dealing with the unsanitary, sometimes hostile situations. The Carnival Triumph was finally docked in Mobile, Alabama. Guests were let off and given a full refund, transportation expenses, a $500 payment, and another free cruise.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

I would just ask for monetary reimbursement. And who had to clean it?

SPEAKER_00 22:24

I didn't get that far.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

They must have been making some big bucks. Right? I would have to be if I had to clean the shape.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Just burn the ship and start from scratch.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Yeah, build a new ship and don't haul the triumph.

SPEAKER_02 22:37

So following this incident, Carnival stated that, quote, this was a teachable moment for the entire cruise industry, unquote. There was an investigation and it revealed a design flaw, which was corrected and led the Carnival cruise line to invest in their fleets specifically on fire prevention and new protocols that guide the health, environmental, safety, and security standards.

SPEAKER_03 23:07

That's good. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

Carnival also states: 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 these high standards.

SPEAKER_03 23:24

I'm so happy for them.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Yeah. They're still being productive. People are still going.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Did do they know what caused the fire?

SPEAKER_02 23:41

I think it was I think it was some electricity issue.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

But the fire shutting down all of that.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

So um I originally heard about this one on Netflix, and it was a show called Train Wrecks, and this is episode three.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

That's where I got Balloon Boy 2.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Poop Cruise. Oh, I'm I'm surprised I hadn't seen that one.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Huh. Okay. Yeah. So um it's called Poop Cruise, where guests and crew are interviewed, video footage from passengers are featured in crazy details of what it was like to be on the ship, as well as a family who only heard about the incident from media since there was no service. They only heard about the cruise, like the ship actually drifting in the ocean because media had heard about it, not because their families had contacted them.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

So I thought you were saying they were on the ship and didn't know that this was happening. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

Yeah. So you should now be able to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. And follow safety guidelines despite what you think of the guideline.

SPEAKER_03 24:55

Yes. If someone tells you not to use the toilet, the toilet, don't use the toilet.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

Find a different way. You're literally in the ocean.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

Yeah. That one was rough. That one was rough to get through. And so was the last one, but for different reasons.

SPEAKER_02 25:17

So listeners, what is one cruise that you have dreamed of going on?

SPEAKER_03 25:24

None now. I know the answer to yours, but what would mine be? Alaska.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:31

Yeah, because you you said that.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

Yeah. Um listening.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

If I had to pick one.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

Had to.

SPEAKER_03 25:44

At n at this point, I would love to do like a European cruise.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Yeah. That would be nice.

SPEAKER_03 25:51

Yeah. And all the European coastal cities.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

That would be really good.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

That's what I would like to do, but not for a while now. Not not really for a while anyway, because not till you forget about it. Well, I and I don't have that kind of money, but well. Wow. I hope you guys are okay after that one.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

Yeah. I guess I should have put a poop warning at the beginning.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Maybe you should in the episode description.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

I sure will. If you saw it, it's because we thought of it.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Now, right now.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

At the end. Yep. It'll be big and bold. Just like that ship.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

They were big and bold.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Yeah. Don't go on any cruises this week. Wait a while after that. Not this week. If you're getting ready to go on a cruise, we're sorry.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

Thanks for listening to True Crime Teacher Time. We'll see you bright and early next Monday morning.