Carnival: Cruising With Karma

Karma, and the way it works can only be defined through speculation or in hind-sight. It goes by many different names and phrases, but it is best summed up with one word. Karma is an organism that pays us back for the way we played the hand we were dealt. Like God, karma is sovreign and indiscriminate. It's judgements can be instant, or they can take a lifetime. Like it or not; it always comes back around.

Carnival Cruise Lines has had some issues of late. First it was the Triumph. It broke down somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, and had to be towed to Mobile port, in the humble city of Mobile, Al. The ship was able to be towed here because we have a $29 million cruise terminal. This cruise terminal was built around the promise of a cruise line taking up residence in our city. The problem with this situation began when the great leaders of our city decided to go the "Field of Dreams" route by building this terminal with nothing more than a hand shake with Carnival. They still believe in honesty and good faith, I presume. The only clause that was agreed upon -not a contract- was a 90 day notice of when the cruise line would depart. They did. Despite the business folly of the Mobilian poopahs, it was still a low blow. In hind-sight, our port turned out to be more of a test market for Carnival, and we failed. New Orleans is a more central location in the Gulf region, and no one can really fault them for their decision to re-locate there.

When the Triumph was drug into our port, the mayor and his lackeys had an immediate rush of blood out of their heads. They charted a fantastical course of possible events that could lead Carnival back to our industrial shores. They tried everything. I would imagine that the mayor himself was on the ship explaining to the captain that we could suck all the shit out of the cabins, and supply a few mechanics and fire remediation folks to get the mighty, smelly Triumph restored to her former glory. Of course this was already being planned by the owners, and they did no more than blink at Mayor Sam Jones.*

Within the same week, two other Carnival ships, the Legend, and the Dream were stranded with the same problems. I found a story on newser.com, that detailed how many times these breakdowns have happened, who is rescuing their busted ships, how much American taxpayers are paying for it, and how Carnival gets away with it.

The article states that there have been 90 serious breakdowns in the past five years. Guess who comes to their rescue every time... The US Coast Gaurd, and The US Navy. We have spent multiple millions on rescuing them. The worst part is that Carnival Cruise Lines sail under the Panamanian flag, but are headquartered in Miami, FL. This allows them to avoid taxes, fair wages, and apparently, responsible oversight. They might need to invest some of their near $4 billion in revenue into some competent mechanics.

So after all of the news stories have evaporated, and our mayor and his council have dried their eyes, I have to wonder if karma is slapping the sewage out of Carnival. If not, someone should be looking into sabotage on a massive scale. In the meantime, Senator Chuck Schumer (D, NY) is on the case asking Carnival how they will pay us back for their mistakes. Maybe he and his people can turn them upside down and shake four million dollars out of their deep pockets. Don't hold your breath though; they can't even make American corporations pay what they are required, much less a foreign company.

Carnival, I hope you are able to start providing the most basic systems on your ships. There are manuals out there for every nut and bolt required to make your machines work. Someome should read them and maybe you can quit making us whore out our meager resources to fix your irresponsibility. We have wars to fund.

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