and while it may be a ship,, it is certainly not a boat towing this vessle !!! boats don't tow 1000 foot long ships into port !!! it is a marine towing vessel & apparently doesn't consider preventive repairs essential to fulfilling its obligations !!! i know of no major storm in the gulf of mexico that could snap an adequate towline,, so either they were underprepared or their equipment was bum from the outset !!! either way we need a congessional investigation into the cruise ship industry.. can you say costa concordia ??? there was trouble below & the captain went to get help ???? really !!!!

open letter to the governor of alabama,, dear sir/madam,, in light of carnivals recent misadventure,, i strongly suggest to you sir,, that a deployment of national guard be onhand,, as the temperment of the abused passengers,, might become slightly unpleasant ... a handful of mobile police officers might not be sufficent to the anguish these folks are feeling suh !!!

i can hardly wait to see the news with 3000 plus angry people coming off the ship & swinging at anyone wearing a carnival cruise line uniform... mobile had best have the C.D.C.U. UNITS DEPLOYED,, as i see an awful lot of angry folks coming ashore,, & they ain't gonna be happy about that 2 hour bus ride to nawleans dahling !!!!

stay tuned folks,, i'll be bringing my own family sized liferaft when & if we go,, & at the 1st sign of trouble, i'll find my way down to a sea door & launch the raft with my famly aboard & deploy the e-beacon & force the coast guard to come get us... i'll be damned if i suffer like these folks have !!!

and in cases such as this,, the coast guard needs to be the deciding factor in who tows the vessel into port,, not the company... the company has already illustrated its unwillingness to do the right thing by safeguarding their vessel,, the coast guard needs to impose its authority when American lives are endangered such as this !!!i'll start using capital letters for the boys in blue when they impose their authority to safeguard lives of Americans !!!!! cut aid to 3rd world nations & we have enough revenue to fund our military & coast guard !!!

homeland security be damned,, jump overboard & force the Coast Guard to come out & resue your ash,, then they will step up inspections of these ships... and if the cruise lines don't like it,, imagine what is gonna happen when 4000 angry customers go into maritime court seeking redress ???? folks this is just 1 cruise away from TITANIC ALL OVER AGAIN WITH TRIPLE THE CASUALTIES !!!!

and just maybe,, if carnival had hired Mc Callister marine towing to haul their derilict vessel into port,, the folks would already be onshore... instead carnival endangered 4000 lives by going with cheap tows r us !!! sometimes, there simply no 2nd guessing union labor & a union company for saving a few bucks !!! wonder how much this is gonna cost them ??? gee,, weren't we clever going with the cut rate marine towing company... fire the idiots ash who hired them !!!

makes ya wonder why, with relatively new vessels,, carnival is having these issues ??? could it be management ??? i'm 2nd guessing my upcoming cruise on a carnival ship !!!fires seem to be a predominant issue with these cruise ships of late ???? perhaps the coast guard needs better enforcement of these vessels,, as they are carrying a majority of Americans onboard !!! as for the plan that they exit the ship after 4 extra days without showers & board busses for a 2 hour bus ride to new orleans,, without sleep or a hot meal is ludicrous !!! i would have carnivals anchors tied up in court for so long,, they would never sail again & perhaps they shouldn't !!! seems like a major travesty/tragedy is just 1 cruise away !!!! can you say terrorism ????