Is the Netflix “Poop Cruise” documentary fair?

• Netflix is releasing a documentary called “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise”.
• This will recount details of the infamous 2013 “poop cruise” where Carnival Triumph’s sanitation systems went down completely after an engine fire.
• However, will the dramatised documentary provide an accurate view of events?

In the worst nightmare for any traveller, Carnival Triumph had a fire in the engine room while off the coast of Mexico in 2013, and the cruise quickly descended into chaos. 

The fire led to a loss of power and propulsion for the ship, meaning things like air conditioning, refrigeration, and most infamously, sewage and sanitation systems, went down. 

What happened next is the subject of “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise”, a dramatic account of how the passengers and crew survived being trapped on the ocean.

The facts

On February 10, 2013, the Carnival Triumph, carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members, departed Galveston, Texas, for a four-day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. On the second day of the voyage, while in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 150 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula, a fire broke out in the ship’s aft engine room.

While the fire was automatically extinguished and caused no injuries, it resulted in a total loss of power and propulsion for the vessel. The emergency generators allowed for partial restoration of some shipboard functions, but critical systems, including the main propulsion, air conditioning, refrigeration, and most importantly, the sewage and sanitation systems, were rendered inoperable.

The ship was left adrift at sea. Initially, it was planned to be towed to Progreso, Mexico, as it was the closest port. However, due to ocean currents and difficulties with tugboats, the ship was eventually towed towards Mobile, Alabama, a much longer journey.

The towing process was fraught with challenges, including tow lines breaking, further extending the ordeal.

For five days, passengers and crew endured increasingly squalid conditions:

• Sanitation Breakdown: With no working toilets, raw sewage began to back up into passenger deck areas, hallways, and even cabins. Passengers resorted to using plastic bags, red biohazard bags, and buckets for human waste, which then accumulated in public areas due to a lack of disposal options. The smell became pervasive and unbearable.
• Lack of Basic Amenities: The loss of air conditioning led to sweltering temperatures inside the ship, making cabins unliveable for many. Passengers were forced to sleep on mattresses dragged into hallways and on the open decks to escape the heat and stench. Lighting was minimal, and running water was scarce.
• Food Shortages and Deterioration: Refrigeration failures meant some perishable food items quickly spoiled. Passengers reported being served limited, often cold, and unappetizing meals, such as cucumber and onion sandwiches. The onion sandwiches became particularly infamous on social media.
• Psychological and Physical Toll: The conditions took a severe toll on everyone onboard. Reports describe widespread frustration, anger, and anxiety among passengers, with some accounts of fights breaking out. The psychological distress was compounded by the uncertainty of their situation and the overwhelming unsanitary environment. Several passengers reported experiencing nausea, vomiting, and other illnesses.
• Communication Challenges: Communication with the outside world was limited, adding to the stress and isolation of those on board.

The cruise became an international story, with images and firsthand accounts from passengers quickly going viral.

The Carnival Triumph eventually docked in Mobile, Alabama, on February 14, 2013, five days after the fire.

In the aftermath, Carnival Cruise Line faced widespread criticism for its handling of the incident and for what many perceived as a lack of adequate maintenance protocols, particularly given previous similar incidents on other Carnival-owned ships.

Investigations by the Bahamas Maritime Authority, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the fire was likely caused by a leak in a flexible fuel oil return line, and there had been prior warnings about engine trouble and overdue maintenance.

Carnival publicly apologized for the incident, offered full refunds, transportation expenses, and future cruise credits to passengers. They also invested over $500 million in fleet-wide upgrades to improve fire prevention, suppression, redundancy, and management systems.

As this cruise comes back into the public eye, it’s worth recognising this event is more or less unheard for cruise ships. And that Carnival as put into place measures which it says means it cannot happen again.

Are the ‘poop cruise’ claims true?

Yes, the events are true and verified. 

While some accounts of shipwide mayhem can be more difficult to verify or could differ on personal experience, the horrific sanitation conditions were confirmed, with cruisers having to go through the horror of urinating in the shower, just for contaminated water to leak back up, and having to defecate into plastic bags.

The official incident report reads: “Passengers were instructed by the Cruise Director to urinate in the shower and defecate in red bio-hazard bags that were provided to them. 

“When the ship listed due to the water in the engineering spaces after the fire, this caused what should have been grey water to run out of the shower drains, and contributed to the perception by passengers that there was sewage running all over the floors, in the passageways and down the bulkheads.

“When the passengers were instructed to urinate in the shower, the water that then came out of the shower drains was now contaminated with urine instead of being harmless grey water.”

The report also outlines the sewage overflowing from toilets.

“The investigations team received multiple reports of sewage overflowing from toilets once the ships power was out. Passengers reported sewage in the cabins, in the passageways and flowing down the bulkheads

“There were most definitely instances where the toilets overflowed. The housekeeping manager indicates in her statement that there was flooding on all of the decks from the grey water coming up through the shower drains, the sprinklers and a couple of burst pipes.

Many guests reported psychological damage from the affair, with several suing Carnival afterwards.

While the documentary will centre-in on those with the most dramatic experiences and recounts of the event, the basis for the documentary is totally factual and the ‘poop cruise’ by all-accounts, was a cruise from hell.

What about the “dramatic” trailer?

Netflix trailers for “The Poop Cruise” emphasise the most shocking and visceral aspects of the incident. Key elements highlighted in the trailers include:

• Visuals of Squalor: The trailers prominently feature imagery and descriptions of raw sewage overflowing, flooding hallways, and the general unsanitary conditions. This directly corresponds to the widely reported “poop cruise” nickname and the most disturbing aspect of the ordeal.
• First-Hand Accounts of Distress: We hear voices from passengers describing the terrifying smell (“urine and feces to the rim of every toilet”), the physical discomfort (“greasy, disgusting”), and the psychological impact (“I was scared, very scared,” “This wasn’t a vacation anymore. It was survival.”). These align with the personal testimonies widely reported at the time.
• Focus on Basic Needs Failing: The trailers explicitly state the loss of power for propulsion, refrigeration, lighting, air conditioning, and flushing toilets. This is a factual representation of the core problems experienced.
• Narrative of Luxury Turned Nightmare: The initial premise of a “luxury cruise” turning “catastrophically different” is presented, setting up the dramatic contrast that was very much the reality for those on board.

Some passengers offer a different perspective

While the Netflix documentary naturally plays up the events to maximum dramatic effect, was the poop cruise as dramatic as the documentary and media describe it?

A Reddit user who was on the ship answered questions about the events at the time, and said that they felt it was largely overplayed, even noting that they still really enjoyed themselves. However, he does confirm the awful events onboard.

When asked if they would ever cruise again, the user responded: “Yes, definitely! It really isn’t nearly as bad as they’re talking about. I actually had a good time.

“Sanitary was very poor. It smelled throughout the halls. Up top and where I slept it wasn’t nearly as bad, but you caught a whiff of it every once and a while.

“The bottom two floors had a lot of piss on the ground and an awful stench, but not exactly submerged.

“One day they did serve onion sandwiches but no, the food was fine. No one died, two people had to be taken off the ship though due to sickness.”

However, despite this particular cruiser’s positivity, the events still sound rather horrific.

“Yea they were handing out bags for us to poop in. I didn’t since our toilet worked for the most part. But there were red bags all over the hall way.”

However, the user also claimed that there weren’t food shortages as often reported and that there was even an open bar that people flocked to and enjoyed, and that were many parts of the ship free from the smell and sewage problems. 

The official incident report notes that food was actually managed quite well, with no illnesses or shortages.

“The investigations team believes that the staff did an outstanding job with the food service and food safety management during the event. This is evidenced by the lack of GI outbreak on the vessel. 

“According to the statement by the Senior Medical Officer, there were only 12 guests and 2 crew with GI distress during the four days the ship was without power, which is about the same that would be seen on a typical voyage.”

So is the Poop Cruise fair?

Cruise Passenger fed the facts and advance footage from the documentary into an AI comparison tool. Here’s what the tool told us:

Is the Documentary Fair and Accurate?

Based on the factual account of the Carnival Triumph incident and the content teased in the trailers, “The Poop Cruise” documentary appears to be largely fair and accurate in its depiction of the event.

1. Factual Consistency: The core narrative presented in the trailers – a fire causing power loss, leading to sanitation breakdown, lack of amenities, and passenger distress – is consistent with all widely reported and investigated details of the Carnival Triumph incident.
2. Focus on Passenger Experience: The trailers suggest a strong emphasis on the firsthand accounts of survivors. This is crucial for fairness, as it provides the human element and the direct impact of the disaster, rather than just a technical breakdown. The psychological and physical toll described by passengers in the trailers is well-documented in news reports from the time.
3. Highlighting the “Poop Cruise” Aspect: While the nickname might seem sensational, it accurately reflects the most prominent and disturbing feature of the incident from the public’s perspective and the lived experience of those onboard. The documentary’s willingness to address this directly suggests an unvarnished portrayal.
4. Implications of Corporate Responsibility: The documentary appears to touch upon the broader implications, including potential corporate negligence and the company’s response. This aligns with the subsequent investigations and the criticisms levelled against Carnival.

Could this happen on your cruise?

The reality is that events such as these are extremely unlikely. Cruise ships have more advanced plans and systems designed to avoid, and manage emergencies such as this one.

Carnival was found negligent for the incident, and says many steps were taken to ensure an event like this would never take place again, and Carnival did invest about $750 million in fleet-wide safety and sanitation upgrades after the cruise.