NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX (KTRE) -
What started as a four day girls trip
transformed into a nightmare stranded at sea.
"We just wanted to
get off that boat and it seemed like it took forever," said Esther Burns,
Triumph Passenger.
Tina Davis, Esther Burns
and Karen McGarrett were just a few of the thousands of people who endured five days on the disabled
Carnival Triumph cruise ship.
The women all attend
Calvary Baptist Church in Nacogdoches, Friday night they returned to the church
where they first met to embark on their vacation.
"We were expecting it
to be a day, then two and oh no this wouldn't work and \before you know it, its Thursday," said
Karen McGarrett, Triumph Passenger.
The women said they
enjoyed massages, formal nights and few shows while on the boat,
But in an instant an
engine fire inside the lavish vessel shut off the power putting an end to the
relaxing atmosphere and the ship's passengers in survival mode.
"We just grabbed our
hands and we just lost it, we really did, we thought it was over and it was
really scary," said Burns.
"It stank really bad
from the sewage that had nowhere to go and the boat was listing so we were all
kind of walking sideways," said McGarrett.
After such agonizing
experience we asked if any of these women would ever embark on a cruise
again."
"Definitely, my
husband's already trying to get me to plan another one with him and his
friends," said Tina Davis, Triumph Passenger.
"Its going to have to
be like five years, give me time to get over it," said Burns.
"I figure that this
has got to be worst it can be so it can only get better from here so I'll give
it another try," said McGarrett.
The women say the six hour tow to shore was a
ride they'll never forget and sight of the Alabama shoreline was a vision of
paradise.
"Everyone was
hollering, we were like yay we can finally get off the boat," said
McGarrett.
After over week on open
water the women couldn't think of a safer place, on solid ground, in the arms
of their loved ones.
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