Gillette couple far from sea sick after Triumph cruise snafu

Gillette residents Alan and Donna Aldrich are an experienced couple when it comes to cruise ship vacations, but even experience couldn't prepare them for their latest trip. What was supposed to be four days in paradise aboard the Carnival cruise ship Triumph turned into nearly a week of drifting in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico when an engine room fire caused the ship to lose power. The couple, along with 4,200 other passengers, had to deal with limited food, water and plumbing for five days. It wasn't anyone's idea of a tropical vacation, but Alan and Donna made it work. They played cards, watched the waves and socialized. Food and water was never an issue, they said, and the sewage was kept under control.

"I couldn't sit here right now and say that they could have done anything better," Alan said. Accidents happen, and the couple said Wyomingites are fit to make the best of them.

"We'll be ready to cruise again soon," they said.

Watch for the full story this week in the News Record.