My husband and I recently returned from what was to be a 7-day cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor. As most folks know, Splendor had an engine room fire its first day out at sea which disabled the ship.

Upon our arrival back to San Diego three days later, we were quite surprised by all the media attention. But we were more shocked and disturbed by the inaccuracies being reported. While words like "Nightmare", Cruise from Hell" and "Spam-cation" were headline and scroller grabbers, they evoked a scenario of drama good enough for a reality TV episode. Obviously, a fire at sea is a serious matter; however, we did not observe panic or chaos amongst the crew or the passengers. More importantly, the number one goal was accomplished - we made it back to port safely.

I realize that for some passengers, having limited power (and no working elevators) was a hardship. Yes, our "creature comforts" were temporarily limited, but it was hardly a nightmare. We were never without food or water or even on-ship communications. The Splendor crew worked diligently to restore what they could as quickly as possible. With almost 3,300 passengers aboard, this was an extraordinary challenge. Personally, I think Carnival and its crew did a great job at handling an unfortunate situation. So let's put it in perspective and focus on accuracy rather than sensationalism. Read more