A luxury cruise turns disastrous when an engine fire cuts power to the entire ship. 4,000 passengers face failing systems, sewage leaks, and food shortages, sparking passenger unrest and med... Read allA luxury cruise turns disastrous when an engine fire cuts power to the entire ship. 4,000 passengers face failing systems, sewage leaks, and food shortages, sparking passenger unrest and media coverage of "The Poop Cruise."A luxury cruise turns disastrous when an engine fire cuts power to the entire ship. 4,000 passengers face failing systems, sewage leaks, and food shortages, sparking passenger unrest and media coverage of "The Poop Cruise."
- Self - Cabin #7202
- (as Devin)
- Self - Cabin #8215
- (as Larry)
- Self - Cabin #8215
- (as Rebekah)
- Self - Cabin #2330
- (as Jayme)
- Self - Host, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
- (archive footage)
- Self - Host, Anderson Cooper 360°
- (archive footage)
- Self - CNN Correspondent
- (archive footage)
- Self - Host, Conan
- (archive footage)
Featured reviews
The incident itself is so anticlimactic, many might've been better off never hearing about it.
The documentary is just short enough to keep you watching, only to leave you wondering why you bothered.
Hopefully this is just throwaway content, and Netflix has something better cooking.
Yall never went camping. You guys are not lasting if goverment went down and structures started failing.
I had such a annoyance at those who couldnt handle and complained at the minor indecency.
And to the dude who wanted to hold in and not poo in a bag, could of actually created a health emergency not from bad hygenic outer conditions but because that can come out his mouth.
The documentry itself is kind of funny, love the news coming out, the aftermath, and the crew were the greatest.
The documentary reveals something deeply unsettling about modern entitlement: a total inability to adapt when modern comforts disappear. When toilets failed, the crew handed out sanitary disposal bags - a practical, biosecure solution. Most passengers refused. The result? Unsanitary conditions, plumbing backups, and worsening chaos. This wasn't just a systems failure; it was a human failure.
What astonishes me is the genuine horror expressed at the idea of peeing in a shower or using a bag - things our species has done, in one form or another, for tens of thousands of years. Watching people recoil from such basic realities while drifting in the middle of the ocean was, frankly, more apocalyptic than the fire itself.
The film is well-paced and tightly edited, and Carnival deserves scrutiny for its disaster preparedness. But if there's a deeper message here, it's this: modern humans may not be ready to survive without flush toilets and air conditioning - and that should worry us far more than an engine room fire.
Stuff happens. Systems break. But survival requires mindset, not just amenities. If these people are representing the species, then we are doomed.
The guests they decided to interview - with exception of the father and daughter, whose story I found very sweet and heartwarming, and was more what I would want from this documentary - were extremely entitled and seemed like they completely denied the reality of their situation. The stealing and hoarding of food, and the complaining about the food being provided, was very selfish and irritating.
But what bothered me more - because it was more largely covered in this documentary - was the guests thinking they were "above" pooping in bags and peeing in the shower. Particularly annoying was the woman taking Imodium, and ESPECIALLY annoying because of the screentime he got in the documentary was the idiotic guy in glasses who treated not having to poop in a bag as some "achievement." They were dramatic about all the wrong things and I was annoyed that the situation was handled so poorly.
I understand many humans are selfish, and that can be seen in the included cruise footage, but out of the ~4,000+ guests they could have interviewed, I can't believe these privileged morons are the best ones they got. I really would have preferred less dramatic guests who were less in denial and who handled the situation rationally, and who could turn this documentary into more of a perseverance story. But I guess that would have made for a less comedic documentary. As someone born and raised in the U. S. I hate seeing such generalized comments about how entitled and selfish Americans are, but this documentary does nothing to help that case.
Also very disappointing were the interviews with the CNN reporter and the CEO of Carnival. CNN treated the situation as a business decision and decided to ham it up for ratings, and the CEO only seemed concerned with saving face and the opinions of shareholders. While these things aren't the documentary's fault, the documentary could have done a better job going into it and criticizing CNN and the CEO for doing those things. I'm not saying the filmmakers HAVE to have that opinion, but it would have been SOMETHING more than "poop funny haha."
There are a few other things I'm probably forgetting but that about sums up my review. I learned nothing except some more info and footage of the situation and that humans today are extremely entitled and selfish, but I knew that already.
I can understand why they decided to focus on the 'poop' angle; it's pure clickbait. I get that it's a grim part of the story, but come on, it's a little juvenile. I can imagine twelve-year-olds giggling about it.
The interesting side of it isn't the whole poop angle, but the human nature aspect-seeing people splinter off into factions, with primal instincts coming through. Why on Earth did the people in charge think that opening the free bar would be a good idea? Who could possibly have thought that giving stressed-out, bunged-up people free booze was the right thing to do?
Credit to the staff on board that ship; they seemed to come away from this with a bit of dignity. Carnival's disclaimer was something special; can you imagine? Human nature is always interesting to witness, so from that point of view, it's watchable.
6/10.
Did you know
- TriviaThe Carnival Triumph cruise ship became infamous in February 2013 after an engine room fire left it powerless in the Gulf of Mexico. With no working toilets, air conditioning, or proper food, over 4,000 passengers endured four miserable days adrift. Human waste reportedly flowed through the halls, leading the media to dub it the "Poop Cruise." The incident became a public relations disaster for Carnival Cruise Lines and inspired jokes across late-night TV and internet memes.
- Quotes
Self - Cabin #2330: [Reaction to passengers on the sister ship Carnival Legend that arrives to bring food and supplies] They were just taking pictures of us like we're the freak show in the middle of the ocean. And they're partying, they don't stop dancing.
Self - Cabin #2330: They're doing the YMCA and I'm over here popping Imodium
Self - Cabin #7297: We're like a scenic detour on their cruise ship
- ConnectionsReferences Survivor : États-Unis (2000)
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Fiasco total: El crucero de la caca
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color