Once Doomed Cruise Ship Returns To Service

We all have heard the name Carnival Triumph. You know, that cruise ship that was stuck wandering aimlessly in the Gulf Of Mexico after being crippled by an engine room fire back in February. Well as of this past Thursday, it is officially back in service and sailing out of Galveston.

Now outfitted with new emergency power capabilities and additional fire safety technology, the ship is fully booked with 3,350 passengers on a four-day voyage to Cozumel, Mexico, Carnival says. It's scheduled to depart at 4 p.m. CT today. February's fire turned the ship into a high-profile news story as passengers aired their outrage and complaints via phone and e-mail, as well as Twitter, Facebook and other social media.

After the crippled ship spent eight days at sea, tugboats were able to pull it into port in Alabama, to a welcome by countless news cameras and reporters.

Shortly after the incident Carnival said it would launch a comprehensive review of its 24 ships. Vessels have been upgraded to include "the latest most technologically advanced" fire suppression systems but to some, it's too little too late.

There are various facebook and Twitter pages devoted to bashing Carnival and reminding people just what hell they experienced on board with rationing food (some people reported to only being served onion sandwiches) to unsanitary conditions such as having to use the restroom in little red bags because the toilets were overflowing and in some cases raw sewage was running down the walls on multiple decks...all this AFTER a trip to Mexico so you can only imagine how THAT smelled.

On the other side of the coin you have die hard cruisers who are willing to give Carnival another shot at redemption.

We'll see how this cruise goes....