Looking back at the events of the 'poop cruise': Netflix series explores the infamous incident.

In the Netflix documentary Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, Devin Marble recalls navigating dim corridors aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship in search of a functioning restroom. Marble, 28 at the time, was traveling on the Carnival Triumph when a 2013 engine room fire caused a massive power outage, rendering most toilets inoperable.

Every bathroom I tried was either broken or in terrible condition, Marble shares in the series. Stranded near Mexico with over 3,000 passengers, including his soon-to-be wife and her family, Marble eventually found a usable restroom. Years later, his personal footage became a key part of the Trainwreck series.

Marble reflected on the experience, saying that with hindsight, it didnt feel as awful as it did at the time. Time really does help heal, he said before the episode premiered in June.

The Cruise Disaster

The episode details the February 2013 cruise from Galveston, Texas, to Mexico. Initially uneventful, the return journey turned disastrous when a fire left the ship powerless, stranding passengers for roughly four days without toilets, air conditioning, or lighting in many areas. Eventually, the ship was towed to Mobile, Alabama.

Passengers, desperate to cope with the heat, dragged mattresses onto open decks. Buffets were reduced to limited offerings after perishable food was discarded, while crew members struggled to maintain safety amid sewage flooding parts of the vessel.

An employee is shown in the documentary standing in waist-deep brown water in his cabin. Director James Ross commented, Passengers and crew start off in separate worlds, but during the crisis, everyone faces the same reality. It strips away the barriers and reveals how humans react under extreme conditions.

Documentary Footage and Reconstruction

The series incorporates Marbles vacation recordings along with archival material. Some sequences, like bridge operations, were recreated due to limited original footage. Ross explained, Certain moments, like someone using the shower as a bathroom, required creative reconstruction.

Industry Response

Carnival described the incident as a teachable moment and noted that the company invested over $500 million fleet-wide to improve fire safety, redundancy, and management systems. The ship involved continues to operate today as Carnival Sunrise.

Episode Details

Trainwreck: Poop Cruise runs approximately 55 minutes. The documentary highlights passengers improvising with mattresses to escape heat and showcases the crews efforts, which Marble later described as heroic. The ordeal also strengthened his bond with his extended family, revealing unexpected traits, like preparedness with extra batteries and flashlights.

The episode is available to stream on Netflix.

Author: Harper Simmons