‘Ship Happens:' Evanston Woman Back From Cruise

Sandeep Berry was one of thousands stuck on the Carnival Triumph

An Evanston woman has returned home after enduring a nightmare vacation aboard the crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship.

Sandeep Berry, on a birthday cruise with her mother, was one of thousands who spent five days adrift in the Gulf of Mexico without power and with rapidly deteriorating conditions.

Some passengers cheered as they finally disembarked Thursday night, while others bent down and kissed the ground. Berry had a good attitude as she arrived home Friday morning.

"Ship happens," she laughed, wearing a blue Carnival Cruises T-shirt.

She's nodding to the bio-hazard bags that became toilets and mattresses that were pulled into dry dining rooms when the cabins became flooded. Berry said the stench was so overpowering she slept on the third deck for several nights until it got too cold.

An engine fire on Sunday knocked out all power and plumbing, leaving the cruise ship with 3,000 passengers adrift.

"Sewage water everywhere, everywhere," she said. "I'm still wearing my flip-flops because my shoes got destroyed."

She even took a bio-hazard bag home as a souvenir now that the experience is behind her.

"I'm so happy," Berry said, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm so happy to be home. I'm excited to get into a car and go home and sleep in my own bed and actually have warm food."

Berry is taking the experience in stride and said she already planned another cruise on another cruise line this summer.

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