Vacation with friends aboard cruise ship Triumph turns stressful for Edmond woman

Robert Giordano said he’s received all of the information he has from national news sites and was able to inform his wife that Carnival had chartered planes for passengers and reserved some hotel rooms.

His wife didn’t know anything about those accommodations.

“She’s confused about what’s happening,” he said. “All we’re hearing on the national news isn’t what they’re hearing on the boat.”

Shannon Giordano is expected to make it back to Oklahoma City to her husband and three children Friday afternoon if the ship debarks in time for her to make her flight. She’s missed several days from work at a hospital where she works in radiology.

“We know it has been a longer journey back than we anticipated at the beginning of the week under very challenging circumstances,” said Gerry Cahill, president of Carnival Cruise Lines in a statement on Wednesday. “We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure.”

Cahill said all 3,143 guests on board would get a refund, along with transportation expenses and reimbursement for most purchases during the voyage. All passengers will also receive a future cruise credit.

“I haven’t really processed it all, but I probably wouldn’t dare getting onto a boat now,” Robert Giordano said.