By Sarah Phillips: They’re in the home stretch. The Carnival Triumph, traveling at 6 knots, is less than 10 miles from the Port of Mobile.  Carnival estimates the troubled Triumph will be in position for debarkation between 9:15 and 11:30 PM CT. This brings to an end to a long five days at sea with no hot water, limited toilets and a thousand stories of a vacation no one ever expected.

Docking the ship will be done in the dark. Carnival has brought in tons of emergency lighting to compensate for this. Adding another challenge, the vessel is the largest to ever dock at this terminal.

Debarkation will begin about 15 minutes after the ship arrives. Because the ship is without most power, the process will take about 4- 5 hours. Carnival’s already planned a luggage brigade to help the process.  Children, elderly and guests will special needs will debark first.

When passengers debark, they’ll be welcomed with warm food, beverages, blankets, cell phones and chargers in the cruise terminal.  Carnival has a team of over 200 personnel in place to help passengers with debarkation and getting home. They also arranged to have Customers and Border Protection board the ship earlier today to aid in speeding up debarkation.

Terry Thornton, VP of Guest Relations for the Carnival Cruise Lines, answered questions in a media briefing today and said guests will have fully covered hotel, transportation, food and guest care options when the ship arrives. She continued on saying conditions aren’t the best aboard the ship, but the passengers are making the best of it.

Carnival’s Care Team in Miami, Florida has received over 7,000 calls about guests aboard Carnival Triumph added Thornton.

All guests are receiving compensation:

• $500 US Dollars per person
• A full refund for this voyage
• Transportation expenses
• A future cruise credit equal to the price of this sailing
• Reimbursement of all shipboard purchases during the voyage, with the exception of gift shop, art purchases and casino charges