Triumph passengers still plan to cruise

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MOBILE, Ala., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A number of passengers from the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise that came to an end in Alabama said the experience didn't sour them on cruises.

Melanie Jinkins, one of the passengers who disembarked Feb. 15 from the crippled cruise ship -- which was supposed to travel from Galveston, Texas, to Mexico -- after five days stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, said she's scheduled to take another Carnival cruise with her family March 3, ABC News reported Friday.

Jinkins, who took the Triumph cruise with some coworkers, said she also plans to eventually use the free cruise Carnival offered to Triumph passengers.

Cindy Wright of Union, Neb., said she and her husband, Phil, also plan to use the free cruise. She said they're looking at a February 2014 Carnival cruise out of New Orleans.

Brandie Slonaker said she and her family are looking to use their free cruise for a summer vacation.

"My daughter said she hopes the same thing happens again because she had so much fun," Slonaker said.

"I don't," she said, "but we tried to make it as fun for them as we could."