Carnival Cruise Lines

For days now the Carnival cruise liner, the Triumph, has been adrift in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico after a fire emerged in the engine room.  While the fire was immediately put out, the damages from it were devastating.  The cruise liner has since been running on emergency power, however, there is no running water, air conditioning, or refrigeration.  Therefore, the ship is filled with sewage, sweating bodies, and rotting food.  Even though the crew members are doing everything in their power to make the situation more comfortable for guests, such as providing free alcohol, food, and navigating them to areas where running water can be found, it is still a major inconvenience for these people who have been affected.

 While these people will be compensated from Carnival for the cruise itself, as well as for any purchases made on-board and additional transportation needed for the trip, there still is the issue of travel insurance, and if people will be reimbursed for the inconvenience that this situation has caused.  While Carnival offers its own type of insurance plan that reimburses people who purchase it for trip delays, baggage protection, medical expenses, and emergency evacuation, it is still under debate whether the events over the last couple of days fall under any of these categories. Therefore, those who took their protection into their own hands MAY not be receiving additional coverage than those who did not.  Is this right and everyone should be treated equally, or should those who thought and planned for an unfortunate event be rewarded more than the others?  What do you think?