Stranded On A Cruise Ship: Evanston Woman Tells Harrowing Story

A cruise ship celebration turned into a nightmare trip for one Evanston woman, who was stranded along with 3,000 other passengers in the Gulf of Mexico last weekend, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Sandeep Berry, an IT recruiter, and her mother took the trip as a celebration of her mother's 57th birthday, according to the Tribune. But after an engine fire knocked out the power, the Carnival Cruise ship was stranded for four days as rescue crews worked to tow it back to port. It was expected to dock in Mobile, AL, late Thursday night, according to the New York Times.

Berry and other passengers said the ship's lower floors were flooded with sewage, and passengers waited in long lines for a dwindling supply of food, the Tribune reports.

Carnival Cruise lines is offering passengers a refund, $500 and a credit for another trip, according to the New York Times.