A Harlingen couple told Action 4 News that their daughter is among 3,000 passengers who were stranded on a cruise ship adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mary and Ted Childs said they last heard from their daughter Kimberly on Sunday.
"Were stranded at sea, help is on the way," Ted Childs said reading his daughter's text message. "We're okay but don't know when we'll be home."
The Childs said they knew their daughter was on a cruise down in the Carribean, but it wasn't until reading the text message that they realized she was aboard the Carnival Triumph.
Kimberly Clutter and her husband Dorren took advantage of a chance to get away for four days with two other couples.
Planning the trip out about a month in advance, the Clutters thought- the more the merrier.
"She had tried to talk to my other daughter into going with them,” Childs said. “But they decided not to. And now they're really happy they didn't."
From what the Child's have heard from their granddaughter Scarlet, who is waiting for her parents to return home to Cuero, Texas, the ships conditions are not the “horror stories” the media is telling.
"The conditions on the boat are not quite that bad. Some people are playing it up,” Childs said. “One of the couples from Cuervo said they have had a blast. They've actually enjoyed it. So I am waiting to see what my daughter says."
Despite all the talk about conditions aboard the ship, Scarlet reported to her grandfather, via Facebook, that things aboard the Triumph are beginning to look brighter as they pull into port.
"They said that the sewer facilities were bad and they were without water for a while,” Childs said. “But supposedly today, they've gotten good word."
The Childs told Action 4 News that they have never been on a cruise before, but based on what's happened to Kimberly, they don't plan on reserving a trip over water any time soon.
"I can’t get her on a boat now," Childs said.
Once they make port, Kimberly and Dorren will be flown to Galveston where they will pick up their car.
The Childs plan on taking a trip soon to visit their family, once their daughter and her husband are back on land.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT