David Randel: We've had to anticipate everything from the need for restrooms to additional electrica

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The Carnival Triumph , the disabled cruise ship that's currently being towed toward the Gulf Coast, should arrive in Mobile some time Thursday afternoon, according to news reports . Passengers on board the ship have reportedly endured shocking conditions including overflowing toilets and mass outbreaks of seasickness. One passenger told the Associated Press that his shipmates airline reservations are being given plastic bags to "use for their business."
"We'll be closed down tomorrow, and we'll be over helping the Carnival staff," says David Randel, the president and CEO of the Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Mobile will probably have close to 100 volunteers helping with the passengers."
The arrival of the Triumph will represent the fleeting airline reservations rebirth of Mobile's cruise industry. Alabama Cruise Terminal served as home port to the Carnival's Holiday, Fantasy and Elation ships between 2004 and 2011 when the company up and left .
Speaking with HuffPost Travel, Randel went on to explain the preparations the city is making in advance of the Triumph's arrival and the many attractions that visitors -- weary as they may be -- can expect to enjoy in Mobile.
David Randel: We've had to anticipate everything from the need for restrooms to additional airline reservations electrical outlets to feeding passengers and providing airline reservations them water and general sanitation. Customs, it's our understanding, will be getting on board and doing all that work in the cabins. We'll have extra medical staff at the terminal. We're trying to make this as convenient for the passengers as possible.
DR: Carnival has done a spectacular job communicating with us and telling us their needs. They're bringing, probably, 100-plus people to help when the passengers come off the boat. We have to anticipate the needs of the passengers. We're quite honestly waiting for Carnival to get here because this isn't their first rodeo; it really is the first or maybe second time we've had a distressed ship come to our port."
DR: "The main objective is to get these people home. Our wish would be for all 3,000 passengers to spend the night and fly out of our airport -- boy, would that be a real shot in the arm -- but Carnival is going to bus some to New Orleans, fly them out of Mobile or get them back to Galveston [the port from which the cruise left]."
DR: "The last two weeks have been Mardi Gras down here -- Mardi Gras actually started in Mobile, Alabama -- and we've had over 30 parades and close to a million visitors. So even though there are a lot of tired hospitality airline reservations people here, a couple of the downtown attractions have already started brainstorming airline reservations 'show your boarding pass' offers to extend their hospitality. The restaurants will be geared up downtown as will the Mobile Museum and the Mobile Carnival Museum . The shopping, the Gulf Coast Exploreum , the USS Alabama are all within less than five miles of the cruise terminal."
DR: "Presently we do not have a ship. We had Carnival Cruise Lines here for seven years, and about a year ago, they made a business decision to take that ship and move it over to New Orleans. So we've been in active conversations with numerous cruise lines to bring a ship back to Mobile. airline reservations It means a lot to the economy. It means a lot to Mobile to get a cruise ship back. There are good signs that we will have a cruise ship in the future."
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed into Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
The sun sets as the cruise airline reservations ship Carnival Triumph is towed into Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala., Thursday, airline reservations Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly airline reservations a week in the Gulf of Mexico airline reservations following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed up the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed up the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
People watch from their balconies aboard the Carnival Triumph after it was towed to the cruise airline reservations terminal in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/John David Mercer) Carnival Triumph Arrives
People watch from their balconies and hold up signs aboard the Carnival Triumph after it was towed to the cruise terminal in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Brantley) airline reservations Carnival Triumph Arrives
People watch from their balconies and hold up signs aboard the Carnival Triumph after it was towed to the cruise terminal in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Brantley)
In this image released by the U.S. Coast Guard on Feb. 11, 2013, a small boat belonging to the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous patrols near the cruise ship Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico, Feb. 11, 2013. The Carnival Triumph has been floating aimlessly about 150 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula since a fire erupted in the aft engine room early Sunday, knocking out the ship's propulsion system. No one was injured and the fire was extinguished. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard- airline reservations Lt. Cmdr. Paul McConnell)
In this image released by the U.S. Coast Guard on Feb. 11, 2013, the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous patrols near the cruise ship Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico, Feb. 11, 2013. The Carnival Triumph has been floating aimlessly about 150 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula since a fire erupted in the aft engine room early Sunday, knocking out the ship's propulsion system. No one was injured and the fire was extinguished. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard- Lt. Cmdr. Paul McConnell) Cruise Ship Loses Power In Gulf Of Mexico
airline reservations GULF OF MEXICO - FEBRUARY 11: In this handout from the U.S. Coast Guard, airline reservations the cruise ship Carnival Triumph sits idle February 11, 2013 in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Coast Guard, the ship lost propulsion power February 10, after a fire broke out in the engine room. (Photo by Paul McConnell/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images) CARNIVAL TRIUMPH
File - This July 27, 1999 handout file photo provided by Carnival Cruise Lines shows the MS Carnival Triumph departing New York harbor, on her inaugural voyage. Carnival Cruise Lines said Sunday an engine room fire had disabled the cruise ship Triumph about 150 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula with 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members on board. The U.S. Coast Guard says tug boats are scheduled to reach Triumph about noon Monday. The cruise ship with 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members will be towed to Progreso, Mexico. (AP Photo/Carnival Lines, Andy Newman, File) Gerry Cahill, Lynn Torrent, Terry Thornton
In this photo provided by Carnival Cruise Lines, Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival airline reservations Cruise Lines, left, walks to a podium to address media representatives during a news conference regarding the cruise ship Carnival Triumph Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at the company's headquarters in Miami. Also participating are other executive team members including Lynn Torrent, center, and Terry Thornton, right, After a Sunday, Feb. 10, engine room fire that left the Triumph without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship is being towed to Mobile, Ala., and is expected to arrive there Thursday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Carnival Cruise Lines, Andy Newman) Gerry Cahill, Lynn Torrent, Terry Thornton
In this photo provided by Carnival Cruise Lines, Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, center, addresses media representatives during a news conference regarding the cruise ship Carnival Triumph Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at the company's airline reservations headquarters in Miami. Also participating are other executive team members airline reservations including Lynn Torrent, left, and Terry Thornton, right, After a Sunday, Feb. 10, engine room fire that left the Triumph without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship is being towed to Mobile, Ala., and is expected airline reservations to arrive airline reservations there Thursday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Carnival Cruise Lines, Andy Newman) Gerry Cahill
In this photo provided airline reservations by Carnival Cruise Lines, Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, addresses media representatives during a news conference regarding the cruise ship Carnival Triumph Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at the company's headquarters in Miami. After a Sunday, Feb. 10, engine room fire that left the Triumph without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship is being towed to Mobile, Ala., and is expected to arrive there Thursday, Feb. 14. There are no reported injuries. (AP Photo/Carnival Cruise Lines, Andy Newman)