Carnival has been under the spotlight for everything that can go wrong on the high seas.

Fires, poop cruises, an Italian playboy captain who crashes a $600 million luxury ship on the rocks, sexual assaults, non-payment of U.S. taxes and so forth and so on.  The news was so bad and so often bad that Carnival sent long term CEO Micky Arison to the sidelines.

The news can’t possibly get any worse for Carnival. Could it?

I think so.

Today we hear about a cruise passenger who contracted "hot tub folliculitis" from a hot tub aboard the Carnival Paradise. His lawyers issued a press release which alleges they are seeking class action status for other cruise passengers who were injured by a "dangerous, flesh-eating bacteria" in the cruise ship’s whirlpools.

The passenger’s leg sustained a severe infection which nearly cost him his leg, the PR statement reads. "The entire leg turned black and they wanted to amputate." After a week in the hospital and $70,000 in medical bills later, the leg was saved, but remains scarred from the flesh-eating infection according to the lawyers.

The statement also says that when the passenger contacted Carnival, a guest relations specialist told the injured passenger that there were more than fifty other passengers on the same cruise who came down with the same illness from using the hot tubs.

A little know fact – the passenger’s lawyer is a former defense lawyer for Carnival who switched sides. A smart fellow.  He knew when to jump ship! 

The allegation sounds like something out of a 1970’s exploitational horror film!  But because it involves Carnival, its probably true . .  

July 20, 2013 Update: We received the following statement from Carnival:

"The lawsuit is meritless. All pools, whirlpools and water-based amenities on board our ships are properly maintained and their water content properties are routinely monitored. We take sanitation and cleanliness on our vessels very seriously and water quality is confirmed through periodic inspections by the U.S. Public Health service. Our guests may rest assured that these shipboard amenities are maintained via strict standards and practices to ensure a clean and safe environment. We decline to comment further given the pending lawsuit."