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Cruises canceled after onboard fire
Fire burned aboard the Grandeur of the Seas for about two hours yesterday, but no one was seriously hurt.
The Royal Caribbean cruise ship departed on Friday for a seven-day cruise, but ended up docked in the Bahamas, with the rest of the trip canceled.
More than 2,200 passengers were ordered to put on life jackets and report to their muster stations. Everyone remained calm, reports said, even as smoke began to billow around them.
The Class A fire was reported to the Coast Guard at 2:50 a.m. Class A means that wood or other combustible materials were burning. The ship was 35 nautical miles northwest of West End, Bahamas, at the time.
The fire began on the third deck of the aft mooring area of the ship, and spread to the fourth deck crew lounge area. It was quickly extinguished, and the ship did not lose power.
The passengers will be flown back to Baltimore. They will get their money back and a free cruise in the future.
The May 31 cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas has been canceled.
The incident was the latest in a string of unfortunate incidents on cruise ships this year. In February, thousands of passengers spent nearly five days on a disabled Carnival ship foundering in the Gulf of Mexico. Then in March, 108 people were stricken with a gastrointestinal illness on a Royal Caribbean ship.
Last week, Cruise Lines International Association issued a Passenger Bill of Rights that all member cruise ships are being asked to sign.
By Cheryl Rosen
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