Princess Cruises offers full refund for fire-hit Hawaii cruise
Princess Cruises has offered a full refund to passengers aboard the Grand Princess after a ‘switchboard malfunction’ caused a fire and temporary loss of power.
The malfunction resulted in a small fire within the switchboard, Princess said which has impacted its cruising speed.
This propulsion problem has forced the line to cancel ports of call in Kauai and Maui in order to return back to San Francisco on schedule.
In addition to a full refund as compensation, guests wishing to leave the cruise ship in Honolulu have been offered airfare to return to San Francisco.
"We had technical experts join the ship to inspect all systems and verify the safety of the ship. In addition, the US Coast Guard has been involved throughout the process and has also cleared the ship to sail," said spokeswoman Karen Candy.
"However, while there is no impact to maneuverability or safety, the ship cannot attain maximum speed therefore we must adjust the future itinerary. We regret that this situation has impacted the cruise and sincerely apologize that we’ve been unable to deliver the expected cruise vacation experience," Candy added.
The fire happened on Monday as the ship sailed northeast of Hilo, cutting out all power for about one hour.
The Grand Princess is carrying more than 2,500 guests on a 15-day cruise that departed San Francisco on November 25.
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