Fire Onboard Grandeur of the Seas

Grandeur of the Seas Fire     Courtesy Royal Caribbean

Current Cruise Terminated

Cruises Cancelled

Early Memorial Day morning, a fire broke out onboard Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas while it was sailing in the Bahamas.  The fire caused extensive damage to the aft mooring deck of the ship as you can see in this image courtesy of Royal Caribbean.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident and the ship was diverted to Freeport in the Bahamas.   Passengers were awakened and instructed to go to their muster stations.   The fire broke around just before 3 AM and was completely extinguished around 5 AM.

Grandeur of the Seas was just refurbished last year.  You may recall that we were onboard the ship for a special Revitalization Debut last November  (search Grandeur of the Seas for articles)

We will continue to monitor this story and report any further developments.  

AP Image of Grandeur Of the Seas in Freeport after fire (click here) shows the extent of the damage.

Grandeur of the Seas Update May 29, 2013, 5:00 p.m.

Click this link for ongoing updates from Royal Caribbean

On Monday, May 27, Grandeur of the Seas experienced a fire in the mooring area in the aft of the ship. Unfortunately, due to the time needed to repair the damage caused by the fire, it is necessary to cancel Grandeur of the Seas' next six sailings. The ship is expected to return to service with the July 12 sailing. Grandeur of the Seas' cancelled sailings include: June 7, 2013 June 14 2013 June 21, 2013 June 28, 2013 July 5, 2013 We are deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ upcoming vacation. Royal Caribbean International will provide affected guests with a full refund of their voyage. For their convenience, all monies paid will automatically be processed back to the original form of payment within the next three weeks. Guests who are ready to rebook onto a future sailing, and prefer to reapply the funds prior to the refund process being completed, should do so prior to June 12. For guests or travel agents rebooking by June 12, please contact us at 888-824-0012. Otherwise, you may book at your convenience. Royal Caribbean International will also provide these guests with a future cruise certificate for 25% of the cruise fare paid. This certificate may be used for a future cruise on Royal Caribbean International. Guests that have booked with a travel professional should contact their original travel agent with any general questions related to the cancelled sailings. Guests who have booked directly with Royal Caribbean should contact us at 888-824-0012.

May 27, 2013, 8:00 p.m. EST

Grandeur of the Seas – Current Sailing Unfortunately, the damage caused by the fire on Grandeur of the Seas will require us to cancel the rest of the current sailing. We are currently working on making the necessary arrangements to return all guests to Baltimore, Maryland, tomorrow. Royal Caribbean International is deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. And we also know that it has significantly impacted their vacation experience. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation. Grandeur of the Seas – May 31, 2013 Sailing Unfortunately, due to the time needed to repair the damage caused by the fire, it is necessary to cancel Grandeur of the Seas’ next voyage, which was scheduled to depart Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday, May 31. We are deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ upcoming vacation. A dedicated telephone hotline has been established for guests on these two sailings. Guests may call us at 1-888-824-0012 in the U.S. or +1-408-916-9000 internationally. We continue to assess the situation onboard Grandeur of the Seas and gather the necessary information in order to make a decision regarding future sailings. We encourage guests on future sailings of Grandeur of the Seas to monitor this website or our Twitter handle @RoyalCaribbean for an update on your voyage.

U.S. Coast Guard Response 

According the the USCG website:   The Coast Guard responded early Monday morning to a fire aboard the 917-foot cruise ship, Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas, 35 nautical miles northwest of West End, Bahamas. At approximately 3 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Miami received a report of a fire aboard a Bahamian-flagged cruise ship carrying 2,224 passengers and 796 crew en route to CoCoCay, Bahamas.

The fire began on the third deck of the aft mooring area of the ship and spread to the fourth deck crew lounge area. Around 5 a.m., the fire was reported to have been extinguished by the ship’s fire response crew.

Coast Guard Sector Miami issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Cormorant, the Coast Guard Cutter Sitkinak, and the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered to respond to the emergency. The Coast Guard also launched a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk to respond.

The cruise ship Carnival Sensation and a motor vessel from the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER), the Hagen, also diverted to stand by and assist if needed.

 The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are joining the flag state to begin conducting a joint investigation of the vessel to determine the cause of the fire.

Grand Princess Drydock Week 1

Grand Princess in Drydock            Photo Credit: Princess Cruises

Two months ago, Princess Cruises announced plans for a 24-day remake of the Grand Princess.  That work has begun and the line is producing a video diary of the event.   For more details about the planned improvements, see our previous post:  Grand Princess Gets Major Facelift

The Grand Princess® drydock video series is hosted by Cruise Director Martyn Moss and shows highlights of the dramatic transformation of Grand Princess during her revitalization project.

Episode 9 - An Update on the Piazza, Casino, Oceanview Suites & Crown Grill
Join Grand Princess Cruise Director Martyn as he ventures to what's becoming the new Piazza and takes a look at the progress being made on the tile floor and the new restaurants. He also provides an update on the Casino, new oceanview suites and the Crown Grill. 

Episode 8 - An Update On the Lotus Spa And Youth Center
Martyn checks in on the progress at the Lotus Spa before heading over to chat with the architect behind the renovations at the Youth Center.

Episode 7 - An Interview With The Captain 
Martyn has the good luck to get an audience with the Captain, one of the busiest people on the ship.

Episode 6 - The Travelator Removal 
Martyn heads over to Skywalkers to get the scoop on the Travelator removal project.
 
Episode 5 - The Atrium Stairs Come Down 
Martyn visits the steakhouse before looking in on the crew as they take down the atrium staircase in preparation for the new piazza.

Episode 4 - A Look Underneath Grand Princess
Martyn ventures out onto the drydock facility to take a peek at the work being done on the bottom of the ship.


Episode 3 - Piazza Beginnings 
Martyn shows us the beginning transformation of the atrium turning into the Piazza.

Episode 2 - Grand Princess Enters Drydock 
Grand Princess Video Journal - this episode highlights the ship entering drydock at the Grand Bahamas Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas.

Episode 1 - Grand Princess Drydock Introduction 
First video in the Grand Princess Drydock video journal series hosted by Cruise Director Martyn Moss.


Thanks to Princess Cruises for sharing this behind the scenes look at the transformation of  Grand Princess.  They are showing that it isn't necessary to build a new ship to have some fantastic offerings for passengers.   We look forward to sailing on the Grand Princess after she returns to service.