Another cruise ship makes headlines today, as an incident with the Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Sea heated up quickly.
At 2:50am passengers on the Grandeur were awakened to grab life jackets and head to assembly stations, after a fire broke out and spread rapidly. Though the cause of the fire is still undetermined, it did a significant amount of damage to the 916-foot-long ship (longer than three football fields). A sizeable area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship, so much so that the rest of the cruise was canceled, according to CNN.
The company said the 2,224 guests and 796 crew members - all safe and accounted for - will be flown from the Bahamas back to Baltimore where the trip began. Spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez revealed that Royal Caribbean was arranging 11 different charter flights. Additionally, passengers will receive a full refund of their fare for this cruise as well as a certificate to use for a free future cruise.
According to The Huffington Post, the company released a statement on their website saying it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."
Despite the unexpected incident, several reports confirm that the crew acted swiftly and efficiently, which kept a calm among passengers. They will return to Baltimore soon, and investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and Bahamian officials will continue to determine the cause of the fire.