Cruise Ship Fire On Grandeur Of The Seas, Vessel Diverted

A cruise ship fire on the Grandeur Of The Seas, a Royal Caribbean vessel, has caused the cruise to be diverted to Freeport, in the Bahamas, instead of its original destination, CocoCay.

The cruise ship fire was called in to the Lake Worth Coast Guard at 2:52 AM, deemed a “Class A” fire due to combustibles and other easily ignited materials on board the vessel.

The cruise ship fire was contained to Deck 3 of the Grandeur Of The Seas and eventually extinguished, and two passengers were reported to have fainted during the incident.

After the fire was contained and dealt with, Royal Caribbean released a statement about the issue, saying:

“In an abundance of caution, the Captain deemed it necessary to muster all guests at their assembly stations. All 2,224 guests and 796 crew have been accounted for, and there have been no injuries of guests or crew reported.

The statement after the cruise ship fire continues:

“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and we will continue to focus on their needs and concerns … Grandeur of the Seas was enroute to CocoCay, Bahamas, but is currently heading to Freeport, Bahamas, for further evaluation. The ship is in calm seas, and has full power.”

While a cruise ship fire seems newsworthy in light of recent events, the incident is not generally one that would prompt concern, Catherine Banks of Legacy Travel told ABC:

“If this had happened by itself and not in the shadow of everything that’s happened, it wouldn’t be on anybody’s radar.”

Banks refers to the recent string of cruise ship mishaps in 2013, most notably the stranded Carnival Triumph cruise that saw passengers stuck aboard a ship for several days with scant food and non-working bathrooms.

Earlier this month, prior to this weekend’s cruise ship fire, two passengers on a separate cruise fell overboard and are presumed dead.