Cruise ship diverted to Bahamas port after fire

[titaniumsalute]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A Royal Caribbean International ship was diverted to a Bahamas port Monday after an early morning fire sent guests to the decks with life jackets under the night sky.

The Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship, under its own power but escorted by the U.S. Coast Guard, arrived in Freeport hours after the fire, which the company said began in a mooring area about 2:50 a.m. and was extinguished just before 5 a.m.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/27/world/americas/bahamas-cruise-line-fire/index.html

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Another day...another disaster on a cruise ship.

[Blue Owl]

1. The Grandeur of the Teas Cruz ship?

Oh rats, Grandeur of the Seas...

[ForgoTheConsequence]

2. Whats the appeal?

I don't get the appeal of cruises. Its like paying to stay in a hotel full of germs that you can only leave for a few hours a day. Your ship docking for a few hours so you can buy trinkets from locals doesn't mean you actually visited that country.


Maybe its the all you can eat buffets and shuffleboard?

[titaniumsalute]

3. I think what you said IS the allure of a cruise ship

First off I have never been on a cruise. I live in South Florida 8 miles from the ocean. I really don't need any more tropical weather that I already get and I'm not much of an ocean person anyway.

I think the somewhat turnkey food and entertainment 24 hours per day appeal to many. I also think the tropical weather appeals to many. Stopping for a few hours at the ports to hang out in tourist areas sounds awful to me but let's face it, many people like this kind of simple stuff.

For me, no allure. But hey, I'm not like most people I guess (and neither are you it seems.)

[Kurska]

7. I've been on many cruises.

First off, they are actually very competitively priced compared to booking a hotel somewhere. This is especially true because all the food on the ship is free, you only pay for alcohol.

Secondly, it is a good way of visiting a lot of places in the Caribbean fast. You also don't blunder around and just buy trinkets, you can set up a ton of activities either through the cruise ship line or once you get there. You generally aren't there for only a few hours either, you can leave the ship early in the morning and don't have to be back until very late at night. Sometimes ships will stay at a single port for two days or so.

The bigger ships aren't shuffleboard either. They have ice skating rinks, arcades, minigolf, rock climbing walls, pools, libraries where you can read and relax, rather large casinos (you can gamble in international waters). I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff.

I've always enjoyed my cruises and unlike Carnival who had all the problems recently, Royal Caribbean is a top notch company that I've never had the slightest bit of a problem with. I'd recommend them to anyone. I'm sure they will take care of this problem and compensate anyone appropriately, their customer service is outstanding.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

11. I see.

I guess I'd rather just stay in a country for a week and visit the beach.

[Kurska]

15. Ain't for everyone, but I enjoy them n/t

[RebelOne]

20. Me too. Been on three. n/t

[Posteritatis]

17. I'm in one of the ports on the East Coast cruise ship routes

I actually work for a museum next door to the terminal (and it's a four-ship week - aieeee). The ships are in town from nine to five or eight to four or eight to six or something in those general ranges, and they're ferrying convoys of passengers to various sights and sites within a couple hours' drive of the city, or setting them loose on the town with a map and some suggestions.

It's pretty good at keeping the passengers both busy and ashore most of the time. The main problem for them right now is the fact that the city's been a damp battleship-grey since early April, but there's plenty of indoor options and it's starting to pretend to attempt to get nice out..

[arikara]

12. I've heard that there are many seniors who

basically live on the cruise ships. They have all the amenities, activities, resident doctors, excellent meals and great service. You watch for the sales and they are cheaper than a crappy seniors home.

[Kurska]

18. That plus cruise lines run absolutely ridiculous loyalty programs.

Massive discounts and perks for repeat cruisers. Especially Royal Caribbean they really pull out all the stops for pinnacle and Diamond plus members.

[Paulie]

4. Ship had a fire then under its own power came into port with no injuries

A disappointment perhaps but disaster???

[titaniumsalute]

6. I dont know...if I were on the ship I would probably think my vacation was a disaster??

[Paulie]

19. Maybe, but we're not talking Poseidon Adventure here

[NaturalHigh]

5. Just one more reason I'm never setting foot on a cruise ship.

[underpants]

8. My tax dollars are paying for the US Coast Guard to escort private for-profit ships?

[titaniumsalute]

9. In all fairness...

The US Coast Guard protects ALL ships at ALL times. That includes private boats, fishing vessels, cruise ships, transport barges, etc.

[Posteritatis]

13. Whining about "my tax dollars" re: the Coast Guard doing its job is incredibly petty. (nt)

[underpants]

14. I was being ironic

[Posteritatis]

16. Fair enough. You can never really tell with cruise ship threads. (nt)

[KaryninMiami]

10. Which part is the disaster part?

Was anyone killed? Was the situation which I agree, was an unplanned inconvenience, no doubt not fun, handled in any way unprofessionally? Were the passengers or crew at any time in any danger?

At this moment (just another day in the cruise industry), hundreds of thousands of passengers are enjoying their experiences on cruise ships all around the world. Millions per year- with the highest repeat factor of any other vacation type.

Any idea how many hotels have fires or air borne illnesses or any number of major and or minor emergencies that are never reported? How come we here so little about hotel "disasters" or minor events- they do happen. And they happen often.

This was not a disaster- lets please not have us over dramatize these situations - we ha CNN for that ok?

[titaniumsalute]

22. Four paragraphs on a noun you didn't like?

Wow. Dramatic alright.

[Violet_Crumble]

23. I think it's more the use of the word when it doesn't fit...

When I think of disasters, I think of the Titanic, the boxing day tsunami, massive earthquakes, and the coffee machine breaking on me this morning, all of which have been or will be featured in 'Seconds From Disaster'. If there were a series called 'Emergency Situations That Didn't Get Screwed Up And Ended Well', then this one would be a contender...

[ReRe]

21. I'd rather go to Europe....

... and hop on a cruise. One of those Rick Steves cruises, if there is such a thing.