A Royal Caribbean cruise ship caught on fire on Monday, causing the rest of the cruise to be canceled.
A fire broke out on the Grandeur of the seas at about 2:50 a.m. on Monday. It wasn't clear how the fire began. It was extinguished two hours later.
The captain announced over the intercom that passengers should go to their muster stations. Room attendants began knocking on doors and telling passengers to grab their life jacket and that it wasn't a drill, the Associated Press reports.
Mark J. Ormesher, an England native, who lives in Virginia and his girlfriend were among the passengers on board. He said that he and his girlfriend smelled smoke in the air as they made their way to their muster station located in the ship's casino. They were given immediate instruction once in the casino.
"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," Ormesher told AP. He said that the passengers had to stay at their station for four hours but the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."
According to Ornesher, the air conditioner was turned off and passengers were given bottles of water. The crew and guests remained calm and offered help to those who needed it.
According to a statement from Royal Caribbean, the staterooms and public areas were safe and power, propulsion and communications systems functioned without issue. A large area on one end of the ship was burned and spread across several decks.
Royal Caribbean released tweets about the incident and said that flights were being arranged for all 2,224 guests on Tuesday from the Bahamas back to Baltimore. The passengers will be given a full refund for their fare and a certificate for a future cruise. All of the guests and 796 crew members were safe.
The ship left from Baltimore on Friday and docked in Freeport, Bahamas on Monday. The National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
