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Fire on the Vision of the Seas -4/17/05 sailing


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We had a great cruise on the Vision to the Mexican Riviera(until the end). The food was very good, as was the entertainment. We had an aft cabin, and felt quite a bit of vibration,although this did not bother us.I think it may be because 1 of the engines was having trouble. On Saturday,4/23, there was a fire in the engine room, which we could really smell from the aft cabin. The fire was put out, and the engine shut down. This meant a slower speed to get back to San Pedro. We pulled in 3-4 hours late, and many people (including us) missed their flights.

 

RCCL let everyone use the stateroom phones to make alternate air arrangements, or to call family and friends. They put everyone who missed flights up at the Westin LAX, and gave $79/pp in incidentals(which have to be claimed).They also would pay any airfare change fees. I

 

I'm wondering what happened with the 4/24 sailing. We were the 1st group to disembark, and that was around noon time. Then they must have had to fix the engine. I heard the same thing happened 3 weeks ago.

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In general, I agree with the original poster, although I'd be slightly less enthusiastic. The food was good to very good, but not outstanding (although the beef entrees we tried were quite good). Our dining room service was very good. The entertainment was fair to a bit better (but I'm not much a fan of the production shows and we enjoyed Los Pampos Gauchos and Floresence and the Rosario Strings and the orchestra). With respect to the "incident" as the captain described it, we were a bit startled when the "Bravo, bravo, bravo" call came over the PA system with no explanation for some time. The end results were quite good for us (RCI-arranged air that was rescheduled so we were only a couple of hours late getting back to the east coast), and must have reflected a lot of scurrying around to make alternate arrangements for so many people. A little more information (and reassurance) during the wait for more information would have been nice - our waiter told us at Saturday dinner that he THOUGHT Sunday morning breakfast would remain as scheduled, and our cabin steward said we could remain in our cabin for an extra hour Sunday morning when we asked him, but there were no general announcements about either of those things that we heard. As I said, the end result was fine for us (and I hope it was for everyone else). I, too, wondered about the next sailing. Anyone know?

Cheers,

UNCle Don

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I missed the editing deadline by one minute ....ah, well, I just meant to add that one other bit about communication that annoyed me was that the "Report from the Bridge" on the cabin TV (which seemed to me to be a great way to keep passengers informed) continued to state that we would arrive in port at "7:00 AM" well after 7 AM Sunday while we were still some miles out and the captain had announced Saturday that our ETA was about 10:30 AM. That leaves me thinking that the "Report from the Bridge" is largely fake and that they missed an important and efficient way of keeping everyone informed of schedule changes. At least for us, they did well on the big things, and some will consider it unfair to pick on a few little things, but, while they did well, they could have done a little better, IMHO.

We were informed by note to our cabin while at breakfast Sunday morning between 7 and 7:40 about our rescheduled air arrangements. It might have been nice to know earlier, but that's pretty good in my book.

Cheers,

UNCle Don

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I agree that we could have been kept more informed about arrival time, change in dining room hours, when to vacate the cabin, ect. I looked for the info on the tv, and had to call the pursers desk to get the info.

 

Now the real challenge will begin-trying to collect the incidental charges from the RCCL claims dept. They put my son and I on 1 flight, and my husband on another, which was delayed 2 hrs. He did not arrive until after midnight, and had missed his ride home. The cab cost $100 for him. There were also other cab fares and food bills. I'm hoping it will not be a big hassle to collect.

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We were stranded for 2 additional days in LA due to the engine issue/fire.

(Was it actually a fire? I smelled diesel fuel in the Centrum and aft sections, but didn't see any heavy smoke from a fire after the incident).

 

RCI picked up first night which was great & picked a great hotel (Westin) - although this location is aged. Others from our family had to pick up the 2nd night (ouch) due to lack of flights to the east coast.

 

We met many people in LAX from the Cruise that did NOT know about the hotel and incidental reimbursement. You had to seek out the information actively and regularly to know exactly what RCI would provide and how. We had 6 people working on it and many came back with only partial and sometimes conflicting information.

 

Communication on the boat was lacking, I agree w/ Don about not using a valuable on-board tool was a lost opportunity.

 

Food was good, not great - had a pre-made production feel to it. Midnight buffet was spectacular. Wait staff did a great job w/ the kids from our 6 families (ages 3 to 14) and the kids loved the kids club. Windjammer breakfast was uninspired by the 4th day - they served the same menu all 7 days.

 

Overall RCI made reasonable accommodations to quiet the guests for the delay and fire. We'll see how our travel agent does getting us reimbursed for the incidentals.

 

I think they could drop the Mazatlan stop - the city was very gritty and the vendors were too aggressive. Stressful stop.

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Hmmm, I wondered whether an actual fire was confirmed and don't think I ever heard. ....and has anyone reported on what hapened about the April 24 sailing? I assume boarding was delayed somewhat, but was departure late?

It's interesting (and disappointing) that apparently many passengers felt they were unnecessarily kept in the dark. We tried to avoid pestering the Purser's Desk with questions (since we assumed others were doing that already). Since channel 38 on the cabin TV was supposed to carry announcements, we stayed tuned to that channel most of the time while we were in our cabin, just switching to the "Report from the Bridge" on channel 18 or 19 or whatever it was occasionally. Neither channel provided significant help (and I think that resource SHOULD have been used instead of ignored). It seems to me that the result of getting information that was known to be incorrect through the "Report from the Bridge" tended to diminish faith in those reporting that information......

The midnight buffet WAS spectacular, but I wondered how many of the "set" pieces were used repeatedly (and that thought had never before occurred to me at a midnight buffet).

Ah, well, as I said, it worked out OK for us (and I hope it did and does for all the others involved).

Cheers,

UNCle Don

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WOW! I think it's safe to assume that RCCL's head of Public Relations/Customer Service earned his/her salary this month...:eek: Seriously, though, it's really fortunate that no one was hurt (once again...)

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The captain did come on the speaker and said that there had been a fire that had been contained. Just the day before, we had gone to the talk the captain had about the inner workings of a cruise ship, and he was talking about how a fire was the biggest danger to a cruise ship(besides terrorism of course).

 

I agree that RCCL did take care of the passengers with rebooking of flights and such, but all info had to be actively sought out. We went to the pursers desk so many times to get the details on just what expenses would be covered. I think a mass announcement would have been a lot better. Also, since we had to be out of our rooms early, they put on an extra farewell show, with many of the weeks entertainers performing. I thought this was a good way to keep people busy while waiting.

 

We were put up in the Westin, and eventually our party made it back to the east coast, on 3 seperate flights.

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Hello...we are back from the 4/23 sailing on the Vision. We got on board about 3pm and it was pretty crowded at the terminal...lots and lots of people waiting. We got checked in immediately being that we were platinum members (thank goodness!!!...that line was long!!!)

We sailed out late, I think it was about 7pm. Also arrive at out first port at Cabos late...if I recollect correctly...it was about noon. (just as well, we get to sleep a little later). The Captain extended our departure time at Cabos 'til about 7pm. So that was good! Actually, the Captain though about skipping the Cabo port (we lucked out..we MADE IT!) Being that the ship was running on 2 of the four engine during the first day or two of the cruise...the ship was moving at a lesser pace than usual. We also departed from Puerto Vallarta early - about 9:30pm (that was ok)

So, here's the word regarding the fire/explosion of the 3rd engine. Per Captain, the engine exploded due the pressure from the water pump. Thank goodness that the mechanic working on overhauling the 4th engine was on a break...so no one got hurt!!! I guess it was also fortunate that those extra mechanic was onboard fixing up the 4th engine!!! I wonder if the regular staff of 40 could have repaired the exploded engine that quickly.

By the way, were passengers sent to their muster stations...or was it kept quiet and until the fire was contained.

All in all we had a great time on the cruise. The entertainment and food was good to very good. I felt that most of the cakes were overbaked and a little dry...I had much better on their other ships. Also, all their beef were a bit overcooked. If it was done correctly...the meat would had been excellent!!

Another GREAT cruise and a beautiful ship and staff!!!

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No, we were not sent to our muster stations. We knew something was wrong when the captain came on the speaker with"Bravo,Bravo,Bravo,"and a location.We could also smell the diesal fuel from our cabin, and noticed that the ship slowed down. A couple hours later, he came on again and told us that there had been a serious situation, a fire in 1 of the engines,that was now contained.He also said that Bravo was the code word for fire. Glad you had a good cruise.

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The April 24-May 1st crusie came back on time. Docked a little before 7am and the "Express" cruiser got off about 7:36 am. The first color (red) was called at about 8:15.

 

Express check out passenger must get a special pass on Saturday between 9:30 - 10:30am at the excursion desk. They must be US citizen, carry out ALL their luggages and have their own transportation.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the response jcd3.

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Just catching up on CC after 2 weeks out of town.....we will be on the Vision in less than 2 weeks.....sorry to hear the Vision had this problem, glad no one was hurt. Its good to know the next cruise going out wasn't cancelled and now is back on schedule! ;)

 

 

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I just came off the 4/24 cruise on Vision as well and was not aware there had been a fire. I knew there had been engine troubles, but didn't realize there was fire involved. :eek: Anyway, that should tell you no smell remains, at least nowhere I went.:)

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ARIZONACRUISER: I believe from a previous post that you will be staying in cabin 8590 aft. The balcony in this room is so big! It was our favorite place to sit in the afternoon with cheese, crackers, and fruit from room service. Just be careful of the soot! I didn't notice any the 1st few days, and then 1 day I sat in the chair with white shorts, and they were covered with black when I got up-it may be just because of the engine problems that week,I'm not sure. Just wipe the chairs down,and you'll be fine.

We really enjoyed the room. Minor problems were a continuous vibration, and at times a "sewer smell" coming from a drain pipe by the sink. We brought a can of lysol with us,thankfully. The vibration didn't bother us at all, in fact,it kind of "lulled"us to sleep. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

If you are lucky enough to get "Boon" for your waiter in the dining room,ask him to do a few magic tricks. He was the best, and kept our group amused all week!

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jcd3...yes, we will be in cabin 8090!! :) So glad you enjoyed the balcony....I can't imagine how large it will be....I'm so excited!!!! just 11 more days till we can enjoy an afternoon with snacks and drinks :D

 

I was wondering about any soot, so I guess I'll keep an eye on it.....we're not too concerned about the vibrations....it would be a welcome way to fall asleep! ;) Just a little worried about the sewer smell :eek:

 

How was the weather? Were the first/last days cool out of LA?

What would you say is the overall condition of the Vision?

How was the food?

 

I would be nice if we do get Boon as our waiter, he sounds like he would be a lot of fun!

 

Thanks so much for all the information.....glad you had a great time!

 

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Arizonacruiser: I thought the food in the dining room was very good to excellent.We had 8 people in our party, and we were all pleased.I do hope you get "Boon"-we have never laughed so much. He also had all of us trying to do things each night like blowing an egg from 1 egg cup to another(you had to be there!)The buffet food in the Windjammer was just average. When you 1st go into the Windjammer, go past the 1st buffet and go into the dining room. There are 3 stations there with better food, and we missed them on the 1st day.

 

Our weather was great, and the seas were so calm. The 1st sea day(Mon.), it was cool until about 1 pm-too cool to sit on deck, and the Solarium pool was loaded with kids. Then it got really warm, and we sat out for 4-5 hrs., and got burnt.The weather in Mexico was perfect-about 85 or so. On the way back,Friday was warm , and Saturday was warm but windy until the afternoon, when it became quite cool. On the balcony though, it was not windy at all!We would have sunshine there until about 3 in the afternoon.

 

The overall condition of the Vision was very good. The only thing really noticable to us was the carpet condition on deck 8 going the whole length of the corridor towards our room-it was quite stained-looked like water stains, like the whole rug had been water damaged at some point. I was also surprised that the corriders were so narrow.

 

Hopefully you will not have the sewer smell in your bathroom in 8090.It certainly did not ruin our trip in any way!

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