On Grandeur now..

[Cruzin-K]

CNN is about to report on the latest "Cruise Nightmare" :rolleyes:

[cruisnseas]

I read that it took 2 hours to extinguish the fire - not sure how "quickly" that is. I'm just so thankful no one was injured - that must have been quite a fire. Kudos to the Captain for keeping safety priority one.

 

Well..it is relatively quick when you compare it to, say, the evolution of the human species ;)

 

one must remember that the Carnival Sensation was waiting to assist.

 

As is required by international maritime law.

[Ocean Boy]

many many years ago I worked for a young start-up female fashion company that is now huge.. anyway, no one above director were allowed to fly on the same plane be it commercial or our corp jet.

 

I hope you didn't think that I was negating or in anyway implying that the point you were making was not a valid one. My mother is a very intelligent woman who had no desire for her entire family to vanish in a disaster.

[sf2]

I'm not implying it had anything to do with the cause of the fire, but isn't the crew mess on the deck below the mooring station? I remember being docked behind the Enchantment on another cruiseline's ship, and a crew member commented on how lucky RCI crews were to have an open air mess.

 

Some of the Grandeur's post-fire photos show a lot of people in that area, and it's making me wonder if the crew mess is in the same place on the Grandeur. Does anybody know? If the fire took out the mess, it might explain why passengers, officers and crew were all eating together as described in a previous post.

 

 

The crew mess (and crew bar) is on deck 2, with Deck 3 being the actual mooring deck (ropes, the bosun's 'store' i.e. potentially paint/chemicals/oil/etc, there may be a laundry) and then on deck 4 the open 'back deck' as it is called, for the crew.

 

I spent about 3-4 years working on that ship. From personal experience I can say we get a LOT of training on what to do in case of emergency, and since the Concordia incident - it's been stepped up tremendously. I very much applaud the GR crew on keeping everyone safe.

[celebrity]

I agree that everyone should just go to muster and meet up there. However, how would you feel if the family was split between different stations and you had no idea what was going on with them?

 

Of course I would be very upset. I have never encountered a cruise when we were separated by muster stations.

[JasonTehGreat]

That is the problem with sensationalism as journalism. You can have dozens of people say how calm and professional everyone was considering the situation but you get one person who may be embellishing and it is what makes it into the news. Every other person quoted, both here and in the media, tell stories of how well everything was handled and what look what CNN chooses to publish.

 

 

Ummm..... what?

 

The PASSENGER was on the phone talking and describing that herself.

 

 

In reality what the passenger was saying (and CNN broadcasted) was that in addition to the General Emergency Alarm (Muster Alarm) the crew was going room to room to make sure people were awake and getting to the assembly stations. How is CNN wrong for broadcasting that? It shows that passenger safety was the TOP priority.

 

When the Captain ordered mustering he did so because he thought the need to Abandon Ship might be IMMINENT, so yes the crew had every reason to beat on cabin doors and tell people to "run to your muster station". Think of it like a Tornado Warning, you RUN to shelter, you dont stop and check the mail and water the roses on the way.

 

I consider my cabin attendant beating on my door telling me to run to the lifeboat to be exceptionally calm. The opposite would be the cabin attendant freaking out and not alerting anyone and just having a panic attack.

[deborahjo]

Dear roscoegirl and Tonka's Skipper:

 

No need to question Aquahound when he states something like this.

 

He is the "real deal". Not *just* a CC poster. If he says that an official report said something, it said it. If he says that the CBP does something, then it does something.

 

Really.

 

:)

 

Aman. He KNOWs exactly from where he speaks.

[chengkp75]

The crew mess (and crew bar) is on deck 2, with Deck 3 being the actual mooring deck (ropes, the bosun's 'store' i.e. potentially paint/chemicals/oil/etc, there may be a laundry) and then on deck 4 the open 'back deck' as it is called, for the crew.

 

I spent about 3-4 years working on that ship. From personal experience I can say we get a LOT of training on what to do in case of emergency, and since the Concordia incident - it's been stepped up tremendously. I very much applaud the GR crew on keeping everyone safe.

 

Great. Was hoping for someone with crew access to identify the spaces involved. More likely than a cigarette as a cause for the fire (as others have stated, it is extremely difficult to get a mooring line to ignite) is the possibility of a laundry fire (remember Splendor?) or its ventilation. Another possibility is the crew GALLEY, not the crew mess. Is the crew galley adjacent to the crew mess? It usually is, and the possibility of a ventilation duct fire that may or may not vent out onto the aft mooring deck is a fairly common cause of shipboard fires. If the bosun's store is actually there, that is another prime candidate, but all of these spaces should have fire alarms and sprinklers to inhibit spread of the fire.

[Scrapnana]

I will be interested to hear if there are any problems getting people back to the US who do not have passports. We always talk about the importance of carrying a passport on a closed loop cruise in case of personal emergency. I'm hoping it will be easy for those who just have photo id and BC.

[ehfl]

Just mooring lines! A cigarette would not likely start a mooring line on fire.

 

AKK

 

Mooring lines are nylon or cotton. Both are flammable. They often are oiled for better water repellancy, or can absorb oil from the environment, and harbor water.

[Cruzin-K]

OMG, CNN just showed a screen shot of Dharma's Post (#8) about vomiting.

[Poorplaya]

Fire damage looks pretty bad, glad everyone is alright though and no injuries occurred!!!! Here is a picture of the back of the ship, courtesy of Fox News!!

[Don Pedro]

Why should it matter? The issue is not getting onto the plane it is re-entering the US.

 

The airlines will not allow you onto one of their planes without the required proof of citizenship as they can be heavily fined for transporting an improperly documented person into the USA. I'm sure that in instances such as this, RCL and ICE will make arrangements to process passengers back onto US soil.

[oshoguno]

Ummm..... what?

 

The PASSENGER was on the phone talking and describing that herself.

 

 

In reality what the passenger was saying (and CNN broadcasted) was that in addition to the General Emergency Alarm (Muster Alarm) the crew was going room to room to make sure people were awake and getting to the assembly stations. How is CNN wrong for broadcasting that? It shows that passenger safety was the TOP priority.

 

When the Captain ordered mustering he did so because he thought the need to Abandon Ship might be IMMINENT, so yes the crew had every reason to beat on cabin doors and tell people to "run to your muster station". Think of it like a Tornado Warning, you RUN to shelter, you dont stop and check the mail and water the roses on the way.

 

I consider my cabin attendant beating on my door telling me to run to the lifeboat to be exceptionally calm. The opposite would be the cabin attendant freaking out and not alerting anyone and just having a panic attack.

 

I am not doubting that they called for muster and went door to door. I am commenting on how CNN sensationalizes it. Based on one person they "beat" on doors and told them to "run" to muster. Every other report I read shows it to be much more calm and professional but the CNN report does not reflect that.

 

EDIT: I went and reviewed the CNN article again, they have updated it and removed the "beating on doors" reference and toned down the rhetoric of the whole article. Who would have thought that Fox News would be the reasonable news provider.

 

"Ormesher said in an email to The Associated Press that immediately after the captain's announcement, his room attendant knocked on the door and told him and his girlfriend to grab their flotation devices, saying it wasn't a drill.

 

Orsmesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Va., said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.

 

"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," he said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."

 

Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was passed around. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it. Crying babies were given formula and held while their parents used the bathrooms."

[cruzette]

OMG, CNN just showed a screen shot of Dharma's Post (#8) about vomiting.

and I believe the posting said one or two people. good ole media made it sound like hundreds were sick.

 

I'm sure those on board will tell their own stor(ies)...terrifying as it was, but hopefully truthful.

[Ocean Boy]

I just saw the CNN update. They showed a video made by a passenger who was speaking in a very calm voice and showing people who looked quite calm as she described a situation where everyone was freaking out. Hmmm.

[rculross]

I understand the desire to have everyone in your family close during that time, but it is not a necessity.

 

I think people will just have different opinions on this. To me it is a necessity to have my immediate family at the same muster station and on the same life boat/raft. In the most dire of circumstances, that may not happen. But if there is something within my control (like ensuring we are at the same muster station), I will most certainly make sure that happens.

 

Thanks to the OP for posting this. We haven't cruised with our kids yet. I would have never thought to check to ensure both cabins were at the same station, but will most certainly to do. And for what it's worth, just like RCI assigns you the same dinner table, I think they should make sure you are booked in cabins that have the same muster stations, or at the very least disclose that the cabins will have different stations.

[TEXASMUNK]

They get refund for this cruise and a future cruise certificate. Air travel at the expense of RCI.

 

That was for the RCI twitter. Now, guess it is time for folks to chime in and demand RCI do more than refund the cruise costs, fly them home, and give them a free cruise.

[wingatesl]

I think people will just have different opinions on this. To me it is a necessity to have my immediate family at the same muster station and on the same life boat/raft. In the most dire of circumstances, that may not happen. But if there is something within my control (like ensuring we are at the same muster station), I will most certainly make sure that happens.

 

Thanks to the OP for posting this. We haven't cruised with our kids yet. I would have never thought to check to ensure both cabins were at the same station, but will most certainly to do. And for what it's worth, just like RCI assigns you the same dinner table, I think they should make sure you are booked in cabins that have the same muster stations, or at the very least disclose that the cabins will have different stations.

 

I would definitely try to do the same. I do have a problem with the word necessity though. I consider having to abandon ship one of the most dire situations possible. From experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[LuvBNatC]

Maybe I'm not looking at the pics right, but the damage doesn't look that devastating to me. Not seeing signs of buckled steel, just lots of smoke and soot. Compared to all those melted balconies on Star Princess, this damage looks mainly cosmetic. Of course,there's probably water damage inside and many destroyed soft goods to replace.

 

Good old CNN true to form, reporting passengers "scrambling to safety" and having the "scariest time of their lives" when they were getting almost constant updates and the ship never lost power nor was ever remotely in danger of sinking.

 

Hope Carnival is taking notes. RCI is handling this with textbook perfection. I look forward to my upcoming t/a on sister ship, Vision.

[6263cruisers]

Wouldn't it just be easier to all stay in the same cabin?????????

[ehfl]

Wouldn't it just be easier to all stay in the same cabin?????????

 

If you put the kids in your own cabin, then it's not really a vacation, is it? :)

[megr1125]

The US Government will not strand citizens in foreign countries in case of emergency. They will expedite the necessary paperwork and assist in getting them back home.

 

Poke around the State Department website sometime....and/or google it....the Gov't will even give an emergency loan in case of medical emergency as well....

 

 

So, those without passports will not have a problem....paperwork, yes, but really-they will be able to get back...

[Shabot]

The photo looks very similar to that of the Ecstasy when she had a fire near the same place back in 1998.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=carnival+ecstasy+fire+1998&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=2ZijUdrbIorI9gSesIDwBg&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=768&bih=900

 

Quite similar, given that both fires were in the mooring areas.

 

http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2001/010514.htm

[broberts]

Solution: No smoking ANYWHERE on ship. Violators ejected from ship.

 

So if the fire was started by a stray welding spark (as happened a few years ago on another ship), welding should be banned on all ships?