Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Fire Cuts Bahamas Trip Short

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Grandeur of the Seas, burst into flames on the aft mooring deck on Monday morning before the ship reached its Bahamas destination.

There were 2,224 passenger and 796 crewmembers aboard the ill-fated cruise ship. Luckily no one was injured in the fire, although two passengers fainted, according to the Los Angeles Times. Other guests of the ship were treated for high blood pressure, and one for a sprained ankle, reported CNN.

Since the ship managed to stay powered throughout the debacle, it was easily able to dock at nearby Freeport, which is 75 miles east of Palm Beach, Fla. It had left Baltimore, Md., on Friday and wasn’t due back to the port until this coming Friday.

"Royal Caribbean International is deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ vacation," Royal Caribbean said in a statement Monday evening. "We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. And we also know that it has significantly impacted their vacation experience. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."

The fire aboard the Grandeur of the Seas broke out at about 2:50 a.m. on Monday, and forced sleeping guests to vacate their rooms and don their life jackets. It was extinguished just before 5 a.m. Officials have not yet identified the cause of the fire.

Royal Caribbean is offering the guests of the doomed cruise ship both full refunds and a certificate to put towards a future cruise.

Carnival lines has been the cruise operator that’s been in the news most frequently over the last several months for onboard troubles. Most notably was Carnival Triumph incident, which left over 4,000 passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico after it lost power.

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