Tag Archives: cruise ship

Cruise ship Boudicca hit by engine room fire

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BoudiccaThe Fred Olsen cruise ship Boudicca is carrying 784 passengers and 356 crew

A cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 people was left without power off Morocco after an engine room fire.

Holidaymakers on board the Boudicca were told to don life jackets and gather at emergency muster stations, according to the son of one passenger.

The fire at 04:00 BST left the ship “listing” and “in pitch black”, said Dave Tonkin, whose father is onboard.

Fred Olsen, the company which owns the ship, said it was now fully stable and had five engines running again.

Boudicca

Spokeswoman Rachael Jackson said Boudicca listed for “a short period” but was now stable and travelling again, although more slowly than normal.

“The fire was in the engine room, but has now been extinguished, and no guests or crew have been injured,” she said.

She said two main engines and three auxiliary engines were running, while two other engines were still being mended.

The ship will aim to arrive in Lanzarote, Spain, on Monday as planned, she added.

It currently has 784 passengers and 356 crew on board.

The Boudicca is one of four cruise liners owned by the UK-based, Norwegian-owned company Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.

The ship’s online locator currently shows it off the coast of Casablanca, Morocco. It left Cadiz, Spain, on Saturday.

It is not the first time the Boudicca has been in the news. Last year Fred Olsen paid £280,000 in compensation to 130 holidaymakers who suffered gastric illnesses on board between October 2009 and May 2010.

The ship was also hit in 2013 when 98 passengers contracted a vomiting bug.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises reveals pics of new luxury ship

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The ship's atrium lobby.

The ship’s atrium lobby.

Promising “the most luxurious cruise ship ever built,” Regent Seven Seas Cruises president and COO Jason Montague unveiled renderings of the interior of Seven Seas Explorer at a news conference in New York this morning.

The 750-passenger ship will be Regent’s first in over a decade when it is delivered in 2016.
The Compass Rose restaurant.
The Compass Rose restaurant.

Renderings show public rooms with rich fabrics, vibrant colors and exotic materials. The ship’s Explorer Lounge, for example, has columns sheathed in mahogany wood and a black marble bar ringed with plush, deep opal blue bar stools.

A standout feature will be the two bedroom, 3,875-foot Regent Suite, which boasts an in-room spa with unlimited Canyon Ranch treatments included and a glass-enclosed outdoor sitting garden where guests enjoy an unobstructed 270 degree forward view. The suite also comes with unlimited laundry service, a private car and driver at each port, and a limousine service on departure and arrival.

The master bedroom in the 3,875-square foot Regent Suite.
The master bedroom in the 3,875-square foot Regent Suite.

“There is nothing like the Regent Suite in the cruise industry, and I believe it rivals anything on land, too,” Montague said.

Guests boarding the ship will step into a lobby with a circular inlaid marble floor, matched by twin etched glass staircases and punctuated by a cascading crystal chandelier.

Regent said each suite category will have its own unique layout and design elements, ranging from a warm and welcoming island manor style for the Deluxe Suite to a more sumptuous jewel inspired look in the Penthouse Suite.

Public rooms include those featured on current Regent vessels, including the Compass Rose main dining room, Prime7 steakhouse and Verandah buffet restaurant, which transforms into the table service Sette Mari restaurant for dinner.

The in-room spa retreat in the Regent Suite includes a steam room, sauna and treatment area.
The in-room spa retreat in the Regent Suite includes a steam room, sauna and treatment area.

Explorer also features a two-story, 675-seat Constellation Theater and a silver, gold, black and white Observation Lounge. Tables in front of the theater seats will each feature a hand-blown, Murano glass lamp.

“This ship will offer our guests a new level of grandeur throughout, from its lavish suites to its elegant public spaces and gourmet restaurants,” Montague said.

Explorer will sail in the Mediterranean starting in July 2016. Reservations open Jan. 19.

Disney cruise stages dramatic rescue

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Disney cruise stages dramatic rescue of passenger who fell overboard from passing Royal Caribbean liner after holidaymakers spot him in water

  • 22-year-old had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas
  • Spotted in the water by crew aboard Disney Magic vessel later in the day
  • A lifeboat was dispatch to rescue the passenger near Cozumel, Mexico
  • Questions raised over cruise ship passenger detection technology

A passenger who went overboard during a luxury cruise was rescued by a passing Disney liner.

The 22-year-old, who had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas, was only spotted in the water by the eagle-eyed passengers and crew of the Disney Magic vessel as it passed by later in the day.

The incident happened on Thursday morning as the Magic was approaching Cozumel off the coast of Mexico.

The passenger can be seen on the far left of the picture as the rescue vessel approaches

It is not yet known how the passenger came to be in the water.

However, the incident is raising questions over whether cruise ships have the proper technology to detect when someone goes overboard.

Disney has credited a combination of passengers and crew from the Magic with spotting the man in the water, lowering a lifeboat, and getting him aboard the Magic.

Below is the Video of the Rescue.

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

The man was immediately transported to shore for treatment.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said the ‘22-year-old male guest from Oasis of the Seas went overboard near Cozumel, Mexico.

‘He was spotted by a crew member from another cruise ship, and picked up. We are grateful for the other ship’s assistance.’

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the cruise line has not yet provided additional comment, beyond its statement.

Scott Sanders, founder of The Disney Cruise Line Blog, said such a rescue at sea by the Magic crew is unusual.

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

‘It’s pretty darn fortunate that they were sailing in the vicinity,’ said Sanders, whose blog is not affiliated with Disney.

Jim Walker, a maritime attorney who reported on the incident on his Cruise Law News website, said the case points out the need for cruise ships to have better monitoring systems for detecting when someone falls off or jumps from a ship.

He said systems he would support include motion sensors and thermal detection systems that would indicate if someone goes overboard.

He also favours linking such systems to an alarm notification for crew so that an immediate search-and-rescue operation could begin.

The Oasis of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship, with a capacity of 6,360. The ship — which is based at Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale — was on a seven-night cruise to the Western Caribbean when the incident occurred.

The vessel has the capacity to house 5,400 passengers and 2,394 crew. It cost £800m and took three years to build in Turku, Finland before it was launched in 2009.

At 1,187ft, the Oasis of the Seas is longer than the Shard and wider than Boeing 747.