Tag Archives: Miami

Nine weeks on the dock for fire-damaged cruise ship

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The damage caused by a fire that broke out on Oceania Cruises’ Insignia will take nine weeks to repair.

On December 11th 2014, the engine room of Insignia went up in flames while the vessel was docked in St Lucia, during its ten-day voyage that departed from San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Two contractors and an Insignia crew member who had been working in the engine room died as a result of the fire. One other crew member suffered injuries and was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation, but released a day later. Fortunately, no passengers were hurt.

Subsequently, the remainder of the sailing was cancelled and those on board were evacuated and flown to Miami.

The ship has been taken out of service, with the expected nine-week repairs leading to the cancellation of a 24-day voyage which had been scheduled to depart Miami on December 17th 2014, along with the first three legs of Insignia’s Around the World in 180 Days cruise, which was scheduled to leave Miami on January 10th 2015.

A picture of the Oceania Insignia fire

Insignia’s Around the World cruise has been rescheduled to commence on March 22nd 2015 and will depart from Singapore.

Kevin Sheehan, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Lines – parent company of Oceania Cruises – said: “The timing of repairs has unfortunately required the cancellation of Insignia’s holiday voyage along with the modification of the world cruise.

“We understand how disappointing this news must be to our valued guests and we extend our sincere appreciation for their cooperation and understanding.”

Passengers who have already booked to embark on the world cruise can choose to go on the new date and receive a full refund for the cancelled days, along with an additional 25 per cent of the refunded amount in the form of a future cruise credit.

Or, they can opt for a full refund and a 25 per cent future cruise credit based on the pro-rata cruise fare on the three cancelled segments.

For those who choose to continue with the cruise, Oceania will provide free business class airfare to Singapore and a one-night pre-cruise hotel stay.

Oceania ship to be out of service for nine weeks following fatal engine room fire

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Oceania Cruises’ ship Insignia will be out of service for more than two months following an engine room fire which killed three workers and injured another crew member.

The line has been forced to cancel a 24-day cruise over Christmas from Miami and the first three legs of an unprecedented 180-day round the world voyage.

The world cruise, which had been due to depart from Miami on January 10, will now begin in modified form in Singapore on March 22. Fares for the cruise began at $41,999.

The fire on the ship occurred on December 11 in St Lucia while it was on a 10-day sailing from Puerto Rico. The 656 passengers on board at the time were safely evacuated from the ship and flown to Miami and the remainder of the cruise was cancelled.

Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has now confirmed that repairs to Insignia are expected to take about nine weeks.

President and CEO Kevin Sheehan said: “The timing of repairs has unfortunately required the cancellation of Insignia’s holiday voyage along with the modification of the world cruise.

“We understand how disappointing this news must be to our valued guests and we extend our sincere appreciation for their co-operation and understanding.”

The financial impact on the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 is estimated to be a reduction in earnings of approximately $0.05 and $0.05 per share, net of insurance proceeds, respectively, the company said.

Huge Norwegian Escape Block Only Just Fits Through Yard Entrance

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Huge Norwegian Escape Block Only Just Fits Through Yard Entrance

video- Norwegian Escape block float out

video- Norwegian Escape block float out

The Norwegian Escape has only just managed to get through the entrance of its shipyard on Friday December 5th at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

As you can see from the video footage the large block was floated out of the construction yard for the first time and it was done inch by inch. The operation began in the early hours of the morning and it only just managed to get through. At times it was moving so slow it didn’t even seem like it was moving at all!

All the blocks are set to come together to make up the Norwegian Escape which will be the first Breakaway Plus vessel for Norwegian Cruise Line. There will also be a second sister ship built named Norwegian Bliss at the same shipyard.

When a major construction milestone is made at Meyer Werft there is often local cruise enthusiasts who head to the banks of the river to record or watch the process. Recently Royal Caribbeans Quantum of the Seas was the star of the shipyard but that ship has now entered service.

Norwegian Escape will be 164,600 gross tons and will carry over 4,000 passengers. It’s scheduled to be built by October 2015 and Once completed shall be sailing from the worlds busiest cruise port in Miami, Florida.