Tag Archives: Queen Mary 2

Fire Breaks Out aboard Queen Mary 2

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 Fire Breaks Out aboard Queen Mary 2

A small fire broke out in an engine room aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on Wednesday.

Cruises.co.uk member SolentRichard, Lee On Solent was on board whilst the incident occured – he gave his account of what happened:

“The actual time was minutes around 8.00pm and Solent Richard plus wife were 15 minutes into the Senior Officer’s Cocktail Party in the Queens Room, usual glass of champagne in hand, when the first ‘assessment’ broadcast was made.

Within minutes there was another broadcast to summon the crew emergency teams to the scene of the incident. Most officer’s left to attend their stations but the party definitely continued and the pianist continued to play.

By 8.15 the Captain made a broadcast to say that the fire had been in the exhaust lagging of the Gas Turbine and was now safely extinguished. There was an element of the surreal as gusts at the party continued to down champagne while many crew members either busied themselves or began to muster at their ‘stations’ dressed in their life jackets. Waiting staff were soon back at full strength and the party continued till 9.00pm.

By way of a small anecdote, the Entertainment Director, Ray Rouse, joined our group prior to the end of the party with a great one liner: “ First time in 37 years I have worn a life jacket over a DJ”

The whole incident was an pertinent lesson in the calmness and confident manner that the officers and crew conducted themselves in the true traditions of British seafaring. There was never any mention of the passengers needing to return to staterooms to collect their life jackets and no mention of lifeboats.”

The fire was caused by one of the ship’s gas turbines — they augment power to the ship’s main quartet of diesel turbines, allowing the ship to travel at a higher maximum speed (some 30 knots).

Eric Flounders, UK spokesman for Cunard confirmed: “Neither passengers nor crew were adversely affected, and neither was the operation of the ship”.

Please read below the comments from one of the passengers on board the Queen Mary when the incident happend.

Deanne Rogers

Submitted on 2011/10/09 at 3:35 am

This is not what happened. What a cover up! Passengers were dining and heard the alarm, crew took off and passengers were left wondering what happened until we were told to go to our cabins that there was a fire. We were told to put on warm clothing that there was a fire on the ship on deck 13. We were also in a storm level 11, which is one under a hurricane. The other ships did not come out of the Saint Lawerence river, they took safe harbor further up. The Queen Mary went straight to the Atlantic and put their passengers in danger. Many were injured and ill from the violent waves. Wet vacs were being used in the halls of deck 12 to get water up. Showers were filling up with water. Windows were leaking all over the ship. This was a terrible experience and I will never use this line again.

Thank you Deanne Rogers for your insight.

Japan’s tourism industry to recover by early 2012

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Japan’s tourism industry to recover by early 2012

Oct 06, 2011 07:00AM GMT

Japan’s tourism industry is showing clear signs of recovery for 2012 following the tsunami earlier this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

In the WTTC’s second quarterly report into Japan’s recovery, which uses data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation and STR Global, foreign visitor numbers in June and July were 36% lower than in the same period last year. In comparison, visitor numbers fell 62% in April and 50% in May.

The report, The Tohoku Pacific earthquake and tsunami: impact on travel and tourism – update September 2011, also shows demand for hotel rooms improved in June and July compared to previous months but was still around 5% down on June and July 2010.

The improving yen and containment at the Fukushima nuclear plant are likely to be behind the optimistic findings, said the WTTC. Japan’s inbound tourism recovery will be further helped by a forceful marketing campaign by the Japan Tourism Agency, it added.

WTTC president and chief executive David Scowsill said: “As the world’s largest travel and tourism economy in the world, the recovery of Japan is one of the most compelling issues facing the industry anywhere in the world.”

Prior to the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, Japan’s travel and tourism industry was expected to provide nearly 1.5 million jobs in 2011 and to directly contribute 2.2% of total Japan’s gross domestic product.

The news of a recovery has been backed up by specialists to the destination. Tour operator InsideJapan Tours said departures were almost back to normal figures by September compared to June when bookings were only 60% of those in the same month a year earlier. Although there is still “some work to do for the usual peak autumn months, normal booking levels are expected to return by Novermber, said the operator.  Strong hotel deals and flight prices are expected to aid the recovery.

An InsideJapan Tours spokesman said: “With the Japan women’s football team winning the world cup, a summer full of festivals and the autumn’s leaf viewing season on the horizon, there is much to be positive about in Japan. Six months on from the biggest earthquake in its history, the sun is most definitely shining in the Land of the Rising Sun.”

The WTTC plans to give a further update on Japan later this year and a final report in April next year, a year after the disaster.

Quakes Spark Volcano Alert in Canaries

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Quakes Spark Volcano Alert in Canaries

The Spanish government have issued a yellow alert following an increased level of persistent seismic activity, described as an “earthquake swarm”. The epicentre is on the island of El Hierro – the smallest of the Canary Islands, to the west of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The island, popular with tourists, has seen over 8,000 tremors in two months, 150 since yesterday and experts fear an eruption could happen imminently.

Around 10,000 people live on the 108-square mile island and 53 people have been evacuated from their homes so far following landslide fears. However, a mass emergency evacuation is now possible with the army on standby for helping out in such an event and residents preparing to flee.

The British Foreign Office advises: “The local government authorities have raised the risk level of a volcanic eruption from green to yellow and taken preventative measures in case of a volcanic disruption, deploying extra resources from the military and emergency services to the island. Local authorities are also on stand-by to effect an evacuation should this become necessary.”

Fortunately, no cruise ships are due to call at El Hierro, but there are several scheduled to call at neighbouring islands over the next few weeks.

Ships visiting include Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas, Silver Spirit, Ventura, Queen Mary 2, Costa Deliziosa, MSC Melody, HAL’s Ryndam and Boudicca, Black Watch and Balmoral.

A volcanic eruption has not taken place on any of the Canary Islands since Las Palmas in 1971 but an expert has warned that an eruption on El Hierro could take place in, “days, weeks or months,” according to Tom Worden of the Mail Online. Juan Carlos Carrecedo said, “There is a ball of magma rising to the surface producing a series of ruptures which generate seismic activity. We don’t know if that ball of magma will break through the crust and cause an eruption.”

A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean said: “We are currently monitoring the volcanic activity on El Hierro to ensure guests enjoy a safe and comfortable cruise. At this time, Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas are still scheduled to make all of their ports of calls. The safety of our guests and crew is always our foremost concern.”