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Yesterday evening, a fire broke out on the Quantum of the Seas as it sailed on an Alaskan itinerary, according to a Royal Caribbean crew member who wished to remain anonymous. The crew member notified me of the following information:
“Fire on Quantum OTS last night in the engine room/casing in zone 5, multiple decks. Bravo announcement (code to alert crew to a fire or other serious incident on board without alarming passengers) at approx. 8:50 P.M., then again a few minutes later. When the theatre let out passengers were met with fire crews rushing down the stairs. Passengers were visibly a bit panicked. Kilo announcement (Royal Caribbean general signal for crew to report to emergency stations) shortly after 9:00 P.M. with crew running down hallways with emergency vests on. Deck 6 aft passenger cabins evacuated and deck 5 closed past aft elevators. Passengers were advised not to use aft elevators and stay clear of the area. Captain and Cruise Director made a few announcements stating there was a fire and crew members were working on it. Around 10:00 P.M. they announced fire was out and they were working on clearing the areas to open again.”
Just a little excitement for the evening!
This morning, we arrived in Juneau a little early (1 hour), but other than that it seems like business as usual.
Later this afternoon, the captain made an announcement thanking the crew’s ‘quick action which prevented a potentially very serious situation.’ Knowing the Kilo code was called, this was a very serious situation anyway!”
When I inquired of the crew member whether there was a public announcement of the cause of the fire, the employee responded:
“Nothing. As usual, the only information given was the absolute bare minimum.”
A number of cruise guests tweeted about the fire with several people complaining about the lack of public information released to the passengers.
@RoyalCaribbean still no info and apparently the keep getting shifted from one end of the boat to another. Elderly folks with limited mobility not getting help and no info. Please provide an update.
— Bianca (@Ginamaserati123) September 2, 2022
One guest commented that the crew was “professional and quick” although he also mentioned that “it was still a little scary with the alarms and doors shutting.”
Ship is now open for all access and activities. Crew was professional and quick. It was still a little scary with the alarms and doors shutting.
— Tony Tiangco (@MayaTiangco) September 2, 2022
The Royal Caribbean ship departed from Seattle, Washington on August 29th for a seven day Alaskan Glacier cruise. Before it arrived in Juneau this morning, the ship sailed to Ketchikan on August 30th and Sitka on September 1st. The ship is scheduled to call on Victoria, Canada on September 4th and will return to Seattle on September 5th.
Fortunately, there were no injuries reported. There has been no public disclosure of the extent of the property damage or the cause of the fire.
According to cruisemapper.com, on June 5, 2014, a fire broke out on the Quantum during construction at the Meyer Werft shipbuilding yard in Papenburg, Germany. During the incident, two of the workers were injured, suffering from smoke poisoning. The ship sustained damages estimated at around USD $68,000.
Ship fires are not uncommon occurrences, although cruise lines try to create the illusion that such dangers are rare. As part of their efforts to restrict adverse public sentiment, the companies prohibit their crew members from releasing information to the public. Thanks to this particular crew member for disclosing details to the public.
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Image credit: Quantum of the Seas – Frank Schwichtenberg – CC BY-SA 4.0 commons / wikimedia.
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