Emerald crew dealing with fire incident

[billco]

I imagine I am in the minority, but I don't think this thread ever needed to be started. All it accomplished was to get some people needlessly worried and upset. I can't imagine rushing to the computer to report on an ongoing event without knowing the facts. As it turned out, these were minor events that were dealt with appropriately and didn't need to be posted and discussed all over the internet.

 

I trust Princess to ensure the safety of their passengers and will continue to have faith until something happens to belie that trust. It hasn't happened in the 12 years I have been sailing on Princess.

 

BTW, we sail on the Emerald in four weeks from Southampton to Houston.

Edited September 22, 2014 by billco

[boomerone]

I imagine I am in the minority, but I don't think this thread ever needed to be started. All it accomplished was to get some people needlessly worried and upset. I can't imagine rushing to the computer to report on an ongoing event without knowing the facts. As it turned out, these were minor events that were dealt with appropriately and didn't need to be posted and discussed all over the internet.

 

I trust Princess to ensure the safety of their passengers and will continue to have faith until something happens to belie that trust. It hasn't happened in the 12 years I have been sailing on Princess.

 

BTW, we sail on the Emerald in four weeks from Southampton to Houston.

billco--Well said!!! Concur with you 100%. We've been cruising with Princess since '79 and have never had a situation which merited the commotion this "mountain out of a molehill" thread caused. We trust Princess to handle any glitch professionally if one should occur. We had a saying in the Navy when I was flying that whenever something went cuckoo the first step would be to "wind the clock" implying one should take a breath, analyze the situation and don't make it worse by shooting from the hip. I think we had some "ready, shoot, aim" reactions here.

Edited September 23, 2014 by boomerone
punct.

[kruisey]

I imagine I am in the minority, but I don't think this thread ever needed to be started. All it accomplished was to get some people needlessly worried and upset. I can't imagine rushing to the computer to report on an ongoing event without knowing the facts. As it turned out, these were minor events that were dealt with appropriately and didn't need to be posted and discussed all over the internet.

 

I trust Princess to ensure the safety of their passengers and will continue to have faith until something happens to belie that trust. It hasn't happened in the 12 years I have been sailing on Princess.

 

BTW, we sail on the Emerald in four weeks from Southampton to Houston.

As it so happens Princess are sending Engineers who built the engines to Emerald Princess to check out what happened....This information is on a popular Social Network I asked them a question.Meet you on board :)

Edited September 23, 2014 by kruisey

[rdsqrl]

As it so happens Princess are sending Engineers who built the engines to Emerald Princess to check out what happened....This information is on a popular Social Network I asked them a question.Meet you on board :)

 

And I'm sure it's not possible that they might be lying just to appease a nervous customer? There's no need to send engineers to investigate why some oil on a hot surface started smoking. If there were, KitchenAid's people would be spending most of their working hours in my kitchen.

[kruisey]

 

And I'm sure it's not possible that they might be lying just to appease a nervous customer? There's no need to send engineers to investigate why some oil on a hot surface started smoking. If there were, KitchenAid's people would be spending most of their working hours in my kitchen.

 

Well I believe Princess when they state there had been an unusual Technical problem with the engines.

[Love.II.Cruise]

The saying comes to mind

 

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."

 

Honestly, if we were on a cruse with 2 fires, we would be off at the next port. JMHO

Edited September 23, 2014 by Love.II.Cruise

[kruisey]

The saying comes to mind

 

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."

 

Honestly, if we were on a cruse with 2 fires, we would be off at the next port. JMHO

 

Better to be safe than sorry. Plus I don't have Kate Winslets singing voice or the balance at the bow...;)

 

Also if I am going to travel on a Transatlantic Crossing I do not mind if Princess sends hundreds of engineers to check out the engines all the more the merrier.

Edited September 23, 2014 by kruisey

[soakedbythesea]

Please let us know if any delays for repairs are expected, as we are to leave for England in a few weeks and are scheduled to board Emerald Princess on Oct 25 to sail to Houston on Nov. 11.

Thanks,

John & Connie

shifferds@gmail.com

 

Glad everyone is safe and hope it doesn't happen a third time. We board in a little over three weeks and would be rattled by two fires in one cruise too.

[majortom10]

I am on Emerald Princess leaving Southampton UK on 30/9/2014 because of what has been put on cruisecritic and not knowing what to believe and how serious and worried about my cruise I contacted Princess and below is the reply sent to me.

 

Hi Stephen, the ship experienced two very unusual technical failures on the engines, which caused what turned out to be two very minor fires but which produced smoke in the engine room. The fires were quickly extinguished in both instances, there were no injuries and these fires did not pose a safety threat to passengers and crew. During each incident, in an abundance of caution, the crew was called to their emergency stations. There is no reason to believe that there will be a repeat of these incidents. All the ship's systems and the ship's emergency response procedures operated correctly, and the ship is safe. There is no effect on the ship's itinerary. We look forward to welcoming you onboard next week for a safe, enjoyable holiday!

[Shogun]

Hi majortom10

 

Thanks for posting your reply from Princess,

The Emerald is a fine ship on her again in a few months,

Relax and enjoy your cruise,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[billco]

Hi majortom10

 

Thanks for posting your reply from Princess,

The Emerald is a fine ship on her again in a few months,

Relax and enjoy your cruise,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

It was the same response Princess posted a couple of times on their Facebook page with the addition that they were sending some technicians to the ship to investigate.

[nasa1974]

Hi majortom10

 

Thanks for posting your reply from Princess,

The Emerald is a fine ship on her again in a few months,

Relax and enjoy your cruise,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Shogun,

 

Just wanted to say Hi!!. Seeing some familiar folks on some of these threads. Sailing the Royal again in March of 2015. Take care.

 

Marty

[Shogun]

Hi Marty

Nice to hear from you, we are off on the Ruby in a few weeks,

Enjoy the Royal

Odd to think its over a year since we were on her

 

Yours Shogun

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[redtogo]

I see no harm in sharing experiences. If the person had not been onboard, then a rumor is different. But, I find it informative, but not alarming.

 

Thank you to the original poster for sharing.

 

Also, Celine Dion.

[NMay]

Personally as someone on the boat and a first time cruiser I found the information originally provided lacking substance.

 

After the first one I wasn't pleased but had gotten past it then the second occured again just told it's ok but not any real detail. I was on the verge of getting off in Rome as I spoke to several staff on board none of which were willing to give me any further than 'it's now safe sir dont worry' but I wanted to know what had caused the fires so I could decide my own actions. Calls to head office shortly after and they said they weren't even aware of either instance but would look in to it.

 

I do feel much more at ease since being told more information and from my perspective I think they could of given that when asked rather than not letting me talk to anyone in the know.

 

Personally I get hpw those of you who have been on multiple cruises would know it's fine but as I said as a first time cruiser I felt very uneasy with the whole situation.

[chengkp75]

Thought a lot before deciding to weigh in here. I'll start off saying that I have 40 years experience as a marine engineer.

 

I would venture a guess that a lube oil line on one of the engines broke, and some oil hit a hot surface and flashed in the first instance. The part was repaired, and when the engine restarted for testing, it broke again, but the engineers were standing by, and the engine stopped and the incipient fire stopped before it happened, just resulting in smoke. I'm basing this on the statement someone posted that the engine manufacturer is sending tech reps to the ship. This is a pretty common occurrence (having tech reps onboard, they usually do the overhauls), and would be done when a particular item has failed twice, to have them determine the root cause of the problem.

 

My question to NM is whether the Captain telling you that "a lube oil pipe on one of the engines cracked and some hot oil caught fire" would reduce or increase your worry level. How technically inclined are you, and how much detail would you need?

 

I will say that there are smoke, heat, and flame (UV sensors) located over the engines, and that whenever one of them goes off, the water spray system (a fine water fog that dramatically drops the fire temperature, many times to below the flash point) will go off automatically. This system is made so that it does not affect running machinery or electrical items, and will also protect anyone fighting the fire. These systems have undergone stringent scrutiny after the Carnival Splendor fire, and all flag state and port state control inspectors (UK Board of Trade) look at them with a magnifying glass.

[majortom10]

Personally as someone on the boat and a first time cruiser I found the information originally provided lacking substance.

 

After the first one I wasn't pleased but had gotten past it then the second occured again just told it's ok but not any real detail. I was on the verge of getting off in Rome as I spoke to several staff on board none of which were willing to give me any further than 'it's now safe sir dont worry' but I wanted to know what had caused the fires so I could decide my own actions. Calls to head office shortly after and they said they weren't even aware of either instance but would look in to it.

 

I do feel much more at ease since being told more information and from my perspective I think they could of given that when asked rather than not letting me talk to anyone in the know.

 

Personally I get hpw those of you who have been on multiple cruises would know it's fine but as I said as a first time cruiser I felt very uneasy with the whole situation.

 

I can understand your concerns and did enquire myself directly to Princess about the incidents because I am on Emerald Princess next Tuesday. But on their behalf I can say that too much information can cause even more reason to worry. Having spent my whole career, 30+yrs, as a firefighter I know only too well that all machinery can break down, leak oil or just motors burn out causing smoke and can set off smoke alarms. We have been on a few cruises where the fire response from the bridge has actuated even for the very smallest of incidents but they have to be extra cautious compared to incidents land based because of the serious of a fire on a ship getting out of control. The calling of the fire team by the bridge does not always mean that it is serious or nothing to worry about just being that extra cautious and no need to panic like some have done and put life jackets on. On one of our cruises, not Princess, a similar response was actioned to a smell of smoke and burning on one of the passenger decks at midnight it turned out to be a fan belt slipping and worn in a air conditioning unit a common occurrence on all units land or sea based.

[NMay]

My question to NM is whether the Captain telling you that "a lube oil pipe on one of the engines cracked and some hot oil caught fire" would reduce or increase your worry level. How technically inclined are you, and how much detail would you need?

 

I'll say that if someone had explained things in the detail and manner you did then yes my mind would of been at ease.

 

Originally all we were told is there was a small fire. Then another small fire. And no one would tell me what caused them or if they were related etc, all I wanted was a bit more detail. Now we have that from the captain after several complaints and calls to head office I'm able to once again relax.

 

I just wish Princess would have made the effort to provide me with the information when requested rather than telling me I cant speak to anyone further about it.