Princess 24 Hour Fire Watch - Saw it in person!

[gopher's girl]

I just got off the Caribbean Princess on Saturday.

 

I was out on the aft Terrace Pool, and spoke with a Princess employee (who will remain nameless) but they were pacing the back deck and looking down on the balconies below. This person said that we should feel very safe because someone is there 24 hours a day to watch the aft balconies - in addition to the bridge watch for the port and starboard balconies. (aft balconies refers to the balconies that are over the propellers for the newbies)... Anyway, we saw many "shift changes" so it looks like they change these people up every couple of hours. They are people from all departments of the ship. Some are officers in white uniforms, others are mechanical people (like the men who take care of the tenders), and others are wait staff and photographers. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the Terrace Pool.

 

I slept well at night. Not that I didn't before, but there was a visible presence. Hundreds of cruises have gone off with no problem, and hundreds more will continue safely, but apparently Princess has found an additional way to try to keep their passengers safe.

 

For future cruisers, enjoy your trip!

-GG

[AliceJ]

Thanks for the info! While I generally feel safe on a cruise (don't have to worry about the whole "ice-burg thing" in the Caribbean,) it's always nice to see the cruise lines being even more vigilant about safety.

 

Safe and happy cruising to all!!

[Pam in CA]

Yes, since the Star fire, cruiselines have staff monitoring all of the balconies 24/7 in 2-hour shifts. Richard Joseph, the CD of the Island Princess, let us know when we were on our cruise in March, a couple of days after the fire. It was reported then and several times afterwards.

[Dolphins]

Such precautions are a sensible way to reduce the fire hazard without the huge expense and inconvenience of installing balcony sprinklers.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Such precautions are a sensible way to reduce the fire hazard without the huge expense and inconvenience of installing balcony sprinklers.

 

While it's a great monitoring system which would be very helpful in confirming or spotting a fire, it won't reduce the fire hazard. The balconies are the Star had breached several areas within minutes and the only thing that would have helped to control it would have been the balcony sprinklers.

 

The fire on the Star had been called in by one of the passengers on our cruise while it was the size of a cup and on one balcony and within seconds had spread. Even had someone spotted the fire from the bridge, what else could have really been done? I guess the general fire alarm possibly would have been sounded before it actually went off and therefore maybe less people would have suffered from smoke inhalation and possibly it could have saved that poor man's life. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see the fire watch but do hope that the cruise lines follow the advice set forth by the MAIB and make some permanent changes.

[gopher's girl]

I do not think this is the end of the changes, but it is something that they implemented almost immediately. Just wanted to share.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I do not think this is the end of the changes' date=' but it is something that they implemented almost immediately. Just wanted to share.[/quote']

 

And thank you for sharing, it's nice to know that they really do have people watching 24 hours a day.

[Cindy]

This is taken from the list of repairs being made to the Star Princess:

"Installation of a drencher system, as well as installation of a fire alarm system on all balconies."

 

It sounds like Princess is moving ahead with fire detection and supression on the balconies, starting with the Star. I would imagine the retrofit will follow on other ships as they are in drydock for refurbishment. Good for Princess! They seem to be doing everything possible to make sure they don't have another tragic fire on one of their ships.

 

Here's the link to the shipyard website: http://www.lloydwerft.com/e/auftraege/fs_star_princess.htm

[kendon]

I noticed the same thing on the Golden two weeks ago. They were watching over the balconies with intense focus. Very reassuring.

[spongerob]

The following statement has aroused my curiosity.

 

The fire on the Star had been called in by one of the passengers on our cruise while it was the size of a cup and on one balcony and within seconds had spread.

 

You have said that your first observation of the fire was when it was outside your balcony door. The statement above seems to indicate that maybe you know more than you have let on, or perhaps you are unintentionally passing on comments you might have heard while on Star Princess.

 

Just curious why you included that little detail.

[Host CJSKIDS]

This is taken from the list of repairs being made to the Star Princess:

"Installation of a drencher system, as well as installation of a fire alarm system on all balconies."

 

It sounds like Princess is moving ahead with fire detection and supression on the balconies, starting with the Star. I would imagine the retrofit will follow on other ships as they are in drydock for refurbishment. Good for Princess! They seem to be doing everything possible to make sure they don't have another tragic fire on one of their ships.

 

Here's the link to the shipyard website: http://www.lloydwerft.com/e/auftraege/fs_star_princess.htm

 

thank you for posting that Cindy.

[dennbr9]

Seems like they could install a few cameras on each side of the ship and than only one person would have to monitor.

[DonLou]

Here's the link to the shipyard website: http://www.lloydwerft.com/e/auftraege/fs_star_princess.htm

 

Great link, Cindy! Thanks. It provides a lot of information in a few short sentences.

[gopher's girl]

Cindy, thank you for sharing that information. It is interesting to know of more changes.

 

cjskids - I still think about everyone involved. I hope that your family has returned to as close to normal as can be expected, and that your symptoms have been (or will soon be) cured. I have not followed the other threads closely due to my being away.

 

spongerob, i imagine the fire did start small, and it is possible that cjs does know something but maybe cannot share all details with us at this time.

[spongerob]

I figured as much, and having read so much of CJSKIDS' accounts the statement caught me by surprise. Inquiring minds and all that, I guess. My apologies if I sounded like an aggressive prosecutor - or maybe I just watch too much CSI. :)

[Host CJSKIDS]

The following statement has aroused my curiosity.

 

 

 

You have said that your first observation of the fire was when it was outside your balcony door. The statement above seems to indicate that maybe you know more than you have let on, or perhaps you are unintentionally passing on comments you might have heard while on Star Princess.

 

Just curious why you included that little detail.

 

I have posted this information before and it wasn't due to my observation. It was due to discussing the fire with the young girl who pulled the initial fire alarm. This was how she described the fire, a cup of fire that rapidly spread.

 

And gopher''s girl is correct, I can't share all the information that I have, wish I could.

 

For those interested in seeing a new show about safety at sea and cruising, watch the Travel Channel on May 17th. The title of the show is Travel Advisory: Safe at Sea . It will premiere on Wednesday, May 17th at 8 pm.

Hopefully that remains the title but the time is definite.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Cindy' date=' thank you for sharing that information. It is interesting to know of more changes.

 

cjskids - I still think about everyone involved. I hope that your family has returned to as close to normal as can be expected, and that your symptoms have been (or will soon be) cured. I have not followed the other threads closely due to my being away.

 

spongerob, i imagine the fire did start small, and it is possible that cjs does know something but maybe cannot share all details with us at this time.[/quote']

 

Thank you, we're all doing very well. I'm finally feeling 100% and life is mainly back to normal. Thanks so much for your well wishes.

[Bsan1221]

I was on the Tahitian Princess on 4/19 and they had crew members doing fire watch shifts. :)

[DarrenT]

And all because you get stupid people who still think nothing of flicking their cigarettes off of the decks, and no doubt they will still do it even now.

 

The intelligence of some people really does amaze me at times.