Small fire on Grand Princess alters Hawaiian cruise

Per Gene Sloan, the Grand Princess suffered a small engine fire on Monday. This forced the ship to cancel a planned stop in Hilo. After regaining power, the ship sailed to Honolulu so the fire could be investigated. Princess has yet to announce what other stops on the 15-day cruise will be missed.

Engine fire on Splendour of the Seas

The good news for Royal Caribbean is that no one was hurt due to the engine fire on their Splendour of the Seas Thursday. One passenger and and 19 crew members were treated for smoke inhalation, but all are fine. The bad news for the cruise company was that one of the United States' most well-known consumer reporters was onboard.

Clark Howard, who has an extensive background in travel, provided updates to his audience throughout the event, including the ship drifting for two hours after the fire. Because of the delay the ship will skip Argostoli and go straight to Venice.

This is yet another engine fire on a cruise ship with another safe outcome. Hopefully the industry can start identifying the sudden uptick in fires and put in prevention measures.

Is Carnival the most trusted cruise line?

A Reader's Digest poll named Carnival Cruise Line "America’s Most Trusted Cruise Line." The poll asked 4,500 readers which products and companies they trusted in 40 different categories. Carnival is obviously proud of the acknowledgement and some in the cruise media space are calling it a turnaround. But even if perception has improved for the company there is still work to be done.

Just last month a fire on the Carnival Liberty stranded thousands of passengers in St. Thomas. A few weeks later smoke broke out on the Carnival Pride. Fortunately in both instances passengers were safe, but I am sure the passengers forced off the Liberty aren't totally trusting Carnival right now.

Because they were contained and the passengers were dealt with, nothing reached the level of news coverage that the Carnival Splendor fire did in 2010. That was what did the most to damage passenger "trust." Five years later, with the Splendor somewhat forgotten, when Reader's Digest asks people about cruise companies, they naturally say Carnival. It is the most well-known brand. But even with the award we hope that the company remains diligent and keeps passenger and ship safety as its focus.

Report: fire on Carnival Pride

Cruise Law News is reporting that a fire took place Wednesday night on the Carnival Pride. According to their report, the fire was in the engine room and contained. The ship made its scheduled stop in Half Moon Cay Thursday, although it did arrive late. Surprisingly there is no mention of the fire from passengers on social media. Other recent ship fires provided lots of social media chatter and pictures from their respective passengers. There is also no official statement from Carnival. [UPDATE: Carnival is saying it was just smoke and not a fire.]

Unless pressed, Carnival should avoid any mention of the Carnival Pride fire. Coming on the heels of the Liberty's fire, this would amplify any worry from current and future customers. Carnival deserved commendation for handling the blaze, however, they need to discover why these fires keep breaking out.

Carnival Liberty returning to San Juan

After initially implying the ship would sail Monday night, Carnival announced the Carnival Liberty will not complete its current cruise. Still dealing with the after effects of Monday's engine room fire, the ship is awaiting permission to sail from St. Thomas to San Juan. From there, passengers will have the option of staying onboard and exploring Puerto Rico or of returning home. The company also said that passengers will get a refund and a 50% discount on a future cruise.

While the good news is that no one was injured, the massive disappointment and inconvenience for the passengers remains a black eye for Carnival. One bad news story and one boat load of frustrated passengers can undo much of the goodwill the company built up since the Triumph. We hope the passengers make the most of their time in San Juan and we hope this is the last issue to impact a Carnival ship.

Carnival updates Carnival Liberty status after fire

Earlier Monday a fire broke out on the Carnival Liberty. The fire started in the engine room and was contained. The company reported no passenger injuries, though they did evacuate the ship on St. Thomas. According to Carnival the ship will sail again on Monday night. This was the second day of a cruise that left San Juan on Sunday.

It seems like there has been an increase of ship fires of late. Fortunately they've been handled well by the various crews. But this is another reminder to take all ship fire drills seriously.