Fire forces Royal Caribbean to cancel more peak summer cruises
Royal Caribbean has been forced to cancel all cruises on the fire-damaged Grandeur of the Seas until mid-July.
The cruise line said the 2,446-passenger ship was not expected to return to service until July 12 due to the damage caused by a fire that broke out early on Monday morning during a Caribbean cruise.
All passengers booked on the cancelled sailings between June 7 and July 5 will receive a full refund and 25% of the fare they paid towards a future cruise with Royal Caribbean. Those who had planned to sail on May 31 will get a refund and 50% credit.
Company CFO Jason Liberty said the cancellation of the cruises during the peak summer season would cost the company about $22 million.
The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday, was heading to CocoCay in the Bahamas when the fire broke out at 2:50 a.m.
It took more than two hours to extinguish the blaze, but no-one was injured and passengers were able to disembark at Freeport.
The ship is now heading to Grand Bahama Shipyard for repairs.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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