The Star Princess is a Princess Cruises cruise ship. The Star Princess is a sister ship of the Grand Princess and the Golden Princess. An earlier ship of the same name is now operating as the Ocean Village.

The Fire

On March 23, 2006, at about 3 am, a fire broke out in the passenger compartments, amidships, on the port side of the ship [1]. Shortly after, the captain sounded the distress signal - six short blasts followed by a longer long blast, which woke passengers up all over the ship. Passengers went to muster stations and evacuees were combined into groups, then stationed in cramped rooms for about seven hours. Some passengers who needed regular medication needed crewmembers to go into their suites and retrieve their medication. Passengers evacuated their cabins into public areas through smokey hallways, on their way grabbing their Life Jacket's. The evacuation was reportedly orderly, in contrast to deadlier fires such as those on the Morro Castle and Yarmouth Castle. [2] Lifeboats were lowered, but proved to be unnecessary, as the fire was contained and doused, and the ship headed into Montego Bay under her own power. In the meantime, the fire, which was caused by cigarette left burning on a balcony, had become hot enough to melt the plastic and aluminium balcony divides, as well as scorching up to 150 cabins, and causing smoke damage to at least a hundred more on passenger decks 9 through 12 (Dolphin, Caribe, Baja, Aloha decks). A passenger, Richard Liffidge, 75, of Georgia, died from a heart attack, and eleven other passengers suffered significant smoke inhalation.

The Aftermath

Passengers were evacuated to hotels in Jamaica and subsequently were flown home. The ship was en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, Jamaica, after departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 19. With 79 cabins destroyed and a further 204 damaged, the ship was moved to the Bahamas where she was prepared for a transatlantic crossing to Bremerhaven, Germany for repairs. Her remaining Caribbean cruises and a transatlantic cruise were cancelled, with the anticipation that she would begin her summer season in the Baltic mid-May.

The ship was repaired at the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, set sail again on the 13th of May, 2006[3] and resumed its regular service on the 15th of May from Copenhagen[4]. Passengers reported that the only noticeable differences were a strong smell of new carpeting, the addition of sprinklers to all balconies and the replacement of plastic furniture with non-combustible alternatives.

External links

• Princess Cruises page
• CruiseCritic.com review
• Controversies about ship safety