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fire onboard Insignia

LHT28

By LHT28,
in Oceania Cruises

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LHT28

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Once Oceania have all the current passengers & crew taken care of they will probably start contacting the people booked on the next cruise

 

I know people want to KNOW if their cruise is cancelled but just take a step back for another day

 

 

Lyn

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Mura

Mura

Posted
Posted (edited)

It doesn't sound likely (at least to me) that the ship can possibly be ready for a Wednesday departure. Surely the investigation will have to take some time. Not necessarily a month or more, but at least a few days ... and quite possibly more than that.

 

It does sound like a very difficult return home for all the passengers. And even worse for the crew.

 

Mura

 

(I just checked the itinerary for Wednesday's cruise and see that it is scheduled for 24 days. I wonder if they might be able to do an abbreviated cruise if not the whole thing. Or how many people would want to go with a revised itinerary.)

Edited by Mura
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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

Posted
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Not all crew are leaving St. Lucia for Miami right away. We are on the Riviera (in the Caribbean). Our butler's brother was on the Insignia and will remain in St. Lucia until the 17th after which time he will go to the Marina. The Riviera is expecting crew from the Insignia -- presumably will board in Miami when we arrive tomorrow. They will not begin work immediately - they will be given some time to adjust. They have been through a lot. The Riviera will sail into Miami with their flag at half-staff out of respect for those lost. We also had a minute of silence last night.

 

I believe that PCH did the best they coud under very difficult circumstances.

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Sunset Heights

Sunset Heights

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Posted

I just spoke with my sister... they are in Miami as well and will be staying at the Ritz for 2 nights.

 

In St. Lucia, she along with my brother-in-law and a few other couples that they had met through Cruise Critic, had left the ship for a tour of St. Lucia before the fire occurred.

 

She said that the ship didn't tell her much about the fire, but was happy to be in Miami. She also said that she will cruise again (she is a newbie).

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paradiseken

paradiseken

Posted
Posted

We are scheduled on the Insignia 180-day cruise leaving Miami January 10th. I would gladly give up this cruise and money spent to have those three lives back. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the deceased and injured.

 

With that said, I wonder if Oceania will set up a fund for the families of the deceased. I know that a lot of the crew and contractors are sole bread winners and their families depend on their incomes. Just a thought.

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azevedan

azevedan

Posted
Posted
We are scheduled on the Insignia 180-day cruise leaving Miami January 10th. I would gladly give up this cruise and money spent to have those three lives back. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the deceased and injured.

With that said, I wonder if Oceania will set up a fund for the families of the deceased. I know that a lot of the crew and contractors are sole bread winners and their families depend on their incomes. Just a thought.

 

Well said, all around.

May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

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buggins0402

buggins0402

Posted
Posted
Without diminishing respect for those who lost their lives, to see what pax had to endure after evacuation - no hotel rooms, little to no food and water, 5 hours sitting on the tarmac due to miscommunication with Oceania apparently - O could be judged more harshly for what happened after the mechanical accident than for the accident itself. Treatment like that leaves me more almost more concerned than the accident itself -- there are accidents, then there is mismanagement.

 

Ok, I'm awake enough now to comment on this. Everyone must remember that infrastructure in St Lucia is not first world. Hotel space is limited.

 

I looked at what went on and saw a Herculean effort by the cruise line, that managed to get us out in 24 hours. Was it always comfortable...no, but the fact they could pull this off in a matter of a few hours is amazing.

 

Think what had to be done...charter planes flown down, that's 3 1/2 hour flight alone, plus the time to organize them. While the ferry terminal was not the Ritz, it was in a good strategic location to muster the passengers, because it was next to port. They got 20 plus small/ van busses and had them standing by ready to take us to the airport. They took down room numbers and went into cabins and obtained medication....on a ship with no power and then delivered them to the ferry terminal, this went on through late afternoon to early evening. When we arrived there, they had water fruit and some bread products. OK, that wasn't anything great.....but come on..I hope people didn't they'd have the Terrace cafe moved!!! Some chips and nuts came later, then some sandwiches, then the hamburgers and chicken. There was kiosk store, that had some soft drinks and even beer for sale (latter was a godsend for me!)

 

When we received the contents of our safe, it was in heavy duty plastic sealed envelopes...not some baggies that the ship went off and bought at the local grocery....they had these on hand for a situation such as this. And, this stuff did not jump into the bags by themselves. Security had to go through cabin by cabin and get this stuff on a ship that was dark and unsafe....very few staff were going back on board. All this took a ton of organization in a very very short period of time. They rented hundreds of chairs and had them brought to the ferry terminal within a few hours.

 

Then in Miami there was staff working on the flights home from Miami and hotel rooms.... Getting the airport to stay open through the night...

 

This is just the logistical stuff that I saw going on...there was probably much more. But all this was done in a very short period of time.

 

I think the crew, the pursers staff, and CD should be commended. Did we always have the information and answers we wanted. No but, that is because the details were still being worked out.

 

Overall, they did a fabulous job IMHO, once one really thinks of the constraints in which they were working!

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Minoushka

Minoushka

Posted
Posted

Kudos to Oceania for taking care of pax as efficiently as you pointed out .imsure it was not easy for anyone on board ....

Was there mention of your luggage ...will it be shipped home?

I feel sorry for people who live in Nordic climates without the proper clothes as they were already off the ship ....not easy finding real winter clothes in Florida ...I tried in Nov ...did not succeed except to get a hoodie ....

 

This whole tragedy is Im sure very hard for all those concerned ....God bless them all .thank God no more people got hurt .had this happened out at sea ..this would have been much worse

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smilin jack

smilin jack

Posted
Posted

Very Important Insignia Cruise Cancellation Update

Dear Guests and Travel Professionals,

 

As you may be aware, we experienced a tragic event aboard Insignia, a fire in the engine room that resulted in the passing of a crew member and two contractors. We have extended our heartfelt condolences to the families of those involved and are offering them our full support. This is truly an emotional time for all of us at Oceania Cruises.

 

We currently have a technical team onboard the vessel working with the ship's officers and authorities to assess the situation. We need additional time to conduct a full analysis, and therefore, are cancelling Insignia's next voyage scheduled for Dec. 17. We apologize for the late notice but these are extenuating circumstances.

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Sunset Heights

Sunset Heights

Posted
Posted
Ok, I'm awake enough now to comment on this. Everyone must remember that infrastructure in St Lucia is not first world. Hotel space is limited.

 

I looked at what went on and saw a Herculean effort by the cruise line, that managed to get us out in 24 hours. Was it always comfortable...no, but the fact they could pull this off in a matter of a few hours is amazing.

 

Think what had to be done...charter planes flown down, that's 3 1/2 hour flight alone, plus the time to organize them. While the ferry terminal was not the Ritz, it was in a good strategic location to muster the passengers, because it was next to port. They got 20 plus small/ van busses and had them standing by ready to take us to the airport. They took down room numbers and went into cabins and obtained medication....on a ship with no power and then delivered them to the ferry terminal, this went on through late afternoon to early evening. When we arrived there, they had water fruit and some bread products. OK, that wasn't anything great.....but come on..I hope people didn't they'd have the Terrace cafe moved!!! Some chips and nuts came later, then some sandwiches, then the hamburgers and chicken. There was kiosk store, that had some soft drinks and even beer for sale (latter was a godsend for me!)

 

When we received the contents of our safe, it was in heavy duty plastic sealed envelopes...not some baggies that the ship went off and bought at the local grocery....they had these on hand for a situation such as this. And, this stuff did not jump into the bags by themselves. Security had to go through cabin by cabin and get this stuff on a ship that was dark and unsafe....very few staff were going back on board. All this took a ton of organization in a very very short period of time. They rented hundreds of chairs and had them brought to the ferry terminal within a few hours.

 

Then in Miami there was staff working on the flights home from Miami and hotel rooms.... Getting the airport to stay open through the night...

 

This is just the logistical stuff that I saw going on...there was probably much more. But all this was done in a very short period of time.

 

I think the crew, the pursers staff, and CD should be commended. Did we always have the information and answers we wanted. No but, that is because the details were still being worked out.

 

Overall, they did a fabulous job IMHO, once one really thinks of the constraints in which they were working!

 

Thank you so very much for the update! Much appreciated. Couldn't speak with my sister very long because she doesn't have her phone charger.

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2kiwis

2kiwis

Posted
Posted

How dreadful for the families of those who lost their lives. My heart goes out to them.

 

Sounds like Oceania did the very best they could to resolve the situation for everyone in what must have been a distressing and shocking circumstance.

Cruises can be re-booked but lost lives can never be replaced

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Paulchili

Paulchili

Posted
Posted

buggins,

I would like to commend you for your positive attitude in this stressful situation. I would like to hope that the majority of the passengers would feel as you do - that Oceania did the best they could under the circumstances.

We wish all passengers and crew the very best and safe travels wherever they may be going.

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roothy123

roothy123

Posted
Posted

It was kind of a shock to see that familiar "O" smokestack on national TV a little while ago. I am so saddened by this. Carnival and other ships have had their disasters recently, but one in which 3 people die is really sad. We love Insignia (were on her in Sept.).

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