Guests on their first night of a 7-night cruise to the Caribbean and the Bahamas experienced a scare when emergency crew began to appear.
Taking to social media, passengers on MSC Cruises’ MSC Seashore reported seeing smoke on the 170,412-gross-ton ship in the late hours of December 8, 2024, while traveling from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the cruise line’s private Ocean Cay resort in the Bahamas.
“Elevators are shut down, some of the boat smells like smoke. Anyone else know anything?” posted one guest on Reddit.
“I was standing right under the smokestack when there were two huge bangs followed by lots of ‘sizzling’ then lots of smoke that smelled exactly like an electrical fire,” posted another guest, who said the fire occurred on Deck 18 Aft.
Additional accounts said the vessel was using generator power and that dining rooms were closed. “The galley does not have complete power. The dining rooms are closed. Internet on board is spotty. Parts were shipped to [Ocean Cay] overnight from the Bahamas and they’re flying a part in. The crew is doing an amazing job.”
Cruise Hive reached out to MSC Cruises, with the cruise line confirming a small fire had broken out on an upper deck but that it had quickly been contained. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.
“On the evening of December 8, a small electrical fire was reported in the emergency generator room on an upper deck of the ship and was swiftly extinguished, with no injuries reported,” a spokesperson from the cruise line told Cruise Hive.
“We do not anticipate any changes to the remaining itinerary or upcoming sailings,” the statement continued.
The ship remains in Ocean Cay, as was originally scheduled, and will not depart until noon on December 10, 2024, giving the crew time to make proper repairs.
The itinerary will continue unaffected to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Port Canaveral on December 15.
Procedures in Place to Deal With Onboard Fires
Electrical fires can happen when electrical systems fail, overheat, or are not properly maintained. For instance, the constant vibration and movement on a ship can damage or fray wires over time, sparking a fire.
They can also take place due to power surges, loose wiring connections, or overloaded circuits.
Of course, a fire on a ship is one of the most serious situations you can have at sea. Unlike on land, where emergency services can help put out fires, a ship is self-contained and in the middle of an ocean.
Read Also: Are Cruises Safe? What You Really Need to Know
Fires can also spread rapidly in enclosed spaces and, if electrical fires affect navigation systems and other essential operations, a fire could cripple a ship’s ability to function.
This is why vessels like MSC Seashore, which debuted in 2021, are equipped with cameras, smoke and heat detectors, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, and fire hoses.
For MSC Cruises, specifically, the fleet is equipped with a “Hi-Fog high-pressure water mist fire protection system, which suppresses and extinguishes fires by discharging a fine water mist at high velocity.”
All crew members also undergo Basic Safety Training, which includes basic firefighting, and all ships feature four Fire Patrols trained by and working with onboard Safety Officers.
MSC Cruises’ crew are no strangers to fire, unfortunately. In June 2024, an electrical fire ignited in the laundry room aboard MSC Armonia as it arrived in Venice, Italy, requiring assistance from the local fire brigade. No injuries were reported, and the ship’s itinerary was not affected.
