Blaze terror on cruise ship cuts holiday short

A fire has broken out aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, forcing more than 2,200 from their beds to safety points.

Passengers have had to end their trip early after the fire broke out in the mooring area of the Grandeur of the Seas.

The vessel had left Baltimore on Friday and was en route to CocoCay in the Bahamas when the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, the company said.

No serious injuries were reported.

The 2,224 guests and 796 crew were all safe and accounted for, Royal Caribbean said in a statement.

Mark J Ormesher, a Briton who lives in Manassas, Virginia, told AP news agency he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship’s casino.

The crew quickly provided instruction, which “encouraged calm amongst the passengers”, he said. The captain “provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe”.

The air conditioning was shut off, he said, and as the ship grew hotter bottled water was passed around.

The 17-year-old ship did not lose power, however, and was able to sail into port at Freeport, Bahamas. Charter flights are now being arranged to return passengers to their starting point in Baltimore, the US.