A small fire broke out aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder on Wednesday night, November 23. The flames were quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported. Several areas of the ship on Deck 9 and 10 near the fire were closed temporarily for cleanup and inspection.
Fire Onboard Disney Wonder
Flames were spotted coming from a speaker to the upper right of the ship’s Funnel Vision screen, the outdoor movie screen on Deck 9, on the aft of the forward funnel.
At first, guests reported seeing smoke, but the flames quickly followed and grew in size. The cause has been noted as a short circuit within the speaker.
Emergency crews quickly responded and parts of Deck 9 and 10 were evacuated to ensure complete safety as the fire was extinguished. Inspections were completed to be sure there were no further risks.
Where the speaker was mounted is close to Vibe, the exclusive teen club (ages 14-17). On Disney Wonder, Vibe is an open-plan space inside the forward funnel. The impacted speaker was on the outside of the funnel.
While the deck was crowded for the popular themed Pirate Night at the time of the fire, the flames were not near guests, and no injuries were recorded related to the incident. The festivities were temporarily paused, but resumed after the fire was extinguished and the area deemed safe.
There have been no delays to Disney Wonder‘s current sailing. The Magic-class, 83,000-gross ton ship is currently on a 7-night Very Merrytime Mexican Riviera cruise roundtrip from San Diego.
The ship set sail on Sunday, November 20, and had already visited Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan before the fire occurred, with one more port of call planned in Puerto Vallarta. The ship will return to San Diego on Sunday, November 27.
Every cruise traveler is made aware of the risk of fire aboard cruise ships and cautioned about unsafe behaviors such as flicking hot ash overboard if smoking, using heating elements within staterooms, or leaving electronics plugged in when not in the stateroom.
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Many objects that could potentially cause fires, either through open flames or the possibility of electrical shorts, are prohibited aboard cruise ships.
On Disney Cruise Line, guests may not bring aboard fireworks, flares, any combustible liquids such as liquid oxygen, candles, electric blankets, electric irons or steamers, hot plates, heating pads, holiday light strings, or other items.
Other Recent Cruise Ship Fires
While any fire onboard a cruise ship is serious and could be very dangerous, this incident is relatively minor compared to other recent fires.
In May, Carnival Freedom had a fire within the ship’s iconic whale tail funnel while docked in Grand Turk, which destroyed the funnel’s structure and caused several cruises to be canceled while repairs were made.
In July, P&O Cruises’ Arvia had two separate fires while the ship was under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. One occurred in a storage room, the other in a stateroom.
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While there were no injuries due to the fire on Carnival Freedom, one security guard aboard Arvia was hospitalized due to smoke inhalation.
Carnival Freedom returned to service with a modified funnel – missing the iconic fins – in mid-June, while Arvia will enter service for P&O Cruises on December 23, 2022, after brief delays in finishing the ship, related to supply chain issues.
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