Update from 3/16 Magic Cruise - Fire

[tecdavidt]

Boarded the Magic at 1:00 pm today. The fire damage from last week to the rear funnel is much worse that we had been told about. It is obvious that there was a serious fire. Even the lower portion of the funnel (the portion that is red with the DCL logo) was warped. We do not leave port tonight until 9:30. I would gues that it will take several weeks to repair. It sure looks ugly. It must have been scary to be awakened at 4:00 am.

For the time being, the Mickey pool is closed, the Goofy pool is the kids pool and the adult pool is the family pool. The crew pool is to be used as the adult pool. Much of the upper deck is closed to passengers. There is a rumor going around that the repair work will stop tonight and all areas will be opened as normal. Hope this is true.

I am sure everyone will still have a magical time despite the damage.

More updates later.

Dave

 

[Hopkins]

Thanks for the update. We have people here wondering why you haven't sailed, yet. The damage sounds ugly. I'm glad no one go hurt except our pretty little ship. Disney will fix her up better than before.

Tina

 

[rcdisneyfam]

Sending lots of prayers and, of course, Pixie Dust to the "Magic" so it will be better than new real soon!!!

 

[Joe & Joanne]

Hi Folks
This does not sound too good? I have been watching the cam all day and was wondering what the cranes were doing? Does anyone out there know what would cause this type of fire?
I would say scarry to say the least at 4AM?

 

[tecdavidt]

Cast members have not been told what caused the fire as of Saturday night. The Captain is supposed to tell us more at the welcome aboard show tonight. If we get more news, we will let all know.

Thanks - Dave

 

[mmouse37]

Thanks for the info Dave.
Keep us posted!!!!
MJ

 

[txtara]

Dave.....just know you are in good hands!!! I just came off the
ship this morning and cant say enough about the fabulous job
the crew did!!!

 

[johnf]

TxTara,

So sorry we missed you this past week on the Magic. I did get to meet DisneyKids and Plutospup and MartyP. We were very impressed at the way the Captain and the crew handled the fire. Luckily, our 5 year old was a real trooper during the emergency and didn't get cranky until almost the end.

Quite an adventure!

johnf
Palm Harbor, FL

 

[txtara]

johnf....we popped in to the dis meet at the sailaway party but my kids wanted to go down to deck 9 to dance...so...away we went....all in all it was a fabulous week...I am glad the outcome
was not worse....that beautiful ship and her scars at the moment
will be gone soon....and we will have some stories to tell!!!

 

[Joe & Joanne]

Hi
TXTara: Do tell! Hurry we are starved for info?
Glad to hear it all worked out for you folks.

 

[pal2pluto]

I just read on another thread that the Magic was to sail at midnight last night....just wondering if it got out as planned...

 

[TnRobin]

Per DCL this AM, the Magic did sail last night.

 

[tecdavidt]

We did set sail last night a little after 9:30. The Captain told us we could have left at 8:00, however, due to some Navy exercises, we had to delay our departure.

No cause has been determined (or announced) for the fire. There is still some confusion regarding opening the Mickey pool. Last night, the Captain said it would open this morning (Sunday) at 9:00. I now believe that they have changed their minds and will keep the pool closed, perhaps for the duration of the cruise. Some people are taking this well, others not so well. At least, we get a chance to use the crew pool, which will be a new experience.

Still having fun, it is vacation time!!!

More later.

Dave

 

[Casey's mom]

There is a good sized DIS group (including us) sailing on the Magoc on3/23. Please keep us posted if you can this week on how things are progressing with the repairs, any more info on what happened (so I can sleep well knowing it won't happen again) etc. My DDs live for the Mickey pool, so I hope it is open by next week.

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

 

[Cheryl in PA]

I am very concerned about my cruise of 3/23 due to the fire. I am NOT at all concerned for safety reasons since I do believe that Disney would EVER risk the safety of it's guests. But, DH and I are concerned that after spending LOTS of money for this vacation and after having these reservations for 9 months, that all of the facilities are not going to be available. I spoke with a rep on Sunday and they assured me that at each port this week, they will be repairing what they can and that hopefully the Mickey Pool will be re-opened during this week's cruise. I hope this is true for everyone currently sailing as well as for all of us sailing soon!

 

[tecdavidt]

The Mickey Pool opened 1st thing Tuesday morning (3/18/02). Everything seems to be back to normal (as long as you don't look at the funnel).

Dave

 

[mikeymars]

Tec, speaking for perhaps all the other DIS board gang that is sailing next week on the Magic, thank you so much for taking the time during your vacation to log on and update us all. The news that the Mickey pool is back open is wonderful, like others I'm sure my kids would have been hugely disappointed if it had been closed. Now wonder how DCL plans to work fixing all the damage to the smokestack between now and September. We've been on prior cruises on other lines, and during them have seen major outside work going on (example: replacing deck) sometimes even while at sea, so I wouldn't be surprised if DCL gets that stack rebuild to look brand new a lot faster than many people expect.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Having seen the pictures and having read the descriptions, I now understand the extent of the visible damage -- the warped funnel covering, the burnt away tops of the funnel pipes, and other damage at the tops of the stack.

But has anyone learned what the damage is that we can't see? How far down does the damage extend inside the funnel? Is the damage primarily cosmetic or is there serious damage going down several levels, hidden from view? What about water damage form putting out the fire? What will it take to fully repair the damage, from both a functional and cosmetic perspective?

We'll be on the March 23 cruise. I'm sure that Disney Cruise Line and the Captain will do nothing that jeopardizes the safetly of the passengers. But I'd still be much happier if DCL were to issue at statement that thoroughly describes the extent of the damage, what operational limitations they now face, how they are dealing with any limitations, and the timetable for complete repairs.

And thank you to everyone who has posted information and pictures!

 

[Hopkins]

I thought people might find this article interesting. It's the first time that it said that CM's spotted the fire from a camera looking at the funnel. I thought kids sleeping on deck first spotted the fire. I also thought that the fire started at 4 AM. Any news on what started this fire? Burning trash? The kids that were on deck first said they tried to contact someone via phone by 911 or someother number, but couldn't find an emergency number, so tracted down a CM. Where are phones located on deck?

Tina




Today's news from WFTV
• Fire Damaged Disney Ship Returns to Sea

Coast Guard inspectors cleared the cruise ship Disney Magic to return to the sea. The ship returned to Port Canaveral Saturday morning for repairs caused by a fire which broke out while the vessel was at sea. The ship left port at 9:30 PM on Saturday night for another scheduled weeklong Caribbean cruise, with about 2,500 new passengers aboard.

No one was injured as a result of Thursday's fire, which broke out in the ship's rear smokestack. The Magic's 2,500 passengers were called out of their cabins about 5 a.m. Thursday and ordered to assemble with life jackets as a safety precaution, Disney Cruise Line spokesman Mark Jaronski said. Crewmembers extinguished the blaze with water hoses, and passengers were allowed to return to their cabins within an hour, he said. The fire caused minimal damage to the top of the rear smokestack. The ship was on a weeklong Caribbean cruise that ended today.

The ship had left the Caribbean Island of St. Thomas on Wednesday and was on its way Thursday morning to Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas, when the fire erupted. Passengers were awakened with a loudspeaker announcement and seven blasts of the ship's horn, Jaronski said.

Disney plans to give passengers a credit of $100 for each stateroom for the disruption because of the fire, Jaronski said.

The fire occurred while the 964-foot-long Magic was about 200 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A watch commander spotted the flames in one of the ship's two smokestacks on a video camera, Jaronski said.

The Magic's crew notified the Coast Guard, but the ship did not require help, Coast Guard officials said.

The Magic is one of two Disney Cruise Line ships based at Port Canaveral. The Magic was the first Disney ship to begin service at Port Canaveral in 1998, followed by the Disney Wonder in 1999. Thursday's blaze was the first fire on either of the Disney ships.

© 2002 WFTV-TV

 

[Matty02]

phones: there are phones in most lobbys (forward, aft, midship) by the elevators. Most of these have the emergency numbers posted on them... or just dialing 0 is always recommended.

I am not sure if there are actually any phones on the outerdecks, but i know i have used the ones that are in by elevators and such.