Our own Clark Howard is having a consumer issue of his own today…
Clark and his wife Lane are two of about 2,000 passengers currently sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas — on a 7-night cruise from Italy. Early Thursday, a fire started in one of the ship’s engine rooms.
Clark says the fire started in one of the ship’s engine rooms while they were about 20 miles off the coast of Greece.
Read more: Going on a cruise? Consider insurance…
Using an app on his phone, Clark was able to update his colleagues back in the newsroom — all while sailing in the Adriatic Sea.
“We had a severe engine fire that lasted just under two hours,” Clark said.
The scene on board
‘We are on greatly reduced power after drifting in high seas for hours in the Adriatic Sea. We are going now on two of five engines. The ship stabilizers are broken and we are being tossed about.’
‘The stench is intense,’ Clark said in a text sent to his team.
In an interview with Channel 2’s Fred Blankenship via Skype, Clark said the passengers were awoken by alarms and announcements alerting everyone to the emergency.
Clark said two floors of the ship were evacuated because the “smoke was choking.”
No injuries were reported from the fire, but Clark said the ship was operating on minimal power. He said they should arrive in Italy on Saturday. And while no injuries have been reported, engine problems have led to stabilizer problems, which have caused some passengers on board to become sick.
Clark says he was very impressed with the crew members, they did everything they could to make sure people were comfortable and safe.
No information was released on whether current passengers will be compensated for the disruption.
Additional reporting provided by WSB-TV.
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