LindaHarrison

It was around 3am on Monday Morning when I was awaken by my husband yelling "get up, get up". "We have to get to our Muster Station; there's a fire!" Still groggy, I thought I was dreaming but no mistaking, it was a fire drill with lights blaring, horns blowing, the sound of people being rushed down the hall and loud voices directing people back to the Muster Station which we had just been at only 3 short days ago "in case of an emergency!". With the disaster of the Carnival Triumph being fresh on our minds, we grabbed everything out of the safe and hightailed it to Deck 5, Muster Station 4. Thank GOD we found our daughter and her husband already there, with her crying her eyes out. I was able to comfort her long enough till they lowered the lifeboats which then caused me concern. For 3 long hours we stood, listening to the Captain and crew tell us the fire was not yet under control. There was a cruise ship circling us and the Coast Guard was aware and nearby. Never was there a moment of panic among the crew or passengers. Pure professionalism and order. You would have assumed kaos with over 2,200 passengers and over 600 crew but it was as calm as the sea. The elderly got chairs; the sick got bags; anyone needing their medication got retrieved by the crew; water and soda was distributed and you were walked to the restroom if absolutely necessary. I found myself engaged in a conversation with a family from Canada, so the time seemed to slip by. How could this happen after having a beautiful day on Sunday in Cape Canaveral at Cocoa Beach? It wasn't until 7am that the Captain released us back inside. Thank goodness the weather had been warm and comfortable. We were flown back to Baltimore on Tuesday morning (after a beautiful day on Monday in Freeport Bahamas) with a flight Royal Caribbean had chartered. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to our next cruise adventure with the only cruiseline I will ever book, ROYAL CARIBBEAN!