Fire Aboard Royal Caribbean Ship Caps A Troubled Year For Cruise Line Industry

A fire broke out aboard a cruise ship on its way to the Bahamas, AP reports.

The 2,224 passengers and 796 crew members reported to evacuation stations. No one was injured and the fire was soon extinguished. The ship also has full power, according to AP.

The ship, Grandeur of the Seas, was headed to CoCoCay in the Bahamas but docked at Freeport on Monday morning for further evaluation. The ship will remain there overnight.

"A number of guests in affected staterooms will be put up in hotels in Freeport," the cruise line said.

This incident is only the newest in a string of problems for the cruise line industry this year. A norovirus outbreak occurred on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas ship in March, Reuters reports. Carnival's Costa Concordia ran aground last year.

Another Carnival ship suffered from an engine-room fire in February, forcing the ship to be stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for days without power and running water, USA Today reports. Food preparation services were minimal, and toilets and air conditioning stopped working, leaving passengers in miserable conditions.

According to USA Today, a Harris poll in March shows that the American public has lost faith in cruise lines. Specifically, American trust in Carnival Cruise Lines has dropped 17 percent. Trust in Royal Caribbean, a rival line, has also dropped but "not as sharply."

Reuters reports that despite these recent incidents, profits for Royal Caribbean Cruises has soared, showing a surprisingly strong quarterly profit. Passengers spent more on both tickets and onboard entertainment as well.

Royal Caribbean said net yields have risen 3.6 percent in the quarter and were the highest since 2000. Vacationers from Brazil and Asia drove the rise in the quarter, according to Chief Financial Officer Brian Rice, Reuters reports.

Bookings from passengers have also averaged 5 percent more than last year, according to the company.

Apparently recent mishaps have done little to dissuade passengers from a cruise ship vacation.