Fire on 5,200-Passenger Cruise Ship; Captain Prais...

A small fireplace on the second largest cruise ship within the P&O Cruises fleet was shortly extinguished by the crew, with no accidents reported.

The incident which occurred on the 5,200-passenger (double capability) vessel Iona, seems to have been an oil fireplace in a galley on Deck 5.  The hearth brought on a short lived disruption however didn’t require an evacuation of passengers.

Social media experiences state that the crew have been informed to report back to their muster stations on the 184,000 gross ton ship.

In keeping with a firsthand account from a passenger on Reddit, a collection of bulletins have been made, with the state of affairs escalating from a necessity for a primary help staff to a bigger response.

The crew was ultimately despatched to their muster stations, however passengers weren’t required to take action. The captain later praised the crew’s response, which one Reddit person described as “rock strong.”

Passengers within the speedy neighborhood of the fireplace have been requested to quickly go away their cabins as a precaution.

One Reddit person, who was on Deck 5, recalled, “I truly opened our door not lengthy after the announcement to see a load of totally kitted firemen operating down the hall...” The passenger’s younger kids have been a bit of “upset due to all of the alarms,” however have been advantageous as soon as the all-clear was given.

The small fireplace resulted in a number of eating places being shut down quickly, notably on Deck 6.

Cleanup crews have been seen working within the impacted space, which smelled of burning oil. However fortunately, the state of affairs was resolved shortly, with one other Reddit person later confirming, “Every little thing is again open once more.”

The potential of a fireplace is the largest concern for the crew on a cruise ship, and even a small fireplace is handled very significantly.  On this case, the crew responded in a short time.

One other social media remark emphasised this level: “Listening to these responses reveals the good thing about the incessant crew drills and security coaching.”

One other passenger famous that the crew had paradoxically carried out a number of fireplace drills simply the day earlier than the incident.

P&O’s Iona is an Excellence-class cruise ship that was laucnhed in August 2021. On the time of its launch, it was the biggest ship ever constructed for the P&O cruise line.

The ship sails out of its house port of Southampton, UK, and is presently on a 7-day, round-trip Norwegian Fjords crusing that started on August 23, 2025, and is scheduled to finish on August 30, 2025.