MIAMI -- Two weeks after a boiler explosion rocked Norwegian Cruise
Line's Norway, damage analyses suggest it will be considerably
longer than first thought before the ship is back in operation.
After originally canceling cruises through June 8 and then June
22, NCL now has scratched another 14 weeks from the calendar,
saying repairs will keep the ship out of service at least until
Oct. 5.
According to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
on-site investigation, damage to the boiler was "extensive." The
outer casing of the boiler ruptured, and fuel oil heaters were
blown partially from their mounting brackets. Outside of the boiler
room, "significant physical damage" to bulkheads, doors and door
frames was found on decks 4 and 5. The explosion knocked out doors
three decks above the boiler, the report said.
Andy Stuart, NCL's senior vice president of sales and marketing,
told Travel Weekly, "We've had the opportunity to assess the
situation [and] understand [the Norway] will be out of service
longer." But while detailed repair specifications have not been
drawn up, he stressed the company's intent is "to bring the ship
back on Oct. 5."
The NTSB is moving slowly due to what it called "extreme safety
and health conditions in the damaged boiler room." Inspectors must
don protective suits and respirators because of high levels of
asbestos, which was used to insulate the steam piping, and maneuver
through walkways ripped up in the May 25 explosion.
Seven crew members died as a result of the incident, which
occurred while the Norway was in port in Miami.
The ship remains tied up at the port pending the completion of
the NTSB's on-site investigation and the vessel's move to a
shipyard.
Meanwhile, NCL's cruise competitors said Norway passengers are
welcome to rebook on their ships. Holland America Line offered
Norway guests a $150 per-person discount on the July 26 and Aug. 9
Fort Lauderdale sailings of the Zuiderdam.
The Norway withdrawal removes more than 30,000 berths from
service in the Miami market this summer and leaves NCL with no ship
in Miami and no presence in the summer Caribbean market.
However, Stuart said the financial impact of the temporary
removal of the Norway will be "minimal."
"The Norway is our oldest ship and the ship in which we generate
the lowest yield," he said.
Bob Simonson, a cruise analyst with William Blair and Co. in
Chicago, said the incident could hurt NCL "a little."
"At the margin, it's 2,000 tickets [per week] that have to be
sold somewhere else, so it's not totally immaterial," Simonson
said.
The lack of NCL tonnage in south Florida prompted some travel
agents, such as Don Iorio of My Cruise Outlet in Fort Mill, S.C.,
to turn to other cruise lines to accommodate clients who cannot
change their vacation dates.
But ships are filling up for the family-friendly summer season,
and rate comparisons between the aggressively priced Norway and
more modern ships likely will force clients to spend a little more
for their cruise.
Not a problem, according to Iorio. "We'll try to find something
for the same price, even [if it means] taking some of our
commissions out," he said.
NCL is offering Norway guests a full refund plus a $50
per-person incentive to rebook on another NCL cruise. Agent
commissions on bookings within the 60-day penalty period are
protected at 10%.
Marvin Davis, president of Cruise Planners in Coral Springs,
Fla., said he wished the line had waived cancellation penalties for
the summer season before they officially pulled the Norway's
sailings.
About 5% to 10% of Cruise Planners' clients opted not to rebook,
he said.
"I think had [NCL] given us better cancellation timing we
could've saved a few more bookings," Davis said.
But, he added, some clients opted to defer their summer
vacations until the Norway returns to service.
"The Norway seems to have a cult following," Davis said.