Star Princess Update for April 25

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Star Princess Update for April 25
Today Princess Cruises issued the statement below regarding the fire onbard Star Princess last month. It doesn't really add any new information, but we wanted to make sure that the word got out... We are aware of the safety notice recently distributed to cruise lines by ICCL, and we fully intend to implement the recommendations contained in that notice.We continue to believe the fire was an isolated incident, and would like to stress that our company has been safely operating ships with large numbers of balconies for over ten years. This is the first such incident that has occurred. Nevertheless, after the fire we immediately put in place on all our ships precautions designed to ensure that, in the unlikely event of a similar situation, we would be able to quickly detect and extinguish the fire. To that end, we implemented a 24-hour fire watch of our balconies, introduced specific training and fire response procedures for our crew in handling fires on balconies, enhanced communication to passengers regarding fire safety, and changed certain crew housekeeping procedures on balconies. We want to assure our passengers that with these measures in place, they should not be concerned, and can feel confident that their safety and well being aboard our ships is not compromised. Further to the immediate precautionary measures already in place, we are moving quickly to provide long-term and permanent measures to improve fire safety on our balconies. We are well advanced with the development of these permanent measures and, naturally, will be taking fully into account the requirements of the regulatory authorities in both the United Kingdom and the United States. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.