UPDATE ON ROYAL PRINCESS FIRE

After the engine fire that occurred earlier yesterday, Princess Cruises has brought the Royal Princess back into Port Said, Egypt .

An assessment of the ship's condition will now include inspections by various technical experts and regulatory authorities . A full assessment is to be expected by Saturday.

"During this time," says Princess Cruises, "Our ship's crew, local representatives ashore and the Princess Care Team, who are currently en route to the ship, will be doing their best to make passengers comfortable." Tours are being made available for passengers.

"Once the assessment is complete we will have an understanding of how the remainder of the cruise, or any future sailing, will be affected, and also what compensation we will be offering to passengers. We understand this is a disappointing development, and we apologize for the disruption to our passengers' cruise. We will be keeping our passengers fully informed throughout this process and we deeply appreciate their patience and understanding."

PASSENGERS AT MUSTER ABOARD ROYAL PRINCESS

At approximately 8:10 pm local time, an engine room fire broke out aboard Royal Princess, as the ship was departing Port Said, Egypt.

The fire is now extinguished, and the ship is currently anchored approximately five miles off the coast of Port Said.

All passengers and crew have been accounted for, and passengers remain at their emergency stations as a precautionary measure until further notice. The ship is operating on emergency power and lighting.

Assessments of any damage will be made over the next several hours, at which time we will be able to provide further information about how the remainder of the cruise may be impacted.

We will continue to provide updates on a regular basis.

Royal Princess is carrying 733 passengers and 393 crew. The ship is on the fifth day of a 12-day Holy Land sailing between Civitavecchia and Athens.

Phone numbers have been established for inquiries from family of passengers and crew (only please) currently onboard Royal Princess:
For inquiries about family: 800-693-7222
For inquiries about crew members: 661-753-2804