Mostly Pinoy crew of fire-stricken cruise ship hailed as heroes

The Scandinavian captain and the mostly Filipino crew of a cruise ship stricken by fire while in Philippine territory last weekend were hailed as heroes as the ship arrived safely in Malaysia on Sunday night.   The Malaysian news site The Star on Tuesday said captain Leif Karlsson and the mostly Asian crew of the cruise ship "Azamara Quest" were lauded for their professionalism. The ship's crewmembers had included 119 Filipinos, 58 Indians, and 50 Indonesians. The cruise ship had 590 passengers from 25 countries:

• 200 Americans,
• 98 British,
• 89 Australians,
• 45 Canadians,
• 39 Germans,
• 32 Austrians,
• 16 Belgians,
• 14 New Zealanders, and
• 14 Swiss.

  “The captain and crew were amazing and extraordinary. I must give it to them for their professionalism and fantastic personal approach in responding to our every need right from the fire until we came here,” The Star report quoted Australian lecturer Christine Alexander, who was traveling with her husband on the 17-day cruise that began in Hong Kong.   Alexander said the captain gave the passengers an "honest" update about the situation while the crew met their needs, including escorting passengers to toilets or picking up medicines from their cabins.   The Azamara Quest had drifted in the notorious Sulu Sea for nearly 48 hours before they reached Malaysia, after a fire hit its engine room. Azamara Quest docked at Sandakan port at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and its passengers were transported in 10 buses to their hotel by early Monday morning.   Azamara Club Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, a Norwegian-American firm based in Miami, will refund the passengers for their canceled voyage and also cover their expenses in Sandakan.   They are expected to leave Sandakan for Singapore on chartered flights by Tuesday, before heading to their respective countries. - VVP, GMA News