Fire on 5,200-Passenger Cruise Ship; Captain Praises Crew in Response

A small fire on the second largest cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet was quickly extinguished by the crew, with no injuries reported.

The incident which occurred on the 5,200-passenger (double capacity) vessel Iona, appears to have been an oil fire in a galley on Deck 5.  The fire caused a temporary disruption but did not require an evacuation of passengers.

Social media reports state that the crew were told to report to their muster stations on the 184,000 gross ton ship.

According to a firsthand account from a passenger on Reddit, a series of announcements were made, with the situation escalating from a need for a first aid team to a larger response.

The crew was eventually sent to their muster stations, but passengers were not required to do so. The captain later praised the crew’s response, which one Reddit user described as “rock solid.”

Passengers in the immediate vicinity of the fire were asked to temporarily leave their cabins as a precaution.

One Reddit user, who was on Deck 5, recalled, “I actually opened our door not long after the announcement to see a load of fully kitted firemen running down the corridor...” The passenger’s young children were a little “upset because of all the alarms,” but were fine once the all-clear was given.

The small fire resulted in several restaurants being shut down temporarily, particularly on Deck 6.

Cleanup crews were seen working in the impacted area, which smelled of burning oil. But thankfully, the situation was resolved quickly, with another Reddit user later confirming, “Everything is back open again.”

The possibility of a fire is the biggest concern for the crew on a cruise ship, and even a small fire is treated very seriously.  In this case, the crew responded very quickly.

Another social media comment emphasized this point: “Hearing these responses shows the benefit of the incessant crew drills and safety training.”

Another passenger noted that the crew had ironically conducted several fire drills just the day before the incident.

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

The ship sails out of its home port of Southampton, UK, and is currently on a 7-day, round-trip Norwegian Fjords sailing that began on August 23, 2025, and is scheduled to end on August 30, 2025.