For most of the passengers on board cruise ship Royal Princess when it caught fire last week, the emergency brought a premature end to their holiday.
For one passenger, however, the engine-room blaze which crippled the ship meant she was homeless.
Lorraine Arzt (left) has lived on board Princess ships almost permanently for more than seven years. When she decided to move to the Royal Princess two years ago, Carnival Cruises boss Micky Arison invited her to act as godmother at a champagne-drenched ceremony in Portofino, Italy.
She spends more than £70,000 a year on her own suite, and has spent more than 4,500 days at sea. She travelled with her husband, Joe, until he died seven years ago.
Lorraine, now in her 80s, was born in Glasgow and lived in Belfast before emigrating to America during the war. This week, she reluctantly flew back to her family in Beverly Hills, California, while Royal Princess was being prepared to travel from Port Said to Athens for repairs.
She'll be back on board as soon as the ship is ready again. Ship blaze leaves Lorraine homeless - Captain Greybeard - Travel Advice - Mirr
Royal Princess Cruise Ship Headed to Piraeus for Repairs (6 p.m. EDT) -- A fire that broke out in Royal Princess' engine room last week has disabled two of the Princess cruise ship's four engines. A team of technical experts and regulatory authorities has assessed the situation, and the ship will now sail under its own power from Port Said to Piraeus (the port for Athens, Greece) for repairs.
The ship is scheduled to depart Egypt on Wednesday evening, and the 600-mile trip should take two to three days to complete. Arrival at the Hellenic Shipyard, where the work will take place, is therefore estimated for Friday evening or Saturday morning. The repairs will not necessitate that the ship go into dry dock, and all crew will remain onboard.
Princess was forced to cancel the ship's current cruise, and sent 20 Princess Care Team members to Egypt to arrange for transportation to and accommodations in Cairo, as well as flights home, for all onboard passengers. The June 25 cruise has also been cancelled, and the length of repairs will determine the fate of the July 7 departure, which as of now is scheduled to depart as planned.
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me! I want people to know why I look this way. I've traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren't paved.
Most people walk into and out of your life . . . but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart