Jump to content

Have you ever set a cruise ship cabin on fire?


Stickman505
 Share

Recommended Posts

Okay. I had thought about this, due to a near miss on land.

 

I was charging my phone from an Anker portable battery, at work. The cable was a bit damaged, as they quickly get at the connectors. Luckily I noticed the burning smell and quickly turned it off and disconnected everything. The cable was thrown away. The battery had slightly melted where the cable connected to it. That portable battery will no longer be used, just in case of damage.

 

Moral. I always replace charging cables now as soon as they show signs of wear. I never take old cables on a ship...

 

P.S. P&O always give warnings to not leave unattended devices charging. Including overnight whilst asleep.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last month a very nice couple decided to celebrate the Friday Sabbath in their cabin. This involved candles.

After the celebration, they placed the candles in the bathroom sink, and went to dinner.

During dinner, the candles ignited fiberglass bathroom sink, which then spread to the soft goods in the bathroom, and then to the soft goods in the cabin. By the time the smoke alarm sounded and the sprinklers started, the cabin had been mostly destroyed by fire and smoke. Water completed the rest of the job.

We had no empty cabins, so the couple had to be sent home.

We charged US$40,000 to their onboard account for the damages, which is about half of what it cost the company to fix the damage.

It took three weeks to fix the damage; with no empty cabins, families who had booked that cabin had to be cancelled for 3 cruises.

 

Wow!!

 

What ship did this happen on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, your Homeowners policy doesn't cover you for impact by anything. However, it probably does provide coverage if your home is hit by an asteroid. :)

 

 

 

Asteroid or car driving through your living room window. In essence the same thing and coverage in effect. Fortunately both very rare occurrences

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last month a very nice couple decided to celebrate the Friday Sabbath in their cabin. This involved candles.

 

After the celebration, they placed the candles in the bathroom sink, and went to dinner.

 

During dinner, the candles ignited fiberglass bathroom sink, which then spread to the soft goods in the bathroom, and then to the soft goods in the cabin. By the time the smoke alarm sounded and the sprinklers started, the cabin had been mostly destroyed by fire and smoke. Water completed the rest of the job.

 

We had no empty cabins, so the couple had to be sent home.

 

We charged US$40,000 to their onboard account for the damages, which is about half of what it cost the company to fix the damage.

 

It took three weeks to fix the damage; with no empty cabins, families who had booked that cabin had to be cancelled for 3 cruises.

 

 

 

Please define the "we" in the above post

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank everyone for their contributions to this thread. I think most of us have gained some additional knowledge - Go Cruise Critic.

 

Many of the responses have provided us with some good "cocktail hour" laughs - again, thanks.

 

Probably the best advice is to ask an attorney but it's been my experience that I pay an attorney to educate themselves and then they only provide their best guess. I'll just keep asking (see below).

 

I have the two cruise contracts and I don't think the damage question is addressed in either.

 

I happened to be with a chief fire inspector for a major California county yesterday and I discussed the damage issue with him. He has dealt with many incidences where property is damaged by renters. The incidences usually involve cooking accidents or the mis-handling of fireplace ashes (I know, not likely in a cruise cabin). He told me that, after an accident, the fire inspector makes a report. Then, usually, the property owner's insurance company pays to repair the damages. After that, usually, the owner's insurance tries to collect from the renter's insurance company (or the renter if no insurance policy exists). Usually, the renter's insurance company tries to blame the owner (there should have been warnings as to the danger, for instance). After all the shouting, most times, the two insurance companies agree to some split of the damages rather than go to court.

 

The inspector made the point that if an individual rented property and had accumulated substantial assets (again, everyone's perception of substantial will differ) that the renter would be wise to carry enough insurance to protect themselves from loss. Our one million dollar umbrella policy costs $149 per year from a major insurance company.

 

I hope the above explanation fills in a good sized body of the knowledge, regarding damage to the property of others, that I think, we all should understand.

 

Here are some issues I'll keep exploring (what else do I have to do?):

Will our insurance cover us for damage we cause in a foreign country?

Do other states handle these situations differently?

Does maritime law handle these situations differently?

Does each cruise line have a unique policy?

What is the proper amount of insurance one should purchase?

 

Since, most of us are cruisers, is anyone else following the America's Cup races? I can see, on the tv, that there are usually two cruise ships docked just off the race course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very similarly to the instance you describe, the cruise line's Hull & Machinery Insurance will cover damages to the ship. Whether that insurance company comes after you, and whether any insurance policy you have would cover you in this instance is a question for your insurance company based on the policy conditions. Whether the insurance company comes after you for damages depends mainly on how much the damages are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please define the "we" in the above post

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

"We" is the cruise line head office, via the Captain, via the Hotel Manager, to Me (Purser), who instructed my staff to place the debit on the passenger's account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another puzzle piece-

We are currently staying at a property in Las Vegas owned by one of the largest timeshare groups in the world. We are owners.

I spoke with the general manager yesterday about the damage issues we have been discussing. I think I made him a bit uncomfortable,at first, but then he understood and was quite forthcoming. The Cliff Notes version is that he agreed, that in a major damage claim, that the property's insurance carrier would pay for the damage and then the carrier would attempt to collect from party that caused the damage..

 

He further explained that for smaller claims they review each case of damage (also theft, like a tv) and make a determination as to fault. If they feel that the tv you knocked off the wall happened accidentally, they won't charge you. If they decide you pulled the tv off the wall in a drunken rage, they will charge your owner's account or bill the credit card on file if you are a guest. Minor things like a broken glass or plate will be ignored.

 

I also, looked up information regarding the proper amount of insurance to carry. The author noted that while one's home equity and other assets are at risk, that retirement assets ( 401(k)'s and IRA's, for instance) are protected from creditors. It was suggested that, as a rule of thumb, one should carry enough liability insurance to cover the combination of one's t unprotected assets.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pressed the send arrow before finishing or reviewing-

 

Articles like the one I referenced are available on the web but I can provide a link if anyone needs a reference. The article also pointed out other times an umbrella policy can be useful - times that result in the incursion of a liability, like dog bites, serving alcohol to guests at a party, teenage drivers (your family) and even if the cops find drugs left in your rental car by the last user (never thought about that one nor do I understand why that is a liability but I think the author meant coverage of the legal bills incurred in your defense).

 

I'm guessing that each cruise line would probably follow damage guidelines similar to my timeshare's.

 

Would love to hear from anyone that believes what I have presented is incorrect so that we can understand and put this to rest.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No I haven't and I've never heard of anyone else doing it, either. However, I did set off the fire alarm one night by showering with the door open. Security showed up at the door and scared my poor mom almost to death. She was a little mad at the time, but now we laugh about it.

 

Sent from my LG-K371 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very similarly to the instance you describe, the cruise line's Hull & Machinery Insurance will cover damages to the ship. Whether that insurance company comes after you, and whether any insurance policy you have would cover you in this instance is a question for your insurance company based on the policy conditions. Whether the insurance company comes after you for damages depends mainly on how much the damages are.

 

Wasn't it you who posted a while back about some people that had used tape to put up decorations around the room and done substantial damage where the panels had to be replaced. This then caused the cabin to be unrentable for three months etc. Wouldn't this fall into the same grey area as causing a fire. Neither actions were on purposes (hopefully) but both caused a loss of income for the cruise line and damage to the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't post that thread but do agree that the loss of income to the ship could possibly be charged to the passenger that caused the damage. Again, depending on one's particular circumstances, an umbrella policy could be a cheap and wise means of protecting one's hard earned nest egg. Better yet is to think about potential damage and strive to avoid such situations. All the insurance in the world won't stop the enormous amount of time, regret and embarrassment that would most likely accompany damaging someone else's property in a major way.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasn't it you who posted a while back about some people that had used tape to put up decorations around the room and done substantial damage where the panels had to be replaced. This then caused the cabin to be unrentable for three months etc. Wouldn't this fall into the same grey area as causing a fire. Neither actions were on purposes (hopefully) but both caused a loss of income for the cruise line and damage to the ship.

 

Nope, not me. But damage to a cabin caused by tape would not likely cause a cabin to be out of service for several months. They can put a new vinyl skin on the panels, or repaint them without replacing them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasn't it you who posted a while back about some people that had used tape to put up decorations around the room and done substantial damage where the panels had to be replaced. This then caused the cabin to be unrentable for three months etc. Wouldn't this fall into the same grey area as causing a fire. Neither actions were on purposes (hopefully) but both caused a loss of income for the cruise line and damage to the ship.

 

 

That was BruceMuzz posting about guests putting up gel Christmas decorations on the cabin wall panels. The dye leached out and couldn't be removed. The guests were charged about $7000 for the damage. Panels had to be ordered and wouldn't be installed until the next drydock, and subsequent guests had to look at Ho, Ho, Ho or something similar on the walls for months. EM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once the smoke detector in our bathroom (steam sets it off) wasn't working so the smoke detector went off whenever we took a shower. My husbands showers before dressing for dinner so it went off. This alarm goes to the bridge, nowhere else. All most immediately we had two firemen, in red overalls, knocking at our door. But, they didn't have a fire extinguisher ! Our phone then rang and it was the bridge asking if they were there. They determined the exhaust in the bathroom wasn't working well at all and that's why it went off, twice the next morning too, when we showered.

We asked for another cabin but they didn't have one available. Then it turned out someone had missed the ship and the next day we were move to the cabin right next to ours!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, on several of the newest ships they have built-in USB charger jack's, either at the desk, and

one ship, below the headboard lights on each side of the bed.

 

These switched off along with the cabin lights when the cabin key card was removed at the door. So, we could charge devices while we slept.

 

On a recent HAL ship, the steward unplugged our 120v chargers if we weren't in the cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my B3-A30 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once the smoke detector in our bathroom (steam sets it off) wasn't working so the smoke detector went off whenever we took a shower. My husbands showers before dressing for dinner so it went off. This alarm goes to the bridge, nowhere else. All most immediately we had two firemen, in red overalls, knocking at our door. But, they didn't have a fire extinguisher ! Our phone then rang and it was the bridge asking if they were there. They determined the exhaust in the bathroom wasn't working well at all and that's why it went off, twice the next morning too, when we showered.

We asked for another cabin but they didn't have one available. Then it turned out someone had missed the ship and the next day we were move to the cabin right next to ours!

Out of curiosity, what happened to the other guests stuff when you were moved to there cabin?

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got the cabin because they never made it to the ship. None of their stuff was there because they never got on the ship!

If you miss the ship, you can get on it at the 1st port but you must pay to get there. They didn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another puzzle piece-

We are currently staying at a property in Las Vegas owned by one of the largest timeshare groups in the world. We are owners.

I spoke with the general manager yesterday about the damage issues we have been discussing. I think I made him a bit uncomfortable,at first, but then he understood and was quite forthcoming. The Cliff Notes version is that he agreed, that in a major damage claim, that the property's insurance carrier would pay for the damage and then the carrier would attempt to collect from party that caused the damage..

 

He further explained that for smaller claims they review each case of damage (also theft, like a tv) and make a determination as to fault. If they feel that the tv you knocked off the wall happened accidentally, they won't charge you. If they decide you pulled the tv off the wall in a drunken rage, they will charge your owner's account or bill the credit card on file if you are a guest. Minor things like a broken glass or plate will be ignored.

 

I also, looked up information regarding the proper amount of insurance to carry. The author noted that while one's home equity and other assets are at risk, that retirement assets ( 401(k)'s and IRA's, for instance) are protected from creditors. It was suggested that, as a rule of thumb, one should carry enough liability insurance to cover the combination of one's t unprotected assets.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

And this is why you fund 401k and Ira to the max whenever possible.

 

I thought everyone knew about the asset protection clause these vehicles provided

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was BruceMuzz posting about guests putting up gel Christmas decorations on the cabin wall panels. The dye leached out and couldn't be removed. The guests were charged about $7000 for the damage. Panels had to be ordered and wouldn't be installed until the next drydock, and subsequent guests had to look at Ho, Ho, Ho or something similar on the walls for months. EM

 

 

 

Simple contact paper decals in a pretty floral or beach design would have solved this issue or a mural or a framed print

 

This was not a crisis

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...