SEVERE INJURY caused by Viking Homelands Ocean cruise

[cassandra44]

Sue!

[utexplore]

And there you have a perfect contrast between the NZ and US cultures.

 

Craig & Susan

[azevedan]

I read it as they will not give her an upgrade on the Future cruise she is forced to take because she is afraid of the shower exploding again...rightly so

Just my take on it

 

As the OP explained, the class she cruised in is SOLD OUT for 2016....so she would have to pay for a higher class to be able to use the credit they gave her for the lower class cabin.

[cassandra44]

If u are referring to my post i am from Scotland. Taking legal action or threatening it will result in a reasonable settlement...not the crappy deal proposed by Viking.

[id4elizabeth]

I don't know if this still applies, but the future cruise credit we got, we had to apply the FCC within 12 months on a future cruise, but the cruise could be in 2017, or as far out as the schedule goes. You just have to book and apply the FCC to your booking before the 12 months is over - you don't have to have travelled by the end of 12 months. Also, you could use it on Oceans or Rivers. Now, they may have changed the policy, but that's the way it worked several months ago.

[azevedan]

You just have to book and apply the FCC to your booking before the 12 months is over - you don't have to have travelled by the end of 12 months.

 

Oh, that would be better. Would still rather have the refund, though.

[broberts]

I wonder why the shower doors are not made from safety glass?

Very scary.....

 

The pictures do not enlarge very well, but it does look like the door was made of some sort of safety glass. The OP suggests that the door "exploded". Presumably the force of the door "exploding" propelled pieces with sufficient force to pierce skin.

 

In New Zealand there have been many incidences of safety glass outdoor tabletops exploding and it is unfortunate that this showerdoor did the same but I don't see that it is Viking's fault.

...

 

At a total loss as to why one would think that the company owning the shower door is not at fault. Of course the company bears responsibility. Especially if this is not the first "exploding" door.

[vcr_traveler515]

My friend staying in the cabin next to mine experienced the exploding shower glass wall on Aug. 10, 2015 while the ship was in port in Copenhagen. The glass side wall exploded outwards while he was taking his shower. Viking tried to deny this happened before but we found out from various sources that it actually happened. Luckily he only suffered very minor injuries but if his wife was in the bathroom at the same time, she would have suffered the same serious injuries as Colorado traveller. The way Customer Service handled the incident was less than professional. However certain staff were exemplary in their handling of the incident, including a dining room manager, the nurse and the doctor. My friend has been flown home by Viking and will be posting a full account with photos in the next day or so. Viking still does not know why the glass shower wall (not the door) are exploding. BE AWARE. In the mean time, we are still on the cruise and we are taking the following precautions: no one else in the bathroom while the shower is in use, open the shower an inch while showering, and opening the bathroom door while showering.

[Am I Really Doing This?]

Wait, so this just happened again two days ago? I'm sorry, but this is obviously more than a fluke.

 

Viking Ocean really has a lot of problems going on, don't they?

 

I wonder why, in the incident from two days ago, the couple flew home if he only had minor injuries? Sounds like we'll find out.

[comcox]

Reading of these shower door incidents and of Viking's poor responses, really has us rethinking our booking with them. We were already upset about the change in itinerary taking out ports that were important to us but this lack of responsibility demonstrated by the company really tops that issue.

 

I'm very glad that passengers are bringing this into the open; I wonder how many other incidents there have been and those victims are not just Cruise Critic regulars.?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

Where is the passenger's travel insurance in this - I would have thought that it would cover something like this?

 

Why is everyone expecting Viking to foot the bill for an accident that it is not their fault?

 

Certainly it was extremely frightening and caused significant injuries but I believe Viking did not have to offer anything towards a new cruise and I would not expect it if the accident had happened to me.

...

it seems the best thing that Viking could do now is to apply the film to all the shower doors on the ship and this would prevent the glass pieces from separating from each other, to prevent any more injuries.

 

So how is it not Viking's fault, or at least their liability? It should be Viking's insurance that takes care of this, not the OP's. This especially since it sounds like it's not the only shower door to explode on this ship.

 

And the OP should have gotten a straight cash refund on their cruise, period. Plus a future cruise credit or some compensation for pain and suffering.

[LHT28]

I am surprised that the 2nd incident person was flown home who reportedly had only minor injuries yet the OP had more than minor injures ( from her photo) was not ????

 

Maybe she has good reason for being afraid to sail in a cabin with only a shower :eek:

[Annybee]

Vcr_traveller515 ...will those precautions help? I am on the Star now and don't want any issues if I can help it.

[Vacationeer15]

My friend staying in the cabin next to mine experienced the exploding shower glass wall on Aug. 10, 2015 while the ship was in port in Copenhagen. The glass side wall exploded outwards while he was taking his shower. Viking tried to deny this happened before but we found out from various sources that it actually happened. Luckily he only suffered very minor injuries but if his wife was in the bathroom at the same time, she would have suffered the same serious injuries as Colorado traveller. The way Customer Service handled the incident was less than professional. However certain staff were exemplary in their handling of the incident, including a dining room manager, the nurse and the doctor. My friend has been flown home by Viking and will be posting a full account with photos in the next day or so. Viking still does not know why the glass shower wall (not the door) are exploding. BE AWARE. In the mean time, we are still on the cruise and we are taking the following precautions: no one else in the bathroom while the shower is in use, open the shower an inch while showering, and opening the bathroom door while showering.

 

I am the aforementioned friend. They denied the explosive issue and acted like it wasn't any of their business. Here are photos who are interested:

 

Notice in the picture below, the force of the explosion was so great, the cup on the counter near the tissue box shattered.

 

 

I was still inside the shower when it happened, luckily i had slippers so my injuries were minor. Had my wife been brushing her teeth, all of that glass would've ended up IN her back.

 

 

 

After what happened and with the way the service manager handled the situation we decided to leave immediately. They claimed they paid for our business class tickets on British airways for our trip home. However when we got to the airport, we found that the tickets were not actually paid for. We re-explained the situation to the ticker issuer and he phoned Viking cruises to get everything sorted out. After a conversation on the phone Viking Cruises finally agreed to pay for ECONOMY class tickets on Iceland Air.

 

Viking Cruises not only handled the situation very poorly, they denied having offered to pay for our business class tickets. They also promised to fully refund our cruise packages including the two night stay in Barcelona but that has yet to confirmed so we'll see how that goes in the next few weeks.

 

Needless to say, I will never be going with Viking Cruises again.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Vacationeer15

[hypercafe]

How could this not be there problem. It seems a very dangerous situation for anyone on that ship with the same bathroom. Does not this company have any common sense or consence?

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[LHT28]

OMG :eek:

I wonder who's problem they think it is ???

I guess the passengers as they are the ones getting covered in glass

 

Viking is just digging a deeper hole for themselves by denying the facts...there is a problem with those showers

Edited August 12, 2015 by LHT28

[vcr_traveler515]

My friend flew home because his wife did not feel safe onboard. I was present when they were told that all of the available cabins onboard had glass shower stall only.

 

Please note that in this case, it was not the shower door that exploded, but the side panel with the curved corner that shattered. It looks from Colorado Traveller‘s photo that it was also the side panel that exploded.

 

I think that it is reasonable that Viking may not have the problem figured out right the way, but they should at least take some immediate measures to protect the safety of the current passengers. As Wendy the Wanderer said, such measures could include putting on a plastic film to prevent glass from flying in case of explosion. Short of action from Viking, I think the three measures I mentioned in my previous post are the only things current passengers can take to reduce the risk of injuries.

 

My main concern is that Viking is not addressing the safety problem immediately and directly, rather they are more concerned about their public relations.

[LHT28]

I would be going to the spa to shower if they have a different set up

 

How are passengers expected to shower with the threat of bodily injury possible

[conte]

With at least 2 spontaneous glass incidents, and there could be others not affiliated with CC members, Viking has a duty to the passengers to take immediate corrective action.

 

If some sort of glass treatment to remedy the problem is unavailable, then remove the glass and replace with shower curtains.

 

What are they waiting for....luckily so far it's been minimal body injury.

[TrulyBlonde]

Cruise Line from Hell !!

[RDC1]

Does anybody have a normal picture of that part of the shower?

 

Interesting that it shatters with that much force, either has to be thermal expansion or some kind of flexing taking place due to the ships motion.

 

Two incidents on such a new ship certainly should be a concern to Viking, especially as they are building their additional ships.

[Viking Cruises]

Hello everyone,

 

We just wanted to acknowledge that we are aware of these two shower incidents, and Viking Customer Relations is in touch with both couples involved. We are very concerned that these accidents happened, and Viking Star’s engineers are actively assessing what could have caused this. Regardless, we are deeply concerned for our guests who experienced this, and we are committed to making it up to them.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

[algaes]

Hello everyone,

 

We just wanted to acknowledge that we are aware of these two shower incidents, and Viking Customer Relations is in touch with both couples involved. We are very concerned that these accidents happened, and Viking Star’s engineers are actively assessing what could have caused this. Regardless, we are deeply concerned for our guests who experienced this, and we are committed to making it up to them.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

To Viking Cruises:

 

How many shower door/wall incidents have there been? Are we to believe that there have been only two since April 11th and coincidentally happened to Cruise Critic posters?

[Shoalwater]

"Hello everyone,

 

We just wanted to acknowledge that we are aware of these two shower incidents, and Viking Customer Relations is in touch with both couples involved. We are very concerned that these accidents happened, and Viking Star’s engineers are actively assessing what could have caused this. Regardless, we are deeply concerned for our guests who experienced this, and we are committed to making it up to them.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises"

 

We are veteran Princess cruisers that have booked and unfortunately paid for a voyage on the Viking Star next February. I have just been reading of the saga of those on the Star recently and having missed 7 of 11 scheduled ports. The Viking responses to this failed cruise was abysmal, and the posted written comments from the line were like a line from Shakespeare "...full of sound and fury, signifying NOTHING". The Viking customer relations department should close and reinvent itself as a consulting firm preparing excuses and apologies for politicians caught in indiscretions to use. It is effete drivel.

 

Now, I read this crap above from them in response to an obvious design issue where I will bet you ship flexing is causing stress on the safety glass causing it to explode dangerously, and the initial reaction based on passenger accounts is to find a deep hole to bury their head. This cruise line had better get some decent management that knows what it is doing, otherwise I will enjoy cruising the ship after it's sold to Princess and put into service for the World Cruise, that's "if" the design and engineering problems can be solved.

 

This is a most distressing behavior from a company that has a good product for river cruising. You don't piss off your customers with Mickey Mouse offers trying to right a wrong.

[letsgo39]

The second incident happened while the ship was in port. Would it actually flex while docked?