Bron_Holden

12 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I'd love to see your data on the fires at sea caused by "faulty electrical appliances and sockets", compared to the same on land.   I don't know what the underwriters in the UK state, but UL, the major appliance underwriter in the US, state on every appliance, that it should be unplugged when not in use, and they don't certify things that don't follow this rule.  The major concern with electrical appliances on ships is the use of consumer grade surge protectors, which due to no fault with the ship's wiring or outlets, nor any fault of the appliances you bring and plug into them, can cause a fire due to the differences in grounding methods between land and sea.

 

How do you figure there is a significant time difference between your fire department responding to a fire from a station perhaps a couple of miles away, and rigging a ladder to your balcony (assuming that the building is short enough to get a ladder up there), to the ship's security officer responding to the fire detector in your cabin, finding that the cabin is on fire, calling the fire teams, and proceeding to open the adjacent cabin to check, and then looking around the balcony divider, and finding you trapped there and opening the divider with the tool he has.

 

I've worked for NCL, and know intimately their risk assessment policies, and the fire plans for all emergencies, since as Staff Chief Engineer, I spent a couple of years as the "On Scene Commander" for all emergencies, controlling all emergency teams on the ship.

 

 

Thanks again for such a comprehensive response I can see you know more than the average Joe about this subject so thanks for taking the time to share your info with me.

I just don't like being fobbed off when I ask for an explanation or ignored. Its a shame that NCL couldn't be bothered to get back to me themselves with a more adequate response despite promising to.  Having previously sailed with a number of different cruise lines and always being able to have my connecting door open I was of course disappointed.  I don't think asking for a reasonable explanation is too much when I know other cruise lines still allow it. You and  others are of course entitled to think what you like of my motives.

16 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

How do you deal with this in a hotel room with a balcony?  They do not have any access between balconies.  Both hotel rooms and ship cabins have sprinklers to suppress the fire in the cabin.  And besides, if your neighbors have locked the balcony door, you are still trapped on a balcony.

 

And, come to think on it, what do you do in a hotel room without a balcony, or a ship's inside or oceanview cabin?  There isn't any possible escape other than "climb or jump".  I guess you don't spend much time in a hotel?

 

Seriously, you're not trying to use a fire safety concern to justify what you previously stated was simply your desire to have adjoining balconies with your friends.

Thank you for your response.  I agree that if the balcony door is locked I am still trapped even more reason for being concerned as I have been led to believe more fires are caused at sea by faulty electrical appliances and sockets.  Hence why we are not allowed to leave them plugged in when not in room.

As to spending time in hotel rooms well you guess wrong.  However we have a fire service that can reach us with adequate ladders etc for evacuation and the fire is less likely to be caused by faulty sockets.  Nothing is completely safe.  I wanted not unreasonably a proper explanation of why NCL have a blanket policy on the opening of such doors when other cruise lines don't.  I also wanted to put to them a different scenario which they may not have considered.  All companies should carry out a risk assessment of the likelihood of  a balcony fire against the likelihood of a cabin fire and should have proper evacuation plans for both.  NCL may actually have done this at top level.  But none on the ship could or would explain this policy or even the evacuation plan in event of

Thanks Pizza123

We also felt the entertainment was not up to much but as it was our first cruise with NCL we werent sure what was normal.  O'Sheehans was a nightmare. They woudl serve the mains before we have even managed to get eat half the starter. When I complained I was told that it ws normal for pub grub.  Having eat in many pubs around the world I expalined that I had never before had the main arrive until I finished the starter I was told that they would ensure for us that it wouldnt happen again.  They didnt get the point that it shouldnt happen at all.

As to the music we competely agree.  Some of thegroups were dreadful particaularly the group in the Atrium. 

Hi Guys

thanks for all your comprehensive replies.  I can confirm that the doors on our cruise ship could be opened with key.  I did try to speak to a rahter rude safety officer to explain my concern regarding fire and pointed out the fact that they could not be opened was also a fire hazard as one could become trapped in cabin if a fire broke out between the door of the cabin and the bed.  There are a number of electical points in this area and a fire could break out in corridor.  With a locked balcon door there is no chance of escaping via another stateroom.  Your only option is to jump or climb

I have recently returned from a cruise with friends on NCL.  We deliberately booked cabins side by side so that we could have the balcony doors open but our request to have them opened was denied.  We were initially told this was due to fire risk but when I queried this I was referred to the Safety officer who despite a phone call and a chase has still not provided me with an explanation.

I have checked the forums and many of the posts are older but do seem to indicate NCL operates this policy but not all other cruise ships do.  Can anyone advise me which companies still allow doors open and which don't. I would also appreciate it anyone can explain the safety reasons for not opening them at anytime.  I was told it was a fire risk and alternatively a fire door which it clearly isnt.  It has a gap above and below.

Thanks

Just recently returned form our first trip with NCL.  We have previously travelled with Princess, Pand O and Royal Carribean.

We were intially very impressed with the ship and its new fit out and loved the cabin especially the bathroom setup.  However we had numerous problems with our credit card which we have never expereinced before.  Before you ask they knew we were travelling and on NCL etc.  Despite having loads of credit available our card kept getting delcined.  We made frequent calls to Barclaycard who confirmed that it was NCL's issues and of coure NCL denied it saying it was Barclaycards issue.  This led to frequent trips to the desk and phone calls between myself and Barclaycard.  Both in the end admitted to one fault each although my card was declined numreous times.  Despite this I had no problems using my card in America post cruise so I am inclined to believe one side more than the other.  We did have another card which in the end we had to use with NCL as everytime they had a problem they would freeze my onboard account even for drinks which had been prepaid.  I complained about them stopping the drinks and each time they promised they would not do so as we had paid for them already but guesss what each time they did.

We also had an issue with what seemed to be a large number of bar staff and wating staff that were new.  They did not know their menus or the recipes for the most common of coctails.  Maganging to get the same drink again with the same ingredients was very difficult.  One day it would be no problem and the next I would be told that they didnt do it.

Would be interested to hear if anyone else had the same problems