What's your opinion? Need some help with this

[Quampapetet]

Servpro actually came by (uncalled, I guess they try to get the business right away).

 

They weren't the only company that just showed up, I guess someone at those companies listens to scanners, or maybe the fd calls them, I don't know.

 

Heh, who knew those companies were fire engine chasers?! Smart marketing, though! Yeah, they would be listening to the scanners. I once interned with a newspaper photographer and he listened to the scanners as he drove around so he would know immediately when a story broke so he could get there to get photos of it.

[vacruizer]

IMHO, failure to notify the insurer and/or take immediate action to minimize subsequent losses could jeopardize homeowner's claim.

 

For example, carpets can be saved if water is extracted & cleaned/disinfected immediately. Failure to do so may result in denial of claim for new replacement carpeting.

 

I would notify homeowners immediately, if for nothing else, to notify insurance company and begin the claim process.

 

I hadn't thought of that, but you are right. If it's four or five days later when the insurance gets the initial call they could try to say the damage would have been less with quicker action or that the claim wasn't reported quickly enough.

 

A good reason to place the emergency call to the ship so they can at least get you insurance information and get the claim reported and possibly start the cleanup sooner.

[MamaParrotHead]

No way would I want to know while still on the cruise. I vote to call and leave a message that there was an incident, but he and the dogs are OK but have them call him ASAP.

[H82seaUgo]

My ex-husband and his wife are on a cruise right now and will arrive home on sunday. My son is housesitting for them. Last night he accidentally started a fire with a frying pan of oil and literally burnt down their kitchen. He put the grease fire out but the cabinets above the stove had already caught fire. He could not find a fire extinguisher and the water line had melted so he could not get water. He grabbed the dogs got out of there and called the fire department.

 

We talked about trying to reach them and decided there didn't seem much point since they are back on Sunday. He wants to just meet them at the door. I think he should leave a message on their cell phone and just tell them there was a kitchen fire, there is a lot of damage, but the dogs and he are safe and he will meet them when they get home. Give them a chance to digest it and plan what to do on the 3 hour drive home. I think coming home tired and happy and THEN finding out would be too much of a shock.

 

I dunno, it's just all around bad news no matter how it's done.

 

So...Leave a message or not?

 

i have no answer for you.

 

however, i was on a cruise once, where a guy got up on stage to do some act for the passenger talent show. before starting, he told the audience that he had just been told his house had burned down.

 

all i thought was, why would someone want to ruin his cruise telling him that?

[nrdsb4]

i have no answer for you.

 

however, i was on a cruise once, where a guy got up on stage to do some act for the passenger talent show. before starting, he told the audience that he had just been told his house had burned down.

 

all i thought was, why would someone want to ruin his cruise telling him that?

 

For the very reason stated above: that delaying notification of the insurance company could cost him money and could result in permanent damage to property that could have been addressed by carpet/furniture damage specialists.

[bplazo]

I guess that would be something to put on your contact names for the housesitter.

[nrdsb4]

I guess that would be something to put on your contact names for the housesitter.

 

Yes, and I would never have thought of it before I read this thread. I seriously learn something every day on this board.:)

[suebee53]

If they find out earlier, it will make them frantic to get off, and I think it would be miserable to be stuck in a disembarkation mess trying to speed up the process and get home.

YEAH THAT.

 

To have information that you are absolutely powerless to do anything about in the moment, is a form of torture.

 

This just makes my heart hurt to think about.

 

I am so very sorry.

[Cindy]

YEAH THAT.

 

To have information that you are absolutely powerless to do anything about in the moment, is a form of torture.

 

This just makes my heart hurt to think about.

 

I am so very sorry.

 

I speak from experience.:( In 2005 we were on the Grand Princess leaving Belize when we received word that my dad had passed away. For a variety of reasons, the earliest we could get off the ship and get a flight was two days later when we got to Cozumel. Those were 2 long, agonizing days...I was grieving and I felt helpless and trapped, while everybody around me was having a great time.

Why make a shore-to-ship call today? If the house is secure, there's really nothing to be gained. The ship is at sea on the way back to port, and calling the ship isn't going to get the unlucky homeowners home any faster.

[Katoo]

Well I talked to my son, and he said he had no idea what cruise they were on, or what port they sailed out from, just that it was Carnival. It's a 3-day to the Bahamas is all we know. They didn't leave an emergency contact number other than their cell phone, which is turned off. So I guess at this point, it's moot.

 

I don't know that an insurance company can fault someone for not reporting something they didn't even know about.

 

He did leave a message for them to call him. Since we have no idea who the insurance company is, and since my son has stayed at the house to make sure nothing else happens, I think he's done the best he can do under the circumstances. I boarded their dogs at my vet, I would have brought them to my house, but I'm actually afraid of one of the dogs.

 

Tomorrow gonna be a pretty bad day for 3 people.

[bplazo]

Maybe it won't be so bad for all of them. It might have been time to have the kitchen and some of the house remodeled.

[cantwait2cruize]

Good Luck to your son! Let us know how everything turned out.

[Bo Didly]

Personally ,i would not even bother posting such tripe on Cruise Critic. Don't need others opinion nor would i need the drama.:rolleyes:

 

Handle the situation, and be done with it.

[dbarj]

We were on a cruise and found out on the 12 hour drive home that my husband's father had died and was being buried that day!! No one in the family wanted to "ruin" our vacation by telling us of his sudden passing! Sad thing is my husband, at the very least, could've flown home to be at his father's funeral. With that said, I would want to know if I had that sort of catastrophe happen in my home and make the decision for myself if I wanted to cut my vacation short.

[Katoo]

Personally ,i would not even bother posting such tripe on Cruise Critic. Don't need others opinion nor would i need the drama.:rolleyes:

 

Handle the situation, and be done with it.

 

Well, personally, I think a lot has come out of this thread, and it's things I never thought about.

 

Do you want your housesitter to get a hold of you on board if something terrible happens during your cruise?

 

Have you checked your smoke alarm batteries, and does your housesitter know where there is a fire extinguisher?

 

Does your housesitter have the information needed to call your insurance company?

[vacruizer]

Well, personally, I think a lot has come out of this thread, and it's things I never thought about.

 

Do you want your housesitter to get a hold of you on board if something terrible happens during your cruise?

 

Have you checked your smoke alarm batteries, and does your housesitter know where there is a fire extinguisher?

 

Does your housesitter have the information needed to call your insurance company?

 

I never thought of leaving insurance info before your thread.

 

I do always email close family (mom, MIL & sister) and any housesitters with an itinerary, which hotels we are at pre cruise, ship name and cabin number, Carnival's emergency number, and the number for the vet if we aren't boarding our cat.

 

I am so glad everyone is ok. I can't believe they didn't even tell your son what ship they were on!

 

I still maintain I'd want to know if it were an emergency - even if it ruined the rest of vacation. I'd have been pretty angry if something like that happened and I wasn't called immediately. But maybe that's just me. But I guess since they didn't leave any information at all for contacting them, then there was no way to reach them anyway.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

My DH & I were on a cruise in May and my 16 year old son was home by himself and my mom lives next door and my brother lives 1/4 mile north on the same street. My son left the bathtub running and flooded half of my house including the ductwork underneath. My mom called my brother who helped extract water and ran fans to help dry out the carpeting while we were gone. I called home mid-cruise and found out about it. Sure it was stressful for us knowing what we had to do when got home by replacing ductwork the day after our cruise etc. But because we knew ahead of time, we were able to tell the service desk that we needed priority disembarkation so we could get home right away. We had a 7 hour drive home and on the day of disembarkation, the vacation is over & time to get back home anyway so the extra hour or two getting off the ship helped. We didn't have a lot of stops on the way home and had a mission to get home. It didn't ruin our vacation in the least to know about it but knowing ahead of time gave us time to digest and come up with a plan to get home quickly.

[drsb]

Bo,

 

Not everyone is a detail oriented, list maker, fact checker type person. I happen to be, but I know others that just go with the flow and don't think of these things.

And as far as your earlier post, the OP has obviously not been in this situation before and didn't know how to handle it, hence posted to see what others thought.

My mom always said if you don't have something nice to say, say nothing at all. I do not think your posts contributed to the thread at all.

 

OP: My take on this situation, what your son is doing is the best he could do with the information he has. I hope everything goes well with the "reveal" later today.

[klmorg]

Well I talked to my son, and he said he had no idea what cruise they were on, or what port they sailed out from, just that it was Carnival. It's a 3-day to the Bahamas is all we know. They didn't leave an emergency contact number other than their cell phone, which is turned off. So I guess at this point, it's moot.

 

I don't know that an insurance company can fault someone for not reporting something they didn't even know about.

 

He did leave a message for them to call him. Since we have no idea who the insurance company is, and since my son has stayed at the house to make sure nothing else happens, I think he's done the best he can do under the circumstances. I boarded their dogs at my vet, I would have brought them to my house, but I'm actually afraid of one of the dogs.

 

Tomorrow gonna be a pretty bad day for 3 people.

 

So how did it go today?

[H82seaUgo]

For the very reason stated above: that delaying notification of the insurance company could cost him money and could result in permanent damage to property that could have been addressed by carpet/furniture damage specialists.

 

lots of assumptions here.

 

i would hardly think a claim would be in jeopardy because the owner was away and the neighbors didn`t contact the insurance company, and the owners didn`t know.

 

nor, if someone was house sitting.

 

i`d appreciate an expert chiming in on that one.

[nrdsb4]

lots of assumptions here.

 

i would hardly think a claim would be in jeopardy because the owner was away and the neighbors didn`t contact the insurance company, and the owners didn`t know.

 

nor, if someone was house sitting.

 

i`d appreciate an expert chiming in on that one.

 

 

^^^^No assumptions made at all. That's why I said "could" vs. "will." I do know that the smoke smell can be pretty impossible to get out if it's not addressed asap, though.

[H82seaUgo]

that only takes care of you.

[Katoo]

He called them this morning while docked but not disembarked. They asked a few questions, got the gist of it, and told him they just couldn't talk to him anymore at the moment and hung up. I guess it's the best reaction he could expect. They are on the way home, they know it has happened, and they know they will not be staying in their home tonight. It's getting sorted out.

 

The newspaper article says 50 percent of the house is damaged, and the kitchen is a total loss.

[Katoo]

that only takes care of you.

 

I don't even know what that means. ???

[nrdsb4]

He call them this morning while docked but not disembarked. They asked a few questions, got the gist of it, and told him they just couldn't talk to him anymore at the moment and hung up. I guess it's the best reaction he could expect. They are on the way home, they know it has happened, and they know they will not be staying in their home tonight. It's getting sorted out.

 

The newspaper article says 50 percent of the house is damaged, and the kitchen is a total loss.

 

Yikes. Well, I hope your son doesn't feel too bad about this. It could have happened to anyone. Hopefully they have good insurance and it will all turn out okay-they may even be happy to have a brand new kitchen.:)