Tripped and fell because of broken door

[Viki]

Hi everyone,

 

I just wanted to check to see if anyone has ever filed a claim onboard against RCCL. I just returned from the Sovereign. We had taken my grandson on a short 3 night cruise. After leaving grandson and husband playing ping pong, I entered the ship on deck 11 aft, port side. I tripped and fell. I thought it was completely my fault so I picked up my embarrassed self and went back to the cabin to nurse my bruised knees.

 

The next day, I took my camera out of its case and realized that it had broken when I dropped it because of my fall. Then I really felt bad. Later when I was near the door where I tripped, I noticed that the part of the base of the door that connects the elevated door frame to the lower carpet was missing. That's why I fell. (I have pictures). I went to the pursers desk and explained what happened. They gave me a the form to request compensation for lost luggage to fill out. :confused:

I did this and asked them to fix the door before someone really got hurt. It was never fixed.

 

So I guess I would just like to know if I should expect RCCL to compensate me for my camera or just blame it on my bad luck? It is a nice Ricoh camera and the fall broke the door that holds the film compartment shut.

 

Thanks for any advice :)

[stretch]

I think it's worth a shot, what have you got to lose? The fact that the problem was reported and not repaired, even a temp fix, leads me to believe that you are in your right to compensation.

Stretch

[Bubba]

How did you get pictures if your camera was broken?

 

Hell yes sue. Everybody else does. It must be their fault. Did anyone else get hurt by this dangerous situation?

[Family of 14]

Seriously, it is probably too late to do anything. You should have asked for the hotel manager of someone high up on the ship. There may have been a communication problem between you and the purser you spoke with.

By all means, send a letter and the pictures to RCCL. Do you have pictures of your broken camera and the bruised knee's.

I am not an advocate of suing people, but a $'s off cruise coupon could come in handy. Maybe they will even compensate you for the camera.

[tampadee]

How was the cruise otherwise? We're going on the Sovereign in November.

[besito20]

LOL at Bubba

[RichardK]

If I were to comment............

 

 

No, better not!!

[FinelyCruising]

I'm with you...:o

[trish1c]

Read your documents VERY carefully. There will most likely be language disclaiming liability & talking about what you have to do when (usually a very short time frame) & where (probably Florida) to make any sort of a claim.

 

Are you OK? If not, call a lawyer, fast b/c it is very hard to sue a cruise ship.

[Viki]

:( I was afraid that I would get bashed. I should have known not to post a serious question. Anyway, in response to:

 

Bubba

I had another camera to take the pictures.

I don't want to sue anyone. I just thought they might pay to have my camera fixed.

 

Tampadee

The cruise was great. As you can see we love to sail on the Sovereign. I'll be glad to answer any questions :)

[B J]

Sad to say when you report a claim to the purser they seem to be unable to understand you. We were on the Splendour and one of the automatic doors bounced back and hit my DH in the face breaking his glasses (luckily he had brought an old pair along). We spoke with a purser who gave us a card with his name on it and told us to bring the glasses to him the next morning. He never showed up and no one else was interested. One person at the desk said "what do you want me to do about it?" After calling and writing and sending a replacement cost estimate to the claims dep't, they said they had checked the door and nothing was wrong with it so they did not intend to replace the glasses (that's all we had asked for). They also said we should have filled out a claims report and we asked for one but were told the purser would have to give us one. I was a no win situation and not worth fighting over. My advice is don't get off the ship until you have satisfaction!!

[colette5479]

Yes, it is a shame you have to be flamed when you are asking a simple question :>) I would say it's probably too late to do anything about your camera but I would contact RCCL and see if this problem will be fixed when they dry dock in November.

 

I will going on the Sovereign in October. Does the ship vibrate or shake much? Did your grandson enjoy the children's program?

[Cruiz'nTall]

You have up to 2 years to pursue the claim. The longer you wait however, the less likely you are to collect any damages.

 

This is what I would do.

 

Gather all of your documentation, photos, cruise documentation, the names of who you spoke to, etc.

 

If you haven't already, write a letter to RCCL explaining the situation and telling them what you think is fair compensation. Argue that not only did you break your camera, but you bruised yourself badly and your sore knees and broken camera ruined or substantially lessened the enjoyment of the remainder of your cruise.

 

Also indicate that as of the date that you have complained, the have not fixed the broken door, nor did they make any attempts to do so while you were onboard.

 

Warn them that you expect them to provide fair compensation, but that if they don't you will file a complaint with the:

 

Better Business Beureau

The Attorney Generals Office (of Florida).

 

Then cross your fingers. If they write you back and tell you politely where to put your claim - then file the complaints - they are easy to do and can be done online.

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

 

Seriously, it is probably too late to do anything. You should have asked for the hotel manager of someone high up on the ship. There may have been a communication problem between you and the purser you spoke with.

By all means, send a letter and the pictures to RCCL. Do you have pictures of your broken camera and the bruised knee's.

I am not an advocate of suing people, but a $'s off cruise coupon could come in handy. Maybe they will even compensate you for the camera.

[Cruiz'nTall]

It is not too late.

 

On my first princess cruise, we had an obstructed view ocean view. When we got to our room, we discovered that not only was the view obstructed, it was COMPLETELY blocked. We had a wonderful view of the inside of a canopied tender vessel. We were upset and dissapointed because we expected to be able to see some water.

 

Further, we unfortunately discovered, that at the ports on our 7 day cruise (3 of them) where we tendered to the port, we would be woken up at 6 AM by the obnoxiously loud noises of the tender vessel being lowered.

 

Midway through the cruise, we were in our room and there was a man IN the tender vessel. He looked like a mechanic. I noticed him and started to walk over in disgust to close the curtin as my wife was getting out of the shower. Before I could walk over to close the curtin, he pressed his face up to the glass and peered in!

 

My wife recoiled in horror and ran back into the bathroom. The mechanic CONTINUED to peer into the room. So I took out my camera and got a lovely shot of him with his face smeared all over the glass.

 

I went down to the pursurs desk to complain, and they gave me the usual run-o-round and told me that they would write a letter on my behalf to the cruiseline (they were completely booked so they could not change rooms.

 

I was so upset about the situation that I was not about to let the situation be explained by a shipboard employee to the cruiseline and wrote a letter of my own following the format I posted in my earlier response threatening to get the BBB and Attorney Generals Office involved.

 

Within a week we received a letter of apology with a $400.00 credit towards our next cruise, a cabin upgrade to a balcony from an interior and a $100 ship board credit while on it.

 

It was certainly better then nothing, and the letter of apology was what I was really after. I also told them that they needed to be clear about what people where getting with the obstructed view cabins on that deck - and that with a tendered vessel outside their room they would be living in hell for the ports that tendered.

 

Don't give up!

 

 

Yes, it is a shame you have to be flamed when you are asking a simple question :>) I would say it's probably too late to do anything about your camera but I would contact RCCL and see if this problem will be fixed when they dry dock in November.

 

I will going on the Sovereign in October. Does the ship vibrate or shake much? Did your grandson enjoy the children's program?

[JanetMarie]

We sailed in March and had a small issue. I wrote the cruise line and didn't hear a word for a few months. Lo and behold, in the mail last week I rec'd a letter from the line, as well as vouchers for DH and I for $400 each toward a cruise that has to be booked by July of 2006. I was pleasantly surprised, and of course, booked immediately! ;)

And ignore the folks that bash on these boards. They are a minor l% of the total people on these boards. Hope your vaca was a good one, otherwise. ;)

[bUU]

Verbiage disclaiming responsibility for neglient acts is exculpatory, and not admissible. If neglect can be shown to be a material aspect of the cause of the damage, there is a good chance to prevail in legal action. Rarely do companies let things get that far, typically offering in-kind compensation, if you're willing to accept it. So they would probably offer coupons, vouchers, or credits for future travel. (Very rarely would a public company offer cash compensation for anything without legal action -- such measures, if offered, can too readily be abused by insiders for personal gain, raising the ire of investor, regulators, etc.)

[GreggNKara]

You should just buy a digital camera...no film door to break :)

 

Just kidding

 

G-

[rocktheboat]

I would think that since you did not fill out a report or see the ships doctor at the time you fell there is nothing you can do. They have no record that you really fell.

[trish1c]

You have up to 2 years to pursue the claim. The longer you wait however' date=' the less likely you are to collect any damages. [/quote']

You may not have two years. Two years is the standard statute of limitations in most states but not all & that period can be shortened by contract. Your documents are a contract. To protect themselves most cruise lines do shorten the period of time -- some make it as short as 60-90 days!!!!

 

Read your documents VERY carefully. They are going to be the key to this whole thing.

 

As amore practical matter, if you are not talking about thousands of dollars in damages, it may not be worth the time & effort.

[Viki]

Sorry, if I did not make myself clear. I did fill out the Personal Property report onboard. This form was geared toward lost or damaged lugggage so I don't know if it is the form that I needed.

 

colette5479

We had smooth sailing and did not notice any vibration. We usually book a cabin on the Main deck but booked a cabin on deck 9 to be close to the kid's club. My grandson loves the kid's club. He wanted to stay with the kids the entire cruise. He is 8 years old and this was his 5th cruise. His first 2 cruises was on Disney but he always wants to go back on the Sovereign.

[trish1c]

I'm glad to hear that you filled out a property damage form on board. Did you get & keep a copy? What does it say you should do next? What do your tickets / documents say? You are going to have to go back to the "rules" if you want satisfaction.

 

Good luck.

[Mark_K]

You have up to 2 years to pursue the claim. The longer you wait however' date=' the less likely you are to collect any damages.[/quote'] Per the cruise contract you have six months. And if you sue, it has to be in a court in Miami.

[wblynch]

I'm sorry to hear that you got injured and hope you're well now.

 

This incident should serve as a reminder to everyone that a ship at sea can be a dangerous place.

 

Besides the movement that can be unpredictable, ships designs often require doors and passages to be built much differently than those in a building on land.

 

What you may think was a damaged or broken doorway may have been designed that way for water control or hull integrity.

 

Another poster described an incident where a door closed harder or more rapidly than expected. It may have been designed to do so because it has to close against harsh weather at times.

 

Many doors are designed to serve as fire barriers or watertight bulkheads in times of emergency.

 

Please, everyone, be careful when transiting through a ship and watch your step and grip carefully.

[Viki]

Sorry :o for the size of the pictures. I can't figure out how to reduce them :rolleyes:

 

This is the door that is OK.

 

 

They are in the process of changing carpet onboard which I guess is the reason for the missing ramp at this door where I tripped..

[mimiandpapa]

I guess we all are so excited to on a cruise ,that we can't watch where we're going! But- the lawyer thing gets me! o well MHO