Issues with glass shower doors on the Viking!

Within the last few weeks two of the glass shower doors on the brand new Viking Star have spontaneously exploded/shattered leaving two guests slightly injured.

The Star bathroom are beautiful but I will take the small AZ shower with it's infamous curtain any day....

I went and had a read on the Viking board. Yikes, doesn't give me much confidence in their customer service and worrying on such a new ship. If I was on Viking Star knowing issues with glass I'd be giving that aft infinity pool a miss!

Phil

Having sailed twice with Viking River, I was always surprised when posters on the oceans' boards referred to their river cruises as an "upmarket" product.

We enjoyed our cruises, but it is definitely a mainstream offering and there are more "luxurious" lines. But perhaps their ocean experience is devoted to a different market.

Of greater concern is their customer service which can sometimes seem random and often responsive only if you post the issue on a public board such as CC. This, of course, has an interesting effect on posts on the River Cruise Forum and that same impact, unfortunately, may well be occurring on the Viking Ocean Forum.

For the sake of all the cruisers who have reservations, I hope this safety issue can be explained and then resolved.

WOW!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: I think that is a cruise line, we'll definitely avoid.

While it is nice to read a kind post about our "infamous" shower curtains (!), I'll say we, meaning in the macro sense the cruise-loving community, should give this other line some leeway. They must be very distraught over their guests being hurt, and the rest of their guests being alarmed.

It is their first year which in many minds means they're still in shakedown.

No doubt they'll get the problem fixed.

While it is nice to read a kind post about our "infamous" shower curtains (!), I'll say we, meaning in the macro sense the cruise-loving community, should give this other line some leeway. They must be very distraught over their guests being hurt, and the rest of their guests being alarmed.

It is their first year which in many minds means they're still in shakedown.

No doubt they'll get the problem fixed.

Bonnie, thanks for jumping in here. This information is not really newsworthy, as I worked for high-end hotels for years and now work for an upscale airline, and injuries and other unfortunate incidents happen to customers at every company at some point. I don't know much about Viking, but the situation with the glass doors is not reflective of Viking as a company. I sympathize with Viking as they deal with the teething issues that any new company deals with. Best of luck to them. They have stunning ships. Now looking forward to sailing the renovated Journey next summer!

Michael

Bonnie, thanks for jumping in here. This information is not really newsworthy, as I worked for high-end hotels for years and now work for an upscale airline, and injuries and other unfortunate incidents happen to customers at every company at some point. I don't know much about Viking, but the situation with the glass doors is not reflective of Viking as a company. I sympathize with Viking as they deal with the teething issues that any new company deals with. Best of luck to them. They have stunning ships. Now looking forward to sailing the renovated Journey next summer!

 

Michael

Exploding glass in the shower is about as un-newsworthy as the problems with the Ford Pinto were. Because accidents can happen we should cover up when there are design flaws that are dangerous/potentially lethal?

What a great day it is to have an Azamara spokesperson ask their posters to give Viking a break on issues with their beautiful brand new ship!

Thanks Bonnie for giving the "competition" a break!

Exploding glass in the shower is about as un-newsworthy as the problems with the Ford Pinto were. Because accidents can happen we should cover up when there are design flaws that are dangerous/potentially lethal?

I never said that anyone should cover up anything. I was just responding to the alarmists on here who act like they would never set foot on a Viking ship because of this incident. These things happen all the time and management works hard to ensure that glitches can be corrected to ensure safety of all their guests. The last thing a company wants is injured customers. I hate to see Viking getting a bad wrap over something that will be fixed quickly and effectively. You'd be surprised at the number of injuries that have happened to travelers on any cruise line, airline, hotel, etc. But these things are also quickly fixed and learned from.

Michael

I never said that anyone should cover up anything. I was just responding to the alarmists on here who act like they would never set foot on a Viking ship because of this incident. These things happen all the time and management works hard to ensure that glitches can be corrected to ensure safety of all their guests. The last thing a company wants is injured customers. I hate to see Viking getting a bad wrap over something that will be fixed quickly and effectively. You'd be surprised at the number of injuries that have happened to travelers on any cruise line, airline, hotel, etc. But these things are also quickly fixed and learned from.

 

Michael

Michael,

You are totally correct. Accidents can happen anywhere and I am sure that Viking are horrified that guests were hurt on one of their ships.

All that would concern me is how Viking took care of the unfortunate passengers who were injured. I'm guessing that they stepped up to the plate very well.

I wonder if people have forgotten the fire on the Azamara Quest in 2012.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4792

Did the alarmists say that they'd never sail on an Azamara ship again? Bonnie is, of course, right. Things happen. What matters is how they're handled.

Thanks Bonnie for assuming the "voice of reason" role.

Michael,

 

You are totally correct. Accidents can happen anywhere and I am sure that Viking are horrified that guests were hurt on one of their ships.

 

All that would concern me is how Viking took care of the unfortunate passengers who were injured. I'm guessing that they stepped up to the plate very well.

No need to guess: read the thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2246030

Wow, just wow!

No need to guess: read the thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2246030

Thank you for the link Host Jazzbeau.

I had assumed (obviously erroneously) that Viking's crisis management skills were comparable to Azamara's.

After the exemplary way they operated after the terrible Quest fire I am confident that Azamara would handle any emergency situation well.

Viking need to replicate this professionalism quickly.

I wonder if people have forgotten the fire on the Azamara Quest in 2012.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4792

 

Did the alarmists say that they'd never sail on an Azamara ship again? Bonnie is, of course, right. Things happen. What matters is how they're handled.

 

Thanks Bonnie for assuming the "voice of reason" role.

I remember it well. I was on the cruise before it and was very worried when I heard about it. Coming as it did not that long after the Costa Concordia disaster the press were waiting for passengers to step on land and were baying for blood. Instead they heard how fantastically the crew dealt with matters. The compensation terms as I remember them were very generous and Azamara came out of it very well. Viking Star broke down recently and there is a thread about that too. Matters seem ongoing, but hopefully Viking will come through for the guests affected.

Phil

Hello cruisers,

Forgive us for jumping in on the Azamara board, but we recently posted an update regarding the incidents of shower glass failure, as well as what is being done onboard to rectify the situation, and seeing as this group is also concerned about the situation, we wanted to also share it with you all.

Our Viking Star technical team have consulted with the design engineers, the glass manufacturers and independent third-party glass experts, to assess both what happened, and to ensure the safety of our guests. The conclusion reached is that these were isolated incidents; they were not part of a chain of events and do not correlate to a particular stateroom category or location on the ship. According to the engineers and experts, the failures resulted from a combination of the settling process that occurs with new ships and the incorrect fitting of the glass. The experts continue to monitor the situation to ensure it is resolved. As a preventive effort, we have had specialists undertake the process of removing and refitting all the shower glass with new materials. The safety of our guests and staff is always our top priority and we are extremely upset that a few of our guests have had to experience this situation. Please know that we are working tirelessly onboard to prevent any similar incidents from happening again.

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

Dear Viking, Thank you for responding to my post. I think you will find that some crusers that are Azamara cruisers will try Viking Oceans or Oceania one time or another so they are interested in issues with these ships and especially how the guests are dealt with when problems occur.

You really should consider getting a Chief Blogging Officer like Azamara has to respond on your CC web page to issues.

Regards, Kathy

Hi Everyone,

As this topic is not directly related to Azamara, and that Viking Oceans graciously responded, this thread is now closed.

Thanks for your understanding and participation.