whiterose

This is my last comment. Can't believe how so many people refuse to accept that the OP might actually really truly be deaf. I work with deaf and hard of hearing people every day and his behaviour and comments about his hearing disability ring true to me. I'm guessing that communication breakdowns caused a lot of his problems. I won't comment on the toilet and lost luggage issues.

I have a cochlear implant. I lipread. I use assistive equipment.

I carry a pad and pencil. I'm doing everything I can to hear. I just expect the ship's staff to have the common courtesy of looking at me when they speak to me and I'll do the rest of the work. I'd like them to show TV and movies with closed captions. Wouldn't cost them anything extra they just have to tell their supplier that they want the capitoned versions. I've discussed this many times with cruise staff.

I don't expect the world to revolve around me and my deafness and I don't want to get into any fights about which disability deserves the most help.

I agree that the original complaint was over the top but I'm upset at how little understanding or sympathy the OP is getting as someone with a severe disability - deafness. I have a severe hearing loss and if I'd been expected to use the front desk phone (it's very noisy there) to try and track down my luggage I would have broken down into tears because it's just not possible. The OP reacted by getting angry which I totally understand as the front desk staff were asking him to do the impossible.

It's 20 years since our first cruise and the improvement in access for passengers with hearing loss is so small it's almost invisible. I love being on a ship so I've learned to enjoy what I can and no longer fret over all the entertainment and activities that are out of reach. It's time that deaf or hard of hearing passengers complained. Then maybe we'd get some of the access which is available to passengers with mobility issues.

So please stop telling the OP how he should cope with his hearing loss. Unless you have a serious hearing loss yourself, you don't know what you're talking about.

Oops in my first post I forgot to say anything about telephones and deafness. The OP said he and his wife are deaf which means they have a serious hearing loss. He did not say he could not hear anything at all, he did not say they use sign language. I call myself deaf because my hearing is so bad but I can still use a telephone though with some difficulty. Using the phone in a noisy room will not work as I need to concentrate on what I hear over the phone - that's why he needed to get away from the desk to use a phone.

So please if you have normal hearing don't try and decide who is or is not "deaf". Just be thankful you can stil hear.

I have a severe hearing loss so I know how frustrating it can be trying to communicate with the front desk staff. On the other hand I've taken 24 Princess cruises so obviously I'm willing to put up with the lack of access.

In my experience, the worst part of any cruise is trying to talk to the people at the front desk. I think they are programmed to say "no we can't do anything about it". Many of them speak English as a second or third language so it's hard to read their lips or understand if you have a hearing loss. A few are wonderful and try to help but most just want me to go away and stop taking up so much of their time.

THERE IS NO ONE ON ANY PRINCESS SHIP WHO HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HANDICAPPED ACCESS. I HAVE ASKED. ANY PROBLEMS HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH THE HOME OFFICE. NOBODY ON BOARD UNDERSTANDS THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS.

And please don't tell me I need to notify Princess in advance etc because believe me I do all of that. I go to a lot of trouble to try to stop problems from happening.

I'm sure that the OPs hearing loss made a bad situation even worse.

Glad they cancelled the Coral drydock but where is the ship going the last two weeks in January 2016. On the website there is nothing scheduled between the early January 10 day partial Panama and then January 30 6 day Caribbean.

Is the Coral in drydock the last two weeks of January 2016? The schedule shows a gap after the January 5 10-day and before the January 30 6-day cruise.

I think I understand why the OP did not talk to the ship's staff after getting safely on board. Way back in 1998 we had a very frightening and potentially dangerous situation on a Princess tour to one of Kenya game parks. I still don't like to talk about it. Looking back I wonder why we didn't raise holy hell with Princess and just calmly accepted their apologies. If it happened now I would not take it so quietly. But back then I just did not want to talk about it to anyone. I did not want to relive the experience.

In our case the entire ship knew what happend as they had to delay sailing by 6 hours. When we got back to the port near midnight and I saw the lights of the Pacific Princess it was like a vision of heaven. I came very close to kissing the deck.

Next morning there was a mob scene at the tour office but people were remarkably quiet and let the officer aplogise over and over. It nearly turned ugly when she very graciously told us we would not be charged for the safari tour that never happened. Ye gods did they even think of charging for what we experienced?

I never discussed it with other passengers so it's possible some asked for compensation but we did nothing. Just glad it was over.

Just want to let you know that we got our checks from AON covering the whole amount minus the actual cost of the insurance. Took exactly 4 weeks.

Thanks yes it helps to know about your experience. Just a few minutes ago I got email from AON saying they received our claim so now I'll wait and hope they refund the right amount. I want to get the refund before we start looking for another cruise.

Turning to you guys for answers because I have a hearing loss so hate having to use the phone unless I absolutely have to.

Three weeks ago we had to cancel our cruise on the CB only 4 days before she sailed. Husband injured his knee and doc says do not cruise. We had EZ air and Princess Platinum insurance.

1. Does Princess refund the port charges to your credit card and how long does it typically take before it shows up on your account?

2. Does AON insurance acknowledge that they received your claim? We're still waiting to hear from them two weeks after we mailed it in.

3. How long before they pay up?

Thanks that makes me feel a bit better. Still sad we had to cancel but once we get out money back we can start looking for another cruise.

Just had to cancel our Caribbean Princess cruise leaving this Saturday. Husband injured his knee and doctor says don't travel. We have the Princess platinum coverage so I know the cruise part is covered. Princess told me this would cover EZ air too which I was not expecting.

Has anyone gotten full EZ air refunds after cancelling 3 days before the cruise? Did any of it show up on your credit card after you cancelled? Or did you have to wait for Berkley Cares to pay up?

Scottishwee35 - congratulations on your cochlear implant. Yes it does take a while to get used to the sounds but it's a wonderful adventure.

Cruise38 - we must have been on the same cruise as you! We also stayed on from Copenhagen instead of getting off in Rome. $699 for the extra 12 days in a balcony cabin.

Original Regal Princess $799 for inside cabin on 30 day cruise from Bangkok to Rome. It was right after we invaded Iraq and there was a SARS epidemic in Asia. People cancelled in droves. The ship was half empty so they closed off several sections and we got upgraded to a balcony. Many ports were changed because of SARS so we called it the Great Mystery Cruise because we were never sure of where we would actually go. Lots of lovely friendly passengers on board so we had a great time.

I have a hearing disability. I need to know which ships have assistive listening systems in the show lounge or theater and what type of receivers does it have. I need to know if the TV shows and movies are closed captioned. Are movies on the big screens shown with English subtitles or closed captions?

Also what safety procedures do they have for passengers with hearing disabilities? How will I know if there is an emergency on board?

I have a severe hearing loss and depend on closed captions to watch TV or a movie. Often the ships show movies without the captions. I rely on the assistive listening system in the theater or show lounge but nobody on staff seems to know how to use them or troubleshoot any problems.

When I talk to staff at the front desk they always say everything is organized by the head office and nobody seems to understand the problem or want to take any kind of responsibility.

And yes I do inform them in advance when I book my cruise.

Does Princess have anyone on their ships responsible for onboard access? I asked on my last Princess cruise and they said it was all done by headoffice. Surely someone on board could help with access problems.

Would appreciate any suggestions on what to do if I have problems on my next Princess cruise.

Following your excellent advice, we're flying in the day before our April 25 transatlantic on the Caribbean Princess. All the "Princess" hotels are booked so we have to find out own hotel. We arrive the evening of the 24th. What do you recommend just for a place to sleep that has a shuttle from the airport and also to the ship? If we can keep the cost down that would be a plus.

Thanks everyone. We want to use EZ Air because this is for a Transatlantic and booking the air on our own is expensive. Finding a non stop for the return is our priority so we might have to accept less than perfect for the first leg. Usually we fly in the day before but this time I have to work that morning.

I think our best bet is to pick a flight that gets us in the evening before and book a hotel for that night.

EZ Air offerings have the plane arriving in Ft Lauderdale at 1 am. So where does Princess have you wait until you can board the ship? Don't want to spend the rest of the night at the airport.

I have a CI. Got it over 16 years ago so it's kind of old technology but I LOVE IT. Can't imagine going back to the bad old days of just hearing sounds with no discrimination. Yes I know the new CIs are much better than mine but I'm glad I did not wait. I've had 16 years of hearing with it. Not claiming that I can hear everything but it's whole lot better than hearing virtually nothing.

CART on a cruise sounds wonderful. Wish it was standard for all the shows as well as captioning for all the movies.

Thanks everyone. Good to know we can't go wrong with either of these ships. Wish one had a covered pool as that would be the winner. Love the covered pool on the Golden as you can swim even when it's cold on deck.

Which ship would you choose and why for a transatlantic? Emerald or Caribbean? Just asking about the ship itself not the itinerary.

Does either one have a Conservatory covered pool?

Sorry should have explained that we're not actually booked yet. I'm trying to find a nice long cruise for next spring and hoping for one with reasonable air. If the air costs more than the cruise I'll keep looking.