whiterose

Hi Taters

Before you buy a neckloop system check with the cruise line and your audiologist to make sure it will be compatible with their equipment because there are so many different types of equipment. I have an older CI (16 years) body processor so I use a patchcord (which I bring with me) to connect my processor to the listening system. That means I need the system to have a receiver box with an output jack so I can plug in. A neckloop would also need to plug in to a receiver. You really do need to talk to your audiologist to be sure you buy the right stuff.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 does apply to cruise ships that visit USA ports. HOWEVER, THE ACCESS BOARD STILL HAS NOT ISSUED FINAL REGULATIONS. These will spell out exactly what the cruise lines have to provide for any kind of physical disability. They have been working on this for over 10 years with umpteen public hearings and rewritings. 95% of the regs cover mobility issues but there is a little in there for vision and hearing. From what I've seen so far, it will require visual safety alarms so that people with hearing loss will know if there is an emergency. Listening systems are also covered and a variety of receivers will be required so that people with different kinds of hearing aids and/or cochlear implants can actually use them. I don't think there is anything about closed captioning.

I hope I live long enough to actually see these final regulations issued.

It's good to know that others share my concerns. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting a bit paranoid about this but then I tell myself that if nobody complains then nothing will ever change.

For years I've asked for assistance from the Princess Access Office and they have tried to help but are limited in what they can do. The Passenger Services Dept in California does not even answer my emails! Right now I'm focused on two areas that are important to me and also relatively easy and inexpensive to fix.

1. Closed captioning. Princess buys "packages" of movies and TV programs from a supplier. All they need to do is say we want the version with closed captions. All new (and many old) movies are already available with captions or subtitles for the deaf. All new TV programming in the USA is required by law to have captioning. The captions have already been paid for - Princess would not have to pay. However, Princess would have to pay for captions on all those advertising channels about future cruises and shore excursions. They run the same stuff over and over so the cost would be minimal and might even improve sales.

2. Listening systems in the theater and show lounge. Seems like all the ships have this equipment. Unfortunately Princess purchased the cheaper receivers that do not have output jacks that allow people with hearing aids or cochlear implants to plug in a neckloop or special receiver. The receivers with output jacks cost about $5 more so it would not be a huge cost to replace at least a few of the receivers.

Right now the systems are not being used because there are no signs telling people they are available and there is nothing on the Princess website or the daily Patter newsletter about them. The staff at the Front Desk don't even know what I'm talking about. Princess can say nobody uses the systems therefore they are not necessary. Then people like me try to use the system and find it does not work so we give up and again Princess can say nobody uses them.

I'd love to have a petition but don't know how to do it.

Yes I bet the interpreter made a huge difference for that couple. However, my sign skills are very weak since I went deaf later in life. On this last cruise I go so frustrated on tours that I did actually wished I had a terp with me to at least give me a clue about what the tour guide was saying.

Most deaf people do not know sign language just like most blind people don't know braille. It's not easy to learn and most of us don't know anybody else who signs.

Over the air announcements are just a lot of noise as far as I'm concerned. Solving this problem would be tricky. They could use some kind of voice recognition software to display captions but then how would you get to see them? Could be displayed on large screens throughout the ship or better yet give you some kind of handheld device. Not easy to do.

Heck, they still expect you to attend the safety drill and listen to a voice that you cannot hear properly. I ask for a written explanation and they deliver it to my cabin later but it would be so simple to just hand one out at the safety drill. On Princess the cabin TV shows a Welcome Aboard message from the captain with some guy signing in a little box on the screen. but no captions or English subtitles. Captions would help a lot more passengers than someone signing.

I wish Princess would consult with Hearing Loss Association of America to make sure that the access they do provide would actually help people.

Just back from 19 days on the Ruby in an ocean view and our beds were VERY hard. Obviously not the same mattresses as in the suites. 3 foam pads made a huge difference.

Hi Taters

Hope it works out for you in the dining room. I think it's great you want to interact with other people - takes a lot of courage when you can't rely on your hearing. So I say go for it. You could ask in advance for a table in a quieter part of the dining room - that would be relatively quiet anyway. Tables for 4 or 6 are easier to cope with than tables for 8. A table in a corner would help because then you could sit with your back to the wall.

Have to admit we ask for a table for 2 so I can avoid having to talk to strangers but sometimes I feel we're missing out on some of the fun. On this recent Princess cruise the tables for 2 were along the wall and placed about one foot apart. Just enough room to squeeze in to the back bench and that got harder after 19 days - smile. So our neighbors were very close and we did chat with them a bit.

Very glad you plan to speak up about your needs. It's the only way that things will improve for us. So you're doing this for all the other hard of hearing passengers too.

Just back from cruise #24 with Princess. My only complaint was the lack of access for passengers with hearing loss. Pretty much no improvement in 18 years.

Yes they now have an assistive listening system in the theater but I could not use it because the only receivers were the "stethescope" design which go in your ears and don't work for people who have hearing aids or cochlear implants - the folk who need it the most. No sign telling people the system is available and the staff told me nobody uses it - not a big surprise.

The TVs now have closed captioning but only two channels actually showed programs with captions. This drives me wild because almost every TV show or movie shown in the USA has closed captions so where did Princess find copies that are not captioned? It would not them nothing to get the captioned version.

Please I'm begging you, speak up if you have a hearing loss and ask for some access. Passengers with mobility issues seem to have done a good job of advocating for themselves, so we need to do the same or nothing will change.

Just back from 19 days on the Ruby. Our 24th cruise with Princess and the beds on this ship were the worst ever. Hard as rock and very narrow. Our wonderful steward finally got us 3 foam pads each which made a huge difference. I didn't know you could order these in advance but will be sure to do that next time.

Cannot understand why they think anyone would want to sleep on the floor which is what these beds felt like.

I can feel your pain about the hard beds. We're just back from the Ruby TA and our beds were like sleeping on the floor and so narrow I thought I might roll right off. After 4 horrible nights our steward put 3 foam pads on each bed and that solved the problem. Before that he tried using comforters as extra padding but that did not work. Usually I sleep very well on a cruise that these beds were torture.

Hope you get yours sorted out. Really enjoyed reading your review.

Hi Taters

I have a cochlear implant too and absolutely love it. However I still need to see someone's face to understand what they are saying. I'm really interested in the answer to your question. Never sailed on Carnival but on Princess I have asked several times about reserved seating up front and always the answer is no. The excuse is that "everyone would want it too". In our case it's not a want but a necessity. I would love to see some captioning for the movies they show in the theaters but they say No to that too because other people would complain.

Most ships do have listening systems in the theaters and show lounges so you can ask for a receiver and hope that it's compatible with your inplants. These can deliver the sound straight to your "bionic ears".

Please speak up about what you need because it helps the rest of us who also need some hearing help.

I think you got it right. They have the assistive listening systems because they are required by law but they really do not want to have to deal with them. I have a cochlear implant so I need a receiver with an output jack for my implant. Always request this in advance and usually get to talk to the sound engineers on board. One showed me all the headset type receivers they have in a cupboard at the back of the theater. He told me nobody ever uses them. Of course there were no signs telling people they were available and nothing in the Princess Patter or at the front desk. People won't ask for something they don't even know exists.

And then if they do get to try them and have a bad experience like you did, they will never try them again. Pity because a good listening system can be magic.

PLEASE KEEP ON BUGGING THEM ABOUT HEARING ACCESS :O)

Wow I thought I was the only one complaining about the lack of captioning. Please keep up the comments and complaints. When I talk to the front desk they always look at me like nobody else ever complained.

I know that Princess gets their programming in a package from a USA supplier. There is no reason on god's green earth that all the movies and the prerecorded programs should not be captioned. Somehow their supplier finds non captioned versions even though almost all movies and most TV programs are shown with captions in the USA.

The cruise line would have to pay someone to caption their own prerecorded programming but it is so cheap now so no excuse there.

Given the average age on many cruises, you know there are a lot of hard of hearing passengers on board who would appreciate captioning. If we all complained maybe something would change.

Anyone else having problems with My Princess? For nearly a week I've had problems viewing my Saved cruises. When I try to update the price I get a message saying something like "Technical problem, please update price" and then my Saved cruise just disappears from the list. When I check on what's available I see that some prices include all taxes and port charges but then on other cruises some of the costs are listed separately. Kind of confusing since it makes some cruises look more expensive than they really are.

They could make sure that the movies and old TV programs they show on the cabin TV are closed captioned so passengers with hearing loss could enjoy some entertainment. Because of my hearing loss I can't enjoy the shows and movies in the theater.

I've talked to the Passenger Service desk many times about this. They told me cruise lines and the air lines rent or purchase "packages" of movies and reruns of TV programming. The TV shows have to be reformatted to remove the commercials. You and I know that all the movies and TV shows have captions when shown in the USA. So the cruise lines just have to request the captioned version which should not cost any extra.

All in cabin TVs have the captioning technology which is why once in a while you will see a movie with captions. We were on the Star earlier this year and the TV guide for the cabin showed which movies were captioned. I counted and it was about 5% and those were mostly children's movies.

I think the news and sports come from a satellite feed and captioning seems to depend on what part of the world you're sailing in. On the Star (in the Pacific ocean) only HLN was captioned. Of course Princess never captions any of the channels showing tours and advertising for other cruises.

It's kind of complicated but at the very least they could get the captioned versions of movies and old TV shows. Believer me, if all the cruise lines asked then the provider company would soon come up with the captions.

None of us NEED a cruise however much we may WANT one. So I guess everyone should just send our money to a country struggling with a disaster? Princess spends millions just to make their ships look great but none of that stuff is essential. Providing captions to provide access to ship's services would cost next to nothing.

Joking aside, I promise that when I book my next cruise (hopefully next year) I will contact Access Services in advance, and talk to the Front Desk people, cruise director etc when I get on board, and make sure they understand how essential captioning is for people with serious hearing loss. I feel empowered because I know I'm not the only passenger who wants captions.

Thanks from Joan

I feel like I've just discovered a whole group of friends on Cruise Critic. Going deaf as an adult is a lonely business but I've learned to live with it by using captioning, special phones, listening systems and yes just dropping some friends because no matter how hard I try I cannot understand what they are saying.

I've spent many thousands on hearing aids, special equipment, sign languaghe classes and even had a cochlear implant inplanted in my skull and I still struggle. Having captions on MUTS, movies and TV on the ship would make a huge difference and like others have said, would cost the cruise line next to nothing since it's the producers of the movies and programs that provide the captions.

JRZEBIRD - well said, love the way you express exactly how I feel too. I've actually tried the captioning glasses at my local movie theater and after 10 minutes just wanted to rip them from my head because of the discomfort. They are expensive and fragile and would probably not be popular with passengers so I don't think they are an option for the cruise lines right now. Captioning on MUTS might keep the sound level down which would make some hearing people happy.

I honestly think that if we all speak up for ourselves then we can get the cruise lines to change. After my unpleasant encounter with the front desk on the Star, my emails to Access Services and Customer Relations were ignored and after more than 3 months I don't expect to hear from them. But I promise that on my next cruise (hopefully next year) I will try again to get some hearing access.

SEE CC AT SEA

For Swedish Weave

Some hard of hearing people can use a listening system but the receiver you use has to be compatible with the ship's sound system. It's logical for the ship to provide them - receivers cost about $50 wholesale. There is no way to know in advance if your personal receiver will work on the ship.

My hearing even with a cochlear implant is too bad for me to use a listening system - I NEED CAPTIONS. Captioning is a one time cost and could easily be done by the company that provides movies and TV programming to the cruise ships. All the cruise line has to do is ask for it when they renew their contract with the supplier.

Why are you so eager to make the passengers pay for their own handcap access? Do you expect passengers to pay extra for a wheelchair accessible cabin?

Oh boy I am so happy to see someone else speaking out. I'm Elite on Princess and every cruise I speak to the Purser's Desk (Passenger Services) Captain's Circle host, cruise director etc and ask for more help for people with hearing loss. They act like nobody ever complained before and I know that is not true.

I am late deafened, I have a cochlear implant, have bought tons of devices that are supposed to help but I still have problems hearing in most situations and cannot understand TV or movies without captions. I do everything I can to prepare myself for the cruise including notifying Princess so why can't the cruise line do something to help? Hearing loss is a permanent condition that cannot be "fixed". Hearing aids etc can be a big help but not a cure.

It's up to us to speak out and ask for captioning, flashing light safety alarms, special phones, listening systems etc. These are not extremely expensive and once in place would help thousands of passengers. We like longer cruises and most of the passengers are over 65 which means many if not most of them have some degree of hearing loss but it's invisible not like a wheelchair.

On my last cruise I complained because 95% of the programs and movies shown on TV were not captioned even though they are all shown in the USA with captions. Passenger Services basically shrugged and said not our problem. After 23 cruises with Princess that really hurt.

SO SPEAK UP EVERYONE. IT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN MAKE THEM CHANGE.

Hi Roz

Sorry to hear about the problems on the Star and I sure hope that Amber in Access or someone in Customer Relations at least has the courtesy to reply. I'm still waiting to hear their explanation for the almost total lack of closed captioning on the Star. 3 months since I emailed Amber and 2 months since I emailed Customer Relations and no response from either one. A simple apology when I was on the ship would have made all the difference - now I'm not even sure if I want to cruise with Princess again.

Guess I don't look disabled either but losing my hearing turned my world upside down.

Roz, many thanks for a very interesting and informative response. I like your suggestion to have someone on board I can go to if things go wrong - will definitely make that request next time I book with Princess. You must be a wizard at lip reading. I'm pretty good but it is so tiring and does not work for TV because so many people speak off camera. A reserved seat near the front would be fabulous. Not too close because then I get a stiff neck but maybe 4 rows back.

Up to now I've loved Princess but the attitude of the front desk staff really upset me on this last cruise. Like they are trained never to smile or show sympathy, and just want you to go away and stop bothering them.

On all 22 cruises over 15 years I've made the same suggestion about more captions on the TV programs but nothing changes. It's like they go out of their way to find movies that are not captioned. It would not cost anything extra to show the captioned version and it would make a lot of hard of hearing passengers happy.

No you didn't pry so no worries there. Okay here goes, I did in fact email Amber in Princess Access in advance and she arranged for me to have a special receiver for the FM listening system in the show lounge. So I do appreciate that she made that effort for me and the receiver did help to some extent. She told me that my cabin TV would have captioning.

The reason I got so upset on this 28 day cruise was that virtually none of the movies or shows on our cabin TV were closed captioned. The TV did display captions okay because once in a while I would actually come across a children's movie with captions. However, I estimate that 95% of the stuff shown was not captioned. This is so stupid because almost every TV show and movie is available with captions. For some reason Princess' supplier sends them the non captioned versions.

I knew that the Front Desk people could not wave a magic wand and make the captions appear but I would have loved a little sympathy or maybe even an apology from them. Instead they just said they would notify LA.

Now to add insult to injury, Access Services will not anwer my emails (3 months), Customer Relations has not answered the email I sent over 3 weeeks ago. I no longer get email or snailmail offers from Princess and before we used to get these on a regular basis. Because of my hearing loss I don't feel comfortable calling by phone.

When we first started sailing with Princess they had really nothing to offer passengers with hearing loss but the staff and crew went out of their way to be nice and do what they could to help me enjoy the cruise. I think the ships are now too big and the staff is too busy to take time to care.

Thanks for all the tips. Earlier this week I emailed Customer Relations at Princess. Got the automatic reply saying most people get a response in one to two weeks. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for me to get a reply. I'll let you know what they say.

We book through a TA and she forwarded my report of lack of access and rude behaviour by front desk staff. She sent it to her sales contact at Princess who then forwarded it "their office of compliance". That was 3 months ago and no response at all from Princess. A month ago I emailed the Princess Access Dept but have not had any reply.

At this point I'm most upset by the attitude of the front desk staff and the fact that Princess won't even acknowledge they received my complaint. If I'd had a nice apology and some sympathy right at the beginning (on the cruise) I would have just moved on.