DeafOnBoard

PS (it wouldn't let me edit the post) the HAL review including interpreter situation can be read on thr HAL board (can't link from this device but the title is "Panama Canal Transit on the Nieuw Amsterdam Apr 9-25: A Deaf Perspective". (Including the issues with HQ folks too).

I'm back! As promised, the second part of my review!

Embarkation:

...was a zoo. Parents drove me to FLL, and the drop-off zone was chaotic. Dad was forced to drop off Mom and I and keep on driving after being yelled at. A porter approached me within twenty seconds and offered to take my suitcase, which I obliged - with a tip. It appears that not many people tip them, or don't tip them well as the gentleman was pleased with his offering that he asked if he could take my 12-pack of Coke too. I declined, after prior experience of it "disappearing" on a previous trip with another line. (Yes, that meant schlepping it through security but then I could check off "exercise" from the daily to-do list, eh?) There was no real clear signage of where to go (every open doorway was a false start until we eventually found the "back path" to the doors). For someone with low-vision (lack of peripheral vision), this was a headache as I was constantly scanning from side to side to make sure I didn't bump into someone by accident. Tiring at times, it is.

Mom accompanied me through security (well, until the metal scanner - she stood in line to keep me company). After the zoo outside, the security line was a breeze. My cochlear implant sound processors didn't set them off - yay! Then another (long) line for check-in. Bill assisted me, and I was glad for his help, for after checking in and getting my keycard, I realized that I would not be able to hear my group being called to embark the ship. Pointing this out, Bill conferred with his fellow agents, zigzagging across the room while I followed him. I was only expecting to be put in the special-needs section with the wheelchair users and slow walkers, like they do for flights.

Nope. Bill took me past that section, upstairs and bypassed the line of 4-star and 5-star Mariners waiting to board the ship after taking their picture and personally deposited me at the head of the gangway leading to the ship. It all happened so fast that I didn't even realize how "close" I was to the ship! After congratulating myself at my fortune, I showed my keycard and stepped onto the ship.

I would like to take a moment to apologize to the 4- and 5- star Mariners that I cut in front of - that was not my intention, that it was more than I expected!

But that meant I was greeted by several staff/crew with the VIP treatment. (I declined offers of assistance with my carryons, having already memorized the deck plans beforehand).

I will admit it, I did tear up. Been an ocean liner aficionado since age 9, and reading about ocean liners (including the Nieuw Amsterdam (2) and the Rotterdam (V) and wanting to be on a HAL ship. Oh and the wraparound promenade deck. So it was twenty years in the waiting. For my aunt, it was about the destinations, but for me, it was the ship that I wanted. Even if it were a cruise to nowhere, I still would be ecstatic about it! (I'm one of the few that actually prefers sea days over shore days... and lucky, due to skipping a few of the ports, I was able to work out a sea day -shore day- sea day schedule for the most part to rest and recuperate after the shore days (more on that in the next post). So yes, boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam felt like coming home.

The Cabin:

I traveled with my aunt (hearing) and we both agreed on an oceanview cabin. Given the option of cabins on Deck 1 and 4, we opted for 4 so I could be close as possible to my favorite spot on the ship - the outdoor promenade deck. So, hello cabin 4070! Also, being the ship nerd I was, I was overly excited about the view of a lifeboat outside our floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window. (Basically a balcony cabin without the balcony). I know some people might balk at booking a lifeboat cabin, but I loved it. Still had a view over the boat, and there was a gap between the platforms so one could see the Promenade deck below and the water as well. I would use that gap to discern if we were moving or how big the whitecaps were.

The cabin it was far more roomier than the inside cabin I had on the Carnival ship. We had two twin beds, a bedside table for each bed (with a top, shelf, and two drawers), a love seat and coffee table, and a straight backed chair. The desk/vanity had an ottoman underneath as well as a cabinet and a minifridge. Closet space was ample - aunt took the two ends while I took the middle. She wasn't pleased with the "fact" that she couldn't hang up her clothes (due to the shelves in the way) until I showed her how the shelves folded back up to reveal - magic! - hanging space. (I got a dirty face after my snarky comment :) ).

Bathroom - very nice and well designed for a small space. Very glad to have a tub, and especially glad not to have a "blue plastic room"! The shelf under the sink was well thought out as I put my stuff down there while aunt took over the wall shelves. It did take us a while to find the hair dryer (found in cabinet in desk/vanity, not where I would have put it...). Light in bathroom bright, no issues seeing in there (I hate low-lit rooms as it makes it harder to see, especially if there is glare from the windows, if any).

Muster Drill:

Had to explain Port/Starboard to several people during the drill (ship nerd here, remember?) while I waited at my station, which was station 8. Much better run than Carnival. (On the Carnival Inspiration, no one told us that the Deaf group had their own muster station after pal and I showed up to Muster Station D in the dance club. Took awhile to figure out why there was no interpreter, only to find out that the Deaf passengers and interpreters were to muster in the conference room next to the dance club. So basically Da and Db...)

Luckily, interpreter was also assigned to the same station so no need to do fancy footwork to figure out what to do in a true emergency. The interpreter told the crew manning our station that she was an interpreter, that we have a Deaf passenger, etc, etc. The crew were chill about it - no panic or nervousness - they were like "oh, okay!" and allowed the interpreter to stand next to them during the spiel and demonstration. (I did have to gently guide people out of my path of view - folks kept stepping in between the interpreter and I, and I kept moving forward to the deck railing despite the crew asking us to step back to allow more room for other passengers.

Crew scanned keycards - there were several who had to re-scan their keycards after their room was called for "not showing up". Interpreter and I debated if they really "forgot" to scan, or *just* showed up... Quick, efficient, the way I like it. I liked having the drill held outside where the boat is. For some reason, I dislike indoor muster stations (depends on the venue, most likely for lighting conditions and "not being near the boats when it happens". There are pros and cons to indoor/outdoor musters, of course and I support both sides - just my preference for outdoor. BUT if it was in a colder climate, I would take the indoor muster, of course! We just happened to have a sunny beautiful day with a temperature that wasn't too hot.

Remembering my sailing on Carnival and the miscommunication among the staff/crew and Deaf passengers, I elected to ask for a muster station bracelet to expedite communication (separate post on that - check it out!). Got it, and deemed a genius by the officer and crew, I sported the very fashionable red #8 bracelet for the rest of the crossing! (My aunt remarked after seeing the crew eyeing it for the umpteenth time, that it was obvious which one of us would be rescued first - seems every staff or crew who glanced at my bracelet would mentally store the note for reference). If nothing, it was a peace of mind knowing I had a backup to the backup plan of the backup.

Name Signs:

In Deaf culture, name signs are assigned to people/places/particular items, especially to avoid fingerspelling it multiple times which can be tiring. So, what sign did the Nieuw Amsterdam get?

First all, there is already an established name sign for the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In ASL, we use the NGT (Dutch Sign Language) version. Link to a video of the sign can be found here:https://www.lerengebaren.nl/gebaarfilm/Amsterdam/

But this was the Nieuw Amsterdam, not the Amsterdam. Not knowing the NGT sign for "nieuw", we used the ASL sign for "new" instead, as a placeholder until we could learn the sign for "nieuw". Link to the ASL sign: https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=1484

Upon returning, we found the sign for "nieuw" - https://www.lerengebaren.nl/gebaarfilm/Nieuw/

So basically, New Amsterdam. Now - how do we differ the NA4 from its three predecessors? Since the sign for "Amsterdam" is used with the index fingers, we decided that would be the NA1. the second being signed with 2 fingers (the commonplace gesture for peace/victory), thus the NA2. Third with three fingers, and now the current one with four fingers ending with "New 4-Amsterdam". This method would work until the tenth Nieuw Amsterdam (due to the rule of 9 in ASL) then it's back to 1NA-the tenth instead.

Now, what about the other HAL ships? They do spring up in discussion, and the interpreter did not want to keep misspelling the Koningsdam. Some were easy - such as Koningsdam, Prinsendam, Amsterdam, Eurodam, and the Vista class. So, we now had the King-boat, Prince-boat, Amsterdam, Euro-boat, North-boat, West-boat, East-boat (but with the "O" handshape instead of the "E"), and the Z-damn. (Upon returning, we consulted a NGT dictionary to find the Dutch signs for those and adapted the name signs to match up with the Dutch names instead). Then, what do about the "dam" ending? Either "boat" (for now, as a placeholder), or "damn", to poke fun at the "dam(n)" ships. So either way, would be "King+boat" or "King+damn". (This especially worked well for the Zuiderdam - Z-damn in a southward movement).

We also adopted the NGT sign for Rotterdam as well. Another one checked off!

We haven't figured out what to do with the Maasdam, Veendam, Statendam (we did use state+boat for awhile), Ryndam, Zaandam, and the Volendam just yet. (Dutch speakers out there, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'm still waiting on my buddy who knows NGT to see if they already had something). (In a pinch, we went with M-boat, V-boat, State-boat, River-boat, Z-AA-N-boat (not to confuse with the Zuiderdam), and "Other V-boat" for Volendam since Veendam came up in conversation more often than the Volendam. Poor Volendam!) Then there's the New state-boat too :) I promise those temporary signs will eventually get better - so suggestions are welcome! Will have to find the sign for Rhine for the Ryndam...

Okay, that part might have been a bit too technical for some folks... :) Moving on!

Instagram:

For those who haven't checked out Bear's Instagram page for several photos from the Nieuw Amsterdam - they include the following: Bear overlooking Antigua from the restaurant/hotel; Bear and I peering over the ship's side to see the canal; Bear and I in the Crow's Nest; Bear shooting cannons at tourists at HMC; Bear eating a Panama roll; Bear smelling a flower in Guatemala; Bear getting ready for a shore ex by sitting inside my backpack; Bear at the bow of the ship during the canal transit; Bear with one of his new towel pals, a koala bear; Bear looking up at the funnels; Bear on a bed of tulips (Deck 1); Bear and I sitting on our favorite deck chair on the Promenade Deck. They all are lateposts as they were posted after disembarking the ship due to wifi issues.

Next post: the promenade deck, the rest of the ship review, dinner, tours, sickness, balance, elevator fun, low-vision incidents, and so on.

First of all, have you been in contact with the Access Department? They were our "in" - Gina at hal_access_&_compliance@hollandamerica.com AND if you plan on pursuing shore excursions through HAL, they were even better - hal_shorex_axcess@hollandamerica.Com and mention my name as you will get better results.

For my Panama Canal trip (see separate thread on details - still posting updates and reviews) I made the request for a terp 2 months before the trip. At first, HAL would only provide cabin, free gratuities, and port fees/ taxes. Also, you pick the interpreter (they would cover 2). Luckily after asking 75 terps, I was able to find one that could do 16 days (yours is shorter so better shot). Unfortunately due to the timing and all I couldn't find a second terp - since I'm a low maintainence passenger (don't need terp all hours maybe 5 hours total?) the terp said she could do it solo (but after getting food poisoning and being out of commission for 36 hours, we both told HAL that a second terp was necessary).

After negotiation which took several week, we got cruise credit and travel coverage for the interpreter. I am working with HAL in getting them to up the stakes and include payment for future terp requests. (In my post, I spoke about how HQ folks needed work while shipboard folks were awesome so I would encourage you to read that.

This situation is sticky as fingers are bing pointed - HAL says your travel agency has to pay, while travel agency us pointing to you. Stand your ground, include both in your email, and inform them that HAL recently covered an terp with the following: cabin, port fees/taxes, gratuties, cruse credit, airfare (if not local terp). Mention my name (PM me for it) as HAL knows I'm on thr ball. Technically since thr travel agency is planning it, they should shoulder some of the cost. Offer HAL to cover one terp while travel agency covers the other terp? (You'd be lucky to find a terp willing to work for cruise credit - 99% are paid or prefer to be paid. )

My two cents -HAL doesn't get many requests from Deaf so they haven't kept up with the industry standards like RCI, NCL, and Carnival. Education is key here, not just griping. The more you are willing to discuss the better luck you will get.

If that all fails, contact jennifer Alvarez at care vacations (NOT a TA but an interpreter who knows the system and ADA requirements and helps ships coordinate access requests. )Jalvarez@carevacations.Com

Please keep us updated!

I did not disappear! Working in the next post - most likely will split into two. :)

I don't understand why younger people seem to regard being around older people with horror. Old age happens to everyone if they live long enough.

I find I still feel the same way inside that I did when I was young. It's just that the body doesn't cooperate as well anymore. It's rather hurtful to read that younger people don't want to be around us simply because we committed the sin of aging.

I am 30, love HAL (perfect match for me an introvert who is sensitive to light, sound, crowds, and visual distractions) and I love socializing with experienced people (not older - experienced) as I find what they have to say far much more interesting than many of my age group peers!

Typed out a long response, and CC decided to delete it just when i hit "post". So typing it out again... bear with me :) To start with, some general comments and then further posts will dive in deeper. As a Deaf passenger with low vision, I wanted to give that perspective as compared to the "regular" perspectives. So feel free to ask questions, share concerns and comments, and I will be glad to address them all.

Here we go!

First of all - I am Deaf, newly 30, low vision due to Usher Syndrome - combined deafness, vestibular issues, and retinis pigmentosa. American Sign Language (ASL) is my main mode of communication. Ocean liner aficionado, introvert, voracious reader. Writer in the process of penning several projects.

I do have bilateral cochlear implants - wore them inside the ship and on shore - but wisely took them off when I went out on deck - I didn't want to risk leaning over the railing and have them accidentally fall off - that'd be $7,000 per sound processor. Yeah... that'd be bad. I do hear everything but I can't always understand what I hear. I hear you all talking, but still need lipreading and / or signs to figure out the context. I do excellently with environmental sounds (ship whistles and alarms, for instance - hear them perfectly and can figure out which code the blasts stands for) and music (Adagio!)

Plus I had Bear, my longtime companion who's the same age as I and has been to half of the states in the US and many national parks. So it only made sense to drag him along for the ride - and to get intel for a future book I'm writing. (Visit his Instagram page at www.instagram.com/kaitlynandbear ). Quite a few pictures from our shipboard experience there!

"You're a bit young - why HAL?" Ocean liner aficionado here. I prefer ships that still look and act like ships - dark color hull, white superstructure, funnels, a wraparound teak promenade deck - which is required - with traditional deck chairs, afternoon tea, shuffleboard, and fixed dinnertime. I am not one for the "foo-foos" of on-land resorts that carries over to ships making them look and act less like ships (*eyes RC, NCL and Carnival*). I have sailed before on Carnival and found it too "busy" for me (sensitive to light, sound, crowds, and visual distractions). So that left Cunard and HAL as my choices (though I would make an exception for Disney - they do honor the old days with their decor and ship profile). I'm perfectly happy with a old fashioned deck chair on the Promenade Deck with a good book and the occasional game of shuffleboard. Can't afford Cunard at this point, and HAL plus the Panama Canal were on my bucket list - so glad to be able to cross two of them off!

Also, this trip was a replacement trip for my cancelled European tour last summer. The trip was set up with a Deaf agency and pulled at the last minute due to low sign-ups. ALL hearing land tours won't provide interpreters (falls outside ADA jurisdiction) and the "disability-friendly" tours generally don't accommodate Deaf well due to communication barriers instead of physical barriers. So that left cruising as an option. The Panama Canal worked well due to the fact that it had 2 US ports, which made it eligible for ADA accommodation - hence the interpreters and in-cabin visual alert system.

Did the 16 days Panama Canal crossing on the Nieuw Amsterdam from FLL to San Diego, Apr 9-25. In short, 14 beautiful sunny days and two "North Atlantic" days of overcast and choppy waves. Couldn't ask for better weather!

First of all, thanks to HAL for providing an ASL interpreter. However, one interpreter is not enough for such a long cruise - 16 days, and I had to cut back on my requests for interpretation to avoid burnout on the interpreter's part. Also, what happens when the interpreter is incapable of performing his/her duty due to circumstances out of our control? As was the case when the interpreter got food poisoning from the Lido and was out of commission for 36 hours, meaning I had zero access to communication during that time frame. Granted it was on a day where I lucky didn't have any shore excursions planned, but did have the behind-the-scenes ship tour scheduled. (Thankfully the on-board marketing department was able to add another ship tour to accommodate me on a later date when the interpreter recovered, but I still got a shortened tour instead of the full one that I paid for). I would strongly encourage a practice of hiring 2 interpreters instead of one to avoid those issues.

Also, I would encourage revisiting the compensation package for the interpreting services, as I had issues finding an interpreter that was willing to work for nothing, especially as competing cruise lines do pay the interpreter for their work (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, etc).I encouraged HAL to reach out to several agencies and see what the current practice is. If HAL keeps up the practice of not paying interpreters, Deaf guests will be turned away and seek other cruise lines. (This is why HAL got a bad rap within the Deaf community for not being accommodating nor paying the interpreters while expecting them to work full days for free).

Moving on, the shipboard staff and crew have been fabulous regarding the communication front. I never had an issue onboard when it came to communicating with the staff/crew. My portable whiteboard and marker came in handy, and the staff/crew were more than happy to write back and forth or use gestures to ensure effective communication occurs. Special note for the waitstaff in the dining room - not only did they recognize me by face, but also remembered what I liked/disliked, and learned a few signs such as "coffee?" and made sure to write down anything they said, even before I pulled out my whiteboard and marker. Ditto with the staff working the Front Desk - I was especially glad when one of them turned out to know enough basic sign to ensure barrier-free communication occurred.

Carlos in the Showroom went above and beyond to making sure the interpreter had access to the show scripts, schedule, and rehearsals with the cast. Not only that, they never failed to remember to shine a light on the interpreter during a show - I never had to remind them to do so. Also, I got a special treat when they agreed to shine a light on the interpreter during a showing of "Rogue One" on the big screen after hearing that the in-cabin movie network had issues with the closed captioning. (As a fan of Star Wars, I was tickled to see it on the big screen, and even better, with an interpreter instead of captions for once).

That reminds me - contacted the tech department and/or the film distributors to check into the software for the in-cabin movie listings as the closed captioning was wonky at best. Half of the movie would caption properly, the other half, the captions would literally blink on/off so fast that it was impossible to read. (I checked with several films, both in my cabin and several neighboring cabins and they all had the same issues, leading me to believe it was a network issue and not a TV issue). I think the captions had timing issues as my iPad copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" captions worked beautifully, and the movie captions didn't match up, especially how long the captions stayed on screen. (Used that movie as I had seen it several times and was very familiar with it - hence a good "control" film to test it with!)

I would encourage research and development of a on-board texting app to be used on the ship. I had issues with ordering room service. If my (hearing) companion wasn't in the cabin, I was left with two choices - either walk downstairs to the Ocean Bar (closest public room) and place my order with the bartender who would phone it in (thank you Edgar!), or open my door and hope to catch one of the housekeeping staff working the hall and have them phone it in (thank you to whoever dropped their duty to do that - I regret that I did not catch their name). Having a onboard texting app would have resolved that issue for me and many other guests who can't use the in-cabin phone. It was especially problematic when I became sick one day and could barely dress and drag myself downstairs to Ocean Bar and have them call in tea and soup, and drag myself back upstairs and get back in bed.

Also, I would like to thank the shore excursions folks for making it possible for the interpreter to accompany me on those trips - we were especially lucky in Costa Rica (Walk in the Clouds) and Antigua (Past & Present Colonial Antigua) to be blessed with guides that understood the purpose of an ASL interpreter and made sure we were in the front of the bus so the interpreter could hear and replay their spiels and checked in with me to make sure I was getting the info I needed. (Natasha in CR and Erick in Antigua). I do hope HAL continues this practice of sending the interpreter ashore with the Deaf guests at their request.

On last thing - I would strongly discourage scheduling three major one-time only events on the same day/time. In doing the make-up ship tour, I missed out on On Deck for a Cause (had the shirt on and was ready) and the second Mariner's lunch. (There were two Mariner's lunches and I was invited to the second one). I was looking forward to doing all three, and unfortunately, the rescheduled ship tour took place at the same time as them. Just a small complaint on my part. (I was able to pick up my tile at a later time).

During the trip I filled out at least 15 comment cards with commendations towards particular staff/crew members, expressed several concerns and whatnot. I do hope they were useful, and the staff/crew got their commendations and thank-yous.

The ship library had copies of the Harry Potter books - which is VERY GOOD in my books! 50 points to whoever put them on the shelf - no library is complete without a set. (Okay, I confess - I'm still waiting for my belated Hogwarts letter to arrive!)

Next post: in-cabin accommodations, embarkation zoo, muster drill, deck life, vestibular issues, mealtimes, excursions, getting sick, riding the elevators for an hour, low-vision issues, etc.

Actually no. Just those two on the first full day of the trip then nothing for the next 15 days! :D

Technically the second occurred ON the way to visit the medical center for the first accident. Go figure.

A note- they did scan the cards and take attendance for the outside stations - we had a few no shows at boat 8 (some were there but "forgot" to scan or rhe scanner didn't scan them correctly thr first go.

Stellendam would have been another good choice - two ships nearly took that name :)

Dang! I was outside and missee the drama!

I did wonder about the heavy doors to the Promenade Deck and how they would affect guests using wheelchairs and scooters. (To the point where I got out graph paper and pencils to see if I could improve on the design to allow for power doors that weren't affected by windlass and thr best I could think of wad a wind shield up front but then some would call that an enclosed promenade :)

I am sorry that you guys didn't have a good experience with the inside drill. From what I saw at Boat 8 it seemed to go smoothly. (Much better than Carnival now that I look back.) My issue was that folks kept getting between the intepreter and I - sight lines and all- but that was easily fixed by gently shooing them aside an / or moving forward closer to the railing. Even so I did get some ugly faces for taking prime estate. Can't win 'em all!

Ack! They even have NAMES too! (Well except for poor Nuvac in the bottom right corner). Orange Henry, I have my eyes on you! *does the watching - you gesture*

On the Nieuw Amsterdam last month they handed them out at the brunch. I picked mine after the brunch (long story) from the MDR with no problem.

Bingo! Here's the 5,000 cookies as reward for identifying the culprit!

This is from the Carnival trip I took. A friend who was Deaf didn't hear a crew member's request for her card during an announcment to muster, to figure out which muster station she belonged to. After a few minutes of inept communication, I saw what was happening and stepped in and showed my bracelet (we shared the same cabin and thus the same muster station). Took two seconds for the crew to look at it and direct her to the correct one. After that incident the friend agreed that the bracelet was a good idea as it would have taken up time to dig out the card IF she understood the crew was asking for it to help her in the first place.

Same situation - hers took 5 minutes to resolve while mine took two seconds. That's a lot of time that could have been used to save someone else in a real emergency. Plus low light (if power is lost) would make lireading extremely difficult so I wouldn't rely on that either.

To each of their own.

Upon returning from my Panama Canal transit on thr Nieuw Amsterdam, I realized I forgot to take a photo of one thing that I needed to include in a future blog post (one of many planned).

Anyone have, or are willing, to take a close up shot of one of the little vaccum cleaners that are used on board? The one with the smirking face on it? (And are willing to let said photo be used in the blog post?)

I did trip and tumbled heads over heels over one of them and the only reason I walked away with a tiny stratch on my arm was that I was carrying Bear in my arms and he received the brunt of the fall as I fell on him :)

And yes, it was the same day I got an overenthusatic welcome from a mangrove branch at Half Moon Cay! (The medical center folks were indeed confused to see my smiling face as I visited them to check on both injuries...)

:D

Thanks for chiming in with your agreement - I have included that suggestion in thr pages-long email with feedback to HAL.

It came to me as I watched the crew help the passengers using wheelchairs or scooters and realized that deafness (and other disabilties and communication disorders) was an invisible disability unlike those with visible disabilities.

(Like trying to pinpoint a wizard in a sea of Muggles - you don't know a person is deaf until they sign or talk with an accent or don't follow oral directions akin to someone whipping out a wand and doing magic :)

Just off the Nieuw Amsterdam sailing of the Panama Canal. Will do a separate post with my perspectives as someone who is Deaf and has vision issues late on.

But for this one, I'd like to discuss the bracelets that kids under the age of 12 are required to wear. They inform crew of their muster station as well as the color indicating which side of the ship it is on.

Being Deaf, and looking for ways to expedite communication, I asked for one during the drill. The crew and an officer who listened to my rationale and thought it was genius - what if I didn't have my key card nor could access the cabin with the specially marked lifejacket? Trying to tell the crew where I should be would have used up valuable time that could have been spent elsewhere or helping someone else.

Wearing a bracelet removes that concern - and believe me, EVERY crew or staff who saw it, mentally checked the info. My aunt (who is hearing) remarked during one dinner after a waitstaff noticed it, "Well now we all know who will be first rescued!"

So with that experience, I would encourage anyone who might have a communication barrier (deafness, autism, etc) to request for a bracelet.

What are your thoughts on this?

And yes, I did get the nudges about if I should be at club HAL but that was also suggestive of my age (newly 30s) when the majority of the passengers were double my age. :)

Combined the lists and 10 external suggestions and printed it out. Ready to go!

I will be posting the results on my ( - er make that Bear's) Instagram profile so feel free to check them out! (Due to wifi, won't be updating in real time but delayed just so that you all know).

@kaitlyn_and_bear for Instagram and @KaitlynAndBear for Twitter. Will have a blog but not ready at this point.

Thank you all again for your helpful suggestions!

(And yes I will gently pat the apple for good luck :)

If your TTY doesn't work properly then report it and insist it is fixed right away! What happens if there is a real emergency? I am deaf with bilateral cochlear implants, and usually don't wear my processors in the cabin. There are a lot of issues with cruising and being without hearing. The ships really aren't prepared for getting information out regarding any changes in itinerary due to weather or other situations where announcements are made. If you don't speak up, nothing will change. Yes - TTY technology is outdated and there may be issues with fixing machines that aren't operating up to snuff, but that is no excuse for having nothing to communicate with in your cabin. This is not just a HAL problem, but one that is rampant throughout the industry. :(

Very true indeed! I will defintely be on the lookout for suggestions and report feedback (in the paSt I've had great responses and action - including the one joke suggestion I gave Disney that actually got implemented in the second generation of their handheld captioning along with the 10 others that I suggested... so there's hope they listen!)

I too have bilateral CIs too and I don't always have them on for various reasons.

(Have you been following the incident with RCI and Quantum of the Seas hurricane? A large group of Deaf pax were on board they got NO updates during the in cabin stay and wouldn't let the intepreters stay with them to relay the updates from the captain? Yeah wouldn't want to be in that situation - there's a lawsuit pending on that....)

Correct. They install the doorbell light which will flash lIke a strobe. Never fails to wake me up. :) (and yes I preordered the kit and got confirmation that it will be up and running in the cabin along with the cursed TTY and the wonderful bed shaker alarm that I like to kick off the bed.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Looking at the deck plans it looks like I could go down the corridor, down a flight of stairs and be at the Ocean Bar. Wonder if I become friendly with the staff there they'd call it in? Saves me from going all the way downstairs to the Front Desk... hmm...

Will be doing an extensive report when I get back as I see almost no reports by Deaf cruisers (at least those who use ASL)! :)

Will be sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam and am asking for suggestions about how to call room service.

Why am I asking this? Deaf here. Last ship I was on, the Carnival Inspiration, no matter what the stewards and other staff did (after hours of wrangling with the darned machine), the in cabin TTY would NOT work for in ship calls (it did work for outgoing land calls tho). For breakfast it was no problem filling out the card. Other times, I made an arrangement with the Atrium bar a few yards away that I could approach them with a handwritten order and they would gladly call it in. (A friendly smile goes a long way!)

By the way the TTY hasn't worked in several hotels so it's not a ship issue.

As I will be on Deck 4, there are no friendly faces at desks nearby to call for me. Cabin 4070 for those who are wondering.

Won't be using it often but I would like the occasional plateful of warm cookies and a cup of tea at night.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Excellent - adding them. (Have Norway under the France listing - listed them by their original names with replacementS in the notes section).

Added America, Cap Arcona, independence, Constitution, and City of Benares. (Some have interesting stories).

Hello,

I'm making a cheat sheet for my ASL interpreter (spreadsheet style) so she can keep up with me when discussing them. So I went through 20 years of notebooks to figure out which ones I tend to cover and made a preliminary list. They are not all the big ones or the tragic ones or thr loved ones - a little of all.

Let me know if I missed any! (And feel free to dispute them or ask why I'm including them).

Britannia

Great Western, Great Britain, Great Eastern

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kroprinz Wilhelm, KW II, Kroprinzessin Cécile

Deutschland

Carpathia

Empress of Ireland

Lusitania, Mauretania, Aquitania

Olympic, Titanic, Britannic

Imperator, Vaterland, Bismarck

Île de France

Rex, Conte di Savoia

Bremen, Europa

Normandie

Queen Mary

Wilhelm Gustloff

Nieuw Amsterdam

Queen Elizabeth

Andrea Doria

Rotterdam

United States

France

Queen Elizabeth 2

Queen Mary 2

Thanks!

This will be great fun! I love these suggestions - far more exciting than the mainstream "easy" stuff as I love a challenge, and the more unique, the better!