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Unacceptable response from RC advice please


Jed69
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Myself and my family decided to go on a cruise this year with RC As we had been on a cruise 4 years ago and had a great experience. We had previously sailed on independence of the seas and found this ship to be excellent for an independent manual wheelchair user. This time we went on vision of the seas and from the start it was a nightmare.

On the first day I was informed there were three ports that I would be unable to get off at, despite informing RC at time of booking I was never made aware of this.

The accessible toilets were not very accessible for someone in a manual wheelchair as the doors would swing closed as you were trying to enter over the raised entrance. This meant that I was unable to go to the toilet without the help of a family member. I found this totally unacceptable as I am a very independent person but now needed someone with me at all times.

To get into my cabin there was a rising floor with carpet and a raised metal plate which was extremely difficult for me to get up without my chair tipping back, this meant I again needed someone to assist me.

All of this caused a great deal of distress to myself, my wife and my two teenage children.

I made the staff onboard aware of all the issues and they offered me a visit to see the captain and a free meal in one of the restaurants which we declined. The staff were apologetic but couldn’t offer a solution to these issues.

On returning I contacted RC and was finally offered £600 off a future cruise.

I feel this is completely insufficient and doesn’t take into account the impact these difficulties had on my family.

Due to the deteriorating of my illness this was our last family holiday and it was totally ruined because of all this.

Do I just accept this as adequate compensation or has anyone any advice

Thanks in advance

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Were the ports you were unable to get off the ship tender ports? It is heavily published that in order to board tenders you need to be a little ambulatory.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the other items. I'm sorry your cruise was not up to your expectations.

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I would accept their money. It is unfortunate that you did not obtain a handicapped cabin, so that you would not have the lip to go over, and that you found the cruise unacceptable. That said, as above, if they were tender ports, this is normal for you not to be able to get off the ship. Your TA should have done more research for you in this situation. The ship has no obligation to ensure you booked the correct cabin, so when you discussed your handicap with the special needs department (or your TA did), they didn’t mention the tender ports, and process?

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Jed - welcome to Cruise Critic; I am truly sorry that your cruise was not what you envisioned. I encourage you to follow this board and help to inform other cruisers as to what and how to get the right cabin and and what you learned about shore excursions. I do wish you had visited this site before your cruise, but I hope you will help other cruisers avoid what you went through. I also agree your Travel Agent - if you had one - let you down if he/she knew of your condition. I would go to that person looking for some answers.

 

I do agree you should take the offer - it is more than what is normally done.

 

Keith

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I booked the cruise over phone directly with Royal Carribean including a disabled room. At no time did they tell me about the tender ports or the issues for a Manual wheelchair user. My problem with their offer is that it is a discount off a future cruise and given my last experience I don’t anticipate booking with them again.

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I booked the cruise over phone directly with Royal Carribean including a disabled room. At no time did they tell me about the tender ports or the issues for a Manual wheelchair user. My problem with their offer is that it is a discount off a future cruise and given my last experience I don’t anticipate booking with them again.

Then that does sound like RCCL may have let you down. I will defer to the folks on this board who are more familiar with booking disabled cabins on RCCL.

 

Again...this is a fantastic board for folks with an issue traveling, and I hope you stick around to offer some help to future passengers.

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Vision of the Seas is one of their oldest ships and even the accessible cabins aren’t as easy to maneuver as some of the newer ones. The Radiance class ships are by far the easiest as they have automatic doors. However all ships we have been on have a slight incline to get into the bathrooms, which although better than a step would be less than ideal for someone using a manual wheelchair.

 

I’m sorry the issues you mentioned made your cruise so difficult, though I’m not sure what they could have done to make it better. The accessible cabins on the Vision have worked for my husband as he uses a scooter and can walk into the bathroom. But I can see where the accessibility issues you mentioned were insurmountable to you. The tender ports, however, are difficult for anyone with mobility issues and we realize that in most cases my husband may have to stay on the ship.

 

I agree, though, with the others that you should accept the amount they offered. Perhaps a trip on the Brilliance, Jewel, Radiance or Serenade (without tender ports) would give you a better experience. You might also consider renting or purchasing a scooter or motorized wheelchair as that will give you much more ability to get around.

 

I’m sorry your trip was so disappointing, but hope you will try once again.

 

Kate

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Sorry to heard about your cruise. I would take the offer and book a newer ship.

 

We have found the Anthem; Independence and Navigator all wheelchair friendly. In my signature you will see we have cruised on the Oasis but my wheelchair bound son was not with us, so I cannot tell you how wheelchair friendly the cabins are.

 

As for tenders I can not really give you any advice. We have only done 1 Med cruise with a tender and my wheelchair bound son was allowed on the tender. On all our other cruises the ship has docked in port.

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Well, first off, you must realize that the accessibility requirements are based on the laws of the flag state, not necessarily those of the home port, or of the home country of the passenger. While some countries like the US have the ADA laws, which set accessibility requirements like door width, ramp pitch, etc, foreign flag ships are not required to upgrade to meet these requirements if it would require major modifications to the ship.

 

So, without knowing where your cruise was from, and the laws of that country with regards to accessibility on foreign flag cruise ships, I cannot say whether what you found for accessibility was legal or not. If it met the legal requirements of the flag state, and any home port national laws, then there is no recourse on your part, and the offer made by RCI is a gesture of good will, and if you don't accept it, you will most likely get nothing if you try to pursue it further. You also have to look at the laws concerning the ticket contract, and product/service liability laws in your country to see if you have any standing.

 

As for tendering, are you completely wheelchair bound, or can you walk a few steps? If wheelchair bound, did you tell RCI this at booking, or merely that you were a wheelchair user? Manual wheelchairs are allowed on the tenders, if the person can walk the few steps from the tender platform onto the tender boat, but if you cannot do this, then they will not allow you to tender, regardless of what kind of mobility device you use. If you didn't specify that you were wheelchair bound, the booking agent would assume that you could get up to make the transfer to the boat.

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Unfortunately the cruise line did what they do, offer cabins and accessible cabins to the public. The accessible cabins meet the strict ADA conditions. If you are physically unable to cruise that is your responsibility. All cruise lines make it quite clear they do not have the facilities or personnel to assist pax with ANY disability.

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I booked the cruise over phone directly with Royal Carribean including a disabled room. At no time did they tell me about the tender ports or the issues for a Manual wheelchair user. My problem with their offer is that it is a discount off a future cruise and given my last experience I don’t anticipate booking with them again.

 

 

it is not their responsibility to tell you stuff like that. it is on YOU to do the research ahead of time WRT accessibility and using mobility devices. it is also your responsibility to make sure that any assistance that may be required is your problem to take care of. its very common even on land for HA toilets to be less than a breeze to get in and out of. and yes I agree that many/most HA toilets on ships in public areas are beyond wonky and unsuitable for WC users who cannot transfer.

 

if you did not book a HA cabin( no lip to get into the cabin, no step up into the bathroom) then it was assumed that you could navigate on your own. yes the doors are heavy.

 

what you were offered was adequate compensation. it is up to you whether or not you will give them another chance, knowing what you know now about the differences in ships

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Unfortunately, those who book cruises on the phone do not do anything other than book the cabin. It's not their responsibility or their job to tell you all the ins and outs of your ship/cabins. And really, most of those phone bookers have never set foot on a ship and they aren't disabled and have no idea what that's all about.

 

That said, we disabled know, through our own research, what we need from a cruise. There are a few very hard and fast rules when it comes to cruising as a physically challenged person, with the first being that ships older than 10 years or so, aren't the best with regards to being accessible, so those of us with the most physical challenges avoid them. Next, for the most part, if you are unable to negotiate some steps, or on a mobility scooter, tender ports are out of the question (that's something you need to look at for yourself---if an itinerary has lots of tender ports, you won't be leaving the ship).

 

As for your cruise, I'm not sure what you expected them to do. They can't rebuild the ship, remove tough barriers or make things easier on an older ship. That's not something feasible. Like I said, you needed to do your due diligence and research the ship and itinerary you wanted, and that also might mean finding a good, local travel agent who could have helped you with all of this. Oh, and by the way, I'm full time disabled and confined to a mobility scooter full time, so I do understand the needs of the disabled.

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It sounds like you didn't know what questions to ask. I am not defending RC. My wife is a stroke survivor and is a full time wheelchair user. On a cruise, we rent a scooter to make life easier. We never had problems, except people cutting in front of us on the elevators. RC goes out of their way to help. We've been on the Anthem and Adventure out of Bayonne. BUT, my wife realized she has to give up some of her independence for the cruise to work for us. And I know I have to do more for her. I guess our expectations were different than yours. We make sure we know if there are any tender ports. And we ask plenty of questions ahead of time, both to the cruise line and the cruise critic community.

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