Handicap cabin on the Oosterdam

[PennyB]

Good Morning! I am new to Cruise Critic and this is my first post!

 

My husband and I and another couple are sailing on the Oosterdam out of San Diego 5 weeks from today. We are also from the northeast and are freezing our butts off! (wish that was an option!! :rolleyes: ).

 

My question is, has anyone ever seen or had one of the handicapped cabins on the Oosterdam? Our cabin is 5137. We booked a few months back a Guarantee VE balcony. When I went to look at the shore excursions I saw that we have been assigned cabin 5137. I emailed HA and told them I was surprised to see that we had been assigned a handicap cabin and wanted to know why that type of cabin was assigned to non-handicap persons this far from sailing. That according to their own website there were still VE cabins left. I also asked them to make sure they reassigned us should someone with disabilites need the cabin. They responded that we were assigned this cabin based on ship inventory (whatever that means!) and thanked me for my concern!

 

So, can anyone tell me what to expect that is different from a standard verandah cabin?

 

Thanks so much!:)

[CaptData]

Hi you will not have a bathtub as it will be a roll-in shower with moveable head and a pull down seat. There will be a ramp to your balconey. There will be emergency cords in the bathroom and near the bed. The closet will have a pull down bar. The bathroom toilet will have handrails on one side. The sink is lower then normal and so are the light switches. The room will be hugh.

 

Thank you for asking them to switch you ifthe need arises. What has problably happened is that cabin was given back by someone who now can not go. These cabins are put back in inventory and HAL or any other cruiseline will give them away as perks or upgrades. You are not the first or last able bodied person to get this. Later on you may see someone stuggle with a normal room because they were told that there were no HC left after the 60 day mark.

 

This happened to a friend. He wanted to go but was told no room available (he only booked 30 days out). I on the other hand had my room, I book most cruises about 1 year out to get the HC.

 

The other problem is poor TAs, these hold HC and give it to able-bodied people who then cancel and it goes back to inventory or they think they are helping their client by getting an upgrade (an H to G for example) when the upgrade is to a normal room but the client does not know this. This is what happended to him. He thought it was very nice that he got an upgrade compared to me but when he got on board he had major problems. He blamed the ship line but I asked if his TA got the upgrade. He said she worked hard to get it. It did not work for him. He should have stayed where he was. Not all upgrades are good for disabled but some who are new to cruising do not know that and make the mistake of their life. Unless I know I am going to another HC I do not accept upgrades.

[Sea Island Lady]

From what I can tell, your stateroom appears to be slightly larger than the other BB staterooms. The balcony is on an angle. I have read on this board that other handicapped bathrooms have the toilet inside the shower area and that when you shower, the toilet gets all wet. In turn, someone from your stateroom will not be able to shower if someone else is on the toilet or vice versa. :D

 

60 days! - Other cruiselines don't release until 3 weeks out. I wondered why there were so many HC available for our cruise in 4 weeks. I was also surprised that they were not taken because of HAL supposedly being the "older generation" cruise, I thought they would be needed. This is bad practice!

We were on an upgrade list and I had us taken off.

 

To the OP, I would ask HAL if they can re-assign you.

[skippycruises]

Hello,

We had cabin 5137 on the Zuiderdam back in dec. The shower is larger, with flat floor drains, a shower head that can be hand held, and a seat, and grab bars both in the shower and bathroom. The toilet does not get wet, because the shoer is enclosed. Yes, the balcony is angled, and can be windy at times, and there is a slight ramp vs a step to go out to the balcony. One last thing is that the bed is slightly lower... not a problem though! The cabin also has 2 chairs inside vs a loveseat, and one wall is longer than the other due to the cabin being on the bump out. I got this cabinwhen I booked through an on line agency because it wasn't marked as handicapped! Any questions, just ask!:) PS, the cabin doors aren't attached to hinges so they are easier to close.

[Sea Island Lady]

The shower is larger, with flat floor drains, a shower head that can be hand held, and a seat, and grab bars both in the shower and bathroom. The toilet does not get wet, because the shoer is enclosed.

This sounds more like the HC we had on the Millennium. That's good! I wonder why the showers on the aft have the toilet inside the shower instead of the way the angled HC is set up? I saw a picture of it someplace. :rolleyes:

[Sea Island Lady]

Look what I found! ;)

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/192739747/192739747FRHZae

[PennyB]

Look what I found! ;)

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/192739747/192739747FRHZae

 

Thanks! Great picture! How did you get the picture to begin with!? :confused:

[Sea Island Lady]

It's not mine. Someone else posted it on another thread. I think they took it from a RCCL ship.