walkers and wheelchairs on board?

[Linda&Vern]

Since we have gone off topic to discuss the SRI form, I will add my 2 cents -

 

I request special no-salt diet and they always email me the form to complete. I find the questions a little invasive and don't want my medical record, or history, or meds taken, stored in some HAL data base for any and every clerk to access. I never return the form, and guess what, the first night at dinner the head waiter always comes to me to discuss the menu, etc. So the ship gets the word without the form.

Again, I was taking an injection med for a temporary time, so on one cruise I had to request a Sharp's container for the room. Again, they sent the form and I ignored it. The container was in the room on the desk.

 

So - just saying - the form may or may not be all that important. The ship seems to get the word as to who and how many have special needs.

 

I am not aware of the form you are commenting on. I don't think HAL's SRI form is invasive at all: http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets//cruise-vacation-planning/SRI_Form.pdf

[Linda&Vern]

One final post to respond to your mistaken observation here.... as I said previously, HAL does not allow anyone but crew to push a wheelchair passenger onboard. They have a very simple system which works. Prior to beginning embarkation they send someone off the ship to count wheelchairs. They then proceed to embark them by making multiple trips. No fuss. No muss. Sometimes, the companion is asked to push the wheelchair to the ramp, but no further (I had to do that once). What this lady did was wrong, but was quickly remedied by staff. I have huge doubt that staff would have told you - another passenger - that this situation was caused by a couple not filling in a form. A form may very well have been completed - you cannot know.

 

For some reason you have decided to jump down my throat and cross-examine me and argue following a simple response of mine to S7S's post. Over-reaction is an understatement here. But FYI - I will continue to do as HAL requires me to do, and not follow uninformed responses posted here.

Apparently HAL just makes up this stuff on their website:

 

"Holland America Line does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of disability. We seek, to the extent feasible, to accommodate guests with disabilities. However, some needs require adequate time to prepare for a guest's arrival. It is recommended that guests make every effort to contact our Access & Compliance Department and to submit a Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form well in advance of the departure of their cruise and/or cruisetour. We recommend submitting an SRI upon booking or a minimum of 45 days prior to departure."

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets//cruise-vacation-planning/SRI_Form.pdf

 

I shall now retire to the kitchen for fresh apple pie. Happy travels.

[KAKcruiser]

For the people confused about having the rental wheelchair placed in their cabin and wondering how they would get onboard, HAL will use their wheelchair to take you to your cabin. Then you use the rental wheelchair for the duration of the cruise. At the end you leave the rental wheelchair in the cabin and HAL will use their wheelchairs to take you off the ship.

[Appygirl]

I never knew about the SRI form. 2 years ago my father (82 then) and I boarded the Zuiderdam in Vancouver. A couple of weeks earlier we bought him a wheelchair for distance. He walks - slowly - with a cane. It was just easier to keep him in the wheelchair and do the check in process and then go up the gangplank. I'm in my 50's and at no time during check in or approaching the gangway did any crew member stop me from pushing father aboard and tell me to wait for assistance. I nearly got him to the top of the ramp when a crew member walked the last 6' down to us and offered to push him on board for me. Father could have walked up with one hand on his cane and the other on the railing but we would have had a crowd of people behind us and I would have felt rather silly pushing an empty wheelchair. At Juneau no crew member insisted on pushing his wheelchair on or off. At Skagway he wanted to stay on board so I can't say whether they'd assist in that city. In Ketchikan we ended up at the 4th berth, the lousy one with the steep ramp up to the sidewalk. A crew member did take Father's wheelchair and push him up the ramp. Actually 2 of his buddies in street clothes were disembarking and the 3 of them pushed and made a game out of it. And returning to the ship as I started down the steep ramp a crew member rushed up to take the wheelchair from me so I was very grateful just due to that slope.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Even though I rent a walker/rollator for on the ship and going ashore in the ports, our TA does complete an SRI form for me to have wheel chair assistance getting onto the ship on embarkation day and getting off the ship on disembarkation day.

And even that got messed up on our last cruise as I explained in another thread yesterday but can't find it now -- guess it was removed.

[sail7seas]

Definitely make arrangements with Care Vacations in advance.

 

It is my understanding HAL only permits two companies to provide such materials so you should check with the Special Needs Department at HAL.

 

Most reports here have been passengers have been very pleased with the service they received from those companies.

 

 

 

 

You may be confusing Special Needs department at HAL with Special Needs at Sea. There is really no need to check with HAL with time being of the essence. Normally, Special Needs at Seas and Care Vacations require 2 weeks notice, but if you call direct (not email or online) either one will assist and be able to have a wheelchair waiting for you at the port. I have never had to check with HAL prior to ordering - it all depends on who serves which port - for any cruise line.

 

 

MY comment about check with HAL meant they should verify with HAL which companies they permit to supply wheelchairs and other medical supplies. HAL does not permit any and all medical suppliers to provide materials for guests.

 

Edited August 14, 2014 by sail7seas

[summersigh]

As my DH requires wheelchair assistance embarking and disembarking I went searching for the special needs form. It was not easy to find nor is it easy to use once you do find it.

 

When I did finally find the link - it opened a PDF file that you could not type on nor was there a "Submit" link if you had been able to.

You would have to print it out, fill it in and then either mail it back to HAL or scan the filled-out form and attach it to an email.

 

A simple email was all it took with RCCL to request wheelchair assistance. It's no wonder more people don't fill-out and submit the HAL form as difficult as they make it. In this day and age, technology being what it is, there should be an easy to find on-line form that you fill-out and click "submit". If the HAL site is secure enough to take folks credit card and On Line Check-in info it should be able to take this information.

[summersigh]

I am not aware of the form you are commenting on. I don't think HAL's SRI form is invasive at all: http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets//cruise-vacation-planning/SRI_Form.pdf

 

I agree. I just went to look at it ... and you only fill out the portions that apply to your problem - not the whole form. The only medical "history or meds" they ask about is the special need you have for onboard - and that wasn't in any great detail.

[chrispb]

Why does a simple request for information turn into nastiness? Is it the type of people who cruise HAL ?

 

I don't see why the world and his wife find the need to jump in with their own comments and opinions once the question has already been answered a couple of times.

 

Perhaps that should be a rule? It would certainly stop the thread degenerating.

[Lizzie68]

MY comment about check with HAL meant they should verify with HAL which companies they permit to supply wheelchairs and other medical supplies. HAL does not permit any and all medical suppliers to provide materials for guests.

 

 

Thank you for clarifying. It sounded like you were confusing Special Needs At Sea with the special needs dept at HAL. And the rest of my post was directed at the OP looking for information.

[CowPrincess]

For the people confused about having the rental wheelchair placed in their cabin and wondering how they would get onboard, HAL will use their wheelchair to take you to your cabin. Then you use the rental wheelchair for the duration of the cruise. At the end you leave the rental wheelchair in the cabin and HAL will use their wheelchairs to take you off the ship.

 

Yes, that is how it was handled for us.

 

As for comments about needing to complete a form, in multiple conversations with HAL, I was never told that w/c embark and disembark required a form. Nor did a shoreside rep check any lists to see if a passenger requiring w/c embark was on that list. Nor was the passenger's name requested to check against any list.

 

Of course, this is all just my personal experience. Others' personal experience may differ.

[suebee53]

Having just taken our first HAL cruise (of 15 total), I was blown away by how solicitous and intentional the staff was about taking care of me as a scooter user. (I had filled out the forms and it was in our record.) I got a special letter asking if I would like to be first off the ship in Juneau; I got phone messages in our cabin asking if everything had gone well during the tender process in Sitka.

 

No other cruise line has come close to this level of care.

 

I would fill out the forms just to make sure you don't miss any of the exceptional level of concern and care that HAL gives WC- and scooter-bound guests!