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Inside Cabins (Handicapped accessible)


vancojo
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We have been assigned a cabin on Insignia that is handicapped accessible. WE do not need this feature. It is a G level cabin (4034)--we were looking to travel at the cheapest cabin (we are never in it)--but I am wondering if anyone knows whether the handicapped designation changes the configuration in any meaningful way--I am worried that they have give us extra bathroom space and taken away living space.

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We are also assigned to this cabin on an upcoming Regatta cruise (March 28), and like you, we have not experienced this cabin type. We did however have a brief look into this cabin on an earlier cruise and have no concerns about the stateroom. To the best of my knowledge the room is 216 sq ft - the same size as a penthouse! The bathroom is bigger obviously, and also has a bathtub. The only downside is that there was no sofa, and only 1 chair in the room (will be requesting an additional chair), but there is loads of room!

 

We are considering an upsell offer so may not stay in 4034, but if we do, I'll post more details in about a month's time.

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We are also assigned to this cabin on an upcoming Regatta cruise (March 28), and like you, we have not experienced this cabin type. We did however have a brief look into this cabin on an earlier cruise and have no concerns about the stateroom. To the best of my knowledge the room is 216 sq ft - the same size as a penthouse! The bathroom is bigger obviously, and also has a bathtub. The only downside is that there was no sofa, and only 1 chair in the room (will be requesting an additional chair), but there is loads of room!

 

We are considering an upsell offer so may not stay in 4034, but if we do, I'll post more details in about a month's time.

 

If you want that upsell offer, I would jump on it. They don't last very long...

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We are also assigned to this cabin on an upcoming Regatta cruise (March 28), and like you, we have not experienced this cabin type. We did however have a brief look into this cabin on an earlier cruise and have no concerns about the stateroom. To the best of my knowledge the room is 216 sq ft - the same size as a penthouse! The bathroom is bigger obviously, and also has a bathtub. The only downside is that there was no sofa, and only 1 chair in the room (will be requesting an additional chair), but there is loads of room!

We are considering an upsell offer so may not stay in 4034, but if we do, I'll post more details in about a month's time.

 

PH on Regatta is 322 sq.ft.........not quite the same.

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I have stayed in 4034 before. The bathroom is larger with a bathtub/shower combo. The floor space in the rest of the room is larger to allow for wheelchairs. However the closet space isn't any bigger.

 

We liked the room except the tub is set high as they have the ability to have a seat in the tub. It makes for a really high step into and out of the tub.

Edited by CalSisters
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  • 6 months later...
I have stayed in 4034 before. The bathroom is larger with a bathtub/shower combo. The floor space in the rest of the room is larger to allow for wheelchairs. However the closet space isn't any bigger.

 

We liked the room except the tub is set high as they have the ability to have a seat in the tub. It makes for a really high step into and out of the tub.

 

We were assigned this cabin on a mover-over.Neither of us requires "accessability". It is unique in that is is a "side-ways" cabin (check the deck plan). When you enter to your immediate left is the vanity with four deep drawers, a drawer in the middle and then the fridge. Next to it is a nightstand queen bed and another nightstand. Directly in front as you enter is a wardrobe with three sections. The first (left) section is for hanging clothes only. The middle section contains one shelf, TV, safe and then an additional two shelves. The right hand section has space for long clothes and a bank of four deep drawers with hanging space above. The bathroom is to the right of the wardrobe on the adjacent wall. There is no lip on the floor. It is larger than usual and contains a comfort height toilet, lowered sink and a tub with shower, which can also be handheld. There is step stool. I had trouble climbing into the tub even with the stool and then was faced with two grab bars on the tub sides. It measures about 2 - 21/2 feet high on the outside. The bathroom also contains a hand held hair dryer left over from the 90's. There is another one in the cabin that comes in a drawstring bag which was handy for hanging on the fridge door. The cabin does not have a couch but only a chair and a small table. I checked and the chair does not make into a bed. We put the table in the corner in front of the door to the Medical Center (don't ask, that's another story). There is lots of open floor space. I think that about covers it. DH and I think one of the best things about Deck 4 is the convenience to almost everything and it was very quiet. There is a large mirror on the wall at the foot of the bed.

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We were assigned this cabin on a mover-over.Neither of us requires "accessability". It is unique in that is is a "side-ways" cabin (check the deck plan)

 

From your description, it seems that you must be speaking of 4035.

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The OP is asking about 4034.

 

Although Cabins 4028, 4034 and 4035 are larger than typical inside cabins, both in the living area and in the bath, they are not cabins which I would be drawn to for the simple reason that should a truly handicapped person request them later in the game, that newer passenger would have priority.

 

This might result in my being switched to a better, i.e. higher Category room, but the rules on that process are murky, and that loss of control vis-à-vis location and amenities would kill the planner in me. :o

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My only objective was to give as complete a description of that cabin as possible.I was not drawn to it. When we accepted the O offer I asked what cabins were available and was told 4035. I would gladly have given it up had O told me a handicapped person needed it. Have we ever heard from a passenger who needed a handicapped cabin and been told there were none? Did O tell them they would check with the passengers to see if they would move? Just curious

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...Have we ever heard from a passenger who needed a handicapped cabin and been told there were none? Did O tell them they would check with the passengers to see if they would move? Just curious
I don't know Oceania's policy, but many lines only release accessible cabins to the general public sometime after Final Payment, and are unlikely to request you to move at that late date.

 

Thom

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  • 1 month later...

So, We actually NEED an accessible cabin. I can back this up with doctors verification, along with my placard.

 

Today, I tried to book the Black Sea cruise on the Riviera.

 

All inside and outside accessible cabins are booked and the res agent was pretty sure the passengers in them didn't really NEED them, they just wanted the category.

 

Apparently Oceania is going to decide if they want to contact those passengers to see if they would be willing to give up the accessible cabin they don't need and taking a category gtd.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed!

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So, We actually NEED an accessible cabin. I can back this up with doctors verification, along with my placard.

 

Today, I tried to book the Black Sea cruise on the Riviera.

 

All inside and outside accessible cabins are booked and the res agent was pretty sure the passengers in them didn't really NEED them, they just wanted the category.

 

Apparently Oceania is going to decide if they want to contact those passengers to see if they would be willing to give up the accessible cabin they don't need and taking a category gtd.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed!

 

Oceania must not realize that cruise lines now must ask the reason for needing an accessible cabin by having the booking person sign a form. It's not against the ADA, because the form does not ask for the type of disability, but only the reason why the accessible cabin is needed, such as using a wheelchair/scooter/walker/oxygen etc. I've had to sign such a form when booking accessible cabins on Celebrity, RCI, Regent, Silversea and Crystal.

 

I certainly hope that Oceania would follow that rule and comply by not allowing just anyone to book the accessible cabins without need. I know many who only want the extra space, but they don't NEED the cabin. If Oceania is allowing people to book those cabins who don't need them, before final payment, shame on Oceania. As a disabled person, I get my "undies in a bunch" when I know that people have booked the far too few accessible cabins without needing them, but only for the convenience.

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Apparently Oceania is going to decide if they want to contact those passengers to see if they would be willing to give up the accessible cabin they don't need and taking a category gtd.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed!

 

I'm surprised to hear they are *asking* the non-disabled passengers if they want to move.

 

Perhaps it works differently on O, but on NCL, my friend and I booked an accessible cabin, and were told that we needed to be aware that we could be moved into a different cabin without our permission should a disabled passenger require an accessible cabin.

 

My friend actually is disabled, and needed the accessible cabin, so we provided that information to the TA and were told we were secured in it. But it seems unusual that O would operate differently in this regard.

 

I personally think it would be wrong to allow non-disabled passengers to remain in an accessible cabin, leaving disabled passengers stuck in a normal cabin. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? They don't build these cabins accessible just to give those who book early some extra room.

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I just hung up with Oceania to confirm if they were able to find anyone that didn't NEED the accessible cabin for our sailing

 

They said that they are still working on it.

 

The res agent contacted a supervisor to reconfirm, the information I was giving in the prior phone call which is .....

 

Oceania WILL NOT make an able bodied passenger move from an accessible cabin if they don't want to.

 

There are 6 accessible cabins on Riviera

 

Feeling frustrated today, between this and trying to run errands and every single accessible spot taken by cars without placards or plates and the 1 spot I found people had parked shopping carts in the cross hatch spots, so I couldn't exit my car.

 

Just one of those days

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Oceania WILL NOT make an able bodied passenger move from an accessible cabin if they don't want to.

 

That just seems so wrong to me. Why have accessible cabins if they are available to anyone, and ACTUAL handicapped people can't even use them? Then they become nothing more than bonus extra-space cabins for the lucky folks who book early and nab them.

 

I'm disappointed to hear this.

 

I'm also sorry you're having a bad day. :( People can be so inconsiderate of the disabled. I had major back surgery a few years ago, and had a placard for a few months during my recovery. I had random people come up and actually berate me for using the handicapped spots, I guess because I didn't look handicapped enough!

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I'm surprised at this thread, although not from personal experience. It's just that I recall a number of posts where persons who were given the handicapped cabin were concerned because they were NOT handicapped. It also seemed that people who would not need a handicapped-accessible room, assuming people later booked who would, would indeed be moved. I never saw a post indicating that people assigned to that cabin would have to agree to be moved.

 

To require people who don't need the handicapped-accessible facilities to agree to be moved does indeed seem obtuse at best.

 

Have things changed? I can see where Oceania wouldn't want to hold these few rooms available just in case someone should show up who does need it ... but they should have provisions for changing the cabin when someone DOES show up.

 

(Then again, my stroke-disabled BIL couldn't have used the handicapped-accessible room given that it had a tub that he wouldn't have been able to climb into or out of!)

 

Mura

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Mura, Lee and Kitty

 

this is all new to me to be honest.

 

2 years ago a week after our last our Oceania cruise through the South Pacific . Tahiti to New Zealand ...at the age of 48 life was perfect.

 

I went to bed that night and woke up to go the bathroom and couldn't move, the pain was excruciating.

 

I was rushed to ER and it became all hands on deck especially since I had just been traipsing through the jungles of Vanuatu and eating creamed greens out of a hollowed out bamboo tube cooked under dirt.

 

Anyway, I have sudden onset of rheumatoid arthritis..the worst and yet best version to have as they caught my disease literally as it manifested itself which means I could start chemo immediately to save my organs. .

 

I had to relearn how to dress myself, eat etc ..which is back to normal more or less,.. but I need an accessible room.

 

I was really surprised about how non chalant Oceania is about this.

 

We just did a test run cruise to Alaska out of my home port SFO on Princess

and I had to prove up-down-left and right I needed that cabin and if someone deemed I didn't I could even be refused boarding.

 

I'll just have to see how this all plays out, the res agent I booked with did put in a request for a toilet seat booster and a shower chair,...but to be honest a shower chair is more dangerous in those small showers.

I will just have to have my husband assist with that though with the accessible room...I can have my ...I can do it myself attitude!

 

I'll let you know how this plays out...

Oceania could be working magic behind the scenes!

Edited by latitude 22
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Bear in mind that (unless things have been changed when in drydock) the handicapped accessible has a tub-shower combo. It sounds like this might be a problem for you, as it would have been for my BIL. (My information is several years old so things could well have changed.)

 

I really am astonished at what you are saying. I also cannot imagine people being so selfish as to insist on staying in a handicapped accessible room that they DON'T need when someone else does!

 

I hope it all works out for you.

 

Mura

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Waynetor...

 

I saw the AZ R ship accessible cabins, when I was onboard back in 2010, just because we had travel agents on our roll call that were put in them and received their assignments at the pier.

Our group did a kinda a cabin crawl to visit different categories.

 

Those showers were roll in showers. The cabin was HUGE and almost 3x the space as our inside cabin on deck 7 mid ship ...I didn't see 4035, just the other 2.

 

I think you would be comfortable in them, BUT I want to add when I was viewing them I wasn't in the position of needing them, so I might not of picked up on the finer details.

 

 

Mura,

they said it was a regular shower but bigger for the inside and outside accessible on Riviera, but I will ask and re ask and ask again.

because after all this I've become even more Type A than my normal Type A when it comes to details!

My doctor does NOT want me climbing in and out of a tub even with my hubby helping me

 

I just want to add this comment about legalities with ADA, HIPPA and all other aspects of what I am required to reveal or what they can ask.

For me I'm an open book and I will share whatever it takes about my medical condition or as my doctor says your new normal... if it can make my life easier in the long run and HELP others understand why I need what I'm asking for.

Education is everything when you are dealing with people who have never been exposed to medical/health stuff.

 

Also, this helps people understand that just because someone doesn't look sick in regards to what they think a person should look like doesn't mean they aren't. The phrase invisible illness is real and you have no idea what goes on behind close doors! Nor do people realize that one single step really does feel like miles and a 16oz water bottle feels like 16 pounds

 

I'm hoping that I've put enough good travel karma out into the universe over the years that this has a positive ending!

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I was discussing the handicapped accessible room on the "R" ships. Marina and Riviera being much newer probably took current laws in consideration when designing these cabins. 1998 is very different from 2008 ...

 

Interesting that Azamara has roll-in showers on their ships. That is a much better design for handicapped-accessible cabins, that is for sure!

 

It is very true that people cannot understand a person's problems just by looking at them. I was waiting around in an emergency room for many hours when I came in with a badly sprained ankle many years ago. I LOOKED healthy, I was young. I understood heart attack people taking precedence over me, but EVERYBODY was taking precedence!

 

Mura

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  • 7 months later...

My husband is paraplegic and needs the handicapped stateroom. Mostly all the time we ask for an available room O says they are all occupied. When we catch one, we always see that he is the only person in a wheelchair who is not able to walk. Last time on Marina we only got an outside stateroom and O told us the balcony were occupied. They were - we saw it- but no guest was handicapped!

The inside rooms on the small ships are not wheelchair friendly because nobody who is confined in a wheelchair can use the shower. The tub is to high to maneuver. One time we had this room because O told us that there were roll-in showers. My husband took the handshower out of the tub an set the bathroom under water. This was the single possibility for him. The room maid was informed. The room itself was very dark. Not enough light. So, if I had the possibility to get another room I would take it. ( It was 4028 on Nautica). I saw 4035 . Because I was wondering if there is a roll-in shower. It isn't. There is a door to the medical center and the room smelled like a hospital Don't book this cabin!

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 years later...
On 11/1/2015 at 7:38 PM, latitude 22 said:

So, We actually NEED an accessible cabin. I can back this up with doctors verification, along with my placard.

 

Today, I tried to book the Black Sea cruise on the Riviera.

 

All inside and outside accessible cabins are booked and the res agent was pretty sure the passengers in them didn't really NEED them, they just wanted the category.

 

Apparently Oceania is going to decide if they want to contact those passengers to see if they would be willing to give up the accessible cabin they don't need and taking a category gtd.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed!

Call back and get a different agent.  Keep calling until you get someone to help you.

 

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