No medical waivers honored! Past final payment

[RDC1]

First of all, I'll just disclose that I'm a brat. When it comes to disability accommodations, I don't screw around. I'm a diabetic, and I have very specific items that make me comfortable. Do I "need" them? Probably not, but you never know. Will I be able to enjoy my vacation, that I paid my hard-earned money for, without "my" stuff? Nope. Kinda defeats the point of going in the first place.

 

So, here's what I would do, in your case...and it's served me quite well. Call the special needs desk, as mentioned. If they give you the "no medical waivers" bulls***, ask to speak to a supervisor and give your spiel again. If THAT doesn't work, this line usually does the trick: "I understand your policies, but I promise you this. If I hang up this phone, and my issue has not been resolved to my satisfaction, my next phone call will be to my attorney and the call after that will be to the local media outlet. So, unless you'd like to deal with a lawsuit and/or media backlash, I suggest you re-evaluate your policy."

 

See where that gets you. Usually they just concede, although they may ask you for paperwork from your physician, so be prepared with that. Hope that helps....

 

Back before I retired the customer service department that reported to me (along with strategic pricing, contracts, distribution and comm ops finance) would have responded to such a call with "Here is the phone number of the the companies legal office, the name of the Corporate Counsel is ______, have your attorney give him a call". This matter is now out of the purview of customer service.

 

The second anyone raised the threat of legal action the discussion was automatically terminated and the matter referred to the legal department. Then any action taken by customer service would be what ever was directed by legal. Usually after a very long time and based exactly on what the corporate policy was.

[Misskitty72]

NCL has replied to several people on Twitter and they claim the cruiseline will allow water for medical reasons. Screenshot of one conversation attached.

[DMH15]

As I said earlier ---- I may decide to identify as an infant for this purpose (temporarily).

 

 

Don't forget. Diapers = No pool.

[GeezerCouple]

I'm not quite following what the exact medical need is here.

 

But IF there is something MEDICALLY NECESSARY that can NOT be obtained on board, then OP should immediately invoke the ADA protections.

(This is probably only going to be valid for cruises that embark at a USA port, but not sure about this.)

 

OP might also want to post on the Disabled Travel section of CC, to get more experience feedback about ADA:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

 

 

BTW, we have just cancelled our next cruise, and also cancelled that of another family we bring along.

We had about 10 days to go before there would be penalties if we cancelled this particular cruise.

 

Our primary policy objection is that NCL really do seem to be waiting until AFTER "penalty" phases kick in to notify passengers who have deposits.

That is unconscionable.

 

We have about 6 more cruises with deposits, but penalty time is further off. We have still NEVER received a single communication from NCL about this new policy.

It affects us because we can no long take along Diet Coke. At least we did NOT have any cruise in a penalty phase!

 

But for NCL to send notifications in "batches", and apparently time them so passengers would have to pay to cancel... WOW.

Edited July 8, 2016 by GeezerCouple

[lgfromdg]

OP - Even though I think NCL new policy stinks, please don't remove the DSC to offset any additional expense as a few posters here have suggested. You'd be making the crew pay for NCL management's greed and that just wouldn't be fair. I'd get even by not eating in the specialty restaurants, or purchasing photos, or taking a ship excursion etc.

Edited July 8, 2016 by lgfromdg

[Annmeat]

No, but it does have electrolytes that my husband needs since he does not have a large intestine. This is not just about bottled water. It's a long thread but all the info is there about why we bring our own drinks on board.

 

i was responding to the post I quoted where the author stated that some people need Gatorade because tap water has too much sodium. I have read your entire thread and even spoke with my Mom's cardiologist about ship water today.

 

I am a medical professional and I specialize in what can generically be titled patient advocacy. I help navigate red tape for patients, their families as well as their physicians.

[asdjl]

I agree, I would be livid if it was changed after the fact, past final payment, that is a terrible way to treat a customer. I hope you can get this overturned, and his medical needs will be honored

 

 

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[darlene62]

I agree, I would be livid if it was changed after the fact, past final payment, that is a terrible way to treat a customer. I hope you can get this overturned, and his medical needs will be honored

 

 

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My issue with NCL and any other cruise co that changes (which seem to be coming fast and furious) on a few lines. There are some of us for various reasons need to meticulously pre plan a cruise. We look for things that are acceptable for the people we cruise with.I did this with 2 past cruises because of health issues for me and my mother. Last year on carnival and this year on NCL. Now yes according to contract they have the right to change term......but really this is a consumer driven business.....why not grandfather these changes in so that there is an option to opt out of cruise after final payment has been made or allow allow the supposed contraband.

[GeezerCouple]

My issue with NCL and any other cruise co that changes (which seem to be coming fast and furious) on a few lines. There are some of us for various reasons need to meticulously pre plan a cruise. We look for things that are acceptable for the people we cruise with.I did this with 2 past cruises because of health issues for me and my mother. Last year on carnival and this year on NCL. Now yes according to contract they have the right to change term......but really this is a consumer driven business.....why not grandfather these changes in so that there is an option to opt out of cruise after final payment has been made or allow allow the supposed contraband.

 

Exactly.

 

Until relatively recently, the cruiseline's ability to "make changes" was pretty much related to things not under their own control/decision making... weather delays/cancellations, changes to medevac someone, political disruption, etc.

These are not things the cruise line "decides to do".

 

For things that are truly discretionary, such as increased gratuities, or permission to carry on beverages, there is no reason they couldn't make these changes effective with the NEXT posting of new cruise itineraries.

 

And make it clear from the start so everyone knows before they commit and face penalties.

 

"That's all" :mad:

[fshagan]

I can find no references that indicate desalinated( salt removed) water on cruise ships has more salt than bottled water. I have found several academic articles stating that it is more pure than bottled water. Do the cruise ships use reverse osmosis? Flash vaporization? In both cases the sodium/ salt is removed, lost minerals reintroduced, etc.

 

According to an engineer who has worked on NCL ships and container vessels, most of the water on board is made by distillation and contains no salt. The reason most water is created using the "flash evaporators" is that they are very inexpensive to use: sea water is pressurized and then waste heat from the engines flashes it to steam, which is collected and condensed into distilled water (no minerals at all, and at a neutral pH of 7.0). The water is then adjusted to a pH of ~7.2 by passing through special filters so the chlorine added to it will be an effective germ-killing solution. No minerals are added to the water (some bottled water adds back in minerals for taste purposes, but no ship does).

 

The only salt in the water is from the sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine - the same chemical as laundry bleach). The water is treated and continuously circulated, with continuous testing for the chlorine level at the furthest point to be about .5 ppm (safe and effective chlorine levels are from .2 to 2.0 ppm). The sodium hypochlorite is injected into the circulating water as needed. Cabins closer to the source tank will have higher chlorine levels, and cabins closer to the furthest point will have lower chlorine levels.

 

If this engineer is correct, then the swelling people have experienced is from over-chlorination or the chlorine itself, but not salt. I know where I live our municipal water system does not use chlorine at all, but uses chloramines instead, which are more stable and impart almost no taste to the water.

 

The ship's water does taste nasty to me, but I find the filtered water in MDR and at the buffet to be fine. We often drink it.

 

We probably won't sail NCL again until after we try Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Disney and RCI. Then we'll choose our "new favorite" - which could still be NCL - and take the good with the bad. It's too bad NCL has become so unreliable with rapid changes ... I thought it was over after the new management settled in.

[elruth]

I am sorry you have to go through this. I know when Carnival banned bringing water onboard, we only had to pay $ 2.98 ( total price ) for many bottles of water to be in our cabin. NCL banning water to be brought onboard and that edict affecting your cruise after your final payment is definitely poor customer relations.

 

If you can't get this resolved before your cruise, I would suggest you try to put it aside and in the future just not sail with NCL. I think NCL will say the liquids needed are sold and are available onboard. Since you spent so much $$$ on the cruise, I would hate to have this issue spoil your cruise and take up much of your pre cruise time on the telephone etc. with the powers that be.

 

I am sure your husband's medical condition has drastically changed your lives. Stress of any kind does affect us psychologically and physically. Is all this stress worth it? Maybe you will just have to pay the extra $ 200.00 for the water and Gatorade and next time sail with a different company.

[sverigecruiser]

It is just so asinine that NCL is forcing guests to pay huge upcharges for their preferred water. Can you even imagine a land hotel searching your bag and confiscating your water???

 

 

Lots of hotels doesn't allow the guests to bring any drinks, sometimes that include water. I'm not sure how often they search bags but the policy is still then same, no drinks allowed.

Edited July 8, 2016 by sverigecruiser

[FLcruisergrl]

I'm not quite following what the exact medical need is here.

 

But IF there is something MEDICALLY NECESSARY that can NOT be obtained on board, then OP should immediately invoke the ADA protections.

(This is probably only going to be valid for cruises that embark at a USA port, but not sure about this.)

 

OP might also want to post on the Disabled Travel section of CC, to get more experience feedback about ADA:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

 

 

BTW, we have just cancelled our next cruise, and also cancelled that of another family we bring along.

We had about 10 days to go before there would be penalties if we cancelled this particular cruise.

 

Our primary policy objection is that NCL really do seem to be waiting until AFTER "penalty" phases kick in to notify passengers who have deposits.

That is unconscionable.

 

We have about 6 more cruises with deposits, but penalty time is further off. We have still NEVER received a single communication from NCL about this new policy.

It affects us because we can no long take along Diet Coke. At least we did NOT have any cruise in a penalty phase!

 

But for NCL to send notifications in "batches", and apparently time them so passengers would have to pay to cancel... WOW.

 

OP can invoke the ADA IF the condition is covered by the ADA. Not all conditions, even serious conditions, are covered. The condition must interfere with a major life function.

[KeithJenner]

Lots of hotels doesn't allow the guests to bring any drinks, sometimes that include water. I'm not sure how often they search bags but the policy is still then same, no drinks allowed.

 

I suspect that this is officially the case for some hotels (maybe most of them), but I can say from experience that its is not generally enforced if so.

 

I stay in 30-40 hotels a year, and have done for a number of years. The total number of times that my bags have been searched, or any mention has been made of policies regarding taking drinks in is zero. I have also never heard of it happening to anyone else.

 

Basically, it is enforced to such a minimal extent that the policy itself is irrelevant.

[sparks1093]

Lots of hotels doesn't allow the guests to bring any drinks, sometimes that include water. I'm not sure how often they search bags but the policy is still then same, no drinks allowed.

 

I have never encountered such a policy in any hotel that I've stayed in. Nor have I ever had a hotel ask to search my bags (and if they did I'd tell them where to go).

[zqvol]

Still waiting for my callback from the access desk supervisor..but to clarify:

The other drink is Gatorade due to it's electrolyte content. Can not be powerade. They told me they have Gatorade--hope so.

 

So yes, they have both drinks on board. They however, did not ask what the other drink was initially denying me to get a medical waiver.

 

My point is that my cruise just INCREASED $200-300 because of a dietary issue. I read CC all the time for great cruise tips. We cruise every year. Most people look for ways to save or get upgrades or price drops. Mine just went up for a MEDICAL ISSUE that I thought we could take care of ourselves & bring what we need with us.

 

If Gatorade is the drink in question you are making a big deal out of nothing. It comes in powder form, which is allowed on board. In fact if it were me and I had to have Gatorade, that is the way I would bring it. Why would you want to haul all of that liquid around. The product is the same. The cardiac rehab program in our area uses powdered Gatorade all the time. When asked why they tell you that it is easier to work with than the liquid variety.

 

As far as the water issue. The water on the ship is purer than anything you can bring on board, but if it causes concern buy a Brita filter.

 

If these solutions don't work for you, then it is not a medical issue but a desire to have your own way, and not work around the problem.

[LrgPizza]

If Gatorade is the drink in question you are making a big deal out of nothing. It comes in powder form, which is allowed on board. In fact if it were me and I had to have Gatorade, that is the way I would bring it. Why would you want to haul all of that liquid around. The product is the same. The cardiac rehab program in our area uses powdered Gatorade all the time. When asked why they tell you that it is easier to work with than the liquid variety.

 

As far as the water issue. The water on the ship is purer than anything you can bring on board, but if it causes concern buy a Brita filter.

 

If these solutions don't work for you, then it is not a medical issue but a desire to have your own way, and not work around the problem.

 

 

Exactly. There have been plenty of good solutions offered here. It's time for the OP to do her part and accept them.

 

I must say I was a bit surprised that someone who's husband's life depends on Gatorade wasn't aware it's available powdered. To save tons of money, that's what I'd have been using since day 1. I'm simply surprised is all.

 

 

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[EOSapril11]

Exactly. There have been plenty of good solutions offered here. It's time for the OP to do her part and accept them.

 

I must say I was a bit surprised that someone who's husband's life depends on Gatorade wasn't aware it's available powdered. To save tons of money, that's what I'd have been using since day 1. I'm simply surprised is all.

 

 

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LrgPizza--when I grow up I want to be just like you:D

[NLH Arizona]

OP can invoke the ADA IF the condition is covered by the ADA. Not all conditions, even serious conditions, are covered. The condition must interfere with a major life function.

Not sure if it is covered under ADA, but if it were, NCL has the products they need on board the ship, they are not in any violation. If NCL didn't have the products on board the ship and wouldn't allow it brought on, that would be a violation.

[blackwing]

OP can invoke the ADA IF the condition is covered by the ADA. Not all conditions, even serious conditions, are covered. The condition must interfere with a major life function.

While I am very sympathetic to OP, I really don't think this is an ADA issue. Husband needs bottled water. NCL has bottled water available on the ship. Unfortunately, they are charging an exorbitant amount for it. But it is available.

 

I'm not sure if "too expensive" falls within the purview of the ADA.

[Regguy]

While I am very sympathetic to OP, I really don't think this is an ADA issue. Husband needs bottled water. NCL has bottled water available on the ship. Unfortunately, they are charging an exorbitant amount for it. But it is available.

 

I'm not sure if "too expensive" falls within the purview of the ADA.

 

I would think there's a point at which it does. I think this would be easier to see if they said, "we will stock a special case of Gatorade for you, but it will be $500 per bottle and you can't bring it on board."

 

If they have made a policy change that results in a disabled customer having to pay more for the cruise, and they won't allow a free cancellation, then I would think there may be some recourse. In the end, I have a feeling they wouldn't want to litigate or arbitrate their alleged "safety" concern or the publicity, but who knows. I'm sure they know nobody is going to take the trouble.

 

It's fine for a company to take the position that, "hey we don't care who is in the cabin, so long as some customer will take the cabin let the ones who get upset about a given change use another line." But when the policy falls disproportionately on the disabled, that's another story. Whether this one does is way outside my zone of expertise and so I have no comment on it, but I do think the no-food-in-cabins policy was one such policy. As a parent of a disabled child, I found NCL somewhat tone-deaf on the issue at first, thinking that the enhanced room service menu was an adequate substitute for those who wanted the choice of the buffet but who could not always going up there. Eventually they did the right thing, but I think that was more for economic reasons than any altruism with respect to the disable, but hopefully they will ultimately do the right thing here. I suppose they are justifiably concerned about the exceptions swallowing up the rule, but there are folks for whom this really is an issue, I expect, and who have nonrefundable tickets or who are past final payment.

 

My choice when they changed the no-food-to-cabin was an easy one, because I didn't have any cruises booked past final payment or airline reservations, so my choice was simply to move to Royal Caribbean until they changed the policy. Accordingly, my vote would be that NCL should allow medical waivers -- even if it leads to some cheating the new rule -- for a year and if they want to change to a hardline position after that, at least we have notice.

[sjlocke]

Lots of hotels doesn't allow the guests to bring any drinks, sometimes that include water. I'm not sure how often they search bags but the policy is still then same, no drinks allowed.

 

I have never, ever heard of a hotel doing anything like this, and there would be no way to control it anyways.

[GeezerCouple]

Lots of hotels doesn't allow the guests to bring any drinks, sometimes that include water. I'm not sure how often they search bags but the policy is still then same, no drinks allowed.

 

???

 

I have never encountered such a policy in any hotel that I've stayed in. Nor have I ever had a hotel ask to search my bags (and if they did I'd tell them where to go).

 

This.

 

NEVER heard even a hint from any hotel that there were any restrictions about what beverages could be "brought into our room with us".

 

How in the world would this be enforced?

Which hotels have the security staffing to inspect the pockets and luggage of *all* arriving Guests, and also all of those returning from every excursion outdoors, including those loaded with shopping bags from nearby boutiques, for example?

 

When we stay at hotels that we already know are "Pepsi only" businesses, we often have an OPEN bag containing a bunch of Diet Cokes, and the staff handling our luggage never take any special notice.

And IF we kept the Diet Coke "hidden" in closed luggage, how would they know?

 

And we sometimes carry in San Pellegrino, even when we know the hotel carries it, because, for example, they only carry the big bottles.

No one has *ever* paid any attention, not front desk staff or those handling the luggage.

 

We then often carry out bottled drinks openly, as we head out of the hotel for the day, and we often arrive back with bottled drinks in our hands.

 

We've also never encountered any restriction whatsoever about what beverages we could carry on board a plane.

Once we are behind Security, we can purchase a variety of beverages (or sandwiches/snacks/etc.) and carry them openly on board with no questions asked.

This includes when we know an airline doesn't carry Coca Cola products.

And often we prefer bottles on planes, because we can close those up and don't need to worry about open cans during turbulence, or just when we are moving around, etc.

We also often carry on some Diet Coke if we are arriving very late, and aren't sure if the hotel carries Coke or Pepsi, and shops might already be closed.

 

Could the person stating that some regular hotels do prohibit guests from carrying certain beverages to their own rooms please provide a link to the policies of a few of the "lots of hotels" that do this?

 

This is just bizarre.

[Regguy]

We always like to have our own drinks in hotels. I've never ever had a problem. Some (actually many if you ask) will even bring you a fridge if there isn't already one. Often, when it's a room with one of those automatic mini-bars that charges as soon as you move an item so that you can't use it as a fridge, I'll just take one of the wastebuckets and fill it with ice, and put it in the tub and keep milk and sodas and stuff. I have never ever had anyone say a word.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Regguy

[Loralye]

The hotel thing is a moot point.

 

To the Op, I'm glad your husband beat this and I'm sorry for the bashing that you are receiving. It's uncalled for but part of some folks lives.

 

The part I do not understand is if parents can bring purified water for infant formula recinstitution, why on earth can't your husband? Is it possible to have dr write the letter you need to include purified water?

 

Good luck!!!

 

Edit: I just realized Aquafina (water on NCL) is labeled as purified water. So, now I'm confused as to why it's ok to bring onboard for formula whereas it's not ok for reasons other than formula. Another glitch I guess?

Edited July 8, 2016 by Loralye