Safety Grab Bars in Showers

[Colonialdame]

We are sailing on the Summit in a Sky Suite next summer. Although we do not require a handicap accessible cabin, we do need the security of grab bars to enter the steep bathtub and maintain balance.  Does anyone know if these safety devices have been part of the recent renovation?  This may be a deal breaker for us if we can’t feel able to shower safely. We would really appreciate your input.

[marycruz]

3 minutes ago, Colonialdame said:

We are sailing on the Summit in a Sky Suite next summer. Although we do not require a handicap accessible cabin, we do need the security of grab bars to enter the steep bathtub and maintain balance.  Does anyone know if these safety devices have been part of the recent renovation?  This may be a deal breaker for us if we can’t feel able to shower safely. We would really appreciate your input.

As far as I know right now they do not.  However, I have asked for one to be added to our sky suite.  I can report back when we return and let you know if they put one in.  If they do, I would assume they would put in all the sky suites.   Makes sense anyway.

[Colonialdame]

We appreciate that you are checking in to this and reporting back. I’m sure that many of us share this concern.  It seems like a no brainer as most hotels and ships do have this basic safety feature.  We plan to lobby Celebrity as well.  Thankfully we have a refundable deposit and have until April to make our decision.

[Husky61]

If you have a concern there are grab bars that work with suction cups that you can take with you and attach after you get your cabin.  After the cruise you can take them home with you.  I have never tried them and do not know how effective they are.

[Colonialdame]

Thank you for the suggestion.  I will certainly do some research and will likely try one at home, next to my already installed grab bar.  

[DebInAntigua]

32 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

If you have a concern there are grab bars that work with suction cups that you can take with you and attach after you get your cabin.  After the cruise you can take them home with you.  I have never tried them and do not know how effective they are.

I wouldn’t feel confident trusting that to hold if I slipped. 

 

A few weeks ago I called X special needs regarding this very question. I asked them what they could do to make it safer for me to get in and out of a sky suite shower. I have partial disability in my left wrist and break bones easily if I fall, so it’s a big deal to me. The special needs rep said that he recommended we book the accessible sky suite so I would have a walk in shower. That was their suggestion due to my health and mobility concerns even though I do not use a wheelchair. They moved us and notated our booking. 

[marycruz]

4 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

I wouldn’t feel confident trusting that to hold if I slipped. 

 

A few weeks ago I called X special needs regarding this very question. I asked them what they could do to make it safer for me to get in and out of a sky suite shower. I have partial disability in my left wrist and break bones easily if I fall, so it’s a big deal to me. The special needs rep said that he recommended we book the accessible sky suite so I would have a walk in shower. That was their suggestion due to my health and mobility concerns even though I do not use a wheelchair. They moved us and notated our booking. 

 

I was told they would put a grab bar in our tub (SS2).  Not sure if they will but it should be easy enough for them to do.  Also, I complained to Celebrity that this is definitely a safety issue.   If they ship starts rocking while you're in that tub/shower combo I definitely want something to hold onto.  It's happened to us before.  They will probably do something about it after someone gets seriously hurt in the tub. 

 

IMO you should not have had to be moved because they didn't reinstall shower bars.

[DebInAntigua]

3 minutes ago, marycruz said:

 

I was told they would put a grab bar in our tub (SS2).  Not sure if they will but it should be easy enough for them to do.  Also, I complained to Celebrity that this is definitely a safety issue.   If they ship starts rocking while you're in that tub/shower combo I definitely want something to hold onto.  It's happened to us before.  They will probably do something about it after someone gets seriously hurt in the tub. 

 

IMO you should not have had to be moved because they didn't reinstall shower bars.

You think they will install a permanent grab bar? I told them they should have one of those that fits over the side of the tub. They can be moved and brought in as needed upon request. 

 

Already moved and sky sky suites are sold out for the cruise next year. So even if they install them later unless someone cancels we’ll be in the accessible one next December. 

[marycruz]

1 minute ago, DebInAntigua said:

You think they will install a permanent grab bar? I told them they should have one of those that fits over the side of the tub. They can be moved and brought in as needed upon request. 

 

Already moved and sky sky suites are sold out for the cruise next year. So even if they install them later unless someone cancels we’ll be in the accessible one next December. 

 

Before the refurb they had two permanent bars in the tub/shower combo in the sky suites.  Also in the royal suite we were in last year.   They were great.  I think someone really messed up with the sky suites so I've asked for those to be put into our tub.  They said they could do it.  Just to prove what I'm saying,  a friend of ours in on the ship now in an ocean view cabin and has plenty of drawers and also has a shower line in her shower.  In the sky suites they is a lack of storage drawers and no shower line.  They also are adding a shower line in our tub.

 

In spite of all I'm sure you'll have a great time. I know we will.

[marycruz]

19 minutes ago, Colonialdame said:

Thank you for the suggestion.  I will certainly do some research and will likely try one at home, next to my already installed grab bar.  

 

I know the ones that Bed, Bath and Beyond used to have worked well on tiled walls. My father has one in his bathroom at home.    I don't know what the walls in the tubs are made of now so would not trust them on board either.

[I_r_a]

Hi Co,

 

We have a couple of these.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=shower+handles+suction&crid=1SIOBO1SNTSL7&sprefix=shower+handle%2Caps%2C167&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_13

 

They are very handy for helping to keep your balance.

 

Ira

 

[DiamondDiva]

Just back from Millenium Sky Suite.....old shower/ tub grab bars now gone and not be reinstalled, nor could temporary ones be found.  Half the tub side has a permanent glass panel, so cannot easily sit on tub side and swing legs in to take a shower.  Very dangerous....but no one at Celebrity seems to care. 

 

This makes no sense to me at all.

[Turtles06]

I’m on the Summit right now. We are in an FV, which just has a shower. (A very nice one!) There’s a grab bar. The fact that there’s none in the tub/shower combo in the suites that have those is a safety issue. Not sure how anyone could have neglected to put grab bars in any shower or tub on a ship. Stupid beyond belief. 

[UFMOM]

The high tub sides with no grab bars on the showers of certain suites on Celebrity and other lines are the exact reason we will not book those cabins.  Would love to, but that is a deal breaker.  Just can’t understand the logic of not putting them in. 

 

Mary Ann

[Turtles06]

13 minutes ago, UFMOM said:

Just can’t understand the logic of not putting them in. 

 

Must have been designed by the same people who took the mirror off the only wall in our stateroom where the blow dryer can be plugged in.  But at least that’s not a safety issue, just stupidity.  

 

I have to say, I do like the look of the “revolutionized” Summit, but there are some failures in terms of functionality. 

[varoo]

59 minutes ago, DiamondDiva said:

Just back from Millenium Sky Suite.....old shower/ tub grab bars now gone and not be reinstalled, nor could temporary ones be found.  Half the tub side has a permanent glass panel, so cannot easily sit on tub side and swing legs in to take a shower.  Very dangerous....but no one at Celebrity seems to care. 

 

This makes no sense to me at all.

 

People have been complaining about this issue for years but Celebrity did nothing.

We know that the treacherous shower/tubs in the Celebrity Suites on the M-class ships have been reported repeatedly, for many years. 

 

We were hoping that they would install grab bars in all the tubs and showers during the "revolution" but so far have not heard anything about that being done.

 

It is certainly understandable that they need to prioritize, and it was more important to spend the money to provide us with those Kelly Hoppen knickknacks that we all appreciate so much. 🤨

 

Additionally, the bottoms of many of the tubs are very slippery and especially dangerous when the ship is rocking.

 

In our last sky suite, they had made a feeble effort by applying some texturizing to a small part of the bottom of the bathtub,  but for some reason neglected the rest of it, which was extremely slippery.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2019 by varoo

[marycruz]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Must have been designed by the same people who took the mirror off the only wall in our stateroom where the blow dryer can be plugged in.  But at least that’s not a safety issue, just stupidity.  

 

I have to say, I do like the look of the “revolutionized” Summit, but there are some failures in terms of functionality. 

 

Do you have a desk/vanity  with a mirror?  Is there a plug there?

[DebInAntigua]

2 hours ago, UFMOM said:

The high tub sides with no grab bars on the showers of certain suites on Celebrity and other lines are the exact reason we will not book those cabins.  Would love to, but that is a deal breaker.  Just can’t understand the logic of not putting them in. 

 

Mary Ann

I agree it's a deal breaker. That's why when we had the opportunity to book a sky suite for a reasonable price, and Celebrity themselves suggested that an accessible cabin was probably safest for me, I booked it.

 

If they had non-slip treatments in the tubs and solid grab bars bolted into the walls, then the standard sky suite would be fine.

 

Mobility issues and health risks shouldn't prevent me from being able to enjoy a suite (only a lack of money should do that, lol). Maybe if enough people complain they will reinstate the safety measures in the standard suites.

[Covepointcruiser]

Grab bars on some ships have given me terrible contusions.  As the ship moves anything that sticks out in the shower area is something you can fall against.  Never had a problem with a straight wall.   Never booked a sky suite and have only booked a CS once.   I prefer a walk in shower, even with a ledge,

[dkjretired]

4 hours ago, marycruz said:

 

I know the ones that Bed, Bath and Beyond used to have worked well on tiled walls. My father has one in his bathroom at home.    I don't know what the walls in the tubs are made of now so would not trust them on board either.

 

Better hurry, Bed Bath and Beyond is on its way out. 

[Turtles06]

55 minutes ago, marycruz said:

 

Do you have a desk/vanity  with a mirror?  Is there a plug there?

 

We are in an FV. There is a desk, above which is the only outlet in the stateroom where the blow dryer can be plugged in. There used to be a mirror on that wall, but it was removed during the “revolution” and a flat screen TV was hung on that wall, but not totally over the desk.  There is a mirror on another wall at the far end of the cabin, but it’s too away from the desk to be of use when you are drying your hair. 

 

Epic fail. 

[billslowsky]

6 hours ago, Husky61 said:

If you have a concern there are grab bars that work with suction cups that you can take with you and attach after you get your cabin.  After the cruise you can take them home with you.  I have never tried them and do not know how effective they are.

If someone modifies the bathroom and winds up getting injured, they pretty much have assumed the liability for those injuries.  Particularly if their modification is at all involved.

[marycruz]

13 hours ago, dkjretired said:

 

Better hurry, Bed Bath and Beyond is on its way out. 

 

Yes I've heard that recently.  Wonder if this is a rumor or not.

[marycruz]

13 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

We are in an FV. There is a desk, above which is the only outlet in the stateroom where the blow dryer can be plugged in. There used to be a mirror on that wall, but it was removed during the “revolution” and a flat screen TV was hung on that wall, but not totally over the desk.  There is a mirror on another wall at the far end of the cabin, but it’s too away from the desk to be of use when you are drying your hair. 

 

Epic fail. 

 

Thanks.   I get it now.  Sounds like they didn't put the mirror back because the TV is in the way.  Another blunder right?

[dkjretired]

5 minutes ago, marycruz said:

 

Yes I've heard that recently.  Wonder if this is a rumor or not.

 

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