Handicap Assistance on cruises

[2415rb]

I recently returned from the Carnival Valor where several of my friends joined me. One of my friends is handicapped and in a wheelchair most of the time with limited mobility.

 

Carnival had advised that we would be in two tendered ports but they would assist in anyway to get the passenger to the shore.

 

They were true to their word, going above and beyond not only to assist but to make the experience a wonderful one.

 

The tender company and personnel were equally responsible for making the experience far above our expectations.

 

From the time that we arrived at the pier, they whisked us through the line and onto the ship in record time, allowed our handicap friend to go to their cabin earlier than regular guests, and assisted with acclimating our party to the areas suitable for wheelchair access.

 

Shore excursions were very tiring and we had to take meals to our friend a couple of nights and the head waiter Ericson made sure that we were well taken care of to get the meals to her in a timely fashion and hot from the kitchen.

 

They were genuinely concerned for making sure everything was situated to assist in the best experience for everyone. I can not say enough about this experience. Kudos to the entire staff of the Carnival Valor April 27 sailing:) :o

[travelteam]

Nice to hear good things about cruise experiences for those who are challenged. Thanks for writing.

[BigWheel]

Cruise people are amazing. They try so hard to accommodate everyone, regardless of special needs. I guess that's a big part of why I love cruising. My usual complaint - a very mild one - is that the staff are smothering as they try so hard to help. I try to get them to back off but usually just give up and let them pamper me.

 

Unfortunately. there are exceptions:

 

I've been on twp ships with a pool lift chair. First up was the Vision of the Seas (RCCL) three years ago. No one was around so my wife did the honours - the two buttons were "UP" and "DOWN" so it wasn't hard to figure it out. Kudos to RCCL.

 

Last week I was on Sapphire Princess. The seat was removed from the lift so I found a staffer. "No problem. I'll find someone trained to operate the lift and we'll get you in the pool," was the first response. After a few minutes, the same person returned to tell me that before I could use the lift, I had to go to the Passenger Services Desk to sign a waiver. What crap! Is this supposed to make me fell welcome? Ironically, I had just come from Disneyland and had been on rides far more dangerous than a pool lift chair but never had to sign a waiver. I am disgusted by Princess and their CYA rules.

[jimgo140]

I recently returned from a two week B2B Caribbean cruise on the HAL Eurodam. I've been a staunch supporter of the line and am a 3 star Mariner. However, this last cruise has left me with a troubling feeling toward the line. The first day in the terminal surprised me. I must use a cane and after a laborious walk to the line awaiting boarding processing, I was turned away from the handicap accessible line, because I wasn't in a wheelchair. They did advise me I would be eligible for wheelchair transportation only if I walked back to the entrance, took a number and awaited wheelchair transportation personnel. Rather than trekking back a good distance, I stood in the regular line. Since I've become disabled, I've cruised on Carnival and Princess ships (both under the same ownership as HAL), and they've accommodated persons with canes, as well as those in wheelchairs. When I boarded and arrived in my room, I found it had no electrical plugs near the beds, so I requested an extension cord to plug in my CPAP machine. They first wanted me to trek down to the front office to pick one up. Eventually they relented and brought one to my room. It wa 6 feet long! To plug in the machine, I had to have the chords strung in the air. ALL other cruise lines handled this problem better than this. Then, later in the day, we came to the "Muster Drill". When I asked for instruction for handicapped persons, I was told they were exactly the same for all. We were required to stand out on the deck for the drill. I was surprised and disappointed at this, since their sister ships always arranged for the handicapped persons to attend an indoor seated session. My next complaint centers on the "Muster Drill" as well. One week later, we were required to attend the same performance as that first day Why??? There had been no change in the safety procedure, whatsoever. I talked to many persons who had done B2B's who had never been subjected to this redundancy on any other cruise line. I've been on many cruises exceeding the 14 days of this one and was not required to attend a second drill. I'm rethinking my support of this line.

[kitty9]

jimgo, I crossed HAL off my list after my last cruise on Eurodam. It was by far the worst cruise ship I've ever been on, and that says a lot considering I've been on Costa and a few other lines that I didn't care for. My accessible suite was awful in terms of the bathroom. The bathroom was badly laid out and since they didn't have a way for the water to stay in the shower area, the entire bathroom floor was completely flooded---even out to the dressing area and the carpet. The shower was in the same area as the toilet and again, the toilet got wet, along with the toilet paper. The towel rack was raised too high for me to reach while on my scooter (at least 5 1/2 feet off the floor) and the sink had a apron around the countertop so I couldn't pull my scooter up to the sink. Two of the too few public accessible bathrooms had broken automatic doors. And my scooter got caught up on nearly every threshold to the outside decks. Knowing how HAL tends to attract an older clientele, they sure don't seem to know how to accommodate the disabled.