Which access department is better??

[CruisinOnWheels]

We have been on 2 rcl sailings... and debating whether to try Princess, HAL or Celebrity next year.

 

What is everyones experience with these cruise lines "access departments"?

 

Which would you say does the most to insure passengers special needs are met??

[uppitycats]

Of your choices, I've only been on Princess, two different ships, one older, one newer. In both instances the Princess staff went out of their way to make sure my needs were met. The cabins were spacious, the bathrooms (inside the cabins) were well equipped for someone in a wheelchair (or with other mobility needs), and while all the main public bathrooms weren't noted as such, there were handicap-accessible stalls in them (at least in the women's.. :o ).

 

On my first cruise on Princess I joke that the staff "magically appeared" outside my door whenever I'd leave the cabin, asking "can I accompany you to your destination?" (translation -- "where are you going? I'll push you there..) freeing up my husband from that. They weren't quite so attentive on the second cruise, but nearly so. I stayed on board at a couple of the ports, spent time in the public areas, and several came by to ask if I needed anything, or needed help to return to my room, or go somehwere else, etc.

 

We had signed up for "traditional dining" and had been assigned to a table in a really challenging spot, around a lot of other tables and in a corner. The head waiter saw us coming, realized that we'd not be able to get there, and quickly and quietly rearranged our table setting without us even having to ask, and without any big display of inconvenience, making us quite comfortable. Each night after that he stopped by the table to be sure I had what I needed to enjoy my meal.

 

I went to Alaska on both cruises; each time there was a bit of a challenge making it clear to them that I needed a handicap-accessible van or bus if I was going to go on the tours I'd planned with them -- but they came through with appropriate transportation each time, at no additional cost to me. Once they apparently rented a private van just for me, which ended up great because we got to see and do a lot more than the "tour", again at no cost.

 

I'd certainly cruise on Princess again...just gotta save up my pennies! :)

[katisdale]

Princess does not have a true access desk. They have a fleet medical office that is I think staffed by a Registered Nurse. They deal with issues like whether a particular wheelchair will fit in the room BUT not if a particular excursion is accessible. That said, I like Princess very much. Once on the ship everyone has always treated me very well. My big problem is the tour desk. They have NO idea whether a tour can be used by a slow walker vs. a wheelchair user. In areas not in the US there will be no accessible transport but that has to do more with the country than Princess. Princess could however give accurate information as to the excursions. What you can do (for example I can swim well but cannot walk much) is not something they even want to hear. They want to suggest you take only the "easy" tours. Even though the "easy" tours are on buses which can cause problems for lots of people. I think it would really help if the lines would hire someone to consult with them on access issues and whoever they hire should use a wheelchair or scooter.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

RCL and Celebrity have an accessibility manager. He is in charge of both cruise lines. I like Princess and have been on 10 cruises with them. In my opinion RCCL and Celebrity are even better if your in A W/C full time. Their ramps are much better and they have more auto doors.

[Splinter]

As above, Princess does not have an access dept., and most of their staff is totally clueless about accessiblity issues. For example, if you ask about wheelchair access for a shore excursion, even though your profile says "cannot walk or stand" they will often say, "it is just a couple of steps into the bus". I always have to ask just what "cannot walk or stand" means to them!!!! When we take a Princess cruise, we know what we are getting in for. We rarely if ever take their shore excursions, with a few exceptions (when we have researched the tour on our own first). As far as access, their showroom access, esp on the newer ships, leaves much to be desired (steep ramps, poor lines of sight, "ghetto" seating for wheelchairs, etc.). Their recent policies about tendering for manual wheelchair users are also of great concern, so we currently are NOT using Princess for any cruises until that is better resolved. Sometimes someone will help with trays in the buffet, but it is not dependable. I have never seen any staff on Princess offer to push my mother in her manual chair except in the dininig room, and I am reluctant to even do that as they tend to catch the casters on obstacles that could throw you out of the chair if not tied in.

 

HAL has been helpful to us. Before going on our first cruise on one of their ships that we were not familiar with, the Special Needs dept. arranged for someone on the ship to go into the cabin in question and take digital photos of the bathroom set-up and e-mail them to us the next day. We have also had better luck with good showroom seating on HAL. On the other hand, although they do have tender lifts on most of their ships now, they are loath to use them, and you must be VERY pushy to get onto one, esp. sooner than noon for a port that is supposed to start tendering at 8AM. We also really like the fact that HAL does not use service carts in the hallways, so wheelchair access is rarely if ever blocked during the morning or evening hours as it is on so many other ships. The HAL fully accessible cabins are spacious, but the bathrooms with roll-in showers are amoung the smallest in the market.

 

For the most part, we have had good (not great) service from RCCL and Celebrity, although we rarely if ever have had anyone offer to carry trays in the buffet on RCCL, and several ships have a number of stations in the Lido buffet that are not at all wheelchair accessible (up several steps).

[pugdog]

Actually Princess does have an access office.

 

Allison Muff

 

Access Compliance & Emergency Response Specialist

Access Line: 661-284-4521

Direct Line: 661-284-4403

Cell: 661-754-6678

Fax: 661-284-4408

Email: allisonm@princesscruises.com

 

She is currently working on finding out what shore excursions we can go on for our canal trip. She was also able to answer some questions we had about access on board.

[uppitycats]

Thanks for posting about Princess' access office. I had just gone to look that up. :D I first cruised with them nearly 8 years ago and they had an office then, and on subsequent cruises around 6 and 4 years ago; I couldn't imagine that they'd suddenly close up shop!