Booking an accessible room

[finucane]

I wouldn't doubt that Candy........

 

Pretty sorry!

[Benita]

As far as AB being bumped - Royal Caribbean did it for me. I had booked a regular cabin, but suffered a severe ankle injury and was wheelchair bound for several months. I called RCCL's handicapped desk and was told all the handicapped cabins were booked, but to check back again. I called the week before the cruise and was told the same thing again, but the supervisor who answered the phone told me he thought one of the cabins was occupied by AB. He called me back the next day and told me he had moved them to my old cabin and gave me the handicapped one.

I don't have a problem with AB people being assigned an unused handicapped cabin close to the sailing date IF the reservations people are aware that they are AB and the passengers are aware that they may be moved.

[serene56]

Benita: Did you have to prove that you needed this cabin? If so what did you need?

[finucane]

Good for RCCL..............

[Benita]

No, I did not need to prove anything. Mind you, this was an almost last minute switch. We had booked a regular, balcony cabin 8 months earlier, so I guess they figured I really needed the change. Although the prices had gone up significantly, they did not charge me extra, although I gave up a catagory D cabin and the handicapped one was an E, so they really couldn't justify charging more.

[muskrat897]

I cannot walk at all. I book at least 1 year in advance to assure a wc/scooter accessible room. I would gladly trade bodies with an AB and take a smaller room.:D

[Benita]

Muskrat, I know what you mean. I was fortunate that my disability was temporary. We just booked the same cruise on the Jewel of the Seas - this time for a regular, non handicapped room. Part of my physical therapy involoves stair climbing to improve ankle flexion, so I will gladly forgo the elevators this time.

[Oceanwench]

I cannot walk at all. I book at least 1 year in advance to assure a wc/scooter accessible room. I would gladly trade bodies with an AB and take a smaller room.:D

 

Amen.

DH has said the same thing many, many times.

[finucane]

Won't be long before you have to book 2 years in advance........

[Oceanwench]

Won't be long before you have to book 2 years in advance........

 

I know. We've already booked two cruises this year [May & Nov.] and have already talked about booking one in February 2006.

 

When we booked our Nov. cruise back in Jan. or Feb., our first 2 choices had no HC rooms available. And those were on HAL Vista ships, that have about 2 dozen HC rooms!

[Queenie2]

I've talked to some folks who have booked in 2007 because they wanted to get an accessible balcony cabin or a specific accessible cabin. I don't think this is unusual.

 

Candy

[finucane]

I've talked to some folks who have booked in 2007 because they wanted to get an accessible balcony cabin or a specific accessible cabin. I don't think this is unusual.

 

Candy

 

I do! Who can book out 2 years in advance, especially if you want to go with friends?

Like I said, now it's 2 years? 4 is right around the corner if your disabled and need an accessible room.

Call your cruise lines and insist they figure this thing out,

I have.... It's beyond absurd.

[Oceanwench]

We like to cruise twice a year, as it is the best way for us to vacation.

DH really can't fly comfortably, and the details/arrangements at the other end are always overwhelming.

 

Since we live less than 2 hours from two major ports, we can cruise at a rather reasonable rate and don't have to worry about airfare.

 

We were considering a cruise for fall 2006, and when we called our TA she said it was too early for her to give us a rate, other than the rate the cruise line itself posted. So I guess booking 2007 would be impossible, at least through her!

 

AB people don't have to book 2 years out, unless they want a specific cabin that happens to be popular, such as the wake cabins on some ships. AB have hundreds of cabins to choose from; HC people have a handful.

THAT is why the cruise lines need to keep AB people from booking HC cabins.

[Shebbieal]

When I want a particular cabin, I check almost daily to see if it has been released by the cruiseline. For instance, we wanted a southbound cruise/tour with RCI in a mini-suite port side, we booked the same day the ships sailing was released. We were flexible with the sailing date tho, the h/c balconies and mini suites sold out that day.

 

Sherry

[seedaz]

My husband and I are both AB people. We booked a 7A guarantee cabin category(obstructed view balcony) on our Hawaii cruise(Carnival Spirit) two years ago. We were given the same category cabin - no upgrade - (7A obstructed view balcony) BUT were assigned to a HC cabin for that category. The stateroom was huge. When we found out our cabin # I called our TA to say we did not NEED the use of this cabin as neither my husband or myself were disabled. She said...if Carnival needs the cabin for someone with a disability that they would bump us to a different cabin. Carnival assigned the cabin on the guarantee status. I said okay. So it is not all ways that AB people are given these HC accessible staterooms by choice or by booking them, sometimes the cruiseline decides who receives these staterooms.

[L11]

Thought I would give kudos to Celebrity for the way they seem to handle the HC cabins. Until last week was AB, but suffered a foot injury that will have me on crutches and/or using a wheelchair for several months. We are about 60 days out and have made final payment. When my TA found out that I was in need of an HC cabin, she contacted Celebrity. Not only had they left at least one very nice (aft) HC open, they are still requiring a doctor's certificate before allowing me to book it. Good for them!! Frankly that is the way it should be.

 

Honestly, I am even finding myself feeling badly about asking for the HC cabin at all since there are people with much more serious disabilities than mine, but I am doing it more for my husband than anything else so that HE can have a vacation too, without needing to haul me in and out of the shower or worry about me falling over in heavy seas. I am also taking the advice of the people on this forum and renting a scooter so I can get around on my own.

 

Linda

[Hebe]

I find if we do not book a wheelchair cabin the first week of the cruise, we will not get one. Maybe it is also because we like to book one of the three aft balconies on the Celebrity line. We booked our 2006 Cruise in summer of 2004.

 

I have posted before that we waited 10 months and never got a wheelchair cabin on the RCL Jewel so they do not move people out when someone else needs it.

 

Deb

[montgomeryfamily]

The difficulty in getting HC rooms is one of the reasons I previously posted on this forum about the availability of HC cabins on the August 19, 2006 Cruise Critic group cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Although it is a year in advance, as has been discussed, the HC rooms go so fast and I wanted to make sure the disabled cruisers on this forum knew about this Cruise Critic group cruise and the availability of HC cabins, including balconies, at this time. The situation is going to be even worse for disabled folks wanting to sail in the Caribbean in the summer of 2006 as Celebrity and HAL won't have any ships in the Caribbean during that time.

 

It is a shame we can't depend on the cruise lines to "practice what they preach" in their policy and actually hold these cabins for disabled passengers (at least until 30 or 40 days before sailing), especially since we know that they won't usually bump AB out of these cabins. And it is infuriating that the cruise lines give AB "upgrades" to HC cabins rather than the cruise line upgrading a person in a lower HC cabin category to a higher HC cabin category.

[finucane]

It is a shame we can't depend on the cruise lines to "practice what they preach" in their policy and actually hold these cabins for disabled passengers (at least until 30 or 40 days before sailing), especially since we know that they won't usually bump AB out of these cabins. And it is infuriating that the cruise lines give AB "upgrades" to HC cabins rather than the cruise line upgrading a person in a lower HC cabin category to a higher HC cabin category.

 

Yes it is Kathy..........

We have experienced first hand the abuse that goes on. We have seen (and almost admitted by RCCL and Princes customer service) AB individuals get HC cabins and admit they got them from travel agents who block or purchase these cabins for perks for there customers, it is shameful. We have actually heard these people brag about there larger HC cabin.....

Cruise lines need to enforce this issue. the problems is that they are not regulated by the ADA in America and really truly don't want the disabled business.

We are starting to experience this in hotels also. Some chains are now charging more for the disabled for what they call "parlor suites". This is against the law for one thing, not to mention the ethics of it all...

It's getting pretty pathetic out there. It's getting to be like parking placards......... EVERYONE'S HANDICAPPED!

My wife turned 40 this year and been confined in a chair now for 14 years. All we see is it getting worse and AB people blatantly laughing at it.......

I get so angry at how rude people are. I'll end with that because I could ramble for hours!

[TheDivineMsM]

There is a thread currently on the NCL board titled, 'Is it morally wrong for an AB to book an accessable cabin?' Apparently not. Check it out.:mad: