HC cabin: just sent a complaint email to princess

[teegee16]

hi, i booked my cruise in august for January departure. When i booked there were no handicapped cabins left available on the entire ship so i have been waitlisted under 4 categories in the number 2 spot since then. final payment was in october.

 

i have not heard from princess about any hc cabins being freed up since final payment so today i contacted princess to inquire about my status and to add another category to my waitlist. I know that princess does not require any documentation from the booker re handicapped proof and i think that is such an unfair situation. in fact i can't believe that it isn't against federal law or something! i did a complaint email today to princess handicapped liason.

 

maybe if more people actually complain to princess they will change their policy. also, does anyone know of any other cruise line that actually seeks documentation of hc to book a handicapped room? thanks

[Beachin2]

hi, i booked my cruise in august for January departure. When i booked there were no handicapped cabins left available on the entire ship so i have been waitlisted under 4 categories in the number 2 spot since then. final payment was in october.

 

i have not heard from princess about any hc cabins being freed up since final payment so today i contacted princess to inquire about my status and to add another category to my waitlist. I know that princess does not require any documentation from the booker re handicapped proof and i think that is such an unfair situation. in fact i can't believe that it isn't against federal law or something! i did a complaint email today to princess handicapped liason.

 

maybe if more people actually complain to princess they will change their policy. also, does anyone know of any other cruise line that actually seeks documentation of hc to book a handicapped room? thanks

 

I know that RCI requires you to fill out a form basically attesting that you need the HC cabin. They (all of them) can't ask too many details due to privacy laws though.

[teegee16]

just found the federal dot rule that requires them to verify that cabins go to handicapped people. when i booked hawaii last winter with princess they asked for no such verification. not even a question over the phone when i booked. i would really like to hear from princess passengers specifically about their procedure for booking.

 

(g) To prevent fraud in the assignment of accessible cabins (e.g., attempts by individuals who do not have disabilities to reserve accessible cabins because they have greater space, you—

(1) Must inquire of persons seeking to reserve such cabins whether the individual (or an individual for whom the cabin is being reserved) has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in the cabin.

(2) May require a written attestation from the individual that accessible cabin is for a person who has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in the cabin.

[cb at sea]

It could be that all of the HC's are taken already by folks who need them and booked earlier than did you! That can happen!

[Arlened236]

Last Feb I tried to book a HC cabin for an Hawaii cruise in March 2012...all HC cabins were booked (I cannot cruise without one, I am an amputee) So I booked for March of 2013...those of us who need them book way in advance or we do not ge the cruises we want. I would love if they required documentation of need.

[uppitycats]

I've been on 2 Princess cruises. Each time they've asked for verification of my disability. Your post isn't real clear but it sounds like all the handicap cabins were filled when you tried to book, and none opened up. Perhaps if one had, then you would have been asked for documentation?

[katisdale]

My last cruise on Princess was this past May (2011). I was asked if I needed the HC cabin I reserved. Of course I said "yes" since I needed it. My only problem was on the tour prior to the cruise. Princess had not told the tour operator that I needed an accessible hotel room which seems quite strange after asking if I needed the room. Regardless, after the first stop in Budapest the guide on the land portion took care of notifying the hotels in Vienna, Prague and Berlin. I think it is probable that all the accessible cabins were booked before you knew you wanted a cabin. Since my problems have increased I have found it impossible to reserve a cruise much less than 9 to 12 months in advance to get the room I need.

[uppitycats]

I think I just got lucky! I'm in the process of booking a cruise on Holland America -- there are at least 3 wheelchair accessible cabins available (well, 2, if my booking goes through! :p ) for a June 1, 2012 Alaska cruise! I was fully expecting the agent to tell me I was out of luck, but thought I'd ask.... :)

[missypriss19]

I have had this same complaint for years and have even voiced my concerns to Carnival cruise lines to no avail. You can go onto their site and book a HC room with no questions asked. When you book it does say you booked a HC room and you could be moved if needed. I have asked them why they do not hold these rooms until a set time before sailing and then release them to the general public. They only have a small number of HC rooms available but they refuse to do this.

[missypriss19]

just found the federal dot rule that requires them to verify that cabins go to handicapped people. when i booked hawaii last winter with princess they asked for no such verification. not even a question over the phone when i booked. i would really like to hear from princess passengers specifically about their procedure for booking.

 

(g) To prevent fraud in the assignment of accessible cabins (e.g., attempts by individuals who do not have disabilities to reserve accessible cabins because they have greater space, you—

(1) Must inquire of persons seeking to reserve such cabins whether the individual (or an individual for whom the cabin is being reserved) has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in the cabin.

(2) May require a written attestation from the individual that accessible cabin is for a person who has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in the cabin.

 

 

 

Since these ships are not registered in the US. I doubt these federal laws apply

:mad:

[Umbarger]

It could be that all of the HC's are taken already by folks who need them and booked earlier than did you! That can happen!

 

When pigs fly!!!!

 

People are more selfish than ever in this day and age and think nothing of booking a HC to get a bigger cabin for themselves. Be realistic. Don't you read Cruise critic? Haven't you read the numerous threads on cruise critic from able bodied people booking HC cabins?

 

If I read one more thread about able bodied people booking a HC cabin I think I'll scream.

 

Knowing this I have to book at least a year in advance to get a HC cabin.

[montgomeryfamily]

Those federal rules do apply to Princess and the other cruise ships which stop at US ports. However, the rules that you reference do not take effect until Jan. as the effective date was changed due to comments by hotels, etc stating they needed more time before the rules were effective to do some of these things.

 

We are Elite and have booked with both Princess and TAs. Our experience is that most do not ask anything about us needed a wheelchair accessible stateroom--and the few that do only ask if we have a wheelchair or scooter.

 

We cannot cruise without a wheelchair accessible stateroom, as our family member is confined to a wheelchair and needs all of the accessible features to be able to cruise.

 

Sometimes these are booked well in advance (1year or more) and sometimes you can find one within six months of sailing or so. Because Princess does not hold the w/c cabins back, anyone can book them and you also read on the main board about Princess even assigning guarantees to these five and six months in advance.

 

If you do require a wheelchair accessible stateroom, then you need to take some action now since final payment is due as you will probably have a difficult time getting a refund if you end up not being able to sail due to no h/c cabin. If you booked with Princess directly, then you need to press them hard--go to a supervisor or resolutions or something to find out now so that you aren't stuck later.

[teegee16]

i last cruised with princess in january to hawaii and had a hc cabin on that trip. they didn't ask me anything before booking the cabin for me. although i am lucky enough to have some mobility, i do require a scooter to get around the ship. without it i will not be able to enjoy myself as i will be confined to my immediate area of the ship. i already made final payment so it is what it is. if worse comes to worse i will be getting my scooter and asking my room steward to store it for me at night. as to my response from princess i was told that the access expert is on vacation until december 1 so no one seems to know the answer to the problem. note that i found the regulations on line and did not see anything about the effective date being pushed back to january. the rule has already been published.

 

cruise lines need to hear from the handicapped in order to effect change. lets get vocal!

[montgomeryfamily]

Yes, the rules have been published, but there is also a portion of the rules, that relating to the section you referenced, which was delayed as to implementation until January 2012. If you read the preamble of the rulemaking, you will see that explained. But by Feb 2012, the rules will be applicable and there will be more that can be done if they have not effected a change.

 

You are fortunate that you do have some mobility and don't have to have the roll in shower and can make do with this cabin. Maybe the access coordinator will do something after she comes back.

[TracieABD]

I have my fingers crossed that this will work out for you and your family. Please, keep us posted.

[teegee16]

I got an email today from Princess which showed that i got my hc cabin. I had originally booked the highest category inside and waitlisted for all inside cats and outside obstructed views in the hope that one of the hc cabins would open up.

my new cabin is an obstructed OV on Emerald Deck.

 

I would encourage any of you to do exactly what I did. contact the Access office and start quoting random regulations at them. it seems to work to get the cabin you need, and FAST!:D

[Hei1980]

I have had this same complaint for years and have even voiced my concerns to Carnival cruise lines to no avail. You can go onto their site and book a HC room with no questions asked. When you book it does say you booked a HC room and you could be moved if needed. I have asked them why they do not hold these rooms until a set time before sailing and then release them to the general public. They only have a small number of HC rooms available but they refuse to do this.

 

We had to fill out CCL forms for our upcoming cruises for the HC cabins. Was very pleased with Carnival on how they followed the rules for the HC cabins. Maybe your complaints worked!

[arhillbilly]

I booked a guarantee with Carnival for Nov 27. 2 weeks ago I was assigned a cabin. When I pulled it up on the deck plans to see where it was, I found out it is a HC cabin.....I called Carnival and told them I didn't need an HC cabin and was told that it was mine....I asked them what happens if someone "needed" the cabin and was told if that happened, I would be moved. Anyone want to sail on Carnival Conquest on Nov 27 going out of New Orleans so I can get an upgrade?...LOL

[xxoocruiser]

I booked a guarantee with Carnival for Nov 27. 2 weeks ago I was assigned a cabin. When I pulled it up on the deck plans to see where it was, I found out it is a HC cabin.....I called Carnival and told them I didn't need an HC cabin and was told that it was mine....I asked them what happens if someone "needed" the cabin and was told if that happened, I would be moved. Anyone want to sail on Carnival Conquest on Nov 27 going out of New Orleans so I can get an upgrade?...LOL

 

Nice for you to offer this information. However don't count on being upgraded if someone actually needs the HC cabin. . The cruiseline only has to move you within the catagory you booked if cabins are available.

[arhillbilly]

I was joking (altho I would be glad to give it up if someone did need it and that is what I told Carnival).....There isn't anymore cabins available in my category and the ship is almost full

[missypriss19]

Someone posted this link on another thread and it is a long rule written by the Department of Transportation that went into effect last November. It has alot of info on passenger ships and HC persons. After skimming this I found that it is a rule that cruise lines must hold back HC rooms until all rooms in that cat is booked before letting them go the general public. I have complained to carnival cruise lines several times concerning this since you can go on Carnival and book and HC room off the rack so to speak.

Just look up Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities: Passenger Vessels

[MilVet913]

To get right to the point here, the ONLY WAY things will change is if there is negative publicity for the cruise industry as a whole. Remember all the people thrown/fell overboard and the cruise lines did nothing. THEN, after 60 minutes, 20/20 and other news outlets did ¨investigative¨ reports, POW, suddenly there are a million surveillance cameras on all the ships and beefed up security.

 

I am disabled, I have a service dog however do not cruise with her because of all the problems.

 

We can all sit here and bitch and complain about a valid problem but in reality, none of the cruise lines care. Until they feel some real pressure in the form of bad PR, nothing will change.

 

Remember, it is always the noisy wheel that gets all the attention .

[DFW Airwolf]

This is why as I have stated before, I would like to see some standard things done to as many staterooms as possible. My thinking is, there are people booking HC cabins that need some features but not all features a HC cabin offers. Some of the minor ones that I believe could be mad fairly inexpensively & may allow some HC people to more quickly book a regular cabin are;

 

1. Grab Bars in Bathroom

2. Higher standard Toilets

 

And here are a few others that I feel should be incooperated into the designs of all new ships.

 

1. Eliminate Lip/Stepup to the bathroom. (My understanding this is done because of the modular nature that cabins are built. And the bathroom module is built seperately & inserted into the cabin before it is placed into the ship. Cabins are built outside the ship & inserted in like LEGO's)

2. Wider standard doorways into the cabin.

 

Also I dont know if anyone has ever had any traction issues with wheelchairs on the carpet or not. I know I have heard of this problem from relatives recently that are using a manual wheelchair at home. But that is something that can be easily addressed.

 

Overall I think many people would appreciate these small changes & hopefully it would keep AB people from booking HC cabins as frequently.

[6rugrats]

just found the federal dot rule that requires them to verify that cabins go to handicapped people.

 

Those federal rules do apply to Princess and the other cruise ships which stop at US ports. However, the rules that you reference do not take effect until Jan. as the effective date was changed due to comments by hotels, etc stating they needed more time before the rules were effective to do some of these things.

 

 

Someone posted this link on another thread and it is a long rule written by the Department of Transportation that went into effect last November. It has alot of info on passenger ships and HC persons. After skimming this I found that it is a rule that cruise lines must hold back HC rooms until all rooms in that cat is booked before letting them go the general public.

Link to rule you are referencing is here:

 

http://www.dotcr.ost.dot.gov/documents/DOTPart/July2010final%20Accessible.pdf

 

And as stated by the other post, this law is not yet in effect.

[Treven]

I've been on multiple cruises on Princess and I must book 12-18 months in advance to get an accessible cabin. I've never been required to "prove" my need. There is the possibility, of course, that my TA sends something into Princess. I've known her for 20+ years (former boss) so she is well aware of my needs.