Just got kicked out of our Epic Sail Away HA Balcony

[LoveMyTrix]

And they were so stinkin' nice about it.  We booked a SailAway Balcony way back in June of last year for our March cruise and within weeks they issued us an HA balcony.  I knew we might need to give it up if someone needed it, and just wanted to let everyone know, if you need a wheelchair accessible room, you can get one even if one is not showing available.

 

The NCL Rep was so nice and asked if we would give it up, and after I said of course, he said, "Good, cuz we can just take it from you!"  Bwaahahahahaha!!!  Then he offered me the pick of several different balconies, a bottle of sparkling wine and a $25 credit.  Very excited for our Cruise!!

[EllieinNJ]

Good for you!!

[BlueLadyBlue]

👍

[ready2cruzagain]

We have tried to book handicap cabins in the past on NCL and was told none available and they said they would not bump someone from a handicap cabin even if they don't need it.  Wonder if something new.

[pcakes122]

25 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We have tried to book handicap cabins in the past on NCL and was told none available and they said they would not bump someone from a handicap cabin even if they don't need it.  Wonder if something new.

Definitely not new.  Did you call the Access Department with your request?  If you try to book and your PCC tells you there is no accessible rooms available, your next call should be to the NCL Access Department.  They are able to run a report which shows which accessible rooms are booked by those with special needs (who have completed and submitted the special request form) and those who have not.   Next they will reach out to the Reservations team to call the passengers who have not completed the form and ask that they be reassigned (PCC will call the customer as the OP outlined.)

 

I'm disabled and have many cabins opened up for me this way.  Only once did someone who had not filled out the form say they they "recently" became disabled and could/would not move.  (Not sure how the Access Department handled - but probably requested that they fill out the form.)

[coscab]

I remember many years ago waiting to board an NCL ship and there was a woman in a wheelchair and she said  they were working on finding her a handicap cabin so I guess you could be reassigned right up until sail away.

[pcakes122]

I've posted before about my experiences being reassigned DURING the cruise.  Twice there were issues in my originally assigned accessible cabins, and the Access Officer onboard was able to move me to another accessible cabin by displacing able-bodied folks who were assigned those cabins as guarantees (or however they got them.)  Once was a plumbing issue that NCL needed access to my cabin walls to fix, and the other time was a broken balcony door (automated door would not close.)  Both times this happened on Day 2 of the cruises, so folks can get reassigned at any time even during the cruise.

[ready2cruzagain]

1 hour ago, pcakes122 said:

Definitely not new.  Did you call the Access Department with your request?  If you try to book and your PCC tells you there is no accessible rooms available, your next call should be to the NCL Access Department.  They are able to run a report which shows which accessible rooms are booked by those with special needs (who have completed and submitted the special request form) and those who have not.   Next they will reach out to the Reservations team to call the passengers who have not completed the form and ask that they be reassigned (PCC will call the customer as the OP outlined.)

 

I'm disabled and have many cabins opened up for me this way.  Only once did someone who had not filled out the form say they they "recently" became disabled and could/would not move.  (Not sure how the Access Department handled - but probably requested that they fill out the form.)

 

Yes, I called the Access Dept and was told they cannot kick someone out of a HA cabin.  Was told too bad.

[pcakes122]

2 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

Yes, I called the Access Dept and was told they cannot kick someone out of a HA cabin.  Was told too bad.

You really needed to ask for a supervisor.  I'm shocked because the Access team is small and most have been there a long time so they should all know the process.  What ship was it?  (There is a different Access rep assigned to each ship.)

[NowHeather]

I would call back and see if you get a different representative (not sure how many there are as I seemed to have the same person answer the phone on 3 different phone calls).

 

I had a booking on the Sky with 2 separate rooms. We had 6 girls in 2 rooms meaning not a lot of space. About 2 weeks prior to sailing one of the girls broke her ankle in multiple different places which required a wheelchair and a shower seat. I called the access desk knowing there were no accessible rooms currently available. The woman I spoke to was EXTREMELY helpful. She offered to see if any of the rooms were assigned to someone who did not submit paperwork showing a disability. She told me if there was an accessible room that had occupants without a disability she would bump them. After about 20 minutes she found an inside room that she could bump someone out of and move us to. We did not want to downgrade so I declined the move. The agent then went above and beyond to make other adjustments to make our current room type work. She was able to move us into two rooms next to each other so we could put 2 in one room and 4 in the other to make extra space. 

 

Moral of the story: If at first you don't succeed try and call again! 

[pieshops]

On 2/22/2019 at 5:00 PM, ready2cruzagain said:

We have tried to book handicap cabins in the past on NCL and was told none available and they said they would not bump someone from a handicap cabin even if they don't need it.  Wonder if something new.

Maybe the handicapped rooms were all being occupied by people who were handicapped hence none available?   Just putting it out there 

[LoveMyTrix]

7 hours ago, pieshops said:

Maybe the handicapped rooms were all being occupied by people who were handicapped hence none available?   Just putting it out there 

Yes, that's what I'm thinking because I posted this so show that people who do not need the HA cabin will get bumped.  I was just issued this cabin since I booked Sail Away.  Depending on the ship or cruise, it may have limited HA cabins and are all filled up.  I agree with the others, you should try again with the tips given here.  Good Luck!

[Wheeling TravelingMom]

My son is a full time chair user and we are even subject to being bumped due to last minute issues. On our last cruise (Disney) 3 days before sailing I got a call asking us to move to a much smaller HA cabin since we were a party of 3 and a party of 5 suddenly had a broken leg and wanted our room which holds 5.