Special Needs

[beshears]

I have not read the other postings, but I wanted to tell of an "experience," I went through with my friend when she had her accident while we were on tour a couple weeks ago.  I will say I have cruised over 25 years, and thank God I have been able to take care of myself  with the 15 or more cruises I have done, not only on Carnival, but other ships as well.

 

In regard to the accident a couple weeks ago.  I had booked a tour in Barbados, but not through Carnival.  We were about half way through the tour, and had stopped to see a beautiful view, overlooking the ocean.  To make the long story short, I had walked about 4 feet away to go to check out some vendors, "thinking" my friend was following me after she took a few pictures, like I did. I turned around to see if she was coming, and the next thing I knew, she was "flat" on the ground.  Unfortunately (we did not know all of this until X-Rays, etc. were taken) she was in a lot of pain, and we she told the driver that she felt that she could not continue the tour, but needed to get back to the ship.  I will say the man we were with that was doing the tour, took us all the way (he had a lot of "explaining" to do to authorities to get us through the barracks, as she would have not been able to walk) to where you walk up the ramp to get on the ship.  The man told security people outside the ship, and the next thing I knew, they had a wheelchair for her, "pushing" her up the ramp, and took her to the medical office. From the start of that, to the doctor/nurses that were in charge, I have never seen people work so hard to make her comfortable, and help her for several days to get a hold of her doctor in AZ, etc.  The Carnival Fascination ship may be old, and smaller, but all I/we could give them is 10 stars or more, as they (all the personnel on the ship that we came in contact with, as well as guest) went up and beyond what we would have expected.

[mpdog42]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 7:19 PM, scpirate said:

I agree I too am handicapped for lack of a better word but when I become a burden I will quit travelling.and I'm not too far from quitting cruising.

That goes for me as well, ..Unfortunally when you have a disability.. you also have limitations...I would like to go visit London again but I know that that involves a lot of walking..and for me that's not possible anymore...I know it sounds harsh but some travel just isn't good for some people with certain disability's

"It is what it is"

Mike

 

[mpdog42]

8 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

What upsets me is that when you are too afraid to bring something up to an authoritative power or to someone providing you a service as they can reprimand you just for simply advising them. Frustrating. 

WoW...I guess you trust your Government??

Mike

[petro772]

Need more three person, fully accessible, handicap suites.

[AAAAmerican]

Asking your Professional ASTA Travel Agents is a wonderful way to have a direct advocate.

[jbethel11]

7 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

WoW...I guess you trust your Government??

Mike

I am talking about my education officials ...

[Buckimion]

Trip report from last year on the Triumph (good riddance) detailing a few issues from a wheelchair user:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2512969-slightly-delayed-triumph-trip-report-jan-29th-feb-3rd-2018/

 

Not mentioned but sadly lacking are more excursions accessible by wheelchair. We're headed to Hawaii on Miracle and not a single shore excursion in Carnival's catalog for the entire islands are listed as able to accomodate a wheelchair. I've been left to hunt down our own excursions and can't even think about getting off the ship in Kona.

[jennas_mum]

16 hours ago, petro772 said:

Need more three person, fully accessible, handicap suites.

 

We need more 3 and 4 person, fully accessible, handicap rooms in general. My son is in a wheelchair. If its just DH and I along with out son we don't want or need 2 rooms. Same goes when our daughter goes. 

 

Donna

[pe4all]

On 4/27/2019 at 8:38 PM, IPlayWithString said:

 Because my son is now too old for a green wristband (he's 15) and while he IS usually with us, having a wrist band of some kind would make me feel better about them knowing he needs to be told where to go since in a crisis situation

We have been on 25 CCL cruises.  My special needs DD30 has been on every one.  Carnival goes above and beyond in accommodating anything we ask for - special muster, table for 2 (or 3 if cruising with dh) etc.  She is speech/language delayed, minor seizure disorder, and has cognitive disabilities.  If you want your son to have a green bracelet, all you have to do is ask at muster, or at Guest Services.  I have done that, even though she is not a child anymore.  I know she gets flustered when alarms go off, and would not take the chance of her getting separated from me somehow and not knowing what to do.  I also immediately let our steward know she is special needs - just in case.  

    

[IPlayWithString]

That's a good idea...I'll have to ask Hubs what he thinks about it even though Son is technically too old for a wristband. 

 

We've had SUCH a good experience so far (15 cruises and counting!) with CCL and how they've handled every request (special needs or not) that we've thrown at them. 

[Doggielover68]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:04 PM, Vitamin Sea Addict said:

I'll elaborate some of my suggestions. When the captain or CD makes an announcement and they do the "Announcement in progress" screen on the big Dive In screen, it's super hard to hear. If we're at the water park and my child has no hearing aids in, there's no way the message could be heard. To me, I try to translate that into how any hearing impaired adults may struggle. With the Hub App, I feel like text versions could easily be send/be a part of the system. 

 

I also feel that for children of ANY special needs, a different/additional bracelet than the green muster station bracelet could be given so that staff (especially with some language barriers) could realize that the child has a disability that may not be visibly apparent. I think it helps EVERYONE interact better when they know other factors are in play.

I don't think it is that big of a deal. We were unable to hear any of the announcements from our room on the Carnival Miracle that we just disembarked a few hours ago. It will be pretty obvious if there is a true emergency. 

[Vitamin Sea Addict]

10 minutes ago, Doggielover68 said:

I don't think it is that big of a deal. We were unable to hear any of the announcements from our room on the Carnival Miracle that we just disembarked a few hours ago. It will be pretty obvious if there is a true emergency. 

How fantastic for you and your "normal" hearing. I would LOVE it if my child had anywhere near normal hearing. Even with aids, his hearing is only about 80% of normal. And lots of people have similar disabilities. Accommodations are not designed for everyone. They are designed to give equal access to people who do not have it. Just because I can get in and out of a pool "normally" doesn't mean I do not understand why many pools have wheelchair lifts/drops. Just because I do not have life threatening food allergies doesn't mean I don't think people should have access to specialized food. It's not about whether something is an emergency---it's about being able to hear everything that EVERYONE else can hear just as they are. But, the point of this post is not to debate things with people who do not understand, it's to bring awareness. Feel free to leave the post since none of these issues are problems for you and your fun times.

[Doggielover68]

12 minutes ago, Vitamin Sea Addict said:

How fantastic for you and your "normal" hearing. I would LOVE it if my child had anywhere near normal hearing. Even with aids, his hearing is only about 80% of normal. And lots of people have similar disabilities. Accommodations are not designed for everyone. They are designed to give equal access to people who do not have it. Just because I can get in and out of a pool "normally" doesn't mean I do not understand why many pools have wheelchair lifts/drops. Just because I do not have life threatening food allergies doesn't mean I don't think people should have access to specialized food. It's not about whether something is an emergency---it's about being able to hear everything that EVERYONE else can hear just as they are. But, the point of this post is not to debate things with people who do not understand, it's to bring awareness. Feel free to leave the post since none of these issues are problems for you and your fun times.

Wow. What a jerk. I would say that in a nicer way but really, you need to take a hard look at your entitled self. 

 

It is really no different than a person without limbs expecting to be able to ride a roller coaster. If Suzy Q. can do it why can't I?

 

Cruise ship announcements are just reading scheduled activities off of the written fun times that is available all over the ship, in the app, on the TV, etc. 

 

P.s. 80% hearing is pretty darn good. I attended an NTID college (national technical institute for the deaf) and several of my friends have zero hearing at all, still attend the same classes as everyone else, have normal careers, go on vacation, etc. They all take their own implements to ensure that their needs are being met. You shouldn't expect the whole world to bend over backwards to serve you. As I stated before, the cruiselines do MORE than enough.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Doggielover68