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Elevator usage by ADA persons


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I understand the frustration of the topic...the fact that people who are so mobility challenged that they have to use a wheel chair or scooter or whatnot in order to get around. These things are harder to maneuver in a crowd and so anyone in one can't be quite as aggressive for going after open elevators as bipeds can be. Also...if an elevator does arrive and appears full, it's much harder for a chair to squeeze in than a person to.

 

I, too, have a hidden mobility issue in that I don't have an ACL in one knee. On a normal basis, I try to be as normal as possible, but there are times when my knee bothers me, or I get excessively tired and it's harder for me to deal with the ACL deficient knee. One thing that I think can be troublesome and compound the issue is when people don't pack the elevators full. If you pay attention to the capacity of the elevators, many times, people tend to have a cushion of space around them and don't get as cozy as they could. I have literally shoved my way, somewhat rudely, into an elevator that isn't at capacity but may be uncomfortably close for those that aren't used to using elevators. I happen to live in an apartment building where I use an elevator daily, multiple times a day, and we pack in, every time, because that's what you do.

 

I think, during peek times, like by the theater when a show lets out...it would be nice for there to be a temporary rope or something at a designated elevator in order for there to be space for a chair to enter. If an usher or someone could take over that duty to assist, I think it would be nice. I have witnessed the struggle of those in chairs trying to use the elevators at such times and I am sympathetic to their struggle.

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12 minutes ago, 6theagle said:

I am sorry to hear of your pain. We should not have to avoid peak times, we can't really as they are times to eat and see entertainment. I too am sure that a smart person can figure this out, but do they want to? Thanks for your support, fellow cruisers are the reason I am promoting this topic. I think if you register with the accessibility desk  they could know who had what need for accommodation. 

 

If I with someone or share a cabin with someone in a scooter do I get to ride in the elevator also??

If not, who will tell me I can't??

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10 minutes ago, matj2000 said:

 

If I with someone or share a cabin with someone in a scooter do I get to ride in the elevator also??

If not, who will tell me I can't??

Yes.  And no one would.  That is how it worked when I have used accessible entrances.  Also, Disney (and I am sure other amusement parks) also offers accommodation for people with disabilities and the whole party is provided access with that person.  I am simply stating what I have experienced.  It is no different than when I use my parking pass.  I won't drop you off at the back of the parking lot and then proceed to my parking space.  😀

Edited by cruisekap
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35 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

How is it unfair? Nobody is preventing you from using the elevators.  You have the same access to them as everyone else.  Admittedly there are rude people that probably would cut you off, but the same could be said for some people in wheelchairs, that they sometimes cut people off.

I have been in an elevator that stopped and a woman in a scooter literally ran over other people’s feet to force her way in. All it takes is one to sour the rest of us!

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There are rude people who think their time is more valuable or just plain dont think or care with disabilities and without.  It's too bad there can't be a specific rude people elevator so they could annoy each other instead of everyone else.

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So you said one elevator, is that forward or aft? Or will it be both as surely you wouldn’t want someone to have to traverse the length of the ship to find the dedicated elevator. 

 

You also mentioned peak times.  How do you determine peak times? That could be different for every person so you might as well make it from 7am to midnight.

 

Just  a guess but I would bet that with only one elevator with the number of people on board with mobility issues you would actually wait longer for your dedicated elevator than you would by taking the next available elevator. 

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21 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

So you said one elevator, is that forward or aft? Or will it be both as surely you wouldn’t want someone to have to traverse the length of the ship to find the dedicated elevator. 

 

You also mentioned peak times.  How do you determine peak times? That could be different for every person so you might as well make it from 7am to midnight.

 

Just  a guess but I would bet that with only one elevator with the number of people on board with mobility issues you would actually wait longer for your dedicated elevator than you would by taking the next available elevator. 

True.  That is likely why Royal hasn't done anything.  Rude behaviour isn't isolated to elevator etiquette and I really think it doesn't happen often.  Most people are fair and polite.  We take turns, help each other etc. I don't really have an issue myself.  Yes, I have mobility problems but I work around them.  I am sure most people with and without disabilities do too.  Everyone is entitled to use all parts of the ship, including the elevators.  

Edited by cruisekap
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Are you really going to gatekeep an elevator because you think a person doesn't look disabled enough? Also, nobody is stopping you from using the elevator. They're for everyone. I was a nurse before I became disabled, and I've seen all kinds of people with different invisible illnesses, so it's really frustrating when people do this.

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jesus, the entitlement. Just wait your turn like everyone else. you can use it, so can all the non disabled folk, its not just for you. the only real problem would be people cutting someone off and forcing someone in a chair or walker to wait cause there was no room with all the people cutting ahead, but that is a separate issue. 

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IMHO this is a ridiculous post.  Is someone in a wheel chair or an electric scooter  more entitled than someone with a heart condition, arthritic knees, asthma, back pain, or God knows what else?  Just because we’re still on two feet doesn’t mean we can walk flights of stairs!  Should I bring my handicapped parking placard with me and wear it on my lanyard?  Please!

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3 hours ago, 6theagle said:

How often do you have to wait for an elevator on a cruise because there is not enough room for your wheelchair? Can you take the stairs? I am forced to wait for the kindness of strangers or ram them with my chair or scooter, I choose the former, more patient route. Yet, I have waited and watched others older and more ill than I wait and wait while people who CAN take the stairs consume the space.  When I could walk I took the stairs, it was faster and far less frustrating, but I cannot now, and there are lots more like me. We like cruising because it is a little more independent than most travel. 

How fair is this current policy? From my view it isn't 

Don't assume that the many people on elevator can even go up one flight of stairs. Most my Family have disabilities do require Elevator look 100% healthy on outside or at first glance you might think they should or could use stairs. Myself, did 33 nite B3B in oct/Nov and didn't use Elevator once. As these are longer and Repo cruises at 53yrs old 80-90% of passengers are older then me. When I started cruising 30+ yrs ago there was no scooters, most with disability wouldn't travel. Now on some of my cruises I've counted about 75 walkers, scooters and wheelchairs on a single cruise. Flying MI/AZ seasonal, typical see 12-15 passengers boarding in Wheelchairs on ea flight. Not much can do, ships are not going build more or larger elevators. Though that and your restricted Elevator sound like good idea it's not going happen. 

Edited by ONECRUISER
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A dedicated elevator would cause even longer wait times for everyone. 

 

With all assistive devices using one dedicated elevator wait times could at peak times become excessive for these guests.  Often only a single scooter can go into an elevator.  If there is a dedicated elevator then a person using an assistive device would have to wait for that one elevator to complete it's mission and return to that floor.  By that time this dedicated elevator could become occupied by another person using an assistive device in the opposite direction, or that someone on a lower or higher floor using an assistive device then occupies the dedicated elevator effectively "beating" you to it. 

 

If there were five scooters lined up on deck 1 after coming back to the ship it would easily be a 20+ minute wait for the 5th in line depending on what was occurring with the dedicated elevator on decks 2-13+ for the other guests on board with assistive devices.  Taking someone from the promenade to the pool deck.  From the pool deck to their cabin floor, someone else to the promenade and so on before it returned to deck 1 for #2 in a growing line.  They'd likely get tired of waiting and force their way into a regular elevator.   However with one less elevator servicing everyone now everyone has longer wait times and even longer when assistive devices are still cramming their way into the remaining elevators. 

 

I have observed what appears to an sense of entitlement that people in assisted devices should have priority for the next elevator.   I have observed more than once while waiting 3-5 minutes for an elevator only to have someone in a scooter appear and expect to be granted priority access to the next elevator that arrives even though I have waited much longer.   An assistive device should not grant priority access - wait like everyone else.

Edited by twangster
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I often cruise with someone in a wheelchair (paraplegic with a regular wheelchair, not a scooter and not electric).  I myself have a knee injury that makes stairs slow and painful, but I don't use a cane or crutches most of the time -- I just limp along and take the elevator.  Sometimes an elevator stops that doesn't have room for a wheelchair -- we just wait for the next one.  

I don't think that those with disabilities should automatically get to cut in line for every single thing.  Wait your turn, just like everyone else.  

I do wish that the cruise lines would stop allowing scooter rentals and switch to the "hoveround" or "jazzy chair" or whatever -- more of an electric wheelchair than a scooter.  The scooter, with its front wheel(s) and steering wheel takes up a lot more room, and it also gives the user a bit of a barrier in the front that they bash into things/people. 

With an electric wheelchair instead of a scooter, the person has nothing in front of them besides their own feet.  They can better see where they are going, and they can't use the front of scooter as a battering ram to force people to bend to their will.  

If someone is bringing their own scooter from home, by all means let them bring it aboard.  But I think in many cases the people on scooters on the ship don't use one at home, and they aren't proficient at maneuvering them nor do they understand \etiquette regarding running into things. 

Making rental equipment be the smaller wheelchair type rather than the golfcart-esque scooter type could help with both size constraints as well as common decency like not running into people.

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I'm reasonably healthy and have no mobility issues. But after walking around on an island all day and getting back on board the ship on deck 1, I certainly couldn't climb 12 flights of stairs to my room very easily. So I'm going to wait on an elevator. People in Wheelchairs and scooters can wait with me in the same line and take their turn. 

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I CAN walk up and down stairs, reasonably well enough. However, sometimes l choose to avail myself of the facilities provided on the ship, like restrooms in convenient places, lots of seats in bars, ELEVATORS, restaurants. 

 

I have paid my fare and am entitled, as much as any other passenger, to use the facilities offered onboard.

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5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

So you said one elevator, is that forward or aft? Or will it be both as surely you wouldn’t want someone to have to traverse the length of the ship to find the dedicated elevator. 

 

You also mentioned peak times.  How do you determine peak times? That could be different for every person so you might as well make it from 7am to midnight.

 

Just  a guess but I would bet that with only one elevator with the number of people on board with mobility issues you would actually wait longer for your dedicated elevator than you would by taking the next available elevator. 

 

I'm surprised that it has taken to post #31 before anyone has mentioned the practicalities of having a dedicated elevator.

 

6 hours ago, matj2000 said:

 

If I with someone or share a cabin with someone in a scooter do I get to ride in the elevator also??


matj2000 has also raised a valid point. Is the person with mobility issues the only person allowed in the elevator? Or is the person with mobility issues and 1 carer allowed in the dedicated elevator?  

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This thread caught my eye because my mom's Senior's residence has Elevator Rules for its residents. A maximum of three walkers are allowed per elevator loading and there are diagrams describing how the walkers are to be positioned in the elevator to maximize the numbers that can be accommodated per load. 

 

This system is actually working fairly well; the residents with walkers load first, position themselves and them the people without walkers’ load.  At each floor, the ambulatory people step out to allow a person with a walker to exit and then re-enter to continue. 

 

Could this type of Elevator Etiquettte work on a cruise ship? Probably not it might be worth a try.

Edited by DirtyDawg
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8 hours ago, Cyn874 said:

I'm a little confused. I just got off a 15 day cruise and from what I witnessed, all the people who were using scooters and wheelchairs had the same access and wait times as anyone else. It was first come/first serve, and people got on when it was their turn. In 15 days I never saw people in walkers or wheelchairs being denied boarding or being forced to wait longer. If anything, I usually saw them get on first and the people who were not using any sort of assistance would get on last. I myself got off of elevators to allow people in a scooter or wheelchair to take my place when it was crowded, and I saw others doing the same. I never witnessed anyone on a wheelchair or scooter having to wait additional time.

 

 

This has been my observation as well (and all of my cruises have been during peak weeks on full ships).  The one chaotic time at the elevators that I witnessed was after a Muster drill, and even then no one was pushing past those with obvious mobility issues.  I try to take the stairs most of the time (gotta get my steps in), but like another poster mentioned - getting back onboard after a day in port, I'd rather not walk up 9 flights of stairs.

 

When you decide to vacation in a confined area with thousands of other people, you have to assume that there may be wait times at the elevators.

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This is beyond absurd.  You're on a cruise.  There are things that are awesome about cruises, and there are things that kinda suck about cruises.  Take the good with the bad, suck it up and move on.  If you really find waiting a few minutes for a lift to be so unduly burdensome that you actually think the ship needs to dedicate staff to legislate and manage it, your primary problem might not be a mobility issue.  It might just be that you're a miserable human being.

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At "peak" times, there will be waits for EVERYONE at the elevators.  The elevator cars are small, so only about 8-10 can fit at one time.  Waiting in line needs to be taken into account.  The elevators are open to all, so bring your patience.

 

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And then there is the question of rude people in scooters as well, I am only 53 but have had 2 heart attacks and since found out I have heart disease and asthma, I can and will if able walk ''down'' the stairs, but I can't walk up, the amount of rude comments from people in scooters when I have gotten in an elevator while they were waiting (behind me) is shameful, I've lots count of the times my toes have been run over or my ankles bashed, and the nasty comments about how I should walk

It works both ways, we all pay our cruise fare, so we are all entitled to use the amenities which includes elevators

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2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

My question is, do high rise buildings dedicate an elevator for mobility issues at "peak times" like mornings when offices open and afternoons when its quitting time?  I've never seen it.

 

Not on Holland America, and they are a scooter "friendly" cruise line.

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