Oceania vs Viking

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, TrulyBlonde said:

@azdrydock....You mentioned that O does not enforce dress code. I have to say that on my Viking Ocean cruise I was flabbergasted at what they allowed in the main dining room. So much so, that I mentioned it to the maitre d. Also, the sloppy T shirts in the cafe were a turn off too.  Others I spoke to thought the same. Who packs gardening clothes for a lovely cruise vacation?

On our most recent O cruise there were numerous complaints about not enforcing the dress code in the dinning rooms. Christmas eve there were several men in jeans and one in particular with a black tee. As we were leaving we registered our complaint wit the maitre d' and a couple entering overheard us and said they just walked out of one the specialty restaurants mid meal  because of a screaming  infant and young kids bothering them. Maitre d' said we should talk to the Hotel Manager. Hotel manager said  new Oceania policy is for the Maitre d' to uses his discretion on what is acceptable and once seated they will not disturb a guest because they don't want to embarrass them.

 The person in gardening clothes, the grandma that borrowed her 16 year old grand kid's clothes, and seriously overweight man whose tee and shorts did not fit him 20 years ago have followed us on every cruise line. As for us, in our opinion, have always dressed appropriately....😇

Separate thread needed on how others dress on a cruise ship

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Since Viking  do not have to  conform to the ADA rules  that  ships sailing from  US ports  do they can mandate restrictions

Wonder how they will handle  the rules when set sail in the USA ?

Viking does sail to the US. If a cruise ship was required to meet disability rules, and if not defined in Maritime laws, it would be where the ship is flagged. Norway disability rules are more stringent then US and the only major US flagged cruise ship is NCL's "Pride of America". Having been on POA. V and O seem to be far more disabled friendly. 

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by azdrydock

[LHT28]

20 minutes ago, azdrydock said:

Viking does sail to the US. If a cruise ship was required to meet disability rules, and if not defined in Maritime laws, it would be where the ship is flagged. Norway disability rules are more stringent then US and the only major US flagged cruise ship is NCL's "Pride of America". Having been on POA. V and O seem to be far more disabled friendly. 

 

Do not believe the  ADA rules apply to where the ship is flagged or most of the ships  that embark in the US  would not have to be ADA compliant

Maybe ships  can visit the US ports  but if the  embark PAX at a US port  they have to comply

Maybe some legal expert will comment

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Do not believe the  ADA rules apply to where the ship is flagged or most of the ships  that embark in the US  would not have to be ADA compliant

Maybe ships  can visit the US ports  but if the  embark PAX at a US port  they have to comply

Maybe some legal expert will comment

Under a 2005 United States Supreme Court ruling ships sailing in US waters, even if foreign-flagged do have to comply with certain ADA Title III requirements with regard to passenger accommodations . Here's one law firm's explanation:

https://www.nixonpeabody.com/-/media/Files/Alerts/ELA_06132005.ashx

My recollection of the ruling is that it's not specific as to what percentage of cabins would have to be ADA compliant.

Edited February 10, 2021 by njhorseman

[LHT28]

22 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Under a 2005 United States Supreme Court ruling ships sailing in US waters, even if foreign-flagged do have to comply with certain ADA Title III requirements with regard to passenger accommodations . Here's one law firm's explanation:

https://www.nixonpeabody.com/-/media/Files/Alerts/ELA_06132005.ashx

My recollection of the ruling is that it's not specific as to what percentage of cabins would have to be ADA compliant.

I wonder if the cruise line can deny  a pax based on wheelchair  dependent or not  as Viking seems to by the post above ?

 

[njhorseman]

22 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I wonder if the cruise line can deny  a pax based on wheelchair  dependent or not  as Viking seems to by the post above ?

 

If the ships have sufficient handicapped accommodations ( for example cabins and access to facilities) to satisfy the law then I imagine they would be within their rights to deny additional handicapped passenger bookings.

I've also seen other cruise lines, even mass market cruise lines, deny access to certain excursions to those who did not meet mobility requirements. As long as the tour descriptions specifies that it can't accommodate those who rely on wheelchairs or scooters it shouldn't be an issue .  Every excursion doesn't have to be available to every passenger. It's become more and more common  in ports where tendering is required for cruise lines to refuse access to the tenders tp those unable to walk on their own. It's an unreasonable safety risk to have crew carry passengers and their mobility devices on and off tenders.

It's also against maritime safety regulations for scooters and wheelchairs to be stored in hallways. When we took a segment of Oceania's ATW cruise a couple of years ago it bothered me that O made no attempt to enforce that rule. Scooters in narrow hallways are a significant safety hazard in an emergency evacuation situation.

[azdrydock]

25 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I wonder if the cruise line can deny  a pax based on wheelchair  dependent or not  as Viking seems to by the post above ?

 

Viking's ADA policy is in line with the other cruise lines, all that has been said is they enforce them strictly. At the other end of the spectrum is HAL. If Viking or any other cruise line offered a tour in the US to that was unfriendly to a disabled person (Many older US buildings are not ADA compliant) it would be their obligation to at least warn them or possibly prevent them from going on a sponsored excursion. If something happened the Lawyers would be lined up at the door. I don't think any cruise line would deny a person solely because they are disabled, however if say no handicapped cabins were available and the cruise line felt they may present a danger to them selves or others... absolutley

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 When we took a segment of Oceania's ATW cruise a couple of years ago it bothered me that O made no attempt to enforce that rule. Scooters in narrow hallways are a significant safety hazard in an emergency evacuation situation.

I agree  the R ships  do not have the room for  scooters/wheelchairs to be stored in the hall  & should  rules be enforced

[pinotlover]

Some cruise lines strictly enforce codes on tours when “ no wheelchairs or scooters are allowed “ is stated. Oceania has been very lax on this, often to the detriment of the other tourists, and sometimes to the safety of the disabled passengers themselves.

Edited February 10, 2021 by pinotlover

[azdrydock]

Don't want to turn this into an O attack thread and for I know this could be an exception rather then the rule. DW and I do inside ship laps in inclement weather. These photos I believe Deck 7 Starboard. Deck 6? was worse so we decided to take some picture. Marina 12/28/19

[ORV]

The Horror. 

[TrulyBlonde]

17 minutes ago, ORV said:

The Horror. 

They had better be grateful they do not have mobility issues. Not everyone is in tip top shape that wants to travel and see the world. I found these posts very upsetting and thought majority of O cruisers were better than this.

[ORV]

Some of that looks to be children's strollers. I've seen things like that on boarding day. Perhaps before the luggage was delivered. I would think it you needed a walker you'd need it to get around in the room, or maybe not. I'm reminded of the saying, "But by the grace of god, there go I" or something like that. 

 

Now, there are a couple of things I have an issue with. People that you see on a cruise that are quite active, out all day on tours, never use a mobility device, yet you see them at the airport in a wheel chair as they get to be first on the plane. Can't see it as that important. 

 

The second thing is the scooter users that are either angry at the world, or have just rented a unit for the trip and are not very good at operating it. I can't count the times if I wasn't paying attention that I would be run over. 

[LHT28]

19 minutes ago, ORV said:

The second thing is the scooter users that are either angry at the world, or have just rented a unit for the trip and are not very good at operating it. I can't count the times if I wasn't paying attention that I would be run over. 

I agree

 Then there was the woman that thought she was entitled to drive as fast as she could

Her daughter told her to mind the people  she said

"they will get out of the way unless they want to be run over"

 

[azdrydock]

26 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

They had better be grateful they do not have mobility issues. Not everyone is in tip top shape that wants to travel and see the world. I found these posts very upsetting and thought majority of O cruisers were better than this.

I feel sorry for the disabled and knowing many challenged people, I am sure if O Staff just mentioned it they would comply. O not R ship so there is plenty of room in the cabin. In retrospect this is the same cruise that I mentioned earlier that the Hotel Manager told us they don't enforce the dress code because it might disturb or embarrass a guests.

[TrulyBlonde]

2 minutes ago, azdrydock said:

I feel sorry for the disabled and knowing many challenged people, I am sure if O Staff just mentioned it they would comply. O not R ship so there is plenty of room in the cabin. In retrospect this is the same cruise that I mentioned earlier that the Hotel Manager told us they don't enforce the dress code because it might disturb or embarrass a guests.

I have better things to do on my cruises vs taking photos of disability equipment. It felt like you were shaming them. When I see elderly or disabled people on my cruises it makes me feel good. They are still living life to the best of their ability.

[azdrydock]

35 minutes ago, ORV said:

Some of that looks to be children's strollers. I've seen things like that on boarding day. Perhaps before the luggage was delivered. .......................

.......The second thing is the scooter users that are either angry at the world, or have just rented a unit for the trip and are not very good at operating it. I can't count the times if I wasn't paying attention that I would be run over. 

Just verified day 10 of 30+ around South America 10:45 PM

[ORV]

If it was 30 plus days it appears you were on a combo cruise. Could easily be on a changeover day and you were still on the ship. I've seen that many times as I've done multiple B2B or combos. 

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

If it was 30 plus days it appears you were on a combo cruise. Could easily be on a changeover day and you were still on the ship. I've seen that many times as I've done multiple B2B or combos. 

10 days from last changeover...  between Cape Horn and Punta Arenas so we couldn't walk on deck due to wind. 

TA booked and confirmed as B2B. Guest services couldn't believe system would allow that to happen. It wasn't until changeover until they could straighten it out with the home office.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, azdrydock said:

between Cape Horn and Punta Arenas so we couldn't walk on deck due to wind. 

Aw, that's too bad. Our trip was calm.

[azdrydock]

28 minutes ago, clo said:

Aw, that's too bad. Our trip was calm.

Around the cape was like a lake and it was OK in Punta Arena. Falklands was scary, The seas went bad after everyone was tendered to  port and the captain wanted everyone back by 3PM instead of 6PM Local authorities had a rough time rounding everyone up. We were on one of the last tenders back and it took several tries in about 30 minutes to tie up to the ship. Lots of green faces. Revolution in Chile but we had no problems in Santiago because they don't riot on Sunday. We started hearing about Covid for the first time from the crew.

Edited February 11, 2021 by azdrydock

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

They had better be grateful they do not have mobility issues. Not everyone is in tip top shape that wants to travel and see the world. I found these posts very upsetting and thought majority of O cruisers were better than this.

 

2 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

I have better things to do on my cruises vs taking photos of disability equipment. It felt like you were shaming them. When I see elderly or disabled people on my cruises it makes me feel good. They are still living life to the best of their ability.

Having a disability doesn't give you the right to break the law and storing scooters, wheelchairs or other mobility equipment is a violation of international maritime safety law, although I blame Oceania even more than I blame the passengers because they have an obligation to make sure the passenger doesn't do it.

 

Having a disability also doesn't give you a right to make a total nuisance of yourself and a danger to your fellow passengers by ramming into people with a scooter. It happens far too often

[shank63]

This topic of Viking v Oceania has totally deteriorated.  No offense to handicap issues.

[clo]

50 minutes ago, shank63 said:

This topic of Viking v Oceania has totally deteriorated.  No offense to handicap issues.

Oops, are you a moderator?

[Rob the Cruiser]

14 hours ago, azdrydock said:

I feel sorry for the disabled and knowing many challenged people, I am sure if O Staff just mentioned it they would comply. O not R ship so there is plenty of room in the cabin. In retrospect this is the same cruise that I mentioned earlier that the Hotel Manager told us they don't enforce the dress code because it might disturb or embarrass a guests.

DW and I were on that cruise also. While I sympathize with those who have disabilities, storing mobility devices in the hallways was dangerous. Add the housekeeper carts in the morning and the hallways became an obstacle course. 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Rob the Cruiser