Carnival Spirit Class Ships Are Non Compliant to ADA Law

[Knights on the Beach]

Have you checked out the disabled cruise travel board? You might find this post helpful as it refers to Carnival Pride which is a Spirit class ship.

 

 

[sanmarcosman]

14 minutes ago, pogoism9 said:

 If they can't fit through the door, where are they hiding overnight?

The scooters are often parked in the passageways overnight until staff knock on the cabin door and remind the scooter users that scooters must be in the cabin and not left in the passageway. We've walked past during these moments and guests often create a scene and argue with staff. Read your contracts folks 😉 

Edited July 11, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[mcrcruiser]

5 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

There are many aspects to consider in addition to cost. The bitterness of poor access remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

You are correct but Carnival is promoting Casino rates on a random e-mail basis .Certainly we have only a  handful of cruises with them   ,while we have a large number of cruises with Celebrity ,royal Caribbean ,Holland America & Princess  & none of these cruise lines ever offered a Casino Rate . Again ,we  fell for that rate with out fully understanding the ramifications & the TA did not help us .Thus ,the last cruise for that TA & whom I tell 

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

Have you checked out the disabled cruise travel board? You might find this post helpful as it refers to Carnival Pride which is a Spirit class ship.

 

Thank you I will check out that board 

 

[mcrcruiser]

4 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

The scooters are often parked in the passageways overnight until staff knock on their door and remind them that scooters must be in the cabin and not left in the passageway. We've walked past during these moments and guests often create a scene and argue with staff. Read your contracts folks 😉 

Yes we have seen that situation on past sailings  . The cabins do not have room for those scooters  but are necessary for the handicapped  . when a cruise line's ship has no "real " handicapped  cabins what would be the alternative ?

[sanmarcosman]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes we have seen that situation on past sailings  . The cabins do not have room for those scooters  but are necessary for the handicapped  . when a cruise line's ship has no "real " handicapped  cabins what would be the alternative ?

Vegas? 😉  The scooters are put in the cabins. Scooters in passageways are a safety hazard.

Edited July 11, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, sanmarcosman said:

Vegas.

That is really quite funny because I did business with the Vegas hotels & Casinos for 35 years from 1966 to 2001  . Candidly ,it may actually come to that . We are staying in Las Vegas for a Week in September with my scooter ,We stay at the Marriott Grand Chateau  on Harmon .We are time share owners & we book a one bedroom  Condo  .Very covenient  for shows & ,my many friends there 

[mcrcruiser]

21 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

Have you checked out the disabled cruise travel board? You might find this post helpful as it refers to Carnival Pride which is a Spirit class ship.

 

What I found on the disabled board for Carnival is  their Guest Access Team phone number  ;which we will be calling to see what help they may be able ot offer  

 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Here is a link to Deck 8  & there is cabin 8239 ;as a example 

If you look at the deck plans on the link I provided, you will see that the two cabins you reference, 7303 and 8239, are listed very clearly as "ambulatory accessible cabins", which is one of three classes of accessible cabins that Carnival has.  For the Miracle, from the deck plan I linked, the fully accessible cabins are:  4207, 6182, 6281, 7101, and 7102.  I see that kdr69 has already posted the list of fully accessible cabins.  There are fully accessible cabins on the Miracle, just none available for booking at the time you tried.  As I've said, accessible cabins typically book about 1-2 years in advance.

 

Frankly, I would not trust a "third party" to provide reliable information over the actual cruise line.  And, then, kdr69 has shown visual evidence, on your preferred deck plan site, that there are accessible cabins on the Miracle, with a roll in shower.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

We have scoured both the deck plans every deck & Carnival printed information .

 

Funny, because I found the deck plan I linked within about 1 minute of looking at the Miracle's deck plan on Carnival.  You have to follow the links to the accessible features of the ship to get to this deck plan.

[CruisingFromLA]

There is a total of 5 fully accessible rooms on the Carnival Miracle. Here is the actual deck plans for it, which clearly shows which rooms are fully accessible (colored yellow and green): 

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/~/media/Images/Ships/MI/DeckPlans/carnival-miracle-accessible-cruising-deck-plan-pdf.pdf.

 

If you want to cruise on that particular ship, you need to book YEARS in advance, right when bookings become available. Otherwise, choose a different ship, a different itinerary or heck even a different cruise line. 

[chengkp75]

24 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes we have seen that situation on past sailings  . The cabins do not have room for those scooters  but are necessary for the handicapped  . when a cruise line's ship has no "real " handicapped  cabins what would be the alternative ?

Again, the ship does have "real" accessible cabins, just not enough to meet the number of scooters that come onboard.

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, CruisingFromLA said:

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/~/media/Images/Ships/MI/DeckPlans/carnival-miracle-accessible-cruising-deck-plan-pdf.pdf.

 

I posted this link on the first page, and it has been ignored by the OP, since it does not fit their narrative.

[sanger727]

8 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I posted this link on the first page, and it has been ignored by the OP, since it does not fit their narrative.

yep. The OP is throwing themselves the world’s biggest pity party and not interested in hearing that they are wrong and simply booking too late.

[mcrcruiser]

We phoned the  Guess Access Team  for balcony cabins there are no cabins with doors wider than 22 inches . All Cabins are 22 inches wide .Thus ,a scooter of 22 or more inches must be foldable to get into the cabin . This is what Carnival told me  today . 

 

 what I see on this thread are many non compassionate   posters who don''t care nor have a clue   about people with handicaps .A very sad how people react to those who have problems .  I learned from many people when we started cruising & to this day I help people with all sorts of good solid information because I do have vast knowledge of the cruise industry . Even to the point of how to save thousands of dollars in trip insurance costs ,& many other matters .

 

 I am deeply offended by the tone of  certain  posters & they know what they own   .one day  the clock may swing your way 

 

 

[chengkp75]

From Carnival's interactive listing of cabins on Miracle:

 

6182:  Fully Accessible Cabin: This stateroom is designed for use by guests with highly limited or no mobility, who require the regular use of a wheelchair, scooter or other similar assistive devices. Accessible features include entry doorway into the stateroom measuring approximately 35", bathroom entry measuring approximately 32", balcony doorway measuring approximately 33", full turnaround space of approximately 60" x 60" in the room and bathroom, accessible routes throughout the room, plus an accessible bathroom with roll-in shower equipped with grab bars and fold-down shower seat.

 

6281:  Fully Accessible Cabin – Single Side Approach: This stateroom is designed for use by guests with highly limited or no mobility, who require the regular use of a wheelchair, scooter or other similar assistive devices. This room provides an accessible route and clear floor space on only one side of the bed, in staterooms configured to provide only one bed. In staterooms configured to provide two beds, the clear floor space will be between the beds, with one side of each bed getting an accessible route. Accessible features include entry doorway into the room measuring approximately 35”, bathroom entry measuring approximately 32", balcony doorway measuring approximately 32", full turnaround space of approximately 60” x 60” in the room and bathroom, accessible routes throughout the room, plus an accessible bathroom with roll-in shower equipped with grab bars and fold-down shower seat.

 

These are your only two choices for balcony fully accessible cabins, and they are likely already booked.  Note that they all have wider doors, not only to the cabin, but also the bathroom and the balcony doors.  So, by requiring a balcony, you restrict the number of accessible cabins from 5 to 2.  Carnival would not advertise these as fully accessible if they were not.

[bigrednole]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes we have seen that situation on past sailings  . The cabins do not have room for those scooters  but are necessary for the handicapped  . when a cruise line's ship has no "real " handicapped  cabins what would be the alternative ?

So lets put everyone's life in danger because people cannot walk and follow the rules. I'm sorry, but those people should be warned once. Leave it in the hall again and the scooter is locked up in cargo hold on the ship until it is over. If you can't get around without it, you quarantined yourself to your cabin.

 

[ray98]

You booked too late.  There are cabins as you describe available for booking but they are taken.  Look into the future and find another date when they are open.   The law stipulates reasonable access, not guaranteed access.  It is a ship after all, there are challenges.

[fair-winds39]

We’ve sailed on all of the Spirit class ships. The last 7 were on the Carnival Pride and I took my Pride GoGo Elite Traveler Plus mobility scooter on all 7. I don’t need a fully accessible handicapped cabin yet, my issues are mobility issues. I use my cane in the cabin if I need it, and my scooter to get around the ship.

 

I don’t know of many cruise ships that have a lot of accessible cabins. My scooter fits very nicely in a standard balcony cabin, with ample room to walk. The crew always offers assistance. Even when we go to the MDR, I drive in to the table, the waiter takes my scooter, then brings it back when we are ready to leave. I’m not sure, but from what I understand, the cruise lines aren’t required by law to follow ADA regulations. I don’t know if that’s correct or not, but while I don’t need an accessible cabin yet, I agree there could be more on all ships. I can say the Pride crew were nothing but helpful to me, as far as wanting to assist if I needed help. 

[katisdale]

I am sorry this has happened to you. There are rooms with appropriate dimensions to meet your needs. However, they are usually reserved very quickly by other individuals who are in equal need as you are. I had polio as a child and now use an electric wheelchair for mobility. I would suggest that you have your travel agent call Carnival's access department on a weekday and see if you can get your money back. The access department can in my experience do some actions that are not possible for regular departments. If a return of your funds is not possible, then see if you can be placed on a wait list for an appropriate cabin. If I was in your situation I would take any fully accessible cabin - interior, ocean view, or balcony - if I could not get my money back. In the future you might consider making a booking on the day itineraries are announced. You still might not get the room you want but may have better luck.

[bstel]

Sounds like you need a new TA, that actually understands handicapped issues.  I don't think anyone is being un-compassionate here.  You posted a statement that was incorrect and misleading.  People here informed you of your error, and even provided the CORRECT information for you.  You chose to IGNORE that information and kept repeating your false claim.

 

There is a reason the ADA states "reasonable accommodations".  I own rental properties and deal with this all the time.  I shouldn't have to entirely gut my property and modify it as that is "unreasonable" and if I had a fully ADA compliant unit that would also make it much more likely to NOT be rented by non-disabled persons, which there are alot more of.

Edited July 12, 2021 by bstel

[mexico8]

On 7/12/2021 at 9:38 AM, bstel said:

Sounds like you need a new TA, that actually understands handicapped issues.  I don't think anyone is being un-compassionate here.  You posted a statement that was incorrect and misleading.  People here informed you of your error, and even provided the CORRECT information for you.  You chose to IGNORE that information and kept repeating your false claim.

 

There is a reason the ADA states "reasonable accommodations".  I own rental properties and deal with this all the time.  I shouldn't have to entirely gut my property and modify it as that is "unreasonable" and if I had a fully ADA compliant unit that would also make it much more likely to NOT be rented by non-disabled persons, which there are alot more of.

Your first paragraph says it all.   I have a mobility scooter that I bring on multiple cruises and know that I have to book early to get an accessible cabin.     As you say the poster wants to ignore all the posts that state the obvious to them.

[CruiserCindy]

On 7/11/2021 at 8:56 AM, mcrcruiser said:

Yes there is the Roll in Shower ;however ,as you already stated these are not photos from a Spirit class ship . According to Carnival information & we double checked it out , there are no roll in shower accessible  cabins on the Spirit Class ship . Additionally ,we  were not able to find any cabin that would have both a wider entry door ( wider doors are   made available for handicap cabins  on cruise vessels ) & or space to roll in a electric scooter . Yes ,there are larger cabins ,similar to suites but in a much higher category & still no roll in shower  We have scoured both the deck plans every deck & Carnival printed information .

 

 If there us such a larger accessible cabin on the spirit class vessel ,we sincerely would appreciate the cabin number for size & roll in shower  available  

Try cabin 8239

[chengkp75]

25 minutes ago, CruiserCindy said:

Try cabin 8239

That cabin is classed as an "Ambulatory Accessible" cabin, meaning it does not have a roll in shower and has a step out to the balcony.  It is not designed for full time wheelchair/scooter use.  Now, because the cabin descriptions are somewhat generic, you may have personal experience that says that cabin is actually fully accessible.

[KmomChicago]

Not sure whether the OP is coming back here but all the answers are available and pretty simple. I understand the anxiety, however as we had to deal with it on Adventure of the Seas with my semi-ambulatory mom

 

Fully accessible (not ambulatory accessible) staterooms will have large entry doors and roll in showers. That's what FULLY accessible means. As noted there are a small number of these - five - as per the deck plan information Chengkp75 linked to. 

 

So it's not accurate to say there are NO fully accessibles. There absolutely are. 

 

Scootaround and other vendors rent narrow scooters that are specifically built to fit in the STANDARD stateroom door. This means any cabin on the ship and so explains the number of such mini vehicles seen in public spaces.  And standard cabins have stand up showers with a lip, about 4 inches or so. IF you can stand unassisted and IF you can move around your room without the chair, and IF you can use a standard bathroom, this is technically an option.