Carnival Spirit Class Ships Are Non Compliant to ADA Law

[Bloodgem]

19 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

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

I don't think the OP will be back, as he made a serious allegation about Carnival discriminating against disabled passengers whilst he was angry and is now probably embarrassed. 

 

I understand his anger, as I have been in his situation twice. We wanted a balcony accessible cabin but as they were sold out we ended up in an inside accessible cabin. I was angry at Royal Caribbean for not having more balcony accessible cabins. I was also angry at myself for not booking early enough.

 

I hope the OP will learn to book early and not to start threads when they are angry.

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

I don't think the OP will be back, as he made a serious allegation about Carnival discriminating against disabled passengers whilst he was angry and is now probably embarrassed. 

 

I understand his anger, as I have been in his situation twice. We wanted a balcony accessible cabin but as they were sold out we ended up in an inside accessible cabin. I was angry at Royal Caribbean for not having more balcony accessible cabins. I was also angry at myself for not booking early enough.

 

I hope the OP will learn to book early and not to start threads when they are angry.

 

We booked plenty early on Adventure OS but didn't like the very few accessible balcony options available, so we did junior suites, which provided plenty of space for the scooter to move around and be stored in the room, but of course did not have an accessible bathroom and mom had to manage to step all the way into a tub. RCI did provide a portable shower seat and a toilet riser and the tub had grab bars and a handheld shower head. I also found a large and lip free shower in the fitness center changing room. If push had come to shove she could have driven her scooter there; but she was able to get in and out of the tub safely.

 

As the Baby Boomers age, the number of accessible cabins may be insufficient on many ships but I also wonder if they worry about disaster rescue.  How many people could be safely assisted into lifeboats simultaneously in a worst case scenario? 

[chengkp75]

22 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

How many people could be safely assisted into lifeboats simultaneously in a worst case scenario? 

Well, not every boat is loaded at the same time, nor launched at the same time, it is a sequential thing, so not that many would be being assisted at one time.  Secondly, even on ships with a crew of about a thousand, there will be at least a hundred crew whose emergency duty is to muster at their abandon ship station and "assist as directed", meaning they are sent to do whatever is needed at the moment in the particular emergency.  If they are needed to assist mobility impaired pax into boats, or even down to the muster locations (in excess of the already designated special needs team), then they are sent to do it.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:31 AM, mcrcruiser said:

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 

 

 

 

if you try to book some Royal Caribbean cruises, onboard, they will tell you that the room is fully accessible but the doors on that ship have not been modified to the wider widths.  Been there done that, although for me width was not a problem.  Unfortunately I had to cancel that as DH had bypass surgery shortly before ailing.
 

as others have mentioned you need to book early and then change fares as needed.  But even that doesn’t work for all situations.  I booked my Africa trip for 2021/2022 in 2019 when it was first released.  2 weeks ago it was cancelled and the 2022/2023 replacement  does not have a replacement handicapped cabin!  And the specific ship changed too!  I’m waitlisted as I need some of the access but not all.  Their rooms have been changed to be inset, for turning,  as well as automatic doors, which are really nice.  
 

be careful with NCl, or at least the Epic, their public restrooms have a threshold high enough that I turned a scooter over trying to drive over it!  And yes they had to carry me to the infirmary ..  no external bleeding but I did hit my head hard! 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 7/11/2021 at 1:06 PM, bigrednole said:

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.

 

i had someone do that on the hall to the handicapped room.  I had a rollator at the time.p and could get past the scooter.  The can steward told me there was no problem, so I told him to show me, he didn’t know I’d been through there once before.  He moved and moved the scooter and discovered it was too wide for me to pass.  The occupants said but there’s no other place to put it but gave the steward the key so he could move it to where the elevators were.  It was never there again!  I had seen stewards, in the past, take the scooters in the evenings to charge them for guest, but I believe those were rentals.  
 

I believe the steward told the folks to call and he would bring it, which was above and beyond imho!  
 

I must admit I’ve left a scooter in the hall when I just want to pop in and out to get something, like glasses.  Many times that was because the turning radius wasn’t good for that ship and made it a hassle.  On one cruise the steward could get in trouble if he allowed it, in part because there were storage cabinets that couldn’t be blocked, or shouldn’t.  I behaved if I couldn’t get in and out before the door slammed.  Also moved the scooter where it wasn’t a safety issue, or not as much. I was delight to see the stewards enforcing the clear hall! 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 7/19/2021 at 2:50 AM, Bloodgem said:

I don't think the OP will be back, as he made a serious allegation about Carnival discriminating against disabled passengers whilst he was angry and is now probably embarrassed. 

 

I understand his anger, as I have been in his situation twice. We wanted a balcony accessible cabin but as they were sold out we ended up in an inside accessible cabin. I was angry at Royal Caribbean for not having more balcony accessible cabins. I was also angry at myself for not booking early enough.

 

I hope the OP will learn to book early and not to start threads when they are angry.

on a president’s cruise, Celebrity, the president was directly asked why there weren’t more accessible rooms.  She claimed that their overall averages showed they often sailed with them unused.  Of course, most of us had never seen that, but depending on how you average I can imagine how I could make it true.  We were told that they were doing more things with dates and ships as newer ships were built.  But since we prefer smaller ships that doesn’t fix much other than move some people off the ship we want accessible rooms on. .

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 7/19/2021 at 5:48 AM, KmomChicago said:

How many people could be safely assisted into lifeboats simultaneously in a worst case scenario? 

interesting observation!  I was on a ship that in port had a power failure for the elevators.  That meant I would have to climb 3-4 flights of stairs.  I was offered the option of being carried but declined.  I wanted reserve that option for a real emergency.  And, at the time walking down 3-4 flights of stairs was easily done.  Had I tried to climb them I could have made it but I’d have been done for 3 days.  Since I was stuck in the lobby I was offered room service, complete with white wine, to where I was sitting!  A nice gesture, for sure.  
 

it took less than 90 minutes for the elevators to work, and yes they even considered the crew elevators which were also out.  I still think without an emergency I made the right decision.

 

edit:  There are indeed pax that are identified to be carried down stairs, at muster time.  Some processes are more obvious than others.  Also if handicap is in the back of the theater they go to the closest lifeboat, normally.   My biggest complaint is that most are not taught how to help, at least on tenders!  If I were to fall they’d drop me without even breaking a fall.  The best help I had was an officer that reached out with one hand to help me out.  I grabbed his wrist where he could also get mine and poof I was up and out.  Although surprised he commented that that was the way to grab ahold.  I so wanted to stop, in the way, and tell him to teach the crew! If I pull on most of them they’d land in the bottom of the vessel!   Getting in they don’t want me to hang on to the tender.  I tell them they can only have 1 hand I get to hold on with the other. I am strong enough to hang on until someone can help me get my feet back under me. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Benthayer Gonbak

[mcrcruiser]

Carnival takes money for casino rates which are not refundable under most cicumstances .when you book a   cruise for a Oct 2023 sailing you would think a handicap   balcony cabin available . We could not afford the cost of a suite which literally doubled the cruise far from just under $5000 to near $10000 

 

 I  resigned myself to the fact that Carnival will not refund the Casino rate deposit . Then it is simple ,we will never sail with them & reach out to many friends who will  understand   . I also blame the TA as much as the cruise line for misguiding us 

 

 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

I recently booked for Sept 2023 and found there were no handicap ocean view cabins available, and they had not been announce for very long.  
 

for what it is worth, cabins are occasionally released when final payment is due so if you are going to lose your deposit anyway I’d try a waitlist.  
 

and, as others have suggested, see if they’ll give you a cruise credit for a future cruise.  Not the best solution but I’d think it was worth a try.