Have Questions about Resilient? I'm on Board Now

[cantgetin]

ADA accommodations on VV have been horrible at embarkation and disembarkation at Miami to the point that I sent a snail mail letter to the former CEO detailing the issues. To say that the response was adequate is a huge exaggeration,  Fortunately, Barcelona is a whole lot better.  THe problem at disembarkation happens because the ship's personnel take you off the ship by wheelchair, then the terminal people take over with their own wheelchairs.  This means that if you have your own chair, you have a place to sit. If you don't have your own wheelchair (as in you use other devices while on board), the terminal in Miami has no place for you to sit and wait for the terminal people to show up.  At Barcelona, a crew member quickly assembled a dozen folding chairs--enough for the person needing one and the person with them.  In Miami, we could SEE chairs on the other side of a barrier, but had no way to access them.  Our most recent disembarkation in Barcelona was amazing.  We are able to manage things on our own once we are on the ship, but the terminal and gangway ramps are just not possible.

I understand the issues, but no other cruise line we've been on has been this bad.  We've had long waits for assistance on some, but always in a seated area where  we never felt like we had been lost in the shuffle.

[TripsYouMustDo]

On 9/22/2024 at 1:41 PM, cantgetin said:

ADA accommodations on VV have been horrible at embarkation and disembarkation at Miami to the point that I sent a snail mail letter to the former CEO detailing the issues. To say that the response was adequate is a huge exaggeration,  Fortunately, Barcelona is a whole lot better.  THe problem at disembarkation happens because the ship's personnel take you off the ship by wheelchair, then the terminal people take over with their own wheelchairs.  This means that if you have your own chair, you have a place to sit. If you don't have your own wheelchair (as in you use other devices while on board), the terminal in Miami has no place for you to sit and wait for the terminal people to show up.  At Barcelona, a crew member quickly assembled a dozen folding chairs--enough for the person needing one and the person with them.  In Miami, we could SEE chairs on the other side of a barrier, but had no way to access them.  Our most recent disembarkation in Barcelona was amazing.  We are able to manage things on our own once we are on the ship, but the terminal and gangway ramps are just not possible.

I understand the issues, but no other cruise line we've been on has been this bad.  We've had long waits for assistance on some, but always in a seated area where  we never felt like we had been lost in the shuffle.

 

That was our experience in Miami exactly, except we bring my wife's personal wheelchair with us because of issues like that. She is able to stand or walk (on flat surface) for very short periods of time, not no prolonged standing or walking. Brining your own wheelchair is the only guarantee a fiasco like this doesn't happen. 

 

However, Virgin will *not* push your own personal wheelchair on the ship (officially). If you call guest services and tell them you need your relative in their own personal wheelchair pushed off of the ship, they will refuse. If you ask a crew member, they will help. It's very different dual-personality disorder. 

 

Virgin terminal in Miami is absolutely awful though (for ADA at least). I thought NCL terminal in NYC is worst, but now VV terminal in Miami is giving them competition. We did have similar experience to what you describe in NYC with NCL once, I also emailed the VPs of whatever at NCL, got similar response, and we stopped cruising with NCL after that (and thank god for that). 

 

As you, we had much better experience with VV embarkation/disembarkation in Athens (three out of five of our VV cruises). 

[TripsYouMustDo]

On 9/21/2024 at 9:59 AM, Tralfaz1138 said:

The setup on the Wake is a bit strange for anyone with mobility issues.  You can enter the restaurant from deck 6.  It's a weird area in that I believe you can only access it by going down the rear elevator since it doesn't connect to the rest of deck 6.

 

But the checkin stand is on deck 7.  For my wife and I I would usually stop at 7 and check in, but I'd let her go down to 6 so she could avoid the stairs.  I imagine if someone really had an issue with the stairs they could just come in on 6 and have someone from the staff go up to check in.

 

That's what we've done exactly. I am able-bodied so I would check-in on 7 and my wife would take elevator down to 6. Agreed with another poster, they should allow disabled folks check-in on 6. But as I mentioned multiple times in my posts, VV does not care about disabled passengers. They are not their target demographics and they would certainly detract from the "cool" factor VV strives so hard to portrait. They are marginalized - at best. 

Edited September 25 by TripsYouMustDo

[cantgetin]

We handle getting on and off the ship with me pushing my companion's rollator and she sitting in a cruise line provided wheelchair because at age 70, I am not strong enough to push her up or secure her going down the ramps.  Similarly to others, she can walk short distances unaided or stand for short periods, but needs assistance in airports, cruise terminals and on/off the ship, etc.  On our first VV cruise, we went to the disembarkation area ourselves, which is seems horribly messed up their entire system.  The person there asked if we had "registered" for wheelchair disembarkation; I replied that my TA had noted it on the reservation.  NO, I was supposed to have notified Sailor Services 48 hours in advance (never heard that before or since, but I've always touched base with them since then).   I realize that Princess and Celebrity deal with many more mobility impaired individuals, but even Disney does a much better job than VV.

[DCGuy64]

16 hours ago, TripsYouMustDo said:

However, Virgin will *not* push your own personal wheelchair on the ship (officially). If you call guest services and tell them you need your relative in their own personal wheelchair pushed off of the ship, they will refuse.

They probably don't want the liability in case something happens to the person in the wheelchair. But it's good you can find a crew member who's willing to do that.

[cantgetin]

They will push a passenger on or off the ship, in a chair owned by the cruise line.  You then need to transfer to a different one in the port with a different pusher.

[steve thfc]

On 9/18/2024 at 1:43 AM, KnotForSail said:

Hi! Did Virgin offer a complimentary shuttle service at Le Verdon or Bilbao? La Coruna looks as though it's an easy walk from the port, but it would be really useful to know if they're offering any kind of transport at the other two for those not booked on excursions. Thanks!

Bilbao free bus to metro station. Ship stops in getxo.

Le verdon we did a private wine tour so don't know.