Lessons Learned

[OracleBones]

I have recently returned from an enjoyable family Bermuda/Bahamas cruise on the Norwegian Dawn from NYC and have again learned new lessons about traveling as a disabled person confined to a power wheelchair.

 

I knew we would need assistance in off-loading my medical equipment (lift, travel shower chair and manual wheelchair) the morning of disembarkation in NYC. Therefore, a request was made 10 weeks prior for such help. The NCL medical coordinator assured me by e-mail that she would arrange for such assistance. When we checked with the customer service desk on board, the day before arrival in NYC, they had no information whatsoever about our needs. Nevertheless, commitments were made and a plan arranged for disembarkation the next morning. These never materialized and after one hour and five phone calls to the front desk we struggled alone with our equipment to disembark. The medical coordinator has apologized and said she would look into what happened to the information and request she sent to the Dawn.

 

Lesson One: Despite commitments, whether in writing or made verbally to provide special assistance, you cannot depend upon these being kept.

 

As we were in NYC we wanted to spend a few days after the cruise and enjoy the beautiful city. I knew from last year, when we sailed from NJ, that wheelchair accessible taxi cabs are few and far between in NYC. I also was aware that if you booked a pre or post cruise hotel package through the cruise line a wheelchair accessible transfer would be included and arranged along with a wheelchair accessible room. While I knew I would pay a premium for this "one-stop shopping", I felt the extra cost was worth it. I had confidence NCL would provide these services in a "seamless" fashion. As our NCL tickets for the transfer and hotel made no reference to wheelchair accessibility, I had NCL confirm in writing that a "medi-van" accessible transfer had indeed been arranged. The Holiday Inn Midtown on West 57th Street also confirmed in writing that a wheelchair accessible room had been blocked.

 

When we finally located our transfer it was a large highway tour bus rather than the "medi-van" we expected. As we were among the last off the ship, the other dozen or so NCL transfer passengers on the bus had already waited over an hour and a half for us. On top of the wait, the bus turned out to be broken down and would not go in reverse. The driver had called his office in Jersey several times requesting a new bus. He told everyone that he had no idea when the mechanic that was being sent would arrive in Manhattan, nor if he would even be able to repair the bus. The bus driver did not say the company would be unable to provide a timely transfer that day. However, he did make it very clear that the passengers would be better off catching a nearby cab. Everyone took their bags and left. As a cab was not an option for us, we walked from the NYC Passenger Ship Terminal to our hotel at 10th Avenue and West 57th , bags and equipment in tow.

 

Lesson Two: Unexpected crap happens. In terms of your special needs, always be prepared for the fact that what you pay for and arrange may never get delivered. (I have requested and hope to receive a refund for the transfer.)

 

Upon checking in at the Holiday Inn Midtown we again confirmed that the room was wheelchair accessible. The room presented three significant access barriers. First the doorway into the bathroom was not wide enough to accommodate my 25" wide chair, there was a vertical step of approximately 1 ½ to 2 inches into the bathroom and finally there was absolutely no turning radius for a wheelchair if one was even able to get it in. We were shown three more rooms which had wider doorways but all presented access barriers to the bathroom. There was either the vertical step or a beveled rather than ramped entrance to the bathroom and/or an inadequate turning radius. We settled on a smoking room, even though a non-smoking room had been requested, as this was the best of their available options. Even here, my son had to help raise the legs of my lift as my wife pushed it into the bathroom. In addition, the hotel's elevators are very small and require a wheelchair passenger to angle into a corner and back out. I would never have been able to access the controls or use it independently. The hotel has an excellent location and a very helpful staff. However, as an older property it is exempt from and fails to fully comply with the US Department of Justice ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Why NCL would use this location as post cruise hotel for disabled guests or fail to inform its guests that this hotel may not be in full ADA compliance is a question I have put to them and am awaiting a response to. In my view, NCL had an obligation to book me, as a disabled customer, into a hotel that fully met ADA standards or at a minimum inform me that this level of service was not available through them as part of their travel package. Nevertheless, lessons learned.

 

Lesson Three: Never assume the cruise line has ensured that its pre or post cruise hotels, even in the USA, meet full ADA design standards.

 

Lesson Four: Always do your own independent assessment of the services being provided. While I asked for and had a wheelchair accessible room blocked for me, it never occurred to me that I needed to ask for specifics as to the bathroom door width, turning radius, or if there was a vertical step into the bathroom; a design feature I've never encountered before.

 

Lesson Five: If you must do your own "due diligence", you may be much better off to avoid third parties such as the cruise line and just arrange and book it yourself. In terms of the quality of pre or post cruise services and the price paid for these services you may be much more satisfied.

 

Despite the above, I would cruise with NCL again but I will never book a pre or post cruise hotel package with them or any other cruise line for that matter. I have learned my lesson in this regard.

 

I've also posted this on the NCL board.

[OracleBones]

I am pleased to report that NCL has responded favourably to my concerns. First and most importantly, they did apologize for all of the shortcomings and failures in the service we received at disembarkation in NYC. Secondly and most generously, NCL arranged a 50% refund ($544.32 USD) from the Holiday Inn Midtown for our post-cruise stay given all of the accessibility problems we encountered. Finally, NCL has offered a future cruise travel credit of $614.00 USD should the three of us opt and be able to cruise with them in the next year. My only disappointment is that NCL did not address in their letter my concerns about the use of a non-ADA compliant post-cruise hotel in New York City. I would very much have wished to have seen a commitment from them to insure that their disabled customers are booked into ADA compliant hotels in US ports.