Lack of wheel-chair accomodations.... Majesty of the Seas

[Nathrina]

I just wanted to share with you all my awful experience.... just so possibly anyone whose planning a future cruise with Royal Caribbean can be fully aware of the problems that may occur.

 

I left Thursday for what was suppose to be a wonderful vacation, only to my surprise.... I found that I had been booked a non-wheelchair accessible room that I had no access to....

 

-I requested a wheel-chair room prior to my cruise.

 

-I was told by an individual that I spoke to at

1-800-722-5472 ext. 34492, that my wheelchair would

fit in the room. (I even measured it while I was on

the phone with the individual)

 

-The same individual explained the layout of the

bathroom, assuring me that I would have no problem

accessing the toilet. (SHE FAILED TO MENTION THE STEP

UP into the bathroom.)

 

-Upon arrival to my stateroom, I realized the NO WAY

was I getting my wheel-chair into the room.

 

-I promptly went to the appropriate desk to explain

the situation. The man explained to me that not

everyone had checked in, and so he had no idea if the

4 Wheel-chair accessible rooms would be available.

 

-I elaborately explained to this gentleman that there

was absolutely NO WAY that I would be able to gain

access to my room without physically being picked up

from my chair and placed on the bed. I also explained

to him that I would NO WAY be able use the toilet,

brush my teeth, or shower.

 

-I requested a refund and requested to be allowed to

leave the ship. I was told to wait till 5:30, and

come back and talk to him. He claimed he was trying

to solve the dilemma. (The ship set sail at 5:00pm.

Waiting till 5:30 pm did not solve the problem. It

only ensured that I had NO ACCESS to my room 3

Nights.)

 

-I had to be physically lifted from my chair to my bed

every night when I wanted to go-to bed.

 

-I was left a note (Slipped under my door, inside the

room that I was unable to go into) kindly stating that

"unfortunately at this time, I was unable to be

provided an upgrade, and to have a great vacation."

Do the people that sign these letters even exist? Did

the moron every think that maybe she/he should

actually look at the problem before she/he sent the

letter to my room? She/he obviously missed the

important fact that I could not get through the door

to retrieve the letter of apologies.

 

-I had to urinate in the trash can when I needed to

relieve myself.

 

-I had to spit into my urinal/trash can while brushing my teeth.

 

-I will spare you the details about my shower....

[Mikew0805]

That is absolutly horrible, I am sorry this happened to you.:(

 

 

-Mike

[Lightsluvr]

I hope RCCL is able to identify the person who gave you the wrong information that a wheelchair would fit in a standard cabin. That is just plain stupid on the part of the RCI rep, and they need to be freed up for the job market. Anyone who has been on a cruise ship knows about that step up into the bathroom. You definitely got some bad information, and there is no excuse for that.

If you used a TA, you should be at his/her doorstep this morning demanding an explanation. If you reserved through RCCL, your confirmation would clearly reflect that you had reserved a handicapped access cabin. (They are designated on the ship's floorplan which is usually provided with your confirmation paperwork.)

When you received your confirmation papers, did you check to verify that your assigned room had one of those handicapped symbols on the floorplan? That would have been the appropriate time to make changes.

It is very unfortunate that you thought you were getting an access room, and you didn't realize the error until you boarded the ship. As you learned, access rooms are limited in number, and must be specifically reserved BEFORE you board. Often they are reserved very early after a cruise is announced. I don't think this is unique to Royal Caribbean.

I hope that your next cruising experience is more rewarding.

 

 

LL

[OceanCruise]

That is so unfortunate. I wonder if the person you spoke with was being very concrete. Did you ask if the wheelchair would fit THROUGH the doorway? That is different than fitting IN the room because many manual chairs can be folded up to fit through a doorway and will indeed be able to fit within the room. Many people use a wheelchair for distances and are able to transfer or take a few steps without it. Did you explain that you are not able to walk at all? Do you have a power chair? Perhaps some of this was miscommunication besides stupidity on the customer service rep's part. So sorry your vacation was ruined. If you have a TA they should have known a non-handicapped room was not appropriate for you. Hope this will not turn you off on cruising altogether.

[TEXASMUNK]

get this in writing to RCI!

[BobBeaSea]

Plainly, this is intolerable. As the previous poster mentioned, RCI's head office must be made aware of this. I can only imagine your distress on this cruise.

[Cruising89143]

I have a question, did you book this cruise directly through the cruise line, through a TA or on line? Just curious as your post does not cleary state this. IMHO whomever took your booking should have known if the room was designated as a handicapped stateroom. I know that you called a toll free number but was that after your booking?

[Stacylee]

This was a horrible situation! I cannot even imagine the situation you were in. However.... I have a question... didn't you view the floor plans BEFORE you booked the cruise? I would think this would be common practice - unless this is your first cruise and you had no idea how 'small' small really is when talking about a stateroom.

 

Cruisers always check room locations - obstructed view, under the pool, near an elevator - so there are no surprises. I looked at the Majesty on RCI and handicapped rooms are clearly marked. I understand that the RCI rep lead you to believe your chair would fit, but I would never take their word on something that important.

[WindinmySails]

Whomever took your reservation--I think wronged you. They are supposed to be trained to ask the right questions inorder to make the guest feel comfortable and have their needs met. You requested a wheelchair room. You knew what was needed and assumed that was what was reserved.

This is one you need to fight for. You even offered them a way out by asking off the ship and asking for a refund, they were very unwise to not take it.

I wish you luck and please let us know how this , if this gets resolved.

[BobBeaSea]

The situation is not everyone checks the deck plans nor should a wheelchair bound person have to. Experienced cruisers will check and members of boards like this will check however we are the vast minority. I am sure the OP has travelled many times before and makes darn sure all involved are aware of the wheelchair situation. I would think cruise availability for those in wheelchairs is slim and I'll bet access is the first thing the OP checked on. The OP even states requesting a wheelchair accessible cabin. Personally, I think someone (not the OP) dropped the ball big-time. The OP should have been refunded the money on the spot and let off the ship, as requested, if it was clear (and it should have been) there were no wheelchair accessible cabins available.

[mheinrich]

-I was told by an individual that I spoke to at

1-800-722-5472 ext. 34492, that my wheelchair would

fit in the room. (I even measured it while I was on

the phone with the individual)

 

 

Maybe it's me, but it sounds to me as if they both knew (her and the res agent) she wasn't booked in a handicap accessible room and were trying to figure out if she would be able to "fit" in a standard room. If you're booked in a handicap accessible room, why would you question if your wheelchair was going to fit and go as far as measuring it?

[gerif]

Maybe it's me, but it sounds to me as if they both knew (her and the res agent) she wasn't booked in a handicap accessible room and were trying to figure out if she would be able to "fit" in a standard room. If you're booked in a handicap accessible room, why would you question if your wheelchair was going to fit and go as far as measuring it?

 

I agree - obviously it was imperative for OP to have a handicapped cabin, including the appropriate bathroom facilities and should not have booked anything other than a handicap accessible room. Perhaps they were already all booked and she and the res. agent just wanted to somehow make it work?

[cjh]

Perhaps they were already all booked and she and the res. agent just wanted to somehow make it work?

 

Most likely by someone that did't need them but wanted the extra room!

[arabrab]

However it happened, I'm horrified that the ship's crew didn't seem to make more of a visible effort to contact each of the parties who were in the wheelchair accessible cabins to determine if they actually required the full accessibility, and if they didn't, to have them move cabins. If they needed to provide an incentive, they could have done so, because the cruelty of subjecting a passenger to this situation is hard to believe. The letter delievered to the passenger is callous, and the person who wrote it should be given a good dose of sensitivity training and his or her manager re-trained as well.

[superjerryw]

I find it incredible that the ship's personnel could not figure out before the ship sailed if the handicapped cabins were indeed occupied. If there are only 4 handicapped cabins it would seem to be a simple matter to determine if the passengers that booked those cabins had arrived on the ship. If the ship sails at 5:00, all the passengers should be on board by 4:00 or 4:30 at the latest. How hard can it be to figure out if anyone was in those cabins. Telling the OP to wait until after the ship sailed was absurd. At the very least the ship should have arranged at their own expense to fly the OP home at the first port. Even if the OP inadvertently booked a regular cabin instead of a handicapped cabin the personnel on the ship should have taken a much different course of action when they became aware of the situation.

[andnickali]

Most likely by someone that did't need them but wanted the extra room!

 

We were specifically told by RC that the handicapped rooms were held until 45 days prior to sailing. Those passengers wishing to book the room during regualr reservatsions were given a form to be filled out by their physician stating their need for the room.

 

45 days prior to sailing those remaining rooms are available for the general public to book. So, there rightly may have been a non-handicapped person staying in a designated room.

 

Case in point- I am traveling with a group on EOS in November. A dear family friend (who is not handicapped) is sailing solo. She booked an interior room on deck 9 and was told to call back 45 days prior to sailing and the reservation could be changed to an available handicapped room. She called- they were available- and she was booked into one.

 

What RC should have done when the OP presented with her problem was to inquire with the passengers booked into those other handicapped rooms and see if any were able and willing to switch rooms. Yes, the rooms are bigger, but who in their right mind would not give up their room to allow wheelchair-bound passenger access to an appropriate stateroom. :confused:

[briri]

Similar thing happened to me in Aug. on NOS....I talked directly with RCCL reservations when deciding on whether take 1 OS or 2 JS for the four of us...was assured that the bathroom door was 32" wide in JS (as was front door) so I took the 2 JSs so we would have an extra bathroom....surprise, the bathroom door was actually 21" wide when we got onboard...went to Guest relations and was told the same thing, "Wait till after 5 while we check"....By that time the boat has sailed and there is liitle that can be done....We ended up keeping the two rooms and putting an extra chair in the bathroom to transfer to....was a huge pain but it didn't ruin our vacation.....RCCL did try to help including trying to take the door frame off (still not wide enough), moving a non HC out of a HC inside room ( I didn't want to trade my JS for an inside).....Went back the next month and stayed in an OS which does have wide enough doors:D ....

 

Not all wheelchair users need HC rooms.....some like myself only need wide enough doors to get thru etc... You'd think that RCCL could answer questions like door widths on their ships accurately...Its not like they are constantly changing:rolleyes:

 

To the OP I'm sorry about your misfortune...complain to RCCL till you are blue in the face....it may not help but hopefully they will eventually get it.

[Nathrina]

I have a question, did you book this cruise directly through the cruise line, through a TA or on line? Just curious as your post does not cleary state this. IMHO whomever took your booking should have known if the room was designated as a handicapped stateroom. I know that you called a toll free number but was that after your booking?

 

I booked through travelocity.com. My mistake I guess.

[Nathrina]

 

Not all wheelchair users need HC rooms.....some like myself only need wide enough doors to get thru etc...

 

Thanks for pointing that out... If the door was wide enough for me to access the room, then I would have FINE! Unfortunately that wasnt the case. Oh well though... I have emailed then, with no reply yet.

[Happy ks]

How awful for you. I tried to search for the ombudsman from Conde Nast Travel magazine, but only found sites to subscribe to the magazine. I think this is an excellent case for an ombudsman to get involved. There is no excuse for a person in a wheelchair to be treated this way.

 

I would hope that you not only are given a refund for this cruise, but that RCI give you an apology and a cruise with no charge involved. This is shameful treatment.

 

I'll add that I'm never a fan of anyone getting a free cruise because of problems onboard a cruise, but this is inexcusable.

 

Please keep us posted on the outcome, I feel you have a lot of support here.

 

Edited to add, if you do happen to have any documentation regarding the handicap accessibility for you as a passenger, the ADA might also be interested in your story.

[Cruising89143]

I booked through travelocity.com. My mistake I guess.

 

I'm not saying that you made a mistake and the reason that I asked about this was a TA or a RCI associate should have known to book you in a handicapped cabin if that is what you requested. I was trying to find out if maybe they dropped the ball.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for pointing that out... If the door was wide enough for me to access the room, then I would have FINE! Unfortunately that wasnt the case. Oh well though... I have emailed then, with no reply yet.

 

Yes but you metioned the bathroom. Every ship that I have sailed has had the raised bathroom floor in a regular stateroom. That would have still caused a problem according to your original comments. Those bathrooms are very small in a regular cabin. No way a wheelchair could fit into one that I can see.

 

Don't expect a reply back overnight. I can take up to three to four weeks for customer service to get back with you.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

It is plain and simple that the ships hotel director should have checked each of the 4 HC cabins and anyone who booked in them not disabled should of been moved. Period.

 

RC (and all other cruise lines) have ships coordinators who handle requests from guests who have special needs and the reservation should be documented that the guest must have a HC cabin to meet his/her needs. It appears this was not done and the pursers/hotel staff really dropped the ball in meeting the OP's needs. I would of had the hotel director come to my cabin and let him/her tell you how you are suppose to get into the bathroom!

 

I feel sorry for the OP who had to cruise under those conditions. Don't give up in pursuing a refund/cruise credit.....you deserve it!

 

 

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