attended mtg of h/c pax on the NCL Dawn

[EileenN]

Just returned tonight from the NCL Dawn 10 day cruise with DD in a W/C and I use a walker at times. Some one onboard requested a time and place for the h/c pax on board to meet and discuss the needs of h/c passangers while cruising on NCL ships. The ship gave us a place and published it in the dailies so that others could participate. There was a nice group for a first time event. It was so successful that they set up another time and place on the route home for a second meeting. This time a rep from NCL attended the meeting to relay the suggestions to the proper authorities. It was informative and a good deal of sharing of ideas and suggestions made it helpful for future cruises. It has been suggeted that other passangers on any line consider doing the same thing to inform the cruise lines that wewould probably favor a cruise line that would work with us to make a sailing vacation more comfortable. What do you think about this? It was done on the sea days in the later afternoon.

[Amy from Delaware]

I think it's a great idea. My (wheelchairbound) DH and I are planning our first cruise, which will be on Explorer of the Seas.

 

Did you learn anything specific at the meeting that would be of benefit to those of us who read this board on CruiseCritic?

 

Thanks for sharing! :)

[EileenN]

We learned that many of the cruisers on board did not know about cruise critic and how helpful the boards have been in planning excursions for the h/c pax. We also learned that it should be a common request on all cruise lines to meet with a crew rep to express our frustrations with the hope that changes on future ships can be made.

[NorthernLite]

Just returned tonight from the NCL Dawn 10 day cruise with DD in a W/C and I use a walker at times. Some one onboard requested a time and place for the h/c pax on board to meet and discuss the needs of h/c passangers while cruising on NCL ships. The ship gave us a place and published it in the dailies so that others could participate. There was a nice group for a first time event. It was so successful that they set up another time and place on the route home for a second meeting. This time a rep from NCL attended the meeting to relay the suggestions to the proper authorities. It was informative and a good deal of sharing of ideas and suggestions made it helpful for future cruises. It has been suggeted that other passangers on any line consider doing the same thing to inform the cruise lines that wewould probably favor a cruise line that would work with us to make a sailing vacation more comfortable. What do you think about this? It was done on the sea days in the later afternoon.

 

I think this is a wonderful idea as most of my better self arranged shore excursions were due to all of you. And I really mean that! Our last cruise was the Celebrity Galaxy 14 day in October round trip Rome through the Greek Islands, overnight in Istanbul, Constanta (Romania) and Odessa (Ukraine), Athens and Naples. I have been in Istanbul's Blue Mosque (wheelchair accessible just not OUR chairs. We must remove our "dirty chair just as they remove shoes. A clean chair is provided and hopefully you have some help if you cannot transfer aloone and our a woman. My DH and male guide did a great job and leaving 2 other local men saw a need, helped with carrying my chair down the tourist steps and then disappeared before I can barely say thank you.), to the top of the Acropolis in Athens that RCCL swore was not accessible (go around back and taxis can take you to a construction elevator where a guide helps you and hopefully a companion stay safely locked in til the top. They also take those who can walk a bit but can't handle the rocks going up.); lunch in Rhodes and experiencing an entire new kind of stone roadway, etc.

 

And I would not have been set to the Guest Relations desk when we were denied reentry into the main port that includes the cruise ships in Constanta. Once we found that some taxis do and some taxis do not have security passes into the port we switched taxis at the gate. The brand new white shore excursion buses from the ship whizzed right past as we found that security also did not recognize sea passes or cards but wanted our passports. Kind of difficult as the ship held all passports. I assume they think noone would brave Romania on their own. We finaly haggled a deal with the security at the port (natives) and our new taxi driver (native) and made it back to the ship. The Security Officer wasn't interested. He appeared to think we wanted credit for 2 taxis!! It's not like handing out passports is difficult. That night all of us had them at turndown for Odessa as Ukraine still matches faces to passports. End of story? A call to the Department of State on return here to the Romanian desk to someone who understood everthing once he asked what a "sea pass" was. LOL I believe the consular office in Constanta will be talking to port security and if that doesn't straighten out the disabled and/or other morons who tour on their own problem then the cruise lines will be instructed to hand out passports for Romania also.

 

So yes, I'd definetely attend any gathering to do with trading information that helps both sides.

[EileenN]

I think it is important to recognize that such a meeting to share ideas will not happen if someone doesn't initiate it on board for each cruise. If early in the cruise, someone talks to the cruise director and asks for a notice of the meeting to be listed in the dailies for a sea day...and the use of a room...they will never happen. We need to be proactive about letting the cruise lines know we have a voice and asking for a rep of the staff to attend and listen to the complaints and praises. The cruise lines will recognize that we can be vocal and offer good advertisement for them if they can continue to meet our needs.

[NorthernLite]

I think it is important to recognize that such a meeting to share ideas will not happen if someone doesn't initiate it on board for each cruise. If early in the cruise, someone talks to the cruise director and asks for a notice of the meeting to be listed in the dailies for a sea day...and the use of a room...they will never happen. We need to be proactive about letting the cruise lines know we have a voice and asking for a rep of the staff to attend and listen to the complaints and praises. The cruise lines will recognize that we can be vocal and offer good advertisement for them if they can continue to meet our needs.

 

I hope the newer Celebrity Century can handle it next December. I can be disgustingly thankful when something doesn't take a fight and very, well, pointed when something very obvious seems to take coke bottle eye glasses for the lines to see. They have yet to add in their 2007 brochures that besides the old 7 oceanviews and 1 inside down on deck 5 they now have 2 accessible Sky Suites on the Sport Deck. All those new cabins and only 2 wheelchair accessible? And obviously they prefer not advertising that the 2 suites are for either able bodied or handicapped. Or at least that is what I assume.

[montlee]

We have sailed on many RCCL cruises, including twice on the Explorer. We take our own W/C, but ask for their help pushing it onboard and off the ship. Thus, they know we have H/C status. We got notices in our rooms each cruise telling us of a meeting like this poster is describing. They were extremely co-operative. They even had a special place for us to wait for disembarkation. The only problem was the non H/C taking up all the seats so the family members of the H/C had no where to sit.

 

Had RCCL put up a sign indicating 'H/C and family', it might have helped. But, you've always got the people who don't read signs or those who read them and don't pay attention!

[Hebe]

Nothern Lites

How did you find out about the suites. We are on the Century for 3 future cruises and were only offered the outside rooms as an option. We even booked before the cruise was announced to the public.

 

We were told that we would not fit in a Sky Suite with a wheelchair.

[CruisinMK]

Have to say the NCL Dawn has some great rooms for Handicap.

If you can book the minisuite rooms 11116 or 11616 you love it.

# Balcony Square Footage (54)

# Cabin Square Footage (247)

NCL has many ships designed just like the Dawn that should be similar:

Norwegian Gem

 

Norwegian Pearl

 

Pride of Hawaii

 

Norwegian Jewel

 

Norwegian Star

 

The american flagged ships on NCL have good itineraries in hawaii, only one port requires tendering they are happy to haul the wheelchairs on that one. Hawaii is pretty handicap friendly generally

[KL&KR]

We initiated 2 meetings, one on the 11/05 Princess Regal RT to Panama, and another this last year, 11/06 Dawn Princess Mexican Riviera. The Panama meeting was wonderful--we just wish we had done it outward-bound instead of on the way home! People had great information to share, and one W/C user even got a piece of equipment fixed by someone else who had dealt with the product before. I agree that cruise lines should set these meetings up automatically--w/c pax often have a can-do, self-help attitude that would help us solve problems that the ships are knowledgeable about. Also, it was w/c users "marketing" to each other that got enough people together to hire an accessible tour bus in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, through Swiss Travel in San Jose.

Kristen