Princess damaged my wheelchair and will not provide any compensation

[Siouxland Cruiser]

My friend and I took the Princess Alaskan Cruisetour in September 2007. I traveled with a manual wheelchair and we traveled the land portion ahead of our cruise.

Boarding the train from Denali to Whittier, the attendants took the wheelchair from me when we boarded because I was able to stand in their lift to the upper deck. We did not ask them to take the wheelchair, they did not recommend we keep it in our possession nor did they advise us that we were releasing the wheelchair to them at our own risk.

Halfway to Whittier, the train assistant began to lower a disabled passenger to the lower deck via the lift. We all noticed that soon the lift seemed to be stuck or broken. We later learned that the assistant had stored my wheelchair in the empty area below the lift and did not remove the wheelchair before lowering the lift. Thus the lift landed on my wheelchair and bent the back. When we arrived at Whittier, they brought my chair out and we noticed the back was broken. We asked what could be done and they told me to make a report with the purser on the Coral Princess we were just boarding.

I made that report within 1 hour of boarding and Princess did offer me another wheelchair to use during our cruise. They had me complete a claim form which the purser’s office had to sign as having “witnessed/reported”. They told me to mail this “report of loss or damage” when we returned home.

Upon return, I took the wheelchair to a “mobility repair shop” and they declared it was not repairable. I included that report with my claim.

12/10/2007 I received a letter denying my claim, stating “it is strongly recommended that you carry personal items with you at all times when traveling.” I made an appeal based on the fact they did not offer me a choice of keeping my wheelchair with me. On 3/10/2008, they once again denied my claim on the basis I was responsible for my wheelchair.

I am extremely disappointed in Princesses’s stand on this matter and would highly recommend anyone with disabilities NOT use Princess.

[Coral]

Well - that is what Travel Insurance is for....... I hope you filed a claim with your travel insurance.

 

As far as your last comment, I have a parent with a disability. I have taken her on RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival and Princess and I can tell you that Princess handles her disability 100x better than the other cruise lines. So much so, that my mom refuses to travel with RCCL and Celebrity again. We will probably try HAL as I hear they do a great job but the one reason we have cruised so much with Princess is because they receive accolades for how they accomadate/treat those with disabilities.

[Gator83]

Well - that is what Travel Insurance is for....... I hope you filed a claim with your travel insurance.

 

 

I disagree with your comment. To me Princess damaged the wheel chair and they should pay for it. One should not need travel insurance for that. Sounds like Princess had some not very smart staff working that day and they caused the damage. The OP should go up the chain of command at Princess until they pay for the damage.

[jean s]

I think Princess is being unreasonabe. If you weren't given a choice then they are responsible.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree Princess should pay for the repairs. :)

[Pam in CA]

It looks like you've taken it every avenue you can through Princess and disappointing as that is, as Coral says, you should submit a claim through your cruise insurance. Your insurance should cover this and while it would give you more satisfaction to make Princess pay, they know that this is/should be covered by insurance.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I would certainly hope that Princess would have paid this as it clearly seems like they did the damage, what a shame that they won't take responsibility for a silly mistake on their part. Hopefully you have travel insurance so you can at least get some reimbursement and I would keep trying with Princess, who knows maybe you will get someone who has some compassion.

[Bucky3]

Just wondering - were the "assistants" on the train Princess employees or employed by the train company they use? I would think surely somebody would be responsible, but it might be a case of just who! I agree, I would try to get some compensation from whatever insurance you had. Hope it works out for you and that you will report back to us here. Good Luck

[Toto2Kansas]

Although this sounds pretty cut and dried from what the OP posted, I can't help but think there must be more to this. Princess is very good when something like this happens, so it has me wondering if there isn't more to this story somehow??? As someone suggested, maybe not a Princess employee that was at fault? Maybe the train is booked by Princess but not staffed by Princess itself, which in all rights would make the train responsible for the damage?

 

I do agree though, travel insurance should pick this up totally. It is another reason to never travel without it. And I would find it hard to believe that someone with disability issues using a wheelchair would not have travel insurance.

 

Of coarse, if the OP thinks it was a Princess empolyee that caused the damage, I can see why they would expect compensation for this directly from Princess, but something just doesn't sound right with this. Especially since it happened on the train and not on the ship.

Call me a skeptic, just the way my mind works I guess.

[Coral]

Well - that is what Travel Insurance is for....... I hope you filed a claim with your travel insurance.

 

 

I disagree with your comment. To me Princess damaged the wheel chair and they should pay for it. One should not need travel insurance for that. Sounds like Princess had some not very smart staff working that day and they caused the damage. The OP should go up the chain of command at Princess until they pay for the damage.

 

My point was - if Princess doesn't pay, that is what travel insurance is for. To pay for things that happen on the trip if they are not paid for through other avenues.

 

Cruise lines, airlines ruin luggage all the time and it is impossible to get them to pay for that. I see this similar to wheelchairs.

 

Believe me - I am very conscious of disability issues, as I have a parent who is disabled and definitely advocate for disabled cruisers.

[Pam in CA]

I disagree with your comment. To me Princess damaged the wheel chair and they should pay for it. One should not need travel insurance for that. Sounds like Princess had some not very smart staff working that day and they caused the damage. The OP should go up the chain of command at Princess until they pay for the damage.

I agree with Coral. This IS what insurance is for. And, you don't know for sure that it was a Princess employee and not a railroad employee who was responsible. The OP uses the term "train assistant," not "Princess staff" or "Princess guide" so that leads me to believe that it was an employee of the train and not the cruiseline.

[Lynda90]

I also agree with Coral. She is not saying that someone should not be responsible for this, she is merely saying that if no one will claim responsibility, it is time to file a claim through your travel insurance. Hopefully, you had it.

[robin6666]

I have to agree too that Princess treats people with disabilities with utmost respect. We took my mom on a cruise in 2003. She used a manuel wheelchair at the time. We brought our own...but unfortunately one of the wheels broke while we were on the ship. Not only did Princess provide us a wheelchair for her to use for the remainder of the cruise, but they took our wheelchair...sent it to their maintanence shop....and had it repaired and waiting for us on disembarkation. And this was all at no cost.

 

Robin

[crusdiva]

We asked what could be done and they told me to make a report with the purser on the Coral Princess we were just boarding.

I made that report within 1 hour of boarding and Princess did offer me another wheelchair to use during our cruise. They had me complete a claim form which the purser’s office had to sign as having “witnessed/reported”. They told me to mail this “report of loss or damage” when we returned home.

 

I have to agree too that Princess treats people with disabilities with utmost respect. We took my mom on a cruise in 2003. She used a manuel wheelchair at the time. We brought our own...but unfortunately one of the wheels broke while we were on the ship. Not only did Princess provide us a wheelchair for her to use for the remainder of the cruise, but they took our wheelchair...sent it to their maintanence shop....and had it repaired and waiting for us on disembarkation. And this was all at no cost.

Robin

 

I wonder if perhaps this is a simple case of: "It's not what you say, but how you say it?"

[bubbadog]

call the ada,they'll help i'm sure,princess should pay for it period:rolleyes:

[cjh]

call the ada,they'll help i'm sure,princess should pay for it period:rolleyes:

 

What would the ADA do? She wasn't denied access and the ships aren't bound to the ADA.

 

I have 2 kids in wheelchairs and agree that Princess is great.

 

If you need a chair then it should stay with you at all times. Airlines break chairs all the time and don't pay. Also if the back was broke it can be repaired as I take chairs apart all the time. Sounds like the vendor wants the money for a new one.

 

Also if your doctor writes another prescription for a new chair your insurance will pay for it if you have documentation that the old one can't be repaired.

[Bob Winters]

I am very surprised by the answers to this problem. First of all, and although it is wrong, not everyone takes insurance out before they cruise. Second of all if the poster says the wheel chair is not replaceable, lets believe them. This person sounds very frustrated with the situation and is writing to us for advice. I have also had a lot of success with Princess with disability issues but in this situation I have to agree with Toto. I too am wondering if there is something in this story that is missing. That being said, if everything is the way we read this and I do mean everything, Princess should be responsible and personally, I would keep going up the chain of command until Princess paid for a new chair.

Good luck.

Bob Winters

[LisaH]

I agree Princess should pay for the wheelchair but given the fact that so far they have not, the OP hopefully had travel insurance and should file a claim. Then your travel insurance company can try to get their money back from Princess - just like a car accident situation - when one insurance company refuses to pay, the other can pay their client and then go back and try and get the money from the other.

 

At least the OP will be compensated one way or the other assuming they had travel insurance for the trip.

[Toto2Kansas]

I have an important question for the OP, I hope they return to this thread, as the answer could solve this.

Not being disrespectful here, but did you possibly file a claim with insurance, and then also expect princess to pay on top of that claim since you felt it was their fault? Trying to figure out a little more of this story without any real details, but guessing.

 

A little more to this story was posted on the disabled cruising board about giving up the wheelchair because it can not be loaded to the top of the train in the Dome rail cars. And if the passenger does not want to take the train in the area set aside for those disabled passengers, then the wheelchair has to be stowed.

Not an excuse for the damage by any means. But as said ealier, there is a lot more to this story I think. Hopefully, the OP will return and fill us in on the rest, as I am very curious why Princess did not take care of this, and I feel there has to be a reason.

[Marque]

The travel insurance company may have excluded any loss relating directly or indirectly to the disability as a preexisting condition. So the loss may not be covered.

[LisaH]

The travel insurance company may have excluded any loss relating directly or indirectly to the disability as a preexisting condition. So the loss may not be covered.

 

 

An excellent point...

[M&MCruisin]

My friend and I took the Princess Alaskan Cruisetour in September 2007. I traveled with a manual wheelchair and we traveled the land portion ahead of our cruise.

Boarding the train from Denali to Whittier, the attendants took the wheelchair from me when we boarded because I was able to stand in their lift to the upper deck. We did not ask them to take the wheelchair, they did not recommend we keep it in our possession nor did they advise us that we were releasing the wheelchair to them at our own risk.

 

Halfway to Whittier, the train assistant began to lower a disabled passenger to the lower deck via the lift. We all noticed that soon the lift seemed to be stuck or broken. We later learned that the assistant had stored my wheelchair in the empty area below the lift and did not remove the wheelchair before lowering the lift. Thus the lift landed on my wheelchair and bent the back. When we arrived at Whittier, they brought my chair out and we noticed the back was broken. We asked what could be done and they told me to make a report with the purser on the Coral Princess we were just boarding.

 

I made that report within 1 hour of boarding and Princess did offer me another wheelchair to use during our cruise. They had me complete a claim form which the purser’s office had to sign as having “witnessed/reported”. They told me to mail this “report of loss or damage” when we returned home.

 

Upon return, I took the wheelchair to a “mobility repair shop” and they declared it was not repairable. I included that report with my claim.

 

12/10/2007 I received a letter denying my claim, stating “it is strongly recommended that you carry personal items with you at all times when traveling.” I made an appeal based on the fact they did not offer me a choice of keeping my wheelchair with me. On 3/10/2008, they once again denied my claim on the basis I was responsible for my wheelchair.

 

I am extremely disappointed in Princesses’s stand on this matter and would highly recommend anyone with disabilities NOT use Princess.

 

Hi OP...sorry for your trouble...just curious as to why you wrote the last statement in tiny print? If you are dissapointed, you are free to express your opinion. My question is did you tell them you would rather keep the wheelchair with you or did you just go along with their request to take it from you?

 

Second...where the people operating the train rude to you or did they try to assist you with the problem?

 

Third...isnt the train owned and operated by Princess? I was under the impression it was theirs, but Ive never been so Im not sure.

[Pam in CA]

First of all, and although it is wrong, not everyone takes insurance out before they cruise.

This is very true. However, everyone is given the option of taking out insurance and if they decide not to do so for whatever reason, then they are self-insuring. It's their choice and they can't come back afterwards and say, "Oh, but... I didn't expect 'X' to happen." We sometimes see posts by people who have self-insured and want Princess to compensate them or refund their money for something that wasn't expected.

[cjh]

An excellent point...

 

 

Not really because anyone that has a disability would find insurance that allows pre-existing. I know because I have 2 kids that are disabled and Princess insurance allows pre-existing conditions.

[Bob Winters]

This is very true. However, everyone is given the option of taking out insurance and if they decide not to do so for whatever reason, then they are self-insuring. It's their choice and they can't come back afterwards and say, "Oh, but... I didn't expect 'X' to happen." We sometimes see posts by people who have self-insured and want Princess to compensate them or refund their money for something that wasn't expected.

 

Pam, I have followed many of your posts in the past and find you extremely informative and usually right on with your comments. My point on this is unless there is something that we do not know about that was left off the original post, Princess Cruises should have jump into this quickly and made THEIR customer happy. I do not know if this cruiser depends on the wheelchair on a daily basis, but they should not be without their "transpertation for even one day. The more I write about this the more I think that Toto is correct.

I am not even sure that Insurance would pay for the wheelchair. They have their policies as well. Please excuse the pun.

Bob