Zaandam nightmare - any advice on what to do next?

We had a terrible cruise with Holland America on the Zaandam from San Diego to Sydney. We'd booked a fully accessible stateroom; completed a 'special requirements form' (I'm a full-time wheelchair user with complex medical needs, but am otherwise self-caring); contacted the Access and Compliance Team and after some months got confirmation that all my needs could be met. We were delighted and eagerly looked forward to our once in a lifetime cruise.

However, once on board we discovered that nothing was as confirmed by HALs Access and Compliance Team. This is a brief outline of some of the problems we experienced. We couldn't get the room cool overnight, meaning neither of us slept properly for 25 nights; I could not use the bathroom independently as the pulldown shower seat with lap strap did not exist; I could not access the balcony - not only was the door very heavy but there was a 3 inch door threshold at the top of the steep ramp; there was no lift to the pool and hot tub - so no water therapy for me. On top of all that the tender lift remained broken for our entire cruise, so I was not able to get ashore at the 4 tender ports.

We complained whilst on board and got nowhere (it was suggested I might like to use the more accessible shower in the gym which was 2 floors up and at the other end of the ship!). We wrote and complained as soon as we got off the Zaandam and 8 weeks later we received a reply from HAL. It was full of apologies, but no acceptance of any responsibilty for meeting my agreed needs. It contained an offer of $500 on board credit on our next HAL cruise. We don't think this comes close to recognising how awful our cruise was and neither of us has any desire to go on another HAL ship. Grateful for any advice on what we should do next.

We had a terrible cruise with Holland America on the Zaandam from San Diego to Sydney. We'd booked a fully accessible stateroom; completed a 'special requirements form' (I'm a full-time wheelchair user with complex medical needs, but am otherwise self-caring); contacted the Access and Compliance Team and after some months got confirmation that all my needs could be met. We were delighted and eagerly looked forward to our once in a lifetime cruise.

 

However, once on board we discovered that nothing was as confirmed by HALs Access and Compliance Team. This is a brief outline of some of the problems we experienced. We couldn't get the room cool overnight, meaning neither of us slept properly for 25 nights; I could not use the bathroom independently as the pulldown shower seat with lap strap did not exist; I could not access the balcony - not only was the door very heavy but there was a 3 inch door threshold at the top of the steep ramp; there was no lift to the pool and hot tub - so no water therapy for me. On top of all that the tender lift remained broken for our entire cruise, so I was not able to get ashore at the 4 tender ports.

 

We complained whilst on board and got nowhere (it was suggested I might like to use the more accessible shower in the gym which was 2 floors up and at the other end of the ship!). We wrote and complained as soon as we got off the Zaandam and 8 weeks later we received a reply from HAL. It was full of apologies, but no acceptance of any responsibilty for meeting my agreed needs. It contained an offer of $500 on board credit on our next HAL cruise. We don't think this comes close to recognising how awful our cruise was and neither of us has any desire to go on another HAL ship. Grateful for any advice on what we should do next.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience on the Zaandam.

Sounds as though HAL booked you in a Modified HC Cabin instead of a Fully Accessible Cabin and did not fully explain that to you. Also if I recall HAl does not advertize having chiar lifts th pool or hot tubs. For future reference the only cruise line that I'm aware that has 1 lift at as pool and Hot Tub fleet wide is RCCL>

I can empathize with your needs and requirements. We just returned from an HAL cruise on the Noordam. Booked an accessible cabin but it turned out to be a modified HC cabin. Having said that, it did meet our needs even though the cabin was 'tight'. I require the use of a mobility scooter wherever I go and the access to the balcony was impossible while on the scooter. I can walk a few feet with a cane so that was how I accessed the balcony.

I did not have any problems on the two tender ports we visited as my scooter is lightweight and can fold down plus my ability to walk a few feet. While I did see people in wheelchairs, I did not see anyone who was wheelchair bound. It would have been impossible on the tenders we rode for them to transport a wheelchair bound person. Since the cruise lines are not bound by U.S. federal ADA requirements, they can sidestep many needs that a handicap cruiser might have.

There also was no lift at the hot tubs but I thought I saw a lift at one of the pools??? Our shower was a wheel-in shower. it had a fold down seat with a strap.

Our A/C was great and almost too cool at times unless you regulated it with the thermostat.

The crew was great in assisting me whenever I needed it so overall, I really cannot complain about HAL. If i ever cruise with them again however, I will make sure my cabin is fully accessible and not modified.

Good luck to you. I hope that HAL can offer some type of resolution that is satisfactory. Remember, the fine print on the cruise contract affords the cruise lines near immunity from problems that cruisers might encounter short of defective equipment that causes injury or death.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience on the Zaandam.

Sounds as though HAL booked you in a Modified HC Cabin instead of a Fully Accessible Cabin and did not fully explain that to you. Also if I recall HAl does not advertize having chiar lifts th pool or hot tubs. For future reference the only cruise line that I'm aware that has 1 lift at as pool and Hot Tub fleet wide is RCCL>

FYI: We recently cruised on Oasis, and while they did have a lift on one of their hot tubs, none of the pools had one. We stayed in an accessible CL suite which was very nice. It even had an elevator. Ufortunately though we were not able to use one of the very nice suite perks on Oasis, the private suite only pool seating. There was no elevator or ramp to get to it. They did have ramps to get to the flow riders though. Go figure!

FYI: We recently cruised on Oasis, and while they did have a lift on one of their hot tubs, none of the pools had one. !

Re: Lifts for Pool and Hot Tub

Did you ask the pool staff as the Oasis is equiped with 1 pool/hot tub that has a lift ? Because kids have tendency to play on them many of the RCCL ships have them disconnected so that the staff can supervise whose actually using it .

Just to clarify, the cruise lines are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. This was confirmed by a Supreme Court decision. However, the ADA accessibility guidelines that cover cruise ships have not been finailized yet.