Interpreter

I am so excited. The one reason why I chose Royal Caribbean is because they are the only cruise that I could find that will provide a sign language interpreter the entire cruise without having to book a deaf group cruise. That means my husband and myself can enjoy ourselves and the ship is accessible for me!! I'm so happy!

My friend (deaf) and I (hard-of-hearing) are booked for a Celebrity cruises next year. I requested the hearing impaired package for our room which includes a light activated door bell, light for the phone and alarm clock plus other features. I also requested an interpreter for the duration of the cruise and they are supposed to provide one.

I have gone on cruises before and have not really enjoyed the shows and such so hopefully this will help. I am not sure what to expect though. But it did not hurt to asked for the assistance and Celebrity came through for us.

Note: The Royal Caribbean Company I believe owns the Celebrity line so they maybe providing these benefits for us on all their ships.

Steve

I'm so glad to know that! I am excited too because I used Carnival last time and couldn't enjoy the shows. I actually called Carnival and they don't provide this service. I haven't thought about RCI's other holding companies but then I don't know that much about it. Aren't you excited to be going with so much acccessibility. I know I am!

Yes, I am very excited about this cruise. The last cruise we did not see any of the shows or things such that. Since they were not enjoyable if you cannot understand what is going on. I am not sure how accessible the interpreter is through out the cruise though so I am going with low expectations. However, I have been told that they will be available whenever you need them. Sounds promising.

Make sure you get the added hearing devices called a portablity kit added to your room as well if they offer them. It includes a TDD. I think RCL should offer the same thing if they also run the Celebrity line. I had the steward walk in on me one time when I did not have my hearing aids on. That was a little embarrassing. All television since the early 1990's are cc so you should not have a problem with that. Some of the on board ship tv annoucements may not be captioned. However, that information should be provided in the daily newsletter.

I actually called Carnival and they don't provide this service.

 

This isn't true. I sailed CCL with a Deaf friend and CCL not only had an interpreter for her but for her Deaf 4 year old daughter. I think you must have had bad information. CCL and Royal/Celeb. are the best for this policy!

Carnival flip-flops alot -- sometimes they say the will provide them and sometimes not. There really is no rhyme or reason as to what their answer will be. But if they say they won't it's a good idea to go elsewhere. I've had tons of good reviews about RCI interpreter service though. they carry a pager and you can prearrange something with them or just page them. the system seems to work well.

candy

My only concern is they said that the interpreter will go on shore excursions with me. Would this still be true if I book private excursions?

don't really know about the terp going on individual shore tours. Folks I've talked to said they just went "everywhere they requested". check with RCI (ask the direct question) to confirm.

One thing, if you book a shore tour on your own you may have to pay the terp's fare. Some companies (outside of the US) may waive it, but to some companies "a passenger is a passenger" . If you do a shiptour, then you won't have to worry about the terp's fare.

Candy

I'm having no luck starting a new thread, keep on getting fatal error. So, I'll try to get help on this post.

Does anyone have any experience wearing BTE (behind the ear) hearing aids on a cruise, and, did you have problems with the humidity? Any tips? THANX

I've worn a BTE hearing aid on at least 15 cruises and never had a problem with humidity. The ship is air conditioned so you're not in humidity all the time. Now I have a cochlear implant and have not had any humidity problems with that.

Be sure you try out the Assistive Listening Systems in the show lounge - much much better than trying to hear with hearing aids alone.

Thanx for replying............what are the Assisted Listening Devices? Are they in certain areas or are they portable? Do you reserve one?

Hi Cali-Croozer,

I carry a spare set of BTE hearing aids with me for the shore excursions. That way if there is any water involved, I am not paranoid about my expensive digital hearing aids. I can relax and enjoy myself a little more.

Another suggestion is take a small zip-lock bag or water-proof container.

Also, my friend has a cochlear implant and it came with a dehumidifier. We are going for a 2-week trip so we will dry all the aids out mid-way through the cruise. However, I have been on other cruises and have had no problems either. If you go for one week you should not need to worry about it.

Unless you happen to fall in the water, drop them in the sink or toilet, or something similar. I have done all those before and my hearing aids were just fine. I am very clumsy. I blew them out with a hair dryer. Then took them in for service the first chance I got. Just explained to the audiologist what had happened and they check it out.

Whiterose,

I have used assistive listening devices in classroom environments, but never in a lounge show. I used an FM-Loop around my neck and the speaker had a microphone. Worked pretty good. In the movie theaters, they use headphones and that stinks.

How does the technology work with the lounge? Is it radio frequency that works with the telephone mode on the units? Also, my friend who has the cochlear implant would like to know how will that work as well? Will or could it connect directly to the unit like the TV or sound system hookup? We were not going to lug all the equipment with us but should we bring along the adaptors that came with the cochlear unit?

Cali-Croozer,

I believe you are traveling on Carnival, correct? If not, your cruise line should have the same kind of posting on their web site.

Go to this link

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Templates/EMB_guest_special_requirements.aspx

There is a number to call for special assistance. It is not just for people in a wheelchair. You should request a hearing impairment kit. They will also be aware of you needs when you board the ship. I have never sailed on carnival so I do not know what they offer. Also, you could let your travel agent know and they can take care of all this for you. That is how I do it for the interpreting, in-suite hearing divices and so forth. All TVs are closed captioned now a days, but not all the programs or announcements may be CCed.

Thanx for replying............what are the Assisted Listening Devices? Are they in certain areas or are they portable? Do you reserve one?

They are the same as the ones you can get at all theaters, movie houses, some churches etc in the USA (required by the ADA Americans with Disabilities Act) On land you just ask at the box office (they are free) but on board I'd start by asking someone on the cruise directors staff and if that fails ask the Purser. It varies from ship to ship. I'm most familiar with Princess and can tell you that older ships like the Regal and Royal do not have them but I've been told that all the other newer ships have them. They probably don't have any signs - don't ask me why they are so shy about it. Some ships may have an electrical jack at each seat in the show lounge so you just plug the headset in.

Most likely you will be given headphones to pick up the sound. If your BTE aids have a T coil for telephone use, you can ask for a neckloop receiver and then just turn your aids to T. Your audiologist should be able to tell you more about listening systems. I think its criminal that so many of them never tell their clients about these wonderful systems. Before the cruise I really recommend that you talk to your audiologist and try out some systems on land. That way you will know what kind of receiver works for you and you'll be better able to help the staff - I bet many of these systems have never been used and the staff doesn't know anything about them. VERY IMPORTANT - MAKE SURE THE DEVICE HAS FRESH BATTERIES.

With my cochlear implant I use my own personal patch cord to plug the listening system receiver directly into my implant box.

Assistive listening systems can also be portable and on the old Rotterdam I was given the use of a system for small group discussions and classes.

Good luck. You may have to make a bit of a fuss to get what you need but it's worth it.

Thanx everyone. I was actually asking for my son, who has a mild to moderate loss and wears digital BTEs. On our last cruise, he didn't wear them at all, unless he wanted to watch TV. Same at Disneyworld.....too much hassle with all the rides, etc. He'll probably be using them on this cruise from dinner time on (that's when I noticed he didn't hear some of the things the wait staff was saying). By then, there are no more water activities. We'll just leave them on the ship during shore excursions since we usually go to the beach at each port.

I will take the little packages of silica that come in shoe boxes to dry them out several times. I worry too much sometimes!;)

scbntraveler......yes, going on Carnival. I would just freak if he dropped them in water, but since you have done it and the world did not end, I can now handle it better, if it ever should happen!:D

When I was a kid, my mom used to take us swimming all the time. Well, one time I had jumped in and swam for a few minutes. My mom sat down and started to read a book. She suddenly realized she grabbed my sister's hearing aids but not mine. I never saw her move so fast as to pull me out of that pool.

I would still keep an eye on son and try to keep aids as dry as possible. My dog chewed up one of my aids several years back because I fell asleep on the sofa and it fell out. They are not indistructable. Hearing aids are not cheap so its okay to be a little worried about them.

Well, I hope you guys have a enjoyable trip.:p

I use BTE aids and I don't worry so much about them except on water activities. I put them in waterproof ziplock baggies then another waterproof container and carry them with me. I'm stone deaf without them so I don't do without them for long if I can help it. Otherwise I wear it everywhere. A quick hint if you ever get too much humidity in it (I live in Texas and never have a problem) put on your tv and turn your tv on overnight. The heat and vibration helps. Most of the time I never have any problems whatsoever with humidity. I went on a cruise previously and since I did no water activities, I never took it off except to go to sleep and take a shower. It was perfectly fine. I'm used to wearing my aid all the time so I view it as an extention of me and never think twice about it. I realize they are expensive, and yes as a child I destroyed a few, but as an adult I don't worry much about them anymore because I know their limits and it is a lot further than you might think.

Thanx for everyone's replies and tips. :)

Hi,

I read through the messages pretty fast so I'm not sure if anyone answered the question about having interpreters go on the shore excursions or not. Yes, they will go with you. Their arrangements are made through RCCL's main office and all the main players on the ship are supposed to be informed that interpreters will be on board.

Once you know what tours you are going on, notify the interpreters immediately so that they can inform the shore excursion manager. One problem we ran into is we waited a couple of days of being on the ship. We were able to reserve/book an excursion, but by the time the interpreters went to get their tickets, they were told it was sold out. Luckily, the manager made special arrangements and got an extra pair of tickets. The best thing to do is book your excursions EARLY leaving enough time for the interpreters to make arrangements.

On a side note, interesting about Carnival. We used to sail Carnival and each time we asked about interpreters (3 or 4 times), we were told they do not provide them. It makes me wonder if something changed??? I would say overall, it's not consistent. Celebrity and RCCL provide interpreters. I believe Disney cruises do too. Anyway, best of luck. If you have any questions, let me know. When it comes to get interpreters for our RCCL cruises, we are old pros at it.

Can you book terps for private excursions? Will the cruise line try to get tickets for those types of excursions? I'm wanting, for example, to book with Captain Bryan's stingray tour. It's smaller than the mass tour that goes with the ship and cheaper.

I don't know about booking terps for private excursions, but I do know that the shore tour dept will only get tickets for *their* tours. It's a competition thing -- they want you to book their tours as they make money on them plus they have promised their providers that they will only promote ship-sponsored shore tours. There is a lot of politics involved in it. I agree some of the other tours are smaller and a better deal, but you have to book those on your own.

Candy

Hi! I agree with Candy. I would seriously doubt that they would pay the shore excursions with another private company. Of course, it doesn't hurt to ask. If they don't pay for the interpreters, your only option would be to either contact Captain Bryan and see if they would allow the interpreters to go for free since they would be "working". The only concern is whether or not they would allow the interpreters to participate in the tour. I'm assuming it's snorkeling so they may let the interpreters go on the ride, but not snorkel. Something to ask about. That may not matter to you as long as the tour is interpreted.

When we went on a RCCL shore excursion, we had no problem with the interpreters snorkeling on their own. They interpreted the tour, the instructions, and then they got to snorkel. The interpreters are there to work, but at the same time we wanted them to enjoy themselves as well. Each person is different.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Hi! I agree with Candy. I would seriously doubt that they would pay the shore excursions with another private company. Of course, it doesn't hurt to ask. If they don't pay for the interpreters, your only option would be to either contact Captain Bryan and see if they would allow the interpreters to go for free since they would be "working". The only concern is whether or not they would allow the interpreters to participate in the tour. I'm assuming it's snorkeling so they may let the interpreters go on the ride, but not snorkel. Something to ask about. That may not matter to you as long as the tour is interpreted.

 

When we went on a RCCL shore excursion, we had no problem with the interpreters snorkeling on their own. They interpreted the tour, the instructions, and then they got to snorkel. The interpreters are there to work, but at the same time we wanted them to enjoy themselves as well. Each person is different.

 

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Hello

We are from Scottish

We are going to med. cruise with Disney Magic Cruise.

We never been europe like Rome, Italy and France.

I write to DCL asking for interpreter as myself, my husband and my daughter are deaf and have one hearing son.

They told us not know yet as it is for Next year July 07.

I wrote and asking if we pay interpreter to come with us at excursion. Got reply that they said not allowed for interpreter go go outside of the Cruise?

So I don't know if we get an interpreter for 10 days cruise as we went last April that they were offered us an interpreter, minicom etc which was nice of them.

but this time, we still don't know about an interpreter as it will be hard for us as 3 of us are deaf. We still don't know about their excursion well.

As they told us to write within 90 days before our times on Cruise!!

If anyone who had been cruise and had been interpreter to escursion, please let me know.

Thank you

Scottishwee35

Hi,

I think when they say write 90 day before they mean you must ask for interpreter 90 days before. I know Disney Cruiseline does provide interpreters for their cruises, but I'm not sure about the excursions. I would be surprised if they didn't. I thought Disney did provide interpreters. There are 3 cruise lines: Royal Carribean, Celebrity, and Disney that provide interpreters. I only wonder if it is different if it is a mediterrian cruise. We always cruise around the United States in Carribean or Alaska. I'm not sure about Europe.

My parents are deaf and my roommate is deaf and for Royal Carribean, the interpreter always goes on excursion for free.

Since you live in Scotland, I could call for you and ask Disney if they let the interpreter go on excursions. Would you like me to do that?

Also, I'm curious...what language do you use? Does Scotland have their own sign language? By the way, I am an interpreter too.

Scotland uses BSL. scottishwee35, you definitely need to tell DCL with plenty of advance warning that you want a BSL interpreter, unless you understand ASL. They will definitely expect to provide an ASL interpreter unless you tell them you need BSL.

About the excursions...every cruise line is different. I am not familiar with DCL's policies, but if they said they only use interpreters on the ship, that might be true. If a ship is visiting a U.S. port then they are required to follow the laws of the ADA, but that doesn't apply if you are going to Meditteranean only.

PS: I am an ASL interpreter too :)