bigger passenger

[LuLaLuvlee]

Be sure to let the special needs department know about the apnea machine. On Celebrity they supplied my distilled water and a nice long extension cord for it.

 

ALSO you can request that the folks who do the inspections when you fly change their gloves before checking your apnea machine (it is medical equipment and doe not count towards your baggage).

[AmoMondo]

I've just come accross this thread and thought I'd add my tuppence worth. I used to travel a lot with my friend who is extremely large, including 2 cruises. sadly she no longer travels anywhere as her health has deteriorated too much. However when we did travel, I'd say generally she experienced less issues and intolerance/prejudice on the cruises than she did on other holidays with me. planes were definitely a much worse issue.

 

The ones she did encounter on the 2 cruises

- shower size, was a bit of a struggle for her on the first cruise. Second one had a bath and that was too narrow for her but it was easier to use for a shower

- first cruise we had an outside with blacony but there was not much "clearnace" room around the bed and she tended to have to move the bed in order to get around the bed to open the balcony door, second cruise we had a suite, so less issue with space in the cabin

she found the bench seats in the dining room easier than the others especially those wioth arms but did fit it to the other chairs

- only major problem was when we did a shore excursion in Grenada. The bus was smallish and the gangway narrow, She could nt get along the gangway regardless of which way she turned. The couple in the 2 front seats moved back and gave her their seat, I had to sit a few rows back as I could ot fit on the seat beside her. had the couple not moved, she would not have been able to take part in the shore excursion at all. As it was, it was pretty embarrassing for her

 

Other than those things, no other issues at all.

[MissRabbit]

thanks for your tuppence amomondo (never used that word before!)

it's interesting to hear it from the POV of someone travelling with a larger passenger. I know my husband takes it all in stride and does what he can to ensure things are taken care of. (asks for seatbelt extenders when we board planes, scouts restaurants for appropriate seating etc) I've always wondered how much of a PITA it is for him to deal with these issues when, if he wasn't with me, he would never have a need to bother with them.

 

My major stress when travelling revolves around my weight. I'm not stressing about visiting ports, or cruising or anything. I'm stressing about moveable armrests, walking for miles through airports, along port piers. I'm stressing about having seating on the ship that has no armrests (hard to find), about the room around toilets in cabins, about entries into pools, about transportation to and during an excursion, whether i can even GO on the excursion etc etc. Last but not least, i'm stressing about the looks i get, the rude comments and the 'tudes like i'm the plague.

 

I am so grateful to have a husband who works with me on dealing with this issues, like your friend had with you. So thank you :)

 

and thanks to the OP for creating a thread where someone like me can go to have an outlet to relieve some of that stress.

 

*end transmission*

[pdoeringer]

I was big, not that heavy, but have had a lapband and I am not getting smaller. I would suggest a handicapped room as the shower is meant to get a wheelchair into it and the toilet is more accessable along with much larger doors. I have bad knees and use a scooter and the handicapped rooms are much bigger then a regular room. See if there are any available on your cruise.

 

I am not sure if Carnival has a handicapped roomsetup, as we have not been on Carnival for over 10 years.

[Jules59]

Bump

[panbear]

Good day everyone, this is my first post. I have to say I have been laughing reading this thread and Miss Rabbit as a fellow BCer I had to befriend you, your posts made me laugh out loud. Please don't think it stalkerish of me!!! :)

My first cruise was on NCL Windward back in 1996, sadly it is only now that I am in a position to afford and take time off for more. I am currently booking the NCL Dawn for Feb 2011. I can't even think I so excited.

I am also a "fluffy" (read: fat chick) and I found the cruising to be very fat friendly. I am sure they may have thought at some time OMG but too bad. I had armless chairs when i asked, friend service and no other issues.

The one thing that made the trip is we (my mom and I) booked a handicap acces. room. That really made a difference for me. Larger bathroom that a wheel chair can get into, lots of room and a bonus most of those rooms come with couch bed as they are designed for up to 3 passengers.

I loved the trip, hence why I am booking again.

Now the flight there.......... that may be another story. And not to sound too much like a snob I may fly first class. Mom and I did that last time and it was a pleasant change, even if I still needed a seat belt extender!!!

 

Great to meet you all and look forward to getting to know everyone!!

[MissRabbit]

welcome to Cruise Critic, panbear :)

 

where in BC are you? I'm out on the island.

 

Hope you have a great time on the Dawn. This will be my first time on NCL, but i'm so looking forward to the Pearl as every stinkin public space has chairs/sofas i can use. Well, except for the theatre and Le Bistro and possibly the Great Outdoors. But other than that lololol.

 

We just made our final pmnt for our cruise so there's no turning back. So nervous about going though. We'll be in the caribbean, lots of sun, lots of beaches so major self-consciousness on my part. Oh well, c'est la vie.

 

Nice to meet you, my stalker :D

[panbear]

LOL. I'm in northern BC, I love it but it sure can make flying anywhere expensive. Have you found a particular fat-friendly airline in your travels?

 

The Pearl is a sister ship to Dawn so you have to tell us all how it goes.

 

I am a bit nervous too about the sun and shorts etc but too damn bad, I'm just going to work on enjoying it. We are going to check out disney world for a bit before we sail as well so I'll be really looking forward to the relaxing!!!!!

[MissRabbit]

LOL. I'm in northern BC, I love it but it sure can make flying anywhere expensive. Have you found a particular fat-friendly airline in your travels?

 

The Pearl is a sister ship to Dawn so you have to tell us all how it goes.

 

I am a bit nervous too about the sun and shorts etc but too damn bad, I'm just going to work on enjoying it. We are going to check out disney world for a bit before we sail as well so I'll be really looking forward to the relaxing!!!!!

 

if you read back a few pages, we were discussing airlines a bit. In my travels, i have found Continental and Alaska to be the best. (alaska even offers a refund on the 2nd seat if the flight isn't full). They have the best planes (regarding armrests) and websites (regarding information for larger passengers). Obviously Southwest has had the worst report with dealing with overweight passengers, which is why i'll never fly with them, but they could be much better now, who knows. Delta seems to not be very fat-friendly as far as non-moving aisle armrests and in the basic dealing with the 2nd seat/armrest issues when calling them directly. But that could also have just been my individual experience and they're really much better than what i've run into.

 

I finally ended up going with Delta even though their aisle armrests don't move, simply because the prices bottomed out and i wasn't going to pay several hundred bucks more, just to fly Continental both ways.

 

As for the Pearl, I am planning on taking plenty of photos and videos of the seating to hopefully help others wanting to take her in the future. There really isn't a lot out there online specifically geared to accessibility for larger passengers. Man would i love a job that *forced* me to go on cruise ships and stay at hotels to check out how fat-friendly they were.

Edited August 14, 2010 by MissRabbit

[panbear]

oh yes that would be a fantastic job!!!!!

I did find one cool website www.bbwcruise.com but I really wanted to personalize it more.

Nice to know there are more sites dedicated to that though. Wow have things changed!!!!

 

I don't know how I will wait until Feb!!!! LOL

[BruceMuzz]

Larger passengers are becoming a major problem for the cruise lines.

 

Today's cruise ship is built with stability calculations from the last century.

The designers assume that the average pasenger - and all his luggage - weigh 120 kilograms.

That's 264 pounds - TOTAL - per passenger.

On a cruise ship today, how many passengers - with all their belongings and suitcases - weigh more than 264 pounds??

The answer is - just about all of them.

When you have a ship with 3,000 or 5,000 passengers - most of whom are far in excess of the 264 pound stability calculations - how many additional TONS of uncalculated weight are affecting the stability of the ship?

The people on the bridge - and their stability computers - have no idea.

 

Ship's elevators were designed under the assumption that the average rider weighs 150 pounds.

Nearly any of today's cruisers over the age of 12 weighs more than that.

Ship's elevators are getting slower and slower because they can no longer carry as many passengers as in the past. At the same time, the number of passengers onboard is increasing. And at the same time, the number of passengers who cannot or will not walk up or down one flight of stairs has increased.

 

Dining room chairs can no longer accommodate the larger bottoms being squeezed into them.

Cruise lines are being forced to replace all their chairs with armless ones - to accommodate the wider bottoms, and reinforced to handle the rapidly increasing weights.

 

Handrails in corridors are designed to assist passengers who are unsure of their footing when the seas are rough. But the anchors for these rails are aluminum, which is not very strong.

We are seeing many more cases where larger passengers pull the railings out of the bulkheads when they try to steady themselves. This is especially alarming as the railings are most needed by these larger people.

 

Passenger corridors have legal minimum widths. But these widths are based on passenger sizes from a century ago. On many ships today, 2 large passengers cannot pass each other in the corridor. This is not only uncomfortable, but a serious safety hazard. In an emergency, passenger evacuation would be seriously delayed with congestion in narrow corridors.

 

Cruise line aircon standards are carefully guarded secrets. But most cruise lines have a standard of around 74 - 75 degrees F. Larger people get overheated far more easily than smaller ones - and it takes them far longer to cool off. The cruise lines need tro re-think these standards and consider keeping their ships cooler to protect the health of the larger cruisers.

 

Cruise line bed frames are made from steel. But they are rated for weights from a century ago. We are seeing big increases in the number of bent and broken bed frames. The combined weight of the users exceeds what the frames were designed for.

 

Do you ever read the lifeboat capacities, or notice the tiny white "bottoms" painted in the tender boat and lifeboat seats?

We always laugh when we use a tender boat for passengers. After struggling to cram 100 large passengers into a tender boat, we ask ourselves how we could ever get the 200 passengers the boat is rated for (along with their lifejackets) into that boat. The answer of course, is that it would be impossible. Today's passengers are far larger than the passengers the lifeboats were designed for.

 

Even if a ship claims to have double the passenger capacity in it's lifeboats, that probably still is not enough room for today's supersized cruisers.

 

The cruise lines really need to re-think their ship designs, and come up with solutions that cater to the actual passengers on our ships.

[PennyAgain]

The question of the handrails not being stout enough is an interesting one because my late MIL who weighed about 100 pounds managed to put out a handrail on an RCI ship a few years ago. We managed to grab her before she fell to the floor. Within a few minutes the handrail was put back up with exactly the same anchors that had just failed and were going to fail again.

[jwoap]

"Larger passengers are becoming a major problem for the cruise lines."

 

And their money spends just as well as our thinner sisters and brothers.

[jwoap]

if you read back a few pages, we were discussing airlines a bit. In my travels, i have found Continental and Alaska to be the best. (alaska even offers a refund on the 2nd seat if the flight isn't full). They have the best planes (regarding armrests) and websites (regarding information for larger passengers). Obviously Southwest has had the worst report with dealing with overweight passengers, which is why i'll never fly with them, but they could be much better now, who knows. Delta seems to not be very fat-friendly as far as non-moving aisle armrests and in the basic dealing with the 2nd seat/armrest issues when calling them directly. But that could also have just been my individual experience and they're really much better than what i've run into.

 

I finally ended up going with Delta even though their aisle armrests don't move, simply because the prices bottomed out and i wasn't going to pay several hundred bucks more, just to fly Continental both ways.

 

As for the Pearl, I am planning on taking plenty of photos and videos of the seating to hopefully help others wanting to take her in the future. There really isn't a lot out there online specifically geared to accessibility for larger passengers. Man would i love a job that *forced* me to go on cruise ships and stay at hotels to check out how fat-friendly they were.

 

Alaska is the best fat friendly airline out there -- hands down.

[huggs]

FYI : I was so excited that Alaska Airlines has just announced flights to Hawaii from a US city as near to us as Vancouver. The fares are so reasonable that I have taken advantage for the first time ever of booking an extra seat between DH and myself to make our flight to Honolulu all that more comfortable. I was even more excited when the nices customer agent that did our booking advised me I could get it refunded if the flight was not full ! Now that is customer service. I know on our flight with them to Long Beach last year, they also served free wine and beer...does it get any better than that ? LOL.

[MissRabbit]

Larger passengers are becoming a major problem for the cruise lines.

 

The cruise lines really need to re-think their ship designs, and come up with solutions that cater to the actual passengers on our ships.

 

I'm not really sure how i feel about this post. Overall, I think Bruce is illustrating what many of us are feeling, that the cruise industry (as well as the rest of the world, really) needs to understand that what was ok a century ago, isn't feasible today. Right or wrong, it simply just doesn't work anymore. However, at the same time, this post almost has the feel of *blaming* those who are overweight for having to inconvenience the cruise line with accommodating larger passengers. That makes no sense to me.

 

Everything outlined in the post, regarding the cruise ship's handrails, support & chair access etc, can also be applied to doctor's offices, restaurants, theatres and other public venues as well. It's a world wide issue that has truly been unaccounted for. As things are, because of my size, i am extremely limited in what i can do and where i can go, not because of any physical inability, but because the venue i'd be going to, simply does not provide any seating to accommodate my size.

 

I don't think anyone really *wants* to accommodate it either unless they are forced to. Remember when a law was passed that public areas needed to provide wheelchair access? I've never heard so much griping and complaining. In reality, those businesses should have taken that into consideration and already had wheelchair access. Why on earth would you want to provide a situation where potential customers are barred from using your facilities?

 

Here's something that just happened to me the other day. I went to a sleep specialist's office for a consultation. All he had, were armed chairs. He told me to take a seat (which is insensitive to begin with as anyone with 2 eyes could see i couldn't fit in the chair). I told him i would if i could, but i can't. So my only option was to stand. He then said i was making him uncomfortable, by standing. I told him that if he would have provided even a single chair in his entire doctor's office *without* arms, he wouldn't be uncomfortable and anyone over 150 lbs would be able to sit down! His reply: Well if i had chairs without arms, people could fall out of them and sue me. *****????

 

Later that day, i had to drive around to 3 different restaurants before i found one that either had armless chairs or had booths with tables that could move. Those other 2 restaurants lost my business because of their inability to provide proper seating. How hard is it to buy chairs without arms as opposed to ones with arms? Or at least have a few tables with chairs that would accommodate everyone? It's not as if having armless chairs limits who can sit there as anyone can use armless chairs but only some people can use the ones with arms. So why restrict it?

 

Another example, my regular doctor's office has armed chairs as well. Which is kind of silly considering the likelihood that overweight people will have need of a doctor as much or more than slimmer folks. I have to stand out in the hallway like an outcast. How is this acceptable?

 

In the end, I think people just don't give a crap about support, accessibility or anything when it comes to larger customers. It's about time that businesses are required to provide the same service to ALL customers, not just the thin, able-bodied ones.

 

What it boils down to is this....restricting certain groups of the public from accessing your place of business is not only wrong, but it's precluding you from receiving the revenue from that group as well. As jwoap said, our money spends just as well.

 

Back to cruiseships... when choosing my upcoming cruise, I had to choose the ship first, then pick the itinerary from the few meager ones available. I chose the NCL Pearl because, aside from the Stardust Theatre, the specialty Le Bistro & possibly the Great Outdoors/Sky High Bar areas, all other areas have some form of seating that will accommodate me. IN some places it's slim pickins (like the Garden Cafe as it appears most seating has arms on them) but there is at least a few places to sit. It was the Pearl, the HAL Zuiderdam, or going back to the M Class on Celebrity. That was pretty much it for my cruise ship options if i wanted to have access to the majority of the ship's venues. That is, without having to track someone down to bring out an armless chair (if they had any) and watch as it's paraded in front of other passengers, which would be rather embarassing to me.

 

I guess i simply cannot understand why businesses, including cruise lines, are still allowed to, in essence, refuse service to overweight people, simply by not providing appropriate seating or other accommodations like stair access into pools, larger life vests (which are manditory on excursions) and room around toilets in public areas & cabins, to name a few. A little bit of effort goes a long long way.

 

I definately agree with the last line in the post...The cruise lines really need to re-think their ship designs, and come up with solutions that cater to the actual passengers on our ships. Although i would change "cater to" to "provide access for". We don't want to be catered to. We just simply want to use the basic services already offered to regular sized passengers.

 

sorry my post was so long. i just had a lot to say :(

[Bearcat1946]

I am "handicapped" in that I'm 63 years old, Agent Orange in Viet Nam, now have insulin dependent Diabetes 2, am 6'3" and 430 lbs. I was 6'3" and 225, ran 6 miles a day and did 100 sit-ups and push-ups when I retired from the Army, and then diabetes kicked me in the head. Been interesting ever since.

 

I have a Rascal scooter provided by the VA and could not get around without it. I started cruising in 2008 on the Crown Princess and have also gone on the Emerald and Ruby. Going back on the Emerald on August 29 for the 7 day Western Caribbean. I refuse to let my inability to walk keep me from doing what I want to do.

 

When I do cruise, I end up getting an accessible room, but since I do not have a partner, I still have to pay for 2 beds. In the accessible rooms I have been on (Princess, RCI and Costa) I have had no problems whatsoever with the toilets and the shower stools. The cabins are wonderful. Additionally, the doors are 32" wide so me and my rental scooter always fit.

 

Like others, my biggest problems are finding a place to rest/park my scooter and enjoy what I'm doing. I have found that on Princess, I just pull up to the bar, and they serve me right away. Particularly in the Crooner's Lounge. Also, at the Schooners on Enchantment of the Seas. Like others, I have a problem with sitting at the tables unless I have a armless chair. One of my pet peeves is unless I have an understanding Matre D', they don't want me in the traditional dining room during formal nights, yet they do not have Tuxedos large enough for me to rent. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

 

Then, there is the, "well we have to tender in, so you will have to stay aboard". This cruise, we go to 4 places, and I can get off only at Ocho Rios and Cozumel. I can't take any tours because of the weight of me and the scooter.

 

I still have a great time. The room is good. I have the steward bring a wooden, armless chair for the balcony, and I love being treated like a king for a week. And, Lord knows the food is good!

[MissRabbit]

I am "handicapped" in that I'm 63 years old, Agent Orange in Viet Nam, now have insulin dependent Diabetes 2, am 6'3" and 430 lbs. I was 6'3" and 225, ran 6 miles a day and did 100 sit-ups and push-ups when I retired from the Army, and then diabetes kicked me in the head. Been interesting ever since.

 

I have a Rascal scooter provided by the VA and could not get around without it. I started cruising in 2008 on the Crown Princess and have also gone on the Emerald and Ruby. Going back on the Emerald on August 29 for the 7 day Western Caribbean. I refuse to let my inability to walk keep me from doing what I want to do.

 

When I do cruise, I end up getting an accessible room, but since I do not have a partner, I still have to pay for 2 beds. In the accessible rooms I have been on (Princess, RCI and Costa) I have had no problems whatsoever with the toilets and the shower stools. The cabins are wonderful. Additionally, the doors are 32" wide so me and my rental scooter always fit.

 

Like others, my biggest problems are finding a place to rest/park my scooter and enjoy what I'm doing. I have found that on Princess, I just pull up to the bar, and they serve me right away. Particularly in the Crooner's Lounge. Also, at the Schooners on Enchantment of the Seas. Like others, I have a problem with sitting at the tables unless I have a armless chair. One of my pet peeves is unless I have an understanding Matre D', they don't want me in the traditional dining room during formal nights, yet they do not have Tuxedos large enough for me to rent. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

 

Then, there is the, "well we have to tender in, so you will have to stay aboard". This cruise, we go to 4 places, and I can get off only at Ocho Rios and Cozumel. I can't take any tours because of the weight of me and the scooter.

 

I still have a great time. The room is good. I have the steward bring a wooden, armless chair for the balcony, and I love being treated like a king for a week. And, Lord knows the food is good!

 

sorry to hear about your medical issues :( I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes HBP and a myriad of other things last November. Thankfully it's manageable with Metformin and eating healthy.

 

I think that is so wrong to force you out of the MDR on formal nights. It's not like you don't *want* to wear a tux!

 

This cruise is the first time i've had to use a handicap accessible room simply because the regular rooms have the toilets wedged between the wall and another partition. Maybe if i soaped up the walls or something I could squeeze in there. *grin*.

 

I, too, am going to ask my steward to bring in one of the armless loungers from on deck to put on the balcony so I can use it. Looking very forward to that.

 

Happy cruising to you :)

[panbear]

yes it's strange how our money is taken as well. And usually larger people have no problem paying for resonable extras if there are issues with our size.

 

You would think they would catch on to this. Perhaps it's not politically correct.

One person told me they don't endorse overeating and obesity. I laughed out loud!! It wasn't even worth a response but I was thinking "wow then how do explain the completely fat free healthy eating on board!!

(not that I'm complaining!!)

 

:)

[PennyAgain]

What Bruce missed in his detailed posting is that things that help POS to have a nice cruise frequently benefit many other people. Dining chairs with arms are very difficult for people who need to do a transfer from a wheel chair just for a start.

 

For a doctor's office not to have a variety of seating is just plain stubbornness. When my leg was very badly injured I managed to get through the long waits to see my doc by sitting somewhat sideways on a love seat giving my injured leg somewhere to rest and not to just hang down where it would swell.

 

I believe that when all people have a chance to enjoy life, the rest of us will benefit.

Edited August 18, 2010 by PennyAgain

[kitegirl]

I want to thank each of the persons who have posted to this topic. I am a large size woman, I use a cane or a walker to get around. I am unable to manage more than a few steps, and that is done baby step method...LOL.

 

I have been on four cruises. One on Carnival when I was younger and slimmer. Three since I have really had mobility and size issues. Our cruise to Alaska on Princess went very well. I had no real trouble with seating and we did have a HC room. The RCL cruise, also to Alaska was more of a challenge with small deck chairs, small buffet area chairs, and had to get the armless chair for the MDR. I must say tho, that in the MDR I was never made to feel uncomfortable as the chair was there once they saw me come in, and it was left for the entire 7 days of travel.

 

My biggest problem on the RCL cruise was that I had rented a scooter, but had to leave it in the room unused most of the time. WHY... Because able bodies persons would crowd the elevators, and I just could not get where I wanted to go. It was so bad that I sat there and just cried at one point with frustration.

 

Our next cruise, for my b day and our anniversary, will be on Celebrity Millennium to Alaska.... I sure hope this ship will be accomodating to a larger woman with a large walker. I again have a HC room, but will not bother with the rental of a scooter... I will put up with just my walker and strong will to get me around the ship and in port.

 

I feel better in some funny way to read so many others like me still want to get out, see the sights, and enjoy life.

 

Thanks again to all who have participated in this topic!!!

 

If you have any suggestions or comments about the Millennium I would love to hear them....

[MissRabbit]

 

If you have any suggestions or comments about the Millennium I would love to hear them....

 

We were on the Celebrity Millenium for our 5th anniversary (8 years ago). I was probably only 30-40 lbs lighter than i am now. I found it to be a very enjoyable experience. The diningrooms had armless chairs and the theatre was bench-style seating. The buffet did have some chairs that were armless, but you had to hunt for them. Sometimes, if i saw an armless chair at a table nearby with people sitting there (not using the chair), i would ask if i could borrow the chair. I'd just swap it out with the armed one i had.

 

I will say, that many of the other venues were iffy. Some bars/lounges had no seating for me, while others, like the Martini bar, had 1 or 2 sofas amid those silly barrel chairs. You will learn very quickly where you can stop and rest on your jaunt from one end of the ship to the other.

 

As for the pool deck, unless they changed out their loungers, they were all ones that had a little arc of an arm on them, thus making them useless to me. However, there were a few areas i could sit. IIRC there were bench areas around planters and there were some tables (up on the 2nd open deck?) that had some decent chairs. Oh, and the pools had steps to enter and not pool ladders.

 

All in all, the Millenium was a great ship and for the most part, accessible. I hope this helps you. Bon Voyage.

[panbear]

Someone should really forward these items onto the cruise lines. I tell you if they did start to make things more accessable can you imagine the money they could make?? I know if any line that was willing to treat me with respect and make a few accomadations ( I mean chairs, not ripping down walls!!) I would be a loyal customer.

 

I notice some other people also get physically disabled rooms. I found that it is the best way to go. I have never had a problem although one person on my last cruise commented that I seemed wrong I would "take up" a handicapped room and they are sick of people enabling fat people. Well I told her that it seems wrong that there are people like her taking up good air and I was sick of enabling ignorant people!!!! That shut her up.

 

I only really ask for respect and dignity. Everything else it is up to me to ask, as you don't really know unless you do. I am aware that some people just honestly don't think about arms, booths, toilets etc as they go about their lives. Once they are aware that there is that issue for other people at least be respectful of it. You don't have to love me, but dammit I am a person with feelings!!!!

 

Ok I'll get off my soapbox now!!!!!

 

I cruise for the experience, hell, I think I would happy if I didn't even get off the boat!!!! :) A bad day cruising is better than a good day at work!!!!!

 

I am in the process of booking flights now. Sigh... that part is depressing!!!!! Luckily my TA is awesome and I know we'll work it all out!!!

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Say does cruise critic have a thread just for POS issues.... perhaps they should put one up.....I think it would be 'massively' popular. (no pun intended) ;)

[PennyAgain]

I am a normal sized person although a bit shorter than average. However, nearly 18 months of having a really badly injured leg has taught me a great deal about how people behave (some badly) and how some are very kind. I also have learned to respect the various sorts of needs that people have.

 

My new motto is 'can we all be nice?'

 

I realized as I tried to do the everyday things of life that my injury had changed the rules I had to live by. I had to learn new coping skills. I am much more sensitive to the needs of others than I was pre-injury.

 

I learned a great deal from people who post on this topic on CC. Lots of wise folks post here. Kitty9 most especially helped me with travel issues. I was able to keep working though it all. Now that I am more or less back of 2 feet, I will pay it all back.

[panbear]

Oh I forgot last night...

 

if you all not aware of it there is a site www.cruisedeckplans.com they have the coolest deck plans and details. I saved myself a headache by using the deck drag feature and found out the room I was going to book was beneath the dance floor!!!

 

Also they have actual pics and video of rooms etc. Much more detailed than the stock photos on the cruise websites. And even better, they will pay you for your pictures of cruise ships.

 

It has turned out to be the best 10.00 I have ever spent!!!!!!

 

Hopefully it will be helpful

 

PS i found out today Alaska Air's standard seat is 17inches. Wow that's small even for skinny folk. But lifting armrests and that refund seat if plane isn't full policy may have won me over!!!