American Cruise Line is not handicap friendly

[Frequent FL traveler]

We booked for an elderly person in a wheelchair for one of their NE cruises. We were NOT booked into the only handicapped room on the ship! The wheel chair could fit in the room. Staff did move furniture out so we could have a pathway. They also put a handicapped seat on the toilet and a shower chair in the bath, but the bath was so tiny our small wheelchair would not fit in the bath. The tiny elevator would only accommodate the wheelchair without the feet for a caregiver to be able to travel and operate the elevator buttons and door handle. This one week cruise that cost almost $5000 had food that was just average and one could not go ashore in most ports without being able to walk.

[raindropsalways]

Maybe you should have booked the accessible cabin. To my knowledge, none of the boats (small ships) have extensive accommodations. They only provide the bare minimum to meet ADA requirements. I would highly recommend that you do more in depth research in the future.

 

 

Betty

[Frequent FL traveler]

We booked for an elderly person in a wheelchair for one of their NE cruises. We were NOT booked into the only handicapped room on the ship! The wheel chair could fit in the room. Staff did move furniture out so we could have a pathway. They also put a handicapped seat on the toilet and a shower chair in the bath, but the bath was so tiny our small wheelchair would not fit in the bath. The tiny elevator would only accommodate the wheelchair without the feet for a caregiver to be able to travel and operate the elevator buttons and door handle. This one week cruise that cost almost $5000 had food that was just average and one could not go ashore in most ports without being able to walk.

PS-my sister told them we needed wheel chair access!

[Frequent FL traveler]

When I cruised out of Galveston with RC the room and bath were oversized and easily accessed in a wheelchair. The closet had a pull down bar to bring clothes down and up in the closet. Getting on and off the ship was a breeze. They kept track on who got on and off the ship.

[raindropsalways]

It seems like common sense would tell a person that a non-accessible cabin would not have the same accommodations as an accessible cabin regardless of the fact there may be sufficient room for a mobile device. Did anyone with the cruise line tell your sister it was a “roll-in” bathroom? If they did, you have a legitimate complaint.

 

If your “RC” is referring to Royal Caribbean (RCC or RCCL), you had an accessible cabin or maybe some sort of a suite. I do not know if the suites have the pull down bar in the closets, however I do know the accessible cabins do.

 

If you are going to be traveling in the handicap world, do your homework. If you need step free access, ask for it. I have booked a handicap hotel room that had two flights of stairs getting to the elevator. To say the least, we had to find another hotel on a moments notice. Now I ask if we can roll all the way from the street to our room and give the dimensions of our scooters for the elevators.

 

Also, if your require roll-in bathroom, ask. Make sure it is available. If there are any specific needs, ask. If the need is a must, do not ask a general question, be very direct and precise. Refrigerated medications can be a problem. I travel with a cooler because not everyplace has a refrigerator. However, if it is a hotel, I make sure there is ice available.

 

Good luck on your future adventures.

 

Betty

[xxoocruiser]

We booked for an elderly person in a wheelchair for one of their NE cruises. We were NOT booked into the only handicapped room on the ship! The wheel chair could fit in the room. Staff did move furniture out so we could have a pathway. They also put a handicapped seat on the toilet and a shower chair in the bath, but the bath was so tiny our small wheelchair would not fit in the bath. The tiny elevator would only accommodate the wheelchair without the feet for a caregiver to be able to travel and operate the elevator buttons and door handle. This one week cruise that cost almost $5000 had food that was just average and one could not go ashore in most ports without being able to walk.

 

 

Booking a Non-Accessible standard cabin and expecting it to work for someone that needed an accessible cabin in no way means that American Cruise line is not handicap friendly . Rather it unfortunately means that the proper due diligence was not done prior to booking otherwise you would have known that a standard non-accessible cabin would not meets the needs of the individual.

 

 

Most river cruise boats are really not suitable for wheelchair and or mobility scooter travel. If you look at the American Cruise Lines general information page it makes no mention of on-board wheelchair accessibility which should have been an automatic trigger to ask a lot of questions regarding accommodations and elevator access using a wheelchair. Here's the link check for yourself : http://www.americancruiselines.com/about-our-river-cruises/frequently-asked-questions

 

Saddly this was an expensive and difficult lesion to learn.

[montgomeryfamily]

This is listed under Passenger Information:

 

Handicap-Accessible Rooms

 

American Cruise Lines, Inc.’s ships are equipped with handicap-accessible rooms. Most ships’ lounges, sun decks, and dining salons are accessible by wheelchairs or other walking aid devices. The ships are also equipped with an elevator for ease of movement between decks.

 

 

You can always make a complaint to the Department of Justice Access Dept. if you feel you were misled or given erroneous information about accessibility and/or if the ship was not actually accessible as represented or required by law.

[xxoocruiser]

This is listed under Passenger Information:

 

Handicap-Accessible Rooms

 

American Cruise Lines, Inc.’s ships are equipped with handicap-accessible rooms. Most ships’ lounges, sun decks, and dining salons are accessible by wheelchairs or other walking aid devices. The ships are also equipped with an elevator for ease of movement between decks.

 

 

You can always make a complaint to the Department of Justice Access Dept. if you feel you were misled or given erroneous information about accessibility and/or if the ship was not actually accessible as represented or required by law.

 

OP could possibly file a complaint regarding the size of the elevator but the DOJ would most likely reply that elevator complies with ADA's minimum standards. However since the OP knowingly booked a standard cabin as all accessible cabins were already taken does not qualify as a reportable offense.