They Fumbled On The One Yard Line!

[cuppettmd]

Let me start off by saying that I'm a Carnival Fan in general and a Fascination Fan in particular. This was my sixth time sailing on the Fascination and all of them, including this one, have been great! I will post a review later and just want to post this in case "The Beards" don't read my survey.:rolleyes: I found out a couple of weeks before our Halloween Cruise on the Fascination that because of a cracked hip, I would have to take a wheelchair with me. I changed the medical status on my profile on the CCL site to wheelchair. In about one hour I received a phone call from Carnival, "Special Needs". When I saw Carnival on the caller ID, I thought the "Up-Grade Fairy" was calling!:) I have to give credit to these folks, they were sincerely concerned for me. They offered me a handicapped cabin, gave me maps of the ship with places marked that were not wheelchair accessable, and made me feel that I could do this! I declined the cabin as I wanted to try the cabin that I had booked. I also told them that I would bring my own chair, so I would not need them to "Roll" me on board. When I got to Jaxport, it was Great! Everyone was super helpful! The porters met me at my car, (I know they always do this, but this time it felt "Mo-Special"), They escorted me past the lines to the check in desks, and even put us in VIP boarding! These Folks Were The Best! Since I could walk for short distances, I walked up the ramp and a porter pushed my chair on for me. Through-out the whole cruise, I was treated Great! My room steward, t Wayon, took good care of me and even brought me a raised toilet seat! Don't take little things for granted!:rolleyes: The staff was always 'right there", wanting to carry things, go get things, or do anything to help me! Even my fellow passengers were very helpful! Vania, our hostess friend, seated me at a front table in the MDR, at Boris's station which made it super easy at dinner time. There were wheelchair spots in the theater, so that I could see the new shows, (which I liked). Even-though, I was in this "rollin' anchor" I had a Blast! But, then there were the problems. The first "minor" miscommunication, that bothered me, was when we were leaving Nassau. I had noticed that there were not a lot of announcements giving info for things going on. When we were at supper on Nassau day, the NCL Breakaway parked next to us! That thing is Huge!I wanted to get some pictures of it before we left at 8:00pm, kind of an ants perspective. We left at 10 till 8:00! This was not that big a deal, but a little "Heads-up" would have been appreciated. "No Pictures For You!" The next lack of info came the next day at Little Stirrup Cay. Since all I had to go on was Half-Moon Cay, I made the mistake of assuming, and you know how that usually goes, that there would be some pavement around the shops. Wrong! The whole island is sand! I felt like I was at a "Mud Boggin'"! A little knowledge goes a long way!:D This to quickly passed, and as a side note, The staff on the tenders really went above and beyond in their assistance. Now for the "Fumble". The other two things were just things and no big deal, but the last one was a real PIA! We watched the "Channel" for the debarkation info and it said that "Special Needs" passengers were to meet at the Palace Theater at 8:00am. The next morning we got there at 7:45. I saw several others in wheelchairs, so we waited. At about 8:15, I noticed that they were debarking the VIP's so I rolled over to a young lady to ask where she wanted me? At the time she was dealing with a situation involving a very vocal group and she told me to go back in the Palace and wait for my zone to be called. She could see that I was in a wheelchair, but she told me again to go back in and wait. Never being in a wheelchair before, I did as I was told, thinking that they would have an announcement or something. We waited and about 9:15 our zone was called. Yaaaa! The next problem was, everytime an elevator would stop, it was full! "No Ride For You"! They were using two of the elevators for luggage. I couldn't use the stairs like I could on the past cruises, so we waited some more. Finally a nice young lady from Carnival saw me and asked "What was I doing there, I was supposed to be gone a long time ago"? I told her that I was just doing what I had been told! She immediantly called an elevator and from then on it was a Breeze! No Harm Done! (except our friends had done self-assist from the Riviera and had been waiting for an hour and a half, My feet and legs were so swollen that they looked like ticks:eek:, and I didn't get home in time to file my college fantasy football picks:mad:) All this to say that I still Love Carnival, and am already planning next year's cruise! Be Blessed! Mikey<><

[S.S.Oceanlover]

that stinks that you didn't get your fantasy picks in:mad:

 

Bill

[wrigley80]

Thanks for posting your experiences. I am in a similar situation. My dad and I are leaving on back-to-back cruises in 24 days but I am starting to believe that he will require the use of a wheelchair during our vacation due to some unforeseen medical issues :(

[golfadj]

At debarkation they are thinking more of next group of passengers than the ones leaving.

 

Several times with platinum they told us to wait somewhere and than forgot us.

[RuthlessBoss]

Where did the other people in wheelchairs go? I didn't think someone in a wheelchair had to move their own and get onto an elevator themselves.

[Mysticks1]

Thank you for posting a good balanced review of the Good and the Bad. I am glad that you got mostly good service with your unexpected wheelchair issue and glad that you had a good cruise despite the few hiccups you had. Hope you get well soon!

[cuppettmd]

Where did the other people in wheelchairs go? I didn't think someone in a wheelchair had to move their own and get onto an elevator themselves.

I think that they were just sitting in them as they were Carnival chairs. They left as their zones were called. Mikey<><

[cuppettmd]

Thank you for posting a good balanced review of the Good and the Bad. I am glad that you got mostly good service with your unexpected wheelchair issue and glad that you had a good cruise despite the few hiccups you had. Hope you get well soon!

Thank You, Donna! It's gonna be fine! Mikey<><:)

[cuppettmd]

Thanks for posting your experiences. I am in a similar situation. My dad and I are leaving on back-to-back cruises in 24 days but I am starting to believe that he will require the use of a wheelchair during our vacation due to some unforeseen medical issues :(

Don't Fret The Small Stuff, and It's all Small Stuff! Have Fun! Mikey<><:)

[marshhawk]

hi mikey! too bad we never met on that cruise. :( embarkation, they tell everyone that you have to be able to carry your baggage down to level 3-for self assist debarkation, but only once, and it is said quietly. we found a bunch of peeps trying to press the "3" button, which was turned off, just not believing they had to carry suitcases. :eek::D

it was a nice cruise, weather was great!

[poptart]

Mikey,

sounds like you got awesome service until debarkation!

 

My daughter and husband a going with us on the Legend in 8 days :D She is in motorized wheelchair. We'll be on the lookout for any problems. Maybe they'll let her leave with us since we are platinum!

 

Thanks for the heads up on the raised toilet seat too. She has a handicapped cabin (with a huge balcony) if she doesn't have that we'll know we can ask for it.

 

Looking forward to your complete review.

 

Happy Sails!

[golfadj]

Very few people follow the self debarkation rules.

 

Last one they send platinums to a room and a few minutes before getting called a bunch of people with wheelchairs and no helpers come and park themselves in the front of the room. Obviously self assist was not going to happen for them.

 

Nobody from Carnival was around to direct traffic.

 

All thru the atrium people were hanging out so we had one huge traffic jam.

 

They call platinum and for about 5 minutes nobody could move.

 

Until they enforce their own rules what else can you expect.

[mcwebber]

The next lack of info came the next day at Little Stirrup Cay. Since all I had to go on was Half-Moon Cay, I made the mistake of assuming, and you know how that usually goes, that there would be some pavement around the shops. Wrong! The whole island is sand! I felt like I was at a "Mud Boggin'"!

 

There were some balloon tire beach wheelchairs on Little Stirrup Cay. You'll need someone to push you in it. I don't think Carnival has the crew to spare on the island for that.

[fireofficer5]

There were some balloon tire beach wheelchairs on Little Stirrup Cay. You'll need someone to push you in it. I don't think Carnival has the crew to spare on the island for that.

I have pushed a person in one of those beach wheelchairs,

its hard work.

[Colorado Kat]

Very few people follow the self debarkation rules.

 

All thru the atrium people were hanging out so we had one huge traffic jam.

 

They call platinum and for about 5 minutes nobody could move.

 

Until they enforce their own rules what else can you expect.

 

It can definitely turn into a nightmare of a gridlock.

[cuppettmd]

hi mikey! too bad we never met on that cruise. :( embarkation, they tell everyone that you have to be able to carry your baggage down to level 3-for self assist debarkation, but only once, and it is said quietly. we found a bunch of peeps trying to press the "3" button, which was turned off, just not believing they had to carry suitcases. :eek::D

 

it was a nice cruise, weather was great!

Yeah, It was a great trip! Maybe I'll see you next time. Mikey<><:)

[cuppettmd]

There were some balloon tire beach wheelchairs on Little Stirrup Cay. You'll need someone to push you in it. I don't think Carnival has the crew to spare on the island for that.

I saw the beach chairs, but as I'm 300 lbs:eek:, I didn't want to "Cripple" my wife or friends!:rolleyes:

[sanmarcosman]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I learned a lot.

[luddite]

Let me start off by saying that I'm a Carnival Fan in general and a Fascination Fan in particular. This was my sixth time sailing on the Fascination and all of them, including this one, have been great! I will post a review later and just want to post this in case "The Beards" don't read my survey.:rolleyes: I found out a couple of weeks before our Halloween Cruise on the Fascination that because of a cracked hip, I would have to take a wheelchair with me. I changed the medical status on my profile on the CCL site to wheelchair. In about one hour I received a phone call from Carnival, "Special Needs". When I saw Carnival on the caller ID, I thought the "Up-Grade Fairy" was calling!:) I have to give credit to these folks, they were sincerely concerned for me. They offered me a handicapped cabin, gave me maps of the ship with places marked that were not wheelchair accessable, and made me feel that I could do this! I declined the cabin as I wanted to try the cabin that I had booked. I also told them that I would bring my own chair, so I would not need them to "Roll" me on board. When I got to Jaxport, it was Great! Everyone was super helpful! The porters met me at my car, (I know they always do this, but this time it felt "Mo-Special"), They escorted me past the lines to the check in desks, and even put us in VIP boarding! These Folks Were The Best! Since I could walk for short distances, I walked up the ramp and a porter pushed my chair on for me. Through-out the whole cruise, I was treated Great! My room steward, t Wayon, took good care of me and even brought me a raised toilet seat! Don't take little things for granted!:rolleyes: The staff was always 'right there", wanting to carry things, go get things, or do anything to help me! Even my fellow passengers were very helpful! Vania, our hostess friend, seated me at a front table in the MDR, at Boris's station which made it super easy at dinner time. There were wheelchair spots in the theater, so that I could see the new shows, (which I liked). Even-though, I was in this "rollin' anchor" I had a Blast! But, then there were the problems. The first "minor" miscommunication, that bothered me, was when we were leaving Nassau. I had noticed that there were not a lot of announcements giving info for things going on. When we were at supper on Nassau day, the NCL Breakaway parked next to us! That thing is Huge!I wanted to get some pictures of it before we left at 8:00pm, kind of an ants perspective. We left at 10 till 8:00! This was not that big a deal, but a little "Heads-up" would have been appreciated. "No Pictures For You!" The next lack of info came the next day at Little Stirrup Cay. Since all I had to go on was Half-Moon Cay, I made the mistake of assuming, and you know how that usually goes, that there would be some pavement around the shops. Wrong! The whole island is sand! I felt like I was at a "Mud Boggin'"! A little knowledge goes a long way!:D This to quickly passed, and as a side note, The staff on the tenders really went above and beyond in their assistance. Now for the "Fumble". The other two things were just things and no big deal, but the last one was a real PIA! We watched the "Channel" for the debarkation info and it said that "Special Needs" passengers were to meet at the Palace Theater at 8:00am. The next morning we got there at 7:45. I saw several others in wheelchairs, so we waited. At about 8:15, I noticed that they were debarking the VIP's so I rolled over to a young lady to ask where she wanted me? At the time she was dealing with a situation involving a very vocal group and she told me to go back in the Palace and wait for my zone to be called. She could see that I was in a wheelchair, but she told me again to go back in and wait. Never being in a wheelchair before, I did as I was told, thinking that they would have an announcement or something. We waited and about 9:15 our zone was called. Yaaaa! The next problem was, everytime an elevator would stop, it was full! "No Ride For You"! They were using two of the elevators for luggage. I couldn't use the stairs like I could on the past cruises, so we waited some more. Finally a nice young lady from Carnival saw me and asked "What was I doing there, I was supposed to be gone a long time ago"? I told her that I was just doing what I had been told! She immediantly called an elevator and from then on it was a Breeze! No Harm Done! (except our friends had done self-assist from the Riviera and had been waiting for an hour and a half, My feet and legs were so swollen that they looked like ticks:eek:, and I didn't get home in time to file my college fantasy football picks:mad:) All this to say that I still Love Carnival, and am already planning next year's cruise! Be Blessed! Mikey<><

 

Wow.

[cuppettmd]

Mikey,

sounds like you got awesome service until debarkation!

 

My daughter and husband a going with us on the Legend in 8 days :D She is in motorized wheelchair. We'll be on the lookout for any problems. Maybe they'll let her leave with us since we are platinum!

 

Thanks for the heads up on the raised toilet seat too. She has a handicapped cabin (with a huge balcony) if she doesn't have that we'll know we can ask for it.

 

Looking forward to your complete review.

 

Happy Sails!

It's good that she has a handicap cabin as she will have to keep it inside while not in use. It was funny to see all of the scooters outside of the MDR at dinner time. Kind of like a parade!:D Have A Blessed Trip! Mikey<><