Norwegian Spirit NOT wheelchair/scooter friendly

[ChicagoHandyman]

Enjoyed the cruise and will cruise again but have a couple of problems.

1- Very disappointed with the treatment of wheelchair guests in the theater.  The only accommodations for wheelchairs are tucked in the corner.  Suggested to cruise director that chairs be moved so up to 4 wheel chairs/scooters would have a good view of entertainment.  Response was corporate gobbledygook that any changes needed to be done fleet wide.  It’s absurd that the cruise director can’t move a chair to accommodate a wheelchair because it is the right thing!!  It was sad watching  a woman in a wheelchair watching the show all by herself.

2- went to bingo and after giving my payment learned that the $2,000 jackpot was paid ONLY with a coverall in 47 numbers.  The odds of a coverall in 50 numbers is 1 in 212,000.  That information should be given up front.

3- The staff did nothing to encourage mingling in the dining room

4- Excellent choice of ports

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, ChicagoHandyman said:

 

 

3- The staff did nothing to encourage mingling in the dining room

 

 

 

How would they do that and why?

[Beardface]

5 minutes ago, ChicagoHandyman said:

Enjoyed the cruise and will cruise again but have a couple of problems.

1- Very disappointed with the treatment of wheelchair guests in the theater.  The only accommodations for wheelchairs are tucked in the corner.  Suggested to cruise director that chairs be moved so up to 4 wheel chairs/scooters would have a good view of entertainment.  Response was corporate gobbledygook that any changes needed to be done fleet wide.  It’s absurd that the cruise director can’t move a chair to accommodate a wheelchair because it is the right thing!!  It was sad watching  a woman in a wheelchair watching the show all by herself.

2- went to bingo and after giving my payment learned that the $2,000 jackpot was paid ONLY with a coverall in 47 numbers.  The odds of a coverall in 50 numbers is 1 in 212,000.  That information should be given up front.

3- The staff did nothing to encourage mingling in the dining room

4- Excellent choice of ports

 

It might have been corporate gobbledygook, but its also likely accurate.  Its probably a corporate policy that they can't really adjust things like that, or it opens the rest of the fleet up to potential ADA violations (which, I heard but could be wrong apply as they port out of the US).

 

Your best bet to get visibility around this is to bring it up at the corporate level, and try to get them to accommodate these needs across the fleet.  If you are a member of any disability communities, see if they can rally around and get pressure as well.  That's the best way to get this done.

[dexddd]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

How would they do that and why?

They could tell various people that their food is now at another table.

[FranknBeans]

Not all guests have the same wants as you. We personally get away to avoid  others as we both work in the service industry , therefor don't want to mingle with others over dining and with our luck end up with screaming kids

We also only eat in the specialty restaurants for the same reasons.   

 

Secondly seating for haven  and suites guests is really no better

 

Thirdly your on a much older ship  Spirit was built in 1999.

 

And that's why they call it gambling so if you don't like losing and don't ask questions then the blame is on you.

[newmexicoNita]

We have found, for the most part facilities in the show room as well as the rest of the ship, acceptable but mot outstanding. as for most mingling in the dining room I can't imagine why people would want that. If we go to a restaurant on land we do not mingle with others. there are lots of activities that offer a change to mingle. I don't think most of us would consider dining time as one of those. but we all have our own ideas. 

[Oakman58]

19 hours ago, dexddd said:

They could tell various people that their food is now at another table.

 

😂😂 that make me LOL.

[PTC DAWG]

Mingling at dinner (and after)is helped by offering guests a pineapple to place on their table if they choose.  

Edited May 29, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[ChicagoHandyman]

With A previous cruise, dining was grouped and that worked out well imho.  One possibility is that they could Ask if you wanted to dine with another couple.  If no, that wouldn’t be a problem.

As for wheelchair/scooter accommodations, moving one chair from the end of an aisle to the other end of the aisle is simple, easy, and the right thing to do.  A customer focused corporation should allow a ship’s officer the Freedom to use his good judgement. 

[mjkacmom]

22 minutes ago, ChicagoHandyman said:

With A previous cruise, dining was grouped and that worked out well imho.  One possibility is that they could Ask if you wanted to dine with another couple.  If no, that wouldn’t be a problem.

As for wheelchair/scooter accommodations, moving one chair from the end of an aisle to the other end of the aisle is simple, easy, and the right thing to do.  A customer focused corporation should allow a ship’s officer the Freedom to use his good judgement. 

NCL was the first cruise line, I believe, to move to freestyle dining, which is what most restaurants offer on land. I had zero desire to cruise until I learned about NCL. I think they used to ask people if they wanted to sit with others, but based on reports here, most did not. Due to legalities, most big corporations do not allow employees to use their own judgement and go against company policies.

[newmexicoNita]

18 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

NCL was the first cruise line, I believe, to move to freestyle dining, which is what most restaurants offer on land. I had zero desire to cruise until I learned about NCL. I think they used to ask people if they wanted to sit with others, but based on reports here, most did not. Due to legalities, most big corporations do not allow employees to use their own judgement and go against company policies.

They were the first and all lines picked up on this: When I say all, I am referring to the mass marketed lines. yes, we can all ask to sit with another couple. For us, we have found the best way to get to know others is: 1-play trivia with others: attend a Meet and Greet: find a hangout place such as a favorite bar and you will find others that hang out at the same bar or eat lunch in the MDR. Quite often the employees want people to share tables at lunch. To the OP, I know what you are saying about mingling but the other side of the coin: there is nothing that can put a damper on a cruise more than spending even one meal at a table where you have nothing in common with those you are sitting with or worse spend the entire week. That is why we love freestyle so much. 

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, ChicagoHandyman said:

With A previous cruise, dining was grouped and that worked out well imho.  One possibility is that they could Ask if you wanted to dine with another couple.  If no, that wouldn’t be a problem.

As for wheelchair/scooter accommodations, moving one chair from the end of an aisle to the other end of the aisle is simple, easy, and the right thing to do.  A customer focused corporation should allow a ship’s officer the Freedom to use his good judgement. 

We've been on Spirit twice and think it is a great ship.  As said, NCL is Freestyle so you eat whenever.  They have enough on their hands to serve all the people and trying to match up dinner mates isn't going to be easy.  Best way would be to meet folks at other venues and coordinate yourself.  From most on here over the years, they would rather eat alone and not like the old days.

[FLAHAM]

21 hours ago, ChicagoHandyman said:

One possibility is that they could Ask if you wanted to dine with another couple. 

 

I often tell the MDR host that I would like to sit at a sharing table with other diners (lunch or dinner) and this is usually arranged with no problem, other than possibly waiting a few minutes to start. 

[graphicguy]

I think some of this angst would have been easily eliminated.

 

FreeStyle offers the opportunity to eat where and when you want.  I’ve always been asked by the restaurant Hostess whether I wanted to eat at a table with other people.

 

As far as Bingo is concerned, not a bingo player.  But, wouldn’t you check the payout before committing to pay?  That’s something I always do before I sit down at a casino table.

 

I will agree that NCL is not conducive to anyone with strollers, walkers and/or scooters.  Anyone who must have any of these devices will be frustrated by the cabin hallway width, the egress/ingress of some of the areas of the ship, etc.  I believe Carnival does a much better job accommodating those who want to use a scooter, walker or stroller.

 

Royal is better than NCL in this regard, too.  But, they allow peoples’ pets on board.  So, that’s a negative there.

[Oakman58]

Bingo and Deal or No Deal are money makers for the cruise line.  I enjoy watching both but I'll be darn if I will spend a penny for the cards.

[newmexicoNita]

32 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I think some of this angst would have been easily eliminated.

 

FreeStyle offers the opportunity to eat where and when you want.  I’ve always been asked by the restaurant Hostess whether I wanted to eat at a table with other people.

 

As far as Bingo is concerned, not a bingo player.  But, wouldn’t you check the payout before committing to pay?  That’s something I always do before I sit down at a casino table.

 

I will agree that NCL is not conducive to anyone with strollers, walkers and/or scooters.  Anyone who must have any of these devices will be frustrated by the cabin hallway width, the egress/ingress of some of the areas of the ship, etc.  I believe Carnival does a much better job accommodating those who want to use a scooter, walker or stroller.

 

Royal is better than NCL in this regard, too.  But, they allow peoples’ pets on board.  So, that’s a negative there.

Hubby has no problem what so ever with his walker and the crew goes out of their way to help him. As for other lines, I can't comment as he has only used a walker on NCL. 

[graphicguy]

28 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

Hubby has no problem what so ever with his walker and the crew goes out of their way to help him. As for other lines, I can't comment as he has only used a walker on NCL. 

That’s good to hear.  I’ve seen some struggle mightily with scooters and strollers in particular because of how narrow the halls are.

[newmexicoNita]

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

That’s good to hear.  I’ve seen some struggle mightily with scooters and strollers in particular because of how narrow the halls are.

Scooters yes, they are a problem of their own. You can't limit and shouldn't limit travel for those who are disabled, but on the other hand think of how wide hallways would need to be to make it easy for scooters to be managed. It does seem like scooters are a problem even in the dining rooms. My heart goes out to people who have to use them. I will say, the Spirit would be a special problem as the ship has smaller everything as it was build for the Asian market. This goes for cabins, bathrooms, hallways etc. As for strollers, if families are going to cruise with very young children they should only be allowed to bring the small strollers on the ship. It just seems to be hard to please everyone. 

[adam_s_allen]

On every NCL cruise I've been on there have been Solo meetups arranged by NCL every night and they would arrange to have all the solos go to dinner if they choose.

[Pauser]

1 hour ago, adam_s_allen said:

On every NCL cruise I've been on there have been Solo meetups arranged by NCL every night and they would arrange to have all the solos go to dinner if they choose.

Agree. It's always listed in the Freestyle Daily, usually in the evening. And you can absolutely request a shared table in the dining room if that's what you'd like. You just might have to wait for other diners to join you. 

[nellierigby]

I found NCL to be much more accessible than Carnival. We both use scooters and our recent cruise on Carnival Magic in a fully accessible suite was still incredibly difficult for me as I cannot walk at all.  Toilets were super low, there were just 3 accessible public restrooms on the entire ship, and these all required a sharp turn from a narrow hallway. Shower benches were also too low and grab bars were not always in reach. 

 

We made the best of it but it was super hard. Handicapped seating was almost always in use by people who did not appear to be disabled, and in several venues the hostess said to me “Can’t you just park your cart and walk over?”

 

No. I can’t. Touring the shops was impossible because the aisles were narrow. Elevators were high near impossible and we literally waited over an hour after the muster drill. Most of the casino was inaccessible due to narrow aisles. 

 

Our last cruise on the Gem was much easier. Loved the automatic doors, huge restrooms and helpful attitude. 

[newmexicoNita]

15 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

Scooters yes, they are a problem of their own. You can't limit and shouldn't limit travel for those who are disabled, but on the other hand think of how wide hallways would need to be to make it easy for scooters to be managed. It does seem like scooters are a problem even in the dining rooms. My heart goes out to people who have to use them. I will say, the Spirit would be a special problem as the ship has smaller everything as it was build for the Asian market. This goes for cabins, bathrooms, hallways etc. As for strollers, if families are going to cruise with very young children they should only be allowed to bring the small strollers on the ship. It just seems to be hard to please everyone. 

Have a friend who just returned from the Panama canal cruise. She went with a friend and they did the solo thing. She said they had such a good time they didn't even use 2 of their specialty dining credits. They loved eating with new friends. Apparently the age of the solos are all over the place and not jut younger people as some might think. 

[kitkat343]

" Very disappointed with the treatment of wheelchair guests in the theater.  The only accommodations for wheelchairs are tucked in the corner. Suggested to cruise director that chairs be moved so up to 4 wheel chairs/scooters would have a good view of entertainment.  Response was corporate gobbledygook that any changes needed to be done fleet wide"  

 

I completely agree that wheelchair seating should happen in an area in which there is a good view, and should be as close to other guests as possible.  However, on land fire codes are very strict about exactly where it is safe for wheelchairs to be located and I would assume this is also the case on ships.  

 

 I wouldn't expect anyone on board a ship to be able to determine if a new spot is within all fire code and safety regulations, and would assume an architect or engineer would be involved in a decision like that.  You absolutely should write to NCL, and hopefully they will consider this when they refurbish the ship and design new ones.

 

 

In terms of the general accessibility, I do find that since space is at a premium on ships, it is quite difficult to maneuver around with a stroller.  It was no worse on the NCL star than any other line I'd sailed with kids (Princess, HAL, Cunard).  I found it best to go scope out the hallway before leaving with the kids to see which side didn't currently have a cleaning cart parked in it, so I knew which direction to take ahead of time.  I've chose to travel with small children, so I expect some degree of inconvenience and don't get annoyed with it - the stewards work hard enough as it is - but would imagine it would be much more frustrating if I were in a wheelchair and needed to deal with this permanently.  

 

[cincicruisers]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:11 AM, PTC DAWG said:

Mingling at dinner (and after)is helped by offering guests a pineapple to place on their table if they choose.  

 

Yup that would work. 😳