Topic: Ventura For Disabled

My husband and I are both deaf and when we told Reception we were deaf they were most helpful




you may have told the reception and they would alert a designated team to get you to muster in the event of an emergency this takes time to organize so did you make the cabin steward aware before muster? When did you go to reception? Before or after muster? Did you make the cruise line aware of special needs when booking? It is difficult for other people to be aware that deaf people have a problem unlike wheelchair users who normally confirm their needs at the time of booking and are easily seen at check in, so I am not surprised at your comments. On most cruise ships you have a TV in your room this explains lifeboat drill and on the back of your cabin door as in all land based hotels there are instructions as to the primary and secondary routes to safety when you leave your cabin follow the route and you will find crew members stationed to guide you to your muster station. The life jacket has your number on it so they can indicate which way to go.

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would like to hear from anybody that has any form of disabilities that has actually been on Ventura, How did you rate the ship.was it easy to get about.

Hello again Brian, I have just been looking at the reviews and quite a few mention being given PAGERS when they are on freedom dining. what happens if the person is deaf does that mean they will not be able to use a pager so therfore cant go on Freedom dining? Last cruise I was on was Ventura we used the main dining room so that was no problem with us but I do wonder if any deaf person wanted to go to the freedom Resturant they would not be able to unless there were seats available right away.

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My husband and I are both deaf and when we told Reception we were deaf they were most helpful




you may have told the reception and they would alert a designated team to get you to muster in the event of an emergency this takes time to organize so did you make the cabin steward aware before muster? When did you go to reception? Before or after muster? Did you make the cruise line aware of special needs when booking? It is difficult for other people to be aware that deaf people have a problem unlike wheelchair users who normally confirm their needs at the time of booking and are easily seen at check in, so I am not surprised at your comments. On most cruise ships you have a TV in your room this explains lifeboat drill and on the back of your cabin door as in all land based hotels there are instructions as to the primary and secondary routes to safety when you leave your cabin follow the route and you will find crew members stationed to guide you to your muster station. The life jacket has your number on it so they can indicate which way to go.

Hello Spartan, I phoned P&O 3 months before my Cruise on Ventura telling them we were deaf and asking them if there was the equipment for deaf people on board ( flashing door bell, vibrating alarm clock, text phone) and they said Yes so they were very much aware as they told us to go to reception as soon as we boarded so that they would know we were deaf and needed the equipment so WE DID and it was put in our room. the room steward was also told we were deaf, we only found out about the Safety excersise by reading the ships newspaper and we went but went to the wrong muster station but were not told this until after the excersise when we were asked why we were in that section when it was the wrong one. As this was our very 1st cruise we did not know anything and tried our best to understand the layout of the ship but obviously we got it wrong but AFTER that excersise we went to reception and asked for the Safety Officer and she asked US what she should do as she had not thought of how deaf people should be given information on emergencys even though she had worked on other of P&O's ships before the Ventura. she said no-one had thought of helping deaf people through this. She did later on give us a typed copy of what was being said but what about the other deaf people and other ships. I have now thought that as deaf people have limited knowledge of Written and spoken English the best thing to do is to make a DVD in BSL (British Sign Language) explaining all about the safety excersise and showing it to those that are deaf. I think that all Cruising Companies have ignored the need for deaf people to understand the importance of safety on a ship or they either have simply not thought about it. Regards

what happens if the person is deaf does that mean they will not be able to use a pager so therfore cant go on Freedom dining?

They light up and vibrate

[QUOTE=Carnegie, Glenrothes;1918]Hello Spartan, I phoned P&O 3 months before my Cruise on Ventura

They are not getting the message then it seems that like many they don't practice inclusion. Hopefully they look in at this site and if we all hold our breath they will do something to get the act together. Hope it gets through to them.

Mr/Mrs Carnegie, I think YOU are the ideal person to spearhead a 'campaign' to make cruise lines aware of the problems deaf passengers face. You state you were novice cruisers on the p&o cruise and were not totally aware of procedures. If I were a H&S officer of a cruise line, I would pick up on this thread and invite you to go through a ship and it's day to day running with a fine toothcomb so strategies could be put in place for their deaf passengers.

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Mr/Mrs Carnegie, I think YOU are the ideal person to spearhead a 'campaign' to make cruise lines aware of the problems deaf passengers face. You state you were novice cruisers on the p&o cruise and were not totally aware of procedures. If I were a H&S officer of a cruise line, I would pick up on this thread and invite you to go through a ship and it's day to day running with a fine toothcomb so strategies could be put in place for their deaf passengers.

Thank you for your kind words Morton, I would certainly do that if I had the chance, but I doubt that would happen if P&O can Ignore my call about Deaf People at the Muster stations then I doubt they would even think of bothering to contact me now, However I have contacted the RNID Royal National Institute for the Deaf and asked them to get in touch with the Cruise Lines to bring this matter of the Muster stations up but I cant understand why on earth they have not brought it up already as I am sure many of them who work there must have been on cruises themselves and noticed that the Safety Procedures in place just now is not helpful to deaf People as it struck me straight away, but so far I have had no word back from them either. We have booked 2 more cruises and I hope there will be better info on them. Thank you for your interest.

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what happens if the person is deaf does that mean they will not be able to use a pager so therfore cant go on Freedom dining?

They light up and vibrate

My goodness Spartan we didnt know that otherwise we would have booked freedom Dining so thanks for telling us. It has also given me the idea that if we were given one for our room and there was an emergency we would see it light up and be able to get out quick enough. Where we worked we had a pager in case of fire and everytime the fire alarms went off the pager vibrated and flsahed at the same time so we always knew to go outside to our places. So that would work with a ship but still have to get infoabout the muster stations. Thanks again!

Anyone with walking difficulties, especially wheelchair users, should avoid the Nile River Cruise on the MS Da Vinci. We, fortunately, are not disabled but we have a friend who is, and we quickly noticed that it would have been impossible for her to do this cruise. Negotiating narrow gang planks, stepping from one boat to another (if yours was moored on the outside of several others), no lifts and a twisting narrow staircase to the sun deck. The dining room, lounge and bar were on a floor only accessible by stairs and the brochure said absolutely nothing about it being unsuitable for the disabled. The only comment was that the cruise was not suitable for children under 10! I suppose, if you are disabled, you should talk to the cruise operator before booking but, nevertheless, I feel that it is irresponsible not to point out these things in the brochure.

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Anyone with walking difficulties, especially wheelchair users, should avoid the Nile River Cruise on the MS Da Vinci. .

How about writing a review under the heading? “Not suitable for the disabled”
If nothing else you will get a free Berlitz guide to cruising. More importantly it may save someone from a holiday disaster!