Gary K.
Yelp
WARNING!!!
IF YOU HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES DO NOT BOOK A CRUISE ON THE DISNEY WONDER!!
Earlier this week, I filed a 7-page, comprehensive, formal complaint, which included solutions, with the Disney Cruise Line regarding numerous and dangerous accessibility issues that we experienced on our May 16, 2018 cruise with our disabled daughter. Our daughter requires the use of a transport-style wheelchair any time she is out of the her home or out of the stateroom. We also copied our formal complaint to Cruise Line International Association, Department of Justice ADA and The Open Doors organization.
This review does not allow room for me to include the entire 7-page complaint, so anyone wishing to receive a copy, may PRIVATE MESSAGE me through Yelp, and I will email it to you.
The serious accessibility issues that we encountered onboard the Wonder are as follows:
1: Elevators that are too small, doors that do not stay open long enough and door sensors that are inoperable.
2: Exterior to interior thresholds are impassible on Deck 9 without assistance. It took 3-4 adults to get our daughter over the threshold on Deck 9 (Pool, restaurants, coffee shop, movie theatre, etc): 2 people to lift her wheelchair, and 1-2 people to hold the doors open!
3: Severely limited number of automatic, ADA, entry doors. The one ADA door that we found did not stay open long enough to even push our daughter through it before it began closing.
4: A treacherous and narrow gangplank was used in Victoria BC, which had 2 very steep switchbacks. See Photo. Prior to disembarking, we consulted with a crew member at the entry gangway, who assured us, that the gangplank was, "fine," for disembarking with our wheelchair. In reality, it was very dangerous, and took both my wife and I, and all of our strength, to safely get the wheelchair, and our daughter, to the bottom of the steep gangplank. Upon re-boarding the Wonder, there was no assistance available, or crew member present, to help us push our daughter back up the treacherous gangplank. We were forced to plead to a fellow passenger who we did not know to ask for help to push our daughter back onto the ship.
5: There is crucial accessibility information that is intentionally being omitted and hidden from Disney's Special Services Information form. In addition, there are NO warning signs, call buttons or crew members present to offer assistance in the areas of inaccessibility. Nor, are any of the major accessibility issues listed above "revealed" in any written, online or onboard materials.
Ana Carter, with the Executive Offices of Disney Cruise Line, called me today to response to our complaint. The essence of Ana's response was dismissive, to say the least. Instead of taking responsibility and caring about what happened to our daughter, and ourselves, onboard the Wonder, Ana, instead, chose to blame our travel agent, stating that she should have informed us that we needed to complete the Special Services Information form prior to our cruise. Fortunately, 100% of the time, we do not require any assistance when traveling with our daughter. We do not use accessible staterooms, require airport assistance, or any other type of assistance from anyone, at anytime. Nothing on the Special Services Information form applied to us so we did not complete it. Had the Special Services Information form disclosed the magnitude of the accessibility issues onboard the Wonder for persons with mobility issues, we would have had a reason to complete it.
The only thing worse than the blatant negligence displayed onboard the Wonder in regards to accessibility, was how Ana handled her response to our complaint. She took NO responsibility, whatsoever, for any of our complaint issues. Instead, Ana, blamed our travel agent and blamed us for not completing the Special Services Information form, inferring that had we completed it, assistance would have been available to us at all times. Absurd! Again, had the accessibility issues outlined above been "revealed" on the Special Services Information form, we would have "known" to complete it.
We will NEVER entrust our disabled daughter's safety and security to a Disney Cruise Line ship ever again.
IF YOU HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES, THINK TWICE BEFORE CHOOSING DISNEY CRUISE LINE FOR YOUR NEXT CRUISE.