Blog Posts

Accessible Dolphin Quest Experience–Bermuda

I recently visited Dolphin Quest on my trip to Bermuda. Dawn was not with me on this trip so my wife Elizabeth (Liz) Schultz who is Director of Sales for Homewood Suites by Hilton in Mobile, Alabama, acted as a stand-in.

We were greeted by Sundee Faulkner, Sales and Outreach Manager for DQ Bermuda. She took us to the gift shop and sign in area for Dolphin Quest. There were some cobblestone areas in the museum, but in general would be very navigatable by wheelchair, scooter or power chair. Sundee described the process that they have in place for guests with mobility challenges: They block out exclusive times for anyone who has a disability, and others that may need extra time or privacy for their experience.

I am a Navy brat and also graduated high school in Bermuda, so perhaps that is why they put me with the dolphin named Cirris. She is actually a retired US Navy dolphin—Wow! Can you believe they put me with a navy veteran? Cirrus is also dealing with a disability, she is totally blind in one eye and so she uses her sonar and hearing to function.

Liz, also known as Dawn’s stand in, was placed at the end of the dock and scooted down the steps (please see pictures) without using her legs for the whole experience.

It was great to see that Dolphin Quest Bermuda (and their counterparts on the Big Island and Oahu in Hawaii) has made special arrangements for guests with disabilities. They are patient and know the importance of opening up this life-changing experience with dolphin to a wide-ranging group of participants. Kudos Dolphin Quest.

 

Side note–here is a brief video of Dolphin Quest Bermuda’s Sundee Faulkner explaining a recent experience with a visually-impaired guest: IMG_1403.MOV

–By Sean Schultz/Dream Vacations’ Vacation Specialist

Carnival Vista–a Breath of Fresh Air in Accessibility

Southern Caribbean Itinerary: December 3-11, 2016

I was excited to take a cruise aboard the brand spanking-new Carnival Vista last December! Dream Vacations/CruiseOne and Cruises, Inc had their annual National Conference aboard the ship, so it was the perfect opportunity to not only enjoy a cruise to the Southern Caribbean and see the many countries and islands (Grand Turk, La Romana, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao), that I had never visited before, but to have a new ship to explore as well!

I took some notes while we sailed and noted some observations:

Embarkation…we arrived very early as requested and got through the new checkin process very quickly. Carnival Cruise Lines was testing a new process in which you do your check-in at home, and add your credit card information to your file. Once complete, you just show your boarding pass and passport as you enter the cruise terminal, and your checkin is complete! A much more streamlined process. Keys are then waiting for you in an envelope outside your stateroom door.

Ease of access for me and my wheelchair from the cruise terminal onto the ship itself was seamless. Rampage was manageable for myself and my husband to maneuver together (while he rolled his carry-on along).

Once on the ship…

When you enter the ship’s lobby, you are greeted by a large open area with a HUGE centerpiece that rises up several floors, it has video images of marine life and abstract colors and is quite impressive. Definitely makes a statement. The overall colors and decor of the ship are muted and soothing, yellows and blues. The banks of elevators have 8 lifts, which makes getting a crowd dispersed easily without any elevator ‘joggying’ or stress.

The Lido Deck (Deck 10) is a wide open area with a gorgeous LED screen for watching movies or whatever else might be shown…in each corner of the Deck is a bar or food outlet…one corner had Red Frog Rum Bar, the other is a tequila bar, then the food outlets, one corner features Guy Fieri’s burgers, the other is Blue Iguana Cantina (a taco/ burrito bar), yum!

There is a wide open area around the main pool that later was used for a fun dance floor and Conga line during the kick off departure party. Very fun and did not feel crowded.

The ship is very wheelchair friendly. 99% of the thresholds I’ve encountered since being on board are beautifully smooth. The thresholds leading to the bank of elevators do require a little wheelie and some forethought before crossing, but SO much easier than on most ships I’ve been on.

Prior to heading to our cabin for the first time, we checked out the Liquid Lounge (Decks 4 and 5-Forward). It is a two-story showroom, but what I liked about it is the seats were not fixed, meaning, if I wish to stay in my wheelchair, as I do 99% of the time, I can sit anywhere, just move a seat out of the spot I want. May not sound like a luxury to those reading this, but most often I am relegated to the back row of most theaters, so this is a nice perk.

We are now off to our cabin, #11203.. our bags were waiting for us…nice! Our cabin was located at the front of the ship next to the spa. It is considered a ‘Cloud 9’ spa cabin, and is VERY large! We have a king bed and a double pull out couch! It is oceanview with a big picture window. The bathroom is beautiful and again, zero threshold to enter, nice and easy. I’ll check out the shower tomorrow, but visually it looks great. One thing I wish they had more of was drawer space in the bathroom to put my toiletries in.

Our Cloud Spa Cabin #11203 aboard the Carnival Vista

Our busy first day continued on to a cocktail party at the Tides Bar (Deck 10-Aft) and then dinner in one of the Main Dining Rooms–Reflections (Deck 3-Midship), again, super easy to access, but felt it was odd that we needed to pass through the Buffet Restaurant to access the Tides Bar.

The food and menu overall…basic items, nothing that really sounded special…there were a few items, surf and turf, lobster, filet mignon, that could be requested for $20 per person surcharge. The first night, I had the corn chowder with the flat iron steak, with peppercorn sauce and baked potato, while Mike had the shrimp cocktail with Mahi Mahi…neither of us was too impressed with our meals, they were adequate.. not exactly high praise. This was the general consensus throughout the cruise.

After dinner we went exploring for entertainment, we headed to Deck 5 where the musical entertainment resides. They have a piano bar, jazz club, dance music spot and Havana, a Latin music bar, to name just a few. We went to Havana first where a really good Salsa band was playing. Great music and fun to see lots of older people out dancing and having a great time. Then we went to the Ocean Terrace bar, good dance cover band..very fun!

It was definitely time for bed after this full first day…

Back in our cabin, we had a towel lobster waiting for us. Our room steward, Budi, introduced himself. I then got into the very easily accessible bed…perfect height–And promptly passed out!

After our first day of exploration, there was not much to report… small annoyances were the cleaning carts kept in the hallways the majority of the time, making it difficult and a hassle to navigate in a wheelchair. The shower stall in our bathroom was perfection. I love the L-shaped shower seat.. the controls are close and easy to navigate. 

Bathroom in our cabin was huge and the L-shaped shower seat was perfect!

Handicapped bathrooms throughout the common areas of the ship…some had lights to indicate usage, some didn’t…the one by the photo gallery was broken all week. The one in the Red Frog Pub was broken (locked from inside) as well. …no wheelchair section in the IMAX theater, but we were able to watch the movie from the front row.

Compared to the many other ships I’ve sailed on, the Carnival Vista was heads and tails above the others as to ease-of-accessibility in the common areas as well as in our cabin. Being able to navigate around the ship alone was a new experience for me and a welcome one as I attended classes all day in various locations while my husband was able to sleep in and enjoy his vacation.

I can highly recommend the Carnival Vista to those with a mobility challenge. Not only were thresholds between areas easy to pass over, but the layout of the ship was easy to get to and from all areas without getting exhausted with the exertion. I would sail on her again! A true vacation!

–By Dawn Beers O’Brien/Dream Vacations’ Travel Specialist

Who Are Sean and Dawn??

MEET SEAN SCHULTZ

There are two parts to my story–the first is why I travel.

Most would say travel is in my blood: at six weeks old, I moved to Korea for two years, and so it started my growing up as a navy brat.  I’ve lived all over the US and the world and 20 school systems!  I lived in Iran during the start of the civil war when the Shah left and graduated from high school in Bermuda! Lived on Adak, AL as a pre- teen and went halibut fishing with Dad and friends, as well as Italy for almost 10 years.  Worked for airlines for over 10 years and ran family hotels and restaurants in Italy.  I have visited most of Europe, much of the Caribbean, parts of Asia and the Middle East and I have been on over 80 cruises and counting!

In the US, I have lived in all 4 corners of the USA plus Alaska and Hawaii, and many spots in between.  My grandparents were part-time RV-ers using campers, a motorhome, 5th wheel trailers, AND a boat.  So I have visited the badlands, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Las Vegas, Redwoods, just to name a few. Who likes Amusement parks?  I’ve seen most– Disneyworld, Disneyland, 3 different Sea Worlds, Six Flags in five different states, both Universal Studios (Florida and California) as well as several different Kings Dominion parks. Not to be forgotten is Camp Snoopy,  which is inside the Mall of America in Minnesota.

Why the focus on Accessible Travel?

My above-mentioned grandparents drove school buses. Grandma drove a bus for the Hearing and Visually-impaired. I learned a fair amount of sign language from a book she had and I got a chance to practice, I still can do the alphabet.  Having been a moving military family I was exposed to many travel situations with disabled kids as well as some adults who had a military injury.

As a teen, I was a competitive swimmer, lifeguard and swim instructor.  I was trained and then taught over the years kids and adults who were deaf, blind, and missing limbs, as well as those with mental challenges.

Later,  as an airline instructor, I was asked to re-write the CRO (Complaints Resolution Officer) course which deals with the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which is basically the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) as it pertains to the airlines.  I did this well enough that the Secretary of Transportation sent many of their interns to my class. I also taught many classes on how to assist passengers with special needs through airports and had many guest lecturers from the Disabled community. I was also invited to Washington DC to participate on the large committee to advise, recommend and counsel on changes, additions, and clarification of the ACAA.  Hence, I’m “The Guy Who Helped write THE BOOK” (On Accessible Travel)

MEET DAWN BEERS O’BRIEN

My name is Dawn Beers OBrien. I am owner and travel agent for my company Wheelie Fun Cruise and Travel, LLC. To give a little background as to why I am joining Sean on this blog. I want to share with you all how I feel my experience and knowledge can hopefully help you and your clients understand the needs of clients with disabilities. Our ultimate goal is to make their travel plans not only enjoyable, but as stress free as possible.

As I approach my 50th birthday later this year, my ‘story’ goes back more than 30 years ago when I was in a serious car accident at age 18. I broke my neck in three places and severed my spinal cord, rendering me with a permanent disability and life in a wheelchair.

Back in 1985 when I was injured, there wasn’t an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What this means is that, if I went to a place of business and there was a stairway or other form of obstacle to enter, I was out of luck, I had no way to enter and no right to complain that I could not enter.

Seems so foreign to me now that I have a level of independence that the ADA has afforded me and if I am faced with a business not in compliance with the law, I can demand action.
My desire to get into the travel industry began when I visited Walt Disney World in 1992. I was 7 years post injury, and the ADA had been in place for only a year and a half at this point. My expectations were not high as I was used to having difficulty entering most buildings, crossing the street, because there were no curb cuts, etc…however, everything changed in my life forever with this first trip to WDW. For the first time in 7 years, I felt like an equal to the rest of the world, I felt independent because I could cross the street alone, not requiring assistance to get up on a curb, I could enter a building alone because there were automatic door openers or ramps that led the way –it was truly an awakening.

After this trip, I started traveling on a regular basis. Soon I went to work for a travel company as a reservationist selling travel packages to people all over the world. I felt encouraged to travel outside of the US as the ADA was soon influencing other countries to acknowledge the special needs market.

Fast forward to 2017. I have been in a wheelchair for 31 years and in the travel business since 1996. I have seen a lot of changes in this industry and a much larger focus on making travel accessible to all forms of special needs clients. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean that things are perfect, in fact far from it, I still face obstacles, both physical and attitudinal, whenever I travel, but have learned to take each of these experiences and turn it into either a learning experience for those involved, or have taken action so that my bad experience are not repeated for future special needs travelers.

Sean and I are hoping that this blog will provide helpful and insightful information to all of our readers. With our professional and personal experience and knowledge, we hope travel professionals and travelers with special needs alike, find our tidbits useful and educational.

Know your rights and how to seek and get resolution! A success story

**A Dream Vacations owner/agent recently shared the following account on our agent only Facebook Page**

Edited for clarity:  ‘Huge issue on board for my client in a wheelchair – Client confirmed through the Cruise Line’s Accessibility Department that the tender equipment needed by a client in a wheelchair was on board. Turns out the equipment had been broken for months and the clients were not notified. Captain won’t let wheelchair-using guest disembark on tender ports without that broken equipment.

Cruise Line tried to throw me (their travel agent) under the bus and blamed it on “Your travel agent should have told you.” but client has email from the Accessible Department confirming that they have available the equipment for him to tender in his wheelchair.

Clients’ wife is very conscientious about making sure her vacations are accessible to her husband. She has correspondence from the cruise line stating that they have the equipment on the ship.

From the cruise line’s brochure, it clearly states that only two ships (NOT the one they are on) are the only ships without this equipment. Clients called me from Hilo (Hawaii)- they want off the ship in Honolulu and a prorated refund. (And yes I know that violates the Passenger Service Vessel act AKA the Jones Act)

These are great clients so I am so mad at the cruise line right now.’

Update: Both Dawn and I reached out to this agent to get a few more details, and found out that they have been told by the captain they will not be allowed off the ship at any of the south seas Islands because of this for “Safety Reasons.” They have tried to get a resolution, but sadly just sorry “we can’t do that”.

The client is a bit of an athlete and even though a paraplegic, he said he can get himself from the ship to the tender, he just needs help getting his lightweight collapsible chair onto the tender, but was told no to that as well.  Once they sail past Honolulu they will be stuck on the ship for over a week while other guests go about the islands of the South Pacific.  Dawn and I gave ideas of how to get help and I gave the final BIG GUN solution: write an email to the CEO of the company, as well as working from the bottom middle and high (through the cruise line reps and others).

The next day the agent calls to advise that her client had been called to guest services on the ship where a pale, shaking employee told them that they havenever had a travel agent send a letter to the CEO!

The cruise line ended up giving them a full refund, paid the Jones Act fine ($300 each!), paid for the flight home, 50% off a future cruise, AND an apology!

Don’t be afraid to stand up for your clients….. this travel agent and our colleague was smart enough to ask, if you don’t ask you won’t receive.. her commission was protected, which was only fair as she actually did double work.

As the Immortal Stan Lee (creator of Spider-Man and other Marvel Hero’s) would say, ‘NUFF SAID’.

 

–By Sean Schultz/Dream Vacations’ Vacation Specialist

**Editor’s note: Have you ever had an experience in which you had an issue and received what you felt was an appropriate resolution? We would love to hear your stories!

 

The recent “Princess Bed’ trend at Hotels

–By Dawn Beers O’Brien

The story of the princess beds…In recent years, hotels have begun to ‘upgrade’ the beds that they have in their rooms. I call them ‘Princess beds’ because they look like the beds in the story “The Princess and the Pea” they keep getting higher and higher. The hotels apparently think they look better, but by installing these ‘princess beds’ they are actually violating the specifics of the Americans with Disabilities Act that dictates how high the level of the bed can be in a room designated as ADA.

Does this stop the resort from installing these beds in these rooms? Much to my continuous frustration, no. According to the ADA (Title III Accommodations) hotel beds have to have a height between 20 to 23 inches from the floor to the top of the mattress in accessible guest rooms. If the bed in the room does not meet this specification, the hotel must accommodate the wheelchair guest and make whatever adjustments are necessary.

Bad bed height…well above the 20-23′ threshold

I was recently at the Paris Las Vegas hotel for a Travel Agent Forum conference (March 2017), for the second year in a row, the room I was provided had a bed with a height of at least 30 inches high. When I spoke to the front desk, I was informed that the hotel recently underwent renovations and that ALL of their rooms now had the new bedding. I advised that I could not get into the bed at all, the front desk representative spoke to a manager, and advised that they were going to move me to another room. I assumed the new room would have a lowered bed, but it didn’t, it was exactly the same. While waiting for that room to become available, they offered to send a roll-away up to my room to see if that would suffice. It did not, it was much too low.

I don’t want to come across as Goldilocks in ‘The Three Bears’ Fable, “this one is too low, this one is too high, I want one that is just right…” Having the ability to scoot evenly from my wheelchair seat across onto the bed mattress is what I require in order to gain access to the bed. Wheelchair seats fall within the 20-23 inch height threshold, so when provided, are easily accessible for the wheelchair-user.

After removing the bed frame, the bed height is now perfect-even with the seat of my wheelchair-YEAH! I can not get into bed, what a concept!

After my third attempt at finding resolution, the hotel finally realized that they needed to accommodate me somehow, and finally came up with the solution of taking out the bedframe from the bed in my room. It was perfect! Why the hotel hadn’t thought of this before or even attempted to accommodate the required height of the beds in their ADA rooms following their recent renovation is beyond me…but it is situations like this that are constant and what I call ‘attitudinal’ discrimination. Since this experience, I have sent the hotel manager my request to have the bedframes removed from the beds in all of the ADA rooms, but my email was not responded to.

The fight continues, but knowing my rights and the specifics of the Americans with Disabilities Act, allows me to confidently advise that my needs have to be acknowledged and accommodated.