IF DISABLED, DO NOT TAKE A VACATION ON THE WONDER!
Disney Wonder Cruise Review to Coastal - West Coast
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 5
5 Night California Coast Northbound (San Diego To Vancouver)
Sail date: May 16, 2018
Ship: Disney Wonder
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
On May 16th, 2018, my wife and I took my disabled daughter, Khrizma, on her first Disney Cruise on the Disney Wonder. We have taken Khrizma to Disneyland 23 times in the past ten years, and we felt that it was time to give her a new, magical Disney experience. Cruising on the Wonder was scheduled to replace the 2018 spring trip to Disneyland for Khrizma where we typically take her to celebrate her birthday every year. We also fly Khrizma to Disneyland every mid-November so that she can enjoy all of the special Christmas decorations, lights and music. In addition, we fly her to Las Vegas 1 – 2 times a year to see a special concert by one of her favorite superstars, as music literally makes life worth living for Khrizma. In November 2017, Khrizma got to hold hands with Cher at the conclusion of her concert. Celine Dion has had Khrizma as her special guest at two of her concerts. At one of Celine’s concerts, she gave us seats next to her manager’s family, where she sang part of a song directly to Khrizma and blew her a kiss at the conclusion of her special song. It is rare for someone with Khrizma’s level of disability to ever leave their home, let alone fly, and now, cruise. In all of the numerous trips that we have taken with Khrizma, we have never experienced such hardship with accessibility in our attempt to give Khrizma an extraordinary experience. To take Khrizma “anywhere,” even to the grocery store, requires a significant amount of time and energy in order to plan and prepare to meet Khrizma’s complex medical and behavioral needs outside of the home. Because of a complex medical condition, Khrizma, requires an adaptive form of transportation; a fully-equipped, 25’ foot, Prism, motorhome that contains a residential size toilet. It takes an enormous amount of effort and sacrifice to give Khrizma a life worth living each and every day. However, due to the challenges we experienced onboard the Wonder, which appear to be the result of an utter lack of preparedness and awareness for wheelchair passengers, we can never again consider taking Khrizma on another Disney cruise. We feel it is imperative that we file a formal complaint documenting the challenges our family experienced onboard the Wonder in hopes of causing much needed change for wheelchair users who wish to take a Disney cruise. First and foremost, we have only the highest commendations for the Wonder’s crew and staff, with one exception, that we will go into more detail about further down in this letter. All others gave 150% of themselves to make sure that our experience was memorable. Our steward, Garry, was exceptional, and utterly dedicated to serving us, and meeting our unusual needs, as we worked hard to serve and meet Khrizma’s complex medical and behavioral needs. It is not often, if at all, that life-long caregivers ever get the chance to be cared for by someone else. We will never forget the incredible support that Garry so beautifully, and professionally, gave to us while we worked hard to give our daughter a wonderful and safe, first-cruise, experience. There were other crew members, too, who we encountered that were friendly and very accommodating and who truly represented the Disney way. We especially appreciated assistance from numerous buffet servers that offered to carry our plates of food when they could tell it was challenging pushing a wheelchair with one hand while holding a full plate of food in the other. Khrizma requires Exclusive Focus monitoring and is not allowed to be unattended at any time in public, and therefore, could not be left at a table alone while we filled her plate at the buffet line. Servers also quickly located tables for us that would easily accommodate Khrizma’s wheelchair. Ushers at the stage shows were exemplary, getting us seated in the first row, and Simone at the Golden Mickey show, was second-to-none in her willingness to assist us before and during the show. However, the reason we are writing this letter involves a serious and dangerous lack of ADA awareness and preparedness for wheelchair passengers onboard the Wonder. The constant and unexpected accessibility issues that we experienced aboard the Wonder, were the most difficult, and least navigable, situations that we have encountered in 30 + years of assisting our daughter in a wheelchair! Since we know that we are not the first people to board the Wonder in a wheelchair, and we have confirmation that other passengers have complained, we are stunned that the problems we encountered have not been resolved long ago, when many solutions are available that are not cost prohibitive. This is the reason we felt a strong need to file a formal complaint alerting the Disney Cruise Line, as well as, alerting other agencies and organizations. Please consider this letter our formal complaint about the Wonder’s accessibility for people who require a wheelchair for mobility, whether they require an attendant to propel them, as our daughter does, or whether they can self-propel. We hope that the information presented below will prompt Disney Cruise Line to finally take these issues very seriously and resolve them quickly for the benefit of all future passengers with mobility issues. In order to begin, it is important that you know who Khrizma is, her level of functioning and her medical and behavioral needs. Khrizma has both Down Syndrome and Autism. She is non-verbal, and, at age 36, functions at the two-and-a-half-year-old level. Khrizma requires 24-hour care and cannot bathe, dress or groom herself. She cannot prepare her own meals or even get herself a drink of water. Music is Khrizma’s passion in life and the reason she wants to wake up and face another day trapped in a body and brain that hold her back from so much in life. So, we made a promise to her when she was an infant, that she would be surrounded by music every waking moment, and she is. Khrizma is literally dependent on other’s support for her very life every minute of every day. It is medically and behaviorally necessary that Khrizma have “2” attendants by her side at all times when traveling. She has limited mobility and uses a wheelchair when out in the community. She does not use a wheelchair inside of her home, hotel rooms or other family member’s homes. This is one of the reasons why we did not request an ADA stateroom on board the Wonder like some passengers who do not have “2” attendants supporting them. Khrizma cannot walk quickly, cannot walk long distances, cannot wait in line on her feet and cannot walk on uneven surfaces, which is why a wheelchair is needed whenever she is out in the community. Khrizma also has behavioral issues due to severe anxiety caused by autism. A wheelchair provides Khrizma the security she requires neurologically to keep her calm and safe to be around other people and provides Khrizma with physical relief from being expected to walk. We transport Khrizma in a transport-style wheelchair when out in the community since she is incapable, physically and cognitively, of propelling herself in a regular style wheelchair. A transport chair has two small wheels in the front, and two small wheels in the back. In addition, when transporting Khrizma, we have a large nylon tote which contains medications, incontinence supplies, back-up clothing and numerous other items needed in an emergency. The tote adds additional weight and width to the wheelchair making it more difficult to push, especially, on inclines or through narrow passageways. We have always assisted Khrizma ourselves when getting on and off all flights. We have never requested any special assistance at any airport. When environments and surfaces are predictable and accessible, my wife and I, together, are more than capable of providing Khrizma with mobility support so that she can access her community and the world. In December 2017, my wife and I took our first cruise; a Celebrity Cruise onboard the Equinox. This was only our “4th” vacation alone in 36 years of marriage. We felt much more comfortable taking Khrizma on her first cruise after having had our first-cruise experience to help us better prepare for what to expect. However, nothing could have prepared us for the following accessibility issues onboard the Wonder since they were not disclosed anywhere on your SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM. This is why there was no reason for us to complete this form since in typical, ADA compliant environments, which we believed the Wonder was going to be, my wife and I, are more than capable of meeting all of Khrizma’s needs ourselves without needing assistance from others. However, the Disney Cruise line, keeps “hidden” the fact that the Wonder is not ADA compliant. Nowhere on the SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM are accessibility issues listed in this formal complaint described so that we could have been fully informed of what to expect onboard the Wonder and completed the form requesting assistance. Nowhere in any of Disney’s other literature does any mention appear that the Wonder is not ADA compliant alerting us that there would be numerous challenges and dangerous situations that wheelchair users would encounter. Nowhere in the areas where these challenges exist on the ship was a single sign posted alerting wheelchair users that an accessibility issue is present with instructions as to how to request assistance, if needed, by a trained crew member. PROBLEM # 1: ELEVATORS • From the moment we boarded the Wonder, and first attempted to get on an elevator, we realized that the elevators at midship were too small for my wife and I, Khrizma, and her wheelchair, if other passengers were also on the elevator. This made for extreme crowding where we had to provide physical support to Khrizma so that she would not grab and hurt a child or an adult in a sudden, aggressive act because they were standing too close to her, or in many cases, coming in direct contact with her or her wheelchair. • We had to wait over 15 minutes to get on an elevator to the 6th floor when we arrived on the ship the first day, since an elevator that would fit the three of us, and the wheelchair, was not available. We eventually figured out that we needed to call an elevator to go “down,” even though we wanted to go “up” to the 6th floor, in order to find an elevator that would have room for us. There were NO crewmembers assisting disabled guests at the midship bank of elevators. A crew member standing by would have been of great assistance to us, and other wheelchair users, that we also witnessed were having trouble getting an elevator to take them to their stateroom. I, personally, experienced a significant amount of unnecessary and undue stress and anxiety while waiting this long for an elevator in the overcrowded elevator area due to Khrizma’s escalating anxiety and possible aggression when in close proximity to others. This was added angst in addition to all of the other stressors that people typically experience with first getting on a ship. Remember, we had only been on one previous cruise in our lives, and we had never before cruised with our disabled daughter. • Another problem that presented itself was that when we pushed the elevator call button, unless we were standing directly in front of an arriving elevator, we were unable to have adequate time to push the wheelchair to the other side of the bank of elevators and get inside of the elevator before the door quickly closed. Again, having a crew member stationed at the bank of elevators during peak riding times, but especially on the first day during boarding to hold the elevator doors open exclusively for passengers in wheelchairs, would have been a saving grace! • In addition, the sensors on the elevator doors did not sense when someone was getting on or off the elevator, nor, did they sense when someone placed their hand or arm between the doors in an attempt to trigger the sensors to hold the door open longer so that we, and others, could get safely inside the elevator as is standard with elevators in malls and hospitals. Many times, we observed other passengers having the same difficulty as they, too, risked injury attempting to unsuccessfully hold back the powerful, closing doors to get everyone safely inside. The “open door” button inside of the elevators also did not always work correctly on many elevators in spite of being repeatedly pushed. SOLUTION: Designate and dedicate, with a large ADA, wheelchair symbol, that “1” elevator at all locations and at all times be used solely for your disabled passengers in wheelchairs, scooters or those passengers using a cane or walker. Repair or replace sensors on all elevators so that they are much more sensitive and responsive to someone entering and exiting, thus, eliminating the risk of injury to passengers when attempting to physically hold the doors open. Repair or replace the “open door” button inside of all elevators eliminating the risk of injury to passengers when attempting to prevent the powerful doors from closing because the button does not work. Lengthen the amount of time the doors remain open to allow for people in wheelchairs who need to move from one end of the bank of elevators to the other in order to catch an arriving elevator. Have a crew member stationed at all banks of elevators to assist passengers in wheelchairs on the first day of the cruise when everyone is boarding, and also during peak riding times when large groups of people need to go eat, see a show, etc. The assisting crew members would perform the duty of calling an elevator for passengers in wheelchairs and holding the elevator door open until the wheelchair passenger was safely inside. All assisting crew members should wear a vest with the large, ADA, wheelchair symbol on it so that wheelchair passengers can easily find them and know that they will receive assistance when facing the challenges of riding the elevators onboard the Wonder. The vest would also ensure that other passengers did not expect the crew member to call an elevator or hold a door for them. The crew members sole duty would be to serve passengers with any type of mobility issue; wheelchairs, scooters and those using a walker or cane. PROBLEM # 2: DOOR THRESHHOLDS ON DECK 9 • On Deck 9, all of the entry thresholds going back into the ship were impassible with our daughter’s transport chair without the support of 3-4 able-bodied adults assisting her with the passing through the door. Due to the wooden, sunken, slatted drain, which was positioned approximately 2 feet back from the door, the rear wheels of our daughter’s wheelchair would sink into that drain opening just as the front wheels hit the ½ - 1” high threshold. This resulted in the front wheels becoming stuck as the back wheels were caught in the slatted drain, and thus, prevented forward movement. In order to overcome both of these challenges in order to get our daughter through the door, my wife was forced to pick up the front wheels of the wheelchair that our 113-pound, disabled daughter was sitting in, while I, then, lifted the back wheels of the wheelchair out of the drain. In other words, my wife had to lift the front wheels up and over the high threshold, as I lifted the rear wheels out of the drain, while 1-2 other passengers held the “non-automatic” doors open for us. Ridiculous! This is the scenario that played out each and every time that we wanted to move about Deck #9. We believe we experienced a similar issue of impassibility on deck 3 during the muster, however, we only accessed that area once, so, we do not remember exactly what the challenge was at that location of entering and exiting the ship. SOLUTION: Install a simple, flat ramp, that would raise the level of the drain to match the level of the impassible thresholds on deck 9, and possibly, deck 3. This would enable just “1” attendant to push a wheelchair over these thresholds instead of the 3 or 4 attendants that we needed during our cruise. Install an ADA, automatic, wheelchair door button at all thresholds where crossing is difficult for wheelchair users. If Disney will not quickly implement the two solutions listed above, then a crew member needs to stand at all times at all thresholds that have an accessibility issue, in order to be of assistance without the passenger calling for help and waiting for help to arrive. Immediately install signs on both sides of these impassible thresholds alerting wheelchair users that accessibility issues are present. Note: We voiced our concern about the thresholds to Ashley, Assistant Cruise Director, who told us that there had been discussions about the impassable nature of the thresholds on floor 9. However, as we unfortunately discovered on our cruise, the problem had not been remedied but was still in “discussion”. It is sad, that at this late date, that those “discussions” have not already led to a solution to the impassibility on deck 9 for wheelchair users. PROBLEM # 3: ADA, WHEELCHAIR, AUTOMATIC DOORS • ADA, automatic wheelchair doors, when activated by pushing the large, round button on the wall, did not stay open long enough to allow for safe and convenient passage through them with a wheelchair to the same degree as other ADA, automatic wheelchair doors that we have encountered in schools, malls, hospitals, etc. The Wonder’s ADA automatic doors would begin closing before we got ourselves, and the wheelchair through, so we had to physically hold the door open in order to safely pass through and prevent injury. SOLUTION: Install an ADA, automatic wheelchair door at every possible entry point on the Wonder. There were not nearly enough of these ADA doors on board to assist passengers in wheelchairs. Repair or replace the timers on all ADA, automatic wheelchair doors to stay open for a longer length of time PROBLEM # 4: GANGPLANK IN VICTORIA BC Treacherous conditions when disembarking via the “gangplank” off the ship in Victoria BC: • Approximately 30 minutes prior to being given the signal that we could disembark the ship for a day of fun in Victoria B,C., we, with our daughter present in her wheelchair, went to the promenade and asked the attendant securing the gangway exit if the gangplank was accessible for our daughter in her wheelchair. The attendant replied that the gangplank was “fine.” The doors to the gangway were blocked and closed, and therefore, we could not see for ourselves what the gangplank looked like. We trusted that the information that we received from the attendant was truthful and accurate, and assumed that the gangplank would be similar to what we experienced when boarding the ship in San Diego. (We did not get off the ship in San Francisco so we do not know what the gangplank was like there.) It was apparent that the crew member that we consulted with did not have any accessibility training or knowledge in order to adequately and safely determine if the gangplank would present a danger to anyone with mobility issues using that treacherous gangplank. Please access video surveillance, if available, to identify the crew member that we spoke with about the safety of the gangplank for our daughter’s wheelchair and witness, for yourself, his rapid dismissal or our question about the gangway and gangplank. Unfortunately, after walking down the first section of the gangplank, we soon discovered that the gangplank was “not” fine, as the crew member assured us, but in reality, presented a serious, and dangerous, challenge to our ability to safely get our daughter in her wheelchair, and ourselves, off the ship. We instantly became very alarmed when we saw that there were 2, steep switchbacks, with the first switchback being close to a 45-degree, downhill grade! See Attachment 1 and Attachment 2; Gangplank photos. The second switchback was not quite as steep, about a 35-degree downhill grade, but still held danger for anyone attempting to bring a wheelchair down such a steep ramp. Due to the fact that we were one of the first families to leave the ship (as the surveillance video documents), there were numerous people behind us wanting to go ashore. This resulted in a us descending down the narrow, 45-degree gangplank, without the option of turning back. In order to safely navigate going down the switchbacks, I had to position myself in front of the wheelchair, walking backwards down the gangplank, in order to apply resistance pressure to the front of the wheelchair to slow down its speed, while my wife held on to the wheelchair handle bars in back, pulling hard to also slow down the speed of the wheelchair. We both held our breath and hoped and prayed that we did not lose our footing in order to get our daughter down the ramp safely. If the gangplank had been wet, there is no way that we could have safely made it to the bottom. Due to our daughter having autism, she became extremely fearful, anxious and agitated when she felt herself going down such a steep incline. There was not a single crew member standing at the top of the gangplank warning us of the steep downhill grade to come, or, offering to assist us down this treacherous ramp. Therefore, we were left to deal with this sudden and unexpected danger entirely on our own………. After speaking with Sam, at Western Stevedoring, on June 1, 2018, the provider of the gangplank at Victoria B.C. harbor, I was informed that the switchback-style gangplank is used dependent on the shell door chosen by the cruise ship. Sam acknowledged the difficulty of this type of ramp for anyone with mobility issues. Sam informed me that when this dangerous type of gangplank is employed, cruise ship operators always provide assistance to the disabled for safe disembarking and embarking. There was absolutely no assistance provided to us that day, nor, was there a crew member present to help us navigate that dangerous gangplank. Attempting to board the ship in Victoria BC; After a day of fun and shopping in Victoria B.C., we faced an entirely different set of challenges when attempting to bring our daughter back on board that we didn’t expect. I was able, with great effort, to push my daughter up the first, less-inclined switchback, but I quickly realized when I got to the first landing, that it would be impossible for me to push my daughter up the second, much steeper incline switchback by myself without risking injury or faltering part way up the ramp. I didn’t have the strength alone to push the wheelchair up the steep ramp, and since the ramp was so narrow, my wife assisting me in pushing the wheelchair, was not an option. Therefore, we had to wait and summon a younger, stronger man to push our daughter in her wheelchair up the steep incline ramp and back onto the ship! Go to this YouTube link to see a video of my wife pleading for someone to help me push Khrizma up the Disney Wonder’s treacherous gangplank in Victoria BC. https://youtu.be/BoRWm1T_zPg The strong wind that is evident on the footage added even more challenge and danger to our ability to navigate this dangerous gangplank without a crew member being present to assist us and others. A crew member later told us that the Port of Victoria is not a port used regularly, and therefore, the gangplank is not like the equipment used in San Diego or Vancouver. Western Stevedoring confirmed that Disney only visits Victoria once or twice a year, unlike some other cruise lines. Either way, it was Disney’s responsibility to have assistance available for ALL wheelchair users who might need help going up and down that dangerous gangplank to ensure their safety. Or, if assistance crew members are not made available, deny disembarking to wheelchair users for their own safety. It astounds me that any able-bodied person would not be able to simply look at that dangerous gangplank and realize that it could prove difficult for some passengers, and impassible, for others when navigating steep gangplanks. SOLUTIONS: Disney needs to train the attendants that stand at the gangway to look for wheelchair users waiting in line to exit the ship that may need extra support. The attendant needs to be trained to call for help in order to keep people safe when leaving and returning to the ship at this unique port. It was obvious that the crew member we consulted with, and trusted, regarding the safety of this gangplank, had absolutely no awareness of anyone’s needs in a wheelchair, or the needs of the caregivers supporting people in wheelchairs. This crew member made absolutely no attempt to clearly, and honestly, describe for us what we would face as we left the ship – even when we asked! He did not have the slightest thought or concern about our welfare and safety when navigating such a dangerous gangplank. This attendant is the one person who did not do their best to keep our disabled daughter safe on our first Disney cruise. Instead of taking our question serious about the nature of the gangway that we could not yet see, the attendant brushed us off, gave a quick response, “it’s fine,” and moved on with his duties. Signs with the wheelchair symbol need to be posted at the gangway of the ship with trained crew members standing there, wearing ADA wheelchair vests, being ready and willing to assist disabled people in wheelchairs without having to be summoned. Disney Cruise lines either opens a different shell, invests in its own modified gangplank for use in Victoria B.C., or it carries a special elevator or lift that can be used when necessary in order to allow wheelchair users to safely disembark and embark. The dangerous gangplank in Victoria B.C. was not even safe for trained crew members to take a wheelchair up or down!! PROBLEM # 5: CRUCIAL INFORMATION THAT IS MISSING ON THE SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM • None of the accessibility challenges that our family experienced on the Wonder are documented in Disney’s SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM. Therefore, families like us, who have never needed assistance when traveling with our wheelchair bound, disabled loved one, where not made aware that there would be serious issues, and unexpected accessibility challenges onboard the Wonder, where we might need assistance. SOLUTIONS: List ALL of the accessibility challenges that a wheelchair user might encounter on board the Wonder, including all challenges listed in this formal complaint on Disney’s SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM and on ALL other printed and online cruise information. Have an ADA, or Accessibility Specialist on board each and every ship. This person would make direct contact with each and every passenger with apparent mobility needs upon boarding. This person would PERSONALLY HAND THEM THE “NEW, REVISED” SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM and ask them to read it carefully, complete it, if they have not already, and turn it in to Guest Services. This person would verbally explain that there are numerous accessibility issues onboard the Wonder but that there are trained crew members to help with assistance. This person would also provide passengers with a direct phone number to call should they need accessibility assistance. There was no apparent or known reason for us to complete the SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM, nor, was there any reason for us to reserve an ADA stateroom, nor, was there an ADA specialist who contacted us personally upon boarding. As it turned out, we needed significant support that we did not know to ask for simply because the SPECIAL SERVICES INFORMATION FORM, or any information contained on your website, did not reveal the truth about accessibility onboard the Wonder, and the possibility of Disney using dangerous gangplanks without offering assistance. Therefore, our family, unnecessarily, “slipped through the cracks,” and faced numerous challenging, and at times, dangerous, accessibility-related issues during our cruise. INJURY ONBOARD THE WONDER: During the Golden Mickey stage show, a steel object came flying off the stage during a dance number, and shocked and stunned me, when it hit me in the knee as I was sitting in the front row with Khrizma and my wife. I did not see the object leave the stage as, it happened so quickly. However, my wife, did see it leave the stage and come flying fast in my direction. The object struck my knee, below the kneecap, then bounced off my kneecap, and dropped a couple of feet to the floor in front of me. We reported the incident immediately after the show to an usher who took the steel object after we took a photo of it. See Attachment 3; photo of the dancer’s steel belt buckle. Later that evening, Ashley, contacted us. She told us that one of the dancer’s belt buckle had “fallen off” and been “kicked off” stage. That is not exactly what happened, as neither the usher, nor Ashley, could see what my wife saw sitting in the front row. The steel buckle did not simply fall off the dancer’s costume and get kicked off the stage. The lasso spinning at an extremely fast pace, “ripped” the belt buckle off the dancer’s belt, and sent it flying off stage, with the same force as the rapidly spinning lasso. If a dancer had simply “kicked” the fallen belt buckle off stage, the belt buckle would never have flown at such a high rate of speed, hitting my knee hard enough to leave a mark through a pair of heavyweight denim jeans. See Attachment 4; where a red, horizontal line, that angles slightly upward, appears below my kneecap. This red mark matches almost identically to the size of the steel object shown in Attachment 3. The steel object was sent flying off stage with such force that it left this red mark and indentation in spite of my knee being covered by a heavyweight pair of denim jeans. The miracle is that the flying steel object did not hit our disabled daughter or any other child in the audience! The force at which the steel object was flying could have seriously damaged someone’s eye, or, caused a bleeding wound that needed medical attention. IN CONCLUSION: It is with sadness and disillusionment that we realize that we will never again be able to take our daughter on another Disney Cruise due to accessibility issues and a serious lack of crew member awareness and training on how best to support wheelchair users and the people who support them. Our daughter is medically fragile and relies on us for her safety and security everywhere we go. She, and ourselves, were put at serious risk numerous times during our cruise because none of your printed or online materials alerted us to the inaccessibility issues on board the Wonder. It would have made a world of difference if Disney would have emulated Celebrity’s accessibility policies and practices outlined very clearly here on its website: https://www.celebrity/special-needs/accessibility/boarding-accessibility. If you will notice, Celebrity states that it provides extra assistance at the pier and assistance onboard. Celebrity even states that it will provide access to areas of the ship that are not easily accessible to disabled passengers. Just today, we booked our daughter to join us on a Celebrity cruise in September 2018 because of the supports we are confident exist onboard as described in their printed materials. It is our deepest hope that after reading our formal complaint, that Disney will consult with an ADA, accessibility assessment team to conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the Wonder’s accessibility. By completing an assessment, and making recommended modifications, all wheelchair users will be able to have a much safer and enjoyable experience when cruising on a Disney ship. The ship-wide problems that we encountered were not isolated incidences but were the result of years of utter neglect and disregard for the safety and accessibility needs of wheelchair passengers. Every other passenger with mobility needs that we spoke to complained to us about the ability to easily move about the ship. We are also hopeful that the entire Disney Cruise fleet will also be evaluated so that accessibility barriers are removed on ALL Disney ships. We look forward to your response with a timeline of your desperately needed ADA consultation/assessment/evaluation that is available through the Open Doors Organization or another similar entity.Embarkation
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Food and Dining
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Ship Quality
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DO NOT SAIL THE WONDER IF YOU HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES
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Ports of call
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
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6 Comments
ddpalm11 6 years ago
I’m very sorry to hear that your experience on the Wonder was so difficult. We too were blessed with a beautiful but severely disabled daughter. She too was non verbal, non mobile, wheel chair bound, and was also fed through an IV 24 hours a day for the duration of her life. We took her along with our two other children on the Disney Wonder to Alaska. We were in contact with Disney Cruise Lines before our sailing and were given the upmost care and concern. They took care of all our daughters special needs in advance of our boarding. Including receiving boxes of medical supplies, medications, IV nutrition, etc. in advance. They arranged for a refrigerator( not the normal cooling boxes) to safely store her supplies as well as an IV pole for our stateroom. All it took was communication and preparation on our part to ensure a safe and enjoyable sailing for our daughter. The crew went above and beyond to care for, acknowledge, and arrange extra special “Disney magic” for our daughter on a daily basis. The Disney Wonder did an outstanding job. Every Crew member recognized and addressed her by name all over the ship. This was one of our all time favorite vacations. As a parent of a disabled child who required 24 hour a day care and who was totally dependent on my husband and I for her safety and happiness I understand to a degree , but on the other hand feel that a simple phone call placed before your sailing could have made all the difference. We have since lost our daughter, but continue to sail on the Disney Wonder (7 cruises on this ship) and each sailing I find myself smiling as I flash back to our Ashley in all the different locations aboard the ship. Her very favorite part of the cruise that week was riding up and down in the mid ship elevators. I’m very sorry your trip didn’t turn out as you had hoped. Best wishes to you and your family.
cinsangster 6 years ago
I looked into your complaints you listed, what you should have done before even booking your Disney cruise was call Disney and discussed your concerns a head of time making specific requests and getting all the information ahead of time instead of just expecting the ship to know what you may or may not need. You can not expect that you, your partner and daughter have control over what goes on aboard the ship, there are 2,500 passengers on the Wonder, you go on a vacation like this it’s up to you to make sure your child is taken care of and make sure your child doesn’t hurt any one else. It’s not up to the staff to be your personal elevator and door valet. Each member of the staff has a job. You want personal help you have to ask for it or higher an aid to go with you. Don’t complain after the fact, it makes you look like you are trying to blame Disney for your own set backs.
By the way you describe the wheelchair, I think you need to invest in a better travel chair, because unless it takes 2 of you to push your daughter to an elevator, one of you go to the doors, hold them as the other pushes her into the elevator. Above each elevator there is an arrow pointing to which floor each elevator is on, you could have watched them and positioned your selves at the one coming to you. There are 2 other sets of elevators that can hold more people. I’ve been on the Disney Wonder many times, what you are describing in this complaint letter is not accurate. I saw many people in wheelchairs on that ship, some with aids and some with out. When you go on a vacation like this you have to be prepared for everything. You put that your daughter can’t be at a table on her own, then one person sits at a table with the daughter the other gets the food. Your letter sounded nit picky and like you expected someone to just read your mind.
Why didn’t you book an accessible stateroom?
Don’t blame Disney for your lack of communication!
cinsangster 6 years ago
I’m sorry your Disney cruise wasn’t Wonderful. Did you ask for assistance throughout your stay on board? Or when you were leaving the ship?
Accidents do happen, no place is perfect.
You should have addressed any problems you were having right when they were happening so they could be addressed right away.
If you want to give the Disney ships another try, communication is the best tool for a better cruise. Disney is very helpful and accommodating when they know someone needs it.