Susan,
First, I'm sorry to hear the cruise wasn't as accessible as you were led to believe so you couldn't have enjoyed it as much as you expected to.
I would suggest that you "name names" and mention the line and ship. Cruise lines, like any business, want good publicity when they do things right. But when things go wrong on something important like accessibility, it's very fair to warn others.
I suspect I know which line. There are a couple of them which are notorious for misquoting accessibility information because they don't really
know accessibility. Fewer still that have four pools.
Next, I would suggest that you write a letter to that line's special needs department and copy it to someone high up in management.
If you are sure you were misquoted on the level of accessibility (think back and make sure they didn't him-haw and shade it gray or if they claimed there was a lift into the pool however it was broken, but instead gave you direct answers that were wrong, I would suggest writing a letter to SATH (
www.sath.org) and to CLIA (
www.clia.org).
If you feel strongly that this is an ADA issue, you can contact DOJ. However, note that there are lawsuits going on regarding whether and how cruise ships have to follow ADA. Technically, they have to follow ADA if they are sailing from the US. BUT (and here's the huge catch) the Access Board is the one that has to determine the actual standards for ships.... and they've been at it for years and have yet to publish the standards. So until there are "standards" that are directed toward the cruise lines, there technically is no ADA for them to be forced to follow. You might want to later file a report with BBB if you feel that the line is being unresponsive to your concerns.
I do hope you will try cruising again. There are some wonderfully accessible ships. I also hope you will choose to work with an accessible travel specialist instead of directly with the cruise lines. The agents specializing in accessible travel know a lot of the ins and outs, know which lines to trust, measurements, which ships have pool and jacuzzi lifts, have personal contacts at some of the lines, can be of more help with ports and could be very beneficial to you.
Connie
