Lounges need special-needs seating - Letters - Brief Article - Letter to the Editor

Cruise Travel, Dec, 2001 by Liz Weed

I have been on several Holland America Line cruises with my mother and sister, and we plan to go again. My sister is handicapped and needs wheelchair assistance aboard the ship and onshore. The cruise staff and even other passengers who are complete strangers are always kind and helpful when it comes to getting on and off elevators, going up and down ramps, or even with just a friendly smile and hello.

Everything is great until after dinner, when it's time to go to the lounge for the evening show. Then it's like a stampede. Many able-bodied people plow ahead and reserve whole rows of seats. Many times we and other slower-moving people are left out in the cold--either getting the worst seats in the house or none at all. The best seats are never, ever available. And guess what? No one cares, and no one will do anything about the problem because the cruise lines have a "no reserved seating" policy. They have handicapped staterooms, handicapped bathrooms, but no reserved areas for handicapped or special-needs persons in the lounge. This is a type of discrimination. I hope others will speak up also.

Liz Weed, Hamburg, NY