Are all cruise ships required to have accessible rooms?

We went on a cruise in April. It was an older ship, but it was the only one available for the time we needed. I checked with them first to be sure they had a room that would work for us. I did all the paperwork and have an email stating that both the room and bathroom had a 60" turn radius.
Short story is that the whole bathroom was only about 3'x5'. If my son had not been on the ship too, I don't know what we would have done.

Hi K, I have been a kind of resident travel agent here on the forum in the past. (been an agent for about 20 years)... Oh so they did the typical bait and switch a roo on ya huh! Typical. The only thing the cruise lines will really stick to is if you ordered a handicap room. Then the size really matters and how it is configured. The cruse lines KNOW they cant mess up or fudge any numbers with those cabins. Gotta tell ya though, even those cabins can be uncomfortably small and not so easy to get around in. Now, if your son had been with you, and he couldnt get around and it was a really big inconvenience, then a letter to the cruise line would be in order. What you would probably get in return depending on how big the imposition would be a coupon for a discount on a future cruise. Using a travel agent with a lot of experience to book the cruise is a big help as well because they have sales reps they can write the letter to for you, and get you a better return. Also, a good travel agent KNOWS which ships are the good ones, and which are not. They are YOUR representative and have your best interests at heart. I had to step out of the business for about a year now to take care of my father who just passed last month, but if you ever think of going ANYWHERE again, and or taking your son with you dear heart....just message me and I would be happy to give you all the advice and expertise I can give.
Hugs, Kari

Thanks a bunch for your response and kind offer. The room is considered a handicap room, and the email I got prior to the cruise stated he would have a 60" turn radius in the bathroom. They also promised to have 1 bed removed (as he sleeps in his chair) and a 3 in 1 shower commode. Neither was done. I did get those about 2 hours into the cruise. Everyone was so nice, but the man taking care of our rooms had no idea about disabilities. When he finally located the chair, they brought it without a bucket. He tried to tell us it didn't have a bucket. Even if the bathroom had been big enough for the wheelchair to get into, the potty chair would not fit over the toilet cause the toilet was too close to the wall. If they had not found the bucket, their nice, shiny, stainless trash can was going to find another use.

Yes thankfully we had taken our kids and grand kids with us, and it was only a 4 day cruise cause. Without our son, I could not have gotten him on and off the potty chair. Even with our son, we couldn't get him to the shower. There just wasn't enough room.

I emailed the cruise line. I really didn't want a refund or a voucher. I just wanted to make sure it didn't happen to someone else. They emailed me that they had been very concerned about my email and had ordered the bathroom to be checked. They said that in fact it is accessible. I emailed back explaining what a 60" turn radius was. I even sent pictures where they could count the 4" floor tiles. They said they are very sorry, that customer satisfaction is very important to them, but the complaint is considered closed.

I loved being on the cruise. We have not had a vacation in 6 years, and the last one was to visit family. We bought a mug while on the ship. Every morning when I took it out of the cabinet, it made me smile. Now it just makes me mad.

Oh so so sorry that happened to you dear heart, and with everything going on in your life right now what happened just stinks! Which cruise line was it? Holland? Just curious. I can tell you that the older ships are not as big in the rooms as the others, and are not as updated. I have booked a lot of trips for people here who have disabilities, and wow I was so shocked at the lack of rooms to accommodate people with disabilities AND the difficulties and higher prices some people had to pay to get the exact room I wanted for the PALS and families. The cruise lines are a "get em in and get em out" business. I know your email to them required a response, but I would bet that because you booked it probably direct with them with no hope or future thoughts of cruising with them again, they did a typical response back and then the letter got shoved away in some electronic file somewhere. Booking through a travel agent, a good agent who cares would have had more impact because if someone screwed over one of my clients...well, it will cost them a lot in my future bookings which are more than say just a family who travels every other year or so. These ships are not owned by the USA for a reason and they can get away with some pretty horrible things for that fact alone. Not all cruise lines are alike as well, and I have my own favorites and ones I would NEVER book for anyone. At this point though, just try and remember the peaceful moments you had that were not over shadowed by the cruise lines mistakes. ONLY focus on those moments hun. You have so much on your plate, and you need to just "trash" the bad memories, and hang on to the good ones. And in the future, when things get especially rough, go back to that memory, where you found that peace and beauty in the day. THOSE memories will help you to get through . I know from personal experience.
Hang in there, try and focus on the good, and forget the bad when there is nothing you can do about it sweets.
Hugs, Kari

Thanks again Kari, and I am so sorry about your dad. How wonderful of you to take a year off to help him through this awful disease.

It was the Carnival Ecstasy. My in-laws had went on one of their newer ships and had said the bathroom was huge. I knew this was an older ship but wanted to go when the grand kids would miss the least amount of school. There also wasn't many lines going out of Galveston at the time. As I said, I had several conversations with them and was assured that they had rooms to fit our needs. I was kind of upset that that ship didn't have any balcony rooms or even the suites that were wheelchair accessible but figured I would take whatever as long as it had enough room for the chair.

I will definitely have a travel agent next time. You are right about the good memories. There were some great ones, and I have been letting some unknowledgeable people steal those from me. Thanks for putting that into perspective.

Oh yes, Carnival.....I did it once on a business trip and never EVER again! They are kinda known not to have the best rooms out there, and are known for the most "parties". Well dear heart, next time, like I said, just ask me and I can give you some really great advice on where to go, which ships etc..... Ya, it was great to take all this time off from the travel industry and be able to take care of my dad, but it was also because at the same time my 22 year old daughter has been in and out of the hospital for lead poisoning, blood clots, blood transfusions and now we are having kidney problems. I was switching from one home to the other taking care of both. Its been hell. I would love to go back to the travel industry soon. Its a great job, a wonderful escape and I love to do it. Started as an agent, then Asst. Manager, then Manager, and then owner of a travel agency. Then had to sell the business due to my own pain issues back in 2003, and then went back to the office I sold it to in 2009 part time since I had had some treatments to my back that allowed me to work. I love it like I said....
So glad to see that you are able to remember the good and try and focus on it. Life is to short, especially with a full plate like yours. I am here anytime for ya!
Hugs, Kari

I am just replying now because I have a little bit of time to myself. We have booked a few cruises in our time. Carnival does not have handicapped rooms. If you are mobile the rooms will suit you. I do know however that Royal Carribean - Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas have handicapped rooms with large bathrooms and extended balconies. The last cruise we took was on Freedom of the Seas and the room was fantabulous. Oasis and Allure offer hoyer lifts to get into the pool and spa. That is where we are headed next year God willing Ed will still be OK.

Thank you, I will have to see if any of them go out of Galveston or New Orleans. I am really disappointed about Carnival. Their Disney cruise will start going out of Galveston the end of next year. We would so love to take the kids and grandkids on that.

That is what we would like to do. I do not know if we can afford it. But we will see. God willing that Ed will be able to make it that long. So far he can still travel.

What I would do call each of the cruise lines you are interested in (that is what I did) and ask about room sizes. Bathroom, will it handle a power wheel chair, what is the size of it. Can the person turn in the room itself? Our balcony on Freedom of the Seas was great. We are not gamblers or night life people, we attended a show every night and went back to the room. Next may we are going on Oasis of the Seas out of Ft Lauderdale, I am so looking forward to it. You have more than enough time if you are going next year to do the research. I really do wish you the best. Let me know how you make out.

Oh YES RCCL is a WONDERFUL cruise line! They have the most modern and beautiful ships as well. Depending on your age group... if you are older say 50 plus, then Holland America. Royal C. (RCCL) is good for all ages, Princess is more for 30's and up and Celebrity is mostly 40's and up., NCL is okay as well - 30's and up. ALWAYS look for the newer ships. For fun, they have all their 2012 brochures out now and they are free so just request one. The brochures have pictures and drawings of the the sizes and how the cabins are configured. Remember the seasons though....technically June through November is hurricane season - but I have watched the weather patterns and typically the storms come in the last two weeks of August, September and October. November is rainy usually in the evenings. (Ahhhh travel agents always get the good deals during that time too and that's why.) For those of you dear hearts thinking of going next year with your PALS...dont put it off. This damn disease can go fast forward at any time..."Live for the moments NOW" I would suggest, if you can, the first 2 weeks of December. The ships usually aren't as full, (everyone is saving for the holidays) and the weather is usually good.
Happy Planning! If you have any questions just message me!
Hugs, Kari