Accessible Islands on A Sea of Dreams
By Chris J. Stark
The face of cruising is changing, and people with disabilities are an important part of that change. Passengers with disabilities are no longer uncommon. At the Captain’s welcome party, you may chat with a shipmate who has a tropical punch in one hand and a white cane in the other. Fellow dinner partners at your table in the grand dining room may be cruisers on dialysis and watching the sunrise with fellow passengers who are hard of hearing begins another day of fun at sea. Sharing the jogging track with a person using a wheelchair keeps things shipshape and guide dogs finding the way through the deck chairs are no longer mirages in the warm sun of shipboard life.
Customer service for all is the way of the future. The market is shifting, and the cruise industry is poised to attract more and more travellers with disabilities. The graying of society will escalate the numbers in the next twenty years because more seniors, despite the onset of age-related disabilities, enjoy active lives and live longer.
At the bow wave of this new trend is the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). This organization, which meets annually, promotes a better understanding of the cruise industry. The FCCA helped the cruise industry embrace customer diversity at its first workshop: The Market of Persons with Disabilities. This was held in Puerto Rico at the 6th Annual FCCA Conference and Trade Show. The large audience, standing room only, was a testimony that accessibility is a timely and important topic for cruise destination ports and excursion providers. The success of this first seminar spawned a second seminar at the 7th Annual FCCA Conference and Trade Show in Panama City, Panama, in 2000. The Society for the Advancement of Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH) helped the FCCA organize these workshops.
After the first seminar in Puerto Rico, the delegates went home with a better understanding of the social and economic benefits of accessibility. The presenters encouraged partnerships between the tourism industry and citizens with disabilities because people with disabilities, whether tourists or locals, will benefit from accessible features. At the first seminar, delegates asked, “What should we do?” At the second seminar in Panama City, they said, “Look at our accomplishments!”
The Executive Director of SATH, Laurel Van Horn, saw the keen enthusiasm that grew in the year between seminars. Representatives from around the Caribbean basin were eager to share their accomplishments in accessibility. One delegate, the owner of a jade factory in Guatemala, was motivated to make her factory accessible to tourists with disabilities by installing ramps and widening the doors.
Eric Shiozaki, owner of Vaya con Silla de Ruedas (Go with Wheelchairs) in Costa Rica, described the hurdles he overcame as a small operator to become a supplier for Princess Cruises in addition to his local Paratransit Service. Eric stated, “I hope that, by setting a good example, I have encouraged others to create a safe, accessible and professional system of operation.”
June Noel, Director of Foster and Ince Cruise Services, cited numerous initiatives undertaken by her company and the tourist sector in Barbados. The airport, the cruise terminal, tour operators and local tourist attractions have an array of accessible facilities and equipment, such as lift-equipped motor coaches, people movers, ambulifts at the airport, ramped access, wheelchairs, adapted restrooms and curb cuts. These innovations serve both tourists and Barbadians with disabilities.
Laurel Van Horn presented tips on how to serve persons with disabilities. She covered topics such as older travellers, deafness, blindness, mental limitations and medical needs.
Chris Stark of the Canadian Transportation Agency touched the audience with his own travel stories from the Caribbean. As a guide dog user, he is concerned about unnecessary restrictions that prevent cruisers service animals from visiting some of the islands and even Panama.
John Cook, manager of shore excursions for HollandAmerica, talked about the commitment to meet the needs of all passengers. He cited examples, such as HollandAmerica’s new tendering system for wheelchair users, the availability of beach wheelchairs, and the growing number of shipboard pools equipped with lifts.
The growing interest in accessibility is generating ideas for yet another showcase of accessibility accomplishments at the next FCCA Conference to be held in Aruba, October 2-5, 2001. The FCCA has promoted the proactive collaboration between the cruise industry and its Caribbean basin partners. These partnerships allow travellers with disabilities to experience the full range of the Caribbean cruise experience. The championing of access for people with disabilities is having a very positive effect throughout the region. The growing emphasis on shipboard and port of call accessibility within the cruise ship industry is enriching the quality of life for visitors and residents with disabilities alike.