Poker Poker Poker!: [vpFREE] 7 star event cruise New England snaffu (part 2) handicapped cabin screwup

Now we come to another major Caesars snaffu or screwup or f-up! This
story is long, but that is so you can understand the details of what went on
and how it came to be that Caesars assigned a handicapped person to a
non-handicapped accessible cabin (but told her in advance it was a handicapped
cabin, even when they questioned it) and what ensued onboard the Sept. 27 NCL
Gem 7 Star Event cruise.

A friend of mine, let's call her Miss A is handicapped. She can only walk
a few steps and rides a scooter right now, and also recently had a major
operation (within the past month). On April 1 Miss A and I (Misscraps) both
signed up for the Caesars 7 Star Event special New England cruise - the
first day it was available to sign up. And both of us requested handicapped
cabins (booking directly with Caesars who assigned the actual cabins).

Although we were told we would hear from NCL within 3 weeks about cabin
assignments, no one heard anything. As the weeks passed, I phoned Caesars
representative Ashley (the same person involved in the bus fiasco). I asked
if I was getting a handicapped cabin and explained I would be taking a
scooter (and cane). She said yes. I asked about my friend Miss A, who had
also requested a handicapped cabin. I was told yes, it was also handicapped
accessible.

Well Miss A and her friend (and cruise roommate) Miss B are both 7 stars,
so they went on an earlier 7 Star Event cruise to Bermuda in June this year
on the same NCL Gem ship, getting into a handicapped cabin. At that
sailing they met a friend who was supposed to get a handicapped cabin and didn't
and by then they had the room number for the room they were assigned on
this Sept. 27 New England cruise. They began to suspect the room for the
Sept. 27 cruise wasn't handicapped and consulted a NCL cruise ship map, and saw
it wasn't handicapped.

Miss A then phoned Ashley and Caesar representative Lauren's office.
Lauren was apparently in charge of assigning the actual cabins. Miss A
explained she needed a handicapped cabin and would have a scooter. She received a
phone call back from Lauren's assistant saying (I heard the recording of
the call) something on the order of -- NCL confirms it is a handicapped
accessible cabin, even though it doesn't appear so noted on the map, so you are
in a handicapped cabin for the Sept. 27 cruise.

Now Miss A and Miss B arrive on the NCL Gem late on Sept. 27 because they'd
made their own arrangements to get from Atlantic City to NYC. They go to
their cabin, and lo and behold, not only isn't it handicapped, the scooter
can't even get through the door into the room!

They immediately go to the front desk and also contact Lauren (who was the
other Caesar representative actually aboard the NCL Gem). They are first
told nothing can be done, then told that they will try to find an unoccupied
Handicapped cabin (or a cabin with a door big enough to enter with a
scooter, such as a suite) for them. Miss A is ready to just get off the ship,
but then she is told that the gangway has already been removed (remember
they were late arriving, getting on the ship just shortly before it was due to
leave, and also you can't get to your room immediately because the ship's
stewards are still cleaning them).

Miss A and Miss B go to the NCL/Caesars onboard casino party/meetup just
after the lifeboat drill. They see Lauren and Ashley who are dismissive,
don't apologize, and just say they will contact all the people with
handicapped rooms to see if someone would switch. (Note some people who are not
physically handicapped sometimes book those rooms because they are larger, so
fewer handicapped rooms are available than you would think. Also this
particular cruise had a very large number of handicapped people with scooters
and wheelchairs and canes and walkers.)

I suggested to Ashley that Caesars should offer money as an inducement
for a non-handicapped person to switch out of a handicapped room. And later
Miss A was told that Caesars was in fact offering $300 or more to get
people to switch rooms. But although Caesars representative Lauren and the
front desk and the NCL casino host told Miss A (and me) that NCL was
contacting all the handicapped rooms, the reality was that probably many were not
actually contacted (no one contacted me for example or other people I talked
to). (The front desk later seemed to indicate only one or two rooms were
contacted)

On day 1 Miss A had to park her scooter outside her room and do her best to
get into her room, and was not able to shower. On day 2 NCL found a much
smaller (obstructed view/non balcony) handicapped cabin that was empty
(someone didn't come aboard the ship), but it was too small to properly
maneuver a scooter around for someone like Miss A who isn't all that agile, with
hardly room enough to turn a scooter around to get out of the room, so Miss
A refused that room and requested they find something suitable.

Still no one apologized to her and Miss B for the inconvenience, or for
the fact that Caesars had screwed up royally by telling her before the cruise
she had been assigned to a handicapped cabin when it was non-handicapped.

Because nothing was happening, and I knew about the problems Miss A was
having (not getting the scooter into the room, let alone into the bathroom),
my husband and I decided to switch rooms with Miss A (Caesars never
contacted us - I volunteered on day 2 because I knew Miss A was more handicapped
than I was, and I could manage better even if the scooter was outside the
room). I contacted the NCL front desk (Lauren and Ashley had never given
out their full names or phone numbers to us Caesars guests - I left a
message for them with the NCL casino host but I never heard back from them.), and
finally mid-day on Day 2 I looked at the obstructed view handicapped and
decided it was better than Miss A's balcony room (where no scooter or
wheelchair could fit through the door).

So my husband and I switched rooms with Miss A. The room was much smaller
than the balcony handicapped cabin, but by moving a table inside I was
able to get my scooter inside and turn it around (since I am more agile than
Miss A).

I got a recorded phone call from Ashley saying I would get a $100 room
credit for switching. No thank yous from them, no apologies, no $300 or more.
(Miss A also got a measly $100 credit for her troubles.)

By the end of the cruise neither Caesars representative Ashley nor
representative Lauren had apologized to Miss A and Miss B or to me or my husband
for our inconvenience. We were downgraded from a large balcony handicapped
room one door from my sister to a much smaller obstructed view outside cabin
on a different floor.

At least I was able to sleep soundly knowing that Miss A could get into and
out of her bathroom and shower and bed.

By the way Ashley and Lauren did not hang around the casino like other
Caesars hosts have done on past cruises, but instead were extremely hard to
find (unless you looked at the bars where I was told they were spotted several
times). They may have gone to the group photos, I didn't go to that.

Once we traded rooms, I stopped getting whatever gifts Caesars was giving
to its cruise guests. I know this since my sister reported getting trays
of chocolate strawberries and other goodies. I didn't get the group photo
either which was sent to various rooms.

I personally feel that both Ashley and Lauren should be fired. Not only
for telling Miss A her room would be handicapped accessible when it wasn't,
but for their indifference and caviler attitude once the mistake was found
upon getting on the ship. Their lack of any apparent empathy for other
humans, their lack of apologies, their lack of taking responsibility for their
mistakes, their incompetency throughout the cruise as Caesar's representa
tives (on this matter, in the buses from Atlantic City snaffus, in not being
available in the casino), all make them worthy of being fired in my
opinion.

I will be contacting every Caesar's executive I can think of (and if any of
you know of people to contact, please let me know) as well as my host.
Caesar's owes Miss A and Miss B major apologies, and I think myself and my
husband are due one as well.

And of course, this is not the way Caesar's should treat its high level 7
Star players either. But to badly treat someone who is handicapped is
even lower than low.

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