August 2, 2006
Docket No. 2004-1
Public Comments on Proposed Guidelines for Passenger Vessels
Candy Harrington
Emerging Horizons
P.O. Box 278
Ripon, CA 95366
Office of Technical and Information Services
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street NW., Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
As the editor of a magazine about accessible travel, I get a lot of feedback from my readers. Many of those comments are about cruises.
Unfortunately many comments are also about cruises that never happened? Why? Simply because of the lack of accessible cabins. If you can't get your wheelchair or scooter in the cabin door, you just can't cruise.
That's why I submitted my comments after the first round of draft guidelines for passenger vessels was released. In those comments I emphasized that 32-inch doorway clearances on all cabins were essential. After reviewing the second draft of the proposed guidelines I see that my suggestion was not incorporated, even on newly built vessels. To be honest, I think that's a disservice to the cruising public, as we have an aging population and more and more folks are acquiring age-related disabilities that require the use of a wheelchair or a scooter. These people want to be able to cruise too.
That's why I feel compelled to comment on the second draft of the proposed guidelines.
As I read the comments on the first draft of the proposed guidelines I see that the Access Board is under pressure from the cruise industry to actually decrease the number of accessible cabins required. I think this would be a mistake, and in fact I encourage you to increase the number of accessible cabins required on each ship. More and more people want to cruise. Let's face it, the disabled population is not decreasing, so I think we have to look to the future when crafting these guidelines. People are being turned away now. It's not going to get any better if we don't open up more cabins for people who use wheelchairs or scooters.
To that end I urge the Access Board to increase the number of accessible cabins required on each ship, in the final regulations for passenger vessels. It will make cruising accessible to more people and in the end, it's really the right thing to do.
Candy Harrington
Editor, Emerging Horizons
P.O. Box 278
Ripon, CA 95366
www.EmergingHorizons.com
www.CandyHarrington.com
Ocotber 23, 2006
Docket No. 2004-1
Public Comments on Proposed Guidelines for Passenger Vessels
Candy Harrington
Emerging Horizons
P.O. Box 278
Ripon, CA 95366
Office of Technical and Information Services
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street NW., Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
This letter is in response to Mr. Daniel Vaccaro's (of Epic Adventures) comments. In his letter to the Access Board he asked the Access Board to limit the number of accessible cabins and public spaces on expedition style vessels, because he asserted that there is little demand for this type of adventure experience by people with disabilities. In fact her wrote,
"In conclusion, the very nature of expedition cruising and its purpose attracts only those passengers seeking a physically challenging vacation."
I strongly disagree with his assessment. Some disabled people like physically challenging vacations too. And with the aging of our population, adventure travel is expected to increase, so it's reasonable to expect that many of those Baby Boomers that want to take an expedition cruise will have some type of disability.
Today I get a lot of mail from people who want to take expedition cruises but don't because they are not accessible enough. I can only expect the number of prospective passengers to increase in future years. Today disabled people don't flock to expedition type cruises because they don't really have minimum levels of accessibility, so the argument of "we don't' have many disabled passengers" really doesn't hold much water. It's like a business owner who has stairs up to his front entrance saying, "Why do I need a ramp? I never see any disabled customers in here." Truly, if there were more accessible expedition ships, there would be more disabled cruisers.
And it's not impossible to make an expedition style ship accessible.
I encourage the Access Board to check out Sea Wolf Adventures; an Alaska-based expedition ship that offers accessible cabins, kayaking and even landings. It's not just for people who are disabled, as it was built to be accessible to all. So that is proof that it can be done. I encourage you to look at their website to see what is possible (www.seawolf-adventures.com). I've had lots of positive feedback about this unique company from my readers. I wish more expedition style boats had this type of access, as it's really needed. My readers really do want to cruise on expedition ships.
Also, Mr. Vaccaro wrote,
"We need to be thought of like other adventure products, like white water rafting, horseback riding, zip lines, mountain climbing and bungee jumping, not hotels."
I'd like to remind the Access Board that all of those activities have been made accessible; many with little cost or adaptations. With that in mind, expedition cruising can be made just as accessible. I encourage the Access Board to make all types of cruises accessible to everyone. It really is possible.
Sincerely,
Candy Harrington
Editor, Emerging Horizons
P.O. Box 278
Ripon, CA 95366
www.EmergingHorizons.com
www.CandyHarrington.com