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#21
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Why would a blind person go on a cruise?
My father is legally blind and has been on three cruises. He'll probably go on more. Actually, for a visually impaired person cruising has some real advantages. Since blind people can't see their surroundings, staying in a different hotel room every night and going to a new restaurant for every meal can be very confusing and disorienting. Feeling confused and overwhelmed isn't a great way to enjoy a vacation. My father gets to unpack once, and only needs to learn his way around one hotel room. And since dinner is at the same table every night with a wait team that gets to know him, mealtimes are a real pleasure. My parents love their balcony. Even tho my dad can't see much, he can feel the sun on his skin, smell the sea, and enjoy the breeze. Why would a blind person go on a cruise? For the exact same reasons everyone else does. Susan in Maine |
#22
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Why would a blind person go on a cruise?
My father is legally blind and has been on three cruises. He'll probably go on more. Actually, for a visually impaired person cruising has some real advantages. Since blind people can't see their surroundings, staying in a different hotel room every night and going to a new restaurant for every meal can be very confusing and disorienting. Feeling confused and overwhelmed isn't a great way to enjoy a vacation. My father gets to unpack once, and only needs to learn his way around one hotel room. And since dinner is at the same table every night with a wait team that gets to know him, mealtimes are a real pleasure. My parents love their balcony. Even tho my dad can't see much, he can feel the sun on his skin, smell the sea, and enjoy the breeze. Why would a blind person go on a cruise? For the exact same reasons everyone else does. Susan in Maine |
#23
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Personally, I'd take seeing eye dogs over unruly kids any day of the
week! All kidding aside, usually Golden Retrievers are the dogs used for the blind. This particular breed of dog is nicer than most people I know. I wouldn't hesitate. Just be forewarned, if you are tempted to pet the dogs, you should ask the owner first. Sometimes it is discouraged as it breaks the dog's concentration on their task at hand. Jo-Ann (R&M) wrote in message . com... Just was told that on Diamond Princess 10/16 cruise there will be 11 blind peolple with their seeing eye dogs...have been given the option of cancelling...what does the group think??? |
#24
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Dick Goldhaber wrote: There is absolutely no reason for the OP to cancel. The dogs will be unaware of his presence since they all have a job to do. Unless the OP is highly allergic to dogs. sue |
#25
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"Dick G wrote:
Ref, We cruise with a "service dog", as everyone here knows, and I have to agree with Tony that Heidi is better behaved than many passengers on some ships. In four cruises with Heidi, the Wonder Dog, we have only encountered other dogs once, and the dogs are trained to do their jobs without being distracted by what goes on around them.. There is absolutely no reason for the OP to cancel. The dogs will be unaware of his presence since they all have a job to do. With all due respect, Dick, you have posted before that Heidi, the Wonder Dog, certainly a well-trained service animal, knows she is on vacation when she cruises. I think you have written something to that effect several times. Whether on vacation or hard at work, though, I quite agree that Heidi and other service dogs are likely far better behaved than many of their human passengers. That aside, each person reacts to animals differently and there are some people who are very afraid of groups of dogs, which is what the Princess representative told me when I asked her the whether the story was true and if so why Princess was notifying people. She said it was because many people are fearful of dogs and also some are allergic. Although I am not afraid of dogs now, I was very fearful of all large dogs as a young child when I was once cornered on a high bar by a very mean Doberman. I'm still not fond of Dobermans, but enjoy most other breeds, even large ones. But that isn't the point. This isn't about me. Or you. Or Heidi. I didn't suggest the OP cancel, but wanted to provide accurate information and suggestions to help them decide. It is not fair for any of us to say to someone else that there is no reason for them to cancel or to take the cruise if it is not what they want to do. It must be their own decision and they ought to feel free to make that choice on their own and not to be judged by it. I have not Googled to find out the results of the May 26th Regal Princess cruise, but good sense tells me that Princess would not be making a point of telling passengers on the October 16th cruise about the group if Princess had not had some negative feedback from cruisers on the earlier sailing who may not have been notified in advance by their TA's. I can think of at least one other cruise line that is not so up front with their passengers as Princess. |
#26
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#28
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"RTCReferee" wrote in message ... With all due respect, Dick, you have posted before that Heidi, the Wonder Dog, certainly a well-trained service animal, knows she is on vacation when she cruises. I think you have written something to that effect several times. Whether on vacation or hard at work, though, I quite agree that Heidi and other service dogs are likely far better behaved than many of their human passengers. She "knows" she's on vacation because she's not at home. Different surroundings....same job to do. That aside, each person reacts to animals differently and there are some people who are very afraid of groups of dogs, which is what the Princess representative told me when I asked her the whether the story was true and if so why Princess was notifying people. She said it was because many people are fearful of dogs and also some are allergic. I wonder if there is not some violation of the ADA happening here. It's an Alaska cruise. I'm wondering whether Princess notified the blind passengers that they wanted to identify them to other passengers. That part bothers me. Pointing out a specific group traveling to the rest of the passengers. Offering money back so that one doesn't have to travel with "them". |
#29
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I kinda wondered about the veracity of that as well...."Hi, this is
Princess, we have 300 African Americans sailing on your sailing" or whatever. Can't imagine Princess would have called other passengers and offered them a full refund for what, 10-20 blind people. Hmmmmm....doesn't seem to pass the smell test somehow. Jeff Danni wrote: I wonder if there is not some violation of the ADA happening here. It's an Alaska cruise. I'm wondering whether Princess notified the blind passengers that they wanted to identify them to other passengers. That part bothers me. Pointing out a specific group traveling to the rest of the passengers. Offering money back so that one doesn't have to travel with "them". |
#30
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Hi Jo-Ann!
Guide Dogs for the Blind use a lot of Labrador Retrievers, Goldens and a mix of these two breeds, bred for gentleness, temperament and soundness. They breed their own dogs. Both breeds are the best! http://www.guidedog.org/index.html Lindsay |
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