Dear cruise travelers,
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to inspect the Oasis of the Seas. The
ship is the world’s largest cruise ship and sails for Royal Caribbean. The
ship is awesome with a lot of breathtaking amenities. The Oasis sails the
Western and Eastern Caribbean on a 7-night itinerary. Most of the sailings
are already booked for the coming months. If you are interested in sailing
on this marvelous ship, I recommend November or December 2010 or later. I am
more than happy to help you with the booking.
While being on the ship, I had a chance again to meet with Adam Goldstein.
Some of you might remember from my previous e-mails that Adam Goldstein is
the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean. The purpose of meeting with Mr.
Goldstein was Royal Caribbean’s and Celebrity’s new interpreter policy.
According to this policy, the two cruise lines will no longer provide
interpreters for European or Asian cruises unless the sailing starts or
terminates in the US or Canada.
Last month, I completed the last Royal Caribbean European sailing with
interpreters, a Holy Land cruise that some of you joined. We had a wonderful
time and everybody cherished the great interpreter service that opened up
the world for us.
The deaf group on the Holy Land cruise and another group on a Canada & New
England cruise sailing in October wrote letters to Mr. Goldstein. They
thanked him for the wonderful service and asked him to continue providing
interpreters on all sailings. When I met Mr. Goldstein on the Oasis of the
Seas recently, I gave him the letters and discussed the issue with him
again. Mr. Goldstein stated that the policy will not be changed within the
next few months but he is fully aware of the impact it has on the deaf
traveler.
I would like to ask all of you, please continue sending letters to Mr.
Goldstein and Mr. Hanrahan who is the CEO of Celebrity. When you come back
from a cruise where interpreters were provided, thank them for the service
and ask them to extend the service again to all their sailings. Explain how
much the service adds to your vacation experience. They need to hear from
you frequently. Otherwise, this problem will end up at the button of the
paper pile and nothing will change. Deaf cruise passengers need to be heard
in this matter. Send your letters to:
Mr. Adam Goldstein
President & CEO
Royal Caribbean International
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami FL 33132-2096
or
Mr. Dan Hanrahan
President & CEO
Celebrity Cruises
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami FL 33132-2096
Sincerely,
Kerstin Fox
Hibiscus Travel
2148 Radnor Road
http://www.kerstinstravel.com
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