Assistance devices for the hearing impaired

[monkeydawn]

Hi all, another week closer to my first Disney cruise, another question! I am significantly hearing impaired but I do not use a hearing aid. Can anyone tell me what assistance devices are available on the Magic? And if there is a rental cost or deposit for the devices? I did a search and mostly just found information about the parks or having an ASL interpreter at live shows. The parks seem to use both closed caption devices and personal amplifiers (headsets) with each requiring a deposit and not really much overlap in devices that are usable in theaters so that you have to lug around both devices around the park. Im hoping that the ships are better in that one device will work for all shows or at least it will be obvious which devices work in which theaters. I did sign up on the DCL website so that they know I will need assisted devices for the hearing impaired but there wasnt any information about what works where and if I need to supply anything (like a headset). Can anyone that's had similar issues chime in and let me know what to expect? TIA!

 

[lanejudy]

You can request a "communication" kit for your stateroom which has door knock and phone alerts, bed shaker notification, and a strobe light smoke detector. TTY is also available if needed.

They may have assistive listening devices available for the theaters, and if so I'd assume it comes with a headset as not everyone has hearing aids. I know the device we "rented" at WDW had a headset but we never rented one onboard.

ASL may be available, with advanced notice.

I'd suggest calling DCL Special Services to discuss your specific questions. I've always found them helpful. Or email if that works better for you.
Phone: (407) 566-3602
Email: SpecialServices@disneycruise.com

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[monkeydawn]

*snip*

They may have assistive listening devices available for the theaters, and if so I'd assume it comes with a headset as not everyone has hearing aids. I know the device we "rented" at WDW had a headset but we never rented one onboard.

Thank you.

The reason I asked about a headset is because once for a vegas show they had devices but no headsets, you were expected to bring your own. This is the first time I had ever encountered this and, of course, didnt bring my own. They acted as if it was the norm, we had even called before booking this show and werent told it was a BYO situation because "this is how most places do it". :eyeroll: Ive since developed a paranoia about this and will have my earbuds on the ship.

Still hoping someone who has actually used these services on board may see this and be able to let me know what to expect.

 

[monkeydawn]

An update...unfortunately this is one area where DCL could stand some improvements. Despite what the DCL website says the only option offered to me was a headset, not a caption device or printed scripts as mentioned on the DCL website. This was disappointing because often these headsets fail so having a backup is really nice. The headset worked well in the live show theater, in fact I was able to go to the bathroom and not miss anything. LOL The headset worked for about 3 minutes in the movie theater. I know I had it tuned properly because it worked. Battery life wasnt the issue because the headset worked fine after in a live show. It could have been any number of issues that would have taken the entire movie to diagnose. It wasnt worth it to me to even try. I followed along as best as I could and didnt bother with other movies as we had plenty to keep us occupied.

I received a note on my last day stating that if the headset was not returned by 6 pm that evening that I would be charged a $50 fee. This meant that I was not able to use the headset for the last show. While I understand the need to get charges in order on that last night I cant believe that there are so many of these being loaned out that they couldnt let you keep them until, lets say, 9 or 10 pm so that everyone could use them for the last live show. There are still movies aired after this (had they worked in that theater) but those movies all air earlier in the cruise so a 9/10 pm cutoff seems much more reasonable IMO. Also, Guest services never even asked if they functioned well for me. I know that last day can be hectic but there was no line when I approached. Their assistance for the hearing impaired just seems like almost a complete fail to me. Hopefully others have had better experiences and if there are tips on how I could have made the experience better, I would appreciate them.

 

[bumbershoot]

I received a note on my last day stating that if the headset was not returned by 6 pm that evening that I would be charged a $50 fee.

Did you ask them about using them for the last show?

Also, Guest services never even asked if they functioned well for me

Did you tell them? Did you tell them after the show where they failed? They need to know.

 

[monkeydawn]

I didn’t have the greatest experience checking the headset out. I was basically left with the impression that they didn’t care too much about their hearing impaired customers. They didn’t bother to ask about performance when I returned them so I didn’t mention anything there. I did mention on the final comment card though.

No I didn’t ask what I should do about the final show. THEY knew the schedule when they printed out the card telling me to return before the last show.