ACCESSIBILITY
The VACAYA spirit is one of warmth, inclusivity, and accessibility for the entire LGBT+ community and our allies. At VACAYA, folks of all sizes and all abilities are not only welcomed but celebrated. We work closely with our cruise line and resort partners to create a comfortable environment for all travelers, including those with disabilities and those who may require additional considerations. Unique circumstances sometimes require additional planning and we’re happy to provide you with information from our cruise and resort partners to help you minimize challenges and maximize your enjoyment.
While we do our best to select resorts and cruise lines that are already accessible, we recognize that not every itinerary or experience can be equally accessible to everyone, especially some of our more adventurous Expedition cruises. To inquire regarding whether your needs can be accommodated on a particular trip, please contact The V Team at info@myvacaya.com prior to purchasing a trip. Where needed, a V Team member may even connect you directly with our resort and cruise partners to address your needs or concerns. Please understand that needs not addressed in advance of the vacation will have a higher likelihood of not being fulfilled.
VACAYA’s COMMITMENT TO YOU
Accessibility for Guests with Wheelchair Access Needs:
At VACAYA, we understand that accessibility is essential for guests who use wheelchairs. We have designated an accessibility specialist who is responsible for ensuring that our cruise and resort trips are as fully accessible to guests with mobility challenges as possible. Our accessibility specialist can also connect you with cruise line or resort specialists with more intimate knowledge of exact destination accommodations to ensure our guests have an enjoyable experience. This includes, but is not limited to providing ramps, elevators, accessible seating, and handicap accessible rooms. While we do our best to ensure on-site accommodations are accessible, off-ship and off-site excursions may require additional transportation and logistical planning from our tour partners that could come at an additional expense to the guest. We’re happy to connect you with the partners who can arrange those plans. If you’re looking for special accommodations, please contact our guest services team at info@myVACAYA at least 60 days in advance of the vacation to give us an opportunity to try to meet your accommodation needs.
Accessibility for Guests on Excursions:
At VACAYA, we recognize guests with mobility challenges may face additional difficulties when it comes to travel. Our goal is to offer a variety of travel experiences that can meet a range of abilities. While not all tour offerings provided by our cruise and resort partners will be inclusive for guests with mobility issues, our tour partners strive to offer accessible options and they will be able to advise which experiences will work best. Rather than traverse up a mountain on an intense hike, taking a guided tour by taxi or van could be a great way to experience a new destination. Please note this option will likely come at an extra cost to the guest and will need to be negotiated between the guest and the tour operator or transfer company.
On our small-ship Luxe expedition cruises, our cruise partners strive to provide leisure guided walks with naturalists as an alternative to hikes with steep elevation. On our expedition cruises, guests wishing to participate fully must be able to get in and out of Zodiac boats with an assist from a crew member in order to access more remote locations. Please understand that Zodiac boat rides can encounter rough swells that can make the ride a bit bumpy. Anyone not wanting that experience should likely select a vacation without the expedition component.
No two trips or destinations are the same. If you have any specific concerns or needs, please let us know when booking your vacation so that we can connect you with tour providers to make sure you have an enjoyable experience.
Accessibility for Guests who are Blind or Low Vision:
For guests who are blind or have low vision, we can connect you with our cruise or resort partner’s resources to make your experience better, including but not limited to materials written in braille and/or large print. Our cruise and resort partners tour guides may be trained to give verbal descriptions of the tour locations and may have support staff available to help with navigation. If you are blind or have low vision, please let us know when booking your vacation so we can connect you with available resources to meet your needs.
Accessibility for Guests with Dietary Restrictions or Food Allergies:
We pay special attention to what our cruise line and resort partners offer to aid guests with food allergies and dietary restrictions, because we understand that can often be a source of stress when traveling. We will do our best to accommodate any food allergies or dietary restrictions you may have when booking our vacations, but we’re limited to what our cruise and resort partners can provide. Please let us know when booking your vacation so we can give an accurate count to our partners so they understand the volume of any one type of accommodation they’ll need to make to ensure you can enjoy your meals worry-free.
As a charter company, we do have the ability to ask our cruise partners to adjust food offerings. As an example, that’s what we’ve done in regard to plant-based offerings for our vegans on our cruises and at our resorts. We now ask all our cruise and resort partners to provide at least one nutritionally balanced vegan entrée at each meal so our vegan guests are not forced to piece a meal together via disparate elements of other meals. While we never want our vegan guests to feel as if they’re having a lesser experience, our cruise and resort partners are still in the early learning phase on how to deliver clear and consistent experiences in this area. We ask guests to be patient but clear about your needs in advance so we can do our best to advocate on your behalf.
Accessibility for Guests who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing:
We also want our guests who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing to have amazing experiences. These needs are as individual as you are. If you are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, please let us know when booking your vacation so that we can connect you to resources to meet your needs. When you communicate your needs to us at least 120 days in advance of your vacation, we will provide information on what we or our cruise line or resort partner is planning regarding ASL interpreters and any auxiliary aids.
US-Based Operations (for cruises that leave from a port in the United States of America, are on ships that are flagged to the US, or for Resorts/Tours that are on US soil): VACAYA will work with our cruise and resort partners to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure equal access and accommodations for all. VACAYA and our partners share the cost of these services to provide them at no charge to the guest. Cruise lines employ interpreters who typically move from ship to ship depending on the needs of sailing guests. The cruise line determines and pays for the level of service offered. On our charters, VACAYA provides accommodations for the interpreter or interpreters. Guests should direct all questions regarding service levels once onboard to the cruise line or resort.
International Operations (for Big Ship cruises that leave from a non-US port or do not touch a US port).
VACAYA works with our cruise and resort partners to comply with local accessibility regulations and guidelines, which differ from and are typically less stringent than ADA requirements in the United States. Full transparency: in almost 100% of these cases, VACAYA receives no financial support for Deaf or HoH accommodations from our cruise partners with originating ports outside of the U.S. VACAYA will make our best effort to arrange for an interpreter, but without a partner to help shoulder the high costs and complexity of sourcing interpreters outside the U.S., VACAYA requires Deaf or HoH guests who need interpretation to split the costs. Please send an email to info@myVACAYA.com at least 45 days prior to booking stating your needs for a specific vacation. If services can be successfully sourced, the following will apply:
Fee: The fee for this service will be entirely dependent on the number of Deaf/HoH guests who ultimately book the trip, but VACAYA will pick up 50% of the costs. Through our sourcing and pricing, we will provide you with the estimate of the remaining balance to cover the cost of interpreter transportation, accommodations, and services. If you decide to book, the additional fee you will ultimately pay could range anywhere from as much as 50% of the total cost (if you’re the only Deaf/HoH guest who’s booked) to a much lower number if multiple Deaf/HoH guests end up splitting the costs equally. That final fee will be determined at the 90-day mark before the trip once we have a full accounting of all Deaf/HoH guests onboard (90 days before the trip is when the window for additional Deaf/HoH guest booking closes). Once the fee has been determined and is communicated to each guest, it will become due immediately and is nonrefundable even if the Deaf/HoH guest cancels the trip in the final three months.
Service Definition:
• Shared sign language interpreting services. There may be as few as one ASL interpreter provided for multiple guests and that resource will be shared.
• ASL interpreters only.
• Interpretation at one Mainstage Show and one auxiliary event per day, as scheduled by VACAYA. Changes or additions to this schedule will be posted daily at Guest Services.
• Guests can make a request for interpretation at one specific event/venue/time per day (at least 48 hours in advance). Although interpreters will do their best to fulfil that request, there is no guarantee an interpreter will be available for any event/venue/time outside of the pre-scheduled shows/events.
• VACAYA will consider all guest feedback onboard, but the services offered are as stated above, and all decisions regarding ASL interpretation are at the discretion of VACAYA and are final.
• VACAYA will not tolerate abusive or entitled behavior toward interpreters or VACAYA team members.
• We will not be able to accommodate requests for ASL interpretation services received inside 90 days prior to a cruise.
Please send an email to info@myvacaya.com prior to booking to understand the process specific to each event.
International Operations (for Small-Ship cruises that leave from a non-US port and do not touch a US Port, or for Resorts/Tours that are outside the US): VACAYA works with our cruise and resort partners to comply with local accessibility regulations and guidelines, which differ from and are typically less stringent than ADA requirements in the United States. Full transparency: in almost 100% of these cases, VACAYA receives no financial support for Deaf or HoH accommodations from our cruise or resort partners outside the US. Without a partner to help shoulder the high costs and complexity of sourcing interpreters outside the US, there is a strong possibility that no services will be available. We do however encourage and welcome Deaf or HoH guests to bring their own interpreter in the form of a traveling companion either in their stateroom or in an additional accommodation, at the guest’s expense. Please send an email to info@myvacaya.com at least 90 days prior to booking to understand what you might expect on a specific vacation.
Helpful Tips:
• Before you travel, visit travel.state.gov/destination and enter a country or area to find information for travelers with disabilities in the Special Laws & Circumstances Section.
• For flying, we recommend calling the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) toll free helpline for travelers with disabilities and medical conditions: +1.855.787.2227, or check TSA’s website, TSA Cares. They can answer questions about screening policies, procedures, and security checkpoints.
HOW YOU CAN HELP YOURSELF AND THOSE WHO SERVE YOU
When you book one of our trips, you become part of the VACAYA family. We strive to ensure you have the best possible experience, but we can’t do that without you. Here are a few responsibilities to keep in mind:
● Communicate your needs: It’s important to let us know about your specific needs in advance so we have an opportunity to connect you with the right resources with our cruise and resort partners. For most of our vacations, we offer a special needs form to document your special needs. In rare cases (like our Caribbean Cruise with Celebrity) guest will make request directly with the cruse line via a link from our Get Ready page. We ask our guests to take special care to complete the special needs form in advance of the vacation. Communicating your needs only once the vacation has already begun makes those requests more challenging to fulfill. We ask for patience and grace if those moments present themselves.
● Do your research: Be familiar with the tour itinerary and any potential accessibility issues. Set yourself up for success by bringing anything from home that can make your experience run more smoothly. It’s good to be aware of any potential accessibility challenges that may arise during your vacation, so that you can plan accordingly.
● Be prepared to be self-sufficient: While tour/excursion providers will do their best to accommodate guests with disabilities, it’s important to be prepared to be self-sufficient and to bring any necessary information you’ve researched, equipment, or aides you may need.
● Be open to limitations: While we will do our best to accommodate any accessibility needs, for guests with disabilities or mobility issues, it’s important to be open to the possibility that not all travel accommodations may be perfectly tailored to their needs. Despite the efforts made by travel providers to be inclusive and accommodating, there may still be limitations or challenges that arise due to factors such as infrastructure, accessibility regulations, or local customs. It’s important for guests to have realistic expectations and be prepared to adapt and find alternative solutions when necessary. This could mean being flexible with accommodation options, transportation arrangements, or itinerary modifications. By maintaining an open mindset and proactive communication with travel providers, guests with disabilities or mobility issues can still have enjoyable and fulfilling travel experiences.
Here at VACAYA, our goal is to ensure every guest has the best vacation of their lives. We appreciate you collaborating with us to make sure that includes YOU!