3,800 Deaf Passengers Enjoy a Royal Caribbean Cruise

On October 28, 2007, the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas set sail as usual. For the first time in history, passengers with normal hearing were in the minority. Yet, for the first time in history, the ship was filled with 3,860 deaf and hard of hearing passengers. One hundred and twenty four interpreters were on board, including interpreters for individual deaf blind passengers.

The Deaf Freedom Cruise took two years to plan. The brainchild behind this idea came from Mac and Tabitha Partlow, owners of Passages Deaf Travel. A previous cruise experience with 22 deaf friends turned into a disaster when they boarded and found out that there were no interpreters for the trip. The following year, the Partlows booked 350 deaf passengers on a cruise that was a success. Tabitha began to think about having a cruise entirely for deaf and hard of hearing passengers.

Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines expressed interest in setting up a deaf cruise, but Royal Caribbean offered to provide interpreters and access at no extra charge. They also offered their largest ship, the Freedom of the Seas. With 15 floors, a Flowrider and a shopping mall, it was easy to make the choice to use that ship. The question was, could they fill up an entire ship with deaf and hard of hearing passengers?

They did.

And from the comments from the passengers, the historical trip was a wonderful one. " Wow, what an experience that was!" said Steve Murbach, a deaf passenger from the Chicago area. "It just doesn't compare to anything else I've seen before. If you ever wonder what it is like to live in a Deaf city, this is probably the closest you'll ever get to living in one."

"Most of the hearing crew members on the Freedom of the Seas ship had learned just enough sign language from their crash course training," Steve continued, "to make their communication and services very accessible."

Royal Caribbean had indeed stepped up to the plate to provide access. Each cabin was outfitted with a door knocker and a vibrating alarm. They plucked a staff member from the Navigator of the Seas, Bobby Brown, and assigned him with the task of training the crew on the Freedom for seven weeks. Bobby was joined by Keith Wann, the son of deaf parents, and Wes Justice, a deaf staff member of Passages Travel. Together, they developed a training video of signs and information about Deaf Culture. This video was shown to all of the crew members via the ship's television system. Just weeks before the cruise, there were as many as thirty sign language classes held with the staff.

"The crew was so excited," said Bobby. "They were all enthusiastic and really wanted to learn." Some of the classes were held late at night to accommodate crew members who worked all day.

"I can't say enough about the crew," said Lisa Maloney, a deaf passenger also from the Chicago area.. "I was really impressed with their kindness and eagerness to learn more sign language by asking us to share more signs with them. I think the Royal Caribbean crew enjoyed the cruise as much as we did."

Passages Deaf Travel employed John Maucere, a deaf comedian and actor, as the Cruise Director. "My experience as a Cruise Director was awesome," John shared. "It was almost 24/7 on the job for me, having to host games, and perform evening shows. I had a fabulous time, seeing thousands of smiling faces!"

For those who missed the historical cruise, there will be more opportunities to experience a deaf cruise. Passages Deaf Travel is currently at work planning a cruise to Alaska in 2008 and one to Hawaii in 2009. For more information, visit the website: Passages Deaf Travel.