An Australian disability advocate has revealed a nightmarish experience aboard a luxury cruise ship due to a lack of accessibility within the rooms.
Shane Hryhorec was looking forward to his eight-day voyage around Europe aboard the ship MSC Grandiosa.
The Adelaide man, who uses a wheelchair, says he informed the cruise company staff during the booking process before completing a separate document detailing his needs.
So this seasoned traveler, who had never been on a cruise, was shocked when he discovered aboard his August cruise that he had booked the wrong room.
He uploaded TikTok videos to reveal the small space of the room and the lack of accessibility to essential facilities such as a private bathroom.
“Oh my God, this is not what I booked,” Hryhorec exclaimed in a video as a staff member led him to the room.
The video showed a large step placed on the bathroom door, which would make it difficult for Mr Hryhorec to access.
A second step was installed in front of the shower/tub combination.
Popular disability advocate Shane Hryhorec (pictured) was shocked when he discovered staff had booked him into the wrong room and the rooms were not accessible.
‘It’s a disaster. “This is not right at all,” he said.
Another video shows Mr Hryhorec trying to explain the situation to guest services staff, who said they would try to find him a room with facilities suitable for his needs.
One suggested that he instead use the ship’s public bathrooms whenever he needed to use the bathroom.
Hryhorec became “frustrated and upset” when he realized the chances of getting a more suitable room were slim.
He even considered abandoning his dream cruise trip.
“I could… just get off the ship in Barcelona (in northeastern Spain), cancel the cruise and maybe find a way back to Marseille,” he said.
In the end, Mr. Hryhorec was given a better room, although it did not include the amenities for which he had paid more.
They also did not offer him a refund and told him he would not be eligible for one if he abandoned the trip.
“I always dreamed of going on a cruise… but it was just disconcerting and it made me angry,” she said. Yahoo News.
“They practically put all the blame on me even though I showed them all my efforts.”
He also claims he did not receive an apology from staff and is unlikely to travel with MSC again.
‘When you take a step back, there are two things with accessibility. There is the hardware, such as the ramps, the entrance, and the physical elements. And then there is the software, which is the human aspect, the empathy,” he said.
Hryhorec was disappointed by the experience on board and even considered abandoning his dream cruise trip (pictured MSC Grandiosa).
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Hryhorec and MSC Cruises for further comment.
Hryhorec was inundated with support from TikTok viewers who were left shocked by his ordeal.
“That’s really disappointing, if they can’t provide you with an accessible room you should get a refund,” one wrote.
Another added: ‘I’m so angry about this. Not accessible (equals) not acceptable.
Others said they couldn’t understand why the rooms included steps that made access difficult for people with disabilities.
‘How can an accessible room with a step be considered an accessible room?’ one person asked.
One of the ships operated by MSC Cruises, known as MSC Grandiosa, has a total of 2,421 rooms on board.
Only 60 rooms are accessible to passengers with mobility difficulties.
Around 5.5 million Australians live with a disability according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
More than 180,000 Australians use a wheelchair.