(gentle music)
Welcome to Hadley Presents.
I'm your host, Ricky Enger, inviting you to sit back, relax,
and enjoy a conversation with the experts.
In this episode, certified accessible travel advocate,
Melvin Reynolds joins us with tips
on keeping travel fun and accessible.
Welcome to the show, Melvin.
Thank you for having me, Ricky.
It is so great to have you here.
I know that you're passionate about travel
and you've actually gone a step further and decided
to help others with their travel needs as well,
and we'll get into that in just a bit.
But before we do that, I'm wondering
if you can just give us a quick intro.
Tell us about yourself and how you came
to just kind of fall in love with traveling.
Where does your passion for that come from?
In 2010, I graduated from
Youngstown State University
with an associate degree in hospitality management.
Before that, in 1997, I had graduated
from Youngstown University with a bachelor's in geography.
And I kind of wanted to figure out some way
to combine the two, geography and hospitality.
In early 2020, I saw an ad on Facebook for Cruise Brothers
and I thought, "Well what better way
"than to become a travel agent?"
I became a certified travel associate
through the Travel Institute it was a year ago,
this past April that I received that.
Went one step further and actually got
a certification through a special needs group
as an accessible travel advocate.
Fell in love with traveling when I was just out
of high school, my sister and I took trips
all over the eastern United States
up into New England and down south
into North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia.
I mean, we went everywhere.
Every summer we were on a road trip, my sister and I.
And from that I kind of developed a love of travel.
We can makes some amazing memories like that,
just going with family or friends
and figuring out a new place to go
that you just haven't experienced yet.
And I think being with people that you enjoy,
whether it's people that you don't know well yet,
but you're getting to know better
or somebody like your sister,
where it's something that you can talk about
for years to come, that's really awesome.
I think one of the first steps to traveling
is figuring out where you wanna go.
And that's true, you know, regardless if you're traveling
as someone who has 20/20 vision or if you're traveling
as someone who's blind or low vision,
you kind of want the same things out of a trip, right?
You wanna have fun, you wanna get the most out of the trip,
you wanna go somewhere that you will enjoy like,
hey, I hate the cold, I probably shouldn't go
to the snowy mountains necessarily.
Are there things beyond just I guess, the standard questions
that you might ask yourself?
Are there considerations beyond
that that somebody who's blind or low vision
should think about when they're figuring out
where they should take a trip?
One of the biggest ones I think is
what is the public transportation like?
Do they have buses, is there taxis available?
That sort of thing so you kind of know
what you're getting into when you get
to wherever you're going.
Whereas a sighted person probably
doesn't have to think about that as much.
Also, what are the accessibility issues
you're going to face, is there elevators?
Will I be able to understand the braille that's on signage,
if there's braille on signage?
You know, the whole world doesn't use
unified English braille, unfortunately.
Like I took a Spanish class
and I had to learn Spanish braille.
Do I have enough basis in that language
that I can at least communicate
that I am blind or low vision and I need help?
You know, those kinds of things also go
into figuring out where you wanna go when you travel.
That's a great point and it actually kind of
dovetails nicely into my next question,
which is figuring out how to get there,
that can really be a challenge.
You mentioned public transportation.
There are also things like, I guess,
thinking about what your technology needs are
or what your level of technology is.
So are there tips for say, making travel arrangements
for a tech savvy person?
And then how might somebody who's not really in love
with the technology still do something
like being able to arrange travel,
whether it's Uber, or Lyft, or airlines, or what have you?
Are there ways that somebody who's not
in love with technology can still do this easily?
You know, even as a travel advisor,
I have issues with a lot of the technology sites.
They don't read well with screen readers, that sort of thing
so even I need sighted help from time to time.
If you're really super uncomfortable with using technology
and you wanna book something like a flight
or a cruise, I would suggest calling
a professional, calling a travel agent.
And they are more than happy to help you do
whatever it is that you need done.
Some of 'em do charge fees,
especially if they're booking flights only.
I personally do not book flights only.
I do book them in combinations with like hotels
and cruises, that kind of thing.
Travel agents make no money off of flights
'cause they pay no commission.
A lot of agents won't book flights only,
but some of them, if you explain what your situation is
they may say, "Okay, I'll do it for you."
It can't hurt to call someone to ask.
Right, and I mean I think for some people
there's just no substitute for having
a human on the other end of the phone to talk to,
whether it's a travel agent,
or even the air carriers themselves.
You can arrange flights by phone,
although some of them I think do have fees
and for some of them you might be on hold for as long
as your flight is in order to get that arranged.
But it's a possibility, right?
Even the cruise lines also have phone numbers.
If you would rather work directly with the cruise lines,
they have phone numbers that you can call.
Airlines have accessibility specialists.
Cruise lines, Amtrak, they all have
accessibility specialists that are
more than happy to work with someone.
That's fantastic.
I am not currently a guide dog user, but I have been
in the past and it was interesting for me
because it was number one, one of
the most freeing experiences I've ever had
to travel with a guide dog.
And number two, one of the most logistically challenging,
at times, experiences that I've had.
For someone who is perhaps, a new guide dog user
or maybe they've been a guide dog user for a while,
but haven't traveled in a bit, what kinds
of logistics does somebody need to think about
when they're going to take a trip with their guide dog
that doesn't really come up with a cane?
You know, a lot of countries don't have...
Like we have the ADA, a lot of countries
don't have something like that.
You cannot take your dog into a store,
or a restaurant, or even a hotel in some countries.
Short story, I was in Martinique on a cruise
and we were doing a walking tour of the city.
At first, they weren't even gonna let me take
my dog off the ship, we finally agreed
that we could bring it along and if
after she met the dog, she didn't like it,
I could take her back to the ship.
We went on our tour, the strange thing is
people were jumping, literally jumping
over car hoods to get out of our way
because they just were not used to a dog in the city.
Dogs were not a city thing,
they're a country thing in Martinique.
I had no issues getting her into any of the buildings,
but it's just that, you know, people aren't used to it.
So there is that, there is the paperwork that's involved
'cause every country that you go
to has their own requirements for you
to enter their country with your dog.
They have their own paperwork, the US has its paperwork,
there's tests that need to be done.
There's all that paperwork that needs to be done, not only
for the countries but also now for the airlines as well.
There's a form that you have to fill out
and submit to the airline and they send you back
a code and it's kind of a hassle.
Yeah, so it sounds like a lot of
doing some research,
asking a lot of questions ahead of time
and planning for a number of different
possible contingencies before you go.
Yes, and someone who is an
accessible travel advocate,
or maybe not even necessarily an accessible travel advocate,
but they specialize in travel for blind
or low vision people can help with that paperwork.
They can, they know where to go to get the paperwork,
they know what needs to be filled out
and that kind of thing, that's a possibility too,
is working with someone like that.
That's fantastic and we'll talk a bit more about
what an accessible travel advocate is in just a second.
Before we do, I am curious about one thing
that comes up a lot traveling as a blind
or low vision person and you're with your friends and family
and they're like, "Let's go sightseeing."
And for a lot of people, just even the name of that,
that phrase is, "Oh really, this is not going
"to be fun for me at all."
But I think there are probably ways
that sightseeing can be made accessible in some way.
Like you can still get something out of the experience.
Are there ways that you can kind of plan ahead for
so that everybody is having fun with kind
of the sightseeing aspect of traveling?
You know, maybe doing reading on the place
where you're going I think gives you a little background.
Say, you're visiting Mount Rushmore, you know,
if you read a book on the history of Mount Mount Rushmore,
you understand a little more how it was sculpted and carved,
and that kind of thing and the time that it took.
Also having a family member who is a good describer,
not someone who just says, "Oh there's a purple flower."
What does that purple flower look like
other than a purple flower?
Try to describe it, you know, if you have someone
who can describe really well, it helps a lot.
When I do like shore excursions
or even guided tours of historic homes here in the US.
If I speak to the tour guide prior
to taking off on the tour and say,
"Hey, you know, I need a little more in depth discussion,
"a little more in depth detail on things,"
they tend to do their best.
I mean it's not always perfect,
but they do their best to describe something.
And I've actually been really surprised
that there have been times that I've actually been able
to touch things that most people don't get to touch.
One really cool place we went was Monticello,
got to feel things at the Monticello,
which was really kind of cool.
Got to feel a sample of the wallboard,
and got to feel a sample of Buffalo hide
and you know, it was fascinating the stuff
that I got to feel at Monticello
when we took a tour of it, that was really kind of cool.
So, you know, if you ask upfront, especially the tour guide
or a family member that you're with, they can help.
So just being willing to advocate for what's going
to make things a little more fun and enjoyable for you,
and just seeing how far that takes you.
That makes a lot of sense, actually.
I mean it's surprising even the Ryman Theater
in Nashville, I got a private guided tour.
Or me and my partner got a private guided tour
of the Ryman because we called
and said, "You know, totally blind,
"is there anything you can do for me?"
The director of the museum said, "Sure, come on down,
"ask for me when you get here I'll give you a private tour."
Paid no extra for it, it's something they did just because,
and it was really kind of neat.
That's fantastic.
So you've talked a lot about cruises,
we've mentioned that several times.
I love cruising and I know you do as well.
Are there tips for taking a cruise that a blind
or low vision person might really benefit from
just to make the trip that much more fun?
One of the coolest things though,
I think, is some of the technology
that the cruises are coming out with now.
And you can actually use an app on your phone
to find your way around the ship.
And there's only certain cruise lines that have it
and it's not necessary the cruise lines
with the biggest ships that have it either.
It's some of the smaller ships that have it,
but it makes it really nice.
On the opposite end of that big ship you have
the smaller ships and sometimes those are easier
to navigate than the big, gigantic ships.
The 2,000, 2700 passenger ships, those are nice
'cause they're small, they're a little more intimate,
they're easier to navigate.
Asking the crew, you know...
The crew's there to work for you
and they're more than willing to help you out.
Now granted they're not going to take you
and guide you someplace because that's a liability issue
for the cruise line if you were
to get hurt while they were guiding you.
They will give you electronic menus,
if you contact them prior to sailing,
at least 30 days prior, they will send you menus
in electronic format that you can look at
either on your phone, in an email,
or on on your computer, whichever.
There is braille signage everywhere on the ship,
all the state rooms have braille signage,
the elevators have it, the elevators talk,
tell you what deck you're on.
The servers at the main dining rooms,
once they know, I mean they will do anything for you,
they set the plate down in front of you
and they tell you your steak's at six o'clock,
your green beans are at two,
and your potato's at nine or whatever.
They've had some training in it as well.
But once they realize that that's
what you need, that's what they'll do.
They do provide relief areas for the dogs.
If you do travel with a service dog on a cruise,
they will provide a relief area.
There is paperwork again, that needs to be filled out
for the cruise line, it's required so many days
before that certain paperwork needs
to be sent in and proof of rabies vaccine
and proof that they're actually a service dog.
People are gonna say, well, the ADA says they can't,
well, they're not based in the US,
they're based usually in The Bahamas.
So they don't necessarily follow the ADA when it comes
to requiring documentation that it's actually a service dog.
Yeah, and I guess that's a
good point just in general
and I think we kind of alluded to this earlier,
is just to be aware that laws may be different elsewhere.
So that actually does bring up my last question,
which is, I mean, we've talked a lot about some do's
and don'ts and things to research and think about
before you go, and for a lot of people it's a lot
and it may become really overwhelming.
So I'm wondering how much of that
can a certified accessible travel advocate help with?
What kinds of things are you able to do so
that somebody who's booking a trip just thinks about,
"Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun, it's gonna be great,
"everything's gonna be taken care of."
What are those things that you or someone like you
can help people figure out before they leave?
We can help with making sure that
your paperwork is in on time,
making sure you have the correct paperwork
because it changes, I mean, it can change...
What I fill out today, may not be what I need tomorrow.
It can change that quickly.
We take care of submitting all the paperwork
to say, the cruise line for you.
We take care of all the arrangements as far as, you know,
letting the ship know that you have a service dog coming,
or the hotel or whatever, wherever you're going,
we can help with actually booking the trip
and taking you from start to finish,
from picking where you will go to follow up
when you come home, you know, things like that.
We can help with pretty much anything
that you need to do to make your trip pleasant and fun.
That's excellent.
And so for somebody who's looking
for a certified accessible travel advocate,
how do they go about finding you or somebody like you?
Unfortunately, there's no published list of,
you know, certified successful travel advocates.
Google is probably your best friend,
calling your local travel agency
and saying, "Hey, do you have someone there
"that's a certified accessible travel advocate
"or that is familiar with working with someone
"who has low vision, possibly traveling with a guide dog,"
however, it is that you travel.
And if not, ask if they can recommend you to someone who is,
they may or may not know someone,
you know, it just really depends.,
That makes sense and Google's your friend
and sometimes word of mouth is your friend.
We will have a link to your Facebook page
in the show notes here, so that'll be
at least one place that people can go.
Any final thoughts that you want to leave
the listeners with before we wrap up here?
Don't be afraid to step out there,
and travel and have fun and experience the world.
You know, if you just stay at home
and don't put yourself out there you're missing a lot.
Not just the travel itself, but the cultures
you get to experience, the food, the friends you'll make.
I have made friends that, you know, we've been friends now
for six, seven years that I met on a cruise
and we still keep in contact, we still have lunch
and dinner at each other's house every once in a while.
You make lifelong friends when you travel
and there's nothing like it.
Love it, thank you so much for that, Melvin.
I would like to, you know, stop the recording
and head out to the beach right now,
so I'm feeling inspired.
(both chuckling)
Thank you for dropping by and for sharing
your experience with us, really appreciate it.
You're welcome, thank you.
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