btc1951

My husband and I are cruising on NCL Escape this Saturday. My husband uses a motorized wheelchair and we will be shuttled to the port via a GoPort shuttle bus from our Orlando hotel. We have an embarkation time of 12 noon and were wondering what the procedure is for handicapped passengers and family for embarkation. I have read of long lines waiting to check-in at the terminal. With my husband in a wheelchair, I will be juggling all our luggage to be checked in as well as our carry-ons, so I'm just trying to get a sense of the logistics of the day if anyone knows. 

We are sailing on NCL Nov. 19-26 and have an excursion reserved in St. Thomas called the St. John Island Tour, which involves taking a tour boat from St. Thomas to St. John and boarding an open air safari bus for a scenic drive around St. John. After checking the 10 day forecast in St. Thomas and St. John for the day we are in port there and finding a 56% chance of rain with winds at 15-25 mph, my question is, will the tour boat still run to St. John in those weather conditions? And if so, will the open air safari bus still operate on St. John?

This issue got resolved today. I contacted the Access Desk since they had us on file as needing assistance getting on and off the ship. I explained the whole scenario about why it was so inconvenient for me to have to pick up the rollator at the terminal and keep it with me until we were finally able to get our cabin. And since I had previously made a request for assistance to get him on and off board ship, I asked for further assistance to pick up the rollator from the Scootaround booth at the terminal, and store it for us until we were in our cabin later that day. The next thing I know I get an email from my contact at the access desk saying she had spoken to Scootaround, and that they would be delivering it to our cabin, and would also pick it up there at the end of the cruise. Shortly thereafter I received a call from the Scootaround rep confirming same, and then she sent me an updated contract also confirming these details. Something about the squeaky wheel comes to mind...

22 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

 If it is in your contract with Scootaround, I'd imagine they'd let you have a full refund.

No refund was offered, but because I paid extra for the ability to cancel, I could still do that but they deduct $25 from my refund. And if I cancel then we have no rollator for the cruise unless we bring one from home. And since we're flying to Orlando, staying in a hotel overnight, then taking the shuttle to the port, that's even more of an inconvenience. 

I just learned today, less than 30 days from our cruise, that NCL and Port Canaveral will no longer allow disability equipment rented from Scootaround to be delivered directly to your cabin (even though that is in your contract), and that now you have to pick up /return your equipment from the terminal. Which means you must carry whatever equipment you rented around from the time you embark until  whatever time you can get into your cabin. Has anyone heard of or encountered this issue? This is a problem for us because my husband travels with a collapsible, motorized wheelchair, which means I am responsible for everything else. Scootaround because we anticipate times where the wheelchair may not be an appropriate vehicle for him, such as if we need to tender, or for certain excursions where a wheelchair won't be allowed. So for me to have to pick up the rollator outside the terminal while I still have baggage to check in (for both of us), and then have to roll it around the ship all afternoon until we get into our room is an enormous inconvenience. Who in their right mind decided this this was a good thing for the disabled? I bet the ADA folks would love to hear about this!

I just learned today, less than 30 days from our cruise, that NCL and Port Canaveral will no longer allow disability equipment rented from Scootaround to be delivered directly to your cabin (even though that is in your contract), and that now you have to pick up /return your equipment from the terminal. Which means you must carry whatever equipment you rented around from the time you embark until  whatever time you can get into your cabin. Has anyone heard of or encountered this issue?

On 4/7/2022 at 4:04 PM, Hutcha said:

It's about $33.50 PP/PD, and everyone has to get it (with a few exceptions. There's a great, and lengthy, thread here on the P+ package 

I can't find the thread you mentioned about the P+ package. 

We will be cruising on NCL Escape next month and my husband will have his motorized wheelchair. I read a post by someone on Facebook about the difficulty he had getting down the long hallways in his wheelchair, and especially when the cleaning carts are parked in the hallways. Has anyone experienced this issue? I don't supposed there's anything we can do about it except possibly ask the cleaning people to move their carts while has passes. Your thoughts?

On 6/22/2021 at 5:17 PM, saltsandknit said:

I pre pay. I want my bill at disembarkation to be as small as possible. 

But how do you prepay gratuities (not DSC - I already did that).

I prepaid my service charge for both of us, but how do you prepay the gratuities? I can't for the life of me figure that out. I don't see any way to do it. And I don't want any surprises when I get the final bill on the last day of the cruise. 

On 8/20/2022 at 3:36 PM, SpencerNY1 said:

Did you find anything in Tortola? 

We're booked on the Discover Tortola excursion through NCL. The tour uses open-air safari type vehicles. My son & daughter-in-law will be with us so they can help get my husband on/off the bus if necessary. He will be using the rollator on Tortola, not the motorized wheelchair.

For those of you who are sailing on the POA this Fall, I'd love a post-cruise report. My husband and I were booked on it twice and cancelled, first because of a volcano rupture, then when it was rescheduled, Covid closed us down. We hope to do it some day, but since then we've read some less than stellar reviews. So it would help to read some good things about it. Thanks! 

8 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

We were booked on the POA using NCL air at the end of March, 2020 and they had us going from San Diego to Denver for an hour layover & then to Honolulu. We're now on our 6th rescheduling of this cruise for this November and we booked our own flights with Hawaiian Airlines.  We're flying into Honolulu 4 days early and it's worth it to us to pay the fare for the convenience & our peace of mind. BirdTravels is right - it's hard to tell where they may route you!

20 hours ago, philv said:

Hi Folks, I’m sailing on Pride of America on September 24 and using NCL air. Arriving in Honolulu 2 days early. Has anyone recently done NCL air from Denver to Honolulu? I would like to know if you went nonstop or layover. United has a nonstop from Denver but I’m kind of presuming we layover in LA. Your recent information would be appreciated. ✈️

We tried to book Pinchos ahead but the app says you have to book onboard, no pre-bookings accepted. Why is that? And is it hard to get bookings once onboard?

On 7/26/2022 at 5:04 PM, kokopelli-az said:

Maybe.   Level 1 does not necessarily mean accessible.   Will the stairs getting into the bus be a problem?   Are you planning on taking the motorized wheelchair or the rollator?   And is there a place on the bus and tour boat to store which ever one you take?    

 

You should contact NCL's Access Department and ask if there will be any accessible tours for your cruise.   

Ask NCL specifically about the tours you have booked and whether your husband will have trouble getting on the bus, etc.  NCL can contact the tour operator for specifics and answers to your questions.  

 

Note that since you are crusing in November, it  may be too early for NCL to have all the tours set up.   

 

Take a look at the link; there is a section on shore excursions.   Please contact NCL's Access Department for additional information (and any forms they need you to complete).

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

I have sent NCL's Access Department an email for clarification since I booked the excursions through NCL, and I submitted a Guest Special Needs Request Form and have gotten an initial and second response to that (just not about excursions). 

On 7/24/2022 at 11:15 AM, 1025cruise said:

One thing to note, if tours are accessible, they will be labelled as such. No label = no guarantee.

None of the excursions listed for our cruise at any port are labeled as accessible. Does that mean they have nothing for people who are ability-challenged?

We're booked on NCL Escape for the Nov. 19, 2022 sailing out of Port Canaveral. We booked two excursions; one is the St. John Island Tour out of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. My husband uses both a motorized, collapsible wheelchair (for distance) and a foldable rollator for shorter jaunts. In the case of this type of excursion he would probably use the rollator. In choosing excursions on the NCL Escape, I don't see any indication of accessibility. Other than an activity level of 1, how would you know that an excursion is accessible? The tour indicates "you depart via your tour boat..." and "you'll arrive in the charming town of Cruz Bay, where you'll board an open air safari bus..." Are the boat and the safari bus accessible? Nothing in the description of the excursion tells me it is. 

The other excursion we chose is on Tortola, called Discover Tortola. Another Activity Level 1, it is mostly comprised of a ride on a safari-type tour bus, with a stop for shopping or swimming along with way. Again, nothing in the description mentions whether the tour bus is accessible. 

So I'm hoping others have knowledge about these tours and can weigh in. Thanks!

How can you tell when you book an excursion that it is accessible? We're booked on NCL Escape in November for a Caribbean cruise, and we only selected two excursions, and chose those specifically with activity level 1. "Tours with this activity level involve walking over relatively level terrain, possibly some cobblestone, gravel, or a few steps. Comfortable shoes are recommended." Nothing whatsoever is mentioned about accessibility. So how does one know?

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your post "Reflections of the Crazy Cruise Industry by a Cruise-aholic". My husband and I haven't cruise since 2016 (Alaskan Cruise on Princess) but we're booked on NCL Escape on Nov. 19, 2022 - 7 days to Dominican Republic/Virgin Islands, etc. with several family members. We've always gotten balcony staterooms but this time we booked a mini-suite. Maybe next cruise we'll have the funds to book the Haven. My husband's mobility issues have recently escalated to the point that he now needs a rollator and a motorized wheelchair, both of which he will have on this trip. So this will be a learning curve for us (and a lot more work for me in our travels than any previous trips). But I refuse to stay home and not travel, and he really wants to travel; it's just that there's not much he can do to help out. So wish us luck in our travels. And I'll continue to look for your posts as I find them helpful and informative (and entertaining!). 

Happy Cruising!

On 7/13/2022 at 8:18 AM, BamaCruiser39 said:

Available immediately on new bookings as well as existing bookings.

Can you repost whatever it is you were trying to post? I cannot access it, and I have a cruise coming up in November. Thanks!

On 6/26/2022 at 11:00 AM, iancal said:

We just finished up a month of travel in Portugal.  Mostly by rail.  Discount for seniors is 50 percent.

50% discount on rail travel in Portrugal?

On 6/17/2022 at 11:43 AM, MalleyCat said:

Just. Don't. Do. It. We reluctantly booked through them because they refused to honor their guaranteed 70% refund on Covid cancelled reservations. The shuttle was late. Mass chaos. No one was giving directions to the 100 plus people waiting at the hotel. It took almost 2 hours from scheduled pick up to drop off at the port. Going back to the airport was almost as bad, we got on the shuttle at 7:30 and didn't leave until close to 9:00. There are plenty of other options. Good luck.

Which hotel did you stay in as part of your Go Port package?

On 7/1/2022 at 10:53 PM, FOPMan said:

Yes, GSC is a tender port. You transfer to a smaller boat directly from the cruise ship. The smaller boat goes between the ship and shore. 
 

Where are you stopping at the Dominican Republic? Amber Cove, or elsewhere? 

My understanding is that NCL now uses the new Taino Bay port. As far as GSC, my husband will also have a folding rollator that he can use there. I'm hoping they will let him get on the tender with it, but I'll check with the accessibility desk once on board.

My husband uses a motorized wheelchair and we were wondering how this will affect the check-in process at the port.

We're flying in the day before our cruise (Nov. 19th embarkation) and booked with Go Port for their Fly Snooze Cruise package. Can't beat the price. I just hope it all goes as planned.

Thanks! Now I'll have to see if I can find an old card laying around before our cruise in November.