shel003

5 minutes ago, katisdale said:

Icy Strait Point now has a pier. I believe it was finished just before the shut down. There are some articles in the local Hoonan (I think this is the name of the nearby town??) newspaper.

Good to know, thanks!

1 hour ago, dan722 said:

I would   be grateful for any info on private accessible tours in JUNEAU, SKAGWAY, ICY STRAIT POINT, KETCHIKAN, and VANCOUVER

will be cruising on celebrity in August of  2022. 

I am a full-time power wheelchair user. We have cruised many times but only in the Caribbean.
I'm also interested in what type of warm clothes might be needed.

Thanks in advance.

So since posting this question, I’ve done a TON of research and am scheduled to go in June 2023.

 I’ve found that unless you can transfer out of your chair, the best accessible excursions are booked through the cruise line.  I don’t know what celebrity offers, but Princess (who I’ll be sailing with) offers quite a few choices.  I plan to go to the Totem Pole park in Ketchikan and then roll around Creek Street on my own.  In Juneau, we’ll be doing a whale watch and visiting Mendenhall Glacier.  I did read about an accessible helicopter tour here, but you won’t be able to get out onto a glacier.  In Skagway, the train is accessible and I’ve heard the town is very accessible to your on your own.  I booked a private tour with tours by locals, but I can transfer to a regular vehicle as it’s not lift equipped.  I believe Icy Strait Point is a tender stop so not sure how accessible it will be.
 

As for warmth, I’ve heard to dress in layers as weather is unpredictable.  Having water proof outer layers is also key.

I hope this helps!

8 minutes ago, ProfMHC said:

It’s within the Travel Checklist….Personal Info and Documents….scroll all the way down…it’s right after Emergency Return Airport and Travel Information.

Found it... Thank you!

Does anyone know where you can add a celebration to someone’s cruise?  I’m not talking about purchasing a package.  There used to be a place on the personalizer under onboard services where you could let princess know if someone was celebrating a birthday or anniversary.  I’m assuming that is now done on the app as it’s no longer available in the personalizer but can’t find where on the app you can add that information. TIA

I spoke with my Norwegian cruise consultant and he said that the cancellations have nothing to do with covid but the inability to get enough American crew.  He felt confident that this would be resolved by my March cruise.

1 hour ago, kokopelli-az said:

I would at least check with NCL to see what accessible tours they will be offering, although they might not have all their tours lined up yet.    Note that ships tender at most of the islands.  Here's their contact info:

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#ship-transfers

 

When we were in Hawaii a couple of years ago (on Celebrity) we took an accessible helicopter tour.  My husband is the one with the wheelchair and he was not interested at all in the helicopter tour.   I knew it was accessible and that we had never done a helicopter tour before so I finally convinced him to do it.   He said that the helicopter tour was by far one of the most memorable tours he's ever been on.   They even did a fly by right over our ship at the end.  

 

We booked through the cruise line and the helicopter company was Blue Hawaiian.  https://www.bluehawaiian.com/en    They actually came to the ship and picked us up, took us to the airport where the helicopter was located, and took us back to the ship afterwards - all in an accessible van.   The helicopters are equipped with a lift that will lift the wheelchair person on to the helicopter.   Here's an example of a helicopter lift (although not in Hawaii):    

 

 

Per Blue Hawaiian:  "All of our bases are wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Each base also has a custom built chair lift to assist passengers into the helicopter safely and comfortably. Our chair lifts are able to accommodate passengers up to 250 lbs."

 

This was definitely the most expensive tour we have ever taken, but well worth it.  

I’d love to do a helicopter tour but my doctor won’t let me (I’m on a ventilator).

5 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Will you have someone with you who can drive? Its easy to rent a car in Hawaii and do your own tours. For example, in Hilo you can rent a car and drive to Volcanoes National Park. 

If it were pre-covid I’d agree but with rental car shortages this may be a challenge.  We also enjoy having a guide that can tell us about the history and local stories etc.

I have a cruise booked to Hawaii on the Pride of America for March.  Assuming that it goes, I’m look at shore excursions.  Prefer to not go through the cruise line as they are usually “drive by” tours.  I have an excursion booked for Kauai already but looking for private operators that offer wheelchair accessible excursions.  I can transfer to a regular vehicle vehicle but cannot climb steps to get into a bus.  I was originally planning to use Roberts Hawaii but they are cirrhosis not offering shore excursions due to covid and couldn’t give me an estimated timeline of when they may offer shore excursions in the future.  Google is not proving helpful.

would love to do a whale watching tour in Maui as well as go to the national park there.  I’m Hilo want to see Volcanoes National Park.  Not sure about Kona as it’s a tender port.  If I can tender would love to do something.  I can walk short distance with a cane so hoping I can tender.

Norwegian is also allowing people with pre-existing conditions and oxygen users to cruise

1 minute ago, bitob said:

Late reply

 

But anyone who is disabled should consider doing an Antarctica cruise with Seabourn.  They get people in wheelchairs into the Zodiacs.  IT IS THEIR CULTURE.  No limitations.

Is this from personal experience??  I read on their site that they will make an effort to do this but no guarantees 

34 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

You can take the public bus to Totem Bright. It is wheelchair accessible.

 

https://www.kgbak.us/784/Accessibility

Thanks!  Is there admission to totem bright… how much?  How much is the bus and where would I catch it?

1 minute ago, 1025cruise said:

You might want to ask on the Alaska ports of call board.

For Mendenhall, there is no need for the cruise tour. There are busses that will take you from the port.

I looked into those and none of them are wheelchair accessible (you have to climb steps to board and I can’t do that).

In the past when I posted on the Alaska forum, they tell me to post here due to my accessibility needs.

3 minutes ago, eurodl said:

Thanks Shel003.  I think we are on the same page.  By the time we added the upgrade for the Tundra tour and the meal plan we might as well do the Connoisseur.  But I really wanted to do Copper River.  That's my dilemma.  Also if we upgrade to Club Class then that brings our total up even more.  They really get you with the add-ons don't they 😉  Did you get a price for the upgrade to the Tundra tour?  When I asked they said it wasn't posted yet.
 

 

My agent said the tundra tour added about $70 (but I can’t remember if that was total or per person). I think it was per person.  I ended up going with a balcony room.  In the ship I’m on the balconies on the minis where the same size as the regular balconies rooms (there were a few larger angled balconies on very few of the minis).  I didn’t think the extra cost justified it.  However, I generally book inside cabins to save money so a balcony will be wonderful as it is.  Typically I don’t spend a lot of time in my room so an inside doesn’t bother me.  I splurged on the balcony because it will be my first time to Alaska.  Also being a wheelchair user, this will ensure uninterrupted viewing space in case the top decks are crowded.

I weighed the pros and cons of itineraries and for me, if the two tours are going to be the same price, I chose the itinerary that I really wanted to see.  Sure it doesn’t include a tour operator but since I haven’t been, I won’t know what I’m missing and am sure I’ll still have an amazing trip.  Just my thought process though.

Hi,

Will be going to Alaska with Princess cruises in June 2023.  Have  done somebody research on private excursions but also plan on taking some princess excursions.  I know that when you book a wheelchair accessible excursion through the ship, only one person can accompany you and others must book he regular excursion.  There will be 6 of us traveling as a group.  My question is, do you get to see the other members of your he group cruise n the excursion once you arrive at the destination???  We of course would make sure the times match up.  We booked this cruise to spend time together and would love to share experiences on excursions.

If we won’t see each other during the excursions might have to look more at private accessible options (I use a wheelchair and can’t climb steps).  Any companies or tours you recommend that are accessible?  Here is what we are interested in:

Ketchikan- Totem Bright State Park, lumber Jack show

Juneau- Whale watch (plan to use dolphin jet boat tours), mendenhall glacier (plan to use ship tour as you can go off on your own while there), gold mine tour

Skagway- plan to take a private tour along the Klondike highway

So I guess I mainly need recommendations on private tours for totem bright, and a gold mine tour.  We are not renting cars since need tours that would pick up close to the pier.

TIA!

I just booked the 15 day off the beaten path tour and sailing in the majestic starting June 10, 2023.  These were the dates that worked for my group and we wanted to do the cruise first so didn’t have a choice of ship.  I upgraded to the tundra tour at Denali when I booked and got the meal plan.  Personally I wanted to know beforehand what I’d be spending on meals.

I chose this to our over a connoisseur tour because I really wanted to see St Elias Wrangell NP as well as Kenai Fiords NP.  I heard that the McKinley lodge is ok but more of a rest day.  It does provide you with additional chances of seeing Mt McKinley (the great one) but with only 20% of people getting a clear view, I opted for the Copper lodge instead.  As many have told me though, Alaska is a beautiful state and there isn’t really a bad choice.  It just depends on your priorities and preferences.

Just now, Jadn13 said:

Yes, I checked my statement from the Mother's Day promotion so I can confirm that you get 2X

Thank you!

1 minute ago, rabin1 said:

Wouldn't it be simpler to just call and ask???

I did contact them and got a vague answer about extra points on princess purchases.  They did not directly tell me yes or no.

Does anyone know if you buy the gift cards with your princess Visa card if you still get 2 points for every $1 spent?  As my statement doesn’t shoe that it was bought through princess (says e-gift card) wasn’t sure if I’d still get the right amount of points.

53 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Have you posted this on the Princess board?  

I posted a similar question, yes.

9 hours ago, Ombud said:

PVP just informed me that the new gift card promo is out. 50 bonus card for each 500 card purchased, can buy multiples. Screenshot indicates 5/1/22 expiration date on bonus cards. No code needed -- 

Are you sure you can get multiples snd get the deal in each?  I saw the fine print say only 1 per customer.  Or do you just buy a larger amount in one transaction and get bonus cards for each $500 increments?

I plan to book a cruise tour to Alaska for 2023 when itineraries are released (It will be my first time there).  I looked at available tours for 2022 to get an idea of what is offered.  Unfortunately I cannot do the 17 day escorted connoisseur tour as I use a wheelchair and the included catamaran ride across Prince William Sound isn’t wheelchair accessible (I’ve been in contact with the accessibility office).  I would love to visit as many national parks as possible so I found a 15 day cruise tour that skips McKinley lodge but goes everywhere else Princess tours stops (including 2 nights in Denali).  The downside is that the tour includes the natural history Denali tour, not the Tundra tour.  It also doesn’t include meals (from what I can tell).  I’ve heard that you can upgrade to the Tundra tour (and pay the difference) as well as get meal vouchers in advance (I’ve heard Alaska is expensive and would rather know what I’m paying upfront than trying to budget and be concerned about it when I get there).  Has anyone done this upgrade before?  Did everything go smoothly?  Can I do this if I book through a big travel website or is it best to do this directly through Princess?  I’m considering a travel website as they offer more perks than Princess.

Thank you for the feedback in advance!

I’m researching which Alaska cruise tour I’d like to book for 2023.  I’d really like to do the 17 day escorted connoisseur tour but because of my mobility problems have some concerns .  Does anyone know which company Princess uses for the catamaran ride from the ship to the town of Valdez???  

I have contacted the accessibility office and they said I would need to climb a flight of steps to do the catamaran portion but when I look online at some of the companies that do similar tours, they appear to have an enclosed main deck that doesn’t require steps (I’d be ok with staying in the main deck).

Any guidance on the company they contract out for this part or your experience taking the catamaran snd whether steps were required would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks in advance.

1 minute ago, hallux said:

They're called PCCs - Personal Cruise Consultant.  Call NCL and ask to be connected with one.  I don't believe forum rules allow for suggesting a particular person.

Oh sorry, I didn’t know.

I’m new to Ncl but want to book a cruise. Since I’m a wheelchair user I can’t just book online.  Does Ncl have cruise planners like other lines?  Is there one you’d recommend?  I know if you call the general number, it can be hit or miss on getting someone who knows what they’re doing or talking about.  At least that’s been my experience in the past.

4 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

You might want to post on the appropriate ports of call boards as well.

 

Also, just because HAL has tenders with roll on capabilities, doesn't mean they will be available, or that it will be safe to use them.

I’m aware that tender use will be dependent on weather etc.  All ships but one supposedly have this capability.

I assumed that this was the most appropriate board to post on as I am specifically asking about accessible tours.  Most threads that ask similar questions usually end up getting moved to this board due to the accessibility aspect.