KateDen

My husband requires an accessible cabin as he has difficulty walking and uses a mobility scooter. Without an accessible cabin we couldn’t cruise. When you first book the cabin you have to attest that you need the cabin’s features (flat shower), no step up to the bathroom, higher toilet, grab bars, etc. Once you have booked you also have to fill out a Special Needs form telling them if you are using a wheelchair, walker or scooter, as well as any other specific needs you have. They can’t ask why you need it, but they can ask you to attest that you do need it.
 

Yes the cabins are larger but that extra space is needed if you have a wheelchair or scooter. And yes people with mobility issues can use these cabins without needing mobility devices, but they’re not meant for able bodied people just because they are older - or people who want the larger bathroom for scuba diving equipment (some people have bragged about that). There are people who cannot go on a cruise in a regular cabin and we usually have to book as soon as cruises are announced. Of course once final payment time comes, anyone can get one of these cabins. 
 

It’s not true that you will be bumped from an accessible cabin before a cruise if someone else can prove they need it more. Once the cabin is taken there is no one that checks to make sure you need it, though they should be looking at the special needs forms. It’s just no longer available to someone who does really need it. However, on the ship they can move you to a less desirable cabin if it appears you don’t need the accessible features. 

Kate

 We received word that our June 17 cruise on Adventure will now be on the Jewel with a “similar” itinerary. I guess we will have to wait and see. They did offer $100 OBC. I actually prefer the Jewel so it’s fine, unless the itinerary omits some of the important ports. However, they only give us until 8/28 to request a refund and I doubt that we will see the itinerary before then. At least we’re on a ship!

Kate

1 hour ago, Airbear232 said:

Really like 1 & 3.  I think we had  one of our best cruises on Celebrity to Istanbul.  Would love to go back there again overnight.

 

Azamara has a perfect cruise in 2022 that overnights in Istanbul and also goes to Egypt and Israel. I’m just not certain we want to pay over $10,000 for an OV. 🥺

Kate

I think most of these have been mentioned, but here goes:

1. Alaska out of San Francisco (we’re in California)

2. Hawaii RT out of Los Angeles or San Diego. Celebrity used to offer this. 

3. An Eastern Med cruise that includes Istanbul, preferably over night. One with Israel and/or Egypt would be better. We too took a cruise on the Legend in 2008 that went to Egypt, Mykonos, Cyprus, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Naples and back to Rome. We met so many people on that cruise that we still keep in touch with. 

4. The Northern route out of Harwich. We went on a couple of those and loved them.

We had to defer our cruise to the Baltics and a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Copenhagen. We have scheduled a Baltic cruise next year along with a 

med cruise, not as perfect as the ones this year but we’re still excited. Hopefully there will be a vaccine by next June. 
 

Kate

For us it depends on the length of the trip and how difficult it is. If they take us through security and help with the bags, we usually give $20. From the plane, usually $10 - $15 unless they take us through customs. We have paid as much as $30 if it's complex and involves a terminal change such as the time we went through JFK with a long wait for customs (they took us to the front of the line) then on to the domestic Delta terminal. It was certainly worth it for us. 

Kate 

We stayed at the Frontenac too and highly recommend it. It's a landmark hotel and accessible. The streets do have cobblestones but I don't recall that my husband's scooter had any issues. We did take taxis when we went down to the bottom of the hill, though I'm not sure it was necessary.

Kate

On 6/17/2019 at 11:30 AM, Portlypat said:

Thanks so much, Londontowner. I was in contact with Alla as I had heard such good things about them. They would not allow me to join their Comfort tour because I travel with a mobility scooter. In spite of my telling them it weighs only 16kg and is collapsible, I think they still had they idea it was huge. 

I am so glad to hear that the Faberge was excellent. My friend really wants to see it. I think we will be going with SPB Tours. Fingers crossed I’ll get to see most things on my “must see” list.

I had the same experience with Alla. I booked a van with White NIghts Tours and they have been quite accommodating. They have arranged a two day tour that goes to the main sights but at a slower pace. I was able to find others on my CC board to join us. Instead of a sixteen passenger bus we will have seven people in a van for only a slightly higher price. 

Kate

42 minutes ago, Id rather be diving said:

Wow!  We used Alla last September.  My husband uses a scooter and Alla could not have been more helpful pre-cruise to arrange everything.  We did book a private tour for five of us.  It was not much more pp than their group tours.  Alla has a van with a wheelchair lift for us both days.   We went pretty much everywhere the regular tour did...I know because one of our friends was on the regular group tour and we ran into her in the Hermitage,  Catherine’s Palace and a couple other places.  Our tour guide even worked with the handicap accessible porters at the subway so my husband was able to see the beautiful subway stations, too.

 

Glad SBP is working out for you but Alla did work out for us last year.

 

Kari

I had read about others with scooters who had used Alla so I was a bit surprised at their response. But I will take them at their word that they do not want to provide a tour for us. SPB was welcoming and had several ideas about tours so that's who we will be going with.

Kate

I had heard that Alla tours were excellent and that some people with disabilities had used them. We are planning a Baltic tour next year so I wrote to them. I told them my husband uses a folding mobility scooter and can transfer into a van but cannot walk long distances. And that we can place and remove the scooter in the back of a van. Here is their response:

That would be a great honour for us to have your on our tour, but I am afraid we will not be able to be of service for you. Our tours are very strenuous and even our younger guests sometimes describe them as marathons, as they include a lot of walking, with a rare possibility for rest. Thus, based on the information you provided, we have to admit that no of our tours would suit your husband and let him truly enjoy the visit to St. Petersburg with us.

We would suggest getting in touch with another very good and friendly tour company who specializes in small private tours. They will also be eligible to support you with a visa-waiver, so that you will not need a regular Russian Visa.

You may check with this company here: https://www.bestguides-spb.com 

I contacted SPB and received a gracious response that they can indeed provide a tour that will work for us. They seem to be committed to having us see as much as possible, although there are some places that will be inaccessible. They can even provide a wheelchair, and a pusher, for a nominal cost. From my correspondence so far I highly recommend them.

Kate

SHIP: Millenium

CABIN #: 8176

DECK #: 8

CLASS: C1

AREA: Aft

BED NEAR: Bathroom

QUIET?: Yes. Some music from Sunset Bar in the evening until around 10:00, but it's very pleasant.

BALCONY VIEW: Wake

BALCONY SIZE: Very large!

WIND A PROBLEM?: No, except during extreme storm (which we had on this cruise).

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: This is an accessible cabin with a large bathroom and flat shower. 

13 minutes ago, cockney1 said:

This was an epic  cruise for many reasons but we will still sail with Celebrity even though there was lack of information given and  that people were concerned. Hope that lessons are learned from this. 

Brian and Maureen Adams 

1 hour ago, lvz2cruz said:

 

 

I think his comment was saying that people complain when ports are missed but this is what could happen if they docked.  He wasn't being rude. 

 

We would certainly sail with Celebrity again. We really enjoyed the cruise and the many crew members who made the cruise special. I agree that hopefully lessons will be learned about better communication. And if I misconstrued the post about missing ports I do apologize. 

Kate

I'm so sorry to hear about the ordeal that my fellow cruisers, my friends, had to endure to get home. There is nothing worse than uncertainty when traveling and it's worse when information is at best scattered and at worse nonexistant. We had planned to stay an extra day and In the end were thankful we had made that decision, even though we didn't get to Rome. 

I cannot imagine the chaos that ensued when the very late and very vague announcement was made that people could take buses in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm. I do know that any information was pretty much nil throughout the day. realize that they were trying to work things out, but even an announcement saying that would have been better than silence. 

I'm so sorry to hear about the extra expenses and stress that you had to go through. It was such a perfect cruise until it wasn't. I'm just happy that everyone did finally arrive home safely. 

To the person who made the unhelpful comment about people complaining about missing ports, you obviously didn't read any of the posts. No one complained about missing ports, only about the lack of  communication and organization throughout the process. You weren't there so you don't know how we were well aware that trying to get to the ports would be dangerous and foolhardy. 

We are on the ship and headed toward Rome. We are supposed to dock around 2:30 and they are providing free transfers to the airport and Rome hotels. I agree communication could have been better but I think they wanted to have complete information. Still any communication would have been better than none. I'm just happy we fly out tomorrow.

Kate

They are not making any general announcement s but I spoke to an officer and she said we are supposed to arrive between 1:30 and 2:00 and that we have to make our own transfer arrangements. I don't know what that may mean as far as disembarking and for those who will be getting on the next sailing. 

Kate

We are finally moving at 4:30 am. We were in the MDR last night and there were no windows broken, nor did I hear of any such damage. I did see broken glass in the Oceanview Cafe where some of the food containers fell. Our cabin is center aft and as far as I know any damage to the ship itself was minimal. I didn't see any visible damage to the Costa ship either.

It wasn't foggy yesterday, it was a squall that came up suddenly. I have a photo but it's too large to post. It suddenly started raining very hard and it almost looked like night. It cleared up within a half-hour or less. I'm going back to sleep now. 

Kate

We are currently on the Constellation. Here is what I posted on Facebook earlier:

As I wrote earlier our ship, Celebrity Constellation, had to find safe harbor in La Spezia yesterday due to high winds and rough seas. This meant we missed Portofino and Livorno, our final ports before our return to Rome. 

We were supposed to leave for Rome at 3:30 pm today but at 3:00 our ship broke its moorings during a squall and hit the Costa Magica behind us. We were in our cabin on the stern of the ship, but thought that perhaps the ship was leaving early and that the crash was thunder, something we had heard all day. I took a photo during the squall right around the time we became unmoored. You could not see the Magica right behind us through the rain. 

Our ship, now unmoored, was floating in the harbor. Tugboats surrounded us and prevented more damage from occuring. 

We were waiting to see when we would leave for our trip back to Rome. It wasn't until 10:30 tonight that an announcement was made that we wouldn't sail due to the storm along the coast. Those who wanted to leave could take buses that would arrive later tonight to take the 4 1/2 hour trip to Rome. We are staying on the ship since we don't fly home until Wednesday, plus there is flooding throughout the entire area and staying here seems like a safer option. 

This is a rather exciting (almost) end to our vacation! 

Vision of the Seas is one of their oldest ships and even the accessible cabins aren’t as easy to maneuver as some of the newer ones. The Radiance class ships are by far the easiest as they have automatic doors. However all ships we have been on have a slight incline to get into the bathrooms, which although better than a step would be less than ideal for someone using a manual wheelchair.

I’m sorry the issues you mentioned made your cruise so difficult, though I’m not sure what they could have done to make it better. The accessible cabins on the Vision have worked for my husband as he uses a scooter and can walk into the bathroom. But I can see where the accessibility issues you mentioned were insurmountable to you. The tender ports, however, are difficult for anyone with mobility issues and we realize that in most cases my husband may have to stay on the ship.

I agree, though, with the others that you should accept the amount they offered. Perhaps a trip on the Brilliance, Jewel, Radiance or Serenade (without tender ports) would give you a better experience. You might also consider renting or purchasing a scooter or motorized wheelchair as that will give you much more ability to get around.

I’m sorry your trip was so disappointing, but hope you will try once again.

Kate

My husband has a Lexus Lite with a lithium battery. He always rides it to the gate, folds it and takes the battery (we only travel with one battery) with him on the plane. You must take the battery with you since it cannot go into the hold. It fits nicely under the seat. The Lexis Lite, even folded, probably would not fit into a closet on the plane. The only issues we have run into have been some scratches on the scooter. The paint you get with the scooter covers it nicely. Before we got the lithium battery we had a captain who wouldn't allow the regular battery in the cabin. And of course they lost it, but did eventually replace it. No issues with the lithium battery.

If you have stops between home and Copenhagen, they will bring the scooter to the gate so that you can use it to go to your next flight.

The only real issue we have had traveling with a scooter has been in Italy. We have always had to check the scooter in with our luggage and carry the battery to the plane. The scooter is checked through to your final destination. It's an annoyance, especially when you have additional stops. If you were able to gate check it at another airport, they will still insist that you pick it up at the baggage area. But you're going to Copenhagen so it shouldn't be an issue.

Instead of carrying two batteries we carry the charger with us with a converter plug. We plug it in when we have lunch and haven't had an issue. We have traveled all over the world with our scooter.

Enjoy your trip!

Kate

We took a private tour to Florence and our driver was able to drive us up to most of the places we wanted to see. I think companies need a special license to do this. They were also able to put my husband’s folding mobility scooter in the back of the van. We were able to see everything without a lot of walking which made it a pleasant day. I can give you the name of the company if you wish. There’s a link to my email in my signature.

As others have said, Barcelona is very accessible. We didn’t try public transportation, opting to take taxis. We haven’t been to Monte Carlo so I can’t comment on that. Enjoy!

Kate

Royal’s Radiance class and Celebrity’s S class have automatic doors in their accessible cabins. This makes it so much easier to get in and out of the cabins since the doors are pretty heavy. Otherwise we have been on Royal, Celebrity, Norwegian and Disney in accessible cabins. We haven’t had any issues getting around the ships.

Kate

We sailed on the Gem a few years ago in an accessible aft penthouse. The cabin was wonderful. Only downside I recall was that you had to build a towel dam around the shower so that the floor didn’t flood. They may have a better setup now. All in all a nice cruise.

Kate

My husband uses a mobility scooter and we generally use the vaporettos for almost all of our traveling in Venice and, in fact, were there last month. They do not require stepping down into a boat as water taxis and gondolas do, which often entails navigating steep stairs without handrails.

The best seat in town is found in the front of a vaporetto. Go to the terminal at Piazzelle Roma, which can be reached from the cruise port by taxi or the new people mover. Disabled passengers and an escort can purchase tickets good for two hours (I'm not sure exactly the amount of time) for around 1.50 euros. During this time you can transfer to other vaporettos. We purchase three each and they lasted for a day. Much less expensive than a day pass.

Back to the "tour". Routes 1 and 3 take you down the Grand Canal. Wait until you get a boat with seats in front (not all of them do), then go for one of the front seats. You will have an amazing view of the Grand Canal and you can get off if anything looks interesting, though I would first enjoy the view clear down to San Marco at least.

We also toured the Doges Palace and San Marco with a wonderful guide. They do make some concessions for those with mobility challenges (elevators in the Doges Palace and a special wheelchair entrance at San Marco), but it still entails a lot of walking.

With the scooter we knew that crossing bridges would be difficult or impossible so we found a good map that showed where the canals were and figured out which sites we could visit. With careful planning we were able to get lost in back alleys and generally enjoy the sights and sounds of Venice. I would, however, consider renting a scooter or wheelchair on the ship to make the visit more enjoyable.

As far as hotels, Santa Chiara is in a great location, right off Piazelle Roma, where taxis and buses can go. There are no steps to get to it and it's next to the vaporetto terminal. They say they have accessible rooms, although we stayed in a nice room overlooking the Grand Canal and it worked fine.

Kate

The Celebrity S class and the Royal Caribbean Radiance class ships have automatic doors for their accessible cabins - when you put in your key the door opens and there's a button inside the cabin that opens the door too. We were on the new Harmony of the Seas last fall and those cabins did not have that feature, and their doors were very heavy. The automatic doors make it truly accessible since you don't have to open and hold a heavy door when you leave or enter your cabin. Other ships may have this feature, but these are the ones we've used.

Kate

More than a year?

We need an accessible cabin, so yes, we usually have to book as soon as cruises come out. There are just so many of these cabins and once they're gone they're gone. I enjoy the planning almost as much as the cruise so it works out well. I know many people who plan this far out for many reasons.

Kate

My husband has a Lexis Light and always drives it up to the gate, folds it up and takes the lithium battery onboard with him. Some of the international airports insist you check it though, but not domestic ones.

We have only had trouble with a battery (non-lithium) once on Delta on a domestic flight when they insisted it had to be put in the hold. Of course they lost it. Fortunately it was on the way home, but it was still annoying. Now I believe that lithium batteries have to go in the cabin with you. Their batteries are marked TSA approved.

We leave this week on our 25th trip with the scooter.

Kate