Amsterdam or Eurodam for scooter user? Which is more ‘handicap friendly’?

Looking at several Alaska cruise options, and think HAL may be our best choice. First of all, no flights will be needed since the cruises we’re looking at go out of Seattle.

Keeping it simple and easy is becoming more and more important. My husband can walk, but it sure makes it more enjoyable if he uses his new Travelscoot. Which ship would be better suited for a scooter user - Amsterdam or Eurodam?

Thank you

I would imagine it will be Eurodam - it is larger, but it also has more elevators. When we were on Prinsendam in 2016 people with walkers and scooters said they had a terrible time trying to get on the elevators. Now, Prinsendam is smaller still, and only has 4 elevators for the whole ship, but if they are crowded, a scooter will have problems. Passengers are not necessarily going to get off and walk so that a scooter can get in!

I agree -- Eurodam.

Many more elevators than the Amsterdam. Plus on the Amsterdam -- if you are on the Promenade Deck and are dining on the lower level of the dining room, you can not go directly from the front of the ship to the aft -- no direct path.

Another vote for the Eurodam. And, be aware of the size of the stateroom that you book.

On the Nieuw Amsterdam (Eurodam's younger sister), my traveling companion and I booked a Signature Suite. That provided plenty of room for her scooter to be on her side of the cabin and me on the other side. If we had booked a standard veranda stateroom, I think trying to house the scooter and the two of us would have been a major issue that would have negatively impacted our enjoyment of our two cruises.

Thanks for the advice. Eurodam it is!

I've used a scooter on the Volendam (sister to the Amsterdam) and the Nieuw Amsterdam (sister to the Eurodam).

I would call it six o' one, half a dozen o' the other. Each class of ships has it's pros & cons as far as ease of getting around with a scooter.

The Volendam had some spaces in the show lounge where a scooter could fit between the club chairs; sometimes those spaces had an extra chair. The Nieuw Amsterdam had dedicated parking spaces for wheelchairs/scooters; they didn't always have the best sightlines.

Getting out to the Lido Deck aft required another person to open at least one set of doors for the person on the scooter. Volendam one set; Nieuw Amsterdam both sets.

Volendam had a deep lip leaving the Lido pool area to access the forward elevators; Nieuw Amsterdam was a smooth ride straight through.

Dining room on the Volendam had more space between tables to get through.

Volendam also had more parking space in the Lido, as well as more space along the food line.

Getting outside, and more importantly getting back inside, for muster is pretty much impossible on both ships, due to the lip at the doorway. The Volendam had an inside muster station for the disabled, though, while the Nieuw Amsterdam did not.

I wouldn't make this the most important factor in my decision of which ship to take.