Resources for Mexican Riviera for Disabled Cruisers

Let's use this thread for copying over resource and review information critical for disabled cruisers in the Mexican Riviera from the old message board before it disappears. Please don't post questions here.

I'll start with the following information:

Sea of Cortez:

Splinter

Cool Cruiser

 

posted 03-29-04 05:28 PM

Just returned from a 7-day cruise on the HAL Ryndam to the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). Stops where Loreto (tender port), La Paz, and Cabo San Lucas (tender port).

 

We had cabin 704 which is one of only two fully accessible cabins on this ship. It is a good sized room although on the lowest deck with only portholes (and no balcony). It is designed to sleep two, but can accomodate 3 with a roll-away. It has a small bathroom, but with a roll-in shower. Closets have been redesigned to make them more accessible since our last trip (2001). The ship is fairly accessible, with electric eye doors at most entrances/exits, open seating in the showroom, and good theater seating. The Sky deck and pools are not accessible. There are only a few public restrooms that are accessible, but we prefer returning to our own cabin for this anyway. Staff were helpful in always offering to carry trays at the buffets, cut up food when requested and provide other needed help.

 

We used the tender lift in Loreto (only with a LOT of insistance on my part). The staff needs much more education about disability. For example, we were informed by front desk staff that it was for "wheelchair bound" passengers, and that only the ship's wheelchairs (clunkers) or a "standard" wheelchair could be used. They could not define "standard" (what they meant was a manual chair no wider than 18", no scooters or power chairs). We had the experience of getting ashore via the tender lift, but then having seas too rough to get off the tender onto the ship this way upon our return. They resolved this by hoisting the entire tender up on the divots up to the Promenade deck, then manually lifting the wheelchair and passenger onto the deck. Not the best plan, but it worked.

 

The town of Loreto is largely cobblestone streets (in the tourist areas) or rough brick. Lots of pulling the wheelchair backwards, but we found many curb cuts (although not of ADA standards, of course) and ramps available. It is a pretty little town with a traditional square where they had music and dancing.

 

In La Paz you arrive at a dock that is 10 miles from town. There is no accessible transportation, although cabs can be obtained if you can transfer. Again, in town we found many curb cuts, and the malecon was again accessible as in Loreto.

 

In Cabo, there are fewer curb cuts, and people are less friendly and helpful. It is much more commercial and touristy.

 

We saw many whales in the southern Sea of Cortez, and had great weather there (in the 80's) although it was foggy and rough from San Diego to Cabo and then back again. As usual, the food was good, and the shows variable in quality.

 

We are back home tanned and rested. This was a great trip for us as no flying was required.[/Quote]

 

Mexican Riviera (traditional):

Splinter

Cool Cruiser

 

posted 11-17-03 06:35 PM

Just returned yesterday from 7 day cruise on the RCCL Vision of the Seas round trip out of LA to the Mexican Riviera. This was my first RCCL cruise, although it was their second for my parents (with whom I traveled).

We had cabin 7532, which is a very nice accessible cabin with balcony. There was so much storage space we did not even use all the drawers or cabinets. The closet has two hanging poles...one at wheelchair height. The only problem was hanging dresses as this left no full length hanging space. The bathroom was large with a nice roll-in shower. The flip-down seat is upholstered and a little low. We used two folded towels on top to get a better height and to prevent slippage. Mirrors over sink easy to see from wheelchair and plenty of storage in bathroom. Unlike many ships, the trap under the sink was properly insulated. The only problem was placement of a phone over toilet which meant we kept knocking it off whenever using the toilet.

 

The bed was a little low for us, so our cabin steward put on an additional mattress which solved this problem. My parents had the double bed and I had a sofa bed. The ramp to the balcony was easy to use. The refrigerator and TV controls where also accessible. My mother could not reach the reading light controls from her bed though. This room is right next to the elevator, eliminating the frequent problems with room service carts in the hallway.

 

The rest of the ship was fairly accessible. There is a pool lift and a hot tub lift (outside pool only) although we did not use them. Path of travel is a problem in many lounges and the library (too much heavy furniture). There is one food station in the Windjammer Cafe that is not ramped (desserts, pancakes and waffles) so someone has to get food from that area for the person in the wheelchair. Our main complaint is with the very poor wheelchair seating in the show room. Way in the back, poor lines of sight, no seating with your party, and never enforced, so many AB people took up these seats. They need to remove some seats closer to the front (every 5 rows or so) to improve this situation.

 

Tender lift set-up was very good for our one tender port (Cabo San Lucas), including ramps at the shoreside and helpful crew.

 

We used this company: http://www.accesiblemexico.com in Puerto Vallarta for a wheelchair lift van tour. This was totally personalized, lasted 6 hours and cost $150 for the 3 of us (could have accomodated 4 easily). Lunch was not included, but they took us to an accessible restaurant in the old town area. There are "curb cuts" in the Malecon area of Puerto Vallarta now, but they are very steep in places. Most shops still have 1-2 steps to enter, so use of a manual chair is still needed. The Malecon itself is still not accessible, but plans are in place for ramping it soon. This company hopes to add a second van soon, offer scooter rentals, and eventually expand to both Cabo and Mazatlan.

 

Overall I would rate this as one of our better accessible cruise experiences.

[/Quote]

 

Please add more.

Recently posted:

November 28th, 2004, 06:19 PM

Ruth Creasy

Cool Cruiser Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Posts: 49

 

Accessible transportation - Ensenada

 

I was in Ensenada a few days ago and found a shuttle with a lift at the pier. Here is the name and data for the owners for advance contact info. They own two shuttles.

Gabriella

mail: lota_gaby@hotmail.com

cell: (01) 646 128 7206 (from USA)

cell: (044) 646 128 7206 (from Ensenada)

Thanks for who ever is doing this. We will be traveling in March with my mother who is in a wheelchair and looking at the boards I don't know if there is going to be anything that we can do with her in our ports. Keep up the information PLease!

let's keep this current - do you have any resources to add?:)

I'll be cruising on Vision of the Seas (my second time) to the Mexican Riviera at the end of Feb.'06, so I'll try to post some info on disabled accessibility. I don't use a wheelchair, just a platform walker.

Have not tried this, but found it on the internet:

http://www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?rcode=MEX&lcode=ACA,%20CAB,%20ENS,%20IXT,%20MZO,%20MAZ,%20PVR&tcode=011120

Discover Acapulco! Your van with a lift for wheelchairs will take you on a guided tour of the major landmarks of Acapulco.

 

We will visit the Mayan Palace Hotel, built in the shape of Mayan Temple, the traditional part of town, the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Market shopping area. Along the way we will make several stops so you can admire the magnificent Acapulco Bay.

 

And it wouldn't be a visit to Acapulco without a stop to see the famous Quebrada Cliff Divers. The ride up to the jump point is dramatic in itself. From your special vantage point at the Hotel El Mirador, you'll be able to see the divers. There is an accessible terrace with ramp. You will arrive just in time to see a couple of fearless young men dive into what seems to be an incredibly small spot among the rocks. Afterwards, they may climb up to greet you and pose for a photo with you. You can thank them with a tip, as they do risk their lives without other compensation. $305 charter for up to 4 people. Wheelchair lift-equipped van.

I'll be cruising on Vision of the Seas (my second time) to the Mexican Riviera at the end of Feb.'06, so I'll try to post some info on disabled accessibility. I don't use a wheelchair, just a platform walker.

I just booked Vision for Feb 07. I alternate between quad cane and my chair (named George, The Purple Wheelchair). I've very interested in any comments you have about getting around both on the ship and at Port.

This message thread is for information about Mexican Riviera ports. If you have questions about specific ships, I would recommend starting a new message.

This message thread is for information about Mexican Riviera ports. If you have questions about specific ships, I would recommend starting a new message.

Tillie....my husband and I leave in 6 days for the Mexican Riviera on the Dawn Princess...I will be using my cane and w/c for any shore excursions...I will post any usefull information I get after I return on 2/28. I was hoping my new prosthesis would be ready for this trip, but it wasn't so back to the chair for longer distances.

Hi Arlene,

We've just switched to the Dawn, from the Sun, for next November. I will be interested in hearing about any excursions that you do.

Thanks,

Laine

We just got back from our cruise on Visions of the Seas and had cabin 8542 very nice large cabin for wheelchair use. Thanks for the info on PV we also ran into another vender brianchicompany@hotmail.com who has a Van with a lift for use in PV. I am a big guy with a 24" wide wheelchair and had no problems in getting around on the ship. They had plenty of restrooms in the public area which handle people in wheelchairs. We have sail on Visions many times and will sailing again on April 23rd. We also are booked on the Monarch so the Ensadada infor from you will come in handy for me, now we only have to find out about San Deigo.

Dennis

srfrogn@aol.com

Hi just back from the Dawn Princess. The w/c accessible cabin B335 was a mini-suite. The bathroom was fantastic all marble with a pull down shower chair..only a small ramp to get into the bathroom...no problem. However I had the cabin steward remove a large suffed chair and move a very large glass coffee table so I could turn around in the cabin in my w/c. There was a large entrance hall where we kept the scooter (and a wall outlet for charging it) only problem was I could not get into the closet when the scooter there and I was using the w/c...no room to open the doors. Plus the closet rods were too high from my chair. Lots of storage...2 clothes closets, and a third closet with shelves and a safe. No automatic door opener to get in or out of cabin...it was a very heavy door so I needed my husband or cabin steward to open the door for me.

Elevators were no probem...and most people were helpful. Public bathrooms all had w/c accessable stalls, but most were at the strangest angles to get into in a w/c and especially a scooter which is bigger. I would love to put the designers in a chair for a week so they will understand our problems. All had a wash basin in the stall which was great. None of the bathroom doors had an automatic opener, which would have been helpful.

Doors to the decks and the pool area are not automatic (the only automatic door was on the 14th floor (going thru the Horizon court food area)..It really did not matter because the pools are not accessible.

The Princess Theater had space for w/c behind the 2 full rows designated for people that need assistance and for the most part the AB's respected this. The Vista Lounge theater did not have any special area but I just sat at the end of a row with no problem (if I stayed near the top...otherwise the angle was not comfortable.

I have some food allergies (Garlic & Onion) and every night the Head Waiter would give me the next nights menu and ask me what I wanted the chef to prepare(every thing is made fresh and this was no problem for them) food was very good and way too much. (I managed to loose 2lbs on the cruise...no snacking)

Three of our ports were tender ports and I elected not to go into Catalina or Puerta Valerta. I did go into Cabo...I walked onto the tender and they carried my scooter on...I sat on it into port. Cabo is very beautiful, but not accessible...cobble stones and very small sidewalks, and small cut outs in the curbs. The area is very beautiful and I am glad I went even if I could not go into most of the shops, either a step or too crowded with stuff for the scooter. When we returned to the ship in the tender, the sea was much rougher and more difficult to step onto with my prosthesis...the crew were wonderful and helpful and I made it! Do not think I would go into Cabo in a w/c...it would have been a very bumpy ride, and very difficult for my husband to push. LOL

In San Diego we went off the ship, found a cab (used folding w/c) and went to the Zoo. There we rented an electric scooter for the day ($35.00) everything there was accessible, but there are very steep hills. There are escellators for AB's and if you are in a w/c or a scooter and need to go to another area of the park, you just go into a shop and they will call a van which is accessible and they will take you anywhere in the park you want to go. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time.

All in all a very good and restful cruise..

If you have any more questions about the ship or ports just ask.

Now to all the laundry and putting everything away (worst part of any vacation)

Arlene

We did not try to get any transportation at any of the ports. Acapulco was a BIG disappointment--sidewalk/street area torn up so that we could not go up to the fort on the hill. Puerto Vallarta has improved their sidewalks at the port since last time, so we were able to get to Sam's/WalMart more easily--but the main road's curb-cuts still not great (and the traffic is ferocious). They are INSTALLING cobble-stones at the port touristy business area, bless their pointed heads; hopefully they will figure out how dumb this is, and at least create some plain-cement street crossings:rolleyes: .

Kristen & Kathy

I, too, am looking for disabled tours in aculpuclo. If anyone knows of some please post it here. We're doing the Mexican Riviera cruise on the carnival spirit 2/19/07

Trying to find reasonable priced tour /wheelchair access

Read my recent report of our trip on the Mercury that included Acapulco. Unfortunately I cannot at this time recommend the accessible tour we took in Acapulco which is the only company I know of unless you get assurance that they have corrected the problems with their van tie-downs. Also, be aware it is NOT a raised roof van. If you are more than 5' 8" or have a very tall chair, I would also not recommend them.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=445743

We recently returned from a San Diego to Baltimore Panama Canal cruise on the Celebrity Mercury. Cabo San Lucas is not a problem as Celebrity no longer tenders non-walking fulltime wheelchair users. This was not due to weather, no wind, and nothing expected except more sun and 85 F for the next several days. Tides in the small protected bay looked to maybe range 3 feet from looking at the water line on the rocks on the far side so that wasn't it. I use a standard size lightweight Quickie on all cruises. I've been tendered into Santorini and Villefranche with no problems. This appears to be a rather strange new "rule". Of the 3 accessible shore excursions for fulltime wheelchair users two were in Cabo at the dolphin venue. I hadn't booked either of those but assumed normal tendering since they were offered. I'll start a regular thread if RCCL confirms this is now regulation and not a screw up by someone onboard the ship.

We recently returned from a San Diego to Baltimore Panama Canal cruise on the Celebrity Mercury. Cabo San Lucas is not a problem as Celebrity no longer tenders non-walking fulltime wheelchair users. This was not due to weather, no wind, and nothing expected except more sun and 85 F for the next several days. Tides in the small protected bay looked to maybe range 3 feet from looking at the water line on the rocks on the far side so that wasn't it. I use a standard size lightweight Quickie on all cruises. I've been tendered into Santorini and Villefranche with no problems. This appears to be a rather strange new "rule". Of the 3 accessible shore excursions for fulltime wheelchair users two were in Cabo at the dolphin venue. I hadn't booked either of those but assumed normal tendering since they were offered. I'll start a regular thread if RCCL confirms this is now regulation and not a screw up by someone onboard the ship.

If I understand this correctly, you are saying that they would not tender full time wheelchair users in Cabo. Not so with the Radiance, as of last Oct. The wc lift is available for Cabo and all other tendered ports. We are on the 11day Radiance Jan 11 th. Will come back with report if there are other issues.

If I understand this correctly, you are saying that they would not tender full time wheelchair users in Cabo. Not so with the Radiance, as of last Oct. The wc lift is available for Cabo and all other tendered ports. We are on the 11day Radiance Jan 11 th. Will come back with report if there are other issues.

Not a one NorCal. Right under our Elite member priority tender tickets the night before CSL was the daily. The front described how tendering would proceed the following day. At the bottom there was a request that disabled guests read the bulletin. Page 2's bulletin said that no guests would be transferred in wheelchairs. Those who could stand and take a few steps would be aided by crew and their chair carried on seperately. The Mercury has no lift for tendering nor for any pools.

But the Dolphin Venue is accessible to fulltime wheelchair users in Cabo San Lucas. Even the Celebrity customer service rep that called me after the cruise did not understand the disconnect between shore excursions and the tendering staff. They would "investigate" and get back to me. So far no follow up on their end. Thankfully our February 1st cruise on the Mercury involves 5 islands and all docked.

Here are some pics of the accessible tender platform in Cabo San Lucas.

NOTE...several variables apply to the use of this platform as we learned including, but not limited to:

1. Port of Cabo owns and runs the platform, not the cruise lines;

2. the platform requires calm seas to be used;

3. the ship must be of a newer class that accommodates the platform, e.g. RCCL Radiance and Carnival Splendor.

We have personally used this platform from the Carnival Splendor for our 12 yr old son. I send my sincerest thanks to our friend on the Carnival Splendor for sending us these pics to share with the disabled community.

I forgot to post this last year, but we used Mazatlan Frank for a wheelchair accessible tour in Mazatlan last year and had a good time. The only problem was that the lift van they have is not raised roof, so would be problematic for anyone who is tall (my mother is only 5'5"). We had a city tour, shopping, and lunch at a lovely beachside restaurant, and great service.

I understand from his website that he is planning on adding services in Puerto Vallarta now (due to lack of sufficient cruise ships stopping in Mazatlan for now), but not sure when that will start.