Carnival Pride 8234 H/C cabin

[MedicKen]

We just got back from a cruise on Carnival Pride out of Baltimore to the Bahamas. My DW uses a scooter and we were assigned to cabin 8234, an extended balcony.

 

We were quite excited, that is until we spent the first day in the cabin. The cabin is arranged in such a manner as to not allow access to the cupboard without moving the scooter. Which usually blocks the bathroom or access to the right side of the bed. The bed and vanity is blocked while charging the scooter, unless you have a long extension cord. There is, and this as a minor point, only 12 inches of room between the right side of the bed and wall. The bed is also quite low.

 

Access to the balcony is via a french style door with portable ramps. We did not utilize this as the ramps were too steep, once installed, causing a "teeter-totter" situation. There was also a space question as to having enough to "square-up" the scooter to even attempt a run at the ramp.

 

The bathroom was probably the biggest disappointment. Drainage from the shower was horrible. Rather that the great roll-in shower draining to the 9 X 9 drain, it spread water all over the floor and relied on the ships motion to channel it to the scupper drain in front of the door. Consequently, we used every towel to make the bathroom useable after we took a shower.

 

Minor to all the handicapped issues, was one of noise. The "white space" on the floor plan is a . service closet. Crew access this all times of day and night. You also experience the chair scraping from the Lido above. This was a very minor annoyance and tolerable.

 

I don't know wheather Carnival did a retrofit on this cabin or it was built to be a handicapped cabin from the beginning, but they failed, in our opinion. Other than the above, it was a wonderful cruise.

[DWofHandicappedCruiser]

We were on the opposite side, Cabin 8239, and although the cabin was a little tight with DH's chair, we managed. You are quite right that a scooter or chair will not go up and down the balcony ramp (a common situation on Carnival ships) but I was able to assist him to walk those 2 or 3 steps to sit out. As for the shower, the solution was for me to take mine first or wait and shower together - which can be a lot of fun! We got quite a kick out of the noise from the dumbwaiter. Didn't figure it out until the last day. Prior to that we simply thought our neighbors who were obviously honeymooners were just "active". From the strange looks they gave us when we met in the hall, I'm sure they thought the same thing about us! Probably wondering how the guy in the wheelchair managed such...frequency! The prime location near the elevator to the dining room was a bonus and our steward, as usual, was incredibly helpful, bringing double and triple towels every day. If we left for even one hour, when we returned the bath was clean and dry.

There was a problem that Carnival needs to address. The entry to the cabin is not flat. You have to roll over a metal bar and it's quite a jolt. I presume this is a result of the fitting of the cabin into the superstructure in the shipyard but this bar needs to be lowered somehow or a slight ramp added to make entry and egress really accommodating to the disabled.

Overall, I think most people will be quite happy in the room. The purser will provide an approved extension cord if you need one to recharge. Prior to our last cruise I had been taking my own. It shorted out and I thought it was the minibar so called our steward. Three systems people visited the room before declaring it hazard-free and pointing out it was my stupid little 10 dollar extension cord from Home Depot. At 3:30 a.m., got back to sleep. Totally my fault - don't bring your own extension cord!

Suzie