Wheelchair assessability on Alaska cruise

[DonnasMom&Dad]

My wife and I are going on a 7 day round trip Alaska cruise, out of Seattle, in June.

 

I need to use an electric scooter, and am wondering how assessable the following ports are, Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican.

 

This knowledge will help me greatly in planning our excursions.

 

Also I would like to know about any interesting sights and activities.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Cato

[Rick Knee]

Skagway is very very accessible. You can practically crawl to most attractions.

 

The train ride on the White Pass railway is also very easy. There is a special rail car with a lift for wheel chairs. I recommend the trip.

 

The other non-tender ports are fine for shopping.

 

If you want to take a helicopter or plane ride reserve ahead and they will accommodate you.

 

Don't forget to take your scooter charger and try to get an accessible cabin unless you can walk around in the cabin without your scooter.

 

Rick

[kitty9]

Been to Ketchikan on three different cruise ships and for me it's the worst because their dock is very low and the stairs are incredibly steep. Even on a smaller ship like Crystal, anyone with a scooter was not able to get off the ship unless you could walk down the very steep gangway stairs and have a crew person carry the scooter down. Once you're off the ship, the area is very accessible, but you've got to get off the ship first.

[DonnasMom&Dad]

Skagway is very very accessible. You can practically crawl to most attractions.

 

The train ride on the White Pass railway is also very easy. There is a special rail car with a lift for wheel chairs. I recommend the trip.

 

The other non-tender ports are fine for shopping.

 

If you want to take a helicopter or plane ride reserve ahead and they will accommodate you.

 

Don't forget to take your scooter charger and try to get an accessible cabin unless you can walk around in the cabin without your scooter.

 

Rick

 

Hi Rick:

Thank you for your info. We already have HC cabin, and the scooter is a rental unit, so the charger comes with it, and the whole unit is deliverd to your cabin.

Cato

[xxoocruiser]

My wife and I are going on a 7 day round trip Alaska cruise' date=' out of Seattle, in June.[/color']

 

I need to use an electric scooter, and am wondering how assessable the following ports are, Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican.

 

This knowledge will help me greatly in planning our excursions.

 

Also I would like to know about any interesting sights and activities.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Cato

 

Skagway is easy as another posted already stated. The town is a just a short walk or scoot from the pier. The White Pass train is directly across from the pier and is scooter accessible. This is probably the most popular attraction and sells out very fast. If interested ,recommend pre-booking it.

 

Ketchican - most cruise ships dock right in the center of town or very near to town. Depending on the tides and what dock the ship is at the gangway may be steeper than normal. So you could have a problem getting off/on the ship. The last time I was in Ketchican was year ago and there were 300 of us in our group all with scooters/wheelchairs and the ships crew was great in assisting us.

 

Juneau - The ship docks in any one of three places Marine Park, Ferry Terminal or S. Franklin Dock. All three are within walking distance to town. But I don't remember how long of walk. Though it should be noted that on occassion sometimes the ship gets changed at the last minute to being a "TENDER" port when more than 3 ships are in town. If that happens, scooters are generally not allowed on the tender.

 

I don't recall if any of the tour buses in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican had wheelchair/scooter lifts. But don't think so as a year ago I went to Alaska and was having to use ascooter at that time. I remember having to leave my scooter at the ships security post in Ketchican to board the tour bus. A few of the tour buses did have a luggage hold underneath so if the scooter was light weight it could be loaded onto the bus but you can't can't on that happening until you actually see the bus that the arrives at the dock. Even the cruise shore excursion desk generally does not have that information.

 

If your scooter is the portable travel type that breaks down to fit into a trunk, you can try to locate a cab to tour your around. ALso you can contact the tourism offices prior to your cruise to see if you can locate any HC accessible tours. There are some , I just don't have that information.

 

If you have a folding wheelchair , in addition to the scooter, would recommend that you bring it. You might find tours easier with having the wheelchair that can be stored easier on the tuor buses.

[vickila]

Skagway is easy as another posted already stated. The town is a just a short walk or scoot from the pier. The White Pass train is directly across from the pier and is scooter accessible. This is probably the most popular attraction and sells out very fast. If interested ,recommend pre-booking it.

 

Ketchican - most cruise ships dock right in the center of town or very near to town. Depending on the tides and what dock the ship is at the gangway may be steeper than normal. So you could have a problem getting off/on the ship. The last time I was in Ketchican was year ago and there were 300 of us in our group all with scooters/wheelchairs and the ships crew was great in assisting us.

 

Juneau - The ship docks in any one of three places Marine Park, Ferry Terminal or S. Franklin Dock. All three are within walking distance to town. But I don't remember how long of walk. Though it should be noted that on occassion sometimes the ship gets changed at the last minute to being a "TENDER" port when more than 3 ships are in town. If that happens, scooters are generally not allowed on the tender.

 

I don't recall if any of the tour buses in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican had wheelchair/scooter lifts. But don't think so as a year ago I went to Alaska and was having to use ascooter at that time. I remember having to leave my scooter at the ships security post in Ketchican to board the tour bus. A few of the tour buses did have a luggage hold underneath so if the scooter was light weight it could be loaded onto the bus but you can't can't on that happening until you actually see the bus that the arrives at the dock. Even the cruise shore excursion desk generally does not have that information.

 

If your scooter is the portable travel type that breaks down to fit into a trunk, you can try to locate a cab to tour your around. ALso you can contact the tourism offices prior to your cruise to see if you can locate any HC accessible tours. There are some , I just don't have that information.

 

If you have a folding wheelchair , in addition to the scooter, would recommend that you bring it. You might find tours easier with having the wheelchair that can be stored easier on the tuor buses.

 

In Juneau look up ORCA TOURS for a whale watching experience that's fully accessible. Capt. Larry does a super job of getting a scooter or wheelchair up front on the boat and making sure you have a great viewing experience. A fond memory. Vicki

[katisdale]

Another vote for Orca Tours. We had a wonderful whale watching cruise with Captain Larry. The ship is accessible and they were great in getting me up and down the steep ramp to the boat. I highly recommend them. We saw lots of eagles as well as whales.

[rfbdorf]

We've been to all 3 with a powerchair; no problems. If the gangplank is very steep, you may need assistance; there are always crewmembers who are (sometimes too) eager to help.

Agree about Orca in Juneau - we've gone with Captain Larry twice. Have a look at their web site; give them a phone call or shoot them an email.

Have a great cruise!

[TrinaP1204]

Alaska is by far the most accessible place we have cruised to.

 

We had no problems at any port, including tender at Icy Strait Point.

 

We did a fishing trip in Ketchikan as well as checked out the town. No problems.

 

Juneau we did the Orca Whale Watch and Salmon Bake. Highly recommend this as other said.

 

Skagway we did the White Pass Summit Excursion. Great trip. No prolems. Very accessible train ride.

 

Icy Strait Point was one place we really did not do much in. My husband did not get of the boat thinking he could not get onto the tender boat. I did and it was easy. I now wish we had done more there.

[Putterdude]

While not 100% accessible Alaska we have found to be pretty good. Most of the buses are accessible and a previously pointed out so is WP&YRR but you do need to reserve in advance with them.