bigger passenger

[closure]

This might seem like a silly question, but with airline regulations and stuff I guess it could be relevant. My fiance is a big guy...like 400lbs+ big. Do you see any problems with our cruising experience because of this? He doesn't have any physical limitations or anything. Closest thing is his sleep apnea machine.

 

I know cruising is different than flying, but if we flew we would need additional seats...aka more money.

 

Any info appreciated.

[makeup face]

He will certainly have issues with the shower:eek::eek:

[CogitoErgoZoom]

I've only been on a few cruises, but I see people of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Nobody seems to be left out whether it is the pool, dining room, casino, or shows. You may run into some challenges while in port, as other countries aren't always as accomodating to a variety of people, but onboard should be fine. YMMV, of course.

[brekin67]

I've only been on a few cruises, but I see people of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Nobody seems to be left out whether it is the pool, dining room, casino, or shows. You may run into some challenges while in port, as other countries aren't always as accomodating to a variety of people, but onboard should be fine. YMMV, of course.

 

What kind of problems could a larger person run into during port?

Thanks,

[viaggi_per_mare]

This might seem like a silly question, but with airline regulations and stuff I guess it could be relevant. My fiance is a big guy...like 400lbs+ big. Do you see any problems with our cruising experience because of this? He doesn't have any physical limitations or anything. Closest thing is his sleep apnea machine.

 

I know cruising is different than flying, but if we flew we would need additional seats...aka more money.

 

Any info appreciated.

 

My husband is big 6'2" 340lbs and we had no problems except using those plastic chaise loungers like they have on the Caribbean beaches - plastic in soft sand. I would say just watch for the plastic furniture although there is plenty of seating all around that is very good and would be no problem. I do know my husband cannot fit in a booth and they do have booths in the dining room. The day you get on the ship in the diningroom right off the atrium usually about 1pm they open for seating changes so you can check to see if it's a booth or not you are assigned to. They have 1/2 booths too which is fine because I can go in the booth part and he can sit in the chair. Also there are weight limits for some of the excursions - so you might want to check on the specs for that. Otherwise, no problems

[wework2play]

This might seem like a silly question, but with airline regulations and stuff I guess it could be relevant. My fiance is a big guy...like 400lbs+ big. Do you see any problems with our cruising experience because of this? He doesn't have any physical limitations or anything. Closest thing is his sleep apnea machine.

 

I know cruising is different than flying, but if we flew we would need additional seats...aka more money.

 

Any info appreciated.

 

We went with a family member one year who was also large. She did well. She refuses to fly because of the trouble and embarrassment it causes her. She also took her scooter and rode it off the ship in Cozumel. I can't think of anything that will really be a problem for your fiancee.

[alaskaboy2]

I'm not a small fellow and had no problems (including with the shower). The closest thing to a problem were the chairs in the buffet area - the arms aren't exactly made for people larger than average (same for the chairs on the balcony). Other than that, no problems. I saw several people much larger than I and they were having lots of fun.

[uppitycats]

This might seem like a silly question, but with airline regulations and stuff I guess it could be relevant. My fiance is a big guy...like 400lbs+ big. Do you see any problems with our cruising experience because of this? He doesn't have any physical limitations or anything. Closest thing is his sleep apnea machine.

 

I know cruising is different than flying, but if we flew we would need additional seats...aka more money.

 

Any info appreciated.

 

Showering in the cabin would be a problem as the showers are very small...he'd likely be more comfortable going to the pool/spa area (where there are free showers).

 

He should go to the dining room on the first day and ask for a chair without arms (assuming you're in traditional set-time dining).

 

He'd need an extension cord for his sleep apnea machine; plugs in cabins aren't always in the most convenient places.

 

There is a disabilities cruising board here -- I know he doesn't consider himself disabled, but there are several folks there who have asked, and who have answered, questions about this issue, who might be helpful.

[closure]

thank you all for the replies so far...he will definitely need a chair without arms so thank you for mentioning that. also thanks for mentioning the shower and a suggestion on how to remedy that. any other tips appreciated and I'll be sure to check out the other board too.

[spleenstomper]

If he is getting off the ship, the walk off the pier were long... Like 1/4 a mile. My mil had trouble walking that far in the heat. She's big and out of shape.

[patseacruiser]

We cruised when my husband was 398 lbs. We thought the shower would be a problem but the cabin we got had a huge shower. If yours doesn't, simply go down to the spa area and shower. Bring an extension cord for his CPAP machine and the ship water in the machine has never been a problem especially for only a week or 2. We had no problems and no one ever made him feel like he was strange or embarrassed him.

[BeeBeeCee]

it is important to note that some of the excursions do have weight limits

[Cruiser@Heart]

Okay guess it is time to fess up I've been in your fiance's shoes. I was WELL over 400 pounds when I cruised on several ships. :eek: I am now smaller am now down 200 pounds (not by surgery by the way). I did not have to use any adaptive devices (ie: scooters, cpap) at that weight. I just moved a whole heck of a lot slower.

 

I also didn't fly at that weight. I was too embarrassed to have to have two seats and have to use a seat belt extender.

 

On the ship:

 

Never had a problem in the cabin shower. Yes, they are small, but he should fit. Or he can use the showers in the Spa area. I decided it was too much of a pain to hike all the way to the spa just to shower.

 

Lido Deck: Found that I "fit" better in the booths inside than in the chairs outside because of the arms. So, I tended to eat inside where it was cooler..and to be honest, when you are larger, you feel better eating where it is cooler because you tend to sweat up a storm.

 

I was able to lay out on the deck chairs up on the Lido deck. They were kind of hard to get up from, but held me okay.

 

In the dining room: I always preferred to sit at a table rather than a booth. It is much easier to sit in at that size and they gave me a chair without arms. A plus when you are really big. It is tough squeezing into a chair with arms.

 

I never had a problem in ports...well, other than the shops along the pier assuring me they had t-shirts in 4X and 5X. Like I needed them to be yelling that. I chose ship excursions that would accommodate my size at that time. Usually they were "One Man" excursions. Meaning that they were the lowest intensity. Just a note: Buses can be a tight squeeze so if you take one in a port setting, try to be one of the first ones on. Otherwise it is very difficult getting down the aisle and you might not get seating together. Some excursions that offer transportation do it via vans that have jump seats. When I was larger, I was always asked to sit in the front passenger seat next to the driver because I was too large to actually fit in the bench seats and allow for the required number of other passengers to fit in the same seat as well ie: a regular bench seat holds 3, but with the jump seat it holds 4. If I sat in that row, I sort of took up the space of two people and they didn't have room for another person on the tour. Some excursions have weight limits.

 

Cruising is actually a great way to travel if you are larger. I do find though that I enjoyed it much more when I sailed on the Valor in December and again on the Dream in March, because I had lost so much weight.

[donaldsc]

If you book a tour, will both he and you fit on the pair of seats on the bus? Remember, if they book a bus to capacity, there will be no extra seats and you will have to share. Also, and this sounds sort of gross, the bathrooms on some buses are sort of small.

 

DON

[McDebbie]

Although they don't have weigh limits some of the excursion bus seats are very small so check out your excursion carefully before booking. We were on a trolley type bus in Maine and the seats were so small my 200 lb husband had problems.

 

Happy Honeymoon!

[waldocruiser1]

I am a larger size passenger also, and the only problems I have found are the upper lounge seating, that are individual seats (like movie theater) and the arm chairs in MDR, the lounge chairs on deck are fine, but when adjusting the back, you will want to help, because if it slips out of the lock, he will fall and hit his head on the deck, or in the sand when at beach, other than that I had fun, I even went down the water slide, see the link in my signature, I fit fine.

[tiger belle]

I am a large sized woman, and the advice and comments made so far in this thread are spot on...the few things I had problems with have already been mentioned

 

have a great cruise!

[careywv]

My DH and I are "fluffy" (thank you Gabriel Iglesias for that term :p )

 

We've never had an issue in the shower or with beach loungers. We did feel that the outdoor lido chairs were very small. Usually I don't have an issue with the arms on chairs, but it was fairly uncomfortable. There are bench seats in the buffet, and I think most of the chairs had arms. At dinner, you can ask for chairs with no arms. At the theatre, there are bench style seats as well.

[Twaincruisers]

My wife is of the "fluffy" persuasion and we have enjoyed 40 cruises on 13 cruiselines. While there are sometimes challenges, we mostly find that there are solutions as well, like chairs with no arms.

 

And things can get "a little bit funny" sometimes, like when we were cruising a tributary of the Yangtze on small boats and she got up to take a picture...and I ended up on the floor because the seating was not fastened to the floor and I was sitting in the fold down seat with no legs under it.

[lego7191]

Just a thought for larger folks that fly - you can purchase a seatbelt extender (around 50 bucks) of your own that you carry with you so you will always have one available. No more suffering through the agony of having to ask for one and even worse, the agony if one is not available! :eek:

[love2relax]

 

I found this photo online of the theater seating. Downstairs was very comfortable on the benches. Upstairs seats are like a movie theater with the arms. You definitely do not want to sit up there. Be sure to get there early enough to get the lower level seating on the ends so that you don't have to try to pass people already seated. You will love the Legend!

[centurycruiser]

He may have trouble with the shower, but, he may be a "hands down winner" in the belly flop contest!

[Sargent_Schultz]

This might seem like a silly question, but with airline regulations and stuff I guess it could be relevant. My fiance is a big guy...like 400lbs+ big. Do you see any problems with our cruising experience because of this? He doesn't have any physical limitations or anything. Closest thing is his sleep apnea machine.

 

I know cruising is different than flying, but if we flew we would need additional seats...aka more money.

 

Any info appreciated.

 

Check with Big Ed - via his blog if nothing else

 

http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/