Freedom of the Seas - Support needed

[ljzelenz]

Hello, My husband and I along with our 2 children ( 5 and 7) will be sailing in August. We are interested in going to the beach in each of the 3 ports:

 

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

George Town, Grand Cayman

Cozumel, Mexico

 

I use a wheelchair but am able to walk some.

 

Can you please advise me of the closet beach to each port and also what is the best way to get back and forth from the Port. We are concerned with not having booster seats for our boys and with taxi transportation. Any thoughts ?

 

Thank you in advance for your support !

[joge107]

hello, my husband and i along with our 2 children ( 5 and 7) will be sailing in august. We are interested in going to the beach in each of the 3 ports:

 

Ocho rios, jamaica

george town, grand cayman

cozumel, mexico

 

i use a wheelchair but am able to walk some.

 

Can you please advise me of the closet beach to each port and also what is the best way to get back and forth from the port. We are concerned with not having booster seats for our boys and with taxi transportation. Any thoughts ?

 

Thank you in advance for your support !

you do not under any circumstance want to go to any beach in jamaica. Just not safe.

[Saysell64]

At the bottom of Dunns River Falls there is a beach if i remember correctly and there lots of tourists there...we felt safe, there is also a beach in front of Margaritaville right by the ship (correct me if I'm wrong its been almost 3 years since we've been there). The Dunns River Falls beach might be difficult to get to but the one by the ship is quite close. I also think you can use the beach at the resort that is near where the ships dock, I would think is a safe spot as well. Just my opinion.

 

In Grand Cayman there is Seven Mile Beach, I can't remember how far this is from where you tender in but I'm sure its a short taxi ride. I'm sure someone who has been here more recently can be more helpful.

 

We didn'y go to a beach in Cozumel we took the ferry across to the mainland so I can't with that, sorry. Hopefully some of this is helpful its a been a few years since we've done the Western Caribbean so I'm going by memory.

[CroozeAddict]

Hello, My husband and I along with our 2 children ( 5 and 7) will be sailing in August. We are interested in going to the beach in each of the 3 ports:

 

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

George Town, Grand Cayman

Cozumel, Mexico

 

I use a wheelchair but am able to walk some.

 

Can you please advise me of the closet beach to each port and also what is the best way to get back and forth from the Port. We are concerned with not having booster seats for our boys and with taxi transportation. Any thoughts ?

 

Thank you in advance for your support !

 

My recommendation is using the resort beachs that RCI offers in their Shore Excursions. The excursion summary will tell you if it accommodates wheelchairs. However, in Cozumel, I recommend Chackunaab (sp?) State Park. It's beautiful and accessible. You'll just need to take a taxi to get there. Have a good time.

[cb at sea]

IN GC, there are buses....so no car seats needed. The beach is fairly narrow, so you won't have to traverse great distances on sand....you can see the road from the beach! All public access points have restrooms, chair/umbrella rental and food/drink isn't far.

There will be buses stopping throughout the day to take you back to the ship.

 

In Jaimaca, I wouldn't "go it alone"...unless you're on a resort property, Jaimaca isn't the best place to be.

 

You really should get a guidebook on your ports....especially since you are using a wheelchair...it will really give you the info to make appropriate choices, at the best prices!

[mjyanne]

FYI (just in case you didn't know) you will need to tender to the island in Grand Cayman.

[spanner14]

I used a w/c on Freedom last year, and I didn't get off the ship at Jamaica or Cozumel, so no help there I'm afraid. You might also be worth asking over on the Special Interest board; hopefully someone there may have been recently.

 

However, having been to Jamaica previously, I would definitely not "go it alone", whether in a w/c or not.

 

I did get off at Grand Cayman, but using my walking stick instead of my w/c. It's a smaller tender boat than the big one at Labadee (which I got wheeled onto in my w/c) and it would be well worth phoning Special Assistance at RCI to see if you can get onto a tender to G/C actually in a wheelchair.

 

When you get off the tender at G/C it's just a few minutes along the pier and you will see "official G/C tourist guide" folks, wearing blue polo shirts and a badge, holding up signs to the various tourist destinations. We had decided in advance to go to Royal Palms, so got taken to a minibus, and when it was full, the bus drove us straight to Royal Palms. When you get to the car park, it's a flat path to the bar area but there are a couple of steps onto the beach. There are restrooms there on the same level as the bar/restaurant, and outdoor showers. If you get there early-ish in the morning you will have your pick of sunloungers on the beach.

 

The minibuses come back to Royal Palms regularly from lunchtime onwards so no need to call a taxi.

 

So that's G/C on your own if you want a beach, but obviously it's easier if like me you can walk a very little way.

 

If you are calling at Labadee & want to know in detail about doing that in a w/c, let me know. :)

[griffy116]

My Mother travels with a w/c and I've been to Dunns River Falls twice. Not only would it be very difficult to get to the beach (if not impossible), but it would also be difficult to manuver a wheelchair and two toddlers because of the vendors. We have been to Jamaica on cruises many times and we would never consider going it alone in Jamaica :eek:. Go on a tour arranged by RCCL and don't venture out on your own. They can arrange a beach excursion that will accomodate the wheelchair and will be kid friendly. This is not the island to explore on your own. Grand Cayman is very safe and you can easily and inexpensively get transportation to a nice beach that's kid friendly with w/c access. There is a discussion on the forum for disabled passengers. Check it out for more detailed information.