??? about cruise and wheelchair please

[michellejed]

I am taking care of a 96 year old who uses a wheelchair. She has expressed an interest in a cruise and I have a few questions.

 

What cruise line would be the best for a New England type cruise and HC room?

 

Could a wheelchair fit on a balcony or would she have to use a walker to get out there?

 

Can we use her chair in ports?

 

She can transfer to toilet with assist and can even walk a few feet if she had to with a walker but nothing longer.

 

I would love for her to be able to go, she loves lighthouses so I thought New England one best, besides she only has a birth certificate and if medical was needed we could travel by land to get back to the states instead of flying.

 

Thanks for any help.

Michelle

[kyriecat]

I would probably go with either Royal Caribbean or Holland America. Make sure you get an accessible cabin or else the wheelchair won't go through the doorway without being folded. Regular cabin doorways are generally 28" wide but accessible ones are 32" wide.

 

If you get an accessible balcony cabin, she will be able to get her wheelchair onto the balcony. Some of the cabins my mom has had in the past had a raised area for the runners on the sliding glass door that were difficult for her to get over by herself so I had to help.

 

You would be able to take her wheelchair into any of the ports. The only issue could be ports that require a tender (boat) to transfer from the ship to land. Sometimes wheelchair passengers cannot board the tenders if sea conditions are rough because of safety. Some of the cruiselines completely ban wheelchairs from tenders, but I know Royal Caribbean allows them providing conditions are deemed safe. I think Holland America has that same policy but I'm not positive.

 

If you decide on Holland America (suggest it because the demographics on HAL tend to be a little older than RC), make sure you get a fully accessible cabin. HAL has a few "modified" accessible cabins that are not suitable for wheelchair users. The modified accessible cabins have bars in the shower and around the toilet, but nothing else for full accessibility. The cabin has the narrow doorway, there is a step into the the bathroom, and no room for wheelchairs to maneuver inside.

 

I think most of the New England cruises are in the fall to take advantage of the color changes in the leaves.

[michellejed]

Thank you for the answers.

I will start with Hal then.

Michelle

[jackretired]

You should get passports.

 

Most HAL itineraries are one way and most RC itineraries are round trip.

 

RC NE/C itineraries draw many older people.

 

Make sure the W/C is fold-able. Can she climb into/out of a bus?

Many ship excursions are not W/C friendly.

[kyriecat]

Both RC and HAL have R/T and one-way cruises. Michelle would have to book a R/T cruise if the plan is not to get a passport. However, jackretired is correct that a passport is a good idea.

 

HAL has both 7 and 14-night roundtrip cruises from Boston on Veendam and Maasdam.

 

RC has 7-night roundtrip cruises from Boston on Brilliance or 8-night roundtrip cruises from Baltimore on Granduer.

 

Other cruiselines will have similar itineraries.

[Going Coastal]

To the OP, please consider adding Celebrity to your list.

Their accessible cabins are very comfortable and the crews are very helpful.

They sail annually from NY/NJ up to Quebec City at a time in the fall to see the leaves turning.

It is a round trip cruise

Hope you both have a great time, whatever you choose.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[vickila]

Holland America -- Veendam does not have accessible balconies. They have a room called Veranda where door opens onto the walk around veranda -- however, there is a lip so w/c would have to be lifted and it is the same deck that everyone else uses to walk around -- noisy and when lights are on in room, can see in -- would not recommend it at all.

 

Would recommend any of the balconies or junior suites on royal caribbean -- Explorer in particular. Balcony ramp is built in on that class ship.

 

The best however is a CC class on Celebrity (Summit) -- 3 rooms on aft -- that balcony is more like a patio overlooking aft with a rull size table to eat on and lounge chairs and large enough to spin around on. It is always a 14 night cruise starting in Sept. Take the earliest one available as it does get cold.

 

As far as seeing lighthouses -- onboard you see very little scenery. Would have to arrange a bus tour to really get to see them. Good luck.

[kyriecat]

Explorer is only doing 2 one-way cruises this year: NJ to Quebec City on 9/8 then Quebec City back to NJ on 9/19. My understanding is you must have a passport to do a one-way cruise.

 

My mom's favorite ship is Royal Caribbean's Radiance, which has the same layout as Brilliance. She thinks the cabins and deck layouts are the most accessible for wheelchair users. She didn't like Explorer as much because you can't go the whole length of the ship on some of the decks. You have to go up a deck, over to the next bank of elevators, then back down to get to your destination.

 

I didn't realize that Veendam and Maasdam do not have balcony cabins that are WC accessible. Thank you for pointing that out. My mom hasn't been on HAL's S-class ships.

 

My mom hates aft cabins so I don't recommend them to first time cruisers. My mom would rather have a smaller balcony that is close to the elevators than have to go down the corridor to the back of the ship. She has a standard width wheelchair, but has problems getting through the narrow corridors when there are service carts or room service trays left in the hallway. If someone is constantly with her to move obstacles, it would be fine, but sometimes she wants to go back to the cabin and I don't.

 

I was looking into a cruise on Celebrity Constellation (same layout as Summit) for my husband and I earlier this year. When it's the two of us without my mom, we normally book aft cabins. I read several reviews from people who didn't like the aft cabins on the Millenium class ships (like Summit & Constellation) because the family cabins on the port and starboard sides stick out and block the view to the sides from the middle aft cabins. We ended up booking a different ship so I haven't personally experienced the view from a Millenium class aft balcony. I can't verify how much the view is actually blocked.

[vickila]

One other option is Princess -- Caribbean Princess which leaves out of Red Hook, Brooklyn. (easy getting on), but 2 tender ports which may not be ideal for pt. Caribe deck has the widest balconies to sit on of the accessible ones. They also have an outdoor movie which is sort of nice for a confined w/c person. They start Sept. 14 and go weekly r/t Canada/NE -- 7 dayers. Just remember that since 911 the cruiselines now have large security restrictions -- meaning it is not a simple walkoff and you are there. Many of these NE/Canada ports have a large distance of walking before you are out of the gate and near anything -- in particular Portland, Maine and Quebec -- close to 1/3 mile, if not more. And being NE it is cold or cool.

 

Personally would rethink this and book a 5 night Explorer to Bermuda -- a balcony cabin, short time in Bermuda, there is lots of accessibility -- ferry, glass bottom boat (Destiny Tours), a w/c mini bus (Unique Vacations) and flat Dockyard to explore. Five nights might just be enough for a first try. The Explorer does have one 7 nt. r/t New England -- Aug. 31, but basically sold out. Again, I think a 5 nt. Bermuda in the summer would be wonderful. V.:)

[michellejed]

Thank you all so much for your help!!

 

She is not able to do steps but would be able to do a lip onto a balcony with my help. I know she would love to sit out on a balcony coming into and going out of port and we would spend time during the day on the balcony.

 

I think an early Fall cruise would be best, she gets cold easy and would need to be in many layers. I would love the Burmuda cruise but I think she would like a New England one .

Again thank you all for your help!

Michelle