Regatta: Wheelchair access Cabo San Lucas & San Juan del Sur

[MeniscusApotheke]

Hello

I'm booked on the September cruise on the Regatta from San Francisco to New York via the Panama Canal and I'm travelling with someone in a wheelchair. We are keen to book some shore excursions but have been advised that it may not be possible to exit the ship at the two anchor ports (Cabo San Lucas & San Juan de Sur) due to the difficulty of transferring from the ship to the smaller tender ship to get to the port. Has anyone had any direct experience of this? Could you explain how stable it is moving between the ships? Is it possible in a wheelchair?

 

Many thanks!

[Mura]

I'm not positive on my memories here. On the one hand I think I've seen a wheelchair be handed into the tender.

 

But on the other, I don't see where the wheelchair could FIT in the tender.

 

So one of these memories must be wrong. The width of the entry way to the tender is not large. It might be almost the same size as the wheelchair.

 

It is possible for our friend to walk at all? If he can manage to get into the tender (the crew will help) and then bring on the wheelchair, it might work.

 

Good luck!

 

Mura

[Kamloops50]

I've seen passengers with portable wheelchairs get on the tenders. In Cabo there is local tender service that contracts with the ship. These tenders can't take motorized wheelchairs . The movement to can be quite sever depending on the weather . They usually have no way to get motorized wheelchairs to the tender-dock on the ship.

[LHT28]

It can be difficult for able bodied people to transfer onto the tenders

if they are in a wheelchair I would not think it is too safe

There is also a set of metal stairs to reach the tender platform so unless they can walk a short distance down the stairs I would plan a nice day onboard

Edited August 12, 2015 by LHT28

[Silver Sweethearts]

We are not sure if the phone number is still current but, though you probably have done so months ago, you should get/get back with the following department (taken from an Oceania website) - and ask them more pointedly about tender access. Your questions should be nothing new to them. Hope they can be more definitive.

 

"Oceania requests that travelers apprise them of their special needs at least 90 days in advance of sailing. Passengers can notify the Special Services department by calling 800 531-5658 or emailing specialservices@oceaniacruises.com."

Edited August 12, 2015 by Silver Sweethearts

[StanandJim]

Hello

I'm booked on the September cruise on the Regatta from San Francisco to New York via the Panama Canal and I'm travelling with someone in a wheelchair. We are keen to book some shore excursions but have been advised that it may not be possible to exit the ship at the two anchor ports (Cabo San Lucas & San Juan de Sur) due to the difficulty of transferring from the ship to the smaller tender ship to get to the port. Has anyone had any direct experience of this? Could you explain how stable it is moving between the ships? Is it possible in a wheelchair?

 

Many thanks!

 

This is what the Tender Dock looks like on the R ships (except that the Oceania hulls are white now). The crew are marvelous about helping, but I would definitely suggest showing this to your companion before making further decisions.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Hello

I'm booked on the September cruise on the Regatta from San Francisco to New York via the Panama Canal and I'm travelling with someone in a wheelchair. We are keen to book some shore excursions but have been advised that it may not be possible to exit the ship at the two anchor ports (Cabo San Lucas & San Juan de Sur) due to the difficulty of transferring from the ship to the smaller tender ship to get to the port. Has anyone had any direct experience of this? Could you explain how stable it is moving between the ships? Is it possible in a wheelchair?

 

Many thanks!

 

You write "in a wheelchair." Does that mean your companion has no independent mobility? If that's the answer, I sure wouldn't consider disembarking at a tender port. If your companion can -- even with lots of assistance -- walk down stairs and step from one area to another, it may be possible depending on the sea state.

 

For what it's worth, my blind husband and I book cruises with as few tender ports as possible and simply accept that we will not go ashore at those ports. As he was losing his vision but wasn't totally blind, we would disembark when the sea state was really calm, but the stress level about each transfer -- and remember there are four of them per port call -- was enough to wipe out any pleasure from our time ashore. (The transfer from tender to pier on land and vice versa is no slam dunk. Admittedly, both platforms aren't bobbing about in the water, but a tender in port is exposed to the wake of all the harbor traffic and may end up being in water that's as active as the waves of the open sea.)

Edited August 12, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy