Booking accessible room?

[Coral]

Good to know that exceptions are made. This was less than 2 months ago that we were told they did not have any chairs available for guest use and that one would be provided for loading/unloading only...and that was indeed correct.

 

We were on the ship doing a B2B2B (summer 2012) and my Mom did something to her back on the trip. So we did not go in needing this.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Coral

[moki'smommy]

We were on the ship doing a B2B2B (summer 2012) and my Mom did something to her back on the trip. So we did not go in needing this.

 

My daughter has a progressive debilitating disease. At this point she needs a chair for long distances, but she functions primarily with a rollator along with braces, K-tape, and orthotics. There have been times when she couldn't function without a chair. So our question each time is what devices to bring. She functioned on board with the rollator during our last cruise, but the fact that there "might" be a loaner chair available if she reaches that point on a cruise is a good thing to know. Currently the HA bathroom is a necessity....eventually the chair will be full time as well.

[Coral]

My daughter has a progressive debilitating disease. At this point she needs a chair for long distances' date=' but she functions primarily with a rollator along with braces, K-tape, and orthotics. There have been times when she couldn't function without a chair. So our question each time is what devices to bring. She functioned on board with the rollator during our last cruise, but the fact that there "might" be a loaner chair available if she reaches that point on a cruise is a good thing to know. Currently the HA bathroom is a necessity....eventually the chair will be full time as well.[/quote']

 

I am sorry about your daughters disability. My mom was visually impaired (with dog) so when she hurt her back - it was double whammy. Not sure if they made an exception for us or what. The issue came up when we had to exit the ship after our first leg and the wheelchair was offered and then we were told to keep it. We did return it after a few days.

[geoherb]

When we took my then 85-year-old mother-in-law on a cruise, she did not qualify for an accessible cabin since she was not usually in a wheelchair. We did request one for embarkation and debarkation since she cannot stand for long periods or walk long distances efficiently. We requested a shower stool for her bathroom and an elevated toilet seat with railings (I'm not sure exactly what the seat is called) and were able to get them.

[Nan_Sea]

Gee I hope that becomes the Norm but given the restrictions placed by the American ADA act, not sure it will.

 

 

We always have to fax a form with the specifics of the scooter and ,because my husband uses an oxygen concentrator, we need to have a form signed by his Dr. stating he is able to travel.

[Nan_Sea]

Has anyone ever booked a handicap cabin guarantee? Is that even possible?

[MargoK]

Has anyone ever booked a handicap cabin guarantee? Is that even possible?

 

Unfortunately there is no such thing. There are so few cabins anyway they go very fast. Mores the pity as we end up paying early and there is no such thing as a last deal for those requiring an accessible cabin.

[Nan_Sea]

Okay, so has anyone ever been upgraded from one HC to another?

[rbslos18]

Princess's written policy says that if someone who doesn't need one books one' date=' they will be removed from it. There is no mention of banned for life.

 

Because my daughter's handicap is not obvious (and she does everything possible to hide it), I did research the policy. I also carry documentation so that if questioned, I can prove her needs.[/quote']

 

Your post raises another important point. Just because someone leaving a HA cabin looks the picture of good health, doesn't always mean that is the case. Challenges come in many different shapes and forms and are not often apparent.

[jpcello]

Okay, so has anyone ever been upgraded from one HC to another?

 

Nope. We're cruising in October on Regal in an HA balcony. Up to a few weeks ago there were two HA mini suites but now they're gone.

 

There are simply not enough HA cabins on any cruise ship. Unfortunately when the final payment date passes, like the other poster said, they simply let anyone purchase that empty HA cabin, even though anyone booked in an HA cabin would love to be able to get an "upsell" like the general population. I would have done an upsell in a heartbeat to get a mini suite.

[CRUISEWITHH]

Nope. We're cruising in October on Regal in an HA balcony. Up to a few weeks ago there were two HA mini suites but now they're gone.

 

There are simply not enough HA cabins on any cruise ship. Unfortunately when the final payment date passes, like the other poster said, they simply let anyone purchase that empty HA cabin, even though anyone booked in an HA cabin would love to be able to get an "upsell" like the general population. I would have done an upsell in a heartbeat to get a mini suite.

 

I agree, we need a H/C stateroom and we are Elite with 461 days on Princess. We have never even been offered an upsell either.

[moki'smommy]

Okay, so has anyone ever been upgraded from one HC to another?

 

We got a call for a "move over" offer. They were asking us to give up the HA balcony cabin and move to an oceanview. I asked if the OV was an HA cabin--nope. I pointed out to the idiot Princess rep that we booked an HA cabin because my daughter needs the HA cabin and we could only consider moving to another HA cabin. He then offered us an inside cabin--I said OK IF he could put us in the same cabin for both legs of our B2B (we had a different inside cabin for the second leg as that was the only HA available.)

 

SO...we took a downgrade + large check. I never expected to see a move over offer on an HA cabin!

 

Booking a cruise when needing an HA is always hit or miss. Many times we have been unable to do cruises we would have liked due to the absence of an appropriate cabin.

[Thrak]

We got a call for a "move over" offer. They were asking us to give up the HA balcony cabin and move to an oceanview. I asked if the OV was an HA cabin--nope. I pointed out to the idiot Princess rep that we booked an HA cabin because my daughter needs the HA cabin and we could only consider moving to another HA cabin. He then offered us an inside cabin--I said OK IF he could put us in the same cabin for both legs of our B2B (we had a different inside cabin for the second leg as that was the only HA available.)

 

SO...we took a downgrade + large check. I never expected to see a move over offer on an HA cabin!

 

Booking a cruise when needing an HA is always hit or miss. Many times we have been unable to do cruises we would have liked due to the absence of an appropriate cabin.

 

My son only books the inside HC cabins. He likes to stay up late and likes it to be very dark when he wakes up. He spends a lot of time on the upper decks and doesn't feel the extra cost for a balcony HC room is worth it - especially as he has to pay for solo pricing. I've told him that the next time he cruises Princess he should get an inside HC cabin on Lido deck as he spends so much time there anyway. It would certainly be convenient for him.

[moki'smommy]

Because there is a comment above about high physical activity excursions, I have one suggestion. Do not rely just on the on line description of the handout in your cabin. If you go to the excursion desk, they can often point you to a crew member who has gone on the excursion in order to review it or has done it just because they wanted to. You can get far more information this way that MIGHT allow you to do the excursion.

 

For instance, we learned that one excursion we wanted was "high activity" because there was a long stairway to the top of a mountain. Sounds pretty much like a "no go," right? BUT there was a tram that for $1 would take us up and back, so the only walking would be what we chose to do at the top. The tram fare was not included in the excursion cost. So for $1 per person, we were able to turn this into a minimal activity excursion and got to do something we were really interested in! The other thing is that excursions often include 3 stops...there may be one that isn't accessible but the others are fine. At that point, we would evaluate whether doing the excursion for the 2 stops was worthwhile knowing that we might need to stay on the bus or hang out in the immediate parking area at the one attraction.

 

Thrak, I wish I could convince my daughter that inside cabins are great. I really didn't mind the downgrade because I suspected that if she is in an inside, she'll go to the effort to be out and about. If she has a balcony, she'll mostly enjoy the room and the balcony. But often it is a matter of what is available.

[Jaime C]

I was perusing a long cruise (17 days) , and saw that some accessible rooms were available. I don't use a wheelchair, though I could probably use a scooter, if it was weight capable.

 

Mostly, as a very large, older guy, I have problems with stepping up and down to get into the bathroom, or the bathroom is too small for me. I have problems standing for more than 10 minutes, and rarely do much in the way of excursions. Just boarding sometimes tires me out for the day.

 

I have gotten temporary disability tags for my vehicle, although my last one expired recently, and I haven't renewed it yet.

 

Would it be ok to book one of these rooms? I'd be traveling with my wife and young daughter.

[crochetcruise]

It is very uncool for those who don't need the cabin to book one. Be thankful every day that you are not in a wheelchair!

 

I use a Rollator for safe mobility, not a wheelchair, but I need to security, where possible, of grab rails beside the toilet and in the shower.

 

With respect, there are some handicaps eg. cardiac issues or osteoarthritis, that may restrict a person's mobility without being obvious. I have personally found that with using a Rollator more people are aware I HAVE a mobility issue and are more helpful, keeping a closer eye on excitable children so I don't get bumped off balance-so easy for an excited child to cause a problem and not understand why they are then scolded. I've also had children try to open the door for me as I approach so I gratefully thank them for their help.

 

Crochetcruise

[crochetcruise]

I need a handicap room to accommodate my mobility scooter. Therefore, we usually make reservations months or sometimes a year in advance. I read some comments on CC about too many people who did not need them reserving them anyway. When I tried to make my reservations recently, all accessible cabins on the Princess site said that they were sold. I asked my travel agent to check and sure enough several were available.

 

A few weeks ago, my TA got paperwork from Princess requesting information on my need. For example, what are the dimensions of my scooter, what kind of battery does it use. Also, do I need the scooter all of the time. I thought that the questions were fair and important. I don't know if all passengers in accessible cabins had to fill out the same paperwork, but to be fair to the passengers, I hope so,.

 

Yes they do. I've just booked the Handicapped Accessible Window Suite on the Golden Princess for 22/10/2018 Sydney-Melbourne 3 night cruise. My TA printed off the form-2 pages-from Princess requesting relevant information, for me to fill out. I had to phone the Government Agency that provides my Rollator to me, as I couldn't answer the questions about height, width, and weight. IIRC, there was a question about WHY I needed a Handicapped Accessible stateroom/Suite.

 

Crochetcruise

[Happy2cruise]

Disregard