I need Info. on a PR Handicap Cabin on Island

[wizard-of-roz]

I'm booked in PR 702 onboard the Island Princess and am curious about the cabin.

- Size [is there room to maneuver a wheel chair or is it wheel in and wheel out only?]

- Is the entrance door double wide or do we need to fold wheelchair?

- Amenities

- Bathroom size/full sink or small sink [some ships only put small sinks in a HC bathroom, to make room for wheelchair access.]

- Veranda size

 

Anything you can tell me about the cabin is so welcomed. It helps in knowing what appropriate equipment we need to or not to bring.

[Thrak]

I'm booked in PR 702 onboard the Island Princess and am curious about the cabin.

- Size [is there room to maneuver a wheel chair or is it wheel in and wheel out only?]

- Is the entrance door double wide or do we need to fold wheelchair?

- Amenities

- Bathroom size/full sink or small sink [some ships only put small sinks in a HC bathroom, to make room for wheelchair access.]

- Veranda size

 

Anything you can tell me about the cabin is so welcomed. It helps in knowing what appropriate equipment we need to or not to bring.

 

That is listed as a HC cabin so the answer is YES. The door is wide enough. You can maneuver a wheelchair around in the cabin. There is a roll-in shower. The bathroom has much more room than a standard cabin. My son has booked HC cabins and they worked really well for him. My wife and I were upgraded to one of these cabins once just before sailing. There is a fold down "ramp" to allow access to the balcony. You should have no problems at all.

[wizard-of-roz]

That is listed as a HC cabin so the answer is YES. The door is wide enough. You can maneuver a wheelchair around in the cabin. There is a roll-in shower. The bathroom has much more room than a standard cabin. My son has booked HC cabins and they worked really well for him. My wife and I were upgraded to one of these cabins once just before sailing. There is a fold down "ramp" to allow access to the balcony. You should have no problems at all.

 

Thrak, thank you for the helpful response.

 

Besides the two of us there will be a Service Dog and I was hoping that the cabin had ample space for all of us.

 

Onboard the Sapphire, Golden and Diamond our HC cabin had a couch and a wet bar. This one does not. This is really all I knew about it!

 

I know that on one of the days going through the canal we will have to give-up our balcony because the crew needs to run lines down our veranda. We're being offered the Sanctuary for the day.

[moki'smommy]

We've been in several HA cabins but not specifically this one. Yes, the doors on all HA cabins are wide enough for a chair. They are not "double wide" as you stated, but are wider than the standard cabin doors. They do NOT have the automatic door open function that some other cruise lines have installed.

 

There is a roll in bathroom and a roll in shower with a fold down shower seat. The shower nozzle height is adjustable and it can also be removed from the holder and used as a "hand held" device. There are appropriate bars on the shower and a single bar by the toilet. We have had small bathroom sinks in each of our cabins on Princess.

 

We had a "fixed" ramp to the balcony, not something that had to be folded down. Regardless, it worked fine with the chair. The balcony is larger than the standard balcony as the cabin is also wider. The room is significantly larger than a standard cabin--large enough to allow you to turn around in the chair without difficulty.

 

Our balcony HA had a chair--no couch, no wet bar. I'm guessing you might have had a mini suite to have those amenities.

 

Hope this is useful.

[wizard-of-roz]

We've been in several HA cabins but not specifically this one. Yes' date=' the doors on all HA cabins are wide enough for a chair. They are not "double wide" as you stated, but are wider than the standard cabin doors. They do NOT have the automatic door open function that some other cruise lines have installed.

 

There is a roll in bathroom and a roll in shower with a fold down shower seat. The shower nozzle height is adjustable and it can also be removed from the holder and used as a "hand held" device. There are appropriate bars on the shower and a single bar by the toilet. We have had small bathroom sinks in each of our cabins on Princess.

 

We had a "fixed" ramp to the balcony, not something that had to be folded down. Regardless, it worked fine with the chair. The balcony is larger than the standard balcony as the cabin is also wider. The room is significantly larger than a standard cabin--large enough to allow you to turn around in the chair without difficulty.

 

Our balcony HA had a chair--no couch, no wet bar. I'm guessing you might have had a mini suite to have those amenities.

 

Hope this is useful.[/quote']

Thank you!

[jewelsea21]

There is no wheelchair access to the balcony in this stateroom.

Edited September 12, 2016 by jewelsea21

[wizard-of-roz]

There is no wheelchair access to the balcony in this stateroom.

 

What were they thinking? How is someone in a wheelchair supposed to get onto the veranda that they've paid for? This makes no sense.

 

Thank you!

[moki'smommy]

There is no wheelchair access to the balcony in this stateroom.

 

What? I'd be totally torked off if I booked a balcony HA cabin and it had no access to the balcony. This is about the craziest thing I've ever heard.

 

No, I'm not doubting the poster. I'm trying to figure out what Princess could be thinking.

[goofy559]

Fyi the warning about the balcony is on the princess website under cabin details.

[wizard-of-roz]

Fyi the warning about the balcony is on the princess website under cabin details.

 

After a lengthy discussion with my TA, he mentioned that the website does mention that there is NO wheelchair access to the patio. Since, I do like the location of this stateroom and if I move to another cabin we will lose the Sip & Sail Package, I'm stuck!

 

I did remind him that other folks, who don't have the luxury of walking, will be disappointed that they can't use their patio in their chair should be reminded of the lack of use for them.

 

Such poor planning on Princess' part!

[Essiesmom]

And poor planning on your TA's part not to notice this and inform you when you were booking. I would suggest that he owes you some OBC for the omission...EM

[wizard-of-roz]

And poor planning on your TA's part not to notice this and inform you when you were booking. I would suggest that he owes you some OBC for the omission...EM

 

You are so right! I've been using this same TA for many years. I book from one to two cruises a year and I book veranda's and suite's. I wouldn't want his job because I know not all customers are as consistently nice and helpful as I am. That said, he really doesn't give a lot in the way of "perks" such as gifts or OBC's other than what Princess would normally give, anyway! He ALWAYS thanks me and is very pleasant but why not.....so am I!

 

If I were in the business I would love customers like me. By the time I call him I've already reasearched the ship/the place/the time/the cabin. The balcony not being wheelchair friendly got by me. All he really has to do is book it!

 

When he drops the ball, I'm very forgiving and try to fix it myself. In this case there's not much I can do except cancel and rebook and I'd be on the losing end if I did, at this time.

Edited September 13, 2016 by wizard-of-roz

[san diego sue]

Have your travel agent call Princess and see if they have any handicap

cabins still available. Maybe you can change cabins.

[moki'smommy]

I use a TA who is not a Princess expert--the agency does specialize in a couple other lines and frankly they have always taken good care of me.

 

I learned that when you book thru an agent, that agent receives "points" in addition to their commission. Their "points" can be used as they choose and do not have to be used for your benefit. For instance, they can save up the points from your cruise and several other customers and "spend" them when they (the TA) does a cruise. My TA used the points to give me OBC on our recent cruise. I learned that they can be used for stuff like sending you flowers, strawberries, etc. from the ship as a welcome aboard gift, etc. Bottom line--I think it was totally fair that she gave it to me as OBC which allowed me to use it as I chose.

 

Your TA owes you something for this screw up if they can't move you to a different cabin without loss of perks. Sounds like Princess is off the hook since they noted the problem in the fine print.

Edited September 13, 2016 by moki'smommy

[wizard-of-roz]

Have your travel agent call Princess and see if they have any handicap

cabins still available. Maybe you can change cabins.

 

If I change cabins I will lose my Sip & Sail package........I wanted to try one of the PR Cabins [even though I can't use the veranda one day due to cables that will be drawn across it] they've offered me the Sanctuary, drinks, a photo and a suvenir glass....I'm happy for me. How upset can I be about cruising for 19 days.....I'm a lucky girl.

[wizard-of-roz]

I use a TA who is not a Princess expert--the agency does specialize in a couple other lines and frankly they have always taken good care of me.

 

I learned that when you book thru an agent' date=' that agent receives "points" in addition to their commission. Their "points" can be used as they choose and do not have to be used for your benefit. For instance, they can save up the points from your cruise and several other customers and "spend" them when they (the TA) does a cruise. My TA used the points to give me OBC on our recent cruise. I learned that they can be used for stuff like sending you flowers, strawberries, etc. from the ship as a welcome aboard gift, etc. Bottom line--I think it was totally fair that she gave it to me as OBC which allowed me to use it as I chose.

 

Your TA owes you something for this screw up if they can't move you to a different cabin without loss of perks. Sounds like Princess is off the hook since they noted the problem in the fine print.[/quote']

 

I have been toying with the idea of changing TA's for a while. I just need to pull the lever and do it. I have two more cruises booked in the future, Hawaii and Alaska.

 

We'll see! I do have a comfort zone with the one I'm with. He does return my phone calls and handles all else well. He's NEVER been big on the gift giving!

[moki'smommy]

I have been toying with the idea of changing TA's for a while. I just need to pull the lever and do it. I have two more cruises booked in the future, Hawaii and Alaska.

 

We'll see! I do have a comfort zone with the one I'm with. He does return my phone calls and handles all else well. He's NEVER been big on the gift giving!

 

Mine gives amazing service. I didn't expect any perks on Princess, but was pleased to see the OBC listed as coming from the agency.

[HandS]

My wife and I sailed on the Island about three years ago and had no problem at all accessing the balcony. I don't remember what cabin we were in, but it was a wheelchair accessible room and definitely had a ramp so the wheelchair could get outside.

[montgomeryfamily]

The PR deck balcony accessible cabins were added to the Island several years ago when all of the other cabins were added on the other decks and the other changes were made. Whenever those PR deck cabins were added, there was a design mistake and the type of doorway added to the balcony was the narrow doorway used in regular balcony cabins, instead of the sliding doorway which expands bigger to accommodate a wheelchair. So it is the doorway size which is the obstacle.

 

I discovered this last year when we tried to book one of the new accessible suites on the Island Princess. Neither the Coral Princess or the Island Princess have any wheelchair accessible minisuites and, until the accessible suites were added to the Island on the PR deck, there weren't any accessible suites (and still aren't on the Coral Princess--as is the case on most of the Princess ships). We had booked a balcony accessible cabin on the Island Princess and we had been in contact with the Access Dept about some needs we had. After much consideration, we decided to upgrade to one of the accessible suites, which are located on the PR deck. We contacted the Access dept to advise them of our upgrade change and to have our requests transferred to the new cabin. The Access dept knew that our disabled party could not walk and used a wheelchair. So they advised us that the suite had no wheelchair access to the balcony. This resulted in much discussion and this is when we discovered what had happened and that none of the PR deck accessible cabins had wheelchair access to the balcony. So we moved back to our original accessible balcony cabin on the Caribe deck.

 

At the time the description of these cabins did not include the warning about the lack of wheelchair balcony access. We also discussed this with them and they had already received some complaints about these cabins. The Access dept was responsible for getting these subsequent warnings in these balcony descriptions.

 

What is amazing to me is that this error had never been corrected. The balcony glass/doorway is not structural--it could be changed/corrected to the sliding glass doorway. Princess just doesn't want to spend the money to do so. :mad:

Edited September 14, 2016 by montgomeryfamily

[moki'smommy]

Thanks for clearing this up! The info helps.

[partybarbie]

If I change cabins I will lose my Sip & Sail package........I wanted to try one of the PR Cabins [even though I can't use the veranda one day due to cables that will be drawn across it] they've offered me the Sanctuary, drinks, a photo and a suvenir glass....I'm happy for me. How upset can I be about cruising for 19 days.....I'm a lucky girl.

 

Roz,

 

My understanding is that we can use the balcony on the canal day, except for when we are going through the actual locks. Instead of the Sanctuary package, DH and I opted to take the shipboard credit of $60.00 per person. If Princess ever opens up Panama tours for our cruise, we might not be on the ship anyway.

[erni]

Roz,

We had discussed getting the aft PR room on the Island for our 19 day cruise through the Panama Canal. After discussing it with Princess they immediately told me that there were steps out to the balcony. Which is crazy - why in a handicap room would there be stairs to the balcony. I said why would I pay that kind of money if my husband (he's in a power chair) can't enjoy the balcony for 19 days. So we booked a Caribe deck balcony.

 

You should check and make sure your husband an even get into the sanctuary- I have found they sometimes aren't wheelchair friendly either.

 

If you ever consider getting another room the Caribe room aren't that much smaller and about 1/2 the price.

 

We also had the sip and sail - until yesterday we switched to the 3 for free. We don't drink that much. The 3 for free saved us about $400 on the room, free gratuities (around 500) and onboard credit of $300. You might consider changing if you don't drink that much.

 

Also if your TA doesn't give you anything you might as well just book with Princess. Or find a TA that does offer you something.

 

Just my opinions.

 

Sue

[montgomeryfamily]

Unless a lift has been installed since last summer, the Sanctuary on the Island is not wheelchair accessible. You have to go up steps to get to it.

[wizard-of-roz]

The PR deck balcony accessible cabins were added to the Island several years ago when all of the other cabins were added on the other decks and the other changes were made. Whenever those PR deck cabins were added, there was a design mistake and the type of doorway added to the balcony was the narrow doorway used in regular balcony cabins, instead of the sliding doorway which expands bigger to accommodate a wheelchair. So it is the doorway size which is the obstacle.

 

I discovered this last year when we tried to book one of the new accessible suites on the Island Princess. Neither the Coral Princess or the Island Princess have any wheelchair accessible minisuites and, until the accessible suites were added to the Island on the PR deck, there weren't any accessible suites (and still aren't on the Coral Princess--as is the case on most of the Princess ships). We had booked a balcony accessible cabin on the Island Princess and we had been in contact with the Access Dept about some needs we had. After much consideration, we decided to upgrade to one of the accessible suites, which are located on the PR deck. We contacted the Access dept to advise them of our upgrade change and to have our requests transferred to the new cabin. The Access dept knew that our disabled party could not walk and used a wheelchair. So they advised us that the suite had no wheelchair access to the balcony. This resulted in much discussion and this is when we discovered what had happened and that none of the PR deck accessible cabins had wheelchair access to the balcony. So we moved back to our original accessible balcony cabin on the Caribe deck.

 

At the time the description of these cabins did not include the warning about the lack of wheelchair balcony access. We also discussed this with them and they had already received some complaints about these cabins. The Access dept was responsible for getting these subsequent warnings in these balcony descriptions.

 

What is amazing to me is that this error had never been corrected. The balcony glass/doorway is not structural--it could be changed/corrected to the sliding glass doorway. Princess just doesn't want to spend the money to do so. :mad:

 

Kathy, thank you so much for the explanation. It's so lame on Princess' part not to enhance these particular cabins with access to the balcony for those who can only access it in a wheelchair.

 

Princess would be hit so hard with penalties and fines from the ADA and Dept. of Justice if they were a landbased hotel.