Traveling with someone with MS

[JohnVC]

I have booked a cruise for August 2006 on the Explorer. Sailing from NJ to Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, Labadee, St. Thomas and St. Maarten). We are taking my mom-in-law who has MS. I have several questions.

 

First, she does not need a wheelchair fulltime, although we are bringing one for her convenience. Are there any shore excursions that you would recommend for someone with limited mobility. Stairs are a real problem.

 

Second, we have booked two balcony staterooms. Can the ship supply booster seats for the toilet and a stool for the shower?

 

Thanks,

 

John C

[CaptData]

Hi. I have MS too. See if you can rent a scooter as the VOS is very LARGE. It is easy to get around in and there is lots of elevators. If your mother tires easily then I suggest you only look at the shorter tours. I did the Bacardi's tour in San Jaun. I snorkle so I did that in St Thomas but there is a mall right at the pier that if she takes a scooter she can get around on her own. St Martin, I did a city tour too. Can she get up in a bus? If not you may think about private tours. Go to the Island boards here are see who may have a tour then contact them by phone and talk to them.

 

St Thomas is under ADA rulings. Old San Jaun has cobblestone streets but is under ADA too.

[Splinter]

Is her room a wheelchair accessible cabin or just a regular cabin? If the latter, be aware that it is likely the wheelchair will not fit through the door, so she may have to walk through the door and get you to fold the wheelchair (as long as she is not too tired or overheated to do this). Also, in the bathrooms it is a good 6 inch step into the bathroom from the cabin unless you have an accessible cabin.

 

Check with Princess about the raised toilet seats. We have had mixed success in the past. On the Grand they provided one, but it did not fit safely on the toilet...fortunately I had brought a couple of gait belts with us and rigged it up by strapping to the toilet so it was safe. The same with the shower chair. It is likely you will get one without a back or armrests. If you don't have an accessible cabin (which would have a fold down wall-hung seat) you can ask for one, but you may want to do what we used to do before we started taking our own commode shower chair, and just use a plastic deck/pool chair. They work great, are lightweight, and will fit in even the tiny shower stalls they have in the regular cabins.

[EscapeCruises]

I would definitely recommend calling your travel agent, or whomever you booked with and seeing if you can change to a HC cabin. I would check for you to see if one is available to switch to, but I didn't know when in Aug you were going.

I sailed Voyager last yr out of Bayonne; it is the sister ship to Explorer. The ships are huge, I would really say that you should rent a scooter to optimize the mobility and allow a more enjoyable trip; They deliver it right to your room on embarkation day.

It is an awesome ship! You'll love it! And check in at Cape Liberty is a BREEZE! Also, If you request w/c assistance, you will most likely be escorted through the line. It is a long walk, so get assistance if you aren't bringing a w/c. Enjoy!