Wheelchair Private Excursions Recommendations

[shelly222]

Hi, 

 

We are going on our first Carnival cruise (second cruise ever) and after reading through some threads and doing some research online, I see that it's definitely doable to do some tours. That excites me as my daughter is in a wheelchair full time and its been hard trying to find excursions that we can do. Of course, it is much easier to use a wheelchair accessible vehicle, but I can take her out of her chair and put her on the seat in a vehicle if need be and her chair does come apart in two pieces. So with that said, we are looking into doing a private driver tour in Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. 

 

Anyone done anything like this that can share their experiences with us? 

 

Costa Maya: haven't looked into it yet, but hoping to do Chacchoben Ruins, Mahahual Fishing Village and maybe a stroll along the boardwalk at the beach that I heard about.... 

Recommendations on tour / private driver company and any other sites/experiences, etc? 

 

Roatan: 

Victor Bodden, Rony Tours, Roatan Cab Tours are the ones I can find so far. Anyone use them? 

Sites: Monkey/Sloth place and hope to make a few stops along the scenic road to take a couple of quick pics. Not sure what else to do there in Roatan? 

 

Cozumel: 

Thinking of going to a beach. My daughter who is disabled and in wheelchair doesn't last very long lounging around but loves to take strolls and shopping. So I was thinking of a short time in the morning at the beach (usually when she is still tired) to enjoy some downtime and then walk around to shop and what not.

Any good beach to go to that has a path to where lounges are and not too crowded? Hammocks anywhere? Daughter loves to lay in hammock but it needs to be on beach? I heard of YoYo beach and Paradise Beach - thoughts on either one of those? 

Was thinking of going to El Cedral Village. Anyone done that? 

Anything else? 

 

Sorry for the long post.. 

 

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much! 

 

 

[Slugsta]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Cruising is a great option for people with mobility problems 🙂

 

You might do well to post your questions on the 'port of call' boards too as you will get some replies from people who know the places you will visit (I'm a Brit so cannot help personally). The advice might not be tailored to wheelchair access but should give you somewhere to start.

[katisdale]

We have not been to Costa Maya but have  been to Roatan and Cozumel. We used Victor Bodden in Roatan. I use a collapsible scooter and described this to Mr. Bodden. He then assigned us (just the two of us) to a van with a driver named Janet I think. I do not remember the cost. We toured all over the island and saw monkeys and sloths. It was a wonderful day and greatly enjoyed this tour. In Cozumel we went to Chankanab (?sp) which was very nice. At the pier we just got in line for a taxi and told the person doing the assignments that I needed a vehicle large enough for my scooter. There is a fee to enter the park. You can do all sorts of activities including, beaches, nature walks, swim with dolphins, seal demonstrations etc. We had a lovely day there as well.

[kokopelli-az]

Definitely let Carnival know you are bringing a wheelchair.    https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs.aspx

 

Ask Carnival about any suitable accessible shore excursions.   They sometimes have accessible tours that are not listed with the regular tours.   There is one in Roatan that I think looks like fun:

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/mahogany-bay/accessible-roatan-monkeys-sloths-and-macaws-518134

 

And in Cozumel these are listed:  https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel##page=1|wheelChair=Wheelchair Accessible|

 

If you want to take a private tour, you can contact some of the private tour operators at your port stops to see if they can accommodate a wheelchair.  

 

 

 

 

 

[shelly222]

4 hours ago, Slugsta said:

Hi and welcome to the forum. Cruising is a great option for people with mobility problems 🙂

 

You might do well to post your questions on the 'port of call' boards too as you will get some replies from people who know the places you will visit (I'm a Brit so cannot help personally). The advice might not be tailored to wheelchair access but should give you somewhere to start.

 

Thank you. I have thought about that but thought I would start here since it seems more appropriate and could get answers from more experienced people in my situation. :) 

[shelly222]

4 hours ago, katisdale said:

We have not been to Costa Maya but have  been to Roatan and Cozumel. We used Victor Bodden in Roatan. I use a collapsible scooter and described this to Mr. Bodden. He then assigned us (just the two of us) to a van with a driver named Janet I think. I do not remember the cost. We toured all over the island and saw monkeys and sloths. It was a wonderful day and greatly enjoyed this tour. In Cozumel we went to Chankanab (?sp) which was very nice. At the pier we just got in line for a taxi and told the person doing the assignments that I needed a vehicle large enough for my scooter. There is a fee to enter the park. You can do all sorts of activities including, beaches, nature walks, swim with dolphins, seal demonstrations etc. We had a lovely day there as well.

Thank you so much...

I have contacted Mr Bodden and been thinking of using him. It is good to hear you had such a great experience. 

 

 

[shelly222]

1 hour ago, kokopelli-az said:

Definitely let Carnival know you are bringing a wheelchair.    https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs.aspx

 

Ask Carnival about any suitable accessible shore excursions.   They sometimes have accessible tours that are not listed with the regular tours.   There is one in Roatan that I think looks like fun:

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/mahogany-bay/accessible-roatan-monkeys-sloths-and-macaws-518134

 

And in Cozumel these are listed:  https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel##page=1|wheelChair=Wheelchair Accessible|

 

If you want to take a private tour, you can contact some of the private tour operators at your port stops to see if they can accommodate a wheelchair.  

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

Thank you for your comment and time, but I find it irrelevant since I wasn't asking about that and as you probably know, I have already done all that and even more. BTW.. the link for Cozumel is NOT for accessible cruises. Those are NOT accessible... I do hope that others can benefit from your info. 🙂 If you do have any personal experience with what I posted, please do feel free to share the experience. 🙂 

Edited January 1, 2019 by shelly222