Panama Canal Cruise - Ports & Excursions for Part-Time Wheelchair / Disabled Passengers

[cruisesparks21]

Hello! 

My senior parents will both have scooters on the cruise and we are renting wheelchairs in addition for excursions. 

 

My parents need the wheelchairs for mobility but can manage a few step here or there.  My husband and will be with them to help.  We already have a private tour booked in Cartegena and the tour operator said we can bring their wheelchairs and he has room on his van to store wheelchairs. Now I need to figure out the rest of the ports.  Is anyone else aware of or used semi-accessible tours in these ports that they could recommend?  I am open to Princess Emerald tours, but they are not wheelchair accessible from what I can see.  Again my parents can manage some steps, but we would need to be able to take the wheelchairs with us.  Princess hasn't been as informative as I hoped as the people in the accessibility department are hesitant to recommend or give feedback on anything since it's up to passenger discretion.  I understand so I'm for feedback from people who have done it.  If recommending a tour, my main questions are:

 

1. Does the vehicle have a place to put the two wheelchairs?
2.  How many steps does it take to get into the vehicle?
3.  On the stops, will they be able to get their wheelchairs out of the car to wheel around?

 

Our ports are as follows:

 

• Cartegena (Colombia)
• Fuerte Amador (Panama City, Panama) - Tender Port
• Puntarenas (Costa Rica)
• San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua) - Tender Port
• Huatulco (Mexico)
• Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)

 

Would love any feedback you may provide. I also realize that they we may book now and then find out later its not viable.  Im ok with that.  I rather secure the possibility of going vs not try at all and save a few bucks.

 

Thanks!

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by rivche

[njhorseman]

56 minutes ago, rivche said:

 

Our ports are as follows:

 

• Cartegena (Colombia)
• Fuerte Amador (Panama City, Panama) - Tender Port
• Puntarenas (Costa Rica)
• San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua) - Tender Port
• Huatulco (Mexico)
• Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)

For other than Cartagena, which you've already taken care of, and Panama City, you need to post your questions on the individual Ports of Call boards for Costa Rica and the Mexican Riviera (for Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta). 

 

Nicaragua doesn't have its own board, but at this time I believe they haven't reopened to cruise ships using protocols that can be reasonably followed and as a result there have been reports that cruise lines have been cancelling their port calls there.

 

By the way, docking facilities were built in Fuerte Amador, although there still may be some work remaining to be done, so you may be docking there as some other ships already have.

Edited August 27, 2022 by njhorseman

[Turtles06]

Just adding that Costa Rica is listed in the Caribbean Ports of Call forum, even though it has a Pacific Coast as well.  (That's Cruise Critic geography! ☺️)   Years ago, I was almost unable to find the Port of Call forum for Costa Rica, because it had NEVER occurred to me to look in the Caribbean forum, so I try to point this out now and spare folks the difficulty I encountered.  😂

[cruisesparks21]

36 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

For other than Cartagena, which you've already taken care of, and Panama City, you need to post your questions on the individual Ports of Call boards for Costa Rica and the Mexican Riviera (for Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta). 

 

Nicaragua doesn't have its own board, but at this time I believe they haven't reopened to cruise ships using protocols that can be reasonably followed and as a result there have been reports that cruise lines have been cancelling their port calls there.

 

By the way, docking facilities were built in Fuerte Amador, although there still may be some work remaining to be done, so you may be docking there as some other ships already have.

Copy that!

[cruisesparks21]

12 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Just adding that Costa Rica is listed in the Caribbean Ports of Call forum, even though it has a Pacific Coast as well.  (That's Cruise Critic geography! ☺️)   Years ago, I was almost unable to find the Port of Call forum for Costa Rica, because it had NEVER occurred to me to look in the Caribbean forum, so I try to point this out now and spare folks the difficulty I encountered.  😂

Thank you so much for the tip!

[cruisesparks21]

Just wanted to post a follow up for anyone who is interested.  We went with Tony's Panama Tours for Panama City/ Panama Canal yesterday and we were sooo pleased.  Full review below:

 

Tony’s Panama Tours hit the ball out of the park.  We had a lot of challenges that we threw his way and he totally came through. Before I dive into all that I say that I had that I have been pleased with my experience with Tony since my our first correspondence. He has always been very responsive and extremely pleasant to interact with.  I heard great reviews on cruise crisis but I was a bit nervous booking with a third party since I heard it was best to book a direct tour with the cruise line.  This tour was cheaper than the cruise ship tour, but it was a private tour.  This meant that Tony was dedicated to our small group and answered every question.  He seemed to know how to avoid the key places during prime times. So we would arrive at places of interest when they were not crowded and right as we were leaving we would see large cruise tour crowds start to pour in.   

 

Of particular importance, my mom is elderly and disabled.  Tony helped with getting her on and off the van and in and out of her wheelchair.  He found the best way to access the points of interest for disabled and there was a ramp for the wheelchair nearly everywhere we went.   The few times it wasn’t,  he helped in lifting it up a curb.  He knows so many wonderful facts about the city, but also took time to show and discuss the culture, the people, the politics.  This is the nitty gritty were interested in learning about it and we felt that were exposed to the highlights of all sides of Panama City.  He even took us to a wonderful, delicious meal that he mentions the locals come to.    We even had time to watch the IMAX panama canal movie and then see a few ships come through the locks, with plenty of spare time to get back to our ship.  It was a perfectly planned day.  Our small private tour was so much more nimble than a big group, even with my disabled mom.  After reviewing our day and comparing notes with other passengers on the cruise, its seems we were able to fit so much more in then others.  We are beyond happy with our Panama visit.

 

Tony is just an awesome guy and a good human being and I’m so glad our paths crossed. My ten year old even said she would like to grow up to be a tour guide and work with Tony.  I highly recommend.  Thank you Tony! We will be back!