Does Princess accommodate the disabled?

[Cruise Raider]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:12 AM, waltd said:

If there are any tender ports Princess offers very little assistance getting on and off the tender.  You would have to be able to navigate the stairs and walk on the tender by yourself for the most part.  Not sure how they would even manage with a scooter if at all.

It’s the risk factor involved.  Imagine if a big wave hit and they dropped someone by accident.  
now, it clearly states that if you cannot make it by yourself under your own power onto the tender, you will not be accommodated.  They used to help people in wheelchairs but some people were just too heavy to lift.  Or the seas were just too rough to take the chance.  

[wolfie11]

When I was on the Crown in Vancouver, they herded all the disabled passengers into an area next to the closest entrance to the ship.  When boarding started, elites got on first, then disabled, then other passengers.

 

Also, no scooters on the tenders for good reason.  Wheelchairs and walkers are ok if you can get on and off the tender yourself.  The Royal class ships may be different.

[iamaqt2]

I will say where Princess fails the disabled is the elevator situation.  I've seen many disabled passengers unable to use the elevators due to capacity.  Now part of that is also a passenger issue, and out of the cruise lines control.  But at peak times they could reserve an elevator for passengers with mobility devices with a crewmember recalling it to the floor with a key.

[Coral]

11 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

I will say where Princess fails the disabled is the elevator situation.  I've seen many disabled passengers unable to use the elevators due to capacity.  Now part of that is also a passenger issue, and out of the cruise lines control.  But at peak times they could reserve an elevator for passengers with mobility devices with a crewmember recalling it to the floor with a key.

I would agree with this. My Mom was blind and had a Seeing Eye dog. People would crowd so far in and step on the dog. We would often have to wait 20-30 minutes to get an elevator during traditional dining times just so the dog wouldn't be stepped in. We would often have to leave the elevator when it became too crowded for the safety of my Mom and dog.

[Nora86]

I'll be using an electric wheelchair for our cruise in February. I've cruised in the past with a standard wheelchair/walker combo. That was really tough. I didn't think about all the different kinds of flooring and doorways you have to go through and no shocks on that thing. 

As a first time electric wheelchair user I'd like to know if there's some etiquette I should learn about.

 

I know elevators are going to be a problem.  I wasn't very fast with my walker and people just flowed around me and filled it up.  But I really don't want to crowd the door. I like the idea of getting on regardless if it's going up or down and just taking a ride. We're in an accessible room right by the aft elevators which is wonderful!

 

Does anyone know if there is plenty of seating in the theater accessible section? Or should I try to get there really early if I want to see a show? 

 

And going to the Horizon Court, just pull the chair out and pull the wheelchair up? I can walk a little bit to get some food or DH will bring it to me.  

If I pull up my wheelchair in another restaurant, lounge, public area to sit in a more comfortable chair does anyone get irritated that I'm taking up a seat? 

And this last question is probably silly but if I'm parked and I can't keep my eye on it all the time, maybe by going in a store or the pool, is it safe to leave partially unattended? 

I'm a bit nervous and really appreciate all the advice. Sorry I've been so wordy 🙂

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

The least of my worries would be someone intentionally taking your scooter.  Others have "marked" their scooter with a very identifying object.  The ship is a contained environment.  Not many places can "hide" a scooter.  

 

As for the back of the theater.  There are passengers who will take advantage of "any" open seat.  It would be best to arrive at the theater at least 15 - 30 minutes early.  If it is just you and your scooter, no problem.  On a side note, on one of my cruises (to Hawaii), a lady on a scooter arrived after curtain.  It was dark.  I don't know what she was thinking, but drove her scooter down the stairs.  It wasn't pleasant.  They stopped the show and had everyone leave to attend to her.  

 

Your biggest concern will be the elevators.  Plan on taking the forward elevators if you can.  The forward elevators will take you from Lido to Deck 5.  The aft elevators will only take you to Deck 7 (except for the aft dining room on Deck 6).  Then you would have to do some fancy Deck hopping to get to Deck 6 and 5 midship.

[Nora86]

Thank you so much for the advice! The elevators not going to all floors didn't even occur to me. And I will definitely do all my moving around when the lights are on! I learned not to lean forward on our last cruise. Knocked over everything at the hamburger grill. A very nice man with a very big drink helped with clean up 😊

Edited November 29, 2023 by Nora86
Mistake

[happy42cruise]

It always surprises me how inconsiderate some people are about the elevators.  I'm always with my husband.  When an elevator comes I go to it & hold the door for him to motor over on his electric wheelchair & enter (& most people will wait for him to enter but if they do try to enter I point to him & they wait).  I also watch the floor indicators to try to position us close to one heading the right direction. I've found the 2 glass elevators in the middle of the ship get ignored more often by the able bodied elevator rushers.

 

In the buffet we've found there are employees that will help you carry your plate or take the chair away from the table if you want to stay in your wheelchair.  We've never noticed anyone get irritated that he's taking up a seat anywhere & I just move his device out of the way.  I usually get his food for him in the buffet (which also stakes our claim to a table). I would also say that you have as much right to a comfortable chair as anyone else on the ship & getting out of your wheelchair is great.  You need to change positions & moving to a different seat is a good way to do it. Anyone that would get irritated about you moving to a chair can just lump it! They don't understand the challenges you face & the effort it is for you to do what they take for granted so too bad for them if you take up a seat. Now I will say if it is crowded & you feel like sitting in your chair so someone can sit in a chair you could graciously offer to move back to it but you do have a right to the chair too.

 

If you are leaving your device on the ship to shop or go to the pool you will be fine (at least you should be unless a rude drunk or kid tries to joy ride but I would doubt that) but we've not done it.  Off the ship I probably wouldn't leave it unattended. I will say the electric wheelchair we have maneuvers really well & fits most places we go so you might be able to stay in it to shop, not so much the pool though 😁.

 

You will have a great time, the wheelchair is easier than a walker or scooter & you don't need to apologize for anything!  Good for you getting out & enjoying life!

[Roberto256]

On 11/15/2023 at 11:12 AM, waltd said:

If there are any tender ports Princess offers very little assistance getting on and off the tender.  You would have to be able to navigate the stairs and walk on the tender by yourself for the most part.  Not sure how they would even manage with a scooter if at all.

I don't believe princess allows scooters on tenders any longer.

I remember many years ago, people having scooters on shore on princess cays.

 

I'm sure enough law suits ended that.   Like many things...

[cruzsnooze]

I'm on the Island Princess now. There is a plethora of scooters and wheelchairs and I couldn't quantify the large number of canes. I have noticed an abundance of consideration for people who need help. It has been nothing but pleasant that we've seen, elevators included.  The show has minimal open area for scooter/WC's so it would require arriving at least 30 minutes early which is true for most of the theatre. 

[Nora86]

All great advice and the encouragement is really nice! This is the only social media site I use for a reason 😊

Edited December 3, 2023 by Nora86
Mistake

[Roberto256]

On 11/28/2023 at 9:25 PM, Nora86 said:

And this last question is probably silly but if I'm parked and I can't keep my eye on it all the time, maybe by going in a store or the pool, is it safe to leave partially unattended? 

I remember being on Emerald probably 10 years ago...

It was an older crowd, and each night there were 15-20 scooters parked outside one of the main dining rooms.

(Which in itself is odd, as usually the passenger drives to the table, and the junior waiter valets the scooter for them.)

 

Anyway, we are leaving the dining room on night, and there is a gent very upset yelling at the headwaiter at the door...

...someone had taken his scooter.

 

I didn't think we were going to need scooby doo ... the scooter was almost certainly somewhere on the ship.

 

And, the gent should have read his parking stub, I'm sure the head waiter is not responsible for your scooter or its contents...

 

[happy42cruise]

1 hour ago, Roberto256 said:

I remember being on Emerald probably 10 years ago...

It was an older crowd, and each night there were 15-20 scooters parked outside one of the main dining rooms.

(Which in itself is odd, as usually the passenger drives to the table, and the junior waiter valets the scooter for them.)

 

Anyway, we are leaving the dining room on night, and there is a gent very upset yelling at the headwaiter at the door...

...someone had taken his scooter.

 

I didn't think we were going to need scooby doo ... the scooter was almost certainly somewhere on the ship.

 

And, the gent should have read his parking stub, I'm sure the head waiter is not responsible for your scooter or its contents...

 

AND that is why people put things on their device to make it stand out from the crowd.  Many of them are identical so it is easy to take the wrong one.  If it's a rental it will probably be returned to the company but if it's one you own make sure something shows it's yours.  You can put something on the seat back (pillow case, sweater, etc.) or stencil it.  Even just tie a scarf on it somewhere.  I also put a luggage tag on it with our last name & phone #.

[Hlitner]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:46 PM, Moondogy said:

Last cruise we was on, they used local ferries to shuttle instead of the ships tenders. The crew from those helped the scooter passengers over then lifted the scooter over for them. First time I've ever seen this.

This simply depends on the port.  Some

ports, around the world, have local large shuttles and other ports depend on cruise ship tenders.  
 

Hank

[Thrak]

Princess was quite good about assisting our oldest son the two times he cruised with us. Sometimes the gangway is quite steep and they had to work pretty hard to get him up or down but they handled it nicely.

 

On another note: On our recent cruise there were plenty of "socially handicapped" passengers. 🙄

[Roberto256]

9 hours ago, happy42cruise said:

AND that is why people put things on their device to make it stand out from the crowd.

 

I guess I'm naiive.   I thought scooters had keys.

[happy42cruise]

3 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

 

I guess I'm naiive.   I thought scooters had keys.

They do but they are generic - at least for the ones we have from Pride mobility. 

[Roberto256]

16 minutes ago, happy42cruise said:

They do but they are generic - at least for the ones we have from Pride mobility. 

Thank you for the reply.

[ChutChut]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:23 PM, NinnerN said:

I'm wondering if I'm missing something that Princess might offer for the disabled on their cruises.  Where can I look? 

Be sure to review the itinerary before booking to determine whether it has one or more "tendering" ports. If so, it may be difficult or impossible for you to board the tender unless you're able to walk without assistance, etc. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, ChutChut said:

Be sure to review the itinerary before booking to determine whether it has one or more "tendering" ports. If so, it may be difficult or impossible for you to board the tender unless you're able to walk without assistance, etc. 

 

We do that and neither of us are very challenged

I do have knees that don’t like any herky jerky motion, though.  I only make an exception for Kona and Loreto.  We rarely tender in Cabo or Santa Barbara as that water can just be too rough.  

[NinnerN]

I just find it so interesting that Princess' private island doesn't have its own port and passengers have to be tendered in.  I mean it's their own island!  So weird to me.  

[capriccio]

1 minute ago, NinnerN said:

I just find it so interesting that Princess' private island doesn't have its own port and passengers have to be tendered in.  I mean it's their own island!  So weird to me.  

It’s not an island.  It is the southern tip of Eleuthera.  

[bwgreen]

I am going on the Regal in May, and have a scooter booked for while I am on the ship - as for tendering (there are 3 tendering ports, according to the itinerary) they state that the crew will not lift anything over 50 lbs onto the tender - I assume that's if they use the ship's tender & crew.

 

As for on board - I was last on Celebrity and had no issues.  We didn't go to the shows, so I can't speak to that, and I can walk with a cane so I would "park" the scooter outside the MDR, take the key, then walk (with my cane on one side and DW on the other) to our table.  Even elevators - I had no issues with people not getting out of the way - especially when I told them this is a rental and it was my first time!  Ankles take a while to heal!

[Coral]

On 12/5/2023 at 4:53 PM, NinnerN said:

I just find it so interesting that Princess' private island doesn't have its own port and passengers have to be tendered in.  I mean it's their own island!  So weird to me.  

They do not own the island. They own the property on Eleuthera. They could build a dock but building docks is super expensive.

 

I believe Disney is doing something on Eleuthera also. It would be my guess that Disney builds a dock though I haven't researched it. I could be wrong.

 

I just looked it up and Disney will have a dock: https://thedisneyblog.com/2020/02/04/more-details-revealed-for-lighthouse-point-disney-cruise-lines-new-private-destination-in-the-bahamas/

 

Another detail revealed is the location of the access pier to the island. As Disney pioneered with its first private island, Castaway Cay, the ships can dock and unload to a pier, rather than requiring tenders from the ship. Additionally, rather than dredging a ship channel, Lighthouse Point will feature a long pier out into deeper waters. Guests will be able to catch a tram to their destination at a depot just steps from the ship instead of having to walk the length of the pier.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Coral