Booking an accessible cabin on Princess

[Chilcotin]

My husband and I are currently booked in a regular balcony cabin on the Coral Princess for a Panama Canal cruise in March 2025.

 

Currently there are no accessible cabins in any category available to book.

 

I have been told by two different reservation agents that they do not offer a waitlist for disabled cabins.

 

Is this true or have I even given wrong information? I also checked with the access department and they told me to check with reservations.

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

 

[pukekolive]

We are booked on a Princess Panama cruise in 2026 and changed from a regular to an accessible cabin about 3 months ago and there were only a couple left; they obviously get booked out well in advance.

[Bob++]

There is always a shortage of accessible cabins, whoever the carrier. We find that on popular cruises, we have to book almost as soon as booking opens and even then, there is often limited availability.

 

It's a mystery why they don't have a waitlist though as there must be cancellations, and I have seen complaints from people being allocated one when they had no need.

Edited May 13 by Bob++

[shandryl]

I took a cruise on the ship enchanted princess this year.The ship had sold out. My stateroom was originally booked as inside guarantee. They/princess upgraded me to an wheelchair accessible.  The stateroom was very spacious large bathroom area. I am mobile have no problem doing stairs or the elevator or getting around. I thought that those rooms were solely for people that needed them.🤔 just saying.
Like any big large corporation it’s all about making money. They can charge more money for the inside state room and have four guests vs wheelchair accessible and only have two guests. Another strange thing about this upgrade I was being emailed by them/Princess regularly/suggesting that I bid for an upgrade. I ignore the emails with that type of offer bc I’m not willing to pay extra for an upgrade. I assumed/thought they sent those emails to everyone, hoping somebody will bite. 
 

Post #436 Princess forum - princess cabin reviews
 

Edited May 19 by shandryl
To see pictures offered more info

[glslipper]

I was told that if someone didn't have a mobility questionnaire filled out if they are booked in an accessible cabin, they are subject to being moved to a different cabin. That would open the accessible cabin to someone that actually needs it. I was trying to book an OV accessible room but there weren't any available. So I was bumped to a balcony accessible room at no additional charge! Nice upgrade! I made sure to fill out my questionnaire right away, no way I'd take the risk of getting moved when I actually need the space. But I personally wouldn't book a handicap room far in advance if I didn't need it. There aren't many to go around and someone else may actually need that room.

Edited June 3 by glslipper

[mlbcruiser]

I have a friend who is a single man and he does not need an accessible cabin. However, a few years ago, he was given one. Under occasion, I guess they have one that hasn’t been taken or perhaps someone has to cancel at the last minute and there’s no one on any sort of a waitlist for one.
 

Another thing is sometimes we’ve looked at an accessible cabin because my husband does qualify, but so often they are way up in front of the ship (too much motion for me!) or in a less desirable location. That really  annoys me when I see that type of cabin only available in less desirable locations. 

[GoHuskies!]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:31 PM, mlbcruiser said:

I have a friend who is a single man and he does not need an accessible cabin. However, a few years ago, he was given one. Under occasion, I guess they have one that hasn’t been taken or perhaps someone has to cancel at the last minute and there’s no one on any sort of a waitlist for one.
 

Another thing is sometimes we’ve looked at an accessible cabin because my husband does qualify, but so often they are way up in front of the ship (too much motion for me!) or in a less desirable location. That really  annoys me when I see that type of cabin only available in less desirable locations. 

Yes--yesterday I was looking up accessible cabins in the new Sun Princess and I actually found one, a rarity!  But it was the absolute farthest forward cabin, which is definitely NOT desirable.  Why do they do this???

[mlbcruiser]

I wonder the same thing. It’s kind of like they are treating people that have a disability like second-class citizens or something. Sometimes, on some ships, there are better located accessible cabins.  If so, usually 2 or so. Most ships get some type of refurbishment every few years. Cruise lines love to squeeze more cabins in at such times, but it seems like they could easily redo a few cabins in good, mid ship locations and turn them into accessible cabins. Most especially since non-disabled people would generally not mind one bit being put into an accessible cabin for the extra room. So if they didn’t have enough people who qualify for those cabins during a slow time of year, I’m sure many people would welcome them.

[PentopC]

We were on a wait list for an accessible cabin through Princess cruises, after nearly 3 months they had sent us a few alerts but each time it wasn't for an accessible cabin, so were informed although we can go onto a wait list there isn't one that is specifically for an accessible cabin and we would need to keep checking.  Another few months passed and I frequently checked their website then one day rang them to check why we weren't getting any more notifications and was informed we had been removed from the wait list which was a clerical error, however by some miracle they actually had an accessible cabin available which we were able to secure then and there.  Not sure if this helps at all but I guess the point is to keep checking with them every few weeks especially nearer to the cruise date.