Alaska Accessibility info?

[RosanneG]

My mother and I are planning an Inside Passage cruise on Princess in June 2007. The ports we will be visiting are Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria, B.C. I have a disability and walk with crutches and braces. I use a manual wheelchair for long distances. My mother is 73, and has had 2 knee replacements and arthritis, so she can't get around too well either. I have lots of questions.

 

1. I think we are going on either the Sun or Dawn Princess. I'd like a balcony room. But since we will probably be bringing my wheelchair, would a non-handicapped accessible room be big enough to store the wheelchair folded up? Or, are there handicapped rooms with a balcony? Also, where are the elevators in relation to the balcony staterooms?

 

2. Would it be worth looking into ALSO renting a scooter and having it brought aboard the ship in Seattle? I know about CruiseAssist.com, but haven't looked into their prices yet. Would both a wheelchair AND scooter fit in the stateroom?

 

3. In the ports, would we be OK with the wheelchair and/or scooter? Are there a lot of stairs and/or curbs which would be difficult to negotiate? Any curb cuts? What about tendering in the various ports?

 

4. We were thinking of doing the White Pass and Yukon Railway tour in Skagway and whale-watching with Orca (Captain Larry) in Juneau. We might not do an organized tour in Ketchikan, but just look around on our own. But if we did do a tour, probably either Saxman Village or Totem Bight Park. Would also like to see Creek Street. I figure we will probably see enough glaciers from the ship, so not really that interested in Mendenhall. We've been to Victoria before, so might do Butchart Gardens and/or Empress Hotel tea. Any other tips, suggestions, etc.?

 

Thanks in advance.

Rosanne

[Splinter]

You may want to check out these resources:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45852

 

A non-accessible cabin will not have a room door wide enough for most wheelchairs or scooters. They definately don't have enough room to store a scooter which does not fold up. You are not allowed to store them in the hallway. You will also have a step up into the bathroom in an non-accessible cabin, and fewer grab bars. If you need a wheelchair and scooter, you should look for an accessible cabin. The Island Princess has more than the two ships you mentioned, but all these cabins book up many months in advance, so it may be too late to get one at this time.

 

While you will find curb cuts and ramps most places (remember you are mostly in the USA where the ADA applies) it is easier to get around many places with a manual chair. You won't find accessible transportation in many places easily, so being able to transfer into a cab makes use of the manual chair much more practical. If you can both climb the stairs into a tour bus, this is less of an issue. Tendering is also safer and easier with a manual chair vs. a scooter or power chair.

 

About every 5th shuttle into town in Sitka is accessible. You can easily get onto the Whitehorse pass train, but must have reservations specifically for the accessible car (there is only one).

I would still recommend Mendenhall Glacier if you can. The visitor's center there has great exhibits about glaciers that you won't learn just by watching glaciers from the ship.

[RosanneG]

Thanks Splinter for the information. At this point, I think we will just take my manual (sport) wheelchair, which folds easily, and rely on cabs or shuttles for great distances. We can both do some stairs, but I will look into getting the accessible car on the White Pass train just to be on the safe side. Will also see about Mendenhall Glacier if there's time.