Grand Princess Accessibility

[DEL67]

We just returned from a Western Caribbean cruise on the Grand Princess.

 

Our obstructed ocean view HC cabin, E301, was a good size with space on each side of the bed for wheelchair access if you move the chair. At first I thought the bathroom was small and not well laid out, but my husband had no trouble with it apart from the toilet being too low. It was also easy to access since the elevator lobby was almost direclty accreoss from it. Our only real issue was the cabin door, it was not automatic and quite heavy so my husband had difficulty opening it.

 

The ship itself was quite accessible apart from the lack of automatic doors out to the Lido deck from the elevator bank closest to our cabin. What impressed me most was the space in the dining room and the Horizon Court. Both had plenty of room for a wheelchair to pass as long as someone's chair was not sticking way out.

 

Unluckily three of the four ports were tender ports so my husband only went ashore in Costa Maya. There, we booked a private tour to the Chacchoben ruins. I was aware that they were not fully accessible, but my husband enjoys archeology so I figuredwe would give it a try. The path from the entrance to the first pyramid was a little rough in places, but not bad. After than, it got quite rough with many large stones and tree roots. I was able to get his wheelchair over them, but it was difficult. The last two pyramids were up some steep steps so they were definitely not accessible. A representative of the company felt badly that my husband could not see them so she suggested that our guide take us the where the original owner of the property, a Mayan and the father of one of the owners of the tour company, had lived. From there the path back to the entrance was reasonably accessible.

 

Perhaps one of the nicest parts of the trip was the service and our fellow passengers. The ship's staff went out of their way to assist my husband so I had no concerns about leaving him at the tender ports. And our fellow passengers were almost all so laid back that we did not have to race for an elevator all week. In fact, several made sure that my husband got into the next elevator when they were crowded with passengers returning from shore.

[Splinter]

Did you go to shows? We found the showroom on the Grand one of the most unwheelchair friendly we have ever seen. The ramp to the wheelchair seating was very steep, the lines of sight poor, and difficult to sit with non-disabled members of your own party.

 

Did the lift to the Skywalker bar work? It was broken our entire cruise.

[DEL67]

Splinter:

 

We just went to a couple of shows where I sat in the back row and my husband behind me. It wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as on one of the NCL ships where we were basically behind a post.

 

Actually, my favorite show, Motor City, was in the Vista lounge where we had no problem.