Accessibility on the Sapphire Princess

[sask56]

This is a re-post of mine from another thread:

 

This was only our second cruise, the first being on Holland America's Zaandam from Vancouver to San Diego. We were very much looking forward to sailing on the much larger Sapphire to the Mexican Riviera. At times I will make direct comparisons to the Zaandam.

 

FLIGHT/TRANSFER/EMBARKATION

I'll spare you the details of the flight into LAX on Alaska Airlines. Suffice it to say that enduring the torture of the "Hannibal Lechter" aisle chair to access my less than comfortable seat for the next three hours is not fun. All this after handing over my baby (my rather expensive, custom and somewhat delicate wheelchair) to baggage handlers who manhandle it and even remove parts of the chair to fit in the cargo hold. Absolutely nerve-wracking.

 

The transfer from LAX to the San Pedro cruise terminal was by bus equipped with a lift, and boarding the ship at the cruise terminal went without a hitch and only took about 20 minutes.

 

ACCESSIBILITY ONBOARD

Most of the public areas on the ship are either totally open or have automatic doors to allow for free access with no assistance required. The notable exceptions are, access to the Lido Deck (14) from the forward elevators, and Decks 15 thru 17. We were unable to find access to Deck 18. The other frustrating notable was access (without assistance) to the exterior promenade on Deck 7. Sapphire's unique bow portion of the promenade was up a flight of stairs and inaccessible to wheelchairs.

 

If you're like me and can't push the elevator buttons, you may occasionally need to plan your routes carefully so as not to be trapped in dead end portions of the ship. For example, if you try to get to Deck 6 using the aft elevators, you'll find yourself at the International Diningroom with no access the the rest of the ship.

 

Fortunately, there are enough travelers and staff around at most times to provide the nominal assistance required.

 

Our room was fabulous. It was one of those "obstructed view" staterooms on the Emerald Deck 8. It was very large (much larger than on the Zaandam), with lots of maneuvering room, and a washroom that was very well designed.

 

All in all, accessibility was quite good, but slightly worse than the Zaandam.

 

PORTS OF CALL

Disembarking at the ports of calls is a little tricky depending on whether it's low or high tide. At low tide, it's a somewhat steep bumpy ramp, and at high tide it becomes a steeper set of stairs. Even with three or four deckhands helping, it's rather scary.

 

At Cabo San Lucas, tendering is required. Again, three or four deckhands have to lift you up and place you on the tender boat while it's bobbing up and down. They could easily implement some sort of ramp to facilitate a somewhat less precarious loading and unloading.

 

Mexico is one of the least wheelchair friendly places I've ever been to, especially Puerto Vallarta. If you're lucky you can find a van for hire which has a wheelchair lift. We found one, but the headroom clearance was not near enough to accommodate me. Having said that, we did manage to get around nicely on foot in both Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. I especially liked climate and surroundings of Cabo San Lucas. Hot and dry, beautiful beaches, and crystal clear Aqua Marine water.

 

[Splinter]

It is unfortunate you did not read my previous posts about Puerto Vallarta here, or you would have known there are two van companies in PV, and only one has a raised roof modern van. Accessible Mexico is the only company that we use when we go to PV.

[aussie57]

T

 

We were unable to find access to Deck 18.

 

 

There is access to Deck 18 on the Sapphire from the aft elevators to Deck 16, then a separate elevator on 16 to 18. Skywalker's lounge is a great place to sit & watch everything happening outside