Help. Which ship to Alaska

[gassman55]

I am a paraplegic requiring the use of a manual wheelchair. I get around quite well but do need adequate accessibility to get around. I also don't want to "adjust" on my vacation.

 

I was recommended the Grand with the Princess line. I like activities, will visit the casino, and hang out a lot. I will be traveling with my extended family mostly 50 yr. olds and a few 21 yr old adults.

 

Any thoughts and recommendations?

 

I plan on getting a room with a balcony so I can spend my reading time on the balcony.'

 

We leave on June 30th so I need to book asap.

 

Robt.

[katisdale]

Robt., you will need an accessible cabin. I like Princess BUT if I wanted a cruise on June 30 and needed an accessible cabin I would book with whichever line had an opening as these cabins book up quickly. Before booking I would look for the number of tender ports as these are more of a problem and would require quite an adjustment especially if you cannot get off the ship.

[gassman55]

Thanks. Apparently I have on hold a balcony on the ship until the 16th. I also made a mistake and it is the Golden Princess not the Grand Princess. Not sure if that is better or worse.

 

Any thoughts on how to arrange activities off the ship? Is this something the travel agent should be doing for me or should I also get some information from the cruise line?

 

Thanks

[leoandhugh]

Golden and Grand Princess are sister ships - identical deck layout. If the balcony cabin you have on hold is accessible you will be ok but if not, here are some of the potential problems. There will be a sill or lip from the cabin to the balcony and from the cabin to the bathroom., both about 2"-3" Accessible cabins have no lip in to the bathroom, they have a roll-in shower with fold down seat and a raised sink so you can roll the wheelchair under. Also most non-accessible cabins have doors in to the cabin from the hallway that are sometimes as narrow as 22" and you cant get a manual wheelchair or scooter through the door. If you can get over these hurdles by getting an accessible cabin which is doubtful so close to a June sailing, you should have no trouble in Alaska because it complies with ADA - cored curbs, ramps etc:)

[shamrockace]

We are booked on the Sapphire Princess to Alaska in August. I found it useful to look which ship shore excursions said wheelchair accessible, then made my own phone calls to the vendors to insure they understood DH's needs. Ketchican - Island Wings will bring a wheelchair accessible van to pick us up. They will make arrangements to lift someone into the plane if necessary and they come highly recommended by other wheelchair users. Juneau - Orca Whale Watching tour. HC accessible and will send a HC accessible van. They will also drop you off at Mendenhall glacier if you request. Skagway - Chilkoot Charters will assist with Yukon train and bus excursion.

 

I found everyone very helpful when I called.

[Splinter]

You may find it pretty cool to sit out on a balcony, esp. when underway, in Alaska. If the weather is decent (you did not say when you are going) you may be able to use it in port.

 

The showroom wheelchair seating is pretty poor, with a steep (non-ADA) ramp to this area, and poor sight lines. Check it out, but you may be happier going to the bars and other areas for entertainment instead of the showroom. The accessible cabins are nice, with good bathrooms. We had an inside cabin on the Grand and were happy with this. We rarely spend time in the cabin other than for sleeping and naps, and prefer to sit by the pool or in other areas to watch the scenery. If you are going to be glacier viewing, find an accessible place to sit early and stake it out, as it will be hard to see otherwise past all the people standing.

 

What route are you taking? If you can transfer to a car, cabs may be better than tours. You can get accessible tours in most ports through Princess, but you have to be VERY insistant when booking to talk to the people in the Excursions office (not just the "customer service" people) about getting a van with a lift. Somehow they think a limited walking tour with an inaccessible bus or van for transportation is "accessible". You will pay more for ship's tours than for local tours you book yourself too.

[ocpeach]

We've booked a HC balcony cabin on the Grand Princess for our next cruise. We sailed on the Coral Princess last year--for the first time in an accessible balcony cabin. (Before that, outside cabins). Here's some photos--should give you an idea of what Princess does. The cabin was located just inside one of the bump-outs on the ship and staff often parked carts outside the cabin which meant maneuvering turns to get into the cabin was sometimes difficult...

[LuLaLuvlee]

We tried Star Princess, didn't book an accessible cabin (had a mini suite)and had some issues. My DH has very limited mobility and we were using a transport chair on this particular cruise.

 

The chair had to be semi closed to enter/exit the cabin.

 

As someone else noted the HA places in the theatre and showroom are awful. You cannot see things on stage and there are no screens to highlight the stage business. My DH resorted to using his camera with the tele lens to see the cooking demo. During the movies, the constant light and chatter as people entered was very annoying. There were fairly steep ramps to even get to the theatre--not an issue for an electric chair but if you are pushing a transport chair it's rough!

 

There is a def rise to enter the bathroom and a tub lip to step over. The rest of the cabin space was not bad and the folded chair did fit in the closet but left out it was in the way!!!