Cruising on WS with a mobility challenged partner

[wwinfl91]

I have always wanted to cruise on a sailing ship but my wife has been treated for cancer and although right now she is cancer free she is mobility challenged in that she had balance problems as a result of chemo therapy. This means she has problems with stairs and I would not even begin putting her on a ladder.

 

Has anyone with similar problems sailed on WS and enjoyed a successful cruise.

 

Thanks for your input.

[Surfgirl]

I would recommend you call Windstar. They're very helpful. There are stairs to all of the cabins-- A cabins are one deck below, and B cabins are two decks below. I don't know that she'll be able to manage, but the folks at Windstar could tell you better.

[Riverroad]

Windstar's fleet of three ships includes the Windsurf which is larger than the Windspirit or Windstar. Windsurf has elevators so this may solve your problem. The experience is similar to the smaller ships.

[CruisingChics]

mobility on the star and spirit might be a challenge with balance.

there is one deck of cabins (deck 1) and one deck of *other* (deck 2).

outside there is a deck of pool and pool chairs.

no elevators. only stairs.

 

on the surf and spirit, 90% of port arrival is by zodiac for what we call a 'wet landing'.....

and to get to the tenders/zodiacs, you must go down a staircase - - yes it does have rails but to get INTO the zodiacs, you must be able to step onto the inflated sides of the zodiac and then a big step DOWN into the bottom of the boat (inflated sides but with a metal bottom), and then climb out when the boat lands at the beach....

 

or in the case of Nicaragua, the arrival is at a hard dock/pier. in this case i think they use a tender....(lifeboat)

but another concern in the case of the windy Nicaragua, the water/waves are active and the tender bounces up and down like crazy and you just stand there waiting until it calms down.

 

maybe the Surf is the way to go. better on and off options.

[AndreaRH]

First of all, I'm so glad your wife is cancer free right now! I'm sure you've both been through a lot and a wonderful cruise is definitely in order to celebrate!

 

I would rule out the Wind Star and Wind Spirit, since neither has an elevator. The Wind Surf may be an option, depending on the level of mobility issues your wife has.

 

We did the Northbound Barbados itinerary on the Wind Surf. When we joined the ship in Barbados, we had to enter via the stairway/gangway. While there are elevators on the Wind Surf, they were not working when we initially boarded. The outage didn't last long (about an hour or so) and I don't know if it was a very rare occurrence, but I would inquire with Windstar.

 

On our itinerary, unlike CruisingChics, we never saw a Zodiac. I wasn't even aware Windstar had Zodiacs onboard. For all ports (except Basse Terre), we tendered. (We were supposed to dock at St. Kitts as well but the slip was taken by a Jamaican Navy vessel when we arrived so we had to tender instead.)

 

When taking the tender, you need to walk down a staircase on the outside of the ship and then step onto the tender. The crew will help but it does help if you have good balance. The tender will be bobbing up and down, no matter how calm the seas are. In rough weather you just have to take your time, watch how the tender is moving, and then step on. On our cruise there were several people using canes and they were able to get on and off the tender without too much trouble.

 

You can see some photos of the stairs to the tender and the actual steps in the tender itself at my Flickr photo gallery. Click on the URL and then scroll about a dozen photos in and you'll get to the tender pictures.

 

 

Good luck with your trip planning!

[Ontario Traveller]

I'm sorry to be more negative, but if your dear wife is mobility challenged, has balance issues, and perhaps doesn't feel completely well, I think you two would enjoy a different vacation more. We were on the Windsurf in the Caribbean out of Barbados recently. At the time, we commented to ourselves that we would not recommend this ship to my Mom (who is a senior but is in good shape and has no mobility issues), due to the tendering situation. Getting in and out of tenders was the most difficult compared to any other ships we've been on (maybe the tenders are smaller), and the waters weren't even rough. Every port (save one) was a tender port. Also, this was the most consistently rocky ship we've been on (even more so than our earlier cruising in the early 1990s when the ships didn't really have good stabilizers). If I had balance issues or didn't feel well, I sure wouldn't have wanted to be on this ship -- again, the seas were NOT rough. The ship even rocked a lot when anchored and when tied up at the one port (hard to believe!). On the other hand, I can't remember when I slept so well! There were no people on our sailing using canes or wheelchairs or walkers, so I don't know how they would have fared. We enjoyed the cruise a lot, and the crew were great. But I would really think twice. Perhaps a larger ship (easier to get around, more to do on board, less/no tendering) would be a compromise? Whatever you do, I hope you both enjoy it.

[6rugrats]

I totally agree with Ontario Traveller. The tenders will present great difficulty for your wife. Advise a different cruise line right now.

 

Best of luck.

[CruisingChics]

On our itinerary, unlike CruisingChics, we never saw a Zodiac. I wasn't even aware Windstar had Zodiacs onboard. For all ports (except Basse Terre), we tendered. (We were supposed to dock at St. Kitts as well but the slip was taken by a Jamaican Navy vessel when we arrived so we had to tender instead.)

 

When taking the tender, you need to walk down a staircase on the outside of the ship and then step onto the tender. The crew will help but it does help if you have good balance. The tender will be bobbing up and down, no matter how calm the seas are. In rough weather you just have to take your time, watch how the tender is moving, and then step on. On our cruise there were several people using canes and they were able to get on and off the tender without too much trouble.

 

the Star and Spirit use zodiacs for beach landings, which are about 4 of the 6 ports.... meanwhile the Surf has a different kind of ability than the smaller Star and Spirit.... yes they do use Tenders.... the Star and Spirit use a tender i believe only at one port....

but still, you must be able to navigate the outside stairs going from the ship into the vessel, whatever that is, whether tenderboat or zodiacboat.

[CruisingChics]

i would consider another cruise line that makes stops at more 'mainstream' ports that require a small gangway rather than tendering at 90% of their stops...... and come back to windstar when your wife's health is closer to 100%... best of wishes to you and her for a complete recovery.....