Which cruise line is best for the disabled? Inspiration was not great.

[ms simba]

I am thinking about going on another cruise but because of the problems I had aboard the Carnival Inspiration, I am wondering if others could suggest a different ship that is more handicapped-friendly?

 

I have just come back from a cruise on the Carnival Inspiration and found it was not very handicapped accessible. I will list my problems in separate threads as the information tends to be long. However, I do want to say that we had Cabin M298 (fully accessible) and it was awesome!

 

So all I am looking here for are some suggestions for ships that are handicapped-friendly to scooters and the disabled.

[leoandhugh]

I do not believe that the cruise line was the real problem so much as it was the ship itself. Inspiration is one of Carnival's older ships which are not nearly as handicapped friendly as their new ones. But to be on the safe side, the ships of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Holland America are the ones we have found to be the best for anyone using a scooter. Princess is not quite as good and their special needs staff ashore leave much to be desired, in our opinion.

Generally, if you book a ship that is no more than 5 0r 6 years old, you should be ok.:)

[sanspike]

We cruise RCCL a lot and have found them to be the best of accessibility and helpfulness of their staff. We love the Radiance class as the doors open automatically when you insert your room key. We also did the large Liberty of the Seas and found it to be very accessible also. We do not book any older ships any longer.

[FrancescaH]

Ideally you want to stick with ships built in the last 10 years or so for a most accessible ship... it wasn't till the ADA law passed that accessiblity became more than a second thought in ship design so newer is definitely better. When we first decided to try cruising RCCL stood out as best fitting us in terms of us being a young couple and it's new classes of ships although we did a 4 nighter on the not as accessible Sovereign just to make sure cruising suited us before we invested in a 7 nighter. RCCL's Voyager class is very accessible as are the Radiance and Freedom classes reputed to be. I will get my first try on the Freedom this fall but as it's really an oversized Voyager class I expect no problems.

 

Beyond that I have heard decent to good reports for Princess, Holland America and Celebrity keeping in mind age of ship and reasonable expectations about ports and tendering.

[ms simba]

Thanks for the information. My problems weren't about the tender boats but concerned the onboard experience. I will definitely look at the newer ships next time.

 

I am still going to comment on the ship problems that I experienced. Just can't do it today.

[uppitycats]

I have cruised on Princess, Carnival and NCL, all on their newer ships, and found Carnival to be the least accessible. While the cabin was great -- very spacious roll-in shower, elevated sink and toilet, lots of grab bars,

 

there were very few accessible rest rooms in public areas of the ship, and staff that was quite clumsy in accommodating someone in a wheelchair.

 

I'll be interested to see the rest of your review.

[TrinaP1204]

We were suckered into going on the Inspiration on our first cruise ever. It was a spur of the moment cruise and had it not been for that particular ship, it would have been fine. From what I remember, it was built just before the ADA went into effect. The worst hassle was no onboard restroom that was accessible. For all the eating and drinking we did while onboard, it was insane to have to push it back to our cabin everytime we wanted to go to the bathroom.

 

We have lived and learned since then. Starting out with getting a TA that is in a wheelchair himself. MUCH better to work with someone who has a clue about the issues. We are off to Alaska with some much earned Royal Caribbean credit card points.

[JHarry]

I just came off the Glory on Saturday and my wife uses a large powerchair. We didnt have any problems other than the crowds. Was on Disney in 2007 and it was the perfect cruise. They pampered us. Anytime my wife was in line at the buffet an attendant came and took her tray and got the food for her and directed us to a table. The hallways were wide open on Disney and the Verandah was a blast. Our next cruise is on Disney