How old is the Volendam crowd, they have 30 wheelchairs

[mmacdcc]

I'm also wondering why you're so concerned with age. You said you were early 50's right?

 

So would you want to be on a ship with only a bunch of 20 somethings?

 

I'm also 50's, and a mix of ages is nice. I certainly wouldn't want to be the OLDEST person on the ship. I don't look horrible, but I certainly don't compare to some 22 yr old in a bikini. :cool: However, put me against a 70 yr old and I look pretty good. :rolleyes:

 

And while I like a wide variety of music, I can't take the extremely loud, can't-hear-yourself-think rock/hip hop stuff for very long anymore (not that I ever could when I was young).

 

That said, I do like younger people. I work in a field full of young people, and I work at a college so I deal with lots of different people all the time. We have young students in wheelchairs, on crutches -- heck, we have staff that have handicaps too.

 

Wheelchairs don't mean old people. They mean people who can't walk well (or at all). Whether or not you can walk doesn't say anything about you other than your legs don't work well.

 

So explain again why you're so worried about there being many people older than you on the cruise? I still don't understand that.

[Peggy Sue]

Hi,

 

We recently returned from the 11/6 Volendam cruise where we met a fantastic group of people from cruise critic. most of us were in our 40's and 50's .. a few younger, a few older. We had a fantastic time together.

 

The average age aboard was indeed older than 50, but there were many of us in our 50's, and passengers younger than us. That said, we enjoyed every person we met that happened to be older than we were. We met them in the lido, dining room, lounges, etc Had fantastic conversations with them.

 

As s7s stated earlier, as a 10 day cruise, the demographics will be older...we were docked next to the zuiderdam in tortola and it was quite interesting to see families spilling out of the ship ... it was a 7 night cruise.

 

You will have a fantastic time...go and enjoy! Besides, I think we had all the rain and clouds for the entire season, so your bound to have sunny, beautiful days...what more could you ask for???

 

Did we see a lot of wheelchairs on board? You know, I don't even recall...I'm sure there were some, but certainly nothing that I remember... i do recall one woman on a scooter, but that's only because we seemed to be on the same "schedule", as we often saw her in the lido when we were there, and we engaged in pleasant conversation waiting in line, etc.

 

Have fun!!

[Oceanwench]

I enjoyed many of the comments in this thread.

Thanks to those who stood up against what they perceived as discriminatory remarks against the disabled!

 

The writer said she had the @#$% scared out of her by the # of wheelchairs, and that set off alarms for me.

 

My husband is in a wheelchair [MS] and one reason we love HAL is that there are plenty of accessible rooms onboard their ships.

Some cruise lines have as few as 4!

 

Does someone really judge how much fun a cruise is by the # of wheelchairs available for pax?

Wow.

 

As far as allen crawford's comment on someone using a wheelchair to check in at the port, but not using the chair later on the cruise: People with MS often have great fatigue, even when they have no other symptoms that are evident.

When my husband first was diagnosed with the disease, he was able to walk short distances, but had to use a wheelchair for longer distances.

Coming off an airplane, he would need a wheelchair to get to the parking garage -- as an example.

I know he never would have been able to stand in a slow-moving line such as the one at Port Everglades.

 

Once I heard a woman at Disney World say "not fair" when guests in wheelchairs were allowed into a stadium area first ... and I thought, yes, not fair that these people can't walk, run, dance ...

My husband would gladly stand in a line ... if it meant he could walk.

 

P.S. Maybe the CC'ers with MS would like to get together and plan a cruise??? We could scare the @#$% out of some folks!!!

[tomc]

Once I heard a woman at Disney World say "not fair" when guests in wheelchairs were allowed into a stadium area first ... and I thought, yes, not fair that these people can't walk, run, dance ... My husband would gladly stand in a line ... if it meant he could walk.

After something happened to me in public that caused a person to reprimand me, I said, "Care to trade places?"

[johno95]

certain cruise lines attract a more senior crowd. a higher percentage of seniors appreciate (but may not absolutely need) a wheelchair. (if they needed one, they would bring one from home.) on a ship with a younger crowd (ie. Carnival), a lower percentage of passengers appreciate wheeling around in a wheelchair. they may or may not have a lower ratio of wheelchairs on hand. as another poster alluded to, longer cruises during the school year may attract older crowds, even on Carnival.

 

sorry if i bored most of you with this.

Just wondering why you assumed that this meant that there were elderly people aboard. While HAL is known for having a relatively older crowd, anyone of any age can be in a wheelchair :)

[Esme]

Oceanwench - OP would have been even more frightened if she had been on the Volendam this week - they have 80 wheelchair users. :D

 

I used to work with the disabled and some of them had MS - these were not old people, these were young ones in their 20's and they enjoyed life as much as they were able to.

 

So glad your husband and you are still able to enjoy cruising and hope you will be able to do so for a long time. Good for you.

 

I will always remember Murray, a young man with MD from Canada. He was on our cruise back in the early 80's....a gift from the Wish Foundation....with a companion. Although he was confined to a wheelchair, he had a wonderful time going to the beach at Megan's Bay, to the disco, on tours - he had the time of his life, which sadly came to an end a few years after his cruise.

[clopaw]

After something happened to me in public that caused a person to reprimand me, I said, "Care to trade places?"

 

 

My husband is visually impaired and uses a guide dog. Once on vacation, a woman said to him, "you're so lucky, you get to bring your dog with you." Much as he loves that dog, "care to trade places?" is exactly right.

[johno95]

Allen's post reminded me of when I go grocery shopping at home, and pass by the handicapped parking spaces. Looking at these full spaces, I think, "There are ALWAYS people that will take advantage of a privilege designed for people with disabilities, when they themselves are not disabled at all."

 

I am not anyone to judge if you need a wheelchair on a cruise or not. You may not even be officially disabled in your physician's eyes. Such a label doesn't matter. You go ahead and get a wheelchair if you need it on your cruise. Or if you need it just for the embarkation. A cruise can be tiring and stressful for the fittest of people!!!

 

But I think it's hilarious that someone would "need" (or desire) a wheelchair at just the embarkation point. (A seasoned cruiser knows you get to go to the front of the line if you're in a wheelchair.) But he doesn't need it on the ship.

 

It is very possible that this cruiser needed that wheelchair for what he saw was the long, tough, tiring part of his trip. Maybe the sun was beating down. Once on the ship, there are many reasons why (even if he wished he had that chair) he didn't want to rely on a wheelchair. Maybe he had lots of resting places. Or it was difficult to navigate the hallways and stateroom door in one. Who knows.

 

But let's just say it is POSSIBLE that he was trying to cheat the system. Like parking in a handicapped space because he "is just running in to the store." Call me jaded.

 

-John

...As far as allen crawford's comment on someone using a wheelchair to check in at the port, but not using the chair later on the cruise: People with MS often have great fatigue...

[Oceanwench]

Allen's post reminded me of when I go grocery shopping at home, and pass by the handicapped parking spaces. Looking at these full spaces, I think, "There are ALWAYS people that will take advantage of a privilege designed for people with disabilities, when they themselves are not disabled at all."

 

I know this is really straying off the topic, but do all those cars parked in those spaces have handicapped tags or license plates?

Yes, there are people who take advantge of the privilege, but it's not up to you or me to police them!

 

Let me give you an example of how things can be misinterpreted.

My husband and I drive to the mall in our handicapped accessible van. We park in a handicapped space and go into the mall. He is in his power chair.

As we shop, I get overburdened with bags. He cannot help carry them. I leave him inside the mall and run out to the van to stash the bags in the trunk.

You drive by and see me, an apparent able-bodied woman carrying heavy bags, putting my purchases in the trunk.

What do you think?

That I am taking advantage of a handicapped parking space?

 

I am just saying that there are many types of handicaps, and all are not evident to the observer.

A person in a wheelchair may need the chair for long distances only, or because he/she can't stand for long periods of time.

 

I guess having experienced life with a disabled husband, I see things differently and I am not so willing to judge someone else in a wheelchair.

 

And HAL has a separate line for those in wheelchairs ... they don't go to the head of the line.

Actually, when we were boarding the Oosterdam last month, we were fourth in line at the single agent assisting those in wheelchairs.

I noticed there were many agents [a dozen or more] assisting the other pax in the long line.

So maybe the time they waited was almost the same as the time we waited?

I don't know ...

HAL made the decision to make a separate queue for pax in wheelchairs. It wouldn't have mattered to us if we had to go in the general line.

[bkreader]

Oceanwench,

 

Loved your post. I had a similar experience with my late mother-in-law, who had a portable handicap vehicle tag. Once I left her sitting on a bench in the mall while I carried a big package out to the car. The nasty stares I got - I thought someone was going to yell at me.

 

As for the wheelchairs, we took my then 86-year-old mother on a cruise on the Dawn. We used a wheelchair for her to get on and off. The waiting in line and then the long walk aboard would have been way too much for her. She didn't need a wheelchair while on the ship - she could walk to dinner okay and we only did excursions where she wouldn't have to walk too far. NCL did take the wheelchairs first - we ended up being the second passengers to board the ship. - Jane