Size of HAL Handicapped Rooms?

[guardhouse]

Can anyone tell me if the HAL wheelchair accessible rooms are any larger than similar priced rooms, or are they just set-up differently? From the deck plans, they look the same size as their comparable rooms.

Thanks.

[ekerr19]

From our experience, they are bigger. The rooms also have furniture placement for wheelchair access. We have had handicapped equipped cabins 4 times on HAL - no difference except for the wheelchair allowance and no bath tub - only wheelchair accessible shower.

[Kayelache]

I can only speak for cabin 1955 on the Amsterdam, where we spent 21 days, Dec. 15-Jan. 5. Our cabin was considerable larger than the regular cabins in the same area. The other rooms were rectangular, with the bathroom tucked into a corner. Our bathroom was outside the rectangle, making the room itself that much larger. I don't know that I have explained it, but if you look at the deck plans, you can see that it is indeed considerable larger. It was a very comfortable arrangement.

[CaptData]

Guard House a warning. Some are converted room on the older ships such as Maasdam and have a lip into the bathroom. Make sure you get one that has always been HC. H709 is one on Maasdam. I'm in this one on Feb 6-17.

[Oceanwench]

We have only had wheelchair-accessible cabins -- out of necessity.
The doorways are widers to accommodate wheelchairs/scooters. No thresholds.
There is a roll-in shower and a built-in shower seat.
Grab bars in the bathroom area.
One closet has hangers down low so they are in reach for a person with physical limitations.
We had a verandah cabin, and the balcony is made accessible with a ramp.
The beds are apparently lower than those in other cabins, from what I've read. When everyone was raving about the new mattresses on the Oosterdam, I realized that the matress in the accessible room was far different.

If you have a powerchair/wheelchair/scooter, the accessible cabins are perfect!
My only wish is that there were more of these cabins -- too often we are shut out of a cruise because these cabins are booked!
The "regular" cabins are not built to accommodate mobility-impaired individuals.

[guardhouse]

Thank you all for your replies. We are considering the Oster., and from the brochure diagrams, the rooms rooms marked handicapped look to be EXACTLY like the ones next to them.

My wife is in a wheelchair, but can get around without the chair for cabin "tasks". The extra room makes it far easier for he to manuever without falling (balance issues) and so we don't have to assemble/disassemble her chair all the time (it is in three pieces).

Thanks again.

[Oceanwench]

By all means, book 6003 or 6004 on the Oosterdam!
We had those cabins on the Oo and the Zui and they were perfect to accommodate wheelchair ...

[AlinaMaria]

guardhouse: be careful, diagrams can be misleading sometimes. I have to travel in wheelchair accessible cabin because my traveling companion, my mother of 75 years of age, has limitied ambulation (no wheelchair yet) but must have the easier access to the bathroom, the safety bars, higher toilet seat, no door step, room for me to assist her with daily activities, etc. We also frequently travel with my good friend who is a 40-yrs old woman with Cerebral Palsy who is wheelchair bound, she has a large electric wheelchair that requires the larger cabin to manuever her wheelchair.

Our experience with HAL is quite confusing. Our first HAL trip was last Feb/2004 on the Rotterdam 10-day cruise to Panama Canal, our cabin was outside view only, Cat D/cabin #3429, it was wonderful, very spacious, bathroom comfortable, plenty of closet and drawer space, good safety bars both in the shower as well as next to the toilet; room was large enough that my friend could come over and she could maneuver her electric wheelchair without any problems. My friend was on cabin #C6104 adn that was really spacious and comfortable (comparable to Royal Caribbean wheelchair accessible cabins which are still the best we have experienced). Now, last trip on the Zuiderdam for Thanksgiving Week 2004 was another story! What a disappointment! Our cabin, Cat BB/cabin #5140/outside w/verandah, was the smallest wheelchair accessible cabin we have ever experienced! Bathroom quite small, no bilateral safety bars next to toilet seat so I had to be helping my mother everytime because she did not have bars at each side for support, shower area small, again with bar on one side only (as a nurse I worry for any pax who may have suffered stroke and their right side is the weaker side, they are in big trouble!!!!), space between walls and bed not any larger than regular cabins either. Very, very limited closet and drawer space. Ah, almost forgot: you better knock the door before "exiting" the bathroom because if the other person is trying to get something out of the closet you will knock them down!!! As a matter of fact, no two persons fit between beds, wall/bed, closet/bathrood door, etc. You understand right?

As you stated, yes, the catalog shows you a cabin the same width and this is correct, they are only a bit longer with wider door frames, that is all!! On the Zuiderdam, my friend not only could not come in with the electric wheelchair, but we tried with her manual wheelchair and that one did not fit the space between the beds and the wall without getting tangled on the mattress/bedspread, also the balcony was not large enough for a wheelchair and three passengers! Her cabin was similar to ours.

I hope this gives you an idea of the difference, make sure you know before you travel and make the necessary plans for a lot of folding/unfolding of wheelchair! HAL is not disabled friendly. Also, on the Zui most of the time at the Lido I had to help my mother with her tray, then get my meal, only two of seven lunches she was helped with her tray. We have never experienced this before on RCI, Celebrity or Princess.

We have decided to stick with other cruise lines that do cater to the disabled person, also we experienced in both Rotterdam and Zuiderdam that there are a lot of areas not accessible to wheelchair or pax with limited ambulation, something that we have not encountered on RCI.

Good luck!

AlinaMaria

[Oceanwench]

My husband had no problem on the Oosterdam or the Zuiderdam in his power wheelchair.

Remember that all public restrooms are not accessible -- but early on he figured out which ones were so when he was at the casino or at the Lido restaurant, he knew where the closest restroom was.

As far as trays in the Lido, he sometimes had to ask for assistance. But he managed very well -- he did not join me for excursions but stayed on the ship by himself and got along fine.

He found both ships very handicap-friendly.