Alask Cruise/Tour-Statendam

[Thyme2cruise]

Don't ask me how I found this website but it is the GREATEST! My husband,dad stepmom and I are travelling to Alaska for HAL cruise/tour #16, Aug. 16 to Aug.29. My husband has MS and has difficulty walking. He uses a cane and can walk short distances on level ground. Will he be able to see everything in Denali or should we reserve a wheelchair or rent an electric scooter? Our AAA travel agent suggested contacting Care Vacations and they could get us a scooter for the cruise part. Will it fit in room B146? Will it be a pain in the hallways of the ship or should we use a wheelchair onboard and the scooter on land? Is it easy to get on and off the ship with scooters or wheelchairs? We are new to this--cruising and the MS (diagnosed in 2001)--and don't want to be a pain. Our first cruise was with American Cruise and we toured the Hawaiian Islands. Since that cruise they have gone out of business,I've heard, and my husband developed the MS. How accessible are the excursions? I've read the HAL excursion list and it helps a bit. I've gone to the different excursion websites and they aren't very informative about accessibility. I've sent for several travel brochures of the cities we will visit and so far have received one. Our travel agent has suggested we book our excursions before we go and adjust them once we get onboard. I would like to talk to someone who might know more about these venues and that would be able to tell us how accessible they are and book them once onboard. Some of you have mentioned booking tours on the dock. How do we know which are legitmate and won't rip us off? Sorry about all the questions....but we need help!

[dogladyjw]

I was on the msStatendam for the Glacier Disconvery from Anchorage to Vancouver Aug.,2003. We stopped at Juneau, Sitka and Ketchican. I am what I call semi-handicapped. I can get into,out of, onto and off of just about anything. I can also walk only about 200 feet without severe pain. I can't stand still for over 5 minutes without the same problem. I took the float plane trip to Misty Fjords National Monument and got out on the pontoon, the Ketchikan Duck Tour, visited Creek Street, did a helicopter landing on a glacier and got out and walked a bit. Went on Cap'n Larrys Whale Watching cruise, did the Historic Sitka, Alaska Raptor Center and Russian Dancers tour along with the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest. I rented a motorized 3 wheel scooter from Care Vacations along with a extra wide seat folding wheelchair (regular non-motorized). The motorized ones do not do well with the Alaskan liquid sunshine, so I kept that one on board and took the regular wheelchair off the ship. It did fine down the gangways (and msStattendam crew helped get me down that gangway even though my husband was with me) and it was no problem when we tendered to Sitka. My email is dogladyjw@aol.com if you have any futher questions. Oh, on the room...we had a S suite so it was no problem, I've never been in a regular stateroom so i can't help you there.

[Mary Ellen]

I don't have a HAL brochure handy, and I can't remember if B146 is a HA cabin. Actually either way, IMHO the B (& A) HA cabins aren't roomy enough for a wheelchair - let alone an EVC (scooter). The 'regular' cabins are a bit narrower, so I can't imagine a chair/ECV in them. You can't leave either in the hallway for safety reasons.

My father & step-mom have had A/B cabins twice, due to step-mom's stroke. They needed the HA because of the shower (NO tub). Heck, I'm healthy (5'4") and I have a HARD time getting into/out of HAL's A/B (& S) tubs.

Step-mom had a collapsible chair on the 2nd cruise and it was awkward getting around it in the cabin.

I'd suggest asking your tour questions on the Disabled Cruise Travel (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190) and the Alaska Ports of Call (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55) boards.

Good luck

[Thyme2cruise]

Thanks so much Doglady and Mary Ellen for the info. The websites you suggested helped too. I found out that Care Vacations now has a smaller scooter that meets HAL new scooter requirements AND it folds up! Sounds like a plan to me. :-) I have spent the last three nights on this website....I think I'm addicted. Have been learning alot expecially about the excursions. I haven't been able to find as much response to the Statendam as I have other HAL ships. How did anyone find the food? Like I said before my dad is going with us and this is their first cruise. He is an old Navy man and I think in the back of his mind this is gonna be like in the Navy again. I know its not but I don't want him to have a bad experienc either. Less than a month to go!

[capeboy96]

A friend and I traveled on the Statendam in June on the Southbound Glacier Discovery cruise. Alaska is absolutely beautiful and I'm sure you'll have a great time. I cruised to Alaska on Royal Caribbean in 1998 and loved it so much I moved up there and worked for a while. Now I go back to visit whenever I can.

This past trip to Alaska was my friend's first time up there. We went to Denali ahead of time and spent a few days there enjoying the sights. If you're husband can get on to the school bus he'll be okay. The tours into the park are all done on converted school buses that have a little more leg room than regular ones and ample storage area in the back for hikers to stow their gear. The bus does stop about once an hour for rest room breaks. A motorized scooter will be adequate for touring the area outside of the park where the hotels are located. There is not a whole lot of walking involved on the tour but I would take a foldup wheelchair with you so he can get off and enjoy the sights.

The Statendam itself as okay. I was on the sister ship Maasdam in November and loved that ship. Had similar expectations for the Statendam that didn't hold up. The service was not all that good but the crew was new so maybe things will be ironed out by the time you go. On a more positive, the entertainment was great and the itinerary can't be beat.

We bought shore tours on the dock in Juneau and Ketchikan for less than half what they charge on the ship. This time we went to Sitka and did our own thing there. If you're going northbound you'll stop in Skagway instead. I'd recommend the train tour there and would buy tickets on board.

Let me know if you have more questions.