Assistance on and off the ship?

My husband walks with a cane and the NCL rep said we could get assistance for when he needs to get on and off the ship. We went ahead and signed up for it and said it if we choose not to use it there isn’t a problem. My question is…. Does it take longer to get on and off the ship if we choose the assistance? We plan to arrive at the pier (Miami) around 11:00am.

M

My husband walks with a cane and the NCL rep said we could get assistance for when he needs to get on and off the ship. We went ahead and signed up for it and said it if we choose not to use it there isn’t a problem. My question is…. Does it take longer to get on and off the ship if we choose the assistance? We plan to arrive at the pier (Miami) around 11:00am.

M

No, it is actually faster both with embarkation and disembarkation. Just inside the terminal entrance, young people will be lined up with wheelchairs. They take you to a special check-in desk, take you up in elevator to to where you enter the ship and push you up onto the ship. For disembarkation, everyone needing assistance is gather in one place and you are taken off in a group. I have a friend who traveling with me on The Pearl and took advantage of the assistance. She is still talking about how nice it was.

it is not always faster. sometimes it is much longer depending on how many pushers are available. if many passengers are debarking who have assistance you will have to wait until the pushers have completed off loading the passengers until you can board.. when finally leaving the ship it also depends on your departure time and how many other passengers require assistance.

My husband walks with a cane and the NCL rep said we could get assistance for when he needs to get on and off the ship. We went ahead and signed up for it and said it if we choose not to use it there isn’t a problem. My question is…. Does it take longer to get on and off the ship if we choose the assistance? We plan to arrive at the pier (Miami) around 11:00am.

M

My husband walks with a cane and for embarkation there was no help given for him. We had NCL transfers from airport and even though he'd had assistance from plane to bus, there was no embarkation assistance. He had to wait in line with the rest of the people, including those with canes. The lines were long so I told him to stay seated in the waiting area until I got to the check in clerk. There was a shorter line and help for wheelchairs, but none for folks with canes. Those in charge wouldn't let those with canes or walkers in the wheelchair line. So canes and walkers had to be in the long lines.

The same was true for disembarkation. There was no place for folks with canes or walkers to sign up for help, only for those in wheelchairs. Those with canes had to wait in the long disembarkation line and there was no place to sit while waiting for the line to move.

So I think it depends on each individual ship as to how they handle it.

I'm wondering what kind of assistance would be expected for one who walks with a cane....the only thing I can imagine is putting them in a wheel chair.

Is there something else that can be done??

On one of our cruises there was no issue with people getting assistance for embarkation. But when we arrived in Miami, something was going on with immigration. It slowed departure for everyone, especially those with luggage. But the other thing I noticed is that immigration was not letting crew assist disabled passengers with debarkation. They stopped them before they could enter the terminal. They were threatening to take the crew into custody and deport them if they didn't immediately turn around and get back on the ship along with the person they were trying to assist. People were livid, and of course taking it out on NCL when there wasn't anything the crew could do about it. Only time I ever saw this happen.