Alaska with electric wheelchair

My brother wants me to book a cruise with him for next year. He is unable to walk and needs to be in a wheelchair. We will be using an electric wheel chair so he can get around on his own.

I was wondering if there are any tours that he will be able to do at the ports? Has anyone gone to Alaska and used a wheelchair?

Do you have any tips or ideas for us.

Which is the best cruise line for wheelchairs? Any special cabin you like the best?

Thanks for all your help.

My brother wants me to book a cruise with him for next year. He is unable to walk and needs to be in a wheelchair. We will be using an electric wheel chair so he can get around on his own.

 

I was wondering if there are any tours that he will be able to do at the ports? Has anyone gone to Alaska and used a wheelchair?

 

Do you have any tips or ideas for us.

 

Which is the best cruise line for wheelchairs? Any special cabin you like the best?

 

Thanks for all your help.

When I went to Alaska with my son (can't walk) we really enjoyed the cruise. There were very few shore excursions that he could do but we enjoyed walking around town. The nice thing about our cruise was that many of the most beautiful sights were visible from the ship, such as the glaciers.

We were on a Disney ship, which was nice, but my son finds HAL a little easier. No matter what line you are on I would get a balcony HC cabin so you wont miss any of the wonderful scenery.

I forget what port it is but the Whitepass Railroad tour has a car with a wheelchair lift. It was a very nice train ride. Worth doing.

I forget what port it is but the Whitepass Railroad tour has a car with a wheelchair lift. It was a very nice train ride. Worth doing.

IIRC it is out of Skagway.

Some trains go to the border and other cross into Canada. You'll need a passport to do the border crossing.

We sailed on the Island Princess and really enjoyed the cruise. I second the White Pass Railway tour in Skagway. I would purchase the tour from the ship because the train comes to the dock and loads those who have purchased from the shift. The lift works well.

In Juneau we used Orca Enterprises for a whale watching tour. You are picked up by a lift equipped van and the ship is designed to be accessible. We saw lots of whales about 20 or so as well as 50 or more eagles. You can elect to go to Mendenhall Glacier at the end of the whale watch but we didn't do that.

In Ketchikan we went to the Lumberjack show. It was fun for the kids who were with us.

As far as the cruise itself, we were fascinated by Glacier Bay.

I forget what port it is but the Whitepass Railroad tour has a car with a wheelchair lift. It was a very nice train ride. Worth doing.

What about the "bus" back - we will be doing a train up and bus back, does anyone know if a scooter will fit?

You may have to talk with the shore excursion office because I've not seen a bus that takes scooters.

There may be a port where you tender and they won't allow a power chair onto the tenders, unfortunately.

I've found the whale watching boats to be very accessible, so try for that.

There was one port, I think it was Ketchikan, where the gangway to the dock was so steep that they would not allow anyone using a mobility device to leave the ship. Not even the lower gangway would work because it was so steep.

The White Pass Railroad was excellent and accommodated mobility devices.

Other than that, just motoring around the local area was nice in the ports.

HAL has better docking spots in Alaska than Princess does. In Juneau you have to take a shuttle to get to town on Princess, and you're at an obscure dock in Ketchikan as well.

M

Just got back from Alaska cruise with friend who uses a scooter. We did the White Pass Railway in Skagway. They have several cars with a lift. We did not get off the train. Also went whale watching in Juneau with Orca Enterprises. They picked us up at the dock in a van with a lift. In Victoria and Ketchikan, she rode around tiown and did some shopping. The scenery is spectacular no matter what you do. We had a great time. Hope you do too.

What about the "bus" back - we will be doing a train up and bus back, does anyone know if a scooter will fit?

We were just on the Norwegian Sun, and yes, the bus will have a lift too.:)