OK! The absolute BEST!

I want to surprise my husband with the <easiest> cruise for him to navigate. (he has a mobility scooter). Size of the room and moveability within it and the balcony are essential!

Please help......

My husband doesn't use a scooter ... he uses a manual wheelchair, and I am the pusher. We have been very pleased with the wheelchair-accessible balcony rooms on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. Very large, with plenty of room, also in the bathroom and on the balcony.

However, I think it's important to look at the accessibility of the entire ship, not just your room. Some ships are just easier to maneuver in than others. We recently sailed on RC's Jewel of the Seas, and the room was just the same as the ones we've had on Freedom, but Jewel was a LOT harder to get around in a wheelchair. (Public areas much more narrow and crowded, to the point of complete inaccessibility at times.)

Freedom was much easier for us to manage. We've sailed twice before on Freedom, and we're booked for a third cruise on her in October.

I want to surprise my husband with the <easiest> cruise for him to navigate. (he has a mobility scooter). Size of the room and moveability within it and the balcony are essential!

Please help......

I have used a scooter for the past six years. As far as "Absolute Best' I would have to give kudos to Celebrity. The reason being not only the size of the accessible rooms, but (1) the fact that accessible rooms have automatic entry doors that open with the push of a button and (2) the staff on Celebrity were the most helpful of any cruise line we have sailed on. At least it was this way on the Equinox.

That being said, we generally choose our ports of call first, length of cruise second and cruise line third. That's why we are not devoted to one particular cruise line. The only problem we have had on any cruise was getting an elevator at dinner time, especially on formal nights. Thus patience comes into play.

I'm not sure what happened to my previous answer. We just got off of the Sapphire Princess. I use a mobility scooter. We had Handicapped Balcony Cabin C303 on the Caribe Deck. There was more room in that cabin than we have had in any cabin before. The balcony was large and had a ramp. The bathroom was adequate with a roll in shower with a seat. The bathroom had a slight ramp up under the carpet. Every place on the ship except for the top sports deck was accessible. The theater had a few spots in the back row for scooters/wheelchairs to park with accompanying persons seat next to them, but you had to get there early. Some of the doors to the outside decks like the Promenade had high "bumps" midway, so you had to get a running start or get high centered. Dining rooms were easy, I chose to stay on my scooter, but you could sit in a chair and have the waitstaff remove and return your scooter. They thought it was fun to drive them. Everyone was most pleasant and helpful, from our fellow passengers to the staff and crew. It was a lovely cruise and very easy. For the first time on any ship, HAL, RC, or Princess, we had absolutely no trouble getting on elevators, everyone was most considerate. (I hope all those people are on our next cruise! :)

Have fun, whatever ship you are on!

You will need an accessible cabin, so that means, regardless of what cruise line you choose, you will have to book VERY early----more than 8 to 10 months out, or even earlier if the itinerary you're interested in is popular.

Another thing is, pick a newer ship, nothing more than 5 or 6 years old. The newer ships are the most accessible.

I use a mobility scooter full time and I've found the S class ships of Celebrity to be fantastic. They have a nice choice of accessible cabins in many categories, their public spaces are all accessible and the crew is very accommodating.

Good luck.

You will need an accessible cabin, so that means, regardless of what cruise line you choose, you will have to book VERY early----more than 8 to 10 months out, or even earlier if the itinerary you're interested in is popular.

 

Another thing is, pick a newer ship, nothing more than 5 or 6 years old. The newer ships are the most accessible.

 

I use a mobility scooter full time and I've found the S class ships of Celebrity to be fantastic. They have a nice choice of accessible cabins in many categories, their public spaces are all accessible and the crew is very accommodating.

 

Good luck.

The S class Celebrity have automatic doors in the rooms, the M class does not. However, the Concierge Aft cabins on the M class (accessible) have aft patios - very nice for someone on a scooter. They are expensive, hard to get, but oh so nice. V.

I want to surprise my husband with the <easiest> cruise for him to navigate. (he has a mobility scooter). Size of the room and moveability within it and the balcony are essential!

Please help......

My husband also uses a mobility scooter and we had problems getting it through the door on some ships and RCL is particularily bad about getting from one end of the ship to the other. Alot of having to use elevators to get to specific venues. Our preference is HAL because of the prominade deck that goes all the way around the ship. It is wide and covered and makes it easy to get from one end to the other. Also no carpet out there to make things tough and a lot of room to manuever without having to stop on a dime because of the close quarters of some of the public areas on all cruise ships.

I have used a scooter for the past six years. As far as "Absolute Best' I would have to give kudos to Celebrity. The reason being not only the size of the accessible rooms, but (1) the fact that accessible rooms have automatic entry doors that open with the push of a button and (2) the staff on Celebrity were the most helpful of any cruise line we have sailed on. At least it was this way on the Equinox.

 

That being said, we generally choose our ports of call first, length of cruise second and cruise line third. That's why we are not devoted to one particular cruise line. The only problem we have had on any cruise was getting an elevator at dinner time, especially on formal nights. Thus patience comes into play.

I have to agree that Celebrity sets the bar very high for cruising if you are disabled. First, Celebrity recognizes that many persons with disabilities have families and we can get a cabin for three. The accessible cabins are spacious, the bathrooms accommodate my daughter's manual wheelchair, and the crew is always helpful.

If money is not an object - Disney Cruiseline. We've always been treated extra-special on DCL. It's not just for kids. The adult-only area are enforced. No casino.

Otherwise, as long as you're booked in a HC room, you'll be fine. We don't usually have issues with crew. It's the other passengers who can be so rude. And sometimes casinos aren't designed for HC.