Traveling with disabled mom

My mom is mostly wheelchair / scooter bound. She has severe RA and can barely get around by using crutches. She has decided that she wants to go on a cruise and she wants me to plan it.

I am asking you experts on which line would be best. I did read a lot of the post and am guessing that eastern caribbean would be best, am I right? I know I don't want to take her during spring break or summer, and since I normally cruise in the fall, when should we sail?

What advise can you give me to help prepare for this cruise. I know that I need to plan soon so that I can get a handicapped room, because she will definately need it.

Thanks for your help

I'm disabled and travel with a scooter and I can tell you, a cruise is the perfect vacation for a person with a disability.

First, go with a ship that's no older than 5 or 6 years old. Newer ships have better facilities for the disabled and are the most accessible.

Second, you absolutely must have a handicapped accessible cabin. No other cabin will work for you. HC cabins are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs/scooters/walkers, they have handrails in the bathroom, wheel in showers, and no step into the bathroom. You will not be able to book just a regular cabin.

The best ship I've been on in all my 64 cruises was Celebrity Solstice. Their public rooms are totally accessible, the doors out to the outside decks are all automatic (not all ships have those kinds of doors, which limits a disabled person's ability to access the outside decks without the assistance of someone physically opening the doors for them). Their public bathrooms are the best I've ever experienced. The outside doors open with the push of a button. The HC stall is huge, opens and locks with a push of a button and easily accommodates a scooter or the largest of wheelchairs.

There are other ships that have good facilities for the disabled, but again, make sure that the ship you choose is a new ship, and that you book an accessible cabin.

Have a great cruise.

I'm disabled and travel with a scooter and I can tell you, a cruise is the perfect vacation for a person with a disability.

 

First, go with a ship that's no older than 5 or 6 years old. Newer ships have better facilities for the disabled and are the most accessible.

 

Second, you absolutely must have a handicapped accessible cabin. No other cabin will work for you. HC cabins are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs/scooters/walkers, they have handrails in the bathroom, wheel in showers, and no step into the bathroom. You will not be able to book just a regular cabin.

 

The best ship I've been on in all my 64 cruises was Celebrity Solstice. Their public rooms are totally accessible, the doors out to the outside decks are all automatic (not all ships have those kinds of doors, which limits a disabled person's ability to access the outside decks without the assistance of someone physically opening the doors for them). Their public bathrooms are the best I've ever experienced. The outside doors open with the push of a button. The HC stall is huge, opens and locks with a push of a button and easily accommodates a scooter or the largest of wheelchairs.

 

There are other ships that have good facilities for the disabled, but again, make sure that the ship you choose is a new ship, and that you book an accessible cabin.

 

Have a great cruise.

Thank you for the great tips! We are cruising on Solstice (from FLL) with a scooter. I'm just now scouring the posts here. I'm sure there are other valuable tips but if you have any referrals for ground transportation (vans or other vehicles WITH LIFTS) I'd love to know about them! It's frustrating to find a shuttle that says "wheelchair accessible", only to discover that means they have space to fold the chair and stow it! No...our guest will be RIDING in the chair...:rolleyes:

I'm disabled and travel with a scooter and I can tell you, a cruise is the perfect vacation for a person with a disability.

 

First, go with a ship that's no older than 5 or 6 years old. Newer ships have better facilities for the disabled and are the most accessible.

 

Second, you absolutely must have a handicapped accessible cabin. No other cabin will work for you. HC cabins are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs/scooters/walkers, they have handrails in the bathroom, wheel in showers, and no step into the bathroom. You will not be able to book just a regular cabin.

 

The best ship I've been on in all my 64 cruises was Celebrity Solstice. Their public rooms are totally accessible, the doors out to the outside decks are all automatic (not all ships have those kinds of doors, which limits a disabled person's ability to access the outside decks without the assistance of someone physically opening the doors for them). Their public bathrooms are the best I've ever experienced. The outside doors open with the push of a button. The HC stall is huge, opens and locks with a push of a button and easily accommodates a scooter or the largest of wheelchairs.

 

There are other ships that have good facilities for the disabled, but again, make sure that the ship you choose is a new ship, and that you book an accessible cabin.

 

Have a great cruise.

Darcie, you always provide such wonderful advice. Thank you for being here! BTW, what part of AZ? (South of Tucson by any chance????)

The ship advise is appreciated. I will look on their site and see if I can find anything. Would you also say that the eastern is the better option? Do you know if most cruise lines offer a handicap entrance at the port and maybe a special area for disembarking? I am already trying to figure out getting on and off a ship and I haven't even found a cruise yet.

Darcie, you always provide such wonderful advice. Thank you for being here! BTW, what part of AZ? (South of Tucson by any chance????)

You're welcome and thank you for the nice words.

I used to live in Fountain Hills, just east of Scottsdale. Moved out after not being to handle the weather and pollution which caused my asthma to worsen.

The ship advise is appreciated. I will look on their site and see if I can find anything. Would you also say that the eastern is the better option? Do you know if most cruise lines offer a handicap entrance at the port and maybe a special area for disembarking? I am already trying to figure out getting on and off a ship and I haven't even found a cruise yet.

I really don't think Eastern vs Western is a consideration. There will be challenges with both. But, with the Western, you would usually have one tender port, Grand Cayman, which can be a problem if the seas are rough and they prohibit those in wheelchairs and scooters from boarding the tenders.

Are you asking about a handicap entrance at the port of embarkation? If so, no, there's no dedicated entrance for disabled. But, you will get assistance with boarding, and many cruise ships do have a specific line for disabled to check in at the terminal.

As for disembarking at your ports of call, it all depends on the port and how things are set up. But usually there is an area where someone in a wheelchair or scooter can leave the ship easily, without stairs. But, there may be places where the only option to leave the ship is using the gangway that has stairs. The cruise lines will generally make every effort to assist you.

Please remember, ADA is the AMERICANS with Disabilities Act. As such you will find very few ports outside the US with accomidation for wheelchairs and scooters. We have found it quite difficult to do much outside of the dock area. Thankfully we view the ship as a destination but we do venture off for short periods. The best places we have found so far include; Bermuda, Nassau and those in the US or US Territories. We did notice a wheelchair van in Bermuda but have done no further research on it, yet,

Please remember, ADA is the AMERICANS with Disabilities Act. As such you will find very few ports outside the US with accomidation for wheelchairs and scooters. We have found it quite difficult to do much outside of the dock area. Thankfully we view the ship as a destination but we do venture off for short periods. The best places we have found so far include; Bermuda, Nassau and those in the US or US Territories. We did notice a wheelchair van in Bermuda but have done no further research on it, yet,

This is why I was thinking that it would be better to do the eastern and make stop in ST Thomas and maybe Nassau. I am sure she will have a great time on the ship but trying to find ports that she may be able to see also.

some of the Caribean ports are very shallow and the only method of disembarkation is on a tender boat. My husband has mobility problems and has always found the tender hands helpful, they almost lift him onto the tender. You also see people with babes in pushchairs. Tendering may be a problem, so just bear that in mind when choosing an itinery and check your cruise ships small print to see their policy on wheelchairs. . Most of the trips from the ports are in 12 seater minivans, if you need a vehicle where you can wheel on a wheelchair with the person in it ,you may be better off researching the net and booking private transport. Remember that although the island people are lovely and want to help, the islands are not as developed as the US or Europe on disability issues.

My mom is mostly wheelchair / scooter bound. She has severe RA and can barely get around by using crutches. She has decided that she wants to go on a cruise and she wants me to plan it.

 

I am asking you experts on which line would be best. I did read a lot of the post and am guessing that eastern caribbean would be best, am I right? I know I don't want to take her during spring break or summer, and since I normally cruise in the fall, when should we sail?

 

What advise can you give me to help prepare for this cruise. I know that I need to plan soon so that I can get a handicapped room, because she will definately need it.

 

Thanks for your help

Thought I'd just share my recent experience with NCL Gem.

I returned from a meditarrean cruise on Saturday with started and ended in Venice, Italy.

I found the ship to be very good for wheelchair users, with automatic doors to the outside decks and automatic doors on the disbled toilets so there was no struggling with heavy doors.

I have RA so we had a specially adapted cabin which had a wheel-in shower in the bathroom with lots of handrails and plenty of floor space in the bedroom. I would not hesitate to request this cabin in the future.

We visited Croatia and some of the smaller Greek Isles so had to use tenders, but you are given lots of help getting on and off of them and I never had any problems. Nothing was too much trouble for any of the team members to lend a hand.

Hope I have been of some help, but not too sure which cruise would be the best where you dont need to use tenders, as all the cruises I have done, we have had to use at least one or two tenders.