Alaska-Sapphire Princess August 1, 2010

Review of Alaska Cruise – Sapphire Princess August 1st 2010

DH is paraplegic (T6-T7). Completely confined to a wheelchair. He uses a manual chair that is custom made and non-foldable.

The ship & crew --- The only problems we encountered on the ship were the narrow hallways. Our room was towards the back of the ship and we ended up having to take an elevator to a more open area to get from one end of the ship to the other. I have to say I got a little frustrated with this at times but we managed. I see now why people complain about scooters being left in the hallways! Please do not do this! It makes it impossible for those that are completely confined to a wheelchair to even get down the hall to their rooms!!! We were on the Aloha deck close to the “adults only” pool area. It is not wheelchair accessible. In looking at the deck plans I thought we would be able to go out on the deck right down from our room but that wasn’t the case because just inside that doorway there are steps. The crew on the ship was fantastic!!!! I don’t believe my husband carried a plate to the table (horizon buffet) once! He got a little spoiled! When in port there were always several gentlemen there to help up and down the gangway. I’ve never had so much assistance with him on a gangway!!!

Ketchikan – We did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour. It is a pretty good walk/roll to the boat for the tour but we didn’t have any problems. We left fairly early for the tour so we were actually the first people on the boat. There is a steep ramp to board but the guide pushed my hubby right on up it with no problems. They had removed some seats from the front row for the w/c users. We had to sit behind him. There is a semi- accessible bathroom. It was a very tight fit and my husband’s wheelchair is fairly narrow. There is a cabin area that they serve hot chocolate, coffee and sell souvenirs. That area is not w/c accessible. Once the demonstration began people were up walking around & looking and DH had a hard time seeing what was going on. The crew (girls) tried to move the wheelchairs over to the side of the boat so they could see but some obnoxious women got right in front of them so they missed some of the “action”. The girls did however make sure to bring the crab & starfish over to the w/c users first to be sure they got all the time they wanted with them. Even though dh had some problems with people blocking his view he really enjoyed the tour. There is a fairly steep ramp going back up the dock from where the boat is docked.…..I had to help push dh up it. Afterwards, we headed on over to town. No problems with sidewalks or stores. He was able to go wherever we wanted to go. Weather – It was chilly in the morning especially on the Aleutian Ballad. We wore jeans & jackets but once the sun came out we quickly shed the jackets!

Juneau – We did a whale watching tour with Orca Enterprises. They picked us up right at the pier. They were however about 30 mins late in picking us up. I got worried that they forgot us but I called and she reassured me they were on their way. They had a wheelchair accessible van. Husband rolled right up into it. Once we got to the dock there was a steep ramp going down to the boat. I held onto the back of the w/c so DH wouldn’t go flying down! There were also men there offering to help but I didn’t really need any. I believe there was a small ramp up into the boat (can’t remember). Didn’t cause any problems or I would’ve remembered. DH was able to wheel around a good bit on the back of the boat & Captain Larry and his crew made sure that DH was able to see the whales at all times. They were really considerate! After whale watching we had the lady from Orca drop us off in town so we could do a little shopping. All the shops were pretty much accessible no problems at all. Getting a ride back to the ship in an accessible van wasn’t a problem either.

Skagway – We did the non-stop train ride. As others have stated the rail car is very limited area of accessibility. The seating aisle is completely inaccessible. Whenever we got to the car there were already two wheelchair passengers in the car so we were unable to sit together………It kinda put a damper on things because DH was sitting in the back of the car alone. Many people talk about what beautiful scenery it is………I personally wasn’t that impressed. I mean from what we saw before Skagway (Tracy Arm) the train ride was really a bore. Most of the people (including me) slept on the way back down the mountain. Once we got back to town we grabbed an accessible van (again not a problem). Headed to town for some shopping. Everything accessible. No problem getting accessible transportation back to ship.

Victoria, BC -- Grabbed an accessible taxi ($8.50 total each way). Went to town for a little sight seeing and shopping. Again everything was accessible. The only problem we had here was getting a taxi back to the ship. ALL the taxi vans are accessible it was just finding a van that we had a problem with……. After about 20-30 minutes we found a van & I ran him down!

Seattle – We used Shuttle Express for our transportation in Seattle. When we first got to Seattle we had a little bit of a wait (maybe 30 mins). They were very professional & courteous. They were on time picking us up at the hotel & waiting on us to get off the ship when we returned. No problems whatsoever with the service they provided. We had decided that we wanted to go to Pike Place Market so I really researched for a hotel that was close and a pretty flat walk from the hotel. I couldn’t have asked for a better location than the Red Lion Inn on 5th Avenue. While it was a good walk it was fairly flat. We had no problems whatsoever walking to & from Pike Place from the hotel.

Thank you for posting this. We are sailing on the Sapphire a week from Sunday.

For the train in Skagway, would you suggest being one of the first on the tour off so my MIL can sit with my FIL who has a wheelchair. He can get out of the chair, but I am not sure if they can store it somewhere for him. We will not be with them on this tour, so I am trying to prepare them as much as possible.

Thanks! Stacy

Thank you for sharing your experience onboard the Sapphire. We were on the Golden to Alaska and had a wonderful time. We found the crew and the folks who assist on the various tours to be very helpful, as well.

My DH is in a wheelchair. It was so important to be early to all the excursions to be assured of seating.

Although I appreciate your thoughts about your train ride........sometimes it's not always about the scenery but about the experience itself. This train is a true "wonder" and the lives and stories of the people who made that ride possible make the journey so worthwhile.

And, to address the folks who just have to step in front of people in wheelchairs, or who think that the handles are for them to hold on to or to put their purses on.......they're just plain moron's!

We were in the theatre when a gal stood in back of my husband, held on to his chair and proceeded to drip her drink on his head.........I couldn't believe it! I asked her to please step back and away from his chair........:(

Thanks, again, for sharing your experiences.

Thank you for posting this. We are sailing on the Sapphire a week from Sunday.

 

For the train in Skagway, would you suggest being one of the first on the tour off so my MIL can sit with my FIL who has a wheelchair. He can get out of the chair, but I am not sure if they can store it somewhere for him. We will not be with them on this tour, so I am trying to prepare them as much as possible.

 

Thanks! Stacy

Hope I'm not too late in responding! haven't been on the boards since I posted the review! There are so many cars available. I would just ask the conductor if there is more than one w/c on board on the car they are putting you in. If there is.....then ask to be placed in another car.

Hi Ann,

I really appreciate your review. We have a scooter and my husband is a very slow walker. We are planning our Alaska land and cruise for next August, 2011.

We're considering the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour in Ketchikan. We got wonderful replies to our questions about the tour. Glad to hear they treated your husband so well.

How long was your Orca Enterprises tour? Glad they were so accomodating.

We are going to take the train from Vancouver to Seattle to spend two nights there after our cruise. Thanks for the Red Lion recommendation. Did you do any Seattle tours? I'll look into using Shuttle Express to get back to the airport.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to write a review.

Judy

really great to read a review from your perspective. thanks for sharing; it helps a lot to ensure we all include thinking about many things when we go on vacation.