Wheelchair accessible cruise

Hi, my partner & I really want to cruise around Canada or New York & New England. We are both in our thirties, & we are both quite informal.

My partner is wheelchair bound but won't need any care. He will probably use his electric wheelchair.

Can anyone help me out please as this will be our first cruise?!

I would really appreciate any help

Thanks

Claire

You will need to book a Handicap Accessible cabin.

Visit the port(s) board

Do not plan on any cruise line offering Accessible land tours.

Google is your friend.

Is your friend able to transfer to a taxi

Book a large ship cruise. Small ships for fall leaf tours are often not accessible. You MUST have a fully wheelchair accessible tour. Go with a ship that is no more than 10 years old.

Plan to book at least 6-12 months prior to the cruise as fully accessible cabins book up early, and are few in number.

Take a manual wheelchair with you. You may not be able to get ashore with either a power or manual chair at any tender ports, so choose a cruise with mostly pier ports. If he can transfer to a car, then you may be able to rent a car for seeing things ashore. Many shore tours will not be accessible through the ship.

Talk early to the Special Services or Disabled Services office/desk of the cruise line you select.

In addition to what others have posted you might want to consider locating a TA that has a lot of experience working with disabled travelers, particularly since this is your first cruise.

Unfortunately due to the Cruise Critic rules we cannot post any names of TA's on this forum.

Thanks to everyone who already replied. If anybody else has any recommendations, they will be gladly received. Thanks again, Claire:)

Google certified accessible travel agent. check a few of the out. Ask specific questions like "Have you traveled on that specific cruise"?

Suggest you contact www.sath.org

Sath is NOT a Travel Agent.

Instead Sath, which stands for the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality, is an educational nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the United States and abroad. They will be able to provide assistance in locating a reputable TA that specializes in accessible travel.

Hello Claire,

We've had great experiences on Celebrity. I just checked at www.celebritycruises.com for next fall, 2013. We're thinking of taking one of their Canada/New England cruises roundtrip from Bayone, NJ, Cape Liberty cruiseport. The ship is Summit. We just cruised on her to Bermuda. The ship has some very nice accessible veranda cabins. We haven't sailed in an inside or ocean view cabin because I like to be able to stay in our cabin and enjoy the sea if my husband is tired. We take our scooter and sometimes a wheelchair.

I don't know where you live, but we can drive to this port.

I'm not sure about accessibility on any other cruiselines as we have mostly cruised with Celebrity. Someone else will have recommendations for other cruiselines.

I just usually book directly with Celebrity online since I know which cabin I want. You can also talk with their Access Department at 1-866-592-7225 or visit their accessibity page on their website: http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_special_needs&cS=SIDENAV#onboard_mobility_disabilities_tab

Hope this helps with your search for a cruise.

Judy

Hello Claire,

We've had great experiences on Celebrity. I just checked at www.celebritycruises.com for next fall, 2013. We're thinking of taking one of their Canada/New England cruises roundtrip from Bayone, NJ, Cape Liberty cruiseport. The ship is Summit. We just cruised on her to Bermuda. The ship has some very nice accessible veranda cabins. We haven't sailed in an inside or ocean view cabin because I like to be able to stay in our cabin and enjoy the sea if my husband is tired. We take our scooter and sometimes a wheelchair.

 

I don't know where you live, but we can drive to this port.

 

I'm not sure about accessibility on any other cruiselines as we have mostly cruised with Celebrity. Someone else will have recommendations for other cruiselines.

 

I just usually book directly with Celebrity online since I know which cabin I want. You can also talk with their Access Department at 1-866-592-7225 or visit their accessibity page on their website: http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_special_needs&cS=SIDENAV#onboard_mobility_disabilities_tab

 

Hope this helps with your search for a cruise.

Judy

Hi Judy,

Can you give me some places and points of interest in Bermuda that is wheelchair accessible? Thank you!

Hi bling,

We used a 5 hour tour by Keith Simmons http://www.access.bm/contactUs.htm

We took the ferry to Hamilton and met the driver and van. She was waiting with a sign and met us as we got off. We saw the Aquarium/zoo, the lighthouse (not accessible) Mostly we drove everywhere and looked at beaches. It was very pretty.

We did go to the dockyard shops by ourselves. It was really too hot while we were there (great for beaches, not so much for walking/scootering)

Wish there were more accessible things to do. I know there is a glass bottom boat tour that's accessible.

Hope this helps.

Judy

We used a 6 hour tour by Keith Simmons http://www.access.bm/contactUs.htm

This included a lunch stop.

For "to do" click here.

Hi, my partner & I really want to cruise around Canada or New York & New England. We are both in our thirties, & we are both quite informal.

 

My partner is wheelchair bound but won't need any care. He will probably use his electric wheelchair.

 

Can anyone help me out please as this will be our first cruise?!

 

I would really appreciate any help

 

Thanks

Claire

will he need a HA room?( roll in shower)?

for those, they do sell out fast so you need to book early and call the cruiseline directly.

the rest of the ship will be fairly easy to navigate. Ports will vary as far as accessibility.. any tendering port could be problematic.

I have a NE booked on Royal( Grandeur) out of Baltimore Next September. Baltimore is a great port terminal to get around in.

August 30 RC -- Explorer -- 8 nt. cruise - nice itinerary for a taste of NE/Canada - good prices -- still Oceanview acc. room left -- book early -- great ship, fun, not overly formal but one formal night on Royal. Vicki :)