Wheelchair in Nassau and Freeport

We want to take my sister on a cruise this year. She has MS and needs a wheelchair for any sort of long distance. She can walk short distances with a cane and get in and out of vehicles. At home she does not use her wheelchair just when we go out to the mall or any place there is a lot of walking.

The itinerary we are looking at is on the Fantasy out of Charleston and it stops in Nassau and Freeport. I have been doing research on excursions, etc. I would like to do the day pass at the Hilton for Nassau. I have read it is in walking distance. Has anyone pushed a wheelchair around that area? When my husband and I went to Nassau we went to Cabbage Beach which seems impossible to get a wheelchair up and over those dunes to the beach.

As for Freeport I am not sure at all. I think I would like to take a taxi to Port Lucaya and go to the beach there but am not sure if we can take her wheelchair in a taxi. Any advice? I really want to make this trip great for her since it is her first cruise and first vacation in 10 years. Any other advice is welcome too.

I have been to both ports with a wheelchair. Not too easy, but possible.

Both places take wheelchairs in taxi's, so no worry there. Go to one of the hotels in Freeport as it is quite easy to wheel along their paths to the beach, which is very nice. Also getting around the market stalls at both ports is possible.

Do enjoy your cruise, it will all work out well :)

Thank you for your response! I was really worried about Freeport and the taxi/wheelchair thing.

My wife has MS and we travel extensively using a lightweight transport chair. From your description, I think your sister can walk better than my wife can. We have been to Nassau and walked all over the city with little problem. The major impediment to the wheelchair is a lack of curb cuts requiring tilting the chair back to get the front wheels on the sidewalk and then lifting the rest of the chair up. Sometimes we walk in the streets when the sidewalks are narrow and if you are cautious, it is not a problem, similar to riding a bike. If you do not have a problem pushing the chair then I do not think it will be a problem to walk to the hilton as the heat can get to you if you are not used to the excercise. I think we did walk past it as we roamed the city. The other thing to watch for is potholes in the sidewalk as if you are going quickly, the wheel can get stuck with the rider falling from the chair and the pusher impaled on the handles. My wife knows to hang on but she has fallen out. Happens once every four or five years and now we can laugh about it now but scary at the time. We still fondly recall the time in Poland when my wife flew out of the chair and a number of cars stopped to offer assistance with getting her back in

We have been able to travel over just about any type of terraine except sand. You will not be able to get over beach sand or gravel walkways. There was a time when my wife could walk across the sand, when she could walk with a cane, and it may be if your sister holds on to you, she could across the beach to the ocean as my wife has done in the past.

An issue you may not be aware of with MS is that heat exacerbates the symptoms. Before MRI, MS was diagnosed by placing the patient in a warm bath and seeing if disability increased. With my wife this is very obvious as we can tell if she has a fever since she can not stand or walk with the rollator. This becomes a serious concern when traveling in the Caribbean and spending time on the beach. On our recent cruise, my wife was able to get in and out of her chair and climbed the stairs into and out of the tour buses. However, the day we walked into St. Thomas and back to the ship, about 4-5 h in the sun, she could not get out of the chair or walk back into our room. Once she cooled off she was walking around again. I think you need to speak to your sister about if she has experienced worsening of symptoms after being out in the sun and be prepared to lift her into chair, vehicle etc if she does overheat. My wife is comfortable having strangers, taxi drivers, hotel employees etc, assisting me in lifting her from loungers into taxis etc. I think you need to discuss this issue with your sister to see how she will react if the heat worsens her symptoms and she will need help from strangers. Staying hydrated with plenty of cold drinks does help. The MS society can provide information on where to purchase cooling vests to prevent overheating but we have never used them simply relying on coping with the temporary worsening of symptoms.

From our experience you and your sister should have a wonderful cruise and if problems arise, go with the flow and ask/accept assistance when you need it. I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have about traveling with MS.

Wow thank you so much for the detailed response. Our husbands will be with us so I think they will be able to assist her when she needs it. We have been worried about the sand but I think if we can wheel her to the beach then with help and her cane she can get to a chair if we don't go too far down the beach. Again thank you.