Tenders on Solstice - Wheelchairs - Sydney to Honolulu

Hi There

For those in a wheelchair.

We recently travelled Sydney to Honolulu via Bay of Islands,Auckland, Papette, Moorea, Bora Bora, Maui and my wife could only get off in Auckland and Papette as the rest were tender ports. I got off everywhere but my wife can not stand or take any steps and uses a wheelchair all the time. We were prepared for this so I am not complaining at all but I had the question before I travelled and no-one seemed to know whether Solstice would allow a full wheelchair person to get off on a tender so I wanted to share the answer and it is NO and I can now see why.

There is a mechanised seat that can get you down to the tender deck (3 down to 2) but once there you need to be able to step into the tender boat as both the tender and the ship can go up/down (sometimes in opposite directions) at any time depending on the swell in the water. At times I saw a gap of 18 inches to 2 feet (even on a smooth day) and unless you are stable on your feet an injury would be quite possible. The ship staff are not allowed to lift anyone for obvious reasons.

Enjoy the ship and it's facilities and don't worry about going ashore as most of the roads and footpaths are gravel and uneven anyway so in a wheelchair it would not be at all comfortable and you would not be able to go on the small busses etc anyway.

Thanks for the information. For future reference the Celebrity tender policy is published in its website. Following was copied directly from the Celebrity website:

Hi,

I have mobility problems and use a scooter but I am able to walk short distances.

Using tenders is one of the most frightening things I have done and I am not easily frightened. Even when the sea is like a mill pond there is always movement. We research our cruises carefully to make sure there aren't any tender ports or where I am prepared to stay on board.

Pete

My apologies if you asked the question originally and I missed it. We did Solstice from Auckland to Sydney but I was able to get off at the tender port in Akaroa by stepping across and my wheelchair followed me on to the tender. I knew what the arangements were before I travelled. The crew were terrrific.

The only line I'm aware of that have wheelchair or scooter accesible tenders on some of their ships is HAL although others might know of additional lines.

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Our only experience of tendering on Solstice class was on Eclipse in Villefranche, although my wife can stand unaided I doubt that she could step into a tender. However once on the tender platform she was pushed across a small gangway onto a shore based tender which enabled her to stay in her chair the whole time. I am not sure if this would have been possible on a ships tender though, or if their had been any sort of rough swell.

My apologies if you asked the question originally and I missed it. We did Solstice from Auckland to Sydney but I was able to get off at the tender port in Akaroa by stepping across and my wheelchair followed me on to the tender. I knew what the arangements were before I travelled. The crew were terrrific.

 

The only line I'm aware of that have wheelchair or scooter accesible tenders on some of their ships is HAL although others might know of additional lines.

 

 

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OP stated in his post " I got off everywhere but my wife can not stand or take any steps ". Therefore his wife was not able to step across onto the tender and have her wheelchair follow. Additionally Celebrity's policy states "While our staff will provide limited assistance, they are not permitted to lift and carry guests."

OP stated in his post " I got off everywhere but my wife can not stand or take any steps ". Therefore his wife was not able to step across onto the tender and have her wheelchair follow. Additionally Celebrity's policy states "While our staff will provide limited assistance, they are not permitted to lift and carry guests."

Yes. I can read. What's your point?

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