are there no wealthy disabled cruisers??

We are looking at a European cruise on either Celebrity or Princess. My father is disabled, however, uses a walker at home and for short distances. My mother wants to splurge on this cruise and get one of those really large suites. However, I don't see where there are any on either line that are handicapped accessible. Celebrity has the Sky Suites and those were spacious enough but my mom wants something grander. I was looking at some photos and it looks like the furniture placement is such that someone in a walker could get around ok. I am most concerned about the bathroom setup. Any thoughts? Any disabled people get one of these nicer non-handicapped suites? Any opinions on which line to use? (We loved our butler on Celebrity!)

Thanks for any input.

Most disabled cruisers need the cabin and bathroom door width to accomadate a wheelchair. Crystal has an all upscale cliental but no HP suites. I would have loved even a balcony on the Galaxy last year when we did the wastern Med and Black Sea.

there's tons of 'em.

If I read you right, you really only need grab bars in the bathroom, low steps or ramps, and such like that. Call the cruise line and see what the bathrooms have in those bigger suites. It may be just fine.

They generally only list a cabin as wheelchair-accessible if it has wide doorways, room to swing a wheelchair, and barrier-free restrooms. If he can take a modest step up, and into the shower, the bigger cabin probably has room to maneuver the walker.

Your question about wealthy handicapped people really shakes me up - in your mind, are wealthy people the only ones that book suites? Hardly the case, but your mother sounds as grand as the suite she seems to want. We have travelled in handicapped accessible sky suites on both Infinity and Summit and found them just great - butler and all, and price was not an object with us.

But to the heart of your question - there are very few suites that are handicapped accessible and i dont think price has a thing to do with it. Most of them have elegant bathrooms with whirlpool baths and lots of marble which is hardly suitable for someone with a wheelchair or a walker for that matter, You should first check to see how the bathroom is equipped - does it have a shower apart from the bath, if not, can he climb in and out of a big deep bath? I suggest you and your mother look out for your father's comfort first and foremost.

I use a rollator (rolling walker) and book standard cabins since I can still step up into the bathroom. The unique thing about regular cabins (never been in a suite) is the small entry door. I think the door size is the same in suites. I have to collapse my walker to get it into the room. You need to call the cruise line after you have measured your dad's walker to see if he can use it without collapsing it to get into the room. Then you need to find out how the bathroom itself is arranged. Is there only a tub in the bathroom? Is there a step into the shower? Can your Dad handle these steps?

leoandhugh - I was trying to be lighthearted. My only point was that it appears to me that the cruise lines believe that there are no disabled individuals that would be willing to pay for a higher priced acommodation. I'm not clear on how my perception of this (discrimination) is offensive to you. I don't get it, but please don't bother to explain. Obviously, I would not be bothering to investigate if I wasn't considering my father's needs.

Crystal offers accessible suites on both the Symphony (1002/1003) and the Serenity (10064/10065). They had one on the Harmony too. My parents got upgraded to one of the accessible penthouses (butler and all) on a transatlantic on the Symphony one time.

The Silversea Shadow and Whisper offers accessible suites in 535 & 537.

Regent also offers them on their ships.

Generally though we go with the lowest price cabin that will accomodate us. We just don't spend that much time in the cabin, and we get to cruise more often that way. We are middle-class people. For many people with disabilities, income drops, or expenses are much higher (for example, my parents must private pay for my mother's attendant care), so no, there are not a lot of very weathly people with disabilities.

why would I even bother to explain your "lightheartedness" bombed try using one of the smileys or laffs next time:)

Why are you assuming they were joking? It sounded like a straight-forward snobby question to me.

Yes Splinter, I agree; it sounded snobby to me too something "grander" than a Sky Suite!!!! We have had those on 2 occasions, and we never considered the fact that we could not get something more expensive and larger as being discriminatory. Like you, we are thankful for what we can get, despite having to book months in advance. For instance, last year on RCCL Brilliance, we had a Junior Suite - 300+ sq ft but that was top of th line for accessible and there are only 2 per ship and we were delighted to get one of those for back2back Med/TA.

Why are you assuming they were joking? It sounded like a straight-forward snobby question to me.

If you look at post #6 in this thread, the OP says she was trying to be lighthearted.

Take a deep breath everyone. As someone in market research, let me offer my take on the situation. It's a question of money, always is. How many very upscale rooms are available? Not too many per/ship. Right? Make some of those HA and the odds of them being needed or wanted go way down. So why would the ship offer them, I'm sure it's a waste of real estate that may go unused. Also then if the AB passengers used them, it would open another can of worms. Geez, the looks and comments I get from using a HA stall in the bathrooms........can you imagine what would happen to the poor folks booking the fancy HA suites! It's all percentages..........

The Zuiderdam (HAL) has 2 Deluxe Veranda Suites with Concierge and the Neptune Lounge

I am working on a database of information about what cruise lines and what ships have the most HC cabins, and what the highest and lowest available categories are. I have not done Princess yet, but I can tell you that for Celebrity, only the Millennium-class ships have accessible suites. They have Cat. SS (Sky Suite) and Cat. CS (Celebrity Suite) available.

I would put HAL at about the same quality level as Celebrity and Princess, and they have 6 suites on their Vista-class ships. The highest is Cat. SS, a superior balcony suite, which is pretty much comparable to the Sky Suite on Celebrity.

I'll skip ahead to Princess and see what I can find out for you.

We're going to try HAL Oosterdam, sister to Zuiderdam, and going to take the opportunity to be in ond of the two SC Deluxe Verandah suites. I believe that the cabins are 524 sq feet with an aft facing large balcony.

Although we can understand the economics of making more expensive accessible, we are glad that some lines are doing so.

Etoile, be sure your database reflects the TYPE of accessible cabin on HAL. They have two basic types. One has tubs instead of roll-in showers (although with lots of grab-bars and no step up), and have very limited room to navigate unless you are semi-ambulatory at least. The other has roll-in showers and more room, and is more suitable for those who must use a w/c full time.

It would also be helpful to indicate which of the cabins you are listing can accomodate more than 2 people. We are always looking (with difficulty) for those that can accomodate 3.

Etoile, adding to Splinter's posting above, on HAL the deck plans often distinguish between degree of accessibility by designating one as "modified". As they use that, it means that there is usually still a lip up into the bathroom and not a roll-in shower. Also, access to the balcony is often by way of a ramp which is steep enough to be difficult for someone in a wheelchair to propel themselves up and over. You will note that the one so-called accessible suite on the Sclass (Statendam) is designated as "modified". We, using a scooter are unable to use these because you cannot roll in to the bathroom. The Sky suites on X which we have booked on 2 Mclass ships are really great, but the OP said her mother wants something "grander". Sky suites are completly accessible, very roomy and come with butler service, but still not top of the line.:)

We were on the Zuiderdam in one of the S class aft HC suites. Cabin 6156

Any questions?

Not to worry, I do have the "modified" and "WC accessible" separated on HAL ships. I have gotten requests to include connecting rooms and 3+ beds in the database; this will require me to go back and do some additional research so it may not get into the first version but I will try to include it.

What I have so far is highest accessible category, lowest accessible category, and how many insides, outsides, balconies, and suites are accessible per ship.

We were on the Zuiderdam in one of the S class aft HC suites. Cabin 6156

 

Any questions?

Hi, We will be in 6167 on the starbord side of the ship.

1. How is the exit onto the balcony? Is it flat or ramped on both sides of the door? Do you have a feel for how wide the door is? (My wifes chair is 24" wide)

2. Do you know how width and length of the balcony.

3. Is the shower a true roll in shower or will we be dealing with a ramp.

4. We've never sailed on HAL, can you tell us a little about your experience? Would you pay for a suite again?

Thanks,

Grant Hyde

Okay, I've got the details for Princess. They are honestly not that great in terms of high-end accessible cabins. The top choice is the Penthouse on the Emerald Princess which debuts this year. That is one of 6 accessible suites on that ship. Also, the Crown Princess has 4 accessible suites, the highest being category AB. As with most cruise lines, the older ships have mostly insides that are WC accessible and the newer ones have mostly balcony and higher that are accessible.

You mentioned looking at Celebrity and Princess. If Emerald Princess and Crown Princess do not meet your needs in terms of itinerary, I would suggest looking at Celebrity instead, they have four ships with multiple suites.

One of the best perks for an S class cabins is acess to the Neptune Lounge. But, as you can see by looking at the deck plan, the HC suites are a long way from the Lounge---even on a different deck.

1. The balcony is ramped both sides and my husband's chair fit out there

2. Did not measure the balcony but it is HUGE. We often thought, we could have used some of that balcony in the cabin. The cabin appears to be a nice size but once the scooter is parked inside, it is harder to get around the coffee table and chairs

3.the shower is a true roll-in with a pull down seat which is across from the toilet (Toilet gets very wet). We had rough seas in March and had to be careful of slipping.

4.Our first time on HAL also. Yes, would pay for a suite again, mainly because services recieved from the Neptune Lounge were outstanding. We would like to have been closer. Coffee , tea, tea sandwiches, desserts and hors d'oeuvres were always avaiable, as were the 2 helpful concierge. One evening, we asked for a tray of hot and cold hors d'oeures for 4 and they delivered 2 large trays---enough for 8!!

We sent out laundry every day(a perk) and it came back the nexd day

The dining room staff were outstanding also. they were very helpful with husband and scooter.

I'll check in again, in case you have more questions

Beryl Dennis

Thank you for all of the details. I did not realize that the Neptune Lounge had so many servicesd.

Grant

Crystal does indeed have HC suites. They are PH/PS suites and depending on which ship you choose, they are either on Deck 10 or Deck 11.

The two PH suites on the M-Class Celebrity ships are very accessible. With more than 1200sqft of space in the suite, it's easy to get around, there's no step into the bathroom and you can get a wheelchair into the loo with no problem. I'm disabled, as is my mom, and we book those PH suites all the time. Seabourn has two great HC suites on all three of their ships. The HC cabins on Regent are some of the best in the industry. They're huge !!!

From what I've seen so far, Crystal's penthouse suites are the highest accessible cabins out there. I haven't done Regent or any of the other high-end lines though, so that may change.