Dwn Princess Handicapped Review

[guardhouse]

Will keep this pretty short.....ask specific questions if not mentioned here.

My wife and sister & BIL sailed the Dawn Mar. 28 - April 4 from San Juan. Hit Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Tortola, St. Thomas. My wife has progressive MS and uses a cane & wheelchair.

We booked directly through Princess. No problems. We then request an accessible room and got one no problems. Were told by Princess they would have a wheelchair for her in the room, but it never appeared.

We did take a loaner chair for her just in case. Her own chair is a $2,600 manual that breaks into 3 pieces. We didn't take it for fear the airline may lose a piece. Glad we didn't take it. Read on!

My wife used the wheelchair in the airports, and we were glad we had it. Getting on and off the plane was no problem, and Continental was just fabulous with assistance, getting the chair right out of the hold, letting all 4 of us board early, etc. Can say nothing but good about them and will be sending a letter to the CEO.

Embarkation and disembarkation from the ship was almost never a problem. Lots of help who just stepped forward and took her away. It was great. The only hitch was trying to disembark in St. Thjomas in the afternoon. So many were coming back on the ship we had to wait for 10-15 minutes to get off. They had to stop the line of people on the gangway. That was the only problem, and while not big, you had the feeling you were a second-class person.

Accessibility on the ship was 50/50. Our cabin (C315) was inside and very large. Shower measured 48"x48", no lip, just an all around drain system. Worked wonderful with the exception of a slight septic smell once in a while that was explained as being the drain system. No biggie. Didn't spend much time in there anyway! Cabin itself was double the size of an inside.

Elevators were understandably slow on the first day. Lots of waiting and 2-3 were reserved for crew moving luggage. That was the only day were experienced a problem.

Getting around the main ship was easy, with her cane or later in the week with the chair. Lots of passageways, lots of elevators. Convenient. Dining staff were VERY helpful taking her to our table of 8, helping her get seated and removing the chair. They kept an eye on the table, and when I gave them a look at the end of dinner, the chair was right at her side. She had a mild seizure at the table one night that embarressed her immensly as we gave her anti-meds. The dining staff were FABULOUS helping me to discreetly walk her out to an alcove until the seizure passed. That alone merited extra tips!

The only area that was truly inconvenient was the outside decks. There is no way one in a chair alone can open the doors or negotiate the ramp up/down. It was a struggle for 2 people. On Dawn, if you can access deck 14 through the buffet (automatic doors to the outside) you were ok. Anywhere else, you struggled. It can work, it is just very hard. Same for Promonade deck 7. Also, if you wanted to access other decks, you had to conend with heavy doors.

Before leaving the ship, I took a tour of other accessible cabins. A normal outside cabin as about 1/3 as big as an inside accessible. About the same set-up, but larger with a large window, no balcony. Bath still large and plenty of storage.

There is only 1 cabin that is accessible and has a balcony. It is a mini-suite. It was nearly twice as big as our inside, more storage, larger, well-laid-out bath. Has a seperate sitting and sleeping area. VERY nice room. It had a veranda that had a small table, two chairs and 2 lounge chairs. It did have a 3-4" lip going out, so if you are confined to a chair, you cannot roll out there. There is only 1 of these, and it did have a couch that folded out to a bed as well.

I would probably do the outside cabin in the future, but not the veranda. The $$ difference is too great and my wife could enjoy 2 more cruises for the difference if you do it right.

She used her cane and taxi's to get around in Barbasdos, St. Lucia, St. Martin and Tortola. No real problems and she snorkeled alot. Tortola we did the Baths and she was able to do the trail, but barely. In a chair it would not have happened. Priness was good at helping and having shuttles to get you from the gangway to the terminals if it was far.

We did use her chair in Port at St. Thomas. Bad idea. TIt was so warm, one of the wheels actually started to melt, sort of. When we got back to the ship, our steward found us some duct tape to help effect a repair that worked. For the last day we requested a ships wheelchair, which was a bit of a pain to get because of Purser's Desk language barriers, but worked great once we got it.

All in all, I give the trip an 8 or 9 out of 10. My wife has just gushed that it was the best vacation she has had in her 44 years and is ready to go again. In the water she can do anything, so swiming with turtles and snorkeling were good for her. She also enjoyed the BBQ'd lobster at the beach bar on Pinel Island, just off Orient Beach in Sint Martin. That was her highlight and I was so happy I could actually do it for her.

That's about all I have. Questions???

09/87 Old Rotterdam
10/89 Noordam
9/90 Noordam
9/92 Star Princess (old)
4/94 Regal Princess
3/04 Dawn Princess