kokopelli-az

FYI, an article about tipping on cruise ships: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cruise-ship-tipping/

You might take a look at this forum. You will find lots of information about boarding assistance. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

You might post your question (or even find an answer) here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/472-mediterranean-eastern-western/

We just had a wheelchair accessible taxi pick us up at the cruise ship port in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. This was a van with a ramp for the wheelchair. The person who was in charge of organizing the taxis apparently called specifically for a wheelchair taxi. We had to wait about 8 minutes for it to arrive. I asked the taxi driver (it was Yellow Cab) how many wheelchair taxis they had and he didn't know but he said they had several. I then asked how you request a wheelchair taxi, say, from your hotel to the cruise ship port, and he said to reserve it ahead of time. We have used Yellow Cab numerous times in Fort Lauderdale (although we've have never had an accessible cab with them until yesterday) and they have been our go to cab company. The cost between the cruise ship pier and FLL was under $12 (plus tip). Here's their information. Look at the wheelchair accessible section for the phone number. http://www.yellowcabbroward.com/our-services/ When we're back in Fort Lauderdale in April I'm going to try Yellow Cab's accessible vehicle reservation sysem for transportation from the hotel to the pier and see how it works. Uber has accessible vehicles called WAV (Lyft has the same thing) that might be a possibility. https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/accessibility/

I would contact Celebrity and ask what excursions they will have, if any, that will accommodate a scooter. https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/accessible-shore-excursions Or even with private tour companies at your ports. One private company often mentioned: https://www.accessiblecaribbeanvacations.com/ Plan B might be to practice taking your scooter apart so it becomes easier to do. This would open up more excursions if it can be stored in the transportation vehicle.

You might hop over to the Disabled Cruise Travel forum and post your question. Many, many people with mobility devices on that board.

They're under the suites category. But not all ships have them.

We were in stateroom F315 on the Caribbean Princess twice last year and we will be in this same room in April. Did not miss the balcony at all. Wonderful room.

I just checked the price for the premium and classic drink packages on-line and they cost less if prepurchased. I have several cruises booked with Celebrity and prepaying was the same amount for every cruise.

Here's a flyer we received last June.

This link has a chart at the bottom showing the differences: https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/princess-cruises-suite-perks/

You might want to post your question on the Disabled Cruise Travel board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

The cruise line you will be on may have accessible tours. If you know what cruise line you are interesed in, you might be able to look at their website for possible accessible tours. If you can't find information on the cruise line's website, try contacting their Access Department or Shore Excursion Department and ask what their excursions are for their fjord cruises. Note: you will get better information once you narrow down your cruise line and date you want to travel. Royal Caribbean (Anthen of the Seas) and Celebrity (Apex) both have fjord cruises. If you want to inquire about the Celebrity excursions, here is their accessible excursion info: https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/accessible-shore-excursions If you are interested in Royal Caribbean, this is their info: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/accessible-shore-excursions Also Holland America (Nieuw Statendam) has fjord cruises. From their website: "For detailed information on accessibility of shore excursions, we strongly recommend contacting our shore excursions reservations department well in advance of embarkation at 1-888-425-9376 (or locally at 206-626-7320)" Once you have selected your cruise line and date of sailing etc, come back to this board and people can give you more specific information. You will get better responses once we know what ports you will be visiting. (There are also private excursions that people may have had experience with, but we need to know what ports you will be visiting.) You will love the fjords!

Since you think you will be doing the pushing, have you considered a transport chair instead of a wheelchair? My husband has had a great transport chair for several years. We use it at the airport, hotel and to the pier (where he picks up his mobility scooter). It's very sturdy and with the smaller wheels, it fits more easily into taxis. There are many, but here's the one he has (highly rated!): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016JDBSM/?th=1 If you have a mobility store near you, you might take a look at what they carry so you can test drive models and see which one fits best. Make sure it is sturdy and the seat is wide enough if your husband is larger. (My husband's is the larger model.)

You'll be fine. 🙂

Have you considered booking a suite? We have been in accessible Sky Suites on the Equinox, Silhouette, Eclipse and Reflection and you would definitely have enough room.

Have you considered a rollator that has a seat you can sit on if necessary? You may not need it very often, but if you do need it, you'll be glad you have a place to sit.

Holland America has at least one accessible Neptune suite, 14 day transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona on the Oosterdam (April 5-19, 2024). Accessible stateroom 6164 was available when I did a dummy booking. You need to check the "wheelchair accessible room" box (click on "edit guests" for the accessible choice). We were in an accessible Neptune suite on the Oosterdam during a full transit of the Panama Canel and the room was extra large and very nice. Here is a list of the Neptune suite benefits on Holland: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/suites-staterooms.html

Stand at the ramp. They will come to you. The crew is waiting to help. If one of the crew us not there to immediately assist, a supervisor will call them over.

If you want to book an accessible stateroom, you will need to do it sooner rather than later. The fill up fast. Make sure you contact Celebrity's Access Department and advise that you will be bringing mobility equipment. https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs There will be Celebrity employees at the ramp to assist those needing assistance up or down the ramp. Don't try to use the ramp without them; wait for them if they're not right there. From Celebrity's website: Many ports provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters, however due to various conditions: steepness of the gangway, tendering, weather, tidal and sea conditions, and shore-side facilities, guests using assistive devices may be precluded from getting on or off the ship. We will make reasonable efforts to assist our guests, but for safety reasons, our staff is not permitted to lift guests or equipment. Assistance with manual wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. will be provided.

We haven't been on the Summit for a while but on the Equinox and Reflection the Martini Bar was indeed open when we boarded (and we always have an early boarding time). @cruisestitch has good advice for Plan B.

Not out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Here's some recent information regarding Fort Lauderdale: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2900959-luggage-valet-out-of-fort-lauderdale/#comment-64488458

This website lists hotels in Miami that sleep large families: https://sixsuitcasetravel.com/miami-big-family-hotels-sleep-5-6-7-8 I did a dummy booking for the Springhill Suites, Miami Downtown (1311 NW 10th Ave) for March 17 2023 and it showed an available accessible room (roll-in shower) with two queen beds and a sofa bed. I would take a look at hotel(s) listed in the above link that you would be interested in and see if you can book an accessible room for 5 people for your date. One issue you might face is that you are booking fairly close to March and it's during spring break and prime cruising season.

I would guess it would be because of downtown, which is not very mobility friendly. But to be sure, contact their shore excursion desk to verify. NCL has accessible (Level 1) excursions in St Thomas. Have you considered one of these?

Chances of an accessible stateroom for 3 being available at check-in are slim. If you do book a regular stateroom and one passenger has a wheelchair, be sure to advise NCL. Here is a link with information, FYI: https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising