katisdale

I had polio as a child and completely recovered - or so I thought. As I aged I became increasingly less mobile. I love to travel and did so for many years using one cane and my husband's arm for balance. I truly did not realize how difficult this made my husband's travel. My daughter had a "come to Jesus" meeting with me pointing out that I was not paying attention to how my trouble affected him. I was creating difficulty for him by pulling him off balance although he never fell thank goodness. I suggest your husband meet with a physical therapist and have his gait assessed. That was quite a revelation to me and cut down on my hesitance in using aids. I have progressed from cane to walker to rollator to scooter and now use a wheelchair. I still LOVE to travel and my husband and I are both safer. 

I also use google. I search with he word "accessible" and the name of the city we are planning to visit whether on a cruise or land tour. I have been quite successful using this type of search. This helps me identify where I want to go. Then, I contact tour operators and explicitly describe my problems and the chair I use. I am fortunate that I can transfer to a standard vehicle/van which does open up alternatives.

Yes, some but not all ports offer "accessible" tours which are typically on vehicles with hoists or ramps. I have noticed that they are sometimes only available for people using wheelchairs, not scooters as the space on the vehicle has tie-downs to secure the chair while the passenger remains in their chair. If your husband can manage the steps into a bus you may be happier with an "easy" excursion that allows you to store the scooter under the bus in its luggage compartment.

We did he "evening wildlife tour" to Haines. We loved it. We did the White Pass in the morning and then the tour in the PM. We saw bears fishing for salmon, seals, and lots of eagles. If going back in that area again, we would definitely go to Haines.

It is not a total of $15 for the day but $15 for each drink. You are not limited to 15 total drinks either but are limited to 15 alcoholic drinks each day. Both plus and premier get the desserts.

I am elderly and use an electric wheelchair. What I do is google "accessible name of city", for example accessible Naples. I then contact the agency and describe my problems, wheelchair, desired tour etc. I have found many excellent tours this way. In Naples we used "Rome in Limo" for a tour to Pompei which was excellent. Santorini is a tender port. When we were last there I could walk a little. We took an accessible tour that went to a different dock from the normal one. The bus went all over the island and had a guide. The only problem was transferring to the tender and climbing the steep steps into the bus. I could not do either of those today.

I really want to see the bridge cam.

I love this journal. We have been on a partial transit twice, once through the old locks and once through the new. My dad was in the navy during WWII and stationed in the canal zone. I had really wanted to cruise there. I wish he had still been alive and able to go with us. We also got the certificates on both cruises, also got one for being above the arctic circle.

We were there prior to covid. At that time all the shuttles were large buses with 4 to 5 steep steps. They did not want to load my (then) scooter onto our shuttle but ultimately did so.

I must have an accessible cabin if I am to sail. I have requested such a balcony cabin (pre-covid) and all were sold out. We were waitlisted but at that time could only choose one category rather than all accessible ones. I checked daily and was able to "grab" an oceanview accessible. I was never notified of the availability. However it was not a balcony which was what I was waitlisted for.

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My problem with the survey is I never get it. I changed my email about 4 years ago. Princess IT will not let me change my address. I've tried 15 or so times and it never works. I get no offers nor surveys. Princess IT is so bad

I do gate check but checking it in is also possible. Regardless of which i do, I LOVE using an apple air tag so I am sure the chair is on the plane with me.

Don't expect "sweet" iced tea. I noticed your location as Georgia and you may be used to the sweet variety of tea. There has been lemon on all the Princess cruises I have been on.

I use a "fold and go" electric wheelchair. I have had mine for about 6 years and am well pleased. My husband is 6 ft 4 in and about 275 lbs. He bought his in the last year and is also pleased. They are easy to fold and FAA approved. You do have to remove the batteries and take them with you into the plane. You can google them and go to their web site for additional information. They have good videos. The chairs are not cheap but meet our needs.

I do miss Matt O very much. I've never had a better cruise director.

I have done that previously. I had to wait to make the reservation on EZ air until I was 330 days out from my return date. I have also flown in early using EZ air. I had to be careful to change the arrival/departure date.

Mine weighs about 65 lbs with the battery in place, and 55 or so without it. I add some equipment to those totals (umbrella, jacket, collapsible step, etc.) which raises the total somewhat.

I have sailed out of Southampton several times (4 or 5 times) on Princess  using my electric wheelchair. I have no experience with Fred Olsen nor Newcastle. However, I have been pleased with how Princess handles access when we are at a docked port, regardless of the tidal surges. There are always attendants to assist and assure my safety as I use the joystick on my chair. Since I walk so poorly I no longer attempt tender ports as you must stand and manage steps.

I am KTTraveler's mom and a handicapped traveler. We had the best accessible tour ever today. It was through Princess and in an accessible van with a lift at the rear. There were tie downs in seating area but I chose to get out of my chair and transfer to a seat. Our guide, Ursula, and our driver, John/Sean were both excellent.

Our accessible cabin B434 leaves a bit to be desired. The bathroom door is operated with a push button but not the entry door. It is smaller than previous handicapped rooms we have had on Princess. I must use a walker to enter the bathroom as there is insufficient room to approach the bath door and the wheelchair gets stuck. Also the automatic door does not stay open long enough for me to enter before closing on me and the walker. My other niggle is that the phone is across the room on the desk not on the bedside table.

Regardless, this is a great cruise so far.

Never touch your face unless you have just washed your hands (or used sanitizer). This is so hard to do but it works.

There can be problems with regional jets. Sometimes the doors to the smaller jets are not large enough to allow the wheelchairs to be loaded. With the standard jets it should not be a problem. I have a friend who has to travel about 200 miles to reach a large airport (St. Louis in her case) so she can fly to Europe.

You can switch between devices. It is easy to do.

We were pleased with both. We didn't attend the production shows but our daughter did and said she enjoyed them. The comedians and musicians were good for our tastes. We really enjoyed trivia. I took a fall in Cartagena and stayed in our cabin for a few days and even enjoyed the TV shows. We did miss two ports, one (Grand Cayman) due to weather, and one (Jamaica) due to stopping to pick up a boatload of refuges. That was interesting. Our port fees and excursion costs were fully refunded. 

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess last Christmas. We did not feel crowded nor "over run" with children. We enjoyed our Panama canal cruise and especially liked the Christmas decorations. We had a balcony cabin and our adult daughter had an inside one. She would suggest you chose an inside cabin that has other cabins above and below it. Her cabin had the sun deck above her and she was awakened every AM as the loungers were placed on the deck.

I had polio as a child and no longer walk well at all. I use a wheelchair for mobility. We did a land tour prior to our cruise. We did this pre-covid. We flew to Anchorage and then took a train to the Mt. McKinley and Denali lodges on separate days. There were extra cost excursions at both lodges. At the Denali lodge we had an included natural history tour (we turned this in and paid for the longer wilderness tour). You can also go to the Natural Park Service Denali park area for other options. There was plenty to do at the lodge and at the park. After we left Denali we took an 8 hour bus trip from there to Copper River Lodge. We loved this stop. We had a lunch stop at a small restaurant that included restrooms. The Copper River Lodge had a restaurant and offered optional tours. After two days we took the bus to Valdez and boarded a catamaran to cross Prince William Sound into Whittier where we boarded our ship. I was able to do most things. The train was especially accessible as there was a lift from the entry area to the upper seating area. I liked doing the land first as I was able to rest a bit on the cruise.