Odin's Raven

Hi My wife uses a wheelchair and can’t walk or do steps on coaches .Can anybody give us some advice on excursions around the Japanese Islands and Jeju SKorea.I know things are limited but has anyone managed to tackle this issue be it private car hire with driver or accessible shuttle buses away from port to a place of interest.Our ports of call will be Kagoshima ,Jeju (S Korea) ,Otaru, Hakodate, and Kushiro. Many Thanks

Thank you so much ,that’s very helpful .

I’m very interested to know how you got your private hire at the Japanese ports? Did you book in advance or just find someone at the port

Hi I know this a few months after your trip but could you give me some information about the Team Lab Planets? It says on their website it’s not wheelchair friendly ? Did you still manage to enjoy the place with no difficulty?

Hi I have so many questions to ask for advice like anyone in a wheelchair who travels. The advice given makes for a more confident outlook on what’s ahead. I hope someone can help. First off .We have an accessible cabin BC A300 on the Diamond Princess going out of Yokoshima on 6th May visiting Kagoshima,Jeju,Otaru,Hakodate and Kushiro . Has anyone used a accessible cabin on Diamond as it looks like there is only one hand rest in the bathroom.How hard is that to negotiate as my wife usually uses two to be comfortable. Also the restrooms around the ship, are they also one hand rail? Secondly. On these ports of call ,has anyone done a Princess organised tour from the ship. I know a lot of these tours are not disabled friendly but there surely must be one or two to consider? Thirdly. Are the shuttle buses used at any of these ports disabled friendly ?My wife can’t climb any steps but can transfer to a seat. Four and final for now . If these above issues are going to be a problem has anyone used a private hire car with driver for an excursion from these ports or even a taxi to get outside the port to an interesting area Thanks so much for reading this as we all know you have to cross the T’s and dot the I’s when travelling with a wheelchair

That’s good advice. I didn’t realise there was a Disabled Travel section . Many thanks for you time .

Thanks mtnesterz . Nagasaki is not on our itinerary. Can I ask you a question ? Do any of the ports I mentioned have shuttle buses that someone in a wheelchair could manage to get on. This can be a normal bus with double doors and a low entrance area or ramp. Also there would be a wheelchair area to move onto on the bus by these doors. Basically a normal transit bus not a coach .This would be a start as far as at least maybe getting into a town close by .

Hi Has anyone been on the Diamond Princess out of Yokohama ? We are due to take the cruise on the 6th May calling at Kagoshima, Jeju,Otaru, Hakodate and Kushiro. My wife uses a wheelchair and we were wondering about excursions. I know it’s going to be limited but has anyone managed to complete a port excursion to these venues in a wheelchair Any information including shuttle buses (are they accessible?) from port to anywhere. Also maybe port proximity to places of interest as most of the time this is what we have to do when we cruise as things can be very limited when you use a wheelchair .

Thanks for that Essiesmom .The shower curtain hides maybe a fold down bar? Let’s hope so .

Thanks Rick and JF Interesting photos I think your right Rick about the One fold down arm on the Grand Class Ships but as JF has shown one side of the official photos are not really clear as to what’s on the other side . Maybe someone has a photo of the whole area. Anyway thanks ,we are getting an idea now .

We are cruising out of Japan in May on the Diamond Princess . Has anybody used the Disabled balcony cabins on this ship. I know it’s an old ship and I’m a bit worried about the handrails in the toilets around the toilet. My wife uses a wheelchair and preferably needs two rails around the toilet to access it without a lot of trouble. I have tried to ask the question to Princess but they are very vague and can’t really supply a picture to put our minds at ease. As anybody with a disability knows it can play on your mind till you actually see the proper layout. Has anybody used these cabins or has any photos of the cabin bathroom

The drink packages are getting a bit of a con. It’s starting to get to the stage where it’s not worth it. One particular item that I like was not included on the basic package (Baileys Irish Cream ) but was available on the Premium Package .It’s a liqueur and not expensive so why is it on the Premium Package but to purchase one shot of this cost $18 !!!So if I strayed from my basic package and bought a baileys in Spanish waters I paid $3 ($3 over my limit for my package $15 )plus the Spanish tax on $18 ($1.80) resulting in me paying $4.80 per shot for something that you can buy a bottle for $30. So because Baileys is popular it’s pushed into the Premium Package to make you pay more to enjoy that drink. Becoming a total con .

Just returned from our cruise on the Norwegian Getaway, Bilbao start point .Tax was added at Spanish ports then stopped once we passed Spanish waters . A lot of disgruntled passengers. It’s not about the increase it’s about the way it’s kept quiet up till about two weeks till the cruise begins then you get the email explaining the tax. I still think NCL are playing this wrong. It does not add up to a lot of money but it feels badly managed and adds to the many complaints they have to handle every .Whilst we were on the ship a lot of the staff were complaining themselves about the tax and saying it creates a bad atmosphere. MSC do not charge their customers this as I cruised out of Barcelona last year and no tax was added to anything .

I really would like to set a limit to my spending that’s why I thought of ready cash. Another way I was thinking is to load my onboard account up with a credit for my little flutters before I join the ship (pre credit my account ) If I I did this, can it be used in the Casino? Sorry if I sound a bit lost with this but I just want to get it right .

We are cruising out of Lisbon Portugal. Never used the Casino on Getaway . How do you purchase chips for tables? I don’t want to go through my onboard account. Can you use cash? Is it Euros or Dollars? Also the slots, do they take notes in the machines? Dollars or Euros notes? As you can see I’m needing a lot of help even before I get started!