Splinter

Princess will not take you on a tender. Their requirements are that you instead get out of your wheelchair and walk onto the tender, and will allow you to take your folding wheelchair onto the tender by someone carrying it on. So for the ports you mention, you will not get to those ports at all.

Have you looked at doing the same cruise on HAL?? We did it in 2001 and were on HAL ships that had tender lifts for wheelchairs. We went from Santiago, Chile to Rio in Brazil.

We were able to get ashore at Puerto Mont easily because that ship was at a pier (and we hired a car service for a lovely tour of the area). In Puenta Arenas though even though we were able to get onto the tender, shoreside was a nightmare as it required the chair (and my mother) to be carried overhead their heads by shoreside crew up a whole flight of stairs with no guardrail...in the rain. It was very scary. If you can get ashore in the Falklands (often cancelled due to weather), the town of Stanley is fairly accessible, but at least when we were there, the tours around the rest of the island, including the penguin shuttle, were not.

We found everyone in South America more than willing to help us ashore. This includes lifting my mother into regular vans (no lift vans except in Santiago) for private tours, help getting up whole flights of stairs for entertainment and in museums, etc. If you go to Rio, there are now wheelchair accessible features for access to both Sugarloaf and the Christ the Redeemer statue (not to be missed). The cogwheel rail to the latter is NOT accessible though, and buses are not allowed up to the base of the statue, so be sure to get a car or van tour or hire there.

If you go with HAL, just be sure that you get a fully wheelchair accessible cabin, not one of the "modified" accessible cabins they also have, which would not meet your needs.

Due to the distance, you are not going to find downtown hotels that offer free airport transportation, and as above, the airport area is not a place to stay if you want to see Seattle. There are less expensive places to stay downtown that are still close to the attractions people usually want to see, and which can be reached by cab from the airport and then to the port. You generally can't go wrong if you book through an on-line discount service and select only a 3 or 4 star hotel downtown as well. A number of large downtown hotels are easy to reach using airport bus shuttles such as Downtown Airporter:

http://www.portseattle.org/Sea-Tac/Parking-and-Transportation/Ground-Transportation/Pages/Bus-Shuttle-Courtesy.aspx

We have also used flatrateforhire.com for pre-booking cabs from the airport to the port or hotels in Seattle (and back again) with great success.

Are you sure your daughter will be allowed aboard? While cruise lines used to do this all the time, I have not seen any since 9/11 that allow visitors to come aboard at embarkation or any port of call.

Handicapped cruise parking is available in San Pedro, Long Beach and San Diego, but it is the same price as regular parking. In San Diego there was a time a number of years ago where handicapped parking was free in Ace Parking lots (the largest parking company in San Diego) but this was due to a settlement in an ADA suit, and that ended several years ago.

I suspect you are looking for a low air loss (LAL) mattress. If so, you would also need to rent a hospital bed frame. You can rent LAL mattresses, but they are not cheap, and not safe to be used on a regular bed frame, esp. the narrower ones on cruise ships. While you can check with the usual cruise ship rental companies for possible rentals, I suspect they probably will not provide rentals. A purchase would run you over $4000 likely, so if you can rent locally and bring it on the ship with you, that might be a good option.

Eggcrate foam does nothing to prevent pressure ulcers. If you decide to go with an overlay, a static air filled one like a Gaymar Sofcare or a EHOB Waffle overlay might be options; they will provide more pressure reduction than am eggcrate, but less than a LAL mattress, but you can purchase and easily pack into your luggage (be sure to get the adaptors to allow you to use a bike pump to inflate, and know how to set proper inflation). If you decide to go with foam, get a good quality high density 4" foam overlay such as a Geomatt or Biogard AFT.

What is "prez week" please ?

In the USA, this refers to the week of the Presidents' Day holiday (which used to be two holidays: Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays, and were merged into one February holiday a number of years ago). It is the third Monday in February each year.

Request to be put at a large table. Go the first night. If you have problems with your table mates that night, go to the MD and ask them to move you to a different table. I have met some lovely people who I still correspond with on cruises over the years.

Generally the problem with gravel, sand, cobbles, etc. is the casters, not the big wheels on a manual wheelchair.

If you plan on doing this type of travel a lot (not just on this cruise) and the wheelchair is a rigid frame (not a folder) you might want to consider investing in a Freewheel. (I don't have any financial interests in this company): http://www.gofreewheel.com

You could invest in a Free Wheel which could be attached to most good quality manual rigid frame wheelchairs. A rigid frame does not fold, although the back folds down for storage and to get in an out of the car. The wheels pop off (quick release). Check it out here:

http://www.gofreewheel.com/

Pneumatic tires vs. solid tires will give an easier ride on rough terrain, but also make punctures a problem. Be sure to take a flat repair kit (and a compact bike pump) with you if you are planning on using the wheelchair anyplace but on pavement.

If you are just looking for a sturdy light weight (not ultra light weight) folding wheelchair, an Invacare Patriot might be a good option, as you can get these with both pneumatic tires and casters, it folds, and it will be much easier to get around on shore trips, and on the ship with someone else pushing than a transport chair: http://www.sportaid.com/invacare-patriot-lightweight-folding-wheelchair.html

Also consider sailing on HAL (Holland America) which has many cruises out of San Diego. Not a bad drive down from LA (or take the train). Security is much like above.

We have found that if you arrive at the pier (LA or San Diego) at about 1PM you nearly always can just walk right on without waiting in any lines at all, or only very short lines. The vast majority of people are lining up at 11AM, which is when you will find the most crowds.

Check out these park-and-cruise deals (try Googling "Seattle park and cruise"):

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/seattle-hotels-parking-cruise-63749.html

http://www.visitseattle.org/Visitors/Discover/Cruising/Cruise-Packages.aspx

That lot is notorious for problems with customer service. I stopped using them some time ago due to this. They valet park when it is crowded, and I have watched them nearly hit other cars when moving them to accommodate getting cars in and out of spots. They are usually the cheapest off-site airport lot too...in this case, you get what you pay for.

We have twice had the same inside fully wheelchair accessible cabin with 2 lower beds and a sleeper sofa on the Sapphire Princess. It was quite spacious. As I remember, it was E707. We also had one on the Grand Princess (again, an inside cabin); and I believe that was E717.

We had an outside balcony cabin on RCCI that was also fully accessible, 2 beds and a sofa bed.

On Holland America, on both the Statendam and the Ryndam we have had fully accessible cabins with two beds and a roll-in bed which worked fine for us. These are cabins G704 and G709.

A good travel agent can help you to identify and book these cabins.

If you don't have a car, you will not be able to easily get to a beach except by city bus (pretty slow). One exception would be Coronado. There is a passenger ferry from right next to the cruise ship pier to Coronado island (actually a peninsula) at the Ferry Landing (shopping and restaurants). From there you can get a city bus/shuttle to the Hotel del Coronado (Christmas decorations). The beach where the Hotel del is located is one of my favorite for a nice stroll, even in the winter.

Wondering why you don't want to see the famous San Diego Zoo?? It is a great place to visit...not only for the animals but for their beautiful gardens as well, and it is easy to get there from downtown/Gaslamp via either city bus or taxi. It is in Balboa Park, which is the jewel of San Diego. Lovely gardens (even in December), a nice restaurant (The Prado), and many museums (art, natural history, space and science, aerospace, antique cars, San Diego history, photography, and even a great model railroad).

I would agree about Sea World though. Expensive, cold and damp in December, and the same as every other Sea World around the world with its exhibits.

The Birch Aquarium (in La Jolla) is a much nicer destination, but difficult to get to except by cab if you don't have a car.

Segway tours are available in downtown San Diego for Balboa Park, the Gaslamp, and the Embarcadero (port area). Lots of fun, and easy to learn how to use these devices. There is also one in La Jolla that is nice.

I was at LAX that day for a 9:45AM flight (Alaska) to Mexico. We heard nothing about this in the terminal, and did not see any change in boarding or delays in take offs. No mention on board the flight either. I had gone through TSA about 6:30AM so was no where near the TSA checkpoint, nor did I have to deal with any lock-down of security check stations that resulted.

I never heard about this incident until I arrived back in the USA on 11/5. Sad for this TSA agent's family.

The reality is if you are in your cabin in a true emergency, with no power, you are not going to be able to get anywhere on an elevator if you cannot walk and take the stairs. Most cruise lines say they would have crew available to carry you up/down stairs in the case of a necessary evacuation, and that they know which cabins have passengers who cannot walk. I would bet in an emergency such as that of the Costa Concordia that would not be possible. I have wondered how many of those who died in that disaster where mobility impaired.

We always just went early to the station indicated for us, and also planned to stay on that deck for some time after the drill, as it is impossible to get an elevator when every passenger on the ship is trying to get on them at the same time.

You cannot transfer at all to a passenger car seat?? Do you have a high cervical injury? Do you have only a power chair? Most people with SCI in the thoracic or lumbar area can transfer to a car seat. My mother had MS, and was tetraplegic, but we traveled the world transferring her to cab and private car seats with a slide board. We always took her folding manual wheelchair for shore trips and put it into trunks (boot) or even strapped it onto car roofs. The power wheelchair stayed on board the ship in most ports.

You are not going to find wheelchair accessible lift vans or buses in most of your destinations for tours. If you cannot or will not transfer to a car, then you will be limited to things you can access from the pier on your own (wheeling down the street).

It has been more than 10 years since we were in Apia (Samoa) but we did dock there, and we went to a small park near the cruise pier with the wheelchair. My father and I snorkeled at a lovely reef, but my mother just sat in the shade and watched us. We were unable to get to any other tourist sites there due to the lack of transportation that was accessible, although if we had wanted to we could have transferred her to a cab. We did not stop in American Samoa (different island), but I very much doubt you will find van/bus lift transport there either.

We were also in Sydney many years ago, but were able to get a wheelchair accessible cab and arranged a city tour with that company on-line prior to our cruise.

Start out by contacting the tourism boards of the countries you are visiting, and then Google "wheelchair transport (city of your visit)" to start out on your search.

Compared to Scotland, we will be relatively warm, but unless we have a Santa Ana (wind from the desert) you are not going to find sun bathing weather in December in San Diego. In October...yes, but not that late in the year. When (and if) we get rain (average 10 inches per year) it usually starts in December. Evening temperatures will be in the low 50s, daytime in the 60s, and sun is also not guaranteed. We often have coastal overcast. The ocean temperature will be in the 40s to low 50s, so I would definitely not plan on swimming in the ocean. December can be very nice, but depending on that is iffy.

The first weekend in December we have December Nights (formerly Christmas on the Prado) which is a holiday event in Balboa Park. All the museums are open free, and there is holiday food and entertainment. Usual crowd is about 100,000, so parking is a nightmare, but there are free shuttle buses from numerous places in San Diego.

The Hotel del Coronado is gorgeous at Christmas and worth a visit to see their decorations, and the beach there is one of my favorite for a winter stroll. I often plan a New Year's Day beach walk at Torrey Pines State Beach (about 20 miles north of downtown), but am well jacketed when I do that with rare exceptions.

The Zoo in December can be very nice. Cool temperatures bring the animals out of their dens. The same goes for the Zoo's Safari Park (formerly the Wild Animal Park) which is 40 miles north of downtown. I am not a fan of Sea World, and it can be pretty cold with the wind right off the ocean.

I would also recommend renting a car, and not staying in the Gaslamp (parking there is expensive and not included in most hotel rates). Consider staying in Mission Valley (Hotel Circle) area. You can take the Trolley (light rail) downtown ($5 to ride all day) easily from there if you want to visit the Gaslamp Quarter restaurants and clubs, or visit the USS Midway, Old Town, or Little Italy, and use your car for more distant sights such as the beaches, mountains, or even out to the desert.

Anyway, you are certainly welcome in San Diego in December, but don't make your trip plans dependent upon getting a tan while you are here.

Prime Time Shuttle offers a $16/person one-way fare from Long Beach Airport directly to the World Cruise Center (San Pedro cruise ship pier).

Yes, Enterprise is the only company with an office in San Pedro currently. You will do best to drop off at the Long Beach Airport (after dropping your luggage and passengers at the pier) and then taking a shuttle back to the port.

I assume you are renting a car to return home at the end of your trip too, so you would reverse this process to rent a car at Long Beach Airport, then go back to the pier and pick up the rest of your group and luggage.

You are right. They don't care, and neither do any other cruise lines. If they never took a booking another disabled passenger, they would not loose a dime. That market is not a profit maker for the cruise line, and that is what drives their services and programs. It is naive to think otherwise. You have to look out for yourself in the area of shore programs, surf the internet, use this forum, and book your own private arrangements, whether it is cabs, a car service, or the (rare) lift-equipped van outside the USA.

On the other hand, your TA should be doing a better job of getting some response from the cruise line on your last cruise experience. At a minimum they should be demanding a credit toward another cruise for you. Push them to do more.

SuperShuttle serves Ft. Lauderdale, and they have wheelchair accessible shuttles. I would check with them. We have had good service from them at other ports/airports.

Do you book directly or through a TA?? When we had problems with Princess accessibility issues in the past, we also never received any response from our own complaints and contacts, but they did respond when our TA contacted them, and we got an apology and credit for another cruise. Worth a try...but in general we have also found them generally unconcerned and with poor staff training about disability needs....and we are Platinum too.

We are also coming in on Jan 20th and wondered about luggage storage at/near the port. We wanted to visit the port area before getting a taxi to our hotel, which we probably can't check into until later in the pm. When we came into Tampa they had an area where we could leave our luggage until catching a van to the airport in the late afternoon. Is there anything similar in San Diego?

No luggage storage at the port in San Diego, and you cannot check your luggage in at the airport earlier than 4 hours prior to your flight.

Some have been successful in checking their luggage at a nearby hotel (with a tip for the bell staff of course), or do as the poster above and rent a car for sightseeing and just keep your luggage with you.

I agree. Rent a car. Avis has a location within 3 blocks of the pier, but you will probably get a better deal from a less expensive company. Many have their actual rental locations between the pier and the airport (less than 3 miles) so you may even be able to walk or take a pedicab or cab to one very easily from the pier.

Don't plan to stay downtown. The hotels there are expensive, and do not have free parking. Instead, I would recommend staying in Mission Valley along "Hotel Circle". There are many inexpensive (buy still nice) motels in that area, and you will most likely have free parking too. It is also very easy to get to all the many sights to see in San Diego from that location, and there are even some decent places to eat there. Old Town may also be an option, such as the Old Town Inn which may people here recommend. http://www.oldtown-inn.com/

Zoo and Balboa Park parking is free (although a little hard to find during tourist season/summer), although there is a parking charge for the Zoo Safari Park (40 miles north). You can drive the 59 mile San Diego Scenic drive in about 1/2 day and see many popular sights, and decide if you want to explore them further on your own.

Do some reading on this forum for other things to do in San Diego, but I can recommend all of Balboa Park, the Zoo, the Safari Park, Old Town, the San Diego Mission, the Birch Aquarium, Petco Park (baseball), and of course our beautiful beaches. Let us know what other interests you have and we can make more recommendations.

Dining is best in the Gaslamp Quarter, Old Town, Hillcrest, Uptown, and North Park, as well as Coronado and La Jolla.