Crown Princess Tender Policies

I am taking my disabled partner on the Crown Princess Christmas cruise and was wondering if anyone has updated experience with their tender policies. (I have seen several complaints on here about them but they are several years old)

I am getting mixed messages from Princess, one that as long as the weather is calm they will allow wheelchairs on their tenders to Belize. Others said that the tenders belong to Belize . The web site says they are not allowed to help or lift more than fifty pounds, but the rep on the phone says they assist all the time. (I don't know that we will need help, since I can even lift him if needed) His chair is a Tilite manual with E-motion power assist wheels.

Anyone recently experienced the Crown's tendering policies?

I am taking my disabled partner on the Crown Princess Christmas cruise and was wondering if anyone has updated experience with their tender policies. (I have seen several complaints on here about them but they are several years old)

I am getting mixed messages from Princess, one that as long as the weather is calm they will allow wheelchairs on their tenders to Belize. Others said that the tenders belong to Belize . The web site says they are not allowed to help or lift more than fifty pounds, but the rep on the phone says they assist all the time. (I don't know that we will need help, since I can even lift him if needed) His chair is a Tilite manual with E-motion power assist wheels.

 

Anyone recently experienced the Crown's tendering policies?

Would not reply on what ever anyone else's experience has been as it can vary greatly from ship to ship, from captain to captain and personnel to personnel

The cruise rep is correct to a point regarding assistance as the cruise staff will only assist in loading the wheelchair provided it's a folding wheelchair ( without the passenger) onto the tender and will help to assist guiding the passsenger as they walk onto the tender Cruise personnal will generally NOT carry the person onto the tender whether seated in the wheelchair or not. One should always plan on the basis that they will not be able to tender and if they do than it's a bonus. If it were me I would not pre-book any tours as the cost will not be refunded if your're not able to get off the ship .

For future reference Holland American has one tender on each ship with a roll on entry that allows persons in wheelchair to ride onto the tender.

Tender Port Policy (direct link - http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/prepare.jsp#Passengers_Special_Needs

The goal of Princess Cruises is to provide a safe comfortable cruise experience for all passengers. If you will be using a mobility device during your sailing we strongly recommend you travel with a person physically fit to assist with your needs both onboard and ashore.

Embarking and disembarking can be challenging for those with limited mobility. Many major ports of call provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters. However due to various conditions; steepness of the gangway, weather, shore-side facilities, tidal and sea conditions, passengers using mobility devices may be required to transfer to a stair climber or be precluded from going ashore. Princess staff will make every effort to assist but are not allowed to individually physically lift more than 50 pounds (22 kg).

Some ports of call require the ship to anchor off shore. Passengers are then taken to shore by small boats or tenders. When tendering is required, passengers using mobility devices will not be transferred into or out of the tender, if lifting in excess of the above limitation is required. Many tender ports do not provide wheelchair access so even if the passenger can board the tender they may not be able to disembark ashore. Again the shore-side facilities, movement of the tender, weather and tidal conditions can also preclude tendering.

The decision to allow any passenger to board a tender or disembark the vessel will be made by the Captain on the basis of the safety and welfare of all involved and is final.

If passengers are unable to tender or disembark because of circumstances outlined above there will be no refund or credit for missed ports. While Princess recognizes your disappointment the safety of both passengers and crew takes precedence.

Entry regulations for service animals vary by port. Passengers are advised to consult authorities at each port prior to departure for more information. Princess does not have food onboard for animals. The choice of dog litter material is limited and varies by ship.

Princess ships are equipped with “All-in-One Kits” with TTY that can be used in most passenger cabins and at Princess wilderness lodges. Most televisions onboard provide closed captioning and most onboard theaters have assisted listening devices. Electric outlets in most staterooms are limited to one and it is helpful to travel with an extension cord for electrical equipment. Princess also offers JAWS Professional software with a KOSS-TD/80 headset on one terminal in each Internet Café on every ship.

Thank you..we loved Holland America's people on the Westerdam.

It may be that we will change to a different cruise...but one out of Galveston seemed especially appealing this time around. (On the Continental Airline trip to Seattle for the Alaska cruise , his wheelchair was destroyed and we don't want to chance it on his new chair this soon) Some have said there was a tender with a ramp......but I am not sure how to find out if it is available. I will try to contact Princess...this was all much easier with HAL since they have a special department to contact for these questions.

Thank you..we loved Holland America's people on the Westerdam.

It may be that we will change to a different cruise...but one out of Galveston seemed especially appealing this time around. (On the Continental Airline trip to Seattle for the Alaska cruise , his wheelchair was destroyed and we don't want to chance it on his new chair this soon) Some have said there was a tender with a ramp......but I am not sure how to find out if it is available. I will try to contact Princess...this was all much easier with HAL since they have a special department to contact for these questions.

Princess also has an special department to contact regarding accessibility concerns. Did you contact Princess' Access office ?

Fax 661-284-4408

Phone 661-284-4521.

I did not know they had a special department! I just talked with the person at the toll free number

I will post what they tell me

Thanks for the info!

I spoke with the accessibility dept at Princess, but they say things different than the info on the web site. (they can assist , but cannot help with no more than 200 pounds) In the site it says 50 pounds. I think since they have not yet moved the ship to Texas I might should wait and ask again when they stat providing the cruise.

I forgot to ask, but you mention excursions would not be refunded if we were not able to tender, but on HAL I believe you did get a refund if you booked with them.

I spoke with the accessibility dept at Princess, but they say things different than the info on the web site. (they can assist , but cannot help with no more than 200 pounds) In the site it says 50 pounds. I think since they have not yet moved the ship to Texas I might should wait and ask again when they stat providing the cruise.

 

I forgot to ask, but you mention excursions would not be refunded if we were not able to tender, but on HAL I believe you did get a refund if you booked with them.

RCCL will refund tours if canceled 24hours prior to the tour. If canceled that day it's always iffy . If you prepaid for a private tour and it's already at the port waiting for you to get off the ship and have to cancel at the last minute you need to check the tours cancelation policy.

Generally all the tours RCCL offers are not wheelchair accessible as the buses do not have a wheelchair lift. So you need to check with RCCL before ever booking a toursto make certain the bus has a lift.

I did get a response from Princess but it also does not match the documents they sent me....

I had asked about wheelchair width and was sent one document that says the max wheelchair width was 22"...I responded that Steve's chair is just over 25" and I asked them to clarify in writing the discrepancies I have heard from different people when I call to ask about the tender port policies.

the response ....

"Hi Russell,

There is not a ramp that goes into the tender. As was mentioned to you previously by one of the reservation agents, the passenger will be lifted into the tender if no heavier than 200 pounds. The width of the door into the cabin is 32 inches so the wheelchair will fit perfectly without having to collapse. The rented collapsable wheelchair from Care Vacations or Special Needs at Sea might be a good idea for shore excursions as it does provide him with a little more accessibility.

Thank you,

Josh Garcia

Access Compliance Specialist "

The document that has me confused......

"Passenger with Limited Mobility Traveling on a Princess Cruise The goal of Princess Cruises is to provide a safe comfortable cruise experience for all passengers. If you will be using a mobility device during your sailing we strongly recommend you travel with a person physically fit to assist with your needs both onboard and ashore. Embarking and disembarking can be challenging for those with limited mobility. Many major ports of call provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters. However due to various conditions; steepness of the gangway, weather, shore-side facilities, tidal and sea conditions, passengers using mobility devices may be required to transfer to a stair climber or be precluded from going ashore. Princess staff will make every effort to assist but are not allowed to individually physically lift more than 50 pounds (22 kg). Some ports of call require the ship to anchor off shore. Passengers are then taken to shore by small boats or tenders. When tendering is required, passengers using mobility devices will not be transferred into or out of the tender, if lifting in excess of the above limitation is requirnder ports do not provide wheelchair access so even if the passenger can board the tender they may not be able to disembark ashore. Again the shore-side facilities, movement of the tender, weather and tidal conditions can also preclude tendering.ed. Many te The decision to allow any passenger to board a tender or disembark the vessel will be made by the Captain on the basis of the safety and welfare of all involved and is final. If passengers are unable to tender or disembark because of circumstances outlined above there will be no refund or credit for missed ports. While Princess recognizes your disappointment the safety of both passengers and crew takes precedence."

hmmm..my travel agent is looking into this and waiting for a reply from the corporate office...guess I will see what they have to say. :>)

I did get a response from Princess but it also does not match the documents they sent me....

 

I had asked about wheelchair width and was sent one document that says the max wheelchair width was 22"...I responded that Steve's chair is just over 25" and I asked them to clarify in writing the discrepancies I have heard from different people when I call to ask about the tender port policies.

 

the response ....

 

"Hi Russell,

 

There is not a ramp that goes into the tender. As was mentioned to you previously by one of the reservation agents, the passenger will be lifted into the tender if no heavier than 200 pounds. The width of the door into the cabin is 32 inches so the wheelchair will fit perfectly without having to collapse. The rented collapsable wheelchair from Care Vacations or Special Needs at Sea might be a good idea for shore excursions as it does provide him with a little more accessibility.

 

Thank you,

 

Josh Garcia

 

Access Compliance Specialist "

 

The document that has me confused......

 

"Passenger with Limited Mobility Traveling on a Princess Cruise The goal of Princess Cruises is to provide a safe comfortable cruise experience for all passengers. If you will be using a mobility device during your sailing we strongly recommend you travel with a person physically fit to assist with your needs both onboard and ashore. Embarking and disembarking can be challenging for those with limited mobility. Many major ports of call provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters. However due to various conditions; steepness of the gangway, weather, shore-side facilities, tidal and sea conditions, passengers using mobility devices may be required to transfer to a stair climber or be precluded from going ashore. Princess staff will make every effort to assist but are not allowed to individually physically lift more than 50 pounds (22 kg). Some ports of call require the ship to anchor off shore. Passengers are then taken to shore by small boats or tenders. When tendering is required, passengers using mobility devices will not be transferred into or out of the tender, if lifting in excess of the above limitation is requirnder ports do not provide wheelchair access so even if the passenger can board the tender they may not be able to disembark ashore. Again the shore-side facilities, movement of the tender, weather and tidal conditions can also preclude tendering.ed. Many te The decision to allow any passenger to board a tender or disembark the vessel will be made by the Captain on the basis of the safety and welfare of all involved and is final. If passengers are unable to tender or disembark because of circumstances outlined above there will be no refund or credit for missed ports. While Princess recognizes your disappointment the safety of both passengers and crew takes precedence."

 

hmmm..my travel agent is looking into this and waiting for a reply from the corporate office...guess I will see what they have to say. :>)

The Representatives aren't always known for accuracy. The information on the document you received is the same information that Princess has on it's website. Which by the way is the same information I posted when I first replied to your posted. The Published Policy always takes precedent regardless of what a representative tells you .

As anyone that travels with a mobility scooter or wheelchair will tell ,we expect not to be able to tender based on the cruise lines policy and generally do not prebook any tours for tendered ports. If for some reason once on board the ship you are told differently than consider that to be a bonus. But in no way ever rely solely on what you may or may not been told by anyone that's not directly ship personnel as you will most likely be disappointed .

It's truly unreasonable for anyone that's wheelchair bound to expect that the ships personnel will lift the person along with the wheelchair onto the tender. IT"S TOTALLY NOT SAFE ! If getting off at a tendered port is critical to the total cruise experience than you would be better to cruise on Holland America which has one roll on tender for most of their ships.

not really the unreasonable sort. I just want to be told the truth without all the runarounds. I never said I expected them to lift Steve. As far as I knew there was a ramp or lift into the tender. (One review said that there was an accessible tender boat at Belize.) Some reps at Princess say they will use their own tender boats and some say Belize boats would be used.

I lift him several times a day but figured other ships had systems like Holland America in this day and age.

I don't like blaming things like this on the disability. It boils down to an equipment issue and how important the business of the disabled and their families are to a cruise line. I have attempted to research this but hear so many conflicting things. I was told by reps at Princess that in good weather there was no problems. Then I read the reviews that said the new policy at Princess was that the person has to stand from their chair and walk assisted into the boat.

My travel agent says I must be reading Cruise Critic which has become a site for " complainers" and that he has not heard of this policy or of the problems listed. He has written the corporate office for clarification and will get back with me. I have mainly had good experiences on here and I know the odds are against a person tendering with weather and other factor.

Is it too much to ask that a cruise line is consistant and accurate with the info they give to help me make the choice about which company will give us the best chance for success?

I agree with you! The disabled need accurate information. It is frustrating when your expectation is so different then the reality you end up having to deal with because of bad information. :mad:

Amazingly I have EXACTLY the same wheelchair - I have never met anyone before with this combination. Thankfully as the chair looks and behaves like a manual chair I have never had a problem on tenders including the crown princess. I always tell the crew it is heavy and they need two people and also ask them not to lift by the push rims ( I think they get it best when I tell them that the wheels cost around £ 1500 each!!!

I have used the chair in accessible cabins and standard ones however in standard ones I have to fold the chair to get it through the door. If you have any other questions I'm happy to try and help.

I am so glad you wrote this...I am really confused about this whole "we can't lift more than fifty pounds" issue on their paperwork and the Access and Compliance rep saying it is a max of 200#" Steve is way below 200#, but I don't know what to trust. I had just sent an email to my travel agent (he was waiting for a response from the Princess Corporate office over this) that we may just cancel or try to find a Holland America Vista or Signature class ship with available suites because their exclusive tender system might give a better chance for success.

Have you had the e-motion wheels for long? This is his fourth chair with them and they are so much more sleek and lighter and narrower than they used to be...with less problems so far!

Yes, it does look and act mostly like a manual chair except for the blinking lights on the side that people think are decorations :>)

I am so glad you wrote this...I am really confused about this whole "we can't lift more than fifty pounds" issue on their paperwork and the Access and Compliance rep saying it is a max of 200#" Steve is way below 200#, but I don't know what to trust. I had just sent an email to my travel agent (he was waiting for a response from the Princess Corporate office over this) that we may just cancel or try to find a Holland America Vista or Signature class ship with available suites because their exclusive tender system might give a better chance for success.

Have you had the e-motion wheels for long? This is his fourth chair with them and they are so much more sleek and lighter and narrower than they used to be...with less problems so far!

Yes, it does look and act mostly like a manual chair except for the blinking lights on the side that people think are decorations :>)

GillCC's post does not specifically state that Princess lifted the chair while he was seated in it onto the tender. That really needs to be clarified as GiLLCC states in his post that he has used the wheelchair in standard cabins and has to fold it to get it through the door. So apparently GillCC might be able to walk a limited amount and walked onto and off the tender. Than the crew lifted the chair onto the tender. It's my understanding your partner has to remain in the chair to be tranfered onto the tender so that might be were the confusion lies when trying to a reply from Princess.

Really hope you get the answer you want. Your partner is very lucky to have someone like you that really wants to help make the most of the cruise. Good Luck !!

I assumed when they did this it was put the person in a seat and then load the chair..(since they don't have the other system like HAL .but their site does not give details.

I assumed when they did this it was put the person in a seat and then load the chair..(since they don't have the other system like HAL .but their site does not give details.

Really hope you are correct. All the cruises I have been on with various lines, never once did I see crew actually carry a person onto the tender. The person either had to be to walk a few steps and the ramp with assistance by the crew or a family member had to carry them , weather/water conditions permiting. However have seen crew carryon the wheelchairs.

Anyway good luck ! You have to com back to post on CC after the cruise about your experience.

thank you for your help, If we do this cruise I will do that!!

Of course, it would be better if you would just have the Westerdam swing by Texas and pick us up :>)

I forgot...GillCC, were you lifted into the tender or were you able to step in?

Awww sorry unfortunately I walked on, I thought I had read that you were able to lift your partner.... Sorry for any confusion. I have had my wheels for about 7 years so didn't know they had changed. Before that I had e-assist wheels which are similar. I do hope you get the info from princess soon

I wouldn't rely on anyone's information, not the website, not the TA, not anyone on the phone, not the king of Princess Cruise Lines. No matter what anyone tells you, no matter the source of the information, it's going to come down to what happens on that day at that time. And if they refuse to let a person in a wheelchair onto the tender, you can tell them all the website or telephone or whatever information you have until you're blue in the face, but if they say it's a no go, it's a no go. It really is a safety issue, for all concerned.

Assume that your partner will not be able to get on the tender. Do not book a shore excursion in advance based on being able to tender to the dock, unless you're willing to eat the cost of the excursion if he's not able to tender to the dock.

My husband is confined to a wheelchair, and I know whereof I speak. Hope for the best, but expect the worst.

Thanks so much for your answer!

The reply I did get from them is that the crew members can lift up to 50 # each and a max of 400# (with 4 crew lifting) and will "only" lift the person and the chair together and never separately. I was planning on renting a folding chair from Special needs at sea so as long is it 30 # or less we will be covered.

I really do understand the safety issues they face but I am also convinced that if disabled people are a priority for them they will strive to find ways to install equipment to even out the odds in favor for them to go ashore.

I would really feel much better if I could find someone who has tendered this way through Princess recently.

Even though I am glad they clarified some of this confusing policy, they also at the same time refused to deny there is an unwritten policy that they will not tender you unless you can walk. (saying they don't need to deny it because their policy speaks for itself) All I can say is that if this "unwritten" policy really exists, it is evil. To allow people to think that access to a port is possible when you have no intention to allow it is misleading to put it nicely. Further, to say you will not refund shore excursions for such an instance takes it to a new level.

This is why our decision to go on the cruise is so surprising. Two things happened at once really....One, Steve wants to go for it and take his chances rather than have to take a flight to Fort Lauderdale to be on Holland America's Caribbean cruise during the holidays. And two, I am supposed to write an article on our experience with this and maybe find an answer the the tendering issue once and for all ! :>)

Don't worry, I know it may seem like I like to look for something to complain about but if you find my review of the Westerdam you will see I am very upbeat regardless of what goes on. I am just trying to do my best job as a caregiver to advocate for Steve. Yes, I have been known to go to far at times but I mean well :>)

If I have any criticism of some disabled people (from my experience with Steve, anyway) it is that they are too selfless and as a result settle for things the way they are as if they are not worthy. It is just not true.....

So anyway I will update this post during the cruise and post a link to the article and also post a review on here after the cruise. I hope it is a great vacation because to be able to leave from a nearby port and avoid the nightmare airlines and security policies would be something to plan for every year!

Please continue to give advice and post your tendering experiences on here

Gillcc,

I am able to lift Steve but I am not sure if they would allow me to...I lift him several times a day. However, lifting and taking him into a boat that I have not even seen pictures of or the layout or railing situation it is hard for me to say what I could do

I don't care what corporate says. It depends on the ship, the crew , the captain and the weather at the time.You might be able to tender then again you might not. My mom wouldn't want anyone carrying her onto a tender in a wheelchair. She says Crew are people not pack mules.

Please don't even try to tender if the seas are rough. This is far to dangerous to the crew and the disabled. I have been in tenders when they were bouncing around like a cork in a bathtub. AB were having trouble staying seated never mind disabled.

Being able to go to Belize would be nice but not if it's dangerous to your friend.

completely understandable...if the seas are rough we expect not to go and do not consider the cruise employees pack mules. It is the cruise companies who consider them pack mules by not having a better system. As I said before some have reported that Belize has an accessible tender boat with a ramp. My question is why don't they all have one to increase the odds in good weather?

***Correction*** Sorry I intended to write I was told they could lift 50 # each and up to 200 # total.....I am having a hard time typing on my Kindle Fire but stuck with it until I replace my computer :>)