Grand Princess-11/26/2005

:) I booked my boyfriend (Al) and myself on a cruise through Travelocity and was lucky enough to get cabin B301 on the Baja deck. Last BC-Balcony Stateroom available for the HC. We have been on three cruise, first one the Carnival Celebration before they "had" to make the cabins "really" accessible.

Back then they claimed that the cabin qualified because the door was wide enough for Al to get his scooter through the cabin door. I was glad the cruise was for only 5 days because the bathroom had a step and he was not able to shower. Poor Guy! Being a polio survivor, he has to use crutches when going into the bathroom for a shower. The bathroom was very small, door not level nor it have a safe ramp. Al did the sponge bath thing. Back then, we did not know our rights and nor did our TA. I learned quickly through this wonderful board what we had a right to expect. I wrote a review of that trip using the pen name of Dancy.

Next year, 2002, we had educated ourselves with the current information about cruising as a disabled person and flew to Fort Lauderdale to take the Celebrity Millennium to the Eastern Caribbean. What a change, balcony and all! Our cabin steward and his assistant was more like a butler with the great service that they provided us. Again, the tips that I got from the Cruise Critic board helped us have a wonderful vacation. I was able to do a life-long dream...snorkel. Because of that, my life changed for the better. I was able to look at life with a different attitude, I started to believe anything was possible.

The next year, 2004, we took Royal Caribbean out of Galveston. Even though I had become unable to walk very far because of two broken heals, I still snorkeled in Cozumel. My scooter broke down in Key West, in the middle of town at 9 at night, but the doorman at the Hilton pushed it all the way back to the ship. Our HC cabin was as big as a suite. We had a bed out on the balcony for Al to take afternoon naps and read. Again, our stewart treated us like royalty. Why? Because we treated him with respect and gave him tips for special services. I was unable to get out of bed the last day of our cruise due to the pain of all the walking I did in Cozumel. Our waiter had our cabin steward leave a birthday cake because they knew it was my birthday. Again, all the things I learned, all the information given, and all the encouragement that Cruise Cruises had shared helped us both take a cruise that could have been a disaster but was turned around to an unforgetable, positive trip.

Now that we going on our fourth cruise, as I said in the beginning of this thread, we are booked after months of study and are ready to explore on our own. Yet, we still need to ask some questions. I have asked in different areas of the Cruise Critic board, like the Princess section or role call, but I have not gotten any answers. Maybe you can help me.

1. Does anyone know the size of the cabin and balcony for B301 on the Grand Princess?

2. Tenders into Belize and Costa Maya: What can we do at both ports? Should we hire a driver that can lift Al's scooter into a van? Can we get a ride to the beach at Costa Maya so I can snorkel? How I wish I could snorkel in Belize, I love to take underwater pictures! But I had a stroke in October and don't know if I can put hours into being out in a boat. I need something easy and time controled. Any suggestions? Thank You.

Al and Meirah

Houston, Texas

Carnival Celebration 2001

Celebrity Millennium 2002

Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas 2003

I can not tell you about the cabins on the Brand Princess or about Costa Maya, but we have been to Belize.

As far as I know, there is not accessible transportation in Belize; however if Al can transfer to a van, a trip to the ruins at Altun Ha might work out. Although there are companies you can book with ahead of time, we did not do so because we were concerned about my husband getting ashore. Once we were ashotre, the Belize information desk added us to a van with other passengers.

We take two wheelchairs with us when we cruise - a power chair for aboard ship and a manual for ports. My husband is tall enough to be able to transfer to a van so the driver folded up his manual chair and put it in the back of the van. I assume he could do the same for a scooter.

The trip to Altun Ha takes a while, partially because the road is awful for the last 10 miles. As we drove through Belize City, the driver gave us a city tour. When we got to Altun Ha, he parked about a 2 minute walk frrom the path to the ruins. The path to the ruins is not long, but it is uphill. It is made of hard dirt so in places you have to deal with roots and rocks, but in general it was not difficult for me to push the manual chair. Our driver provided basic information about the ruins and then let the passengers explore them. While others were climbing the ruins, he told us a lot about the native vegetation which was interesting.

I hope ths helps.

Haven't been on the Grand but I have been in B301 on her sister ship the Star. The room has more then enough room for a wheelchair to move around in. The bathroom is very big with a roll in shower and a shower seat that pulls down. The balcony is totally covered and has a ramp for the outside and one for the inside for a wheelchair to roll over.

We are sailing on the Jewel of the Seas 7/26/05, out of Harwich, England. Rather than trying to haul a powerchair from New Orleans, I thought I might try to rent one to be delivered to the ship.

Any suggestions?

Jim

:) Thank you so much for sharing your advice, it was greatly appreciated.

Al and Meirah

Houston

My biggest complaint about the Grand is how absolutely crappy the wheelchair seating is in the showroom. It is only in the balcony area, all the way in back and to the side. The ceiling is set so that your line of sight to the stage is cut off about half way back on the stage, and there is a grab rail right in front of the wheelchair seating that is set just at eye height for most people in chairs. You either have to lean down or try to stretch up to see. You cannot sit with your AB companions but must sit with the other wheelchair folks. The ramp up to this area is extremely steep to the point of being dangerous both going up and coming down. We skipped all the shows after the first night due to this. Poor planning and design on Princesses part for a ship launched in 1999.

Princess cabins are pretty well designed except for the nearly total lack of any storage or shelf space in their accessible bathrooms.