Wheelchair Labadee, Cayman & now Cozumel

My wife will be 3 weeks post surgery (hip replacement) when we board RCL Radiance. She is walking pretty well for short distances and then resorts to a walker. I think we will bring a wheelchair on board just to be on the safe side. She was thinking she would stay on board at the tendered ports, i,e, Labadee and Cayman, but now Cozumel has become a third one. Using this logic, she will now only disembark at Ocho Rios. It's a family vacation complete with grandkids and I hate to see her miss out on so much. Other than this temporary disablility she is in good shape and athletic for a senior.

Is it feasible for someone in this condition to use the tenders? Once ashore, for instance in Labadee is it a far walk to the beach? We could use the wheelchair to get to the beach, but then in the sand it would be a disaster - is it true that they have those large-wheel wheelchairs for rent on the beach in Labadee? In Cayman we are all booked with Nativeway for the Rays Reef Rum tour. If she were to make the trip on the tender we're hoping she would be able to at least get on and off thier boat, even if she didn't get in the water. Has anyone used them and can comment?

That leaves us Cozumel when we will be without the more able bodied members of the family as they all have seperate tours, dives, dolphins etc. arranged. With the present situation of tendering, the rest of us were thinking of just going to Paradise Beach. Again - same question - if we got her to use the tender, could we get there by taxi and once there, are there the big-wheel wheelchair available?

I appreciate any advice anyone can give as we have never had to do this before.

One other question - does anyone know what do handicapped passengers do in order to get to the lifeboat muster in a wheelchair. Do they have to go down early in order to avoid the elevators being shut off - how far ahead of time?

If she can stand and walk, they will help her on/off the tenders as long as it is not too rough. I would plan to do this, but have a back-up plan of staying aboard if there is rough water.

I have not heard about any beach chairs in either the Cayman Islands or in Mexico...perhaps others have.

When you get on the ship, ask your cabin steward about the procedure for muster drill for wheelchair passengers. Sometimes they have a special place for wheelchair passengers to meet. They don't shut off the elevators...you are just not supposed to use them. We just plan to be at the location we are assigned about 20-30 minutes prior to the muster. Actually, my mother goes there 20-30 minutes ahead (she is the wheelchair user) and then I go to the cabin and pick up all of our life preservers and bring them up using the stairs. After the muster, my mother just plans to stay on that deck for another 20-30 minutes (as the elevators are hogged by the AB passengers who use them instead of the stairs). I take the stairs and put our life vests back in the cabin, and then we may walk around the deck or do something similar while waiting for the crowd to thin out. It just takes some planning.

At lababdee there are specail chairs for the sand with larger wheels that a person (for a tip) will push her to the place you would like to be at with her. The chair is not rented its more the payment of a tip to the person who pushes her if you do not do it yourself. RCL has those chairs made available for its passengers to use.

Like the other here has said make sure and tell RCL that she will be in a wheelchair. I would call ahead and and let them know.

Your wife should be able to go ashore at tender ports unless the water is too rough. My husband is a full time wheelchair user and, as long as the water is fairly calm, the ship's crew has always been willing to lift him, in his manual chair, down the tender exit steps and into the tender. In addition, all RCCL ships now have tender lifts which can eliminate the need for her to walk or be carried down the stairs; however, they do not always use the tender exit that has the lift. Note: We found Labadee a particularly easy tender port. The "roof" of the tender was even with the exit and the pier so my husband and I stayed on it rather than go down to where the seats were.

As prairie_fox said, RCCL has beach chairs on Labadee that can be used to get to one of the beach areas near the pier. And. as she also said, the men who push them do expect a tip. The downside is that you can not rent them. They are only for transportation to/from the pier so she will have limited mobility once she is seated.

You can get to Paradise Beach by taxi; however, according to Paradise Beach Tom, Paradise Beach is not accessible. Playa Mia which is nearby is (or at least was before Wilma). I did not notice if there was an accessible entrance to the beach, but there was an accessible path to the main building where the buffet and bars are. I believe that the pool was also accessible. We took the Mexican Cusine Cooking course there and they were eager to assist my husband in anyway they could. You could contact them via email to inquire.

We usually go down early for the life boat drill; however, even if you do not go early there is no problem. The elevators are not shut off durng the drill and there is no problem with using the elevators if you need to. Just explain the situation to the crew stationed near the elevator. The only problem is getting an elevator after the drill since they are so crowded.

You do not mention having a handicap cabin. If you do not, you might want to call RCCL's special needs desk to request a shower chair. A table close to the door in the diningroom might also be a good idea.

I know you are planning to bring a wheelchair for the ship, but have you thought about renting a scooter? Even the though the Radiance is not a big ship. there can be a lot of walking. Having a scooter would give her some independence. Companies like CareVacations will deliver them to, and pick them up from, the ship. If you do, just be sure to get a travel one that will fit through the cabin door.