Only two people in a cabin

I am trying to book a handicapped cabin with a balcony on any of the Voyage class ships for myself, my wife, and my wheelchair-bound son. My travel agent is hearing that this type of cabin is for two passengers only. These cabins are oversized and have a pull-out sofa, but the rep. appears to be adamant. The three of us stayed in this type cabin on the Enchantment about three years ago. Before I call RCCL, I wanted to see if anyone here knew of the reason for this policy. It takes both my wife and I to take care of my son for the week. Thanks for any insight you can give.

Have not been on this class of ships, but have had similar cabins for 3 on Vision class. I would suggest speaking directly with their disabled services staff. Call Handicapped Passenger Services: 800-722-5472 ext. 34492 .

I second splinter's recomendation. The Wheelchair desk can set you up with any w/c cabin as a triple even the ones without a sleep sofa. They put in a roll away. If the ship is blocked for triples and quads they can not do anything about that since that is a safety issue.

Jean

I was on Navigator of the Seas. I had an interior room. There was my son, his girlfriend and me (MS). It was an H/C room and all three of us were in it. They can do it if they are not over booked.

The phone number for Special Needs worked wonders. The rep. pushed everything right through even though Reservations at first still said no. Many thanks.

Hi, Ken. My sister (60+), our Mom (86+), and myself (58+) just returned from an Alaskan cruise on the Infinity (Celebrity Cruises). We were in a Handicap room. When we arrived the twin beds were made up as one, and we told our stateroom attendant we needed the beds separated. While we were out exploring the ship, he came in and separated the beds. I used the chair/pull out bed and although it wasn't my bed at home, it did suffice for the trip. If you have space for one of those flat rolls that are used for camping and is actually a very small roll to pack, it would make all the difference in the world. Anyhow, my point is, on the Celebrity line they didn't even blink an eye at our requesting 3 adults in a handicap room. I hope you see another travel agent. If he is adament then maybe he is not totally knowledgible regarding these matters. I have read many times about parents and a child in a handicap cabin. The only requirements Celebrity had for us were that Mom's Doctor had to send in information regarding her condition and some other specific information. We worked with the Special Services desk at Celebrity and everytime we called they were very helpful. I hope you find a cruise and a handicap room and that you all have a wonderful cruise. Take care, Dianne

To help others, many (most) cruise ships sail with passenger loads exceeding 100%, meaning that many cabins have 3 or 4 people.

A ship cannot sail if it is overpopulated beyond its safety limits, so once a cruise has met its overbooking (3 or 4 pax cabins) it is not permitted to sell more than two bookings per cabin.

If a 3/4 booking cancels, then another cabin can be sold as a 3/4.

Most travel agents know this and should be able to work with the cruise line rep. to get a spot on a waitlist for a 3/4 cabin.

When I booked my cruise in February for next January, I had the same problem. I am a single parent with 2 children. One of my kids is in a wheelchair. I wanted a balcony cabin. They told me that they couldn't book all 3 of us in the same cabin. I called RCI directly and my TA did as well. We both got the same story. Apparently, it has to do with Coast Guard regulations. I was also told that these handicapped cabins, which are much bigger, do not have pull out sofas.

Luckily, for me, my parents are going as well. So, I booked one son in with them in a cabin that has a pullman bed. Right next door to ours. Of course, my son has told me that he will be sleeping in my cabin anyway, even if he has to sleep on the floor.

I personally think this regulation should change. What if my parents weren't going? I would then have to book a bigger cabin because the balcony handicapped that we have is the biggest handicapped cabin(with a balcony). I would have to go to a suite. On a single income, there was no way I was going to do that. It's taking me a year to save up for this cabin!

For your info, the showers in the non-handicapped cabins are round with glass doors. Also, there is no ramp into the bathroom or out to the balcony. Depending on how big your son is, that could be a problem. The suites do have tubs, though.

We will be going on the Mariner of the Seas in January, 2005. If you have any more questions or if you find out any more info, please let me know. We are so used to some places not being accessible that we have adjusted. There will be a couple of big strong guys with us as well and we will lift the wheelchair if we have to.

Which brings to mind one other question. Is there any wheelchair access to the helipad? When I was on the Voyager(without kids), the only access was to climb a long flight of stairs. Does anyone know of any secret way to get there with a chair?

Have fun on your cruise!

We [3] had a handicapped assessible cabin with Mom on the Constellation. When we arrived, the room was ready with a roll-away bed. I asked for an extra mattress to raise her bed level and the room stewardess took care of this immediately. Keeping the roll-away set up all week limited space in the room, but we manged. However, a few weeks ago we took the Infinity to AK, and this time Mom said she wanted to use the pull out sofa, not a roll-away. Again we asked for an extra mattress; for her comfort and to help transfer in and out of bed more easily.

When we did a transatlantic crossing on the Serenade of the Seas, the so called "handicapped cabin for 3 " turned out to be anything but. Our first call to Guest Relations resulted in being told that the third bed was in the ceiling! A second call about the cabin having 2 life-vests got a less than satisfactory response. A third call finally brought two uniformed personnel to the cabin, resulting in our being moved. In this case, RCI goofed.

We have cruised on many ships and find Celebrity to be the best in meeting Mom's needs. The staff is very helpful on and off the ship. At the breakfast and lunch buffet, a steward alway helped Mom with her tray and lets her select where she wants to dine, even if it's at the far end of the ship. When we were at the dock in Ketchikan, AK, I cringed when I saw the length and grade of the ramp to the street level. Two crew members pushed Mom up the ramp, and later manged to get her down in the wheelchair. The same two were waiting when we tendered in Sitka. When I extended a tip to them, they refused, saying that they had a Mom, too.

We book our cruises early, so we can obtain the cabin we want. My TA handles everything for us, and I always provide him with a letter from Mom's MD that he can FAX to the line.

Darcy

I have to agree with Darcy about Celebrity. We, (2 sisters), recently went with our mom to AK. We had a handicapped room in the back of the ship. Mom and I slept in the twin beds and my sister slept on the pull-out couch. I know what she means about the ramp in Ketchikan and the tendering in Sitka. The staff is incredible. Mom was totally overwhelmed with the ship, the services provided to her, and Alaska. We're so happy that we could accompany our mom on the cruise.

Jghendrick24: My story did have a happy ending after I was given a phone number on these boards for the special needs department. I spoke to Alex and asked him if there was any way to overcome the 2 person restriction in the accessible balcony cabins. He told me that it was not a problem, and he quickly went into his "private" inventory of cabins and made one available to the reservations people. (It was one of the four accessible cabins on Deck 7.) At his direction, I then called my TA, who was obviously in unfamiliar territory, and she reserved the cabin for me after mentioning Alex's name. I am grateful that someone could make this happen, but I had all but given up and very nearly did not make the phone call. By the way, we will be cruising on the Mariner the week of January 9, 2005.

I'm very happy that you made that phone call. I've found that some cruise lines do a lot to help us out and make cruises for all, the very best.

Have a wonderful cruise.

Ken, if you don't mind my asking, what cabin number did you get? We are incabin 7300 on the Mariner. It is an E2 category with a balcony.

We are in 7304. Which week are you cruising?

We are cruising January 16th. We'll miss you by a week! Do you mind me asking why your son is in a wheelchair? My son has cerebral palsy and is blind. I have been checking into in cabin babysitting and I hope I can get someone for just one night. We would like to go to Portofino's one night, but Michael is a behavior problem at times. The main dining room won't be too bad as it is so large and with some noise, but Portofino's is too intimate. And, I would like to let my other son eat there with us. If I can't, then I get to eat there twice! I will go with the rest of the group one night, and with just my other son another night! Hmm, might not be too bad if I can't get a sitter!

Are you doing any shore excursions with your son? I don't want to do any specific ones, but I want to go to Chakanaab(sp?) in Cozumel and am not sure how to get there with the wheelchair. Are you on the Eastern or Western itinerary? I would love to have him go in the water with the dolphin,but that's an awful lot of money wasted if he doesn't like it. Besides, that would require me to hold him for 30 minutes and he's a bit heavy for that! I might just take a chance and go there and ask if there's any way he can just touch one for a minute, long enough for me to take a picture. I think he would like it, but, if the water is too cool, his hip starts to bother him.

Let me know how you make out on your cruise. Too bad we'll be getting on the day you get off!

I really like Portofinos -- we ate there four times I think. Make your reservations early as it is popular. You are right it is a more intimate atmosphere so best bet is to try for the sitter.

Accessible transportation to Chakanaab is pretty difficult. Ther are now two accessible taxis in Cozumel (I think), but it's hard to reserve them in advance. They are usually at the port or the other drivers can radio for one for you. Still, sometimes they are in high demand, and they are not available.

the other option is a van or suv type of taxi . this of course only works if your son can transfer.

I don't think the dolphin folks would be very agreeable to your son just petting a dolpin and your snapping a photo (without paying) because in many ways that is what they are selling (and they know that).

Candy

jghendrick24: Joey had a spinal cord injury when he was 15, and he is now 27. He is completely immobile below the shoulders, and uses a power wheelchair. Sorry that we will miss you. We did the Western last year on a Carnival cruise. E-mail me at ken.thomas@newsouthcompanies.com and I will give you the benefit of my limited experience.

I am trying to book a handicapped cabin with a balcony on any of the Voyage class ships for myself, my wife, and my wheelchair-bound son. My travel agent is hearing that this type of cabin is for two passengers only. These cabins are oversized and have a pull-out sofa, but the rep. appears to be adamant. The three of us stayed in this type cabin on the Enchantment about three years ago. Before I call RCCL, I wanted to see if anyone here knew of the reason for this policy. It takes both my wife and I to take care of my son for the week. Thanks for any insight you can give.

I just returned from the Enchantment and I had a handicapped cabin with 3 people. Our daughter stayed with us on the sofa and there was never any questions about 3 in the cabin.

Kayak