Island Princess-balcony not accessible

[debr]

Hello,

 

My brother and sister in law are currently on the Island Princess and to their surprise the balcony is not accessible in their handicapped room. The sliding door is about 1 inch too small (rubber stops on door) for my brother to get his wheelchair out the door! They have gone to everyone in authority on the ship and get “sorry” no other cabins. I tried calling Princess for them and got “sorry” contact Access Dept. .. no phone number just an email that says “thank you for your email, will get back to you within 10 days.” We are calling it the NO-Access Dept! Anyone have an secret phone numbers to get a person at Princess? (2 days ago 5 maintenance men showed up and looked at the door and said “oh, that’s not right” disappeared and never returned!)

 

Debr

[katrina915]

What cabin are you in? I can look it up for you if you don't have access.

 

I have never been on Princess before but did notice a note about the balcony that I didn't really understand when I booked an accessible cabin on the Star Princess.

 

Good luck.

[Superfragger]

Not all balconies are actually accessible, even though the cabin may be. As another person mentionned, a note will pop up during reservation telling you that the balcony itself is not accessible (so it's important to pay attention and read everything).

 

If you went through a TA, I would contact him/her.

[skynight]

Hello,

 

My brother and sister in law are currently on the Island Princess and to their surprise the balcony is not accessible in their handicapped room. The sliding door is about 1 inch too small (rubber stops on door) for my brother to get his wheelchair out the door! They have gone to everyone in authority on the ship and get “sorry” no other cabins. I tried calling Princess for them and got “sorry” contact Access Dept. .. no phone number just an email that says “thank you for your email, will get back to you within 10 days.” We are calling it the NO-Access Dept! Anyone have an secret phone numbers to get a person at Princess? (2 days ago 5 maintenance men showed up and looked at the door and said “oh, that’s not right” disappeared and never returned!)

 

Debr

Are they on Deck 7? All HCP cabins on this deck have the below note clearly mentioned in the deck plans. If they are on another deck there should be balcony access.

Special Notes:

WHEELCHR ACCESSIBLE SHOWER ONLY NO WHLCHR ACCESS TO BALCONY

[debr]

Thanks for your responses, should have explained that it was confirmed with Princess that their cabin was accessible to the balcony .. just not on the day through the Panama Canal.

 

Just really looking for any other phone numbers to call.

 

Thanks

 

Debr

[montgomeryfamily]

It could be helpful if you could post which cabin this is.

 

While there used to be a telephone number (which was even published on CC) to call to reach special needs, that number hasn't worked in several years. I don't have another number to offer. But if your brother and sister in law contacted special needs originally via email, and they send a reply message re this issue to the actual response they received, they should get a further response in less than 24 hrs.

 

The email response you mentioned was the automatic message sent in response to any email to special needs.

 

The first time an email regarding your sailing is sent, it does take quite a while to receive a response. But our experience is that when there is an actual response, any additional emails back and forth re this sailing are responded to in about a day.

 

Who from Princess gave the assurances about the accessibility of the balcony--was it in an email? If it wasn't from special needs, it may not have been reliable.

[debr]

FYI - issue was resolved today, they received an agreed upon amount of OBC for the 6 days my brother could not use the balcony and the door “stops” on the edges of the door will be removed tomorrow.

 

Debr

[caribill]

FYI - issue was resolved today, they received an agreed upon amount of OBC for the 6 days my brother could not use the balcony and the door “stops” on the edges of the door will be removed tomorrow.

 

Debr

 

Thanks for the update.

[montgomeryfamily]

Glad it was resolved. What was the stateroom number? After posting here about the issue, please don't keep that a secret.

 

I ask, because if there is an identical stateroom on the other side of the ship (which is often true of Princess), those of us who book wheelchair accessible cabins need to be aware of this possibility. Just because they take the stops off of that door doesn't mean they take them off of the other side. And it is possible they could put them back on in that cabin.

[mamaboss]

Glad it was resolved. What was the stateroom number? After posting here about the issue, please don't keep that a secret.

 

I ask, because if there is an identical stateroom on the other side of the ship (which is often true of Princess), those of us who book wheelchair accessible cabins need to be aware of this possibility. Just because they take the stops off of that door doesn't mean they take them off of the other side. And it is possible they could put them back on in that cabin.

 

Following. We have a handicap suite booked on Island for Feb. Can't find a single positive review about these new aft suites. Hope we can use the balcony while going through!

[debr]

I actually only had their booking number to help them out from here. I will email them and ask the cabin number. I am a great fan of cc and sharing info!! I do know when they booked this particular cabin it did have the statement about the balcony NOT being accessible. She she called and was told it was just not accessible on the day of the canal (you get a place in the sanctuary for free that day!)

 

I will report back tomorrow with the cabin number.

 

Debr

[mamaboss]

I actually only had their booking number to help them out from here. I will email them and ask the cabin number. I am a great fan of cc and sharing info!! I do know when they booked this particular cabin it did have the statement about the balcony NOT being accessible. She she called and was told it was just not accessible on the day of the canal (you get a place in the sanctuary for free that day!)

 

I will report back tomorrow with the cabin number.

 

Debr

 

Thank you! I would love a heads up!

[debr]

PR 705 is the cabin.

 

Debr

[mamaboss]

Thank you. That is a balcony mid aft. Our suite is completely aft, PR727. Not sure if that makes a difference but I appreciate the info!

[indygirl99]

I actually only had their booking number to help them out from here. I will email them and ask the cabin number. I am a great fan of cc and sharing info!! I do know when they booked this particular cabin it did have the statement about the balcony NOT being accessible. She she called and was told it was just not accessible on the day of the canal (you get a place in the sanctuary for free that day!)

 

I will report back tomorrow with the cabin number.

 

Debr

 

Please let us know if they were actually able to remove the "stops" as this cabin is clearly marked as balcony not accessible.

 

Special Notes:

WHEELCHR ACCESSIBLE SHOWER ONLY NO WHLCHR ACCESS TO BALCONY

 

I had a friend who was "upgraded" to this cabin and when she called to make sure it truly was wheelchair accessible and that she could get out on the balcony they moved her back to her original cabin. They thought she just needed a "handicap" room and when they realized she was in a wheelchair she was told there was "no way" for a wheelchair to get out onto the balcony.

 

I am interested to see if your brother was able to get out there.

[debr]

Please let us know if they were actually able to remove the "stops" as this cabin is clearly marked as balcony not accessible.

 

Special Notes:

WHEELCHR ACCESSIBLE SHOWER ONLY NO WHLCHR ACCESS TO BALCONY

 

I had a friend who was "upgraded" to this cabin and when she called to make sure it truly was wheelchair accessible and that she could get out on the balcony they moved her back to her original cabin. They thought she just needed a "handicap" room and when they realized she was in a wheelchair she was told there was "no way" for a wheelchair to get out onto the balcony.

 

I am interested to see if your brother was able to get out there.

 

Yes, they removed the stops and they are enjoying the balcony.

 

Debr

[indygirl99]

Yes, they removed the stops and they are enjoying the balcony.

 

Debr

 

Yeah.

Glad they are able to enjoy the balcony.

[montgomeryfamily]

Thank you Debr, for providing the cabin number. That is very helpful, as well as the info that removing the door stops made the balcony wheelchair accessible.

 

Mamaboss, you are right to be concerned about whether the balcony to your wheelchair accessible suite is actually wheelchair accessible. We were told that it is not. Two summers ago we booked a balcony on the Island Princess and were offered an upgrade to a suite. However, the special needs person I was talking to warned me that the balcony door was a regular balcony door and not wide enough for a wheelchair. She said she stayed in this cabin on an orientation cruise and was shocked to see this was the case. So we ended up staying in our Caribe wheelchair accessible stateroom.

 

I wonder if it might also have door stops which could be removed? I strongly urge you to contact Princess special needs and inquire about whether the balcony door will accommodate the wheelchair.