Help with last minute decision regarding switching to Accessible Stateroom??

[bugsy43]

Hi All,

 

I’m hoping for some expert advice. We are doing a back to back cruise on the Caribbean Princess in a few weeks and are currently having to switch cabins between the 2 legs. It’s not far (from Starbord to Port) between the two but would mean the hassle of changing.

 

I just discovered that one of the accessible staterooms is available on both legs but I’ve never stayed in one before. I know the cabin is much larger and the bathroom is configured differently which is fine with us. My only concern is with the location being directly facing the forward elevators/stairs. Would this location be noisy? We are on Caribe Deck 10 on the Caribbean Princess.

 

I am trying to figure out whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?

 

Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

 

Thanks, 😀

[Thrak]

No. I sincerely doubt it would be a noisy location. We have had a Caribe balcony cabin that you could see the cabin door from the elevator waiting area and it wasn't noisy. I do have to ask though, if there is a reason you should be allowed to book the HC cabin. If you have a need for it I can see booking it. If not, I can't see taking the HC cabin when someone else might need it. We did have one once but it was an automagic upgrade from Princess (from inside forward on Lido!) so it was obvious that nobody needed the cabin.

[moki'smommy]

A member of my family has a physical need for the HA cabin, so we always book them. We have never had an issue on Princess with noise related to the cabin location. We've had a balcony cabin and a window suite on the Caribbean Princess as well as inside cabins on the Diamond Princess. We've had far more noise from neighboring cabins than from anything relating to our cabin location. On Princess, the bathroom configuration is quite good in the HA cabins. You do have the added space, and do not lose any significant features that are present in a "normal" cabin. When you move up to the mini or full suites, you lose the bathtub and have other changes.

 

You do need to be aware that if a person needing the HA cabin wishes to book the cruise and no other HA cabins are available, there are circumstances under which you would be moved. It is not likely given that the cruise is in a few weeks, but it can happen. It usually results in you being given an upgrade...again pending availability. Each cruise line has policies specifically detailing how this is handled, but the bottom line is that a person with a physical need for the HA cabin has priority over an able bodied person who has booked it for convenience. I'm not trying to be ugly here...just making you aware.

 

Example...we were booked on another line. 4 days before the cruise, my daughter had a situation which would have been minor in anyone else, but put her completely in a wheelchair due to her underlying condition. We contacted her main doc and physical therapist, then our TA. We told the TA that IF we could move to an HA cabin, we would be able to do the cruise. If not, given that she was unable to walk at all at that point, we would use our insurance coverage and cancel the cruise. It turned out that there was an able bodied person who had requested the HA in order to have more space for his scuba gear. The cruise line swapped us--he went to our higher category cabin, we went to the HA. Since then, her condition has deteriorated, which is the expected course for her disease...and we always book HA.

[bugsy43]

No. I sincerely doubt it would be a noisy location. We have had a Caribe balcony cabin that you could see the cabin door from the elevator waiting area and it wasn't noisy. I do have to ask though, if there is a reason you should be allowed to book the HC cabin. If you have a need for it I can see booking it. If not, I can't see taking the HC cabin when someone else might need it. We did have one once but it was an automagic upgrade from Princess (from inside forward on Lido!) so it was obvious that nobody needed the cabin.

 

Thanks so much for the feedback. We had no desire or need for the cabin but as we are sailing in 2 weeks and the same cabin was available for each of the 2 legs (along with another accesible one across the hall on same deck), I would have to assume that it’s perhaps not needed at this point. Perhaps like in your case, it wasn’t needed and as such was being offered for general use.

 

FYI, and I know this from professional experience, IF someone were to come along that needed it, they would “bump” the person that wasn’t in need for it to another stateroom of equal value or higher.

[bugsy43]

A member of my family has a physical need for the HA cabin' date=' so we always book them. We have never had an issue on Princess with noise related to the cabin location. We've had a balcony cabin and a window suite on the Caribbean Princess as well as inside cabins on the Diamond Princess. We've had far more noise from neighboring cabins than from anything relating to our cabin location. On Princess, the bathroom configuration is quite good in the HA cabins. You do have the added space, and do not lose any significant features that are present in a "normal" cabin. When you move up to the mini or full suites, you lose the bathtub and have other changes.

 

You do need to be aware that if a person needing the HA cabin wishes to book the cruise and no other HA cabins are available, there are circumstances under which you would be moved. It is not likely given that the cruise is in a few weeks, but it can happen. It usually results in you being given an upgrade...again pending availability. Each cruise line has policies specifically detailing how this is handled, but the bottom line is that a person with a physical need for the HA cabin has priority over an able bodied person who has booked it for convenience. I'm not trying to be ugly here...just making you aware.

 

Example...we were booked on another line. 4 days before the cruise, my daughter had a situation which would have been minor in anyone else, but put her completely in a wheelchair due to her underlying condition. We contacted her main doc and physical therapist, then our TA. We told the TA that IF we could move to an HA cabin, we would be able to do the cruise. If not, given that she was unable to walk at all at that point, we would use our insurance coverage and cancel the cruise. It turned out that there was an able bodied person who had requested the HA in order to have more space for his scuba gear. The cruise line swapped us--he went to our higher category cabin, we went to the HA. Since then, her condition has deteriorated, which is the expected course for her disease...and we always book HA.[/quote']

 

First, I’m so sorry about your daughters condition and I hope things improve. :*

 

Thanks for your feedback. This is exactly what I thought/was aware of.

 

Again, we didn’t want this cabin for any reason other than the fact that it was the only same cabin available on Caribe Deck for both legs of the back to back. I just happened to notice it today as I was looking.

 

We are fine to stay with what we have and don’t want, nor did we ever even consider taking it away from someone in need.

 

The fact that it would offer more space wasn’t even really at all involved in our consideration.

 

Happy Cruising.

[voljeep]

do accessible cabins cost more than say the cabin next door?

[cruzsnooze]

I dislike the bathrooms in HC cabins. Because there are no thresholds the room floods when showing. It always feels damp and weird to me. I personally would avoid these cabins.

[bugsy43]

do accessible cabins cost more than say the cabin next door?

 

No they don’t. They are the same as the other cabins in the same category. That would be horrible if they cost more.

[moki'smommy]

do accessible cabins cost more than say the cabin next door?

Legally, they cannot charge ore for an HA cabin than for any other cabin of the same category. However, on Princess all the HA cabins are located as near as possible to the elevators, making them in a higher location cost than some. So yes, it is possible to book a balcony HA that is categorized as "mid forward," while the next cabin can be categorized as "forward" and cost less. There are no far forward or far aft HA cabins on Princess. It is VERY convenient for the cabin to be near the elevator.

 

On the other hand, on DCL the HA cabins are far forward and far aft, making use of the curve of the ship to obtain the extra space needed. There are only solid balcony HA cabins, no plexiglass balconies (which cost more). SO, on DCL, the HAs are at the lower end of the cost for a type like balcony, oceanview, or inside. But they are at the far end of the hall, away from the elevators. This means you have to navigate around host carts, strollers that people may have left in the hall (a rule violation, but it happens,) etc.

 

I've actually been told several times that HA cabins on Princess "cost more," always by people who don't understand the idea of price being based on location. Not true. It is just that they are in the more expensive locations.

[bugsy43]

I dislike the bathrooms in HC cabins. Because there are no thresholds the room floods when showing. It always feels damp and weird to me. I personally would avoid these cabins.

 

Oh, that’s a good point that I hadn’t thought of. Thanks

 

So far, I’m starting to think we might be better off with what we have. I was just hoping not to have to move.

 

Thanks for all the feedback.

[moki'smommy]

I dislike the bathrooms in HC cabins. Because there are no thresholds the room floods when showing. It always feels damp and weird to me. I personally would avoid these cabins.

Not if the drains are working properly. There is a drain all the way across the shower perimeter and another across the bathroom door. The drain at the shower is supposed to be able to handle the water from a shower without allowing water to spread out into the bathroom, but it doesn't always work that way. Maintenance of these isn't always great. however, the drain across the door should catch any residual. There is no reason that water should be entering the rest of the cabin.

 

On our last Princess cruise, the portion of the drain near the toilet was not working correctly and water always overflowed at that one spot. Whoever showered first would place their used towel on the floor, just past the drain. Thus, any water that the drain missed would be caught by the towel rather than spreading out into the bathroom.

[geoherb]

Moving is not that bad. The only time we had an accessible cabin was when it was assigned to us about a week before the cruise. We moved from the Baja Deck to the Caribe Deck for the next cruise. Our cabin steward moved the hanging clothes and suitcases.

 

The accessible cabin had extra room, but it took some getting used to. I did like the spacious bathroom. We did not have too much problem with water from the shower getting everywhere. We did not have any problems with noise from the elevator lobby across from our cabin.

[Thrak]

I've actually been told several times that HA cabins on Princess "cost more' date='" always by people who don't understand the idea of price being based on location. Not true. It is just that they are in the more expensive locations.[/quote']

 

Mostly correct but... On Sea Princess my son's HA cabin was way forward and not especially near the elevators. He was in A308 - a low cost area. Of course Sea Princess isn't the typical Princess ship. ;p On Star his cabin was wonderfully close to the elevators. He's 42 and has been in a wheelchair since he was 20. Broke his neck in the Army. People are amazingly flimsy in construction.

 

As for the carts in the hallways... Wow. It can be a real bear to get through the halls with the carts blocking the way. The stewards jump to move them and apologize but we mostly just move them ourselves and then put them back. The stewards have enough work as it is and having stuff in the way is pretty much a way of life for those who have no way to get anywhere other than via wheelchair. Try navigating clothing stores at Christmas time when they cram a zillion display racks everywhere... :eek:

[bugsy43]

Legally' date=' they cannot charge ore for an HA cabin than for any other cabin of the same category. However, on Princess all the HA cabins are located as near as possible to the elevators, making them in a higher location cost than some. So yes, it is possible to book a balcony HA that is categorized as "mid forward," while the next cabin can be categorized as "forward" and cost less. There are no far forward or far aft HA cabins on Princess. It is VERY convenient for the cabin to be near the elevator.

 

On the other hand, on DCL the HA cabins are far forward and far aft, making use of the curve of the ship to obtain the extra space needed. There are only solid balcony HA cabins, no plexiglass balconies (which cost more). SO, on DCL, the HAs are at the lower end of the cost for a type like balcony, oceanview, or inside. But they are at the far end of the hall, away from the elevators. This means you have to navigate around host carts, strollers that people may have left in the hall (a rule violation, but it happens,) etc.

 

I've actually been told several times that HA cabins on Princess "cost more," always by people who don't understand the idea of price being based on location. Not true. It is just that they are in the more expensive locations.[/quote']

 

 

Thanks for the further detailed explanation.

[Essiesmom]

I booked a B2B to Alaska on diamond Princess some years ago. About five weeks out. I did an inside gty, and was given a HC cabin. It was HUGE. My TA said Princess knew I didn't need a HC cabin, but it was probably the only inside available for both legs of the B2B. I particularly enjoyed the bench in the shower. EM

[JF - retired RRT]

I dislike the bathrooms in HC cabins. Because there are no thresholds the room floods when showing. It always feels damp and weird to me. I personally would avoid these cabins.

We had one of the aft mini-suites that were designed to be HA, but didn't pass all of the requirements (who knew designing an HA cabin could be so hard :rolleyes:).

The bathroom is enormous and the shower can get all over the bathroom if those pesky drains don't work right. We had our steward give us extra towels every day, rolled them up and put them in front of the drains to contain the water.

[crawford]

Not if the drains are working properly. There is a drain all the way across the shower perimeter and another across the bathroom door. The drain at the shower is supposed to be able to handle the water from a shower without allowing water to spread out into the bathroom' date=' but it doesn't always work that way. Maintenance of these isn't always great. however, the drain across the door should catch any residual. There is no reason that water should be entering the rest of the cabin.

 

On our last Princess cruise, the portion of the drain near the toilet was not working correctly and water always overflowed at that one spot. Whoever showered first would place their used towel on the floor, just past the drain. Thus, any water that the drain missed would be caught by the towel rather than spreading out into the bathroom.[/quote']

 

Same situation with us on the Coral to the Panama Canal in January. We were always putting towels down. Although we didn't request the cabin, we were given it just a few days before our cruise. Kind of surprised with a 15 nighter, that all the accessible cabins weren't taken.

[moki'smommy]

Same situation with us on the Coral to the Panama Canal in January. We were always putting towels down. Although we didn't request the cabin, we were given it just a few days before our cruise. Kind of surprised with a 15 nighter, that all the accessible cabins weren't taken.

It depends totally on the specific cruise. We've had cruises waitlisted for 18 months which we couldn't cruise because all the HAs were booked and we've had at least one that we booked within a month of the cruise date.

 

If we know what we want, we need to book as far in advance as possible as the rooms do sell out on many cruises. What really shocked me was getting a move down offer (from a balcony to an inside). Nice deal!

[2pbears]

We have only had a HA room once when upon check in we learned we had been upgraded from an ocean view to a HA Balcony. We loved the room. It was spacious and well laid out. The bathroom was exceptionally large and we did not notice any down sides to the bathroom. This was only for a one night repo cruise but we wished we could have stayed longer in this room. As long as there is no one who actually needs this room I would jump on it.