How disabled accessible is Infinity?

[Petoonya]

Posted this on the Disabled Cruising board but no replies as yet.

 

Recommended my favorite cruise line Oceania and their R ship Sirena to a patient of mine who is 6 months status post severe stroke. He walks well with a walker, poorly with a cane, but chances are good that he'll improve (maybe) by the time they plan to cruise, August 2020. They have their hearts set on an Iberian peninsula cruise to meet up with family in Spain. Unbeknownst to me Oceania's R ships get a poor score on accessibility and staff helpfulness to those who rely on scooters. This is according to my fellow O board regulars. I would not have known by the numbers of scooters on the R ships that I sail every 6 months.

 

Infinity does an Iberian peninsula cruise also in August 2020. Can anyone who uses a scooter comment on the ease of navigating Infinity? Cabin accessibility? The helpfulness of staff disembarking at ports, in tendering and in general? They want an Iberian peninsula cruise and outside of RCI, Silversea and Viking there are none. None tick the boxes and excite them but Oceania's Sirena. They will listen though, and if Infinity is a better fit they might be swayed.

 

Thanks for your help and happy holidays.

 

Nancy

Edited December 25, 2019 by Petoonya

[DUTRAVEL]

23 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Posted this on the Disabled Cruising board but no replies as yet.

 

Recommended my favorite cruise line Oceania and their R ship Sirena to a patient of mine who is 6 months status post severe stroke. He walks well with a walker, poorly with a cane, but chances are good that he'll improve (maybe) by the time they plan to cruise, August 2020. They have their hearts set on an Iberian peninsula cruise to meet up with family in Spain. Unbeknownst to me Oceania's R ships get a poor score on accessibility and staff helpfulness to those who rely on scooters. This is according to my fellow O board regulars. I would not have known by the numbers of scooters on the R ships that I sail every 6 months.

 

Infinity does an Iberian peninsula cruise also in August 2020. Can anyone who uses a scooter comment on the ease of navigating Infinity? Cabin accessibility? The helpfulness of staff disembarking at ports, in tendering and in general? They want an Iberian peninsula cruise and outside of RCI, Silversea and Viking there are none. None tick the boxes and excite them but Oceania's Sirena. They will listen though, and if Infinity is a better fit they might be swayed.

 

Thanks for your help and happy holidays.

 

Nancy

I have a manual wheelchair and found the accessibility on the infinity poor. There are high thresholds and the only automatic doors are on the pool deck. It’s difficult to get outside except for that one deck. The accessible cabin is pretty well laid out, but once again does not have an automatic door. It’s very difficult to get a wheelchair over the threshold while trying to keep the door open at the same time. It might be easier with a scooter, but you would still need someone to hold the door open. Accessibility is much better on Celebrity’s “S” and “E” class ships. Celebrity won’t let you take a scooter on a tender since there is no roll on capacity except on the Edge. 

[Petoonya]

5 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

I have a manual wheelchair and found the accessibility on the infinity poor. There are high thresholds and the only automatic doors are on the pool deck. It’s difficult to get outside except for that one deck. The accessible cabin is pretty well laid out, but once again does not have an automatic door. It’s very difficult to get a wheelchair over the threshold while trying to keep the door open at the same time. It might be easier with a scooter, but you would still need someone to hold the door open. Accessibility is much better on Celebrity’s “S” and “E” class ships. Celebrity won’t let you take a scooter on a tender since there is no roll on capacity except on the Edge. 

Thank you so much! These are the same complaints others have about Oceania's R ships. Out of the frying pan into the fire if he switches. I guess the best I can do is show them the complaints about Oceania and your post and let them decide. Really appreciate your post- this is exactly the info I needed. Best wishes cruising again.

[Bo1953]

After thinking about this question for a bit, I would advance that there will be relatively few ships which will be considered "disabled accessible" friendly.

 

Most ships have not been 'retro-fitted', to date, to meet standards which Americans have accepted and to some degree expect.

 

As such, I suspect that your patient will be better off going with a ship or line they are familiar and comfortable with given the situation as opposed going with an unfamiliar line or ship and be frustrated because it does not meet an anticipated level of accessibility.

 

Just my random thoughts on the situation.

 

bon voyage

[kearney]

I think the age of the class of ship can be helpful in getting an idea on how friendly the ship is for people with mobility issues. We have sailed Edge and Equinox using a scooter. We found the S class and new E class to be very friendly, but I would suggest making sure that the bed is by the window, if you get a regular vs accessible cabin. DH can still make the step up into the bathroom... although not easily so we try to avoid accessible cabins unless the ship is older. We are going to try Constellation... an M class... so the warnings on this thread are disconcerting... but this time we did get an accessible cabin... so hopefully the issues will not be too severe. At least DH can do some walking if necessary to get short distances. Royal's Oasis Class worked well for scooter users. I am not sure I would go on the Radiance Class or earlier classes without more information related to scooter use. I found the Freedom class to have too few and too small elevators to make scooter use acceptable. It has been years since we were on that class... but I recall elevator issues a decade or so ago on Freedom and that was pre mobility problems. So when selecting a ship.. I would look to see when the oldest ship in the class was launched..odds are the newer ones will still be laid out like the first ones... then look for a class that was launched say after 2008 or so. Others may have a better idea on timing...  Oasis launched in 2008... Freedom was launched in 2006. Now I am not sure how quick other cruiselines have been to reflect increased scooter use when designing their ships. Personally I found the S class and E class Celebrity ships to have roomy public areas... while Oasis class is tight in the Windjammer... nice and open on Celebrity Ocean View cafe.

[CinciCruise]

I have an adult daughter with cerebral palsy and she can not walk or stand. We use a manual chair and push her. We have cruised multiple times on the Summit as well as Solstice class ships. I have also cruised without our daughter on Azamara’s R class ship and Infinity. As stated Solstice class ships have more automatic doors. However, with a helper it is not a deal breaker to go on the Summit or Infinity. There are less doors to manage on the Infinity versus R class ships. Accessible staterooms do not have lips on Summit or Infinity. Showers are large and roll-in. We have sailed with our daughter on HAL, Disney, RCCL and Celebrity. Celebrity and RCCL are the only lines we will take our disabled daughter. The staff goes out to the way to help. We did not enjoy Disney because staff did nothing to help and barely helped if we asked. Our HAL experience was years ago and caused us to move to Celebrity. Celebrity staff goes out of their way to help. Celebrity shore excursions will do their best to help. They even called ahead to see if they could get a lift bus in South America. They did! I find R class ships not that accessible because they are older, smaller and have lots of manual door. I’d recommend the Infinity. Pools for Celebrity ships have lifts...another bonus.