WINDOW SUITE - Accessible Cabin F315

[seniorladycruiser]

Hello,

 

My husband and I will be on the Grand in March,  2021.  For the first I have to stay in an accessible cabin due to knee and balance issues.  We have never been in one before so I am not sure what they look like.  The shower is fine as well as the toilet.  I use a cane and walker and my concern is with the sink.  I am thinking it is much lower for a wheelchair and am concerned I will have to bend way over to use the sink.  Am I correct?  What is storage space like?

 

Thanks for all your help.

Nan

[Thrak]

The sink should be fine. However, my take is that someone who uses a cane and a walker shouldn't be booking the handicapped accessible cabins. Those folks who absolutely must use a wheelchair or scooter need those cabins. We cruised a couple of times with our oldest son. He's a disabled veteran and can't walk or stand - period. If the HC cabins are booked by those who can use a cane or walker then those who don't have those options simply can't cruise. A normal wheelchair can't even fit through the main door of a regular cabin and the bathroom is not at all accessible. Even if one got the wheelchair into the cabin it would be impossible to get it into the bathroom - let alone actually use the bathroom once inside.

 

Full Disclosure: My wife and I did sail in an HC cabin once but didn't book it. We were given a complimentary upgrade (forward, inside cabin to a Caribe deck HC balcony room!). The cabin hadn't been booked by anybody who needed it and Princess just moved us there. They didn't even send us a notice - I just spotted it in the personalizer one day. Under those circumstances, we were happy to have the huge cabin and huge balcony but would never book such a cabin otherwise.

 

You will probably find this "crabby" and "unhelpful" but, as you may be able to tell, I feel rather strongly about this subject.

[seniorladycruiser]

I understand your concern about the cabin.  However, my knees are so bad that I really need all the handrails to get up from the toilet.  In addition I have what is known as jelly legs with terribly poor balance.  I could use a wheelchair or scooter to make things easier if I wanted too and might have to switch to one or the other by March.  Since I have such poor balance I do fall alot and end up getting bruised.getedbruised.

Nan

[seniorladycruiser]

I also mmight add that I am 75 years old and do have health issues.

[NavyVeteran]

DW has mobility issues with her knees. She uses a cane or walker, but not all of the time. We do not book mini-suites on Princess because of the shower in tub. If we are not in a full suite, we book a balcony or outside cabin marked "no upgrade".

 

We have found that the normal window suite (not F315) works very well. There is plenty of room to store the walker. The door is not quite as wide as the accessible cabin, but her walker folds in so that it can be made narrower. The locations are great. The shower is very good; unfortunately, I can't remember what it has in hand-holds.

 

I haven't stayed in F315, but I've looked inside the cabin. The shower is large with a level entrance for a wheelchair. I believe the sink area may be smaller because the shower area is larger, but I don't remember for sure - it's been a while since I've been inside F315.

 

Any of the window suites are very convenient to Club Class dining - the suite breakfast is a little farther away. F315 is closer, but the others aren't much farther.

 

I'm not going to comment about whether someone else needs an accessible cabin or not. I believe we should provide all the information we have and let the individual make his or her own decision. Personally, I suspect you may be more comfortable in one of the other window suites instead of in F315, but that's your decision.

[Thrak]

There are no "monkey bars" for the toilet in the regular Window Suites. Here are videos of Window Suites on Grand Princess. Unfortunately I didn't see any videos of the HC Window Suite. Sorry about that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2020 by Thrak

[Id rather be diving]

We have stayed in the HC window suite on the Golden and the Caribbean Princess.  The sink is not much lower.  It just has the area free underneath it so a scooter or wheelchair  can drive underneath it.  I brush my teeth and don’t have to bend much further, if any,  than I do in other cabins.  There is fixed handrail on the right side of the toilet and one movable (up and down) on the left side of the toilet.  There is a bench seat in the shower that folds up if someone else doesn’t need it.  There is two handrails in the shower (if I’m remembering correctly).  There is a drain that goes around the shower.

Storage space in the shower is one small shelf.  At the sink there is three shelves, but two aren’t really Accessible to a full time chair/scooter user.  But there is plenty of storage at the desk for brushes, makeup, etc.  we bring an over the door shoe organizer to make things more accessible to my husband.

 

let me know if you have other questions.  We loved this cabin!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I stayed in F315 for 10 days August 2019. I had an S7 guarantee and this was the room I was assigned.  The room is the first one in from the piazza and the door slamming shut every time someone came in or out drove me nuts. It went on till all hours of the night. And it was relentless some nights. The door to the casino is right there too and I was really bothered by the smoke. Never again. I hope you can view the video of the room I tried to attach. 

[Cruise Raider]

11 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I stayed in F315 for 10 days August 2019. I had an S7 guarantee and this was the room I was assigned.  The room is the first one in from the piazza and the door slamming shut every time someone came in or out drove me nuts. It went on till all hours of the night. And it was relentless some nights. The door to the casino is right there too and I was really bothered by the smoke. Never again. I hope you can view the video of the room I tried to attach. 

A05020C1-8C99-491E-B081-8A9812F091B8.MOV

 

We had a room a couple doors down from that one and never experienced those same issues.  When we walked by that stateroom, however, we thought to ourselves, that room (F315) or F301 would present a problem, just for the reasons you stated.  They are perfect rooms for those that aren't bothered by smoke or noise.  

We noticed that people discovered the secret passageway and would use it all the time on one of our sailings ... one time, this woman said, 'oh, I see that you've discovered the smoke free way to get to the theater, too'.  Well no, actually ... our room is right there.  So, on that cruise, I'm sure there was a lot of door slamming going on.  

And, we were at the front desk one day behind a man that was in on of those forward cabins.  He was complaining that someone propped the main hallway door open and the smoke was just pouring into his room every time he opened his cabin door  (his words, not mine).  He was talking very loudly so, I thought maybe he was hard of hearing.  He wasn't complaining about the door slamming but, of the smoke.  I'm sure someone that was bothered by the noise but, not the smoke, propped the door open and the one that wanted it closed was not bothered by the noise but, was bothered by the smoke.  It was a probably a back and forth battle that those poor guest services had to try to solve.  I would say there is probably an easy fix for at least the forward cabins, put the smoking half of the casino on the other side.  Who thought of putting it on the same side as those cabins was probably not thinking!!  Oh well, they may have some other reasons for doing it that we are unaware of.  

 

[gmjc2]

16 hours ago, Thrak said:

The sink should be fine. However, my take is that someone who uses a cane and a walker shouldn't be booking the handicapped accessible cabins. Those folks who absolutely must use a wheelchair or scooter need those cabins. We cruised a couple of times with our oldest son. He's a disabled veteran and can't walk or stand - period. If the HC cabins are booked by those who can use a cane or walker then those who don't have those options simply can't cruise. A normal wheelchair can't even fit through the main door of a regular cabin and the bathroom is not at all accessible. Even if one got the wheelchair into the cabin it would be impossible to get it into the bathroom - let alone actually use the bathroom once inside.

 

Full Disclosure: My wife and I did sail in an HC cabin once but didn't book it. We were given a complimentary upgrade (forward, inside cabin to a Caribe deck HC balcony room!). The cabin hadn't been booked by anybody who needed it and Princess just moved us there. They didn't even send us a notice - I just spotted it in the personalizer one day. Under those circumstances, we were happy to have the huge cabin and huge balcony but would never book such a cabin otherwise.

 

You will probably find this "crabby" and "unhelpful" but, as you may be able to tell, I feel rather strongly about this subject.

You may want to think again before being this critical. My husband is a disabled veteran who has balance issues and cannot lift his feet high enough for the tub type showers in reg cabins. He also cannot get his walker through the narrow doors. He used to use a scooter but so many times the accessible cabins were booked so he had to go to a walker. It is not easy for him.The handle bars at the toilet and the shower seat in the walk-in shower are all essential. It is true that a person who cannot walk at all needs these accessible cabins but the answer is to campaign to get the cruise lines to have more of these types of cabins. The 12-20 usually available are woefully inadequate for the number of disabled passengers onboard.!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dickinson]

5 hours ago, gmjc2 said:

You may want to think again before being this critical. My husband is a disabled veteran who has balance issues and cannot lift his feet high enough for the tub type showers in reg cabins. He also cannot get his walker through the narrow doors. He used to use a scooter but so many times the accessible cabins were booked so he had to go to a walker. It is not easy for him.The handle bars at the toilet and the shower seat in the walk-in shower are all essential. It is true that a person who cannot walk at all needs these accessible cabins but the answer is to campaign to get the cruise lines to have more of these types of cabins. The 12-20 usually available are woefully inadequate for the number of disabled passengers onboard.!!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

If you read the OP she said "the shower is fine as well as the toilet" so it seemed that she had no issue with that.  It was a later post after Thrak posted that she said she needed handrails at the toilet and shower.

Edited August 30, 2020 by dickinson

[waltd]

I have yet to know someone who is disabled that doesn't have there good and bad days.   Some days I need extra help some days I don't. Why don't you just stick to the question asked and leave the decisions on who gets the HC cabins to the Cruise Lines.     

[gmjc2]

8 hours ago, waltd said:

I have yet to know someone who is disabled that doesn't have there good and bad days.   Some days I need extra help some days I don't. Why don't you just stick to the question asked and leave the decisions on who gets the HC cabins to the Cruise Lines.     

Totally agree!

[jondfk]

I've not stayed in F315 but have stayed in all of the other WS cabins on Grand at one time or another.  I've been in F315 visiting friends on a few occasions.  The room is largely similar to the other WS (F301 is the outlier of the bunch, that's another thread).

 

As noted, access to sink and shower are modified to accommodate a chair or scooter, otherwise largely the same.  Should suit the needs of the OP.  Lots of grab rails which is what she's after.

 

I too would caution about possible noise intrusion.  The amount of usage this "secret" corridor gets varies greatly cruise to cruise.  The heavy door to the atrium (adjacent to F315) can't be avoided and does close firmly (it's a fire door after all).  This would bother some folks greatly and others not at all, OP should have judge this for yourself. 

 

Smoke intrusion can be an issue for F301 as the cigar bar is a few paces away from this cabin.  Stewards occasionally prop this door open though this hasn't happened our last 3 cruises on Grand.  I should note that we've never detected smoke smell inside these cabins, but the hallway, yes at times has suffered.  

 

As did someone else, I would recommend any of the other S7 cabins (aside from F301).  They don't have the grab rails, but are very spacious and easy to navigate.  I will say, we find the marble entry and bath tiles quite slick with even the slightest bit of moisture.  Something for those with mobility challenges to consider.

Edited August 31, 2020 by jondfk
clarity