Please tell me about the handicapped cabins on the Westerdam

[selltile]

my husband does not use a wheelchair but is mobility impaired. Climbing into a bathtub is a no-go even for a shower. He is a bit to shaky for that so we are considering a handicapped veranda. Where are they on the ship? Are they nice or is there a better type of cabin we should go for. Our biggest worry is bathtub access.

[Oceanwench]

The HC verandah rooms we've had on Vista ships have all been forward -- 6003 and 6004 on the Upper Verandah Deck.

For anyone with mobility problems who is not in a wheelchair, it is a looooooong walk everywhere from those forward cabins.

My husband uses a powerchair, so it's no problem for him.

There is a roll-in shower and no bathtub. The balcony is fully accessible.

 

We have also stayed in an accessible SS, 6108. It has a roll-in shower as well, plus a separate bathtub. It is more centrally located. We didn't like the configuration of the shower, which is right in front of the toilet. When you pull the shower curtain shut, you and the toilet are on the same side! Makes for a soggy mess.

 

Look on the HAL site for the deck plans, and it will show you the various locations of the HC cabins for all price ranges.

 

But your husband may want to consider taking along a wheelchair, due to the distances you must walk on the ship.

 

Have a great cruise!

[drcandon]

Hi... we were on the Westerdam and even though we are not in that category we got bumped to the mobility impared VA cat rooms that you are asking about. The room was much bigger than the regular Va rooms and since I am familiar with mobility impared persons I can tell you that there is plenty of room for a wheelchair and such. The bathtubs are not mobility impared accessible, but the shower stall is, with plenty of handrails around for assistance. The sink ( single) is not particulary well designed, as it is a but higher than it should be, but I think it is still workable. There is a ramp to get outside to the balcony. The rest of the furniture is easy moved out of the way and the desk/table areas are the right height. You would have to reach a bit to get to the motorized drapes for the window and the doors.

 

However, as the other post indicates this is a big ship and I would strongly advise you to bring the wheelchair anyways. Also just a warning, one person on our cruise had what seemed to be a very larger wheelchair and that person and their company found it difficult to manoeuver around in the dining room - I think that is probably the same on any ship - space is always a premium..

 

Hal has done a good job in this matter - most of the floors are completely flat with low pile carpeting or tile.

 

One other thing that is not HAL's problem in particular, but is common on all the criuses we have been on is manoeuvering with a wheelchair in tendered ports...getting on and off the ship is not easy.

 

Hope this helps.

[Oceanwench]

Always remember that you can request a lower bed [our room steward replaced our mattress with a much thinner one ... the new mattresses are too high for DH] and your steward can take excess furniture out of your cabin and store it elsewhere.

 

Since your husband does not rely on a wheelchair, you probably won't have a problem with the furniture in the room, nor the height of the sink.

The toilet is also a higher one, with grab bars adjacent.

 

We have never had a problem in the dining room with accessibility. We always inform HAL up front that one passenger will be in a wheelchair, and they assign us to a table that is easy to access.

[BJane]

Oh no - the new beds are high? I just had to buy a new one and I can barely get into it. Thanks for letting me know I can request a lower one on the ship. As far as mobility vs. bathtub, we are both in the same situation. According to the HAL person that I spoke to they do NOT require any sort of medical statement that a handicapped room would be needed. Some uncaring folks have posted that they try to book such a room, even though they don't need it, because it's larger. I just hope that if and when they get to a point where they really need such a room, the "I want bigger even if I make it more difficult for a disabled person" mentality will have disappeared and they will not face the challenges that we now face.

[Oceanwench]

Oh no - the new beds are high? I just had to buy a new one and I can barely get into it. Thanks for letting me know I can request a lower one on the ship. As far as mobility vs. bathtub, we are both in the same situation. According to the HAL person that I spoke to they do NOT require any sort of medical statement that a handicapped room would be needed. Some uncaring folks have posted that they try to book such a room, even though they don't need it, because it's larger. I just hope that if and when they get to a point where they really need such a room, the "I want bigger even if I make it more difficult for a disabled person" mentality will have disappeared and they will not face the challenges that we now face.

 

Yes, the new SOE mattresses are higher, too high for DH to transfer into bed. Our cabin steward worked very hard to pull apart the bed, remove the mattress, replace it with another, then make up the bed.

 

Next time we may call the accessibility staff and see if we can request a change of mattress ahead of time, to make it easier for the steward.

 

Except for our first HAL cruise, we have always had to fax HAL a form explaining what accommodations we need for the HC room and elsewhere.

We sometimes have a difficult time booking the cruise we want, due to the HC cabins being taken. HAL does not go through the bookings to see if the rooms are booked by able-bodied people [who claim they are willing to move if a person in a wheelchair needs the room].