Japan cruise on Diamond Princess

[Odin's Raven]

Hi My wife uses a wheelchair and can’t walk or do steps on coaches .Can anybody give us some advice on excursions around the Japanese Islands and Jeju SKorea.I know things are limited but has anyone managed to tackle this issue be it private car hire with driver or accessible shuttle buses away from port to a place of interest.Our ports of call will be Kagoshima ,Jeju (S Korea) ,Otaru, Hakodate, and Kushiro. Many Thanks 

[shecritic]

I don't have personal experience with wheelchair accessibility in those specific ports, but a few things that may help - definitely contact the cruise line well in advance and ask very specific questions about excursion options. Some ideas - see if pre-booking a wheelchair-accessible shuttle or private car/driver is possible rather than relying on public transport. You could also look into excursions that are more walkable areas or attractions rather than sites requiring lots of stairs. Lastly, calling attractions directly may yield better accessibility details than tour operator info. Good luck planning - I hope you're able to find some great accessible options to enjoy your time in port.

[ladychater]

Oof, I don't know that you'll find much.  I just got off the Diamond Princess.  The problem is that, even if you have a bus that can take you around, pretty much every shrine requires walking up stairs.  Most of them are unpaved or unevenly paved and stairs seem to always be involved.  My big takeaway from Japan was that it's not a great place for those eitb limited mobility.  I kept thinking that my Mom would never be able to see so many of the places that we went to.

[WESTEAST]

Agree with @ladychater as just returned from Japan and lots of walking, stairs, some very steep to see sights.  Many passengers on our cruise with canes or walkers had difficulty. Our cruise line did have some excursions identified as Accessible Tour but they were limited. Suggest calling the Cruise line to inquire if they offer Accessible Tours or Private Car hires. Good luck.

[thehowlingroad]

Agreed with all the previous posters. My mother uses a cane and we just came back from our cruise. She struggled in many places, although the locals were very kind and gave up their seats on public transit, allowed us to skip the queues or wait in a different area, etc. But none of that negated the sheer amount of stairs or steep inclines everywhere. A wheelchair would be impossible to use in many of the places we went to.

 

The families or groups with wheelchair users that I did notice often were accompanied by private transportation (whether a hired taxi or other type of vehicle), a hired guide who was able to help them, or with the cruise ship's accessible tours. You may have luck contacting tour operators directly to see what they can do. Many are doing the best they can, but Japanese accessibility infrastructure is limited at best.

 

You may also find this site helpful: https://www.accessible-japan.com/.

 

 

[1Lina]

Can you tell me how crowded the Diamond Princess is typically? I realize it will differ by season but I was wondering if there a huge crowds. Also, what type of cruisers does the Diamond Princess cater to? I worry about large crowds and lots of smoking. 

[thehowlingroad]

3 hours ago, 1Lina said:

Can you tell me how crowded the Diamond Princess is typically? I realize it will differ by season but I was wondering if there a huge crowds. Also, what type of cruisers does the Diamond Princess cater to? I worry about large crowds and lots of smoking. 

 

We were just on the March 28th departure (cherry blossom season!) and the ship was close to 100% capacity (2700+). I didn't feel like it was particularly crowded, but our itinerary only had one sea day and we're the type of travelers who leave the ship early and come back as close to all-aboard time as we can, so we didn't spend much time on board other than for meals and sleep. Others who spent more time on the ship might have a different experience.

 

Princess as a whole caters to an older clientele than Royal Caribbean or NCL; you'll see families, of course, but Princess doesn't have water slides or roller coasters or any of those attractions on the top deck, so it doesn't tend to be the first choice for families with lots of children. The summer months will be a lot more crowded regardless, so your best shot for a non-crowded ship is going in the off-seasons (although Japan in the fall is also a popular time to visit because of the autumn leaves).

 

There are designated smoking areas on board, so if you avoid those areas (usually a particular section of the outdoor decks), you shouldn't have any issues with second-hand smoke.