A More Convenient Way to Travel

Cruising A More Convenient Way to Travel as a Wheelchair User

Cruise

Travel as a Wheelchair User

If you’re wheelchair bound like me, cruising can be a very convenient and relaxing way to travel because you’re able to visit different destinations without the hassle of transferring baggage or checking in and out of hotels.

On a cruise ship you literally take your hotel room with you. During my years with polio I was able to travel by plane but now in my wheelchair I feel flying is more of a hassle and so I plumb for cruising. My first cruise was with Royal Caribbean and my next cruise will be with P & O to the western Mediterranean. I now love cruising! In this article I’ll share some of my experiences and observations.

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Making your cruise reservation

The cruise industry is making major strides in adapting its ships to support the needs of disabled passengers, but the amenities vary from ship to ship. Therefore it’s essential for you to do some research before you book your cruise.

The Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising 2012 is an excellent guide book for finding out which ships are well equipped to accommodate people with disabilities. My advice is to make your reservation well in advance. Each cruise ship has only a limited number of wheelchair accessible cabins which fill fast. Unless you’re able to get out of your wheelchair and walk a few steps, there is no point in reserving a cabin that is not wheelchair accessible because your wheelchair won’t fit through the doorway of your cabin. Usually, only wheelchair accessible cabins have entrance doors that are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

My mistake on our first cruise was not knowing about accessible cabins and while I was just able to get in the door a step up into the bathroom caused me real problems, my travel agent should have informed me about these cabins when booking as she was aware I was in a wheelchair.

Berlitz guide

Wheelchair accessible cabins are typically 50% larger than standard cabins in the same class. But it’s still a good idea to confirm that your cabin has enough room for you to manoeuvre around in your wheelchair with your travel agent or cruise reservation specialist. For example, I need enough space between the bed and the wall to do transfers from the wheelchair to the bed.

Choose a cabin in the centre of the ship if you’re prone to motion sickness. Stay close to the elevators because the corridors where the cabins are located tend to be quite long and are often partially blocked by housekeeping carts during cabin cleaning which makes it hard for a wheelchair to pass by. The closer you are to an elevator, the less likely a housekeeping cart will be in your way. And if you’re a manual wheelchair user, you may find yourself straining your arms when you have to push your chair a long way from your cabin to the elevator because the corridors are fully carpeted.Cruise lines generally make a lot of effort to accommodate your disability, but they have to know about it in order to meet your needs. When you make your reservation, tell them about the nature of your disability.

Getting to your cruise ship

If you live close to a major cruise terminal where many ship departure such as Southampton, Dover, Harwich or Tilbury, you might be able to drive to your port of departure to embark the ship. Not having to travel by air with a wheelchair can make your trip much more enjoyable because it eliminates the worry of your wheelchair getting damaged or of having to deal with discomfort while being stuck in an airplane seat. Most Cruise lines offer coach travel or car parking at the port.

If you do need to fly to a Canadian or US port of embarkation, you will find that several cruise lines will make arrangements to pick you up at the airport in a wheelchair accessible van for a reasonable fee. Check with your cruise line at the time you reserve your cruise to see if this service is offered.

I’ve also noticed that the security when boarding the ship has become a lot more stringent after 9/11. The security procedures have become very similar to what you have to deal with when getting on a plane. Don’t forget your passport because they won’t let you on the ship without it. Bags attached to wheelchairs are fully scrutinised and although sitting down patting down is still done

Wheelchair accessible staterooms

Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that foreign-flagged cruise lines must make their ships accessible to disabled travellers, you’ll find that newer vessels have been built with fully accessible staterooms featuring wide doorways with level entries, roll-in bathrooms with shower stools, emergency call buttons and sinks that are accessible to those who must wheel up to the sink. So before you reserve your cruise, inquire about the age of the vessel.

All accessible cabins are roomier than their standard counterparts in the same class, but if you are able to afford the more expensive outside rooms, I really recommend that upgrade. On our first cruise we stayed in an outside window cabin, but I found this kind of depressing because the only light from small window makes the room look smaller and dark inside. I could never wait to get out of the cabin, If you’re in a wheelchair you tend to spend more time in your cabin because processes like getting ready for bed or getting up in the morning simply take longer.

If you have a room with a balcony, make sure you’re able to get over the lip to the outside; otherwise the balcony won’t bring you a lot of enjoyment.And if you need special equipment in your cabin, your steward will do anything he can to get it to you. Cruising is all about service!

Dining and entertainment on board the ship

Food on the cruise ship is abundant and the dining room service is excellent. You can pretty much eat around-the-clock and it’s almost guaranteed you will gain a few pounds. The bigger the ship, the more dining options you will have.

The main dining room is quite large and it’s usually not easy to get to a table next to a window because they tend to be further away and requires some manoeuvring going between all the tables, passengers and waiters. I recommend settling for a table that’s closer to the entrance of the dining room. In the evening, the main dining room has an early and a late seating and some of the evenings

Entertainment

formal dressing is required. When you regularly eat in the main dining room, your waiter really gets to know you and starts tuning into your special needs. Dining in the buffet lounge is another option. The buffet lounges are typically located at one of the upper decks and have glass windows all around, an ideal location to soak up the scenery. If you get tired of eating in the main dining room or at the buffet, you can always choose to order room service or eat at one of the specialty restaurants on board the ship. Just be aware that some of these specialty restaurants may charge you an extra fee.

Entertainment on board the ship

Most cruise ships have large, accessible public rooms; therefore passengers with mobility problems can enjoy their full share of entertainment. The shows are actually really good and typically last about an hour. Wheelchair accessible seating is available in the show theatres, but my experience is that the quality of the seating varies by ship. The bigger the ship, the more seating options you have. For example, when we cruised on the Independence of the Sea, However, the accessible seating was in the very back behind the regular seats and my wife had to sit in front of me or even further away when those seats were already taken.

There are plenty of activities on board the ship during the day to keep you busy, but a lot of times I just simply loved to park myself at a table next to a window in one of the lounges to relax and read a book and drink coffee.

Shore excursions

Avoid cruises where most of the stops are at tender ports because most tenders (when the ship is anchored away from shore instead of next to a dock and a small boat must transport passengers from the ship to the shore) are not wheelchair accessible. Even if a port can accommodate docking ships it is still not a guarantee that a tender won’t be used when the number of cruise ships at the port exceeds the available docking spaces. I learned the hard way that cruise lines alternate among each other between docking and tendering. Again, do your homework upfront and make sure you ask your cruise agent all the right questions when you book.

A tender port

Shore excursions are operated by independent contractors and the accommodations they provide are beyond the control of the cruise lines. The tour operators are not obliged to provide accessible transportation, especially not in foreign countries. However, disabled passengers can improve accessibility by asking cruise lines to contract with operators that provide accessible tours.

My up-coming cruise to the Mediterranean is my chance to see Rome and Florence yet I don’t know if accessible tours are available or what cost is involved, I have been told a brochure will be sent 90 days before the cruise, not much time to decide or save for when with a little thought you can do what I do and check what trips and costs were involved in the previous years excursions. I didn’t find it easy to do as you get the “costs/trips” may not be the same this year, no but it can give you a ballpark figure to go on, nothing worse than wanting to do a tour and finding finances won’t stretch any further, avoid the disappointment.

If the cruise line does not offer any accessible excursions at a certain port, it might be worthwhile to do your own research and book a private tour or rent a wheelchair accessible van

Happy cruising!