HA cabin question

Are there any handicapped accessible balcony cabins on the classic ships with the "regular" balcony as opposed to the white wall?

Thanks :)

All HA cabins on the classic ships are cat 6 with the whitewall balcony. They are at the far aft of the ship. As I have a family member who needs the HA cabins, I've cruised in several of them and am happy to answer any questions. This information assumes there were no changed or additions to the Wonder in regard to HA cabins during the dry dock

You should be aware that they do not have a split bathroom and do not have a tub. Beyond that, each of them is slightly different from the others, but all are very adequate for wheelchair and limited mobility needs.

Thank you! Unfortunately I think the white wall is a deal-breaker for us, as I'd like our 6yo to be able to see the ocean without having to stand on something to see over the rail! Looks like the newer ships are a better fit for us!

I can't address that--while we've cruised the newer ships, it was before she needed the HA cabin...since we really prefer the classics and the longer cruises, that's primarily what we book.

Just for your info...we find that the HA cabins on the classics are not the best locations--they are all far forward or far aft, meaning that you have to navigate around host's carts and the various "stuff" that other guests may leave out in the hall. On Princess, the HA cabins are the closest cabins to the elevators meaning much less transit thru the halls. Unfortunately, this places them in the more expensive locations on the ship, but not having to traverse the halls is nice.

Thank you!

I definitely agree that not having to traverse the halls too much is a huge benefit. Not sure if DH will still use his rollator most of the time when we go - most likely 1yr+ from now - or if he'll want a scooter (possibly both) but either way accessible bathrooms are pretty necessary aboard ship, so accessible is a must. Dream/Fantasy have much better placement IMO.

I'm also considering Royal Caribbean and Princess. On Royal it looks like we have to go up to Oasis Class to have an accessible balcony that sleeps 3. On Princess it keeps trying to upgrade me to a "window suite," so I was thinking maybe they don't have any accessible + balcony + 3 people either. (The window suite does sound nice but we really have always made good use of our balconies and I don't know that I want to give that up - even for extra space without extra cost! Definitely appreciate all advice! Thanks so much!!

I'm also considering Royal Caribbean and Princess. On Royal it looks like we have to go up to Oasis Class to have an accessible balcony that sleeps 3. On Princess it keeps trying to upgrade me to a "window suite," so I was thinking maybe they don't have any accessible + balcony + 3 people either. (The window suite does sound nice but we really have always made good use of our balconies and I don't know that I want to give that up - even for extra space without extra cost! Definitely appreciate all advice! Thanks so much!!

We've been in 3 different HA cabins on Princess, 2 different ships. Each of them were 2 person cabins. However, with 20+ ships and different levels of HA cabins, I certainly can't speak to all. Princess tried to tell us that because their cabins have showers (not tubs), "all" their rooms could be considered accessible. Dose of reality--it depends on what the individual's needs are. The HAs have no steps into the shower (the normal cabins do), larger bathroom space, and more grab bars as well as a built in shower seat...and a door that will admit a wheelchair, more space, etc. A "window suite" is just that--it is a suite with suite benefits, but it has a window rather than a balcony. As you noted, especially with mobility and balance issues, we make good use of the balcony. I don't think we'd be as happy without one. You also might check out the cost of getting 2 cabins vs. the window suite if that would work for you. Princess has about a million cabin categories that only make sense to them. In addition to various locations changing the categories, they have "deluxe" balconies, etc. The suite benefits on Princess are nice, but not sure I'd want to pay for them.....Good luck making sense of all of it.

royal's HA staterooms are well located....at least on the ships i've been on..

right by the elevator...

as for HA balcony rooms that hold more than 2, i believe it's the vision class, oasis class, and quantum class that have 3 or more people in an accessible room.

the other classes all have more than 2 people in the deluxe HA rooms, but not in balcony

editing this to add the following:

i just checked royal's website.

the vision class ships (enchantment, grandeur etc) have balcony HA rooms that hold 4 people (all the HA balcony rooms hold 4 on vision class ships)

the oasis class ships (oasis, allure, harmony) have balcony HA rooms that hold various numbers of people from 2 all the way up to 6...

the quantum class ships have balcony HA some rooms that hold 4 and some that hold only 2.

here's royal's website where you can check room capacity of all the HA rooms on all the ships:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/accessibleseas/accessibleStaterooms.do

.

Thanks moki'smommy! You're right, navigating Princess's gazillion categories is complicated! And thanks for validating what I was thinking wrt the window suite. Two cabins definitely wouldn't work for us - the suite was only in consideration bc they offered it at the price of a balcony cabin.

Thank you alaska_planner! I had forgotten to check the vision class ships. We went on our honeymoon on the Brilliance (one off the hump; great location, perfect cruise!) and I started there and moved "newer" when I was checking. Thanks thanks thanks for that link! So helpful!!

Interesting...a window suite for the price of a balcony cabin might be tempting....but again, missing the balcony, I don't know. I also don't know how much extra space you get in the HA suites compared to a regular suite. Some of the suite goodies (like priority boarding) don't matter as you get those by being in a wheelchair for boarding. On the other hand, the suite benefits are nice--complimentary laundry/dry cleaning, "Club Class" dining (special section of MDRs with special menu, dedicated servers), complimentary mini-bar set up--if you don't want the alcohol, you can trade it out for soda in cans or trade out the whole thing for 2 "coffee cards"--good for specialty coffees and gelatos, breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants daily, welcome aboard munchies, flowers, enhanced toiletries, length of cruise pass to their version of the rainforest, etc. There are also things like higher grade beds, towels, special lines at Guest Services and excursion desk. Again, the ships are different, so some of the benefits differ also (not all ships have gelato!)

I will note that we could not have boarded using a rollator. She needed a wheelchair with a muscular guy to push it as the ramps for boarding were very steep on each Princess cruise. They have chairs available just for boarding (not loaners for the length of the cruise).

Thanks moki'smommy! You're right, navigating Princess's gazillion categories is complicated! And thanks for validating what I was thinking wrt the window suite. Two cabins definitely wouldn't work for us - the suite was only in consideration bc they offered it at the price of a balcony cabin.

 

Thank you alaska_planner! I had forgotten to check the vision class ships. We went on our honeymoon on the Brilliance (one off the hump; great location, perfect cruise!) and I started there and moved "newer" when I was checking. Thanks thanks thanks for that link! So helpful!!

Actually, you can get it for the price of an interior. On the Caribbean Princess, the only accessible cabin for 3 is the Window Suite - if you need an accessible cabin and are booking for 3 people, even at the interior price it offers you the complimentary upgrade to the Window Suite (which you're right doesn't have a balcony but does come with full suite benefits like free laundry, breakfast in Sabatini's, club class dining, and the first night free specialty dining).

Actually, you can get it for the price of an interior. On the Caribbean Princess, the only accessible cabin for 3 is the Window Suite - if you need an accessible cabin and are booking for 3 people, even at the interior price it offers you the complimentary upgrade to the Window Suite (which you're right doesn't have a balcony but does come with full suite benefits like free laundry, breakfast in Sabatini's, club class dining, and the first night free specialty dining).

That actually makes it worth taking a friend along to have 3 people! Wow.

That's interesting that it upgrades inside cabins too! Thanks meatloafsfan!

I just can't decide if it's really awesome to be able to get a suite - and all it's benefits - for a much more reasonable price or if it's really annoying that they make so few other accessible cabins that sleep 3+!

We haven't cruised in 10 years, and it'll be our (now) 6yo DS' 1st cruise. So, between kids clubs and a cabin that meets our needs, definitely looks like it's coming down to a decision between RCCL and Disney. Balancing price vs size for the most part I think!

That's interesting that it upgrades inside cabins too! Thanks meatloafsfan!

I just can't decide if it's really awesome to be able to get a suite - and all it's benefits - for a much more reasonable price or if it's really annoying that they make so few other accessible cabins that sleep 3+!

We haven't cruised in 10 years, and it'll be our (now) 6yo DS' 1st cruise. So, between kids clubs and a cabin that meets our needs, definitely looks like it's coming down to a decision between RCCL and Disney. Balancing price vs size for the most part I think!

Carnival Corp (at least Carnival and Princess) seemed to have changed their system when they started putting their accessible cabins online. I'm finding that when I put in for 3 people and click on oceanview or balcony, a lot of times it's upgrading me to the suite for no addition charge because it's the only accessible cabin for 3 on the ship.

Royal has some accessible balconies for 3 on many of their ships. I highly recommend cruisedeckplans.com - they post the pictures of the accessible cabins (for free - other cabins you need to have a membership to see the photos).

And yes, accessible cabins for 3 are hard to come by but they are out there - we've sailed on Royal, Carnival, Disney and Celebrity (and upcoming on Princess) and we've had cabins for 3 on all of them (though tougher to find on certain ships).