Disembarking in ports of call

When travelling with a wheelchair, we are used to embark first/disembark last, in order not to interfere with the rest of the passengers

However, I wonder how this works in a cruise. Though I don't mind whether we embark first or not, I really expect not have to wait to disembark till all the cruisers are ashore

What have been your experiences?

It really all depends upon the cruise line and to a lesser extent, the port. Assuming that you have booked for wheelchair assistance prior to sailing, you will likely have an indicated boarding time, which plenty of people will ignore and turn up early anyway. I can't recommned it, but it does work for some.

Whether you are on time or arrive early, you should be spotted at the entry point by a handler, who will ask if you've requested assistance. Either before or after checking in you will either pick up someone to do the pushing or will get parked in a waiting area while people buzz backward and forward taking people aboard. It could be a few minutes or could be an hour or more in the worst case, but it will probably be reasonably quick if you have your own chair rather than using one of theirs. If you have any sort of priority boarding, say with a suite then shout up and you'll get the speedy treatment.

At disembarkation you will register for assistance on the penultimate day and then be assigned a disembarkation time and a marshalling area to get to. Again, it depends on the line and the port but the likelyhood is that you will be disembarked toward the latter end of things, unless you have transport booked with the cruise line in which case they will line you up with that. It's not unusual to find your pusher getting to you at 09:30 or even 10:00.

My key tip for disembarkation day (also for muster drill on day 1) is to remember that everyone forgets how to use the stairs and loses both their sense of humour and any vestige of politness. You can spend ages trying to get into a lift to get to your floor while people puff out their elbows and scowl at you from behind the doors. So plan to get to the marshalling area early, push the lift buttons for both up and down and if one stops with even half a chance for wheelchair room hustle your way in. I learned a long time ago go to take the wrong direction and do the there & back trip to get where I wanted to be!

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I believe the OP is asking about leaving the ship at Ports of Call,, not at the end of the cruise (see title of thread)

In these instances, there is no priority for getting off the ship. those on ship sponsored tours will gather in a designated area and walked off together, or sometimes meet ashore. Everyone else leaves when they are ready. but this often means long lines to be the first off, especialy with those on independent excursions. EM

When travelling with a wheelchair, we are used to embark first/disembark last, in order not to interfere with the rest of the passengers

 

However, I wonder how this works in a cruise. Though I don't mind whether we embark first or not, I really expect not have to wait to disembark till all the cruisers are ashore

 

 

What have been your experiences?

If you're asking about simply getting on and off the ship at a particular port stop, unless you are participating in an organized cruise-sponsored excursion, you can get off the ship any time you want. You don't have to wait. My sister uses a mobility scooter and no one has ever stopped us from getting off the ship whenever we wanted to.

If you're asking about simply getting on and off the ship at a particular port stop, unless you are participating in an organized cruise-sponsored excursion, you can get off the ship any time you want. You don't have to wait. My sister uses a mobility scooter and no one has ever stopped us from getting off the ship whenever we wanted to.

Nor us. Only wait I've had is with tendering where they usually just hold us off to one side until the tender is full, then get me on, then lift my wheelchair on, so that I'm not in the way of other passengers trying to board

I believe the OP is asking about leaving the ship at Ports of Call,, not at the end of the cruise (see title of thread)

In these instances, there is no priority for getting off the ship. those on ship sponsored tours will gather in a designated area and walked off together, or sometimes meet ashore. Everyone else leaves when they are ready. but this often means long lines to be the first off, especialy with those on independent excursions. EM

Yep. Rule number 1 - read the question before replying. Major fail by me. :o

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Many thanks to all of you!

I was imagining 5.000 people trying to get off the ship by the same door at same time and we set aside waiting, waiting [emoji28]

I think we don't have to tender though...

Chunky, you scared me a lot with your lift stories [emoji33], I will go mentalised!

There may be 5000 people trying to get off by the same door at the same time, but you can get in line with the rest. I cruised Oasis of the Seas, a HUGE ship, and that is what happened to us. Everyone has to pass through the same checkout/checkin portals which limits the number of people past those portals at any given time (helps to wheelchair on/off safely). There was no priority for wheelchair/scooter users (which is fine with me) but also no being pushed aside.

Thanks Mamasylvia!!. We're on MSC Meraviglia, that is a rather big ship too.

I expect MSC works the same way. I'm fine with no priority as well. As long as there are not steps and my DS should not be standing... she will be more comfortable in her wheelchair than us...

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I vaguely remember hearing that MSC is not as accessible-friendly as some other lines. I have never cruised them so I may be misremembering. You might want to call and make sure that there are no steps to get off and back on at ports. (I'm a great believer in finding out about potential problems ahead of time, when you can try to do something about them.)

I vaguely remember hearing that MSC is not as accessible-friendly as some other lines. I have never cruised them so I may be misremembering. You might want to call and make sure that there are no steps to get off and back on at ports. (I'm a great believer in finding out about potential problems ahead of time, when you can try to do something about them.)

Thanks mamasylvia

Prior to book this cruise I called Royal, NCL Costa and MSC (these are the most known companies sailing from here, Barcelona) looking for an adapted cabin and information about accessibility. Since I had no luck about the adapted cabin in any of these companies, and Royal and NCL were out of my budget for a balcony cabin (my other daughter*is allergic to dust mites so a closed cabin is no option), we opted for the newest ship and for the line that offered us the best information and seemed more concerned about the welfare of the disables cruisers.

That said, today I phoned them again, and they had confirmed me that the ship berths on pier at all of ports of call, and disembarkation is by ramps.

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I always think it's smart to double check. My nightmare would be to find something I couldn't manage that would keep us from doing something we wanted to!

We are cruising in August on a New England/Canada cruise. We do have 1 port that is tendered, Bar Harbor. DH uses a scooter. I had to cancel an excursion in Cozumel in March because he couldn't walk off the dock to the transportation & there was no way to take his scooter. We ended up taking a taxi with the scooter in the trunk to the same location. So I am much more conscious of transportation this time. We will be docking in Boston, Portland ME, Halifax CN & St John CN; and tendering in Bar Harbor. The only accessible excursion is a bus in St John (maybe Halifax, I can't remember now). Someone on this forum came up with the idea of renting a car & going around by ourselves. That sounds like a terrific idea to me. As long as I can do my research on what & where to see & where I have to go to pick up the car it could work for us. I could leave him at the terminal or port while I go get the car then pick him & his scooter up.

Does anyone have any suggestions for these ports besides renting a car? I am looking for something to do in Boston since I won't drive there, something historic. Also, will he be able to get on the tender with his scooter in Bar Harbor just to walk around the immediate area? We were there several years ago for a week so just staying local sounds ok to me.

You won't drive in Boston? Pick up a death wish at Walmart and you'll be ready. lol

Look into whether the city busses are accessible. Kneeling busses have become quite popular and are painless to scoot on and off, but I don't know how accessible Boston is. If public transport is manageable, you'll have a lot more options to choose from.

Donna,

Portland is easy to see the local sites on your own. Just map out the places you want to see and select the shortest route. I use Google maps because I can usually get street views, thus have an idea of terrain and surrounding areas

Halifax has that nasty hill, rough on scooter batteries climbing it. A few years ago, the buses did not like three wheel scooters (tie down problems). We had paid before the driver realized we had three-wheel scooters. He was not happy, but let us ride. Regardless, you can follow the water front and see a lot on your own. If you want to see the Citadel I would highly recommend transportation up to the top. Easy trip coming down.

Bar Harbor: Depending on an abundance of factors, they might let you tender. If he has a small scooter, I'd suggest you just ask.

I think we just wandered around in St. Johns.

Boston is a real easy port. You can see most of the Freedom Trail on your own. However, if you take the metro, make sure you get a metro worker to let them you want to get off. They have to put a plate down for the gap at the stop for Bunker Hill and the Constitution. I'd recommend the buses. We have used both buses and metro.

Last trip we used the buses, it was easier. Do you research for schedules and stops. We took #4 bus from the ship to the Old North Church area (bus stop closest to Chopp's Hill). If you wish to go to Bunker Hilland the Constitution, you will have to transfer to the #93 bus or take the metro and scoot.

From the Old North Church, you can easily follow the Freedom Trail to Boston Common and Boston Public Park area and then scoot South Station to get the bus back to the ship. The ships normally docks at Black Falcon Terminal. If you are walking and starting near Chopp's Hill it would be approximately 2 ½ miles to South Station.

Old TownTrolley Tours (Boston Tours) does have a hoho bus that stops near the cruise terminal. According to their website, they now have accessible trollies. If this is of interest, make sure you select the company that stops at Black Falcon Cruise Port.

Have a wonderful cruise,

Betty

Thank you so much for your time & advise. I originally wanted to use Old Town Trolley Tours in Boston but didn't see anything about accessibility. I don't use a scooter but I have trouble walking distances. Walking the Freedom Trail would probably be fine for him but not me.

I'm afraid I'm not confident enough to take off on public transportation. I guess I need to see it first. I will copy your information over to my spreadsheet though to keep track of it. It may be a possibility.

Once again, thank you so much for your response.

Thank you so much for your time & advise. I originally wanted to use Old Town Trolley Tours in Boston but didn't see anything about accessibility.

 

Look on Trolley Tours website, under Boston Tours, click on “Menu” and then select “Accessibility and Safety”. If you look at the stops, you will get on at 18a. We could see the trolley when we came out of the terminal.

Enjoy Boston, it is a lovely city.

Betty

Is it a long walk from the ship to the trolley stop? If I can get him on the trolley, we could just ride around with the narrator. We can see everything from the trolley. I would love to tour a couple of historic attractions, though. Just a couple, since I need a knee replacement & am trying to hold off until after the cruise.

It seems that most of the ports we have, they have a hop-on hop-off trolley. That sounds fantastic for me. It just depends on how far he has to walk to get to the nearest stop from the ship.

The trolley is less than a quarter mile from the ship. Just let him take his scooter. There is a lift on the trolley. https://www.trolleytours.com/boston/accessibility-services. Then if you wanted to get off and on at some of the sights you could. I'm assuming that you have some form of knee support. If you look at a Google map, the pick-up is at 11 Dry Dock Ave. a block west of the terminal.

Have a wonderful cruise,

Betty

There may be 5000 people trying to get off by the same door at the same time, but you can get in line with the rest. I cruised Oasis of the Seas, a HUGE ship, and that is what happened to us. Everyone has to pass through the same checkout/checkin portals which limits the number of people past those portals at any given time (helps to wheelchair on/off safely). There was no priority for wheelchair/scooter users (which is fine with me) but also no being pushed aside.

In my experience when you Embark or disembark from a Port of Call they usually let me and my scooter and my aide go through the staff/ entertainment plank they usually have a separate entrance at rach porr for the staff/workers and if the main one is packed they will let you use the secondary

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