LokiPoki

I don't think you need a medical form just to use a wheelchair/walker.

No, don't think you do - I wasn't asked to submit one, but I got my GP to fill it out, really just as an extra confirmation of me being "fit to travel" should anything have gone wrong & I ended up having problems with insurance covering me (despite approval and pretty comprehensive cover for my preexistings I've heard a few horror stories..) - but if you use a wheelchair/scooter/walker Princess do get you to submit a "mobility questionnaire" form to their access office that covers things like weight & dimensions - and also whether you use the device full time, can walk short distances, etc.

The mobility form you just fill out yourself - https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/faq_answer_legal/Princess-Mobility-Questionnaire.pdf

Laura

Zika, et-al disease considerations were also present during the 2016 Winter (Dec-Feb) Caribbean Cruise season. Yes - US News reports & there were caution notices in the Princess Patter's. We did use repellant, etc.,(dryer sheets also work)but despite beach & jungle excursions St Maarten, Costa Maya, etc., we did not see one mosquito and locals seemed puzzled when we inquired about Zika. However - this is a very personal decision for high risk travelers - you should know before you go.

Ditto some of the South Pacific cruises - logging in to the cruise personaliser before the cruise, we had a public health notice pop up that had to be acknowledged (guess how many actually read it is another thing entirely) and there were both written notices and announcements made before we came to areas where it might be an issue. Like you, not a single mozzie to be seen, but locals did know about it.

Can see you've already had a lot of answers, but what I do when travelling, as I'm on a lot of prescription meds - enough to fill an entire suitcase on their own if I took all the original packaging, even squashed flat (well not quite, but you get the picture...) I cut the front panel off the box - the part that has the pharmacy label with my name, prescribing doctor & pharmacy info, etc., plus enough to show the trade and drug name and dose. Each drug goes into it's own ziplock bag with its bit of packaging, and is kept in a specific "medical bag" with copies of scripts, doctors letter & brief medical history.

Like others, I've never been asked to show anything - even though what I take includes controlled substances. Only thing that's ever thrown anyone into a tizzy is the magnets I use to control one of my implanted pain management devices (which Princess security wanted to confiscate...would've made for an interesting trip :eek:)

Have done one south pacific cruise only...always found the MDR cold (was never without a jumper & dressy scarf at dinner) and found the theatre so unbelievably cold I went once, had to send my Dad back to the cabin for our heavy jackets that we'd needed starting out from Melbourne - but even with two jackets, I had to leave as I was blue and shivering by halfway through (ridiculous, considering it was 30-ish celcius out on deck :confused: )

She'll be fine, especially if you stick to the MDR for evening meals. A bit limited in terms of actual non-dairy alternatives (as pointed out, no almond milk, no rice milk - iirc, soy is all they offer as a non-dairy milk option) - but they are fantastic about working with you to make sure foods on offer are okay for you to eat, or (with notice) coming up with an alternative.

Reedy, sorry you've decided to cancel. In case it helps in future, or someone else happens upon your thread and its useful to them - have you tried Southern Cross? I haven't any personal experience with them - works out cheaper for us to get corporate cover through the family business - but have had a few friends use them (all with a variety of fairly severe medical conditions).

Can't recall what insurance through them would have cost me - but wasn't too bad, and NOBODY wants to cover me: I'm 'medically stable' but kept that way in part by an intrathecal pump (drugs straight into my spinal fluid) - fantastic system, but if something goes wrong with it, means ICU/HDU kind of situation - and if I'm o/s - potentially med-evac back to Australia for my specialist to deal with it (not likely...but can understand why no one wants to cover the possibility :eek::rolleyes: )

My experience is admittedly very limited compared to many here - but I'd suggest it can do no harm to ask - worst they can do is refuse you, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Our recent cruise, our group had different times for check-in & boarding (different decks) - so contacted Princess and asked if we could all come at one time or the other so that we had the extra help with my chair in case I needed it. Expected that they probably would allow us to board as an entire group at one or other of the times on our info - but we were given priority instead (indeed - they bent over backward the whole trip to make sure things went smoothly and easily for me :) )

Agree with Pete - I've a progressive disability and fought against a wheelchair for a long time because I saw it as a concession to the idea that my condition was getting worse. It's no longer a choice for me, but learning to accept it for what it is and see my chair as a means to freedom rather than a limitation makes all the difference.

Yes - there are places a chair or scooter just will not go, whether because of steps, rough terrain or whatever - but if as you say just one day out is enough to mean a week of recovery time, it sounds like you're going to be putting far more limitations on yourself if you try to do a day of walking and ending up in severe pain, than you are if you take a wheelchair and potentially can't get into a few places. And if you take a chair, there's nothing says you've got to use it all the time - you can always decide day to day how you're feeling and whether you need it or not. Worst is you might get a few funny looks or comments from people if you're seen sometimes in a chair and sometimes not, but they're the sort of people best ignored!

Just so you know...CP is Sea Princess, not Caribbean Princess, who is CB. DP is Dawn Princess, or did you mean DI, which is Diamond Princess?

 

Main fleet:

• CB - Caribbean Princess

• Co - Coral Princess

• KP - Crown Princess

• DP - Dawn Princess

• DI - Diamond Princess

• EP - Emerald Princess

• NP - Golden Princess

• AP - Grand Princess

• IP - Island Princess

• GP - Regal Princess

• RP - Royal Princess

• RU - Ruby Princess

• SA - Sapphire Princess

• CP - Sea Princess

• TP - Star Princess

• SP - Sun Princess

The Small Ships of Princess:

• PA - Pacific Princess

 

EM

My mistake, thank you... :) did indeed mean Dawn

Might be worth asking in the disabled cruising section too?

Haven't been on CP - or in a suite, but have been in a regular cabin on DP as a wheelchair user.

- the smartscoots are those tiny wee folding things aren't they? We got into some difficulties as we found my small manual chair wouldn't fit through the cabin doorway without being folded quite tightly. Not sure if suite doorways are wider - princess quotes their standard cabin doorway width as 22" - but you then lose a good 2" or so because of the door and such. Just make sure it'll fit

- if you're happy her scooter will fit through the door, you can ask your steward for one of the doorstops they use while cleaning. Our steward gave us a couple (and others here have mentioned the same thing to me since our cruise when I spoke of our difficulties) the door stop makes things much easier!

- shower stool should be fine I think. Can't imagine the shower stalls in the suites are any smaller than regular cabins. Might be a squeeze if your friend is a larger lady, but I had no issue with a decent sized stool in our shower.

- will she need an elevated toilet seat? I gather from some of the discussions in the disabled cruising forum they're a bit hard to come by on princess, but we were offered one for our next cruise without having to request it.

Not knowing the ship/cabin layout, are the suites near a lift foyer? One frustration of using a mobility device on board is if you need to get to your cabin while the stewards are cleaning - seemed to depend on the deck how wide the corridors were - but in some it was impossible to pass their carts and I felt awful having to disturb their work to ask them to move the carts into a wider spot/alcove so I could get past.

Laura

May be a long shot - so have also asked for general experiences in the Aus/NZ forum - but wondering if anyone has any experience of guided kayak tours in the Bay of Islands (NZ). We're there March next year on a round NZ cruise, and while the ship offers a kayaking trip, I'd rather talk to tour operators myself than rely on a three way conversation & second-hand communications between Princess, tour operator they use and myself. Particularly something like this where it's important the tour guide knows what I can and can't do for my safety and that of anyone else they might be taking out at the same time (also practical issues like whether they've a shed or somewhere to store my wheelchair on shore for the duration, and whether I can actually get to the water to get into a kayak...am a reasonably experienced kayaker so once on the water I'm all good & have enough upper body strength/function to sort myself out if I capsize).

Seem to be a few guided tour operators in the area, but is always good to start with a recommendation.

Cheers, Laura :)

As per subject line - has anyone done a privately organised kayaking trip in Bay of Islands (we're there next March)

There is a ship-organised kayaking trip, but because of my disabilities (less so because of cost, though with privately organised I think being about half that of a ship tour, that comes into it as well) I'd like to be able to talk with guides in advance to make sure that they're able and willing to accomodate my needs in safety. I'm sure Princess would contact the operator they deal with if I asked, but I prefer to deal with people directly where my safety and that of those around me is concerned. Know there are a few kayak tours operating out of the area that fit in with the times the ship is due in, but always prefer to start with personal recommendations if I can get them.

Cheers

Laura

TravellingUnicorn talking about her chair not having anything fancy in terms of seating - although you won't want to look at proper wheelchair cushions (as they cost several limbs & more - unless you're lucky enough to pick one up second hand somewhere like ebay), if you end up with a chair that just had a slung fabric seat as the majority do, it might pay to get a cheaper foam cushion - just the type you can get at a lot of office and seating shops. Will make it much easier on your wife if she's sitting for any length of time, and will likely also make it easier for her to self propel as she'll be sat that wee bit higher relative to the armrests.

How able a swimmer is your husband? It's not an area I have any knowledge of - but know with my own problems, although I have good body strength & am not a bad swimmer as a general rule, my lower body issues (unpredictable spasticity & pain + some spinal issues) make me hesitant to get into water I'm unfamiliar with unless I've good support around me. For safety's sake it might pay to check out directly with the parks, or whoever else you might be dealing with, to find out what terrain is like, what water conditions are like (and how quickly they can change) & any other supports they can provide. Might he need something like a pool noodle - or even a proper floatation device, or can he manage safely on his own?

But are seat belts required in Vila? I doubt it.

Our bus in Vila - a minibus, which was in better condition than most - only had a couple of working seatbelts, and had anything happened we'd have found ourselves trying to climb out windows as the door couldn't be opened from inside. That was on a ship tour.

In Suva our bus driver laughed at me putting on my belt and assured me he was a good driver. In fairness he was excellent - but I'd no desire to fly through the windscreen if we encountered someone who wasn't.

Think you could hire snorkeling gear in Lifou also - didn't take a lot of notice as we took our own, but I'm fairly sure there were one or two women not far from the tender with them - possibly further round near Jinek Bay too (where better snorkeling is) - but was too steep for me to get down there so we didn't attempt it.

I've seen the driving in Vila :eek:. How there are not more crashes is a miracle!

 

Steve.

Yes, me too...am not often a white knuckle passenger - but we had some near misses in Vila :eek:

Thoughts to those involved

Do you have a HC cabin? I had one on the Crown Princess and even I was told that the special needs department did not provide elevated seats the wall bars helped a lot.

I loved the shower bench.

 

6boysnana

 

have a wonderful cruise

Wonder if it varies from ship to ship (though would have thought it'd be a standard yes/no within a given cruise line), or even on who you speak to. I didn't think to request one for our last cruise as both my own at home and most accessible toilets round these parts are higher than standard - and struggled as a result - but booking on Dawn Princess early next year (non HC cabin) we were offered both elevated toilet seat and shower seat before I could get to asking.

Wonderful man,no request to big or to small,brilliant

We didn't really have anything to do with him beyond a nod/smile as we passed - but our HWs and waiters both were so good we had no need.

Giuseppe Franchina was on Dawn in early May

Thanks again for the input everyone - once again is appreciated :)

Lokipoki (Laura) & family - Dawn Princess NZ round trip, March 03, 2017

Let them know before you cruise, then let your head waiter know on first night...not that I'd wish food allergies or intolerances on anyone, but we were really fortunate that the HW who looked after us our first night had lots of problems himself - so was particularly understanding.

I'm wheat intolerant, amongst other things, and they were fantastic with me...they actually have GF bread that is edible. Not sure about muffins, crumpets, etc, as my preferred breakfast is fruit (they did also have a GF cornflake kind of thing in buffet...unfortunately they were stale the twice I tried them) but they had my warm bread sitting on our table at dinner every night. Equally not sure about meat products as I don't eat them.

Pizza - you have to give 24h notice as they prepare the base specially - and sadly after looking forward to my pizza for a couple of days, a single bite was so foul in both taste and texture it had me gagging :(

Any pasta meals in the MDR - if you speak to HW the night before, you can request it be made with GF pasta...nothing spectacular, just a fairly standard GF spaghetti, but quite edible.

Is your wife under care of a physio or only the surgeon who operated on her? Admittedly I've no idea how your medical system works - but if she's under a physio they might also be able do short term referral for a wheelchair suited to her size/weight just for her to use while you're away - and may well be cheaper than you buying something.

My cruising experience is a one and only - and that with Princess - but could not commend them highly enough. I am a wheelchair user and they - in my opinion - went well above and beyond to make things easy for me. No stairs to tender...one of the assistance staff took us down in an access lift, and a couple of the men would support me with my arms around their shoulders - they are not allowed to lift passengers, but can "provide support". If you plan to try to tender, have a look at NCL's policy with regard to mobility devices & what the maximum allowable weight is. Buffet should be no problem for you...we didn't eat in buffet often I actually had a hard time convincing buffet staff that I was okay to carry my own plate and get my own food...and eating in MDR nearly every meal I had family and several waiters conspiring to help me sneak past the HW, who decided it was his job to escort me to the table each meal ;) Really, we found everyone went out of their way to make things easier - and speaking to a few others with mobility problems heard much the same story.

As far as buying a chair - be aware that a number of cheaper, off the shelf chairs are quite heavy - probably will fit within their allowed weight (if you're going to try to tender) but can be quite cumbersome, especially if your wife wants to be able to push herself around as against relying on you to push her. No idea what specialneedsatsea and the like offer - with my own chair I've no need of them, but comfort/mobility is why I'd suggest your wife talking with her physio if she has one.

Other thing that comes to mind - as you're talking about a lounger - if she's using a wheelchair, is she going to need her leg elevated? An elevated leg rest will add length & weight to the chair, but it's something you should be able to request if your wife needs it and/or will make her more comfortable.

Enjoy your trip

Dawn mini won the day :D

Minky, Princess customer service were able to find a few accessible cabins for us on Golden when we spoke to them this afternoon...problem is that all are twin berth only, so even for an interior I'd be looking at upward of $3.5k for my fare, vs $850 as third person in a mini. Would be a different scenario if I was unable to stand at all - but being as I can stand/walk a wee bit with an arm to lean on, while its a pest getting the chair in and out the door the price difference makes it a no brainer....and I get a balcony for cruising the fiordlands...bonus :D

Ozkiwi...the shower is over the bath on Dawn minis? Have been trying to work that one out - as there are a few photos floating around labelled as mini rather than full suite but showing separate bath/shower...Princess description says combo but diagram has separate...and Princess woman who did our booking this afternoon said she'd put a shower stool on the booking....stupid me forgot to ask her for clarification (and doesn't really matter in the scheme of things...worst comes to worst I can sit on the floor and hoick myself over) - but now wondering how on earth you put a shower stool in a wee tub :confused::confused: