LokiPoki

Lifts remain a mystery to me too...I'd swear some people must have figured out how to fiddle the things, the way they'd randomly skip floors - or stop at every single one for no reason - but not me (if only!!)

Cabins...we're looking at three of us sharing a mini as accessible cabins I suspect are long since booked out ... only going on description/diagram & a handful of reviewers photos but Dawn looks to have bigger/better layout, esp with a third person in the cabin? Just not sure it is worth the extra $$, particularly given what you've both said about the extra passengers not being much of an issue.

Specialty restaurants probably aren't a factor for us...me being veg/near vegan and coeliac into the bargain, we stuck with MDR for nearly every meal last time as it was much easier for me knowing exactly what was in my food & having HW/waiters knowing from Day 1 what I could and couldn't eat. So likely will do much the same again whichever ship we choose.

Thanks again for the input :)

Thanks GUT, is good to hear about crowds as that's my biggest worry...I start looking for hiding places when there are too many people to deal with at once :eek:

It was the service we had on Dawn that would bring me back to Princess over others, but if it proved only half as good next time I'd struggle to find fault.

But number of passengers in ports...some of our smaller ones were certainly overrun, even though I suspect quite a few people stayed on ship at tender ports. Have been to places like Akaroa of my own accord and can't imagine what it's like there when a couple of thousand cruise ship passengers come to call!

Has anyone sailed on both and could comment on how they compare - particularly in terms of size (how easy it is to negotiate ones way around the ship) and noticeable number of passengers.

We're not long off Dawn & I found her more than big enough (bearing in mind my preferred watercraft is a kayak or tinny!) - having mobility issues, it's a big area to negotiate and felt like I spent half my time on board waiting for lifts. Also found at times I struggled with the number of people as I'm no great fan of crowds (not helped by the few very rude people who felt they had the right to crack bad jokes about my wheelchair and/or use me as a leaning post in lifts...and worse, take offence when I had a problem with their behaviour :mad:)

On the whole, enjoyed it, and we're looking at one of the NZ cruises for next year. Parents are pushing for Golden - as she sails from Melbourne & fares are cheaper for them (no difference to me as third person), plus we'd have no dicking about with airfares, airport transfers etc. But holds some concerns for me her being a bigger ship and at full capacity substantially more passengers. Are those extra people more noticeable? (Thinking particularly if the age demographic is much the same & similar or worse competition for lifts at meal times and on port days) Does the Golden being bigger add much time/distance from Point A to Point B - especially when you factor in that I have no choice but to use a lift?

Cheers :)

Hi, all- I'm on the Royal Princess in November with my Mother that utilizes a wheelchair. Princess does not offer any excursions for wheelchairs in the cities above. Can anyone recommend a tour company in any of the places above? My Mom can walk up a few steps if needed, but needs the wheelchair for more than a few steps.

 

Thanks in advance,

Gail

I found Princess' Access Office a bit hit and miss, but you might be able to find out who the tour operators are and either request further details through the access office or by contacting the tour operators yourself. Tour desk staff on ship were marvelous though...we'd a few things we wanted to do so spoke to them on first day, they communicated with each tour operator to let us know details on things like terrain, vehicles used, and made sure our guides in each place knew I had my chair and might need a bit of extra assistance (which was happily given wherever we went)

Yep, steward actually offered a wedge after the first day, but I never quite mastered the art of getting the thing in the right place to hold the door!

xxoocruiser - that's pretty well what I meant, you just put it better :)

Would also double check doorway width ... Princess says their standard stateroom door width is 22" - I didn't measure ours but I couldn't even get close to getting my small manual wheelchair through (well under 20" wide rim to rim). With the way the door opened and the weight/difficulty of holding the door open to get through, the chair had to be folded as tightly as possible to get in and out while I held onto walls or someone else supported me :-/

 

Also recommend taking a photo of the chair on the day you board the plane (put today's newspaper on the seat to establish a date) which will be invaluable if you must make a claim for damage, as the airline will usually try to claim that your chair was already damaged before checking.

Seconding this...have only flown 4 times with my chair, but it's sustained some sort of damage each time (no surprise really, when you see the way handlers treat passengers' possessions :eek:). I always carry a wee toolkit for mine too (Allen keys & spanner, puncture repair kit, etc.) as something has come loose each time. Cushion and other bits I take on the plane with me - cushion actually comes in handy as it means the headrest is in the right spot. Also a good idea to make sure both your household and travel insurance providers are aware - perhaps less an issue with an 'off the shelf' chair worth a few hundred bucks that is only for occasional use, much more so when you're considering thousands of $$ of scripted/custom equipement that is essential to your daily activities

We were not "brought to our stateroom" - but given directions, and was no problem with us going there immediately, even with us being the first group through (this in contrast to pre-cruise info, which stated we'd not have access until later in the afternoon & suggested we go straight to buffet for a meal)

Another biased Aussie - Melbourne is a lovely city (as cities go), though March can be an interesting time of year weather-wise. I am just to the north...Yarra Valley - also a great place to visit! - and we get maximum temps anything from 20-ish to over 40...Adelaide can be much the same.

We found MDR much, much better than buffet - we stuck to MDR for most meals because of my dietary issues (and they were wonderful in dealing with those) - but even comparing things that were fairly similar (fruit, salads, etc) the quality was far better in MDR than buffet as it had not been repeatedly pushed and scraped around by other passengers...additionally when the buffet was extremely busy there wasn't great policing of bad passenger behaviours - particularly people touching food with their bare hands, and even picking up and replacing things they didn't want.

I could not fault the food I had any night - beautiful fresh salads, which they topped up with things like fresh avocado, walnuts, beans, fresh cut fruit, vegetables cooked as I like them (not sautéed in butter or drowned in oil) - but even rest of my group eating meals as listed on the menu could not find fault. Our only meal "fail" was in the pizzeria - with 24 hours notice they made me a gluten free base, which looked fantastic on the plate, tasted revolting and was so dense I could have brained someone with it. Toppings all round were pretty poor - have seen frozen pizzas with better topping - but it sounded from talking with other passengers that they were pretty hit and miss - people either loved or hated what they'd had, very little middle ground.

No big deal as far as dressing for dinner - but I do agree with comments elsewhere that the enforcement (or not) of dress policy is somewhat sexist...I, as a not unattractive young woman wore long shorts more than once, but my brother in a very similar pair was asked to change. Formal nights not really a big deal - some people obviously really enjoy it and get right into it - the ladies in their nice dresses/gowns and gents in a tux - but we were told that smart/dressy pants & a nice shirt or blouse was quite acceptable for us & shirt/tie fine for the boys. A certain member of my group wore a tux t-shirt to our second formal night and wasn't questioned - but that said, we'd got to know 2 of 3 head waiters in our dining room pretty well by then, and think as I came in for a bit of special treatment they probably gave our whole group a little more leeway than might have been given otherwise.

Had no problem with a shower seat fitting in the shower on Dawn Princess - but I am short and relatively slim - I think anyone much taller than I and/or of larger build might struggle to sit comfortably in the shower.

Out of interest - do any of the lines have a system for allocating accessible cabins according to actual need, or is it purely first come, first served? We could not book an accessible cabin - took the risk of a regular one, which proved to be a pretty major hassle (am a wheelchair user, though can walk short distances with support) as my chair had to be folded as tightly as possible to get through cabin doorway while I clung to either a wall or another person - this compared to TA's assurance that it should be "no problem" - yet spoke to several other passengers (some with minor, one with no mobility issues) on our cruise were in accessible cabins who were quite dismayed that they'd been given accessible cabins ahead of me, and (not that it was possible as I was sharing with two others) were even kind enough to offer to swap cabins with me.

Just come off the Dawn - was the staff made it for me. I've no other cruises to compare to, but everyone we dealt with, from cabin steward to dining and bar staff, to access/assistance staff (am a wheelchair user) were amazing and really went all out to make things easier for me.

Can't comment much on buffet (ate primarily in MDR as I've got a few dietary issues) - though was largely impressed with what I did see, mostly healthy options, only downside is that staff didn't really pay close attention to passengers' handling of food - more than once saw someone pick something up with bare hands and replace it - ick! MDR food was good - we ended up with two of the head waiters looking out for us; Claudio, who we'd spoken to the first night when dining was a bit chaotic and Gabriel, whose section we were in the rest of the trip. Claudio was a bit of a joker (after me eating salad for a few nights, the cheeky bugger told me I'd have floppy ears and a tail by the end of the cruise) but also made a real effort to cheer me up a few mealtimes when I was a bit miserable with extra pain or fatigue. Both really nice and looked after me extremely well, and the same with Ronald & Reagan, our table waiters.

I wasn't impressed with Crooners - it was one of the few places where the staff seemed a bit disorganised and really didn't look like they were enjoying their work - whether because of the work, or because of passengers (I was horrified by the rudeness I witnessed in a small number of passengers toward staff - but gather from chatting with "our" staff it's more widespread than that). Our group ended up at Magnums most nights instead and really liked it for our pre-dinner drinks. Rey (current bar assistant) and offsider Ron made sure we had an out of the way corner each night, and knew all five of us by name and our drinks of choice by the second night.

Maybe depends on the ship, but we've just come off the Dawn and plenty didn't take the formal nights too seriously. We went to both (needed MDR because of my dietary issues, otherwise we probably wouldn't have bothered). I hate dressing up so went for simple black pants and light knit top, Mum wore similar. Brother wore shirt and tie. My Dad - who is a bit of a joker - wore shirt and tie the first night, but the second wore one of those fairly crass tuxedo t-shirts (the kind you pick up at markets, with the tux, bow tie, carnation, etc., printed on to a black t-shirt). No problems getting in. Spied one other bloke in a tux t-shirt, a few people in full formal get up but mostly just dressed neatly and reasonably smartly as we were.

Minor repairs/maintenance is what we were told. No real change of schedule ...think we left Noumea all of about 1/2 hour earlier than originally stated on the itinerary but that's all.

Just be a wee bit careful with knee walkers...some can be very unstable and I know a few people who have had nasty falls on them. Guessing you've seen the ortho by now - but depending on how severe your son's fracture is & how much weight he's allowed to take through the foot - if he is sticking with crutches you might be better getting a physio to fit some forearm crutches for him. With far too many years experience of the things (disability rather than injury) - particularly if he's able to partially weight-bear, forearm are far and away better than underarm. They do need a bit of strength - but give more freedom to use your hands, and take away from the tendency to take weight right up in the armpits (so many people do this with underarm crutches...but is completely incorrect and one reason why so many people find them so very uncomfortable to use).

If you have the time, I'd suggest taking a scooter or wheelchair of some sort though. I'd imagine you're likely to encounter wet decks at some point - and crutches are terrible for slipping on wet surfaces.

Hope you can still have a wonderful time!

Grammy, have no idea how it will go as yet (will be back mid-May so watch this space...hopefully will be in time to be of help to you) but we are cruising with princess, leaving on Thurs. I am a wheelchair user and got a bit concerned about embarkation as I'm travelling with family but we are in cabins on different decks so had something like 2 hours difference between our allocated check in times. We rang to see if it was okay for my parents (with the later time) to arrive the same time as me - not only was told no problem, but our whole group has been priority boarding. Completely unexpected, very nice of them & hopefully will make things much easier if it goes smoothly.

Am reading very mixed experiences regarding the use of debit cards on board - this is largely what I use (of the Visa/MasterCard variety) as I do not have a credit card and won't have one on principle. Am hoping, given the negative experiences others have had, that it won't be an issue if I do a wee bit of advance planning. I'm working on the assumption that Princess will place a hold of some sort on the card - but can anyone give me an indication of how much it typically is? And do they do it on a daily/weekly basis, or a larger sum for the duration of the cruise?

Really just trying to anticipate how much to have in that account...it's one I keep just for use with the MC Debit, typically do not keep much in it in case card is lost or stolen. I don't really plan on spending big on board - have already sorted soft drink card and the couple of excursions I am interested in - have some cash and separate card for anything onshore (and 4 travelling companions their own cards should anything go awry...)

Reading back I'm sounding borderline-obsessive and a bit of a miserable sod...I'm really not ;)

Cheers to anyone who can offer advice.

Laura

Can't give you an answer, but am following as I'll be in Fiji shortly and hoping I can find somewhere to hire a kayak if I want as I can't physically use a SUP.

Laura

Adding my backing to the Fuji (without checking, think mine is xp70) I picked one up quite cheaply through an ebay reseller last year. It took a bit of adjustment, as I mostly use a DSLR, but wanted something I could take kayaking with me & not have to worry about it getting bumped around. Image quality is pretty good across the board, and has a few different settings to play with.

Grand. Thanks for the response :)

Just wondering if someone can give me an idea of current drinks price on Princess? As pretty well a non-drinker, I'm guessing the soda & more pack will likely work out cheaper for me than buying drinks individually as I want them, but not sure if this will prove to be the case for the others in my group.

And - is there a restriction on the number of bottles of wine that can be brought onboard? I'm aware that corkage is charged after the first bottle - but looking at the wine prices Princess lists, we are thinking that even factoring in an extra $15 for each bottle, it may well be less expensive to buy wine before & carry it on with us than to buy on board.

Thanks,

Laura

I gotta say, I'm sometimes flabergasted at exactly the opposite issue - security checking when I'm in the wheelchair is sometimes so poor I've had to tell them where to look just so I can hope that they'll be a bit more attentive with the next wheelchair jockey in the line.

 

Examples .......

I have a bag swinging away under the chair for gloves, hand wash, etc. but it also holds a set of allen keys for maintenance which could just as easily be a knife or a gun. Frequency of being asked to take it off for the scanner - about one in three.

 

When's the last time anyone checked the cushion in your chair? I've never had mine checked for contraband, even when I've offered to stand and let them get access to the chair.

 

I sympathise with the OP but on balance I'd prefer a bit of hassle just to be a bit safer. In contrast, I always feel like a major league criminal when entering the US because the security is just so crazy compared with any other country I've visited.

 

 

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I've had much the same experience. I always ask security to be very gentle...with a combination of chronic pain, hyperalgesia & dystonia, and if I'm having a bad day, a touch in the wrong place can be enough to flare my pain rather dramatically and/or set of intense muscle spasms. I am lucky that I've always been taken at my word and this respected - but security has been lax to the point at times that they've not even done a pat-down, just given a very quick swish of myself and my chair with the wand and waved me through. I'm honest, and would never dream of taking any prohibited goods through with me

- but not everyone is.

Don't think I've ever been asked about my Allen key set

Thanks also katisdale

Silver Sweethearts - based mostly on cost/distance from home, and the time of year all of us were going to be available. We wanted a cruise leaving an Australian port (as we know a cruise will be my Dad's preference & brother's partner doesn't like flying), which that time of year really left us with NZ, round Australia or the various South Pacific cruises. We've all seen a good bit of Australia, NZ I'd prefer to do another land trip (lots of friends there) so settled on South Pacific.

With regard to cyclone Pam - I've had a few email conversations with a couple of tour operators in Vanuatu, and been trawling news, DFAT, Vanuatu Tourism & sites like this - and though I suspect the same can't be said for more remote areas, it sounds like most of the major infrastructure in tourist areas at least (particularly Port Vila) are reasonably well back on track. I'm pretty good at rising to challenge, so we can only see what happens.

Thank you so much again for your input - has definitely reassured me somewhat. I'm more an off-the-beaten-track kind of girl (the wheelchair is an indirect result of a hiking accident) so definitely traveling for destinations as much as for the ship. I'm a total cruise newbie as you can probably guess, parents have done a few and enjoyed them (this is a secret present for my father's birthday) - not sure how my adventurous streak would cope with being stuck onboard while I see everyone else hopping off and enjoying themselves - but guess it'll be an experience whatever happens!

Definitely contact them as suggested - I'm veg, plus wheat & dairy intolerant - Princess have been very helpful via phone & email - and advice I've been given is to speak to the Maitre 'd at least 24 hours in advance of each meal. Was also told I could speak to a "supervisor" (head waiter perhaps?) who if need be could, with enough prior notice, organise special meals with the chef if there was nothing suitable on the menu.

Not sure about lactose free milk (assuming you're meaning the lactose free dairy milks available?) - I was informed that they could supply soy & rice milk, but do not have almond, coconut or goat milk ... This is for our Dawn Princess south pacific cruise next year - whether alternatives differ when ships are in different regions, I've no idea.

Thanks Silver Sweethearts - yes, have considered that too - trying to work out what shore will be like, know some places ought to be okay, some "interesting" - but less concerned about terrain onshore than actually being able to get there to start with - getting round where I live has been known to require the wheelchair equivalent of 4wd-ing and managed some pretty rugged terrain when I travelled to NZ.

A good thought to have plan A & B - I'm just worried about my family missing out because of feeling they having to stay on board to keep me company.