Hi everyone.  I thought that it may be of some value to you 55+ youngsters what our routines are, at my age of 86 and my wife at 85.  We’ve always been active—daily gym for me and water aerobics for my wife, which we still do.  I do 30 minutes on a stationary bike followed by some upper body weight machines, while my wife is in the pool for an hour.

I have been a musician nearly all my life—play brass instruments, which has kept my breathing and lung health excellent.  I was in a Navy Band for several years.  Still playing in three big bands, rehearsing twice a week.  All my friends who play still have lungs of a thirty-year-old, as do I.  But within the past four years my balance has deteriorated to the point where I must have some support in order to keep from falling.  I’m a cabinetmaker and work in my shop a lot, but need to be within reach of something stationary to keep balance.  I had never fallen before six months ago and now I have had six falls, fortunately with no injuries.  This is not a strength issue; I can stand for some length of time without problems, and walk as long as I have balance support—that means a rollator constantly at my side now.  I don’t lean on it, just use it for balance.

My wife has none of the balance problem that I have, fortunately.  She is in excellent health (as am I) and continues to do the outdoor yard work that I used to do, plus normal household work.  Many of our friends and neighbors have some regular household help come in, but she refuses.  I think that’s part of the reason she’s in good shape.

Another admonition for everyone is to keep your weight in check.  I have been overweight by 20 pounds much of my adult life, but since I retired I have worked to lose that and now (still fighting it) am at my reasonable weight.  My wife had put on some pounds but over a couple of years really worked on that—via Jenny Craig—and now stays within her reasonable weight too.  Way too many people seem to just let themselves go, especially since what you see on TV seems to encourage largeness and weight gain.

There will be a point in a year or two when I will get a motorized wheelchair (a folding model for travel) so that I can continue to go longer distances when touring in other countries, but in the meantime my rollator is working fine.  That is, as long as I continue working out daily at the gym.

14 hours ago, cinderellen said:

 We use a Drive rollater/transport chair when we travel (purchased from Amazon). There are mixed reviews on this product but it has worked well for us. My husband uses it as a walker most times but if he becomes fatigued, I can push him. It must be used cautiously as a wheelchair due to the weight distribution so it may not be for everyone. When we cruise, we do book an accessible cabin and rent a scooter. I can confirm that all the accessible cabins we have had on celebrity do have automatic doors. 
 

Shore excursions and venturing off the ship can be tricky. We recently flew to Barcelona for a transatlantic cruise. I used disabled accessible travel for a couple excursions. They were expensive but we were very happy with them. Every port we were docked. There were always staff to help him get the scooter down the ramp. It was a challenge to get specific information on ports regarding accessibility. Both Cartagena, Spain and the naval yard in Bermuda were easy off and very accessible. 
 

I would never use my rollator as a rolling wheelchair; the rider sits backwards nearly over the front wheels and if you hit just a small pebble or bump, you might find him falling on his back.  It does fine for sitting, though.  Put the brakes on and it's a good stationary chair.

On the Sapphire Princess I took my rollator to the top level where there was plenty of room for wheelchairs.  You could sit there or leave your wheels to walk down steps to regular seats, using handrails.

I glued some foam pipe insulation on the bottom of the shelf/tray to stabilize it and fit it to the seat.

I have some information that might help some of you.  As I have posted before, my Drive rollator has been a wonderful helper for me both on cruise ships and at home.  It folds up from the center--SIDEWAYS--so that it can get through very narrow spaces, on its wheels without having to lift it.  I made a tray that fits on the seat because the seat is not flat enough to hold dinnerware.  It is very light and you can carry it easily when you have to fold the rollator.  Here are some pictures showing its use when going to the buffet to hold food and drink, and also to even hold tools at home when I needed to build a quilt cabinet for my wife.  Pull the handle up to fold it.

Yes, the Drive rollator is the one to get.  It's sturdy and safe, with great brakes.  At home I use it to carry tools, books, anything around the house.  You MIGHT be able to find one used that is in good shape (in fact, the DRIVE one is likely to be in good shape) but it's a matter of luck.  If you need a rollator, the Drive is still under $300.  

One more thing about using it--I have a bad balance problem and have fallen a couple of times working in my garage building furniture.  I have (finally!) learned to keep it by my side as I move around the garage, putting its brakes on wherever I stop.  It's a safe standard for me--just grab, or lean a bit on it to keep my balance.  So easy, so handy, so safe.

Got a drop foot?  This may be your answer too--you can walk at speed and not worry about your foot catching and finding yourself on the ground.

About walking upright rather than hunched over--I am always upright and I'm six feet tall--because the Drive has easily adjustable vertical handles.  I would never use a rollator that made me hunch over.  There are specific "upright" ones too, but the Drive is great for me.

And no, I'm not a salesman--I'm just a satisfied customer.

Not to mention getting through standard-width cabin doors--fold the rollator sideways and drive right through.

Folks, if you are spending some thousands of dollars for cruises, please consider the rollator as a very inexpensive investment!

For everyone who is interested in getting a rollator: I haven't seen anyone mention this but it's an important feature.  Get a rollator that folds up SIDEWAYS so that it is narrower when folded.  My first rollator (supplied by the VA) folded up front to back, and it was a real pain trying to get through narrow spots.  It also folded so that it would not stand on all four wheels when folded, which made it even more of a pain.  My Drive rollator (see picture above) is wonderful--I walk down the passageways aboard ship and whenever I encounter a narrow spot (like the carts used by the attendants) I just reach down, grab the handle in the center of the seat, pull up and the rollator is suddenly half its width but still rolling--then past the obstacle I let the rollator pop down again.  Don't even have to stop for this operation. 

And regarding the cost of a rollator:  I wouldn't touch one of those under $100, and also am not convinced that those between $100 and $200 are sturdy enough to be reliable.  My walking health and safety is important enough to me to invest in one that meets my needs, and I find that the $200 but under $300 range does that.  Check out a wide array of them on Amazon.

On 7/15/2023 at 5:48 PM, capriccio said:

In my 15 years sailing on Princess the crews and officers have always been overwhelmingly non-American.

Sure.  Of course we all know that the crew and officers generally are not American.  But they do not determine the seasoning of foods--that is the executive chef who determines the menu and its constituents, tastes the food during preparation, and makes adjustments.  Whoever that was on our cruise was far distant from what he or she should have experienced prior to becoming executive chef.  Food was generally bland without character.  Where it needed salt, there was little.  Where it needed garlic, there was none.  Where it needed a whole array of spices, it lacked them.  Just generally NOT dishes as Princess always had preparedin the past.

On 10/26/2023 at 12:32 PM, kokopelli-az said:

Will your rollator stay folded up without coming unfolded?   If not, you could try some velcro strips or ties to tie it together to keep it from keeping unfolded.   

 

When you go to the dining room, your waiter will take your rollator and park it up front by where you enter the dining room (there will be others there, plus scooters).  This is done all the time.  They will bring it back to you when you are ready to leave.   If you have the right table away from others, you might be able to keep it by your table or in a corner.

 

No charge.   🙂

I have a foot-long velcro strap wrapped around a rod of my rollator.  Generally I don't need to use it because the rollator doesn't want to fold out on its own, but it's there if I need it.

Thank you, casaloma, for this great and detailed report.  I don't know when or if I'll get to those ports, but this interest me because I currently use a foldable rollator aboard ship and the writing on the wall says a scooter is in my future.  Last year I could put in 4,000 steps daily on the ship, but now I am much more limited and I appreciate your experiences.  Thanks.

Rollators are highly usable for not only cruises, but at home and outdoors.  Give this a try--I have had one for over two years and have never looked back.  By the way, this model folds up sideways and is very narrow then.

Amazon site is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZYD9JJG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

On 9/26/2023 at 3:26 PM, ChuckL said:

I have purchased slip on sneakers from Skeechers. They appear like they are laced, but that is just part of the design. They are VERY lightweight with elastic sides to hold them on,, and have very thin soles as well.They are really comfortable and don’t push on the numb feet. 

 

I believe they came from this collection of shoes:

https://www.skechers.com/men/shoes/hands-free-slip-ins/

I have a pair of those slip-ins from Skechers--they are the most comfortable shoes I have EVER worn in my 86 years, the last few with neuropathy.  I put them on out of the box from Amazon and wore them all day--didn't feel a thing except coziness.  Like I had a masseuse holding my feet.  Worth every cent and more.  The slip-in quality doesn't quite work for me--I use a shoe horn--but I don't care.  They are superb!  In fact, I think I'll go put them on right now!

On our October 2022 cruise our medallions worked great.  Every day on our return to the cabin I tried to see when the medallion unlocked our door, but I never could get within eyeshot before it welcomed me and unlocked the door!  Several feet away, at least, in the doorway alcove.  And every time I came into the elevator/stairway areas, the big screen congratulated me on my birthday!  Also, I was never asked for my room number when ordering anything--just flip the medallion.  

So you never know.  Maybe it was the ship itself (Sapphire Princess) or our medallions themselves.  I don't doubt that there are lots of problems with them--witness this thread--but they worked for us.

2 hours ago, UT-Volsfan said:

In their description it shows it does not have surge protection. "Non surge protection feature makes the extension cord strip a necessary for cruise ship trip as carnival cruise line(and many others) ban surge protectors from their ships due to safety concerns."

Have cruised with this for over 4 months at sea and never had an issue getting it onboard.

You and I are looking at two different power strips.  I copied the poster's URL for Amazon, pasted it in to Amazon, then copied the description from Amazon and put it into my post.  You are looking at a different one.

1 hour ago, Insomniacs said:

 

That is exactly what I ended up doing.  Bestek emailed me back and said there is no surge protection on their converters but I noticed the Amazon page mentions having surge protection.   I didn't want to take the risk so I ordered one on Amazon.  A converter is not necessary on a cruise ship so all I need is the power strip part.

Right.

On 7/17/2023 at 2:18 AM, UT-Volsfan said:

We got this from Amazon and have used it on several cruises. 

 

Power Strip with USB C, AUOPRO Flat Extension Cord 4 Outlets Strips and 3 USB Ports, 5ft Long Braided Power Cord, Compact Charging Station for Computer Travel Cruise Home Office-ETL Listed

 

7

1. 

 

•  

That particular item has this as the first line of information on the Amazon site:  "Multiple Surge Protector Power Strip:"

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Ships don't go from Ft. Lauderdale to Hawaii and back.

 

Where do Princess ships sail from when they do a Hawaii round trip?

From Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver, I believe.  Other cruise lines also sail from San Diego.

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

They had it on my British Isles cruise on the day we were in Scotland (the inside stuffing mixture, not the lining).  Was pretty good

Gotta admit, I've never eaten haggis.  But just the thought of the ingredients makes me all OOGLY inside! 🤪

5 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I have always found the west coast cruises to compare unfavorably with Princess cruises from other parts of the world.  I can't speculate about why that would be, but I do feel comfortable making the generalization.   I doubt that it has anything to do with non-American chefs.  That would be common I think across the board, not just for West coast cruises.  

Who knows?  You might be right.  But most of my cruises have originated from the west coast, so I am doing that comparison.

16 hours ago, capriccio said:

In my 15 years sailing on Princess the crews and officers have always been overwhelmingly non-American.

Yes, as has also been my experience.  But in the past the chefs' seasonings have always been oriented toward the passengers, overwhelmingly US, Canadian or UK, not toward the crew's tastes, wherever they originate.  (I am not advocating preparing haggis, however!)

9 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@GoHuskies!  Thank you for the clarifications.  I can understand your concerns about the food in the Buffet.  I have never been a fan of this venue.  I've always managed to find "something" but stay away from lots of the dishes.

 

On the other hand, I have found foods in the other venues to be excellent to outstanding.  I am not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination AND I also need to pre-order my MDR meals.  

 

Could you be more specific (dishes, flavors, etc) on what was not to your liking?  We are all second guessing your review.  This is a good opportunity for you to go on another cruise and see if there is a difference.

Most of the dishes I encountered in the buffet lacked something--not sure what.  But I agree about the other venues.  

Just now, ldtr said:

Most of the kitchen staff chefs, assistants, etc. are pretty much always foreign. Indian, Indonesian, etc. Have been for the 15 years I have been sailing on Princess

That's true.  But for some reason, things were not the same last Fall.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.  To allay the concerns of some, my latest cruise on Princess was in October 22, which is recent for me, having cruised Princess for over 20 years.  The MDR was certainly just "food", but the specialty restaurants were outstanding, particularly Sabattini's and the pizza restaurant.  Steak house was mediocre.  But the buffet just seemed tasteless in general, which prompted my original question.  Sure, it's very subjective--but that's why I asked.

On 6/15/2023 at 3:06 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

I wonder how many veterans will sell their stock now?  Oh, I forgot, the stock is worthless at this time.  

Not totally--I bought at 9, today it is 17 1/2.